This one's in Athens from 2 to 4 pm at Athens State University's Carter Center.
"Every constituent has a unique perspective on the health care debate, from expansion of education (for potential doctors and nurses) to combating illegal immigration," said Sean Magers, Griffith's spokesman. "The congressman wants to make sure that everyone who wishes to speak his mind has the chance to.
"He wants their voices heard in Washington, and this is the way to do it."
Griffith is billing this as a health care town hall, his spokesman is certainly pushing the idea that this is part of the national health care debate and I'm sure a number of the people in attendance will be genuinely concerned about health care, both their own and other people's. After all, the GOP talking point of the week is how reform would hurt Medicare. But the pressure Griffith gets at these meetings from the Tea Bagger crowd and the hardcore Republican activists isn't about health care at all.
Parker Griffith's vote on health care reform is irrelevant. Look at the numbers. 218 votes are needed to pass a health care reform bill in the U.S. House. There are 256 Democrats in the House and probably 250 of them are more likely votes for reform than Parker Griffith. Any health care reform bill on which Griffith could be the deciding vote will be worth less than a bucket of warm spit.
No, the pressure Griffith gets in these town halls and from conservative media is not about influencing his vote on health care reform -- it's all about influencing the popular vote next year. They may or may not be able to stop health care reform (probably not, imo) but they know Griffith will be up for re-election next year and this is all about pressuring him, hoping he'll make a mistake that will give the Party of NO and advantage at the polls in November 2010. It's about winning in 2010, not about some vote Griffith will cast this fall. That's what the whole shouting match, shut down the town halls, my weapon is bigger than yours Tea Bagger campaign has been about.
Griffith is already playing into GOP hands, splitting himself off from his natural base of support by declaring he won't vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. He could burn Nancy Pelosi in effigy every day from now 'til November 2010 and the Goppers still wouldn't vote for him -- but if it makes him less effective as an advocate for North Alabama they can and will use that against him next year. No doubt he has expensive advisers telling him to pander to the right but historically, Republicans have been more successful at picking off the squishy middle kind of Democrats, probably because the public is really turned off by lack of backbone.
I attended Griffith's first town hall back in July and really feel like I've done my duty on this front, but please share a first hand account if you attend -- pictures are always welcome, of course.
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