It has come to my attention in recent weeks just how stark the difference is between Rick Allen and Mike Keown.
The primary difference, to me, is that Keown is clearly the GOP establishment’s candidate. Keown, after all, is the one that took the trip to DC with Don Cole to have the NRCC decide which of the two of them should be the GOP nominee – even AFTER Lee Ferrell had already announced his candidacy, and while Cole was still the 2nd District GOP Chairman, which is a clear violation of GOP rules banning GOP officials from taking sides in a primary battle. Indeed, the “Cole Question” at the Lee County GOP Breakfast in April was specifically designed to embarrass every other candidate besides Keown, and several inside the GOP have privately decried the action – even many who support Keown.
Keown is also vocally supported by Brad Hughes, who became the new 2nd District GOP Chairman when Cole resigned amidst the controversy of being publicly condemned by Ferrell for his violation of GOP rules. In other words, Hughes is ALSO taking sides in a primary battle.
But both Cole and Hughes pale in comparison to (until recently) Grady County GOP Chairman Jason Sellars.
You see, Sellars is particularly despicable in that he is waging a vicious rumor war in public, via the official Facebook Page of the Grady County GOP.
Sellars is trying to use Allen’s business address to somehow suggest Allen doesn’t live inside the 2nd District, and in the process Sellars opens Allen up to potential theft or worse by publicly discussing the location of Allen’s business.
You see, Allen has never hidden the fact that he is President of a medical supply company. I don’t know his full product line, but apparently it includes various prescription drugs which he sells to properly licensed organizations. Sellars is somehow trying to morph his discussion of Rick’s business addresses of into suggesting that Rick Allen is unethical, even though as a pharmaceutical retailer, Allen is under some of the tightest regulation in this nation! And again, he is doing this not on his personal page, which would be bad enough, but on the official page of the Grady County GOP.
I completely understand that Sellars supports Keown. Part of Keown’s State House district is in Grady County, and it is entirely possible that Sellars has been a constituent of Keown’s at that level.
But apparently the GOP establishment has already chosen sides in this battle, with one known exception: the Chairman of the Lee County GOP, who has shown repeatedly that he is committed to working with ALL primary contestants and supporting whoever the primary voters choose.
One last note: Apparently Cole in particular has stated that Keown knows he needs the support of the Libertarians. The problem for him is that outside of a couple of meetings with me in 2009, Keown has made little to no effort to reach out to Libertarians. To my knowledge, he has not asked to speak to the LP-Southwest Georgia (Allen has), nor is Keown currently planning to attend the SWGAPolitics.com Candidate Forum this Saturday (Allen is) – and we are some of the most well-known Libertarians in Southwest Ga.
I am Brad Hughes and I am writing to clear up your misrepresentation of me.
As you stated, I was elected Chairman of the 2nd district Republican Party after Don Cole resigned. It is also true that I supported (and worked for) my longtime friend Mike Keown prior to running for District Chairman. When Don resigned and I decided to run, I resigned from Mike’s campaign. Your implication that “Keown is also vocally supported by Brad Hughes” is completely false and continues to propagate the unnecessary drama surrounding this race.
Since resigning and being elected chairman, I have reached out to a number of candidates within our party in a number of races. I have not vocally supported Mike since being elected. In fact, I have communicated with Lee Ferrell’s campaign manager, reached out to Lee personally and have talked with Rick Allen at length to offer my help in any way I can.
I am working to help all of the candidates in all of the races in the 2nd District, while trying to get people on the ground in all 32 counties in this massive district.
Respectfully, I ask that you remove my name from your posts if you are not going to accurately represent who I am and what I am doing for the Republican Party.
I don’t know you but I do know this. If we work together, we stand a much greater chance of getting people elected who share our ideals. Misrepresenting people for sensational blogging does not help your cause, my cause or the cause of conservatives Republicans. Please feel free to contact me if you have an questions.
Jeff, I think you hit the nail right on the head here. Brad Hughes is only continuing the role of Don Cole in this situation.
Brad: I find it interesting that you don’t know who Jeff is because leader in the Libertarian Party and has been blogging on this website for over a year! If you were truly in touch with SWGA, you would have known about the existence of this blog, if not read it on a regular basis.
And Brad, in regards to the drama: I guess it really isn’t just me causing it, as you have previously accused. I do believe that it is you as our district Chairman that is causing the drama.
You have to know about all the blogs to be in touch? With the exception of the McBerry post there have been about 25 comments on this blog in the last 10 days or so. Apparently many alot of folks aren’t paying attention.
