SWGA Politics

There isn’t a gun show loophole

The following was originally posted over at TomKnighton.com. Yeah, I’m writing a lot more over there but it’s because I’m working more on national level stuff. While the politics of SWGA is still important to me, my focus has been to try and work more on national level issues. If you haven’t yet, please come check it out!

Having a conversation with someone recently, the phrase “gun show loophole” came up. In all fairness, it was a conversation about guns and gun control, so the phrase wasn’t completely random. Unfortunately, as I pointed out to the individual in question, it is mythical. Why’s that you ask? Because there isn’t one. Read More …

Property Rights: An American Anachronism

The following post originally appeared at TomKnighton.com.

In a recent poll, CNN found that 68% of Americans oppose the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque”. Never mind the fact that it’s not actually on Ground Zero. Never mind that the mosque isn’t exactly new to that community. Let’s ignore all that and make decisions based on emotion, regardless of property rights. Make no mistake folks, this is all this is about. Read More …

An Interesting Test of the 10th Amendment

Up in Massachusetts, an interesting battle is being waged over the 10th Amendment and so-called “States’ Rights”.

Per this AJC article, here’s the basic story:

As some of you know, in 2004 Massachusetts became one of the first States to full-on legalize gay marriage. Under State law there, there is no legal difference whatsoever between a heterosexual marriage and a homosexual one. Obviously, religious groups in the State are free to adhere to different standards, except where they act as an employer.

The problem comes from the fact that there, as in Georgia, many of the citizens are employees of the Federal government – which, per the Defense of Marriage Act passed in the 90s, does not offer benefits to same sex couples.

Therefore, postal workers and other Federal employees cannot place their same-sex spouses on their benefits package, such as employer-provided insurance.

One such couple sued, and a US District Court Judge whose district apparently only encompasses Massachusetts has ruled in the couples favor that the DOMA “interferes with the right of a state to define marriage”.

That quote, in particular, is what makes this interesting politically regarding the 10th Amendment.
[Continue Reading]

One Man’s Take on Oil Spill

I normally think of celebrities talking about current issues as I would anyone else – they’re just normal people like you and me expressing an opinion. May or may not be correct, may or may not be actually based on facts, etc etc etc.

That said, when I know a person has a background in a particular field – regardless of whether they are a celebrity or not – I give their opinion a bit more weight than I do some random guy off the street. For example, when a guy tells me he served in the General Assembly for a decade and proceeds to tell me something about the inner workings of the Assembly, I give him a bit more credibility than someone who may or may not know that the General Assembly is the State of Ga’s Legislative branch of government.

Trace Adkins is a country music singer whose music I have been a fan of for quite a while. His biggest “crossover” hit has been “Honkytonkbadonkadonk” – a song you may have been as likely to hear in a dance club in Buckhead as on B100 in Albany. He also worked as a crewdog in the oil industry for a decade before becoming a famous country singer, and 6 of those years he spent working a rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper recently had him on his show, and this is what he had to say:
[Continue Reading]

Severing the union

What follows originally appeared earlier today at TomKnighton.com.  I hope everyone comes on over and checks it out.

No, I’m not talking about secession or anything of the sort. I’m talking about a different sort of union, the kind that has managed to all but kill the automotive industry in this nation, and is trying to kill any other business out there that they can get their hands on. You know the kind I’m talking about. Read More …

Mike Keown: Establishment Candidate

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.
[Continue Reading]

An Endorsement for LNC Chair

I’m a State/Local specialist. I don’t track National politics that closely, but seeing as how the Libertarian National Convention is next weekend and we have a fairly hotly contested race for LNC Chairman going on, I decided to take a look into it and let my voice be heard. After all, what is the point of having a blog if you don’t express an opinion or two, right?

I’ve been talking to a few Libertarians I trust, all of which are admittedly in Georgia -including my good friend Jason Pye-, and I’ve been reading what I could find on Independent Political Report and the websites IPR’s Paulie gave me when I asked about them last night.

Based on those conversations, a review of the information on each of the websites provided, and my brief conversation on IPR with one of the LNC Chair candidates, I hereby endorse John Jay Myers for LNC Chair. Like Mr. Myers, I believe that as a Party our best strategy at the present time is to work first at home, then in our States, and then at the National level.

