Rep. Parker Griffith abandons Team Unicorn

Politico reports that the freshman Dem from Alabama will run as a Republican when he tries to retain his seat in 2010.

Griffith’s party switch comes on the eve of a pivotal congressional health care vote and will send a jolt through a Democratic House Caucus that has already been unnerved by the recent retirements of a handful of members who, like Griffith, hail from districts that offer prime pickup opportunities for the GOP in 2010.


The switch represents a coup for the House Republican leadership, which had been courting Griffith since he publicly criticized the Democratic leadership in the wake of raucous town halls during the summer

So we now can identify the first casualty of ObamaCare. The real tragedy is that the casualties won't be limited to the political class. And, unfortunately, there will be lives and not just seats that are lost.