I have a question for you Jeff. Let say someone gives you some information on Ray McBerry that states he lives in Alabama. They show you on documents filed by Ray to the Secretary of State that Ray used an Alabama address for these filings. They also show you that Ray’s campaign committee used an Alabama address for their campaign filings. They also show you that the employees of Ray’s campaign have Alabama addresses according to campaign filings. Then you decide to search Ray McBerry on the internet and the only addresses associated with Ray come back to these same Alabama addresses filed by Ray in the campaign filings. You dig a little deeper and search property records for Ray McBerry and the only properties that come back to Ray are these same Alabama addresses filed by Ray in the campaign filings. In fact the only thing you can find that ties Ray to Georgia is that he is registered to vote in Macon. Would you not be asking some serious questions about where Ray lives and whether or not he should be running for Governor of the State of Georgia?
You see it isn’t about a business address. Everything you find on Rick Allen is tied to the 3rd district. Even his campaign filings with the FEC. The only thing that puts him in the 2nd district is the fact that he is registered to vote there.
And everything written in this article is completely false. You know the truth.
Wilson: This is the biggest blog in SWGA. If you’re going to Chair the GOP in SWGA then you should know where the news is coming from. This is it. Jeff has covered huge issues over the past year that have brought him thousands and thousands of views.
I don’t have any stats on “views” all I can see is the comments and there are few. The exceptions are when the McBerry supporters get offended and there seems to only be one or two of them but they comment endlessly and when a hot button local issue is posted. I don’t know Hughes but if he’s really busy in mainstream politics I can understand that he might not be fully aware of the burgeoning Libertarian movement.
I recently caught wind of this blog and its bad characterization of me launching a “rumor war”. To bring clarity to the issue, all I did was simply ask a question, a question that has up to this point not been answered. My goal, intent, and reasoning for bringing light to this issue is to bring clarity and transparency to our party’s candidates. If Rick Allen can not simply answer a simple question, then how can he beat Bishop, who strongly needs to to be replaced. My intent is not to cause a splintering effect, to ruffle unneccesary feathers, or to indicate a personal attack. I simply care about our district and about who represents us. There is more to ride on this election than any other in our history and people need to understand this. To win this seat will send a shockwave that needs to be sent while echoing the people’s voice of concern about the future posterity and care of the gift our forefather’s gave us with this nation. Our nation’s core is being systematically unraveled and we need candidates that can stand up to this unraveling and make wise decisions. The need for distinctively integrity oriented candidates to be elected is stronger now than ever. We are fighting for the soul of our nation and we need the best candidates in the fight to represent us. As most of us will agree, I am tired of elected officials that cannot be trusted or that decieve the public, whether intentional or not. The fact that Rick Allen has not confronted the issue head on and answer a straightforward question has only exacerbated an issue that at this point has snowballed its way onto this website. My intent was to get an answer for the public to know in order to arrive at their own conclusions. While I do support Mike Keown openly, the public have their own choices, which I respect. However, I will bring to light flaws in arguments when I see them in ALL candidates.
The fact of the matter, is this. Regardless of the candidate, we all need to rally behind him together, we all need each other to boot Bishop. I openly apologize to anyone and all if my postings have upset anyone or caused any hard feelings. I simply asked questions to help people to evaluate thier choices while seeking to get to the core of the issue that subsequently exploded into a “rumor war” as this page calls it. It is often said that there are two sides to every story and that often times rumors somewhere have a base in truth. I am simply trying to get to that truth, not cause the rumors, just open discussion. I welcome anyone to visit Cairo Grady on facebook to read any of my notes or comments at http://www.facebook.com/gradygop.
Thank you for your time and willingness to evaulate the information fairly..
We can change the world, we must, by the actions (and votes) we perform today but we first must first ensure those actions are just and veracious in order to propel our society, and those to come, into a better, more sound, future by laying a more sound foundation and uprooting the wrongful and damaging weeds others have caused to grow. Even the simplest among us can uproot a weed and allow the garden of our society to grow into a more honorable and noble future, so long as we adamamantly and aggressively wage war against apathatic ways of living our lives. We must all live with a purpose, for we all will leave an impact in one manner or another, be it noble or destructive in nature. That choice is ours. No one else can make it for us, and no one else should bear the responsibility of our legacy other than that of we, ourselves. -Anthony J. Sellars
Wilson- thanks for trying to defend me on this. If Kyle would reread my comment he will see that I never said I did not know about this blog. I said I did not know Jeff Sexton…personally speaking…I do know and have followed this blog for some time. Attention to detail is not Kyle’s strong suit. He more enjoys taking what he perceives and capitalizing on it.
[...] D.C. politics to you? And to make things worse for him, he is now being labeled as the “Establishment Candidate” and his supporters have been causing quite a bit of trouble by spreading a rumor about Rick [...]
“I don’t know you but I do know this.”
That is very easily misinterpreted, Mr. Chairman. Jeff Sexton thought you made the same implication, if you must know.
