Georgia Politics Daily

What's the definition of insanity?

Resident Hack
by George Dienhart

It's an old joke built around more than just a grain of truth. The definition of insanity is doing the exact same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. In this case, Congress is readying another stimulus package, and expecting it to work. This is proof that Pelosi and Reid are certifiably crazy.

The real question here, is how crazy are they. The fed pumped a 150 billion dollar stimulus package into the economy last year. It didn’t work. They followed up with a 700 billion dollar "rescue plan" for the economy. The Jury is still out on that one. So now, Congress proposes a 300 million dollar stimulus.

This is not about stimulating the economy- it's about payola. The left is stringing along voters with this latest carrot on a stick proposal. "Follow us into the voters both and punch the name with all the pretty, pretty D's next to them. We'll make it worth your while."

Most analysts agree that spending is out of control- big media is quick to point out how fast money burned a hole through the pockets of a GOP Congress, but where are the news crews now? Pelosi and Reid plan to spend 300 million, and no one notices. Obama has promised a TRILLION DOLLARS OF NEW SPENDING. Nary a word for the alphabet networks, or their counterparts in the print media. It's almost as if there is a leftist agenda in big media...

Chambliss- Martin race heating up

Resident Hack
by George Dienhart

The Chambliss- Martin race for the US Senate is starting to tighten up. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has recently dumped over a half million dollars in to the campaign of Democrat Jim Martin. Unfortunately, Chambliss' seat is now seen close enough that the Democrats are willing to dump massive amounts of cash into the race. It's seems that as far as the DSCC is concerned, money makes the man.

I, for one, do not agree. As I have previously stated, Martin is just another example of an empty suit politician. Not only is he far to liberal- he also is content to hide his views from the voters. He has yet to take a stand, or even offer a glimmer of information as to what is important to him. For a politician, this is a key omission.

A politician, by nature, is a media whore. As a politician, you have to be- it's how you get the word out about your campaign. There are only 3 reasons to hide.

• You are an idiot propped up by a local machine. As far as Martin is concerned, the jury is still  out on this one...
• There is a scandal lurking. this is doubtful- even the increasingly leftist and incompetent big  media outlets in Georgia would have run with a scandal story.
• You are completely out of touch with your constituency. Bingo!

I'm not 100% sure on this, but it seems that point 3 is the most probable. Martin is riding the Obama wave- and if you are going to ride on somebody's coattails, you should be prepared to be compared to them. In the case of a Conservative Georgia electorate, emulating Obama is not going to get you across the finish line.

This leaves Georgia voters as the recipient of more attack ads, while also coming up short in knowledge about the ever more slippery Jim Martin. The Atlanta Journal- Constitution reported that the five television stations that have received the bulk of the media buy have not yet even seen the ad they will be running. Again the Martin campaign is hiding.

The campaign would not be hiding the ads if they were policy-centric. I suspect they are more "angry, white guy" ads like the one the ad I kept hearing on the radio. You'll remember those as the "Thank YOU, Saxby" campaign. These ads offered a increasingly angry white male unfairly recounting the ways that Saxby has not lived up to conservative expectations. The implied solution? Vote for the liberal Jim Martin. That's not an option for Georgians.

I have repeatedly called for Martin to tell us where he stands on the issues. Here is a breakdown, from his website:

• The economy. Marin believes we should spend less. Okay- everyone believes that. He also believes in creating "Green collar jobs". At what cost? This will require massive subsidies- which contradicts his stand on lower spending.
• Iraq- His website says that the Bush strategy has failed. I guess his handlers wrote this before the Surge...
• Health care. Martin believes in "Health care for every American." I wonder who he believes should pay for it? (HINT: Take a close look in the mirror. If the person you see currently pays for health care- he or she will be paying more for it under "Martinomics".
• Energy. Not a hint of drilling on the Martin website. Just more vague environmentalism- and a picture of a windmill!

As you can see, Martin is quick to criticize Chambliss, but is not offering up anything close to solutions. The correct solution for Georgia is easy to name. It's Saxby Chambliss.

