[UPDATED] Rome News-Tribune: Karen Handel a Conspiracy Theorist
I knew about this issue from twitter, but admittedly I’m a bit late on getting all the details. But trust the boys from Peach Pundit to avoid this one like the plague – it makes their girl look like… well, a paranoid conspiracy theorist.
Here’s what has happened:
Apparently, John Oxendine told the Rome Chamber of Commerce that he “fully supports” a highway most people here in South Ga have never heard of and probably never would hear of, but is a major agenda item of this group. It is the proposed “411 Connector” that basically extends US 411 from US 41 to connect to I-75 at Ga-20. (Roughly 5-10 miles or so across northern Cartersville.) Ox said “I am going to build that road if I am elected governor”. (Which brings up an interesting side question: How is Ox going to have time to personally build a road if he is trying to manage a State and go on fancy hunting and awards show trips every year?)
About a week later -and timed to coincide with a major ad campaign against this road from a maxed-out contributor to her campaign – Karen Handel questioned this road’s value and route, in language very similar to the ad from the major contributor.
Much has been said about the conflict between Lynn Westmoreland and John Oxendine, but this issue is showing some fracture lines between US Rep Phil Gingrey and Karen, with Gingrey telling the Rome News-Tribune this:
I’m just so surprised that a candidate for governor would weigh in so strongly for something with such a sparsity of knowledge of the history of the project and its importance to the people of Bartow and Floyd County. I can’t imagine where this is coming from. This has nothing to do with the Northern Arc. … They vetted this to a fare-thee-well. (Handel) is way off-base on this, and I’m disappointed because it’s hurtful to my congressional district.
Even new DOT Commissioner and former House Transportation Chairman Vance Smith has expressed support for this proposal, potentially signaling a rift between Handel and the House GOP caucus.
Then Nathan Deal weighed in, issuing a formal statement saying “I have said many times that I will be the first governor to drive on a completed U.S. 411 from I-75 to Rome. The people of Northwest Georgia have waited too long for this connection that will have economic development benefits for the region.”
Now, unlike Karen, I’ve actually lived most of my life within a mile or two of the proposed route of this highway. I’ve lived most of my life (and my parents and younger brothers still live) just off the main highway used by the people of Rome and Floyd County to get from I-75 (their primary route to their jobs in the metro Atlanta area) back to Rome. I have personally witnessed the traffic along Joe Frank Harris Parkway (US 41 through Cartersville) day in and day out, up until the time I moved down here to South Ga nearly 4 years ago. I have worked and played along many of the roads it crosses, and the other three men in my immediate family graduated from a high school that is barely a half mile away from this proposed route.
This highway will have SIGNIFICANT traffic reduction benefit to the entire area, and it will further enhance the economic development of at least two counties – Bartow and Floyd.
But Karen Handel doesn’t see that. She sees $12,200 in her bank account from early supporters that are against this much needed highway.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I can tell you without hesitation that this particular stretch of road will mean little to South Ga. An Outer Perimeter around Atlanta may or may not help South Ga move through the congestion that is Atlanta faster – after all, it would be much longer, and the added length over a straight shot may add far more travel time than sitting in Atlanta traffic along the straight shot.
With that said, this project is absolutely vital to Bartow County and Floyd County, and I can also tell you that without hesitation.
We’ve had enough politicians looking to their pocketbooks rather than the needs of Georgians, and we’ve already got at least two Governor candidates that believe insane conspiracy theories.
Do we really need to add another to each of those lists?
I’ll let the Rome News-Tribune have the last word here though, as they really said it best in this editorial:
As for Karen Handel, the former secretary of state running for governor as the clear favorite of Gov. Sonny Perdue and almost nobody else, when she jumped in to support the “connector is evil” forces it was like the wicked witch warning Dorothy must be surrendered in order for Oz/Rome to survive. Remember, when in charge of elections she’s the one who saw a vote-stealing conspiracy everywhere. Heck, the fact that Democrats were still pulling some votes proved that!
Now we’ve got laws that assume all Georgians are illegal immigrants bent on putting Pancho Villa into power until they can prove otherwise. Her paranoia appears to be a core trait.
