The following is a guest post from State Rep Burke Day, who retired at the end of the last Session. It originally appeared as a Facebook note.
I’m a Republican. The GOP’s platform best represents my values and thoughts. In 1994, the so-called “Republican Revolution” occurred, injecting a GOP majority like never before.
But within a few years, Washington republicans began to get cozy, distant and reeked of DC arrogance. Too quickly, they assumed their incredible victory as a mandate for the Republican party to govern forever more so than actually governing. Not too much longer, Americans booted them out as quickly as they voted them in.
I believe America spanked them good due to a major mistake: The national GOP had lost its sense of mission, one they campaigned and trumpeted to a major victory. The mission? To advance conservative standards back into government. Return to a Constitution based government long abandoned. But, despite a landslide victory, they spent more time fighting Bill Clinton than cranking out significant conservative legislation.
Tonight, Americans revolted again, returning republicans to US House of Representatives.
Here, I might anger some of my GOP friends. I don’t think Americans reignited a GOP love affair. Nor did voters say the GOP was holier than democrats. I think they voted republican because there was no other choice from which to vote against Obama’s liberal agenda. And I hope incoming US legislators know that, better yet–remember it.
If the new GOP class spends too much time popping the cork and celebrating, or gets too self righteous and pious, if they fail to sharpen their pencils quickly, roll up their sleeves and WORK for America, they seal their political fate. Worse, they’ll have failed trusting voters.
It’s time for the US Capitol to be filled with public servants again. And remember that their ultimate lobby is their constituencies. Then LEAD.
A couple of good friends of mine pulled upset victories and are Washington bound. I pray they receive the courage it’s going to take to LEAD in extraordinarily touch times. Forget partisanship. Lead. Lead by example, too. May newly elected Washington winners remember to keep their zippers up. May they never become so politically correct that dipping to a knee and lowering heads seeking the Lord’s guidance as beneath them.
As I approach completion of my near 20 years of public service, I know this country is in unprecedented times, untested waters and a new, growing American enemy that calls for new paradigms of thought.
I understand how gut-retching a tough vote is. I’ve tasted my own sweat as I plead my constituents’ perspective – regardless of the bill’s party. Leadership is tough, sometimes nausea-inductive. But that’s part of the job description.
Doing what’s right is seldom easy. Regardless, LEAD. The times demand exceptional leadership in these extraordinary times. Our survival doesn’t allow for partisan slavery. It demands a toughness, an independent one, one working as a US Olympic team seeking the Gold Medal.
Voters have an ongoing, civic duty often left in voting booths: Write your representative, voice what you think is right or wrong. At least give the public servant you created with your vote the opportunity to hear you. And if he or she consistently votes contrarily, kick ‘em out.
A representative government of, for and by the people demands input from the people. A representative void of citizen input can hardly represent them. The better the input, the better the output. Letters, emails and telephone calls actually count. I know.
Finally, pray for ALL our elected leaders. The task before them is indescribably gargantuan. Bigger than the most powerful politicos, but not bigger than God. Your prayers count, too, and make a difference.
Well, ok you Washington bound neophytes. You won a hard fight while campaigning. Welcome to the war. Remember who sent ya. Call home.
We’ll be running another Unified Live Blog tonight with many of Ga’s political blogs, including (at least) Peach Pundit and Georgia Unfiltered. The festivities are scheduled to begin at 6:45, though I have a City Council meeting at 6p so may or may not be there right on time, depending on Council.
Here in Georgia, we have 5 Constitutional Amendments on the ballot this year. Amendment 1 concerns employment non-compete contracts (and gives employers all the rights), Amendments 3 and 4 allow government to enter into contracts it can’t pay for, and Amendment 5 – is ANYONE really sure what this thing does?
But Amendment 2 is what I want to talk about this morning. You see, its supporters are trying to play your emotions and say that this thing is needed to save lives. What they don’t tell you is that their argument has several holes, and they try to cover at least one of them with a straight-up LIE.
Amendment 2′s proponents claim that the funds will go into a “lockbox” that cannot be touched by politicians. The easy thing to point out here is that the same was once said of Social Security. And like Social Security, this “lockbox” will be raided for whatever the politicians want to do.
Here’s how:
In the very language of the Amendment itself, you’ll find this:
“The General Assembly shall provide for the operation of such trust fund and shall specify the trauma care purposes for which such funds are to be expended.”