US news in India

Everything and in between
by Frase Poo

US news in India is very biased. CNN is very popular there. Need I say more ?

I occasionally read the local Indian news paper online and one of the topics for this week was
that McCain was on the outs with Palin. It was written by a writer from London.

I am always amazed by how different the news is outside the US.The writer stated that
McCain was throwing the election and that Palin was out to salvage it for him. The general tone
of the article was that Palin was out to get the presidency for herself.

I would say that she will be ready for that in 4-8 years and if she goes head to head with Hillary Clinton,it would be a great fight- not to mention a huge step for women.She will be a great VP if McCain won tomorrow,she has the qualities.

I have to add that the Clintons were hugely popular in India. Bill Clinton visited when he was president and was the first president to visit India in 22 years.

But it makes me mad to see that the news leans so much to the left, as dictated by CNN.The only problem with leaning that far that is that you will topple off the pedestal!

ACORN and Voter Fraud- Or How To Steal An Election

Confessions Of A Closet Republican
by Incognito

Everyone who deserves to vote should have the right to vote, it is every citizen's inalienable right to do so. But there are some unethical and criminal types who seem to think it's okay to vote multiple times to ensure their particular candidate wins, and that's what ACORN is encouraging with their sketchy voter registration efforts. Whether they are directly complicit or not, the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (better known as ACORN) is being investigated for voter registration fraud across the country, from Nevada to Ohio to Florida and everywhere in between. On

e of the major problems is that people hired by ACORN to register voters are being paid per name, and with quotas to fill, they'll do anything to get signatures, including bribing people who have already registered. One Ohio man, under investigation, was paid cash and cigarettes to register a whopping 73 times! Another Cleveland pizza delivery guy being questioned about the 10 to 15 times he registered to vote he was approached multiple times by ACORN workers while sitting in a public square. He said the group's solicitors told him they were getting paid by the name to sign up voters. "I 'd be like, 'No, I'm already registered," Barkley said. "Then they just asked me again, like, 'I need a job, I'm just trying to hold on to a job. So would you sign it for me? I need 25 or more. I need a certain amount of them.' So me being the kind-hearted person, I say, 'Yeah.'

There are also reports of new registrations in dead people's names, and many with false phone numbers and addresses. A CNN video report (below) describes how at least 50 percent of the newly registered voters in one county alone were totally bogus.

ACORN seems unconcerned about all the allegations of voter fraud, and claim they are a non-partisan organization. However, they endorsed Barack Obama, and Obama's campaign donated $800,000 to ACORN to help with its primary 'get out the vote' registration drive. ACORN's emphasis is to get lower income citizens to vote, which is fine, but we know that they tend to vote Democratic. And, if the driving force behind this effort happens to have endorsed a Democratic candidate,  odds are they will be pushing that candidate.

As much as ACORN (and the Democratic Party) swear they are not attempting to steal this election,  it looks like it to me. I think they will do anything to get Obama elected, even if that means bribing people to vote, illegally. Voter registration fraud <strong>can</strong> potentially lead to election fraud, especially when the only states that require a photo I.D</a>. to vote are -<strong>Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan and South Dakota</strong> .  There's an emergency petition being circulated to require photo i.d.s to cast one's ballot.  You can sign the online, emergency "voter identification" petition

We live in a democracy! One would think we were beyond voter fraud. What message do we send to the world at large, when we are just as guilty as some of those countries we've sanctioned for stealing elections. 

For video, please visit Confessions Of A Closet Republican 

Cross posted at Confessions Of A Closet Republican

Rodentia, stand and be counted

by George Dienhart

It's another bad day for ACORN- this time a rather public outing of an attempt to register Mickey Mouse to vote in the State of Florida.

I'm all for ensuring that citizens have ballot access- but this shows the corruption that seeped into this particular organization. ACORN has always been an organization that lines up on the left, but what they are trying to do is steal an election. This is not another innocent mistake- this represents a deep and disturbing corruption. An element of corruption that will do anything- legal or illegal to elect Barrack Obama.

