Category Archives: Cap and trade

Obama State of the Union Address, January 27, 2010, Jobs, New Jobless Claims, Obama lies, Campaign promises vs reality, New jobs bill, Insanity, Fantasy, Reality

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”…Albert Einstein

Fantasy

From the State of the Union speech, January 27, 2010, Fox News reports.

“Renewing Promise of ‘Change,’ Obama Tries to Reset Agenda”
“The road to restoring public confidence in Washington and in his ability to lead it starts Thursday in Tampa, where Obama will hold a town hall meeting and discuss federal investment in mass transit. The visit comes as the president vows to make the economy and jobs creation his top focus in 2010, while continuing to press ahead with his ambitious agenda on everything ranging from health care reform to education to immigration reform.”

“But the centerpiece of Obama’s address was jobs creation. The president called on Congress to pass a new jobs bill right away, telling the Senate to pass something similar to the bill passed by the House last year as its “first order of business.”

“People are out of work. They’re hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay,” Obama said.”
 
“Obama said the “devastation” of the economic crisis remains, but also defended his approach so far, saying his administration acted “immediately and aggressively” to stave off a “second depression.”

The president emphasized that conditions would be worse if his administration and Congress had not approved the stimulus package last February. He said the package has saved 2 million jobs.”

Read more:

 
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/27/obama-deliver-state-union/

Reality

From Fox News, January 28, 2010.
“New Jobless Claims Drop Less Than Expected”

“WASHINGTON — The number of newly laid-off workers claiming unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week, fresh evidence the job market remains a weak spot in the economic recovery.

The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time jobless claims dropped by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 470,000. Analysts had expected a steeper drop to 450,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

The four week average, which smooths out volatility, rose for the second straight week to 456,250. The average had fallen for 19 straight weeks before starting to rise. That decline had given some analysts hope the economy would soon generate net job gains.

Two weeks ago, claims surged by 34,000 due to administrative backlogs left over from the holidays in the state agencies that process the claims, a Labor Department analyst said. Those delays may still be affecting the data, the analyst said.

That means the current figures could be artificially inflated. At the same time, it would also mean that the steep drop in claims in late December and early January was also exaggerated by the backlogs.”

“But the so-called continuing claims do not include millions of people who have used up the regular 26 weeks of benefits typically provided by states, and are receiving extended benefits for up to 73 additional weeks, paid for by the federal government.”
Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/28/new-jobless-claims-drop-expected/

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Obama Ohio speech, January 22, 2010, Jobs speech, Unemployment Up in 43 States in December, Lies, Narcissism, Karl Rove, Sean Hannity, Ohio job losses

While Obama was giving a  jobs speech, Friday afternoon, January 22, 2010 at Lorain County Community College
in Elyria, Ohio, a government report indicated that unemployment was up in 43 States in December. Consistent with Obama’s past and personality, Obama’s speech is driven by Lies and Narcissism. Commentary is provided by Karl Rove, Sean Hannity and Citizen Wells.

Fox News unemployment report, January 22, 2010.

“Unemployment Up in 43 States in December”

“WASHINGTON — Unemployment rates rose in 43 states last month, the government said Friday, painting a bleak picture of the job market and illustrating nationwide data released two weeks ago.
The rise in joblessness was a sharp change from November, when 36 states said their unemployment rates fell. Four states — South Carolina, Delaware, Florida and North Carolina — reported record-high jobless rates in December.
New Jersey’s rate, meanwhile, rose to a 33-year high of 10.1 percent while New York’s reached a 26-year high of 9 percent.
Analysts said the report showed the economy is recovering at too weak a pace to generate consistent job creation.
“A lot of states that had started to add jobs (in November) gave up those gains in December,” said Sophia Koropeckyj, managing director at Moody’s Economy.com.”

“Texas lost the second-most jobs: 23,900. That sent its jobless rate to 8.3 percent in December from 8 percent. The next-largest job losses were in Ohio, Illinois and Michigan.”

