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GOP Touts Parker Griffith On Health Care — After Previously Accusing Him Of Abusing Cancer Patients (VIDEO)

Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL).

Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL), who switched from the Democrats to the GOP in December, will be delivering tomorrow’s weekly Republican YouTube address — presumably from the standpoint of being a medical doctor who is opposing the Dems on health care. As we’ve previously noted, there is a huge irony in this particular doctor being embraced by the GOP — after they openly accused him of some very serious acts of medical malpractice, when they ran against him in 2008

“The fact that a doctor who left the Democratic caucus is delivering the address this week is no coincidence,” an anonymous senior GOP aide boasted in an e-mail to news organizations. “This is a shot across the bow of any ‘moderate’ Democrat in the House who is considering voting for a health care bill loaded with tax hikes, Medicare cuts, and notorious backroom deals.”

During the 2008 election, when Griffith was seeking the open Congressional seat, the National Republican Congressional Committee ran an attack ad that accused Griffith of a practice known as “warehousing” cancer patients — meaning to deliberately give poor care to patients in order to keep them bedridden and make more money from their medical treatments. “His approach caused unwarranted pain and suffering,” the announcer said, “but it meant more money for him.”

Another ad accused Griffith of hating America, and apparently even sympathizing with radical Islam — with audio of the candidate himself speaking! “America’s greatest enemy is America, and its materialism…We have nothing to fear from radical Islam.” The ad then repeated the audio of him saying “America’s greatest enemy is America,” and the announcer declared him “wrong for Alabama.”

Health Care, Parker Griffith, RNC
Eric Kleefeld

Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.

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