SWGA Politics

[UPDATED] Rome News-Tribune: Karen Handel a Conspiracy Theorist[ March 9, 2010 – 2:01 pm]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns

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:
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You’re Right About One Thing, Ox[ February 18, 2010 – 9:45 pm]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns

We do see it coming – which is why you continue to fall in polls. 90% of the people of this state know who you are, and yet the latest polling indicates that only 25% of them would vote for you – and last summer, you were bragging about 35%!

For those that don’t know, Austin Scott dropped a nuclear bomb on The Ox yesterday during a hearing on his bill that would make some of Ox’s known actions a felony – specifically his taking donations from insurance executives while Commissioner of Insurance. (That $120K in allegedly illegal donations he accepted last year would be included here.)

Galloway has the details here and here, but here are Ox’s direct words:

“Because [elected insurance commissioners] are different. We are a pain in the butt. We are very high maintenance. We’re politicians. I am not a professional regulator, I am a politician.”
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Austin Scott Introduces Bill Making John Oxendine a Felon[ February 11, 2010 – 5:01 am]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns

In this country, we have protection from ex post facto laws – laws that make an action a crime after the action has been done. So the bill Austin Scott introduced yesterday, HB 1166, wouldn’t apply to the thousands of dollars John Oxendine has already raked in from insurance companies – but it would apply to any future contributions to Ox, so long as he is the Commissioner of Insurance.

The bill would also make State Senators Ralph Hudgens (the Chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee who is running for Commissioner of Insurance) and Seth Harp (who is also running for Commissioner of Insurance) felons, and possibly a few others in their race.

This bill is a complete political stunt by Scott to make a point both in his campaign for Governor as well as the allegations flying in the Insurance Commissioner’s race, and because Hudgens in particular would be caught up in it, it has absolutely no chance of becoming law in its current form. IF it actually manages to become law, it will be heavily modified and a shell of its current version.
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What Is Wrong With This Picture?[ February 1, 2010 – 7:31 pm]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns, Legislation

The picture here is from the anti-victim press conference today hosted by the Georgia Talibaptist Association (aka the “Christian” Right, and specifically -from Jim Galloway – the Georgia Christian Alliance, the Georgia Christian Coalition, Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition, and the Georgia Baptist Convention).

There are a couple of things interesting about it:
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Who does John Oxendine Give Money To?[ January 31, 2010 – 10:47 am]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns

A few days ago, I was tipped off that John Oxendine had contributed to at least one Statewide candidate through his PAC, Better Georgia. (Both the PAC and Ox’s State Ethics Commission reports show the same address.)

This morning, I started looking into this – and was somewhat shocked by what I found.

Money is the lifeblood of politics, but there are different views on it. Some have said that if you give a person money, you’re going to vote for them the vast majority of the time. Others have said that it is more of an appearances thing, that sometimes you have to give to certain Party leaders to keep up appearances within the Party. Still others have said that money is sometimes used to build relationships with people you hope will be your friends down the road.

The list of who John Oxendine has contributed to through Better Georgia, for whatever reason, is fairly interesting…
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Will This Be the Results on July 20, 2010?[ January 24, 2010 – 8:42 pm]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns

Recently, some McBerry supporters have been telling me I needed to get my facts straight on him while maintaining that he has “won every straw poll except one in the winer’s home county.”

So I went through the PeachPundit archives – possibly the best single source of information for GOP straw poll results – looking for straw polls from 2009 and specifically how Ray McBerry did in them. The general data was also very interesting from the 14 straw polls I found from April through November, here’s what I saw:
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Now McBerry is Copying The Ox[ January 20, 2010 – 10:44 pm]by Jeff Posted in » General

Over the summer, Ray McBerry complained of The Ox crowding in on his States Rights agenda. Indeed, as much as I hate saying I like anything The Ox does, even I was forced to admit that at Tifton, The Ox was more sane than McBerry and thus had the better message.

Now, it seems the tables are turned and Ray is copying The Ox, as seen in this paragraph from the email he sent out today (emphasis mine):

The Debate
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[UPDATED] Is Ox the Sportsman He Claims to Be?[ January 20, 2010 – 7:09 am]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns

Honestly, I’ve been debating tackling this issue all morning. We knew shortly after the $120K potentially illegal campaign contribution scandal broke last May that John Oxendine knew the guy who was at the center of it – Dee Yancey. After all, they had been on international hunting trips together.
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Ox FINALLY Fires Chief Bully[ January 15, 2010 – 9:02 pm]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns

After having worked as John Oxendine’s Chief Bully for quite a while, Jeff Breedlove has finally been sent packing.

This is the guy who once tried to bully THIS author, immediately after “John Oxendine and Liberty, Part 1″ came out. Not a very smart move, as I’ve dealt with more than my share of bullies in my life, and I’ve learned to fight back effectively – as his firing proves.

After trying to intimidate me, he tried to intimidate a wife and mother who similarly doesn’t take flak from anyone, with about equal results.
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John Oxendine Actively Supports Bullying 15yo Kid[ January 10, 2010 – 4:39 am]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns

Last night, a new chapter in ‘Constable-gate‘ was written when Kyle Constable put up a new post – at the request of the Oxendine camp – saying that technically, John Oxendine himself has never bullied him.

Thing is, I’ve never said he has – when asked for details. I have ALWAYS said something to the tune of “he employed the men who bullied Kyle, and never did anything to censure them, therefore he implicitly agrees with it”, though I will modify my headlines to something similar to the title of this post: ‘John Oxendine Actively Supports Bullying 15 yo Kid’ (rather than ‘John Oxendine Bullies 15yo Kid’).

Here’s why:
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