Read more:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/22/unemployment-states-december/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+foxnews%252Fpolitics+%2528Text+-+Politics%2529
 

Obama Ohio speech text

“Today, because of the actions we took, the worst of this economic storm has passed. But families like yours and communities like Elyria are still reeling from the devastation left in its wake. Folks have seen jobs you thought would last forever disappear. You’ve seen plants close and businesses shut down. I’ve heard about how the city government here is bare bones. And how you can’t get to work or go buy groceries like you used to because of cuts in the county transit system.”

“Let me tell you – so long as I have the privilege of serving as your President, I’ll never stop fighting for you. I’ll take my lumps, too. I’ll never stop fighting to bring jobs back to Elyria. I’ll never stop fighting for an economy where hard work is rewarded, where responsibility is honored, where accountability is upheld, where we’re creating the jobs of tomorrow.”

“I’ll never stop fighting to open up government. That’s why we put in place the toughest ethics laws and toughest transparency rules of any administration in history.”

Read more:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/01/obamas-jobs-speech-in-ohio-the.html?wprss=44

Unemployment up in December, Obama speech in Ohio, Obama CYA speech timing suspect, Obama narcissism and lies

In typical Obama fashion, and true to his pattern of narcissism and lies, Obama speaks to a group at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio, today, January 22, 2010. Obama, whose socialist, big spending programs have greatly worsened the job situation and bleakened the outlook for job creation, has the gall to say  “I’ll never stop fighting for an economy where hard work is rewarded” just as a new report was released indicating that  unemployment rates rose in 43 states in December.

From Fox News, January 22, 2010.

“Unemployment Up in 43 States in December”

“Unemployment rates rose in 43 states last month, the government said Friday, painting a bleak picture of the job market and illustrating nationwide data released two weeks ago.”

“WASHINGTON — Unemployment rates rose in 43 states last month, the government said Friday, painting a bleak picture of the job market and illustrating nationwide data released two weeks ago.
The rise in joblessness was a sharp change from November, when 36 states said their unemployment rates fell. Four states — South Carolina, Delaware, Florida and North Carolina — reported record-high jobless rates in December.
New Jersey’s rate, meanwhile, rose to a 33-year high of 10.1 percent while New York’s reached a 26-year high of 9 percent.
Analysts said the report showed the economy is recovering at too weak a pace to generate consistent job creation.
“A lot of states that had started to add jobs (in November) gave up those gains in December,” said Sophia Koropeckyj, managing director at Moody’s Economy.com.
Texas and Georgia lost more jobs in December than they had gained the previous month, she noted, while Arizona and South Carolina lost nearly as many as they had gained.
That is consistent with nationwide trends. Employers shed a net total of 85,00 jobs in December, the government said earlier this month, after notching a small gain of 4,000 jobs in November.”

“Nationally, more than 600,000 people left the labor force in December, according to government data. The large exodus from the labor force indicates that “unemployment is a lot worse than the numbers suggest,” Koropeckyj said.”

Read more:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/22/unemployment-states-december/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+foxnews%252Fpolitics+%2528Text+-+Politics%2529

Charles Krauthammer, What Scott Brown’s win means for the Democrats, January 22, 2010, Obama ABC interview, Democrats delusional, Obama and Democrats blame Bush, Obama blames insurance companies

From the Washington Post, January 22, 2010, Charles Krauthammer.

“What Scott Brown’s win means for the Democrats”

“On Jan. 14, five days before the Massachusetts special election, President Obama was in full bring-it-on mode as he rallied House Democrats behind his health-care reform. “If Republicans want to campaign against what we’ve done by standing up for the status quo and for insurance companies over American families and businesses, that is a fight I want to have.”
The bravado lasted three days. When Obama campaigned in Boston on Jan. 17 for Obamacare supporter Martha Coakley, not once did he mention the health-care bill. When your candidate is sinking, you don’t throw her a millstone.

After Coakley’s defeat, Obama pretended that the real cause was a generalized anger and frustration “not just because of what’s happened in the last year or two years, but what’s happened over the last eight years.”

Let’s get this straight: The antipathy to George W. Bush is so enduring and powerful that . . . it just elected a Republican senator in Massachusetts? Why, the man is omnipotent.

And the Democrats are delusional: Scott Brown won by running against Obama, not Bush. He won by brilliantly nationalizing the race, running hard against the Obama agenda, most notably Obamacare. Killing it was his No. 1 campaign promise.