Those are strong words… I’ll make sure NOT to invite you to any district-wide Teen Republican events since you have a knack for picking on the little guy. We want to encourage young people to get involved with politics, not beat them down into pulp and hope what’s left of them makes it into the College Republicans. It seems like the Libertarian Party is doing more to help the teens these days than the leadership of the GOP is, which is sad since we are the greatest party in the nation. It’s people like you, Mr. Chairman, that drive the youth away.
Typical Kyle, you attack someone personally with some very hateful and disrespectful words then cry foul when they comment on it. Everyone gets tired of you playing the “you are picking on the little guy” card. Over the last few months I have seen you personally attack several grown adults with vicious hate filled messages. You really need to learn some respect. Many people have been watching and have noticed the way you have been acting. I really believe that your actions have hurt the campaigns of the candidates you support. What happens when they lose? Who is going to want to work with you then? I also believe that your actions have hurt your future within the GOP. Maybe you should go to the Libertarian Party if you think they are more effective.
Cairo:
I’ll tell you up front I will NOT support a shepherd who so easily leaves his flock for his own glory. To me, Keown is little, if any, better than Bishop – just different sides of the same coin. At least Allen – and even Ferrell, crazy as he is – has made concerted efforts to reach out to Libertarians and address our concerns. Keown is more interested in making Government God, which serves NO ONE and actually HURTS the work of God.
If Keown is the GOP nominee in November, I’ll be voting Mickey Mouse. If Allen is the GOP nominee, I may very well support him. It is as simple as that.
“I’ll tell you up front I will NOT support a shepherd who so easily leaves his flock for his own glory.” Why you would even say something like this is really mind-boggling. Nothing Mike Keown has done is for his own glory. Seeing you make crazy off the wall statements that have no basis in truth or fact gives me a good idea where Kyle Constable gets his attitude from. The majority of the people throughout this district obviously disagree with the you. If they thought Mike Keown was doing this for his own glory then why does he have such a wide base of support throughought the district? I am pretty sure Keown doesn’t want to make Government God and I don’t know of anything that he has said and done that would make you say that. I guess you just like to throw sensationalized statements out just to see how people react.
One of the pitfalls of technology is that words from a 16 yr old can make their way onto the blo-o-sphere in an attempt to derail and inflitrate the business of adults. Many times these issues involve items of major importance and words from a teenager can incorrectly garnish greater amounts of attention than what is deserved due to adults not knowing the source of the information and the posting of information of sites much larger than the individual in an attempt to be portrayed larger than one actually is.
Such is the case conerning the “Red State” article above mentioning “D.C.” at the beginning of the post. The fact of the matter is that the article is posted on “Red State” by the same person who posted directly below it, none other than the 16 yr old Kyle Constable. I am sorry, but I take serious issue with allowing the words from a 16 yr old to influence my thoughts concerning Mike Keown. Mike Keown is the best candidate to beat Bishop and anyone else attempting to do so will do it at the peril of the party. Ferrell is a marginalized candidate. Rick Allen’s major voice of support seems to be coming from someone who cannot even vote yet and I have a suspicion that there are personal interests involved concerning the recent healthcare bill and his own business within the medical healthcare industry. On Mike Keown’s side, however, there is a broad base of support district wide. There is no comparison. Never-the-less, there will be those who disagree, but we cannot allow that disagreement to cause greater dissension than what the party will already incorporate into its political competition to decide who will take on Sanford Bishop. We are allowed to disagree, but once the candidate emerges to take on Bishop, we must all be able to do rally behind that candidate. Bishop must be beat, so my invitation to the Rick Allen camp is this, let’s agree to disagree, support who we support, and chose to support the candidate who goes against Bishop. The real enemy is not one another, but Sanford Bishop. Right now it is just a skirmish to see who has the most support and the best chance to beat Bishop. I am curious as to what “Proof” has been provided to discredit all the issues with the multiple addresses.
Jeff:
If one were to reach to the libertarians, what would that consist of?
What specific platform issues would you want that candidate to support?
What specific platform issues would you take major issue with?
Answer these questions, and lets see what common ground we may be able to find that we share.
I do believe that this qualifies as reaching out in a respectable manner. What is your response? I look forward to hearing it.
So basically you’re saying kids should be seen and not heard?
Kyle is a young adult. He makes mistakes occasionally – we all do. But whereas at least some in the GOP – I’m looking at you, J. Sellars, among others – try to discourage and disparage his involvement in politics, I see it as an area he is genuinely interested in and could potentially learn a few things in, so yes, I try to nurture that.
If we expect voters to be active and informed at 18, we cannot tell them to sit down and shut up at 16.
J. Sellars:
I know that while I was Chair, Mike Keown never once asked to speak to LP-SWGA. Rick Allen has. (Granted, Keown could have talked to the current Chair, and I would know nothing about this. The current Chair happens to be Tom though, and I’m sure he would.
)
Area Libertarians have hosted a couple of events since Keown has been in the race. Sometimes candidates have shown up, sometimes they haven’t. Mike Keown never has.
