Word has it that a number of candidates for statewide office will be on hand tomorrow as Georgia's WIN List hosts The First Annual Viola Ross Napier Celebration at 315 College Street from 6 PM to 8 PM.
Members of the Napier family will be guests of WIN as we honor the contribution of Viola Ross Napier who in 1923 became the first women to serve in the Georgia General Assembly. Now, dozens of Democratic women hold elected office in Middle Georgia, and we will also honor those women at this special event. Read more about this event in the Macon Telegraph .
Middle Georgia women are making history once again this election cycle. An unprecedented five Democratic women from Middle Georgia are seeking election to the Georgia House. Congratulations to candidates: Lauren Benedict, Dee Yearty, Beth Perera,and Jennifer Harris, and to incumbent, Rep. Nikki Randall.
The cost to attend is $35.00 and payment may be made on line at Georgia's WIN List .
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Candidates in Macon Tomorrow
Where's Senator Sam Ervin When You Need Him?
This morning as I was reading The Macon Telegraph's staff op-ed, "American's Shouldn't Wallow in the Cesspools of Torture" it occurred to me that we could really use Senator Sam Ervin about right now.
If you're not from North Carolina, or you are younger than thirty-five, you probably have no idea who I'm talking about, but trust me: from the misrepresentations about the reasons for going into war to the CIA leaks, Senator Sam, nemesis of the likes of Richard Nixon and Joe McCarthy, would have cleaned house.
Though I have been a Georgian now for twenty years, I spent the first twenty growing up in the mountains of North Carolina. In 1974, when Watergate broke, I recall both the dinner table discussions and my family gathering to watch the televised hearings that our own Senator Sam Ervin chaired. We were proud that it was our own senator who was leading the charge to confront corruption and abuse of power in Washington.
When the transcripts of the White House tapes were ordered to be released as a part of the investigation, I remember eventually having a book with excerpts. What an amazing system of government, I thought, that places in the hands of a teenager the power to read the conversations of the President. (Now, he just reads mine.)
While we are at Myrtle Beach that summer, we turned on the television to watch President Nixon resign. When he did, there was a profound sense that the people had somehow checked the rich and powerful, that the process worked and the government would endure.
That seems like an awfully long time ago, and I don't know that I have that faith right now. This Congress does not seem to have the will or the courage to confront corruption. They only seem to have the will to get re-elected. It's enough to make Senator Sam turn over in his grave.
This congress, instead of investigating corruption, seems to just move to change the laws to accommodate whatever the executive branch wants to do. Where is their backbone? They have allowed the legislative branch of government to become more and more irrelevant. Where are the representatives and the senators who are willing to seek and do what is right no matter the cost? It's clear that the military-industrial-energy company machine is represented. Where are OUR representatives? Where is our Senator Sam?
Yes, we could use a few more Democrats like Sam Ervin. He had his flaws, particularly his opposition to forced desegregation of schools, but he was a strong, hawkish, honorable, educated man who was committed to national security and to keeping government out of the private lives of people. He acted to oppose (this sounds familiar) "no knock" searches, creation of data banks and other invasions of privacy. He was not afraid to lead, and not afraid to speak truth to power. I hope that this year we will apply the Ervin test to those we choose to represent us.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
A Brilliant Move for Cathy Cox
Welcome, Chris Riggal, new but familiar Campaign Manager for Cathy Cox. Riggal, who has been Cathy's spokesperson in the SOS office, has taken the helm at the campaign. Cathy's choice of Riggal is wise on so many levels: he is a known quantity, and an experienced, respected professional. He brings additional communications strength to the campaign. Most important at this juncture: he knows Georgia. Excellent choice.
Sphere: Related ContentStephen Colbert on 60 Minutes
For the other Colbert Report junkies out there, Stephen Colbert will be on 60 Minutes tomorrow night. It's at least worth a TiVo.
Sphere: Related ContentRepublican Transgressions
This was so well said by "Button" that I've moved the bulk of this comment to the front page. Thanks, "Button."
"......Obviously, we have to talk about our differences during the primary. But we should be talking about things of significance rathern than who started HOPE (since the future of HOPE is a critical issue now) and Wikipedia bios. And we should be united in our disgust about the issues you just brought up. We're letting Sonny Perdue, Ralph Reed, Linda Schrenko, and George Bush off the hook. Add to that the continuing McKinney situation. This will only encourage Republicans to continue down their present course. Because we're doing everything we can to take the public's focus off of Republican transgressions.I'm sorry to say that Democrats are off to a bad start in a key election year. "
Cox Committed to Early Childhood Education
Cathy Cox is serious about early childhood education. This week, within the major policy initiative, she announced plans to fully fund, through Family Connections collaboratives in every county, early childhood programs. This has the potential to reverse our devastating dropout rate. Here's what she had to say:
Research indicates that students who are not reading on grade level by the end of the third grade are much less likely to graduate from high school. Despite the fact that the greatest amount of brain growth occurs between birth and age five, the majority of Georgia's investments in education are made for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Cox knows t hat the best education will result from an active partnership among parents, teachers, and children.