Repeat: The General Assembly shall provide for the operation.
If the General Assembly wanted to use the “lockbox” to “educate” people of the “dangers” of texting while driving, they would be perfectly within their rights – even if so much as a penny NEVER went to funding actual Level 1 Trauma Centers.
Amendment 2 backers want you to think that this tax increase is shielded from the politicians – when the very language of the Amendment allows the politicians to do pretty much whatever they want to with it.
but this doesn’t seem to be taken out of context at all:
Anyone who has seen this site knows that we are in NO way a fan of nearly-as-corrupt-as-Nathan-Deal Ken Hodges. That said, the full context of this particular clip, as provided by Jim Galloway:
The comment from Olens came during his closing remarks, when he was recapping his accomplishments as chairman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners and the Atlanta Regional Commission:
“I’ve proven that I can work within a managed budget, and in fact I had surpluses every single year. In fact the main reason that I seriously considered running for attorney general rather than staying head of the ARC and Cobb County was that I was getting bored. It was not a challenge any more. The attorney general’s position provides a great opportunity and a dream come true for any trial lawyer. The ability to mix 27 years of civil litigation with 12 years of public service, to take on issues such as the water litigation that seems to go on ad nauseam, to be involved in redistricting….”
As I said on twitter last night, if this meme really catches on in the next couple of days, Sam Olens is toast.
That said, between the Bored One or the Corrupt One, I urge you to give the two-party system the third finger and do the Smart thing: Vote Don Smart for Attorney General! “The Taxpayers’ Best Friend and the Criminals’ Worst Enemy”
The State Democratic Party yesterday unleashed a Halloween themed shot at Nathan Deal yesterday.
Instead of going with orange and black, they went with a red and black motif – on Georgia/Florida weekend, which is another large holiday in this State.
Very good timing, but it is another attack ad. Do the holiday motifs/subliminal “Go Georgia” message help, or are they outweighed by this being another attack ad when many people claim to be sick of them?
The third party is the perennial underdog, but with voter dissatisfaction so high and the Tea Party gaining steam, do you think that this could be a unique opportunity for somebody like yourself?
John Monds: Absolutely. All across Georgia voters have been voicing their displeasure with the lack of leadership that’s been going on. Once again, getting back to those things that work, limiting government in people’s lives, letting them keep the money they’ve earned and respecting their individual rights, those are things that people are looking for so the message has been doing well all across the state. I think we’re gonna surprise a lot of people with how we perform in this election.
As I was going through some of the issues you discuss on your website, two things caught my attention: Reducing nonviolent drug offenses and allowing Sunday alcohol sales. Although they are obviously controversial to some voters, could they also play a role in both generating revenue and helping balance the budget?
John Monds: We shouldn’t have a tax system that punishes people who produce, and that’s what we have with income tax. It affects small business owners and that’s the economic engine that runs things. That’s why I talk about eliminating income tax and going to a broader based consumption tax, we need to get rid of some of those exemptions.
Once you stimulate the economy and get it growing, that’s gonna drive revenue up. You have to look at the revenue side and making us more competitive with our regional neighbors, but you also have to look at the spending side, getting rid of wasteful programs and projects.
Monds also said Wednesday that Georgia’s constitution shouldn’t define marriage, a reference to the voter-approved amendment in 2004 that banned same-sex unions.
“There are enough other things that we should be doing as far as people’s rights. I see it as a diversion to really gin up people. That is not the direction we should be going in. Government should be securing people’s rights,” he said.
…
“I think crime is crime. I would say I am not in favor of hate crimes [legislation]. There is not a love crime, so why would you need a hate crime? The fact that you assaulted somebody, that you have committed violence against somebody—the motivation behind that is not where we should be going. The violence is the key. The focus is that you murdered someone, raped somebody, assaulted somebody, shot somebody – that is my view on hate crimes legislation.
Those that are concerned about John’s work in the NAACP may be comforted with this quote, which isn’t lockstep with NAACP to say the least:
He also said that he doesn’t support interfering with the operations of private businesses, which he said employment non-discrimination legislation would do.
“I look at in the private sector. If somebody wanted to put a sign up [that said] no blacks or gays in their business, I think they have the right to do that. They probably won’t stay in business. But if it’s in the private sector, I believe people have a right to discriminate.