Bull’s-eye. An astonishing 56 percent of Massachusetts voters, according to a Rasmussen poll, called health care their top issue. In a Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates poll, 78 percent of Brown voters said their vote was intended to stop Obamacare. Only a quarter of all voters in the Rasmussen poll cited the economy as their top issue, nicely refuting the Democratic view that Massachusetts was just the usual anti-incumbent resentment you expect in bad economic times.”

“The reason both wings of American liberalism — congressional and mainstream media — were so surprised at the force of anti-Democratic sentiment is that they’d spent Obama’s first year either ignoring or disdaining the clear early signs of resistance: the tea-party movement of the spring and the town-hall meetings of the summer. With characteristic condescension, they contemptuously dismissed the protests as the mere excrescences of a redneck, retrograde, probably racist rabble.”

“Democrats must so rationalize, otherwise they must take democracy seriously, and ask themselves: If the people really don’t want it, could they possibly have a point?

“If you lose Massachusetts and that’s not a wake-up call,” said moderate — and sentient — Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, “there’s no hope of waking up.””

Read more:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012103500.html

 

Obama ABC George Stephanopoulos interview, Obama blames Bush for MA senate loss

Thanks to commenter Patriot Dreamer

2010 elections, Congress cleansing, House, Senate, January 2010, November elections will change our history

We are poised for success in November 2010. By success, I do not mean dominance by either party, a Republican or Democrat platform or agenda. I mean a fundamental change in party politics and the way that Congress and the American people interact. We will no longer allow the jackasses in Congress and the White House to ignore the American people and try to implement an agenda that is unconstitutional, un American and un popular.

Let’s roll.

US Chamber of Commerce, Obama, Chamber pledges to stop Obama agenda, Play big role in November elections, President Thomas Donohue, Health care legislation, Fiscal insolvency, Valerie Jarrett

“Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.”…George Bernard Shaw

Those who can’t do, won’t do, have never successfully run a business and hate business are part of the Obama Administration…Citizen Wells

 

From USA Today, January 12, 2010.

“U.S. Chamber pledges to stop Obama agenda, play big role in Nov. elections”

“U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue attacked President Obama’s domestic agenda Tuesday, criticizing Democratic efforts on climate change, health care and oversight of the nation’s financial system.

And he pledged to use the chamber’s might in November’s elections to take on the president’s allies in Congress.”

“The chamber will carry out “the largest, most aggressive” campaign in its 100-year history as it works to influence the outcome of mid-term congressional elections and stop legislation it views as harmful to the economy, he said. “As Americans choose a new House and senators this fall,” Donohue added, “the chamber will highlight lawmakers and candidates who support a pro-jobs agenda and hold accountable those who don’t.””

Read more:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2010/01/us-chamber-pledges-to-stop-obama-agenda-play-big-role-in-nov-elections.html

Apparently Obama and US Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue are not good buddies. Of course, the Obama Administration, a model of business acumen and job creation, has it’s answer to the US Chamber of Commerce in the Business Roundtable. Valerie Jarrett is the president’s liaison to the corporate world. You remember Jarrett.

“I was in the process of reporting more on Valerie Jarrett and her past ties to corruption in Chicago and I will do so. For now, Michelle Malkin does an excellent job in this video of exposing the truth about Obama and Jarrett and their motives for getting the Olympics for Chicago.”…Valerie Jarrett, corrupt slumlord Obama friend

From the LA Times, October 25, 2009.

“White House confronts the U.S. Chamber of Commerce”

“WASHINGTON — The Obama White House, stepping in where other Democrats feared to tread, has launched a potentially risky fight with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — attempting to bypass the nation’s most powerful business organization and develop independent ties to corporate America.

In recent weeks, President Obama, his Energy secretary and one of his other most senior advisors have begun criticizing the chamber publicly, casting it as a profligate lobbying organization at odds with its members in opposing the administration on such issues as consumer protection and climate change.

At the same time, the administration has been meeting privately with prominent corporate leaders — more than 60 of them since June — in an effort to develop its own pipeline to the business community.
The White House also has gone out of its way to cultivate another corporate group, the Business Roundtable, which is much smaller than the chamber but represents chief executives of many of the nation’s largest corporations.

