By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On Tuesday, September 23, the Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, Bill Armistead, accused the Democratic candidate for Governor, Parker Griffith, whom he called a “serial party switcher” of running a campaign based on, “Gimmicks, slander, and lies.”
Chairman Armistead said in a statement, “’Party-switcher’ Parker Griffith is running a gubernatorial campaign based on gimmicks, slander and lies. The opportunist Democrat does not have a positive track record to run on and is choosing to spew false accusations instead of proposing real-life solutions.”
The ALGOP Chair said, “Griffith can’t even decide which party he belongs to. He was elected to the State Senate and Congress as a Democrat then woke up one day and decided he was a Republican. However, Republicans in the Fifth District rejected him when he attempted to run for re-election as a Republican. He then decided he must be an Independent. But when the Democratic Party couldn’t find anyone to run against popular Governor Bentley, Griffith volunteered.”
Armistead said that Griffith is trying to get the public’s attention with gimmicks including traveling across the State with a gigantic blowup chicken asking if Bentley is just too chicken to take him on head to head in a debate.
Bill Armistead also accused of Griffith of verbally assaulting and physically threatening a Birmingham area radio personality. Chairman Armistead wrote, “This political hot-head is certainly not the kind of person we need leading our state. You can’t blame Governor Bentley for not wanting to debate a man as seemingly unstable as Griffith.”
Chairman Armistead said that, “Bentley certainly has a record of accomplishments that any governor would be proud of. During his first term, Bentley’s leadership led to the creation of 40,000 jobs, with 60,000 future jobs in the works. With the help of the Legislature, Governor Bentley also identified over $1 billion in savings for taxpayers in just three years. Governor Bentley’s College and Career Ready Task Force has brought together leaders in the fields of business, industry and education to develop ideas to help prepare students for a career and ensure Alabama has a highly-skilled workforce to attract new business.”
Chairman Armistead said that Griffith’s platform of expanding gambling in Alabama would hurt the poorest among us more than any group of Alabamians. Armistead said, “Alabama has flirted with a lottery before. Democrat Ron Sparks proposed a lottery four years ago in his unsuccessful campaign against Governor Bentley. In 1999, voters rejected a lottery proposal from Democrat Governor Don Siegelman. Alabamians have already spoken on this issue.”
The ALGOP Chairman said that Democratic candidate Parker Griffith would be nothing but an embarrassment to our State and that, “Governor Bentley is running for re-election by being governor and rising above the tacky antics of opponent Parker Griffith. Governor Bentley is a governor our state can be proud of, and we look forward to another four years.”
Bill Armistead is a former Alabama State Senator who ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor against Lucy Baxley (D). The popular social conservative was elected Chairman of the Alabama GOP after state Representative Mike Hubbard left the position to become the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives following the Republican landslide election of 2010, that also elected Governor Robert Bentley and ended Parker Griffiths tenure in the United States Congress. Chairman Armistead narrowly beat State Representative Jay Love for the position in January 2011 and defeated former Shelby County GOP Chairman Matt Fridy for a second term in 2013.