Mike Keown voted to ALLOW Georgia Power to charge its customers for profit on a facility that hasn’t even been built yet. Mike Keown voted to ALLOW the State to create an electronic database to monitor every single prescription you buy. Mike Keown has voted to increase the Nanny State numerous times. These are not Libertarian-friendly votes. These are giving-Libertarians-the-finger votes.
Jeff:
I don’t think anyone is trying to discourage Kyle’s involvement in politics. I don’t think anyone would discourage young adults getting involved in politics. I agree that more young adults should get involved as you said so they are more capable of making the right decisions when it is their time to vote. However, there is a big difference between being involved and being disrespectful. Some of the things that have been said are just flat out disrespectful and have no basis in truth. I am not just talking about comments directed towards Mike Keown. I have seen comments like, “Rudy Adams is a facist, socialist, communist”, “Lee Ferrell is an idiot”, “Kathy Cox needs to shut up”, “Keown sucks”, “Carville is stupid”, etc… Young people do need to be involved in politics but they don’t need to be disrespectful to adults whether they support them or not. Support your candidates and focus on their strengths.
As for the article on Red State. Kyle did a great job of focusing on Rick Allen’s strengths in the first half but had to start putting the other candidates down in the second half of it. Many of the things written in the second half were completely false and Kyle knows it. There has been no back and forth mudslinging between Keown and any other candidate as was stated. Keown has said nothing negative about anyone. No one in the Keown campaign has said anything negative about anyone. Keown hasn’t called press conferences to bash other candidates. Keown hasn’t written letters to editors bashing other candidates. When Keown speaks he only focuses on his strengths and what he feels like he can bring to the district as their representative. Rick Allen hasn’t risen above the mudslinging as was stated simply because someone within his campaign is doing the mudslinging for him. The article written by Kyle, who works for the Allen campaign was a clear attack on both Ferrell and Keown. Kyle has also attacked Keown and Ferrell on Facebook and other websites. Kyle even attacked Keown’s endorsement by GRTL last night on the Keown for Congress facebook page calling it just another “kiss of death” for his campaign even though all the candidates that Kyle supports in other races are also endorsed by GRTL. It is stated in the article that Keown has a liberal voting record in the state house even though just a few weeks ago Kyle stated in a comment on this website that Keown “has had a clean record and he has voted for what his constituents have wanted 100% of the time”. Keown is called the “establishment” candidate in the article even though Kyle stated in the same comment on this website that Keown “is disliked by the Republican “establishment.” The Republican leadership in Atlanta doesn’t like Mike because he doesn’t, “tow the party line.” Mike actually votes for what his constituents want, not what the Speaker of the House tells him to vote for”. It is true that Kyle once supported Keown but now supports Allen. There is nothing wrong with that. If he thinks Allen is the best candidate that is his right but you shouldn’t try to bash a candidate that you once supported. You shouldn’t make statements about that candidate that are not based in fact or truth when everyone can tell from your prior comments that the statements are false. Below is a link the Keown’s voting record. I want you to point out what in this voting record makes him a liberal? Show me a pattern in the record that makes him part of the “establishment”. You can plainly see that Keown voted for an expansion in the homestead exemption grant, voted for caps of property assessments, etc… You can also see how many times Keown voted against a bill that was passed by the Republican majority. The bill that Lee Ferrell claims Keown voted for to raise fees was a Study of state fees and tax codes. He didn’t vote for a raise in anything.
http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=31915
I am sure that you won’t agree with all his votes Jeff but that is the difference between libertarian and republican. I don’t think you can say from the votes that he has been liberal or been part of the establishment. I think that you can clearly conclude that he has voted for what he thought was in the best interest of his district. What I am trying to say is that Kyle knew all this. He knows that Mike is a true conservative so don’t just repeat what other people say and put him down for the benefit of the candidate you support. Just focus on YOUR candidate and what he can do.
As for Keown’s efforts to reach out to the Libertarians…you were one of the first people he talked to when he started campaigning. He would be willing to talk and meet to anyone. He has been campainging daily across the district with people from many different backgrounds. I am sure that when he sees things written about him like “I’ll tell you up front I will NOT support a shepherd who so easily leaves his flock for his own glory”, he may feel like he isn’t really welcome to come speak to your group.
I am sure that when he sees things written about him like “I’ll tell you up front I will NOT support a shepherd who so easily leaves his flock for his own glory”, he may feel like he isn’t really welcome to come speak to your group.
Jeff doesn’t have a “group”. He’s a member of the Libertarian Party of Southwest Georgia, of which I am the chairman. Like Jeff who previously served as chair, I haven’t been contacted by anyone at Keown’s campaign regarding speaking to our group. I have contacted the Keown campaign regarding another instance though, so they have had my contact information at some point, though they may not have realized I was also the chairman for the local LP affiliate.