“Our strategy is to reach out directly to the business community,” said Valerie Jarrett, the president’s liaison to the corporate world. “This is a shift. Previously, the chamber had served as the sole intermediary for business. That’s not our approach.”

Jarrett praised the Business Roundtable, saying that it brings member CEOs to White House meetings in addition to Washington lobbyists.

In an indirect dig at the chamber, Jarrett said the roundtable meetings were more substantive and valuable because they included not just a trade association leader but someone who actually runs a business.

The White House role in criticizing the chamber has, predictably, riled Republicans. But it also has made some Democrats nervous.”

Read more:

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/25/nation/na-chamber25

Here are some exerpts from the speech of US Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue, January 12, 2010.

“Think for a moment about the nation’s job creators—the men and women who run our small and large businesses—as well as those who lead our universities, our health care facilities and the many other institutions that employ our workforce. If you were in their shoes today, would you jump quickly into new investments and hiring? Or would you wait for some clarity, and some common sense, to take hold first?

Most of these job creators would like nothing more than to keep their workers employed, create new jobs, and bring some hope and relief to families struggling without a paycheck. But when they look at what’s going on in Washington, in the states, and around the world, what do they see?

They see massive tax increases on the horizon—not just the expiration of the tax cuts passed over the last decade, but also hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes.

They see health care legislation that contains a burdensome mandate on employers and virtually no meaningful reforms to improve quality or control costs.

They see a climate change bill and potential EPA regulations that could significantly raise energy prices and impose new layers of bureaucracy on their organizations.

They see financial services legislation moving forward that could choke off their access to capital at a time when lending is already very tight.

America’s job creators also see a renewed push by unions to pass card check and many other measures to control the workplace.

They see the trial bar working with their allies in Congress and with many state attorneys general to expand opportunities for new litigation.

They see the rise of trade isolationism at home and abroad that could threaten their export markets—and now, renewed fears about terrorism.

And our job creators see the federal government planning to expand the national debt by at least $9 trillion over the next decade—more debt than has been piled up in all previous years since George Washington. They see many states going broke as well. What will the impact be on their companies and employees?

These are the uncertainties that job creators are wrestling with—uncertainties that call into question how quick or strong our economic recovery will be. And no one is paying a higher price than the American worker.

Over seven million Americans have lost their jobs since the recession began. Ten percent of the workforce is unemployed—a number that soars beyond 17 percent when you add those who have stopped looking for jobs and the millions of part-time workers who want to work full-time.”

Read more:

http://www.uschamber.com/press/speeches/2010/100112_sab

By the way, the Chamber of Commerce of a major NC city, was my first business account assigned to me when I was young. It was a pleasure to present this article.

MA senate debate video, January 11, 2010, Scott Brown, Martha Coakley, Joseph L Kennedy, Youtube video, Cspan video

*** Update below  1:20 PM, EST ***

The MA senate debate between Scott Brown, Martha Coakley and  Joseph L Kennedy took place last night January 11, 2010 at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Here is a Youtube video with portions of video from Fox 25, Boston and News 22, WWLP, Springfield, MA. Links to the complete videos are below.


http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/p…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgT_TS…

Cspan video.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/291174-1

This post will be updated later today.

***  Update  ***

The Boston Globe provided interactive comments during the debate.

At 7:02 PM poll results were presented

What candidate do you support?
Scott Brown (R)  

 
 ( 71% )
Martha Coakley (D)

 
 ( 25% )
Joseph L. Kennedy (I)

 
 ( 4% )

Comments

6:52
Andrew Phelps (WBUR): 

We’ll be watching and talking about the Senate debate, which starts at 7 p.m. sharp.

Monday January 11, 2010 6:52 Andrew Phelps (WBUR)
6:53
Andrew Phelps (WBUR): 

Our guest bloggers this evening are Renee Loth, columnist for The Boston Globe; Ralph Ranalli, WGBH’s “Greater Boston”; and Julie Mehegan, deputy editorial page editor of The Boston Herald.

