“Lipstick”
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Over the last couple of days, a war has emerged between former Secretary of State (and current Governor candidate) Karen Handel and Georgia Right to Life. Peach Pundit’s Icarus has already correctly noted that Georgia Right to Life has already changed their standards for endorsement at least once in the last decade. From Icarus and several others legislators I have talked to, GRTL’s requirement for endorsement was that the candidate ban abortion with three exceptions: rape, incest, life of the mother. Over the last decade, the GOP (traditionally more GRTL friendly than the Democrats) gained power, and when they did, GRTL moved its goal posts for endorsement. No longer were they interested in a ban that could have passed in Georgia (though would have faced significant Constitutional issues at the Federal level), instead they wanted an even more extreme ban. First, here’s the video report from Dale Russell of Fox 5 Atlanta that aired last night: Apparently it is even easier to steal a business in Georgia than it is to steal an identity – which is already easy enough – and you have the last three Secretaries of State – Cathy Cox (D), Karen Handel (R), and Brian Kemp (R) – to thank for that. Due to being both a techie and a politically-oriented person, I was asked to comment on this story, and I shall, after the jump… The big news in Georgia politics today is US Rep Tom Price (R-Cherokee/Rich Atlanta) rescinding his prior endorsement of Birther “Ghetto Grandmother” Nathan Deal – you know, he of the sweetheart “Deal. Real.’s” that have netted him MILLIONS of dollars over the past couple of decades. But Rep Price didn’t JUST rescind his endorsement of his former colleague in the US House of Representatives who had been named one of the 15 most corrupt Congressmen. That alone would have been MAJOR news. No, he also endorsed a new candidate – his “hometown” girl Karen Handel. (Both are from outside the state originally – he from Michigan, she from Maryland – and now live relatively near each other in the South Cherokee/North Fulton/East Cobb area.) Because of this, the corrupt former Congressman issued a statement saying “As a native Georgian, I was brought up to believe that a person’s word is his bond, which is why I’m grateful to the conservative Georgians who’ve remained loyal to our cause.” That emphasis is actually Jim Galloway’s, but I’m going to go in a different direction with it than he did: “Native Georgian … Loyal to our cause”? Does anyone else think that sounds eerily similar to ANOTHER candidate? Is Birther Deal saying he sides with the other candidate on issues of southern independence? Between that and “Ghetto Grandmother”, one thing is clear: expect whatever votes Birther Deal gets in July to be lily white. Last week, Tom wrote about Karen Handel and Maria Sheffield publicly condemning Ray McBerry and apparently refusing to attend events with him. The problem? The following is from conservative activist Bryan Miller, via his Facebook page. In the comments on it, Maria Sheffield re-iterates what she had earlier said on twitter about not appearing where Ray McBerry is. Karen Handel made similar claims today at a forum hosted by Jim Galloway, while other candidates had a much weaker response. Anyway, here’s Bryan’s post: It has come to light in recent weeks that long shot GOP candidate for Governor Ray McBerry, a former teacher, carried on an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl while he was the girl’s youth pastor. While I will not go into specific details of the allegations, and what McBerry himself admits to, the information can be found here via the AJC: http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/04/29/parents-church-and-judge-told-future-gop-candidate-for-governor-leave-the-girl-alone/ 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: This morning, State Rep Ben Harbin, the House Appropriations Committee Chairman, commented that Karen Handel – nor anyone in the Secretary of State’s Office – had taken furlough days as ordered by the Governor and the General Assembly. Handel’s handlers and other assorted defenders fired back that she had cut 20% of her budget, so she didn’t have to abide by the furlough order. When you think about this though, neither option makes her look good. 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: That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character. And wave an old photo of the President’s girlfriend and you scream about patriotism and you tell them, she’s to blame for their lot in life, and you go on television and you call her a whore. -The American President Earlier this week, Karen Handel did just this at a “Women for Handel” event when she characterized the entire General Assembly as corrupt, saying that there was a “culture of “sex, lies and lobbyists”" under the Gold Dome, and implying that the entire General Assembly was a part of it. What Karen doesn’t know is that I have actually known one of the Representatives in particular for the vast majority of my life. His wife taught in the class next door to mine in 4th grade, and she was my teacher in both 8th and 9th grades. This particular Representative, Paul Battles (R-Cartersville), was once a pastor, and I attended Vacation Bible School at his church several times as a kid. I can drive you through the boonies outside Cartersville and show you where Rep Battles and his wife once lived, about a half mile down the road from the elementary school I first met Mrs. Battles at. |
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