Jeff has the right of free speech, just as anyone else does. He and I don’t agree on everything, and this is actually one instance when I don’t…I have no problem with a pastor moving on to a political career. Who am I to question what God calls another to do? I personally have a problem with anyone trying to front Jeff Sexton up as the speaker for the entire Libertarian Party, or even the LP SWGA. He is an individual and has the right to say what he chooses.
If Mr. Keown would like to speak to the LP-SWGA, he has only to ask. However, as Libertarians, we’re not exactly going to go out of our way for any Republican. We didn’t for Rick Allen, we haven’t for Lee Ferrell. However, the offer stands for Mr. Ferrell as well.
al:
I’ve said critical things about at least a couple of the candidates that were at the Forum last night – John Barge in particular. But John Barge still had the cajones to show up. Anyone at any event I’ve EVER been to politically can tell you that at the event, I tend to be EXTREMELY fair and go out of my way to NOT cause waves. Indeed, that is the very reason I was NOT at the Lee County GOP meeting yesterday. Due to the primary speaker being who it was, my very presence would have caused unnecessary disturbance, so out of respect for the people involved with that particular event, I literally drove right by it and went to another event instead.
The fact of the matter is that the GOP was fired for cause from the National level, and the Georgia GOP – including Mike Keown – has been NO better, NO more conservative, NO more freedom-loving. They too should be fired for cause, INCLUDING Mike Keown, who voted to RAISE my taxes and INVADE my personal privacy.
If you truly support small(er) government, lower taxes, and more freedom – FreedomWorks’ slogan – you can NOT in good conscience vote for Mike Keown, point blank.
Keown wasn’t able to show up for your Forum last night because he already had another even planned in the district. He had it planned long before the Forum was planned. He would have been there if he could have made it.
Can you please point out to me which vote Keown placed that RAISED your taxes. As for the GOP, you are correct they have had their problems but you can tell from Keown’s record in Atlanta that he did not “tow the party line”. He went against the party many times to vote for what he thought was in the best interest of his district. Whether you are republican, democrat, or libertarian that is commendable because when you do that you pay a price. The problem isn’t Mike Keown. The problem is we need more Mike Keowns. We need more representatives that will stand up with integrity for what they believe if right. Unlike most representatives who simply vote straight down party lines to keep their chairmanships and nice offices, I am sure that Keown could give you an reason why he voted yea or nay for every vote that he has participated in.
I truly support smaller government, lower taxes, and more freedom and I CAN in good conscience vote for Mike Keown, point blank.
Tom, Jeff, and Al:
It is good that we can have open discussion and intelligent conversation about where we stand. I have no problem with each of us having our own views. Al and I, from what I have seen, are in agreement concerning Mike Keown. I know that Tom & Jeff have their own Libertarian views and I agree with Al’s statements that this is the difference between parties. We can have differences, I do not mind that, and actually think that it is helpful because it forces one to prove the validity of his stance in the face of adversity. As Al pointed out, though, Kyle’s remarks have been unvalidated, counter-productive to his own candidate, and more divisive than anything. I know that I have brought issues to the surface, but they have been in the search for answers due to questions that I saw that arrived from my own observations. I support Keown from the outside becuase I believe he is the best chance at beating Bishop, Point Blank.
The comments that have come from Kyle have been insultive, disrespectful and unpatriotic. I have reached out to Kyle numerous times. I can pull up my comments from facebook where I have attempted to guide him and stated that I was willing to help him with tact. These were answered with comments on postings that called our combat veterans murderers, with statements where he stated he felt sorry for the terrorists, attacked his own party and bashed it numerous times, and other items that I could go into. Never once have I heard an apology from him to anyone. Have you from me? Yes, becuase I understand that there is a certain level of respect that one needs to have for those that disagree with you, because most likely there is somewhere that we can agree. I support smaller government, lower taxes, and more freedom. Even if you don’t agree with Mike Keown, a vote for Rick Allen is a vote to keep Sanford Bishop in power. I believe that we both agree that Sanford Bishop has to go. He is the one that has followed Pelosi 98% of the time. Rick Allen can’t beat him. He doesn’t have the support. Mike Keown will beat Allen in the primaries. When that occurs, you will have a choice between Mike Keown and Sanford Bishop. Since you have stated your feelings about liking Rick Allen, with him out of the picture, isn’t Keown, in your eyes, the lesser of two evils since you don’t agree with all his votes but that you see the greater in Bishop. I cannot imagine that you think Bishop’s voting record is better than Keown’s. Rick Allen is simply not going to be able to beat Keown, he just won’t get the votes,nor will he beat Bishop. It is not that I am totally against Rick Allen, I just think that Keown is the better candidate and holds the greater chance to beat Bishop. The support is simply not there for Rick Allen. Mike Keown does have that support. I have traveled recently from Cairo to Bainbridge to Arlington, and to Cusseta/Columbus, as well as other areas of SWGA . . .and what I see is Mike Keown signs everywhere. I have seen one Rick Allen sign and it wasn’t even in a yard to where the support was personalized, it was anonymous. People all around like Mike Keown and want him to “Boot Bishop”.