And fires a broadside at the Democratic Party:
The Democratic Party has been a huge let down not only for those in the gay community, but for African Americans as well. They get away from the respect for individual rights.
Dan was in Albany at the Exchange Club Fair yesterday and sat down for an interview with WALB and the Herald.
Here’s the video from WALB:
And a selection from the Herald piece:
“I think we need to set new standards in this country based on individual rights,” said Barber, an auto body shop owner from Cumming. “We must eliminate this sense of entitlement, a culture of dependency. We believe that all individuals have the right to control their own lives and live however they choose as long as they don’t forcibly interfere with the freedoms of their fellow citizens.
“I believe the government has no right to regulate the lives of citizens, or to seize the fruits of their labor without their consent.
The article then goes on to list some of his positions on the issues, including
HEALTH CARE: “I believe free markets provide the greatest variety of choice and quality in health care, as in every other service. I support a return to a free market in health care,” Barber writes. “I recognize the right of the individual to choose his own physician, and to choose how much insurance, if any, is appropriate.”
I don’t do “shotgun” posts that often. I typically try to focus on one thing and elaborate on it at some length.
That said, this morning I simply don’t have the time to do that with everything that has caught my eye that I’d like to write about, so I’m doing a “shotgun” to at least make you aware of them and provide some BRIEF commentary:
1) Mike Keown caught LYING about his term as Mayor of Coolidge. Sanford Bishop has previously been caught LYING about some scholarships he directed to campaign contributors’ and staffers’ families. These two men are the SAME. Neither can be trusted, and both want you to worship at the altar of Big Government. Voting for Mickey Mouse in this race was something I am quite proud of. Wish the GOP had given me a candidate I could vote for, but by and large that seems impossible for them. (Dems are also awful at that.)
2) A cheerleader in Texas has been kicked off the squad. What was her infraction, and why was it newsworthy? She refused to call out the name of a player individually, as the squad did at times. Because he had raped her. Seems like something Nathan Deal would approve.
3) The Georgia GOP continues their fearmongering, tying any Democrat to Barack Obama, no matter how tenuous the actual link is. (And let’s face it, Party link is only strong for those that are hyper-partisan or bound by loyalty oaths.) Joe Martin is my dead-last choice for the job, but it is because he spent 20 years “leading” education with NOTHING to show for it – not out of some fear of some boogey straw man.
4) While we’re on that particular subject, notice the GOP crying foul over the embellished Roy Barnes commercial? I say they’re HYPOCRITES, because every single mailer I’ve seen from them photoshops various Statewide D candidates side by side with Barack Obama and/or Nancy Pelosi, with ZERO proof that the two people in question were ever even in the same zip code at the same time, much less in the same room, side by side. How about you cry foul over THAT embellishment, GOP??
An interesting situation is developing right now, and I’m still working to sort through the reports.
Here’s what happened:
At 5pm today, Peach Pundit’s Clint Murphy reported via twitter that
Apparently Deal staffers shouted & pushed & shoved citizens trying to ask Deal @ his voting record & corruption in Savannah
I immediately retweeted this because Clint is typically trustworthy – to me, this wasn’t just some random report, but an actual initial report of an conflict in a developing situation. I put it out on my Facebook at the same time, for the same reason.
Moments later, I began a private conversation with Clint on Twitter, where it was revealed that sources at the event had told him that there was a conflict between Nathan Deal’s staffers and some protesters that had gathered in opposition to Deal. Per what Clint had been told, Jeanne Seaver -a recent Republican candidate for Congress- and Congressman Jack Kingston had to get involved to calm the situation.
After I talked to Clint, I called two sources who I knew to be at the event. One source said that he saw Kingston talking to the protesters, but that they were “smiling and laughing”. The other source said he didn’t see Kingston anywhere near the protesters, but that this source had been near the stage for the entire event.
Upon talking to the first source, I put out another tweet and facebook post saying
Initial reports from Savannah MAY have been wrong. Now have conflicting eyewitness reports.
I spoke with the second source about 20 minutes later.