The left will complain that it makes no difference. That these voter ID drives will do no damage because they are weeded out before election day. This is a lie. We don't know how many of these registrations are undiscovered, and we don't know how many will enable people to vote multiple times. Take notice- where are all these discoveries taking place? Swing states. Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are all caught up in yet another scandal.

How does young Barry respond? Lies and then silence. He disavows ever having a relationship with ACORN (he was a trainer) then silence. As if that wasn't bad enough, he has demanded silence form his followers- his team is banning anyone that uses his website and blog portal who brings it up. Israpundit is providing an archive of such actions.

Anyone else think this looks fishy?

Flip!

by George Dienhart

A piece in the Politico pointed out some disagreements within the Obama camp over his economic policy. Specifically, Obama has incorporated a plan to include a 90 day foreclosure moratorium into his policy. The problem is that the campaign issued a statement stating that such a moratorium would be "disastrous," and would reward the "people who made this problem worse" by benefiting banks that profit from high mortgage rates.

Normally, you would expect heads to roll for a spokesman being that out of sync with a candidate. Not this time. It was Obama that originally made the remarks. That's what people in the business call a flip. Obama has become a master at it- he has become so proficient at flipping that he should be awarded a gold medal in gymnastics. Of course, with big media scoring him, that's to be expected.

This once again calls into question Obama's authenticity and judgment. He once again appears as though he will say anything to get elected. It's the single biggest reason to vote against him. Between the economy and the Global War on Terror- we, as a nation, can't afford this kind of judgment.

Thank-YOU Saxby

Resident Hack
by George Dienhart

There has been a lot of Saxby bashing lately- from the left and the right. The facts are, he probably doesn’t deserve the beating he is getting. Here are some things to think of over the next 3 weeks

He has an ACU Rating of 92.
His life rating from the ACU is 94.
Leftist spin is blaming Chambliss for the financial meltdown. Has anybody ever heard of Barney Frank?

What do we know about Jim Martin? Not much as it turns out "On the Issues" has nothing on him for most of the 20 or so categories that they track. Marin has been silent on Abortion, Immigration, Jobs, and Homeland Security. Remember- even though he may be criticizing Chambliss on some of these issues- he has said nothing about his own position. That's an old political trick- I think the people of Georgia are too smart to fall for that.

What has Martin said? Well he said "Affordable health care for all is an achievable goal" in July 2008. That additional spending. He received a C on Gun Control from the NRA- not a good score.

It seems that on the rare occasions that Martin does go on the record, it’s to push a leftist, Obama-centric agenda. An Agenda that's not right for Georgia.

The facts are that even though some find Saxby Chambliss a flawed candidate- he is better for conservatives than Jim Martin. Martin is a Obama type of candidate- an empty suit. If anyone knows where Martin stands- and can provide a link to where Martin has spoken on these issues, please post it in the comments.

It’s FOCA, Not the Stupid Economy!

Life Matters
by Dr. Linda Powell

I can think of 500,000 reasons why I will not vote for Obama in November! 

There are 1.3 million womb babies killed in the US each year.  There would be at least 500,000 more killed during an Obama presidency.  He has already promised Planned Parenthood that one of his first presidential acts would be to sign FOCA into law.

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)

FOCA’s key provision is that “it is the policy of the United States that every woman has a fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman.”  So, a “government” (which is undefined in the act) may not “deny or interfere” (also undefined in the act) with a “woman’s right to choose” or “discriminate “(also undefined) against the “exercise of these rights.”

In general, if FOCA is enacted, it would wipe out virtually every existing state law on abortion and override 35 years of jurisprudence on the subject.  It is written so broadly that some of the laws that would be invalidated would be informed consent laws, parental notification laws, laws promoting maternal health if they result in abortions costing more, and abortion clinic regulations.  Our tax dollars would go to provide abortions.  Laws that protect the rights of conscience for doctors, nurses, and medical personnel in general could be overturned,  partial birth abortion would be legal again, waiting periods would be outlawed, and physicians would not be required to keep records with respect to abortions performed. 