Tom & Jeff, when the race gets further along, after you have the chance to fully evaluate, consider, and lend your support for your candidate of choice, I hope that it will include Mike Keown and that common ground can be achieved in at least enough areas that he can both listen to his Republican base at the same time we can decipher that supporting Mike Keown will ultimately ensure greater protections for the liberties and freedoms you, as part of the Libertarian Party, hold dear than what Sanford Bishop has to offer. Allen simply will not be able to beat Bishop. Even if he is closer aligned to the principles that you, as Libertarians, hold dear, that greater alignment means nothing if he can’t beat Bishop. Your support at that point will be in vein and more of your liberties and freedoms will be at risk from a government that is out of control. I do not wish to enter into a mudslinging match with you and it was not my intent to appear this way, just to get questions answered. . . You have important points that are dear to your party that you support and you want those points heard and supported. Who has a problem with that? I don’t. I may not agree with all of them, some I am sure I would, but at the same time, my scope sees the expanse, not the narrow and in the larger scheme of things, a vote for Rick Allen is a vote for Bishop. I honestly do not believe that this is you intention, but this will be the result, unless common ground can be achieved, that offers protection for some freedoms instead of none.
Again, I reach out to you because you do have a place in the larger scope of beating Bishop. We are a nation in crisis right now. The chinese word for crisis is a combination of danger & opportunity. In essence, it means that in every crisis there is both danger and opportunity. Your danger is lending your support to the wrong candidate who cannot beat Bishop. However, there is an opportunity to protect more freedoms and keep taxes lower than the Democrats will by supporting Mike Keown, who can and will boot Bishop.
I have offered no official support for any candidate, so don’t read anything into anything. While Rick Allen does have an ad on my personal site, I’m open to selling ads to any candidate, even Sanford Bishop. I’m a capitalist after all.
Whether I support Keown or not remains to be seen. My only comments were regarding a lack of any contact to speak to the Libertarian Party of Southwest Georgia, and to clarify that Jeff doesn’t speak for the LP-SWGA. That’s my job now. As we have allowed Rick Allen to speak, I would certainly give honest and fair consideration to Mike Keown provided only that he’s willing to speak on a day we have a meeting that isn’t already scheduled. The same goes for Lee Ferrell.
Read nothing else into any of my comments.
J Sellars:
Again, I personally believe Keown to be the opposite side of the same coin that Sanford Bishop is. BOTH want government to control me, just in THEIR way rather than the other guy’s way.
I will vote Mickey Mouse before I vote Mike Keown – or Sanford Bishop.
Jeff,
State Representative Mike Keown admitted to voting to repeal the Homestead Exemption Grant which cost the average homeowner $300 last year and again, this year, and so on for the foreseeable future. This vote cost me $315 last year.
To make matters worse, he also voted to raise all those fees this year. And, after the bill passed to raise $270 million in fees, he quietly went up to the Clerk of the House and changed his vote to a “No”. We don’t need that kind of politician in Congress – that is what the Tea Party and Taxpayers Association and Freedom Works are all about.
For the alternatives to Bishop and Keown, check out these websites:
http://rickallenforcongress.blogspot.com/p/home.html
http://www.leerferrell.com/
For justice and freedom,
http://projects.propublica.org/recovery/locale/georgia/crisp
This link shows RTT Associates – Don Cole’s company got $375,000 in Stimulus money. Is this corruption going to spill over into Mike Keown’s campaign because of his close association with Don Cole? Probably not, it just means that, hypocrisy abounds in the Republican Party.
I find all the “facts” that are stated here by Kyle and others to be very interesting. I also find it interesting that I can find little to no information that will back these facts. What I would like to see is that if any of you post a statement here or anywhere else about a candidate (i.e. “John Doe voted to turn the whole state of Georgia into an ice skating park and here is a link to the record of it along with a video I shot while he spoke about his approval of it”) If I read a statement about a candidate, I shouldn’t have to go looking to find out if it is true or not. If you can’t and will not back what you say about a candidate then keep your mouth shut and go do something productive.
Jeff, Mike is not the opposite side of the coin of Sanford Bishop. Mike supports life. Bishop’s record is abusing tax-payer money to destroy it.
The truth rising to the surface, like the nasty oil in the Gulf, is that Bishop is not a pro-life democrat, but a pro-abortion congressman. Sanford is also not about choice, according to where he votes to send tax-payer money.
Sanford Bishop voted yes on making it a crime to harm a fetus (Feb 2004) but Yes on embryonic stem-cell research (March 2005) which destroys embryonic stem-cells (Fertilized Eggs). The bill makes it a crime to harm a fetus and indicates that life begins at conception, the fertilized egg, or the embryo. When it came to funding, though, he devalued life.