…
FOR SOME “connect-the-dots” doodlers to now come up with the U.S. 411 Connector as the key link in a plot to build a superhighway with money that doesn’t even exist may, for a while, keep them from seeing UFOs.
That’s not to say a good conspiracy isn’t needed, as this clearly shows. It’s time for citizens and voters to start plotting to return sanity and common sense to state leadership and politics.
Anybody care to join us?
[UPDATE] Karen has now posted a response on her website, where she blames GDOT for her mess instead of accepting the fact that she has no clue what she is speaking of on this project. She also fails to acknowledge that she has two donors who have maxed out there contributions to her who are active opponents of this project – including paying for a MASSIVE newspaper ad buy against it that coincidentally was in newspapers the same day as her comments opposing the project.
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March 9th, 2010 at 8:14 am
Calling this a conspiracy theory is quite a stretch.
And it’s supremely ironic that someone how once advocated road maintenance responsibility shifting as you cross county/city lines is now advocating a highway that would be the biggest use of eminent domain in decades.
March 9th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Handel is the one that connected the Connector to the Northern Arc (they have ALWAYS been separate projects, and even during the couple of years they were packaged together, they were still distinct projects in the package). That is QUITE a leap, and shows she doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about.
I’ve always said that eminent domain should be used RARELY, and in this project I think this will be the case – Handel’s contributors are the only property owners along this route that seem to have a problem with it.
March 9th, 2010 at 8:29 am
That’s quite a change in position Jeff. Please explain how this use of eminent domain is appropriate.
The fact is once you decide a particular candidate is WRONG, you become blind to any other possibility.
March 9th, 2010 at 8:47 am
My position all along as been that Feds should maintain Fed routes, States should maintain State routes, and Counties/Cities should maintain County/City roads. Basic concept there is “You built it, you maintain it.”
With the proposed route in question, VERY few homes will be impacted – mostly farm/forest land. You’ll note that I’m also in favor of the Leesburg Overpass, which has similar characteristics (though a much shorter route).
I maintain that eminent domain should be RARE – but nor should a few landowners be able to scuttle a genuinely much needed project such as the 411 Connector.
Peviously, You’ve asked me a similar question to the one I’m about to ask you, grift:
Have YOU ever lived along US 41 in Cartersville? Have you ever lived within 20 miles of ANY of the area directly affected by the construction of this road?
March 9th, 2010 at 8:54 am
So we get to pick and choose which property owners suffer? Based on how their land is used? Interesting.
No, Jeff. I don’t live along any of those routes. And I know you like to extrapolate anecdotal issues into larger truths i.e. my family has a hard time getting around Rome therefore this must be a good idea.
So, let me give you some more anecdotal evidence about the effects of road building.
The interchange at I-75/I-675 was first expanded to the six lanes and now four lanes with talk of expanding further.
My question.
Better or worse?
March 9th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Griftdrift:
Actually, my family very rarely goes out to Rome. But there are quite a few Romans who work in the Metro ATL area – and probably a few more who would work in ATL if the traffic situation was fixed, even along PART of their route to/from potential work.
My point is that I have a MUCH harder time justifying taking someone’s home (even if paying above-market price for it) than taking a corner of their land. If this was for some commercial development such as a strip mall or some such, I would be adamantly against it. But this is taking farm and forest land to create a much more efficient pathway between THE largest city in the State and one of the Regional Cities. It serves not only the population of the Regional City (and its County), but also many of the thousands of people that live in central and northern Bartow County as well.
I’ve examined this proposal for a while (mostly because of where I lived at the time), and 411 Connector from the 41/411 split to Ga 20 is truly, genuinely, without a doubt needed.
March 9th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Well, looks another opposition group is in the mix. There are better, quicker routes – plain and simple.
http://www.coalitionfortherightroad.org
March 9th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Richard:
Where were these groups more than a decade ago when this route was chosen?
They have had PLENTY of time to make their pitch, yet the fact remains that when it comes to congestion relief, the chosen route is the best one. Period.