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Posts Tagged ‘