At this point, I simply do not know how to answer the question that is the title of this post. Clint is typically a solid source of information, but we are all known to be wrong at times. Hopefully, Savannah’s professional media was there and can elaborate on this situation, as they probably would have been in position to see what happened, if anything. The initial report from WSAV in Savannah does not mention any disturbance. Nor does the initial report from WTOC. Nor does the initial report from WJOC.
At the moment, that is all I know. Stay tuned.
[UPDATE]: An article from the Savannah Morning News indicates (at the very bottom of the article), that there WAS some form of altercation, but does NOT mention any form of physicality.
One of the great defenses of the Christian faith is that the Gospel writers didn’t lie about the small stuff, even though this small stuff wasn’t popular at the time. For example, in that era a woman’s testimony was completely worthless – yet it was a woman whom the Gospel writers record as the first to find the empty tomb.
When looking at a candidate’s character, one thing to look at is this same principle: do they lie about the small stuff, the stuff that ultimately may be unpopular, but doesn’t really amount to a hill of beans?
Honestly, one of the primary reasons I like Austin Scott is that he doesn’t.
But when you’re a candidate involved in MULTIPLE scandals, as Nathan Deal is, it becomes even more important. You build a record in the small stuff that comes to bear in the big stuff, for better or worse. Build a record of honesty in the small stuff, and people are more willing to give you the benefit of the doubt on the big stuff. Build a record of lying on the little stuff, and people are more likely to doubt you on the big stuff.
Campaign scheduling really is “small stuff”. People won’t remember even the week after the election where you were the week before the election.
And yet, Nathan Deal risks his honor over campaign scheduling:
Here’s what Nathan Deal said on twitter yesterday:
That was posted yesterday, and claims that Nathan will be in SWGA today.
Here’s the schedule of the tour, provided in a GOP email:
Note that the red boxes on the image (added by me) highlight a certain candidate as NOT attending a single event scheduled in SWGA today.
The candidate NOT attending a single event in SWGA today is none other than Nathan Deal, who told supporters he WOULD be in SWGA today.
Nathan Deal LIED about something so small and insignificant as campaign scheduling. How can we trust him on the MULTIPLE scandals he is involved in, much less the actual very serious issues facing the next Governor of this Great State?
Imagine what would happen if voters, rather than simply voting for their top choice, were instead allowed to rank the candidates from their favorite to their least favorite. Strong supporters of Candidate 1 would rank that candidate highest. Strong supporters of Candidate 2 would rank that candidate highest, as well. Supporters of Candidate 3 would now be able to not only rank Candidate 3 highest, but also register who they prefer if that candidate is not in the running to win. In our scenario, most of Candidate 3′s supporters would probably choose Candidate 2 as their second favorite choice since that candidate’s platform was most similar to their favorite.
When the votes are counted, say Candidate 1 has 46% of the vote, Candidate 2 has 44% and Candidate 3 has 10%. In our current system, Candidate 1 would win, despite 54% of the people voting for someone else, and Candidate 3 who “stole” several percent of the vote from Candidate 2 would be declared a “spoiler”.
But in Instant Runoff Voting, we would see that no candidate has a majority. Therefore, we have to continue to find out who most people really prefer. Since Candidate 3 has the lowest number of votes, he is eliminated and we now would look at the second choices of those voters. Perhaps after doing this, Candidate 2 picks up 7% of the second choices, while the other 3% gave their second choice to Candidate 1. Now Candidate 2 has 51% while Candidate 1 has 49%. Candidate 2 wins with a majority of the vote. The true will of the people is done, since the candidate that most people truly prefer wins.
Not only has Instant Runoff Voting given us a majority winner, but all candidates were allowed to run freely without concern of “spoiling” and no votes were wasted. Candidate 3 was able to run a spirited race and make his mark on the campaign, knowing that his supporters could rank their second choices. Every single voter had a say – whether through their first choice or second choice – in the eventual winner of the race. Because they know that this will be the case, places where Instant Runoff Voting is used have higher voter turnout.
So here’s what my Instant Runoff Ballot would look like, if such a thing were available in Georgia:
Governor:
1) John Monds. He is the ONLY fiscal conservative in the race who WILL lower my taxes and get government out of my life as much as he can.
2) Roy Barnes. Put simply, at least I know he can run a successful business without having to use his power as an elected official to set up $weetheart deal$ with the State to prop it up. Deal’s corruption apparently knows no bounds, and that is why Roy Barnes would get my vote here.
