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[UPDATED] Preston Smith and the 2010 Campaigns

By Jeff, on April 13th, 2010%

Over the last 18 hours or so, Preston Smith, the State Senator representing the 52nd District (which includes Rome and parts of my native Bartow County), has become the talk of Georgia politics. Over 100 people have already joined the effort to draft him to challenge Lt Governor Casey Cagle, and virtually every major political blog in the State, as well as many of the newspapers I read daily, have discussed his speech yesterday – many of the blogs re-posting the text of the speech in its entirety.

But one thing has not come out yet, and I think it needs to be discussed.

You see, this whole battle rages in and around one certain bill in the Georgia General Assembly – HB 307. The fact that this is a House bill that has now passed the Senate means that every single member of the General Assembly who is running for Statewide office has had some degree of say on this bill, and I want to run down the list briefly:
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Preston Smith’s Speech to the Georgia Senate

By Jeff, on April 12th, 2010%

Below is the text of Senator Preston Smith’s speech to the Georgia Senate today. It is a long read, but a VERY good one. Senator Smith was recently removed from his Chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee over his refusal to vote for Casey Cagle’s Sick Tax, and he is the same man who once gave a very passionate defense of individual liberty and privacy in the face of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. I believe we need to recruit this man to challenge Casey Cagle in the Lt Governor GOP Primary. I don’t have any money to give him, but should he choose to run, I will openly do everything I can to see him elected.

Here is the FB Page to Draft Preston Smith for Lt Governor

And here is the speech:

Address to the Georgia State Senate
Senator Preston W. Smith
April 12, 2010

Abraham Kuyper once said, ”When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling and peace has become sin. You must at the price of dearest peace lay you convictions bare before friend an enemy with all the fire of your faith.” Today I rise to speak during our debate about the process by which this bill and others come before our Senate body for consideration. As you may know, when I was elected in my late twenties, I was the youngest member of the State Senate then serving. Today, four terms later, I am still the youngest member of the Senate, although I am now equal to, or greater, in seniority to the majority of our members.

I formerly served as one of the Governor’s Administration Floor Leaders and then served three terms as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But that changed today. In retribution for my refusal to go along with the Lt. Governor and the rest of the Senate Republican leadership and vote for a tax increase, my role as chairman was stripped away from me by them. I take the well today with a heavy heart – not because of a loss of any position, but rather because of what is happening in State Government and its larger implication for the legacy of our Republican party and the posterity of our state.
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Leave a comment   2010 Campaigns   , ,  

[UPDATED]Casey Cagle, ‘Monica Lewinksy’, and John Oxendine

By Jeff, on December 8th, 2009%

Going into this post, let me note that what I am about to say is things I have known since April. Indeed, I knew them before Casey Cagle dropped out of the GAGOV race – when I was FAR more unknown than I am now. At the time, several of us bloggers had a conversation about whether to run with the things you’ve been hearing about Cagle so far this week on PeachPundit and GriftDrift‘s sites, among others. We didn’t have any concrete proof, so we decided to hold off at the time.

Then the Richardson firestorm started, and Erick decided to run with it.

So here is what I suspected and was told then:
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Casey Cagle and Senate Bills with Possible Constitutionality Issues

By Jeff, on March 26th, 2009%

On Wednesday, March 25, 2009, around 11:50 or so the Senate was discussing a proposed Amendment to HB 160, the Super Speeder bill that a few minutes later passed the Senate. This amendment would have forced the money generated to be used to fund a statewide trauma network, yet according to the State Constitution, such determinations must be made by referendum and cannot be legislated by the General Assembly. During the debate, Senator Preston Smith challenged the constitutionality of this amendment, and asked Casey Cagle as President of the Senate to make a determination.

Cagle’s response was that as Lt Governor and President of the Senate, he did not have the authority to rule on the constitutionality of a bill before the Senate, nor any proposed amendments to this bill. He noted – correctly – that these decisions are the sole responsibility of the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia.

And yet, there is a problem with this.

You see, there was another amendment to another bill on Monday, almost 48 hours to the minute prior to the Lt Gov making these remarks about not having the authority to rule on constitutional issues.

On this one, it was Steve Thompson’s Amendment 2 to HR 206. While I don’t remember the exact substance of it, and I hope Sen. Thompson may be able to provide it, it DID appear to me to be two separate questions. Per the GA Constitution, a ballot referendum must have exactly one question and one question only.

Cagle declared the amendment unconstitutional and thus out of order.

Something that he admitted not quite 48 hours later was not within his authority as Lt Governor.

And this man, who clearly doesn’t understand the powers of the office he has held for just over two years now, wants to move up to the highest elected office in this Great State?

I think he needs to more fully learn the Constitutional limits and powers of the office he already holds first.

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