§ As Governor, Cathy Cox will support and fully fund childcare and developmentally appropriate learning opportunities for children through the Family Connections Programs in every county.
§ Because every Georgia child is entitled to free preschool, Cox will ensure that every preschool provides real learning opportunities and puts children on track for success at an early age.
Sphere: Related Content
Friday, April 28, 2006
What Georgia Democrats Could've Talked About
This week, while we were all busy talking about campaign tactics, and slamming other Democrats, we missed the opportunity to talk about the $3.00+ that Georgians are paying for gas, the trial of Schrenko, the scandal at Hyundai/Kia, and a sex offender law that sheriffs say may actually make our children less safe.
Yes, while we were preoccupied with beating each other up, the Perdue Team, virtually got a pass on all of this. And that's the real problem.
If we want to win, then we may just need to re-think this strategy.
Sonny Perdue Channels Dick Cheney
From Sonny's own Website: res ipsa loquiter. All together now, Georgians: DUCK AND COVER!
2006: I Can Hear Heels Clicking on Marble!
This year, I count fifty-nine Democratic women who have qualified for the Georgia House, Georgia Senate or for constitutional office. I count only twenty-one Republican women who have done the same. That speaks volumes.
Why is it that there are dramatically fewer Republican women who seek state level office in Georgia? I have a theory.
The Republican party's agenda is hostile to women. We could talk about issues like drive-by mastectomies, failure to support insurance mandates for preventative care, failure to address the growing number of women with children who live in poverty, and the failure to support mental health programs that help stem domestic violence, but all you really have to do is look at the difference in the numbers of Republican and Democratic women who offer themselves for elected office in Georgia.
Despite having the majority of the seats in both the Georgia House and Senate, Georgia Republicans have obviously failed to support women leaders in their own party, and as such, remain a party that is, at the leadership level, overwhelmingly dominated by rich white men who are often out of touch with the agenda of average Georgians.
Yet another reason why we will see Democratic gains in November. As Viola Napier said, "there's just no way around it, the Assembly needs cleaning." From the Governor's office on down, these are just the women to do the job!
Johnny Floyd Will Have Opposition
I note that Johnny Floyd, who recently had a party identity crisis, will have competition from Democrat Jennifer Harris, a 33 year old student from Cordele. I will be very interested in learning more about Jennifer's candidacy. She is one of five Democratic women from Middle Georgia who are seeking House seats. The others are: Lauren Benedict, Beth Perera, Nikki Randall and Dee Yearty.
It looks as though Middle Georgia women are trying to single-handedly close the gender gap in the General Assembly!
Note: Johnny Floyd has drawn yet another challenger: Robert Phillips of Arabi.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Taylor Campaign Panders to Republican Blog
Mark Taylor's campaign and The Perdue Team have something in common: both want Taylor to win the Democratic primary in July.
Recently, when an amateurish parody of the Cox campaign made it's debut on a popular Very-Republican-Leaning blog, Peach Pundit, I initially hoped Taylor would condemn such campaign tactics. Today, we discover that not only was Taylor silent on the issue, but his own spokesperson, Rick Dent, proudly took credit for both creating the video and distributing it to the Republican blog.
This stunt came on the heels of Dent's extremely negative, mocking, inaccurate statement about Cox that first appeared on Taylor's campaign website and then very quickly on, you guessed it, the same Republican blog. I'm sure Sonny's pleased as punch. Keep this up, and he'll win without firing the first shot.
The reason the Perdue Team is in bed with the Taylor Campaign when it comes to attacking Cathy is clear: Mark Taylor wants to win the primary and that suits Sonny Perdue just fine. But, why do we, Democrats, want to feed this kind of garbage to Republicans when it is sure to be regurgitate in the general? Does that sound like a winning strategy?
It seems that for Mark Taylor, Rick Dent, can't be bad enough to earn a rebuke. A Taylor supporter speculated on this blog that the Taylor camp wasn't pleased with Dent's behavior. I don't know about that, but if so, we deserve to hear about it from Taylor himself, just like Cathy did. Dent's behavior is apparently not that of some rogue staffer, but is instead endorsed and supported by the Taylor campaign. It must be part of their planned strategy, else why would Dent's diatribe be on the Taylor website, and why would Dent be so brazen as to publicly "take credit" for creating and distributing the video?