Lt Governor:
1) Dan Barber. This is one solid reason. Several of his other entries are also great reasons.
2) Carol Porter. Any “damage” she could do would be limited by the State Senate removing most of her power, as they did when Taylor was in the office. With Cagle not knowing how to “tie his shoes” AND being neck deep in Nathan’s Corrupt Deals, Porter would clearly be the better choice.
US Senate:
1) Chuck Donovan. Want to prosecute a war? Ask a former warrior how to do it. Chuck is the only fiscally responsible person in this race, AND he has the benefit of being one of this nation’s elite as not only a former Marine, but a former Marine Fighter Pilot at that! Some Libertarians distrust the Marines. When I’m in a fight, I look to make sure they’re not on the other side.
2) Johnny Isakson. This has more to do with the fact that Mike Thurmond has ran an absolutely crappy campaign and I know nothing about him, more than any sort of endorsement of Isakson.
Attorney General:
1) Don Smart. Point blank: I trust a Libertarian with the Constitution FAR more than I trust a Republican, and the Democrat is nearly as corrupt as Nathan Deal.
2) Sam Olens. He has said government should dictate where people live, but again – the Democrats nominated someone nearly as corrupt as Nathan Deal, who outright denies the First Amendment and is known more for botching cases than actually solving them.
State School Superintendent:
1) Kira Willis. As a teacher who has had her career straddle NCLB, she has seen all too well what more and more top-down mandates have done, and she will work to restore local control of education.
2) John Barge. This was the toughest number 2 selection I had, as NEITHER Barge nor Martin deserves to be in elected office, and both should in fact be run out of the field of education altogether – with pitchforks and torches, if necessary. They are both that bad. Both played roles in getting Georgia education to at or near the bottom of the national rankings, with Barge working for the Kathy Cox adminsitration that saw the infamous “all kids will be college prep” and “evolution doesn’t exist” movements. Barge has a history of flitting between jobs every couple of years, and I’m really not sure that he would stay in this one for a full term – which actually helped get him the nod here, as his damage would thus be limited.
Secretary of State:
1) Brian Kemp. Brian has some things against him, such as the Voter Verification debacle that has been shown todeny Georgians their right to vote. That said, he is the most sane option of the three available.
2) David Chastain. Both Chastain and Sinkfield believe the insane conspiracy theory about Georgia’s election machines not being secure, and that is the number one reason neither of them were my first choice. That said, I trust his fiscal sense more than I trust Sinkfield’s, so I would give him the number two nod.
Insurance Commissioner:
1) Shane Bruce. I’m writing this post with my number one selections as who I voted for when I cast my ballot last month. That said, after the way Shane made a mockery of my Party last night with his choice of attire, I would change that vote if I could in protest.
2)Ralph Hudgens. As knowledgable as I am about the elections this year, I still know nothing about Squires other than she is the D in this race. I met Hudgens a couple of times in the Primary – where he would’ve been in the middle of the pack in my IRV ballot – and I’ll go with the known over the unknown here.
Labor Commissioner:
1) Will Costa. The owner of a small family business – Costa’s Pasta, if I remember correctly – he knows how to encourage growth in small business, which is ultimately how you decrease both unemployment and the need for the Office of the Labor Commissioner.
2) Darryl Hicks. On the one hand, he is a lobbyist. On the other hand, his opponent is a man who sleeps with lobbyists, then threatens to sic his good friend Speaker (at the time) Glenn Richardson on said lobbyist’s employer when she is faced with termination. Go with the first hand here, and send Mark Butler packing.
Agriculture Commissioner:
1) Kevin Cherry: Who better to get the pests out of the Agriculture Dept and insure our food safety than a Pest Control Expert?
2) JB Powell. He gets the nod here less for who he is than who his remaining competitor is: a bought and paid for lobbyist for Big Ag, including Monsanto, who makes quite a few products that scare quite a few people.
Public Service Commission:
1) Jim Sendelbach. None of the candidates here have any experience with the roles of the PSC. That said, it takes quite a mind to be an effective psychiatrist, which is currently Dr. Sendelbach’s day job. I trust him to work to lessen the burden of the PSC while still working to ensure Ga ratepayers are protected.
2) Keith Moffett. Again, less with him, more with his competitor: John Oxendine’s former campaign manager.