Monday January 11, 2010 6:53 Andrew Phelps (WBUR)
6:53
Andrew Phelps (WBUR): 

The debate will be broadcast on television and radio stations throughout Massachusetts.

Monday January 11, 2010 6:53 Andrew Phelps (WBUR)
6:59
Julie Mehegan (Herald): 

Those who plan to vote but haven’t paid attention at all to this race will probably be tuning in tonight, and the candidates know it.  Big stakes.

Monday January 11, 2010 6:59 Julie Mehegan (Herald)
7:00
[Comment From BrianBrian: ] 

Brown is raising a lot more money than I thought he would today…

Monday January 11, 2010 7:00 Brian
7:00
[Comment From Allen GAllen G: ] 

Watching from Tennessee

Monday January 11, 2010 7:00 Allen G
7:01
[Comment From SteveSteve: ] 

Watching from northern Virginia.

Monday January 11, 2010 7:01 Steve
7:01
[Comment From ChristopherChristopher: ] 

Watching from Kalifornia

Monday January 11, 2010 7:01 Christopher
7:01
[Comment From Chris PChris P: ] 

Watching from Virginia (former Mass resident)

Monday January 11, 2010 7:01 Chris P
7:02
[Comment From mlsmls: ] 

logging in from texas…y’all hold the fate of our nation in your hand. do the right thing mass voters!

7:02
[Comment From LindaLinda: ] 

Watching from Florida…go Scott!

Monday January 11, 2010 7:02 Linda
7:02
Ralph Ranalli – WGBH: 

Complacency on the Democratic side will be the biggest enemy.

Monday January 11, 2010 7:02 Ralph Ranalli – WGBH
7:02
[Comment From JoannaJoanna: ] 

Watching from Jacksonville, FL Go SCOTT

Monday January 11, 2010 7:02 Joanna
7:02
[Comment From AndrewAndrew: ] 

watching from Pennsylvania! Go Brown!!!!

Monday January 11, 2010 7:02 Andrew
7:02
[Comment From Jo ElizabethJo Elizabeth: ] 

Go Scott Brown!!!!!! Florida support 110%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Read all comments:

William M. Daley, Democrat party, Obama approval rating, Listen to American people, Alabama Representative Parker Griffith, Washington Post warning, Far left agenda

A warning to the Democrat Party from the Washington Post (hardly a conservative rag) to listen to the American public and embrace centrist viewpoints.

“Keep the Big Tent big”

“The announcement by Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith that he is switching to the Republican Party is just the latest warning sign that the Democratic Party — my lifelong political home — has a critical decision to make: Either we plot a more moderate, centrist course or risk electoral disaster not just in the upcoming midterms but in many elections to come.
Rep. Griffith’s decision makes him the fifth centrist Democrat to either switch parties or announce plans to retire rather than stand for reelection in 2010. These announcements are a sharp reversal from the progress the Democratic Party made starting in 2006 and continuing in 2008, when it reestablished itself as the nation’s majority party for the first time in more than a decade. That success happened for one major reason: Democrats made inroads in geographies and constituencies that had trended Republican since the 1960s. In these two elections, a majority of independents and a sizable number of moderate Republicans joined the traditional Democratic base to sweep Democrats to commanding majorities in Congress and to bring Barack Obama to the White House.
These independents and Republicans supported Democrats based on a message indicating that the party would be a true Big Tent — that we would welcome a diversity of views even on tough issues such as abortion, gun rights and the role of government in the economy.
This call was answered not just by voters but by a surge of smart, talented candidates who came forward to run and win under the Democratic banner in districts dominated by Republicans for a generation. These centrists swelled the party’s ranks in Congress and contributed to Obama’s victories in states such as Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado and other Republican bastions.
But now they face a grim political fate. On the one hand, centrist Democrats are being vilified by left-wing bloggers, pundits and partisan news outlets for not being sufficiently liberal, “true” Democrats. On the other, Republicans are pounding them for their association with a party that seems to be advancing an agenda far to the left of most voters.