For too long, the Libertarian Party has tried a top down approach, which I understand is mandated to an extent by ballot access laws, of which Georgia’s are some of the worst in the nation. There are three approaches to achieving ballot access though: 1) Comply with them. I know nothing about other States, but in Georgia, a top down approach via either President or Governor candidates is mandated by law to achieve full equal ballot access, and this is the approach typically used by the LNC in my understanding. (This is referred to by many as the “50 State Strategy”.) 2) Work to get the existing laws changed. This requires networking with everyone concerned, including legislators, activists, and concerned citizens. We had a number of ballot access bills introduced in Georgia in 2010, and I hope we will be able to continue this in the near future and get at least some degree of genuine ballot access reform in this State.

But the third approach is what I personally believe is the area where we as a Party – at both National and State levels – need to concentrate: Grow the Party from the bottom up by concentrating on winning as many local races as possible before moving up the political ladder to the State Assemblies, Statewide offices, and then National offices. Grow our local chapters and affiliates, and use them to spread the Libertarian message door to door, neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend, business associate to business associate. John Jay Myers seems to understand this better than the other candidates, all of whom seem to favor either no actual political activity or a continued top-down mentality.

Mr. Myers also seems to understand the politics of the day and that we truly are a distinct philosophy from both the mainstream “left” AND “right”, but that our message appeals to both and should be discussed with both. As someone has said, we will not gain a majority – and thus begin winning elections – by appealing only to one half of one half of the Big Government Party.

I completely agree with this quote in particular from Mr. Myers’ website:

I understand that we will not attract new membership unless we distinguish ourselves from other parties without alienating the majority of Americans. The Libertarian Party is the only one that stands for the American principles that defined our country, and it can once again, but only with leadership that focuses on our true principles and lives those principles every day.

The next 2 to 4 years represent a significant opportunity for Libertarians, and we cannot afford to have an LNC Chair who either appeals almost exclusively to one half of one half of our competitor or who does not believe we should engage in actual politics at all. We also cannot have a LNC Chair who is intent on continuing the backbiting and infighting that has plagued the LNC for so long and has led many Libertarians to end their involvement in the National Party.

Because Mr. Myers understands that our Party will grow best if grown from the bottom up, and because he understands that we must spread our message to ALL of our American brothers and sisters, I am proud to give him my endorsement.

Jeff Sexton
LP-Georgia Executive Committee At Large Rep,
Founding Chair, LP-Southwest Georgia,
Founder, SWGAPolitics.com
jeff.sexton@lpgeorgia.com

Liberty In the Eyes of the Beholder?

A few incidents have come up in the past few days that I wanted to briefly comment on – ironically enough, 2 of the 3 involve high schools.

The most well known is the Elena Kagan nomination for Supreme Court. Apparently some “conservatives” are upset that she may or may not be a lesbian. When it comes to the Supreme Court, I am worried about one thing and one thing only: what are their views on the Constitution? I really don’t care what they do in their private lives, and by and large the same goes for ANY public official. But hey, maybe I’m just more enlightened there than most. For some solid thoughts on Kagan and the issues that SHOULD be raised around her nomination, I highly recommend the Cato Institute. Here’s a brief selection from them: Kagan Nomination Launches Constitutional Debate, Does Elena Kagan Support Limited Government?, Kagan: Revenge of the Grinds, Kagan on Military Recruitment, Kagan Nomination: Around the Web, and Kagan Bad, But Not Worst

The other two issues I wanted to discuss both involve high schools and the First Amendment.
[Continue Reading]

LP-NC and the GAGOP

A report came in through Independent Political Report last night that the Georgia Republican Party may want to look at.

Apparently, the Libertarian Party of North Carolina has full ballot access, and therefore is under the exact same laws as the NCGOP – and GAGOP is under what appear to be similar laws here.

There, LP-NC had a situation where a guy was running for County Commission for apparently personal reasons (something to do with getting his kids back from the NC equivalent of DFACS), and has violated core Libertarian principles, such as non-aggression. From the IPR report: [The LP-NC] “charges that Stratton has a history of responding to criticism with “unfounded legal threats and intimidation.””

The LP there can’t keep him off the ballot, due to those laws there that are very similar to what the GAGOP is under here – but they did publicly repudiate him, including striking his name from their endorsement list and denying him “any financial, logistical, or electoral support”.

Like I said, just something the GAGOP may want to take into consideration. I’m posting the full resolution from the LP-NC Executive Committee after the jump.
[Continue Reading]

Chambliss, Isakson Disappointed in Democrats’ Failure to Protect Main Street from Unintended Consequences of Financial Reform Bill

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today made the following statements after the Senate defeated an amendment that would have protected small businesses from additional, overreaching regulation. Read More …