Bishop (September 2002) voted to refuse to provide funding for healthcare providers who did not provide information on abortions, thereby forcing a tax-payer funded mandate that “if you want tax-payer money, you must provide abortion information”!!! His no vote was a vote against the “conscience clause”.
Sanford also thinks that it’s okay for our nation and our nation’s tax base to fund “Family Planning”, a.k.a. abortion services, to other countries through U.S. Aid abroad (May 2001). He supports organizations with tax dollars in order to export abortion services overseas. It’s a crime to kill an embryo during a crime, but it’s evidently not a crime in Sanford Bishop’s eyes to export the killing of babies through U.S. aid abroad.
Interestingly, the benefactor, Planned Parenthood, is a derivative of the American Eugenics Society. This society had at its core a racist agenda of infanticide, desiring to kill off what they considered defectives in society, i.e. Indians, African-Americans, deformed and disabled. Sanford, ironically or ignorantly, has voted to financially support an organization that is rooted in the reduction of his own race.
Let’s be clear about it. When you support financially to fund abortions to the point of exporting that support for those services overseas, pull back funding from people who refuse to provide abortion services, the fact of the matter is, no matter which way you cut it, you are NOT PRO-LIFE. You are indeed, a PRO-ABORTION wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Mike Keown, on the hand, is the complete opposite and values life. He would not, knowlingly, support funding of abortion services, especially at the use of our tax-payer dollars.
This issue needs to be explode. Sanford’s type of support and false representation needs to stop!!! We need to BOOT BISHOP!!!
HELP BOOT SANFORD, SUPPORT THE CANDIDATE WITH THE ABILITY TO BEAT BISHOP!!! VOTE MIKE KEOWN!!!
http://www.mikekeown.com/
J Sellars:
Bishop supports stealing my money to fund abortion clinics. Ok. Keown supports stealing my money to fund “crisis pregnancy centers”. Same coin, opposite sides.
Me, I say government should stay ABSOLUTELY out of the question and let the individual decide based on their own conscience. Then it becomes the work of the Church to convince people’s consciences’ that their position is the right one.
Oh wait, Keown is ABANDONING his church for his own political agenda so he can use the power of the State to force his particular religious beliefs down my throat.
We do need to boot Bishop – but we don’t need to replace him with someone as bad or worse.
HELP BOOT BISHOP, SUPPORT THE CANDIDATE WITH THE ABILITY TO BEAT BISHOP!!!! VOTE RICK ALLEN!!!
http://www.rickallenforcongress.com
Lee Ferrell is the closest thing to a Libertarian in this 2nd District race and I hope you will take a 2nd look at him just because he is the only Veteran in the race. Lee pimped his website and it is a nice showcase: http://www.leerferrell.com
I was looking at Lee Ferrell’s “pimped” website and had a question about his stance on one of the issues. Lee states that he supports school vouchers and blasts Mike Keown for spending 6 years in the state legislature for and never supporting private/public vouchers. If you have been following education you would know that vouchers are used to take tax money payed by local taxpayers meant for the local school system and sending that money to private schools or other schools outside of the district.
So Lee Ferrell thinks it is a good idea to take the money I payed in local taxes away from my local school system and give it to private schools? Does Lee Ferrell realize that private schools are in no way accountable to taxpayers or the state? I think most people would agree that this is a bad idea. Is this what the Tea Party is all about?
Ferrell also contradicts himself a couple of times on his education page.
He states that the Federal Government should stay out of the States’ way on education but he says he supports private/public vouchers. Vouchers are a state and local issue. So does he want to federal government to stay out of education or does he want to push vouchers on state and local boards if he is elected?
He also states that he supports local school boards. If he really supported local school boards would he approve of taking money away from them to send to private schools?
Recently, Sanford Bishop’s name has ended up on a bill to loosen the confines and restrict the power and influence of the bi-partisan Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). Even more despicable is the fact that Sanford Bishop is a member of the Corrupt Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), labeled by some to be “the most corrupt and unethical national political body in America”.
Interestingly, Sanford Bishop has been able to keep his scandal relatively low key. However, the information that came out a year ago is now resurfacing due to his support as of May 28th, 2010. It should be no surprise that the CBC is entrenched in ethical issues. What may surprise some is the information about Sanford Bishop’s “Junior Marshall” program.
The “Junior Marshall” program received approximately $200,000 of earmarked funds from Sanford Bishop to the program. What is highly questionable, and unethical, is the facts that the earmarked program employed both his step-daughter and her husband and the funds were paid to his son-in-law. The bigger issue is the bank account that was used. According to reports, it was the bank account of the Vivian Creighton Bishop, Sanford Bishop’s wife!!! But wait!!!, it doesn’t end there.