The political dangers of this situation could not be clearer.
Witness the losses in New Jersey and Virginia in this year’s off-year elections. In those gubernatorial contests, the margin of victory was provided to Republicans by independents — many of whom had voted for Obama. Just one year later, they had crossed back to the Republicans by 2-to-1 margins.
Witness the drumbeat of ominous poll results. Obama’s approval rating has fallen below 49 percent overall and is even lower — 41 percent — among independents. On the question of which party is best suited to manage the economy, there has been a 30-point swing toward Republicans since November 2008, according to Ipsos. Gallup’s generic congressional ballot shows Republicans leading Democrats. There is not a hint of silver lining in these numbers. They are the quantitative expression of the swing bloc of American politics slipping away.”

Read more:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/23/AR2009122302439_pf.html

Parker Griffith announcement, Switches parties, Griffith Republican, Griffith leaves Democrat party, Health care bill bad for doctors

Representative Parker Griffith of Alabama announces his switch from the Democrat to Republican party.

Parker Griffith did not just vote against the Health care bill and other harmful legislation, he sent a strong signal that the Democrat party is not good for this country.

From CBS News blog, December 22, 2009.

“Parker Griffith, Democratic Representative, Switches Parties to GOP”

“Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, announced Tuesday that he is switching parties to become a Republican.

“I believe our nation is at a crossroads and I can no longer align myself with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy, and drives us further and further into debt,” Griffith, 67, said at a press conference at his home, according to the Associated Press.

Some aren’t surprised by Griffith’s switch. He has voted against all major Democratic initiatives this year, including the stimulus, cap and trade and health care bills.

He’s also spoken out against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying that he would not vote for her to be speaker again.”

“A radiation oncologist, Griffith cited the Democrats’ health care plans as a reason for his switch. He was one of 39 Democrats to vote against the bill in the House last month.

“I want to make it perfectly clear that this bill is bad for our doctors,” he said at the press conference, according to the AP. “It’s bad for our patients. It’s bad for the young men and women who are considering going into the health care field.”

“The success of Republicans in the off-year elections last month also appears to be a reason for his decision to switch parties. Griffith told Politico then that he wanted to be called an independent Blue Dog, not a Democrat. “I should be nervous,” he added.”

“When a Member of Congress decides to leave a 258 seat majority to join a deep minority, it is a sure sign that the majority party has become completely disconnected from seniors, young workers, and families in America,” Cantor said in a statement. “We welcome Parker Griffith to the Republican Conference, and will continue to stand and fight against the damaging agenda of this Administration working in tandem with the Pelosi/Reid run Congress.”

“Parker Griffith is a dedicated public servant who has consistently put the best interests of his constituents first, and it is in that spirit that Republicans welcome him,” Boehner added. “With today’s decision, Congressman Griffith has added his voice to the growing chorus of Americans who have had it with Democrats’ wrong-headed policies and lack of leadership.””

Read more:

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/12/22/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6009974.shtml

Parker Griffith Republican congressman, Griffith switches to GOP, Alabama representative Griffith at odds with Democrat Party, Health care bill, Huntsville AL district

From Politico, December 22, 2009.

“Rep. Parker Griffith switches to GOP”

“POLITICO learns Rep. Parker Griffith will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican.”

“POLITICO has learned that Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican.
According to two senior GOP aides familiar with the decision, the announcement will take place this afternoon in Griffith’s district in northern Alabama.
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.
Griffith, who captured the seat in a close 2008 open seat contest, will become the first Republican to hold the historically Democratic, Huntsville-based district. A radiation oncologist who founded a cancer treatment center, Griffith plans to blast the Democratic health care bill as a prime reason for his decision to switch parties—and is expected to cite his medical background as his authority on the subject.”

“Signs of Griffith’s dissatisfaction with his party began to surface publicly during the summer recess, when he received an earful of criticism from constituents.
In August — one month after Republicans picked up his former state legislative seat in a special election — Griffith told a local newspaper that he wouldn’t vote for Nancy Pelosi to remain as House Speaker because she’s too divisive. He joked that if she didn’t like it, he’d provide her with a gift certificate to a mental health center.
He added that if the Democratic leadership wouldn’t commit to working in a more bipartisan manner, “perhaps we should look at altering that.””

Read more:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30896.html

Thanks to commenter Patriot Dreamer.