FOCA is a radical measure

FOCA is out of touch with the majority of Americans who want some limits on abortion.  FOCA would undo all the “incremental” legislation that we, in the pro-life movement, were told was the only way we could limit abortions in this country.  If FOCA is passed and signed into law, would we, who have always believed in and promoted a constitutional amendment to protect all life from conception to natural death, feel vindicated?  No, it would be very, very sad.  We have been advancing the ball down a field where the other side wasn’t even in the same stadium.  The intent of the pro-death crowd has always been unlimited abortions for no reason or any reason and for you and me, the taxpayers, to pay for them. 

We gave our elected officials in Washington, who claimed to be pro-life, a pass.  Many national groups supported them even though they believed that babies can be killed if they were conceived in rape or incest.  Many Catholic bishops didn’t enforce Canon Law and allowed Catholic senators and representatives to continue to scandalize the Catholic faithful.  So now, if BO is elected, we’ll have FOCA. 

On the local level, in the last Georgia Assembly, our pro-life representatives couldn’t get a resolution out of committee.  This resolution would have put personhood into the Georgia constitution when people would have voted for it.  Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and the Archdiocese of Atlanta joined forces against it, albeit for different reasons, but the result was the same.  Now, we’ll have FOCA.

In Georgia, we have some of those incremental laws like the Woman’s Right to Know, parental notification, and the Ultrasound Act.  It took 15 years and a lot of money and sweat equity for the Woman’s Right to Know Law to pass.  And, now we’ll have FOCA.

The Scale

Imagine going up to Obama and saying to him, “Oh, you think that it is all right to abuse children in the privacy of your own home, but what is your stand on the economy?”  We wouldn’t care what he had to say about the economy!  We would send him and Biden packing.  Abused children would outweigh anything else he had to say.  Fifty million dead babies outweigh $4.00 gasoline.  In fact, fifty million dead babies outweigh just about everything that is happening right now.  In fact, what is happening right now could be the result of killing our children.

Think about it.

RIP, Deb

by George Dienhart

Usually, I stick to the rules that a political blog should adhere to. Today, I'm going to go off subject and share a story from 25 years ago. It's been on my mind quite a bit lately. 25 is one of those round numbers that people celebrate, or in this case mourn. It was Columbus Day 25 years ago (Oct 8, 1973) that Debra Lynn Dienhart was killed. She was my sister.

I wish that I had more memories to pass to my children, but I was only 6 years old. What I do remember is she was taken from us way to early.

She had argued with my mother that day- I'm not sure what they were arguing about. Debbie left angry, and my mother was angry. Most mothers would have been able to stop their 16 year old from leaving the home without permission- but my mother was stricken with Multiple Sclerosis, and as such confined to a wheelchair. Their last moments together were not a good mother daughter moment; it was however, a very real moment. People don't always get to leave the way they want to, and this was certainly the case with my sister.

Most of the people who were adults at the time are gone- those that remain don't like to drudge up horrible memories. As I sit here reliving this horrible night, I feel compelled to share what I know. I learned the basics as an adult- mostly from a 225 word story on page A13 of the Chicago Tribune. That is part of why I'm writing this- Debbie deserves more than having her story reduced to 225 words.

The specifics are a story that far too many families can tell. It's a story of sorrow and loss. Debbie was walking along the 4700 block of Nagle Ave in Harwood Heights. That evening she had met a friend that had previously moved away. I believe her friend, Cynthia McRae, had come to talk Debbie out of running away. Debbie had run away twice before- and been back home by 11 pm. She was a sixteen year old girl in a simpler time. "Running away" would get a get a parents attention without ending up as a lifetime movie of the week. I know in my heart of hearts that Cynthia would have talked Debbie into going home- like she and her friends had done before.

We didn’t have a luxurious lifestyle. There were 5 of us crammed into a two bedroom apartment. Sometimes tempers flared- but no one was ever hit or abused. Debbie was an emotional 16 year old girl who should have returned home that night. She did not. I remember a phone call- and my father coming out of the kitchen to get my mother. They both came out of the kitchen and were white as ghosts. My father left immediately. It was before my bedtime, so the accident happened before 8 O'clock. Then my maternal grandmother came over. Shortly later my fathers aunts arrived. Everyone was on edge. I still didn't know what was happening.