The daughter of Sanford Bishop, Aayesha Reese, never showed up at the program according to reports although she was paid $7,500 as an administrative assistant and although an audit had indications that she never worked for it since she was also working those same hours somewhere else in an office!!! This “pay” was also deposited in Sanford Bishop’s wife’s account.
So . . . let me get this straight. Sanford Bishop wants to loosen ethics with a past where he has been investigated by the GBI for earmarked money sent to a program that employs two of his family members where the money was deposited into his own wife’s bank account. Hmmm. . .
To add to it, 8 other members of Sanford Bishop’s Congressional Black Caucus have been investigated for ethics violations. I was once told that you are known by the company you keep.
Well, here is the Congressional Black Caucus company that Sanford Bishop keeps:
Corrine Brown: Fined $5000 by the Florida Ethics Commission, fines, investigations, and racist comments.
Corrine is financially connected to Henry Lyons.
Henry Lyons: allegations that Brown received $10,000 from Lyons and a secret laundering fund, charged with racketeering and grand theft (X2). He has been indicted fraud, extortion, money laundering , conspiracy, and tax evasion, embezzled $4 million dollars of the National Baptist’s Convention fund.
Then there is Andre Carson who received funding from CAIR, labeled by FBI agents as supportive of terrists.
Jim Clyburn earmarked taxpayer money to his brother, nephew, and son. His nephew is benefiting again from another earmark for the International African American Museum. Oh, and by the way, the first earmarked money ended with nothing being built.
John Conyers had a former aide who used his office to obtain a fake passport after being convicted of fraud and government theft in 2004.
Mrs. Conyers has plead guilty to accepting bribery payments in order to steer a $47 million contract to a waste removal company.
Danny Davis. . . Blagojevich . . . and had a trip financed by the Tamil Tigers (32 countries call them terrorists).
Keith Ellison has connections to CAIR, has been subpoenaed, investigated, and fined by the Minnesota State Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board and has been sued by the attorney general, and has close association with Farazhan’s Nation of Islam.
Chaka Fattha is under investigation where authorities are examining a multi-million dollar scholarship program, according to reports. Oh, and by the way, he is spearheading the attempt to derail the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE).
Al Green has been accused of sexual assault by Lucinda Daniels, and was accused of not disclosing where he got $300,000 from.
Alcee Hastings was impeached and removed office for corruption and perjury.
I could go on, but I think that the point has been made.
Hmmm . . . let me see how many of these names are on this website for the Congressional Black Caucus of the 111th Congress: http://www.cbcfinc.org/cbc/cbc-members.html.
No wonder they want to loosen oversight. These controversies, to include Sanford Bishop’s, are not representative of voters in SWGA!!!
We need to BOOT BISHOP!!! VOTE MIKE KEOWN!!!
You can donate to Mike Keown’s compaign and help to eliminate this type of despicable government from continued infiltration into South West Georgia’s district. Help Mike Keown Boot Bishop and restore honor to representation. We can not be ignorant of the actions of our elected leaders!!!
It takes money to beat people like Sanford Bishop. Please help by getting on board with the mission to BOOT BISHOP!!!
DONATE HERE: http://www.mikekeown.com/?page_id=7
This is not the type of representation SWGA wants. This is not the time for a reduction in ethical oversight. The voters of Georgia’s 2nd Congressional district need to send Sanford Bishop a loud and clear message. Let’s Boot Bishop. Vote Mike Keown!!!
J Sellars:
If you are typical of a Keown supporter with your conspiracies and blinders, Keown is ALSO not the kind of representation SWGA wants. This is not a time for conspiracy-minded kooks, but a time for real people with real solutions to step up and solve our problems. Again, using your last comment as my base, Keown clearly is NOT that candidate.
Boot Bishop – Vote RICK ALLEN!
J. -
For the record, we strongly discourage long “wall of text” type comments here. If you want to put forth that much information, then you can contact us about potentially publishing an article. We will consider articles from anyone, and while I won’t promise we will necessarily publish it, I will promise that it will be given a fair consideration. (Truth is, we rarely turn down potential posts. They might have a disclaimer, but they’re not turned down).
Jeff:
Can you please enlighten us all to what you are talking about when you refer to conspiracies and blinders? Obviously many people (the majority of the district) disagree with you. They feel like Keown clearly is the candidate. Rick Allen has absolutely no support, no organization, no fire, and no money. My prediction is that he finishes 3rd in the primary. I believe Lee Ferrell has more support than Rick. Boot Bishop – Vote Mike Keown
Thought everyone should know that Rick Allen has missed the FEC filing deadline of June 8 for his campaign financial disclosure. All other candidates in the race have filed and their numbers can be viewed on the FEC website.
Sorry that was supposed to be July 8.
Brad Hughes was paid $500 three times by the Keown campaign so much for Chair neutrality!
check out the new Lee Ferrell ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLiQjEryQP4&feature=player_embedded