This week, Cox, true to her values, stepped up to the plate and, in the strongest possible terms, made it clear that such tactics would not be tolerated in her campaign. She acted with integrity and class. And her campaign chief resigned.
Yet, Rick Dent, still has a job. This begs the question: does Mark Taylor approve of these tactics? Apparently, he does. Will Taylor step up to the plate and demand this negative pandering stop? I'm looking for evidence of statesmanship here, and the only place I see it is in Cathy Cox.
Here's a section of the AJC article. The balance can be found here
The ad parodies a conference call last week put together by the Cox campaign to poke holes in Taylor's claim that he sponsored the HOPE scholarship.
"When I saw it, I thought it was so funny that I thought we should share it with everybody," Dent said. He said he placed it on a blog and then sent it to reporters.
Dent said that while the video was aimed mostly at political insiders, the Internet is an important campaign tool, from official campaign Web sites with advertising spots to blogs.
"It's a brand-new way of trying to inform and influence the public about what you're doing," Dent said.
Dent said the campaign has been in contact with popular Georgia political blogs such as peachpundit.com...." Sphere: Related Content
Georgia Democrats are Gaining Strength
Here's how I know. In Middle Georgia, Young Democrats and College Democrats are stronger than ever. At Mercer University wonderful leaders like Matt Wethering and John Buckner, have for the first time in memory grown the College Democrats organization. There are more college dems than college republicans at Mercer. Yes, that's right. I said Mercer. Plus, the Young Dems at Mercer Law School are strong and active, along with groups from Wesleyan and Macon State. And, in Bibb County, we have a newly formed Young Democrats group that is up and running and off to a great start. They are seriously committed to the community and to the values that make them Democrats.
In fact, some months ago, they YD's asked for help and advice, and while my mind was on helping with social functions, what they really wanted was help planning a community forum on economic development. The forum was a grand success, and tonight, they will host the second in that series. The information is below. I hope that, if you are in the Middle Georgia area, you will attend.
Tonight (4/27/06) ibb County Young Democrats will host a forum on education and economic development. It will be held at City Hall and will run from 7 to 9 pm. This event is free and open to the public. There will be a panel discussion featuring:
Carl Martray, Dean of Mercer's College of Education
Sharon Patterson, Bibb County School Superintendent
Joe Larche, Assistant Commissioner of Labor for Georgia
Pat Topping, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce
Marquis Harris, History Teacher at Central High School
Members of the audience will be able to ask questions of the panelists.
In addition to the panel discussion, there will also be an education fair, with several local colleges and all four branches of the armed services present. Here, people can learn about opportunities to further their education. Refreshments will be provided.
I look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow at the forum.
Thank you very much,
Jeff Fallis
President,
Bibb County Young Democrats
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
What This is Really All About
While we have been preoccupied with Internet biographies, here are some items that have passed under the radar. I'm not fine with any of this. You shouldn't be fine with any of this, and any one of these issues is reason enough to stop feeding the Republican media monster and do what we must to elect Democrats.
1) While we're dealing with sticker shock at the pump, Big Oil is doing just fine, thank you. See the chart to the left that indicates record profits. Not only this, but CNN reports that Georgia is among the states where gas prices are the highest. Good that we lead in something...
2) Linda Schrenko's trial is underway. She directly stole money from our children's schools. Perdue just want to starve them out of existence.
3) Karl Rove, our President's Brain, made his fifth Grand Jury appearance.
4) The Perdue Team snuck through legislation that allows the General Assembly, not a judge or jury, to decide whether you get paid if you prevail in a lawsuit against the state of Georgia. Check out HB 1164. Forget what the judge and jury think- who needs them anyway? The General Assembly is all-knowing.
5) Iraq. Do I really need to say any more?
So, what do you say we get back to the issues that really matter?
Yes, Morton Resigned
Yes, he did, and I will post more when I know more. One thing I will say now: in characteristic style, Cathy Cox demanded accountability and followed through with her promise to get to the bottom of the issue and deal with it swiftly and directly. I expected no less and this is exactly the kind of Governor I want for Georgia- someone with the highest ethical standards who will demand the same from others.
Sphere: Related ContentSurprise: Three Qualify for Georgia Governor
No one should be surprised that three people have qualified for Governor, unless I tell you that Cathy Cox and Mark Taylor are not among the three. That's right, Sonny Perdue (R), Mac McCarley (D), and Ray "State's Rights" McBerry (R).
Three candidates, just not the race we expected. I'm sure Mark and Cathy will qualify, but, who knows, maybe in November we'll be looking at Governor to Be "State's Rights." :)
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