It was before cell phones- so they all sat there, not knowing what to say. Then my father came home- he was crying he scooped me up on the way to hold my mother- she was already holding my baby brother, Mike. They were crying- I asked what happened. My father said "Debbie's gone, she's where no one can ever hurt her again." I knew what that meant. We all cried. I fell asleep in my fathers arms that night. I don't know what time. In a horrible twist of fate, it was the last time we were truly a family.

I feel I am shorting Cynthia here- she also died that night. A man named Ronald Wankewycz hit them both with his car. My family always said he was drunk- the article I bought from the Tribune doesn’t mention that. He said he fell asleep. He hit 3 trees- pinning my sister and her friend to the third and then sped off. 3 good Samaritans chased him down and brought him back to the scene of the crime. I don't know who they are- but I wish I could thank them. He likely would not have been caught had they not acted.

My aunt later told me that Debbie was still pinned to the car when Wankewycz tried to escape.

The repercussions were severe to my family. My mother caught pneumonia at Debbie's funeral and almost died. Emotionally, she never recovered. We lost her in 1985. My father and mothers marriage was never the same. I think he blamed her for the argument that caused my sister to leave that day. My brother doesn’t remember her, but grew up in a drastically different environment without Debbie. And then there is me- I carry a lot of anger over this. I look at my children and see Debbie in their features. I think about how much they would have loved her- and that they will never know her. Through Debbie's absence, this savage act still shapes who people are- 25 years later.

I don't know how to end this story. Debbie- you are still remembered by all that loved you, and we miss you.

Republican Contradictions

Token Liberal
by Thomas Freeman

Let’s see where I start. McCain’s unwillingness to shake Barrack Obama’s hand…or Sarah Palin showing up to numerous function sponsored by a political party that wants Alaska to be a separate country!  I’ll start with McCain who has a great plan to buy all of America’s bad mortgages. Only thing he says he’s not going to raise taxes! Ok….who does the senator think he’s fooling? The money has to come from somewhere. Knowing that Republicans will cut any program for there already outrages Defense budget I wonder what Senator McCain plans to cut to fund his proposed program. Barrack Obama has made it clear before the election that he will raise taxes on those who make more than $250,000, and although people who fall in that category ,might not like it, they should respect the fact that Barrack has been up front about his plans. He could say “Read my lips no new taxes”, but we all know the end results to that. I actually like McCain’s plan but let’s be realistic about where the money is going to come from.

Sarah Palin is trying to take the Bill Clinton route into America’s heart by appearing on SNL. She wants to give a makeover to the traditional view of Republicans, maybe that’s because she’s an AIP at heart. It might not be a bad idea, but I can’t see McCain’s camp endorsing this move. And then there’s the confirmed that “Sarah Palin and her husband Todd were members in of Alaska’s Independence Party in 1994, even attending the 1994 statewide convention in Wasilla”, Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, told ABC News. So much for patriotism! Since the 1970s the AIP has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not Alaska can secede from the United States…so much for Patriotism! For Palin to always attack Obama about who he associated with, i.e. Jeremiah Wright, and Bill Ayers, you would think her past was crystal clear. Palin, herself was involved with the AIP, and then you have McCain linked to a man who sells shirts celebrating Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Plus we all know he opposed MLK Day, to the point that the governor of his state turned down an invitation to host the super bowl which would have brought in millions of dollars. Wow they must have really been opposed to this holiday. These things can not only be attributed to McCain and Palin’s friends but to the actual Senator and Governor. I wonder who’s running the smear campaign for the Democrats anyway…because I never hear these issues addressed in mass media!

Under George Bush’s leadership the national debt has almost doubled…it’s safe to say his presidency was a failure. So do Republicans actually believe McCain is that much different? Doubling a 5 trillion dollar debt takes effort and not the kind of effort we need. Under Bill Clinton the country had some surplus. Do any of these issues matter to Conservatives…I guess will see in November.