Meet Mo Brooks
Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL) lost his bid for reelection yesterday, falling in the GOP primary to Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks. Griffith, who switched parties to become a Republican in late 2009, was routed by a margin of 51-33 percent.
Griffith's downfall is being compared to Sen. Arlen Specter's (D-PA) loss in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary last month. However, there are significant differences between the two contests. Mainly, Specter supported the conservative agenda as a member of the GOP for decades. Griffith, on the other hand, served less than a year before changing his party affiliation, and he opposed every major Democratic initiative during that time.
Despite the prevailing narrative, the result more accurately reflects the alarming trend of Republican candidates who are far outside of the mainstream. From his website, here is a small sampling of Brooks' extreme right-wing platform:
- He describes the Affordable Care Act as "radical socialized medicine."
- He wants to eliminate the IRS and implement the "Fair Tax."
- He has a page devoted to "Free Enterprise" -- which uses the words "Socialist" and "Socialism" 15 times.
- "Illegal aliens give America drug-resistant tuberculosis and other diseases that threaten all of us."
Griffith had the GOP's backing and a huge financial edge, but Brooks sailed to victory anyway, largely thanks to strong Tea Party support. We've seen similar results in Kentucky and Utah, not to mention the far-right takeover of the Maine GOP. Unless they're willing to fully adopt the Tea Party platform, Washington Republicans have plenty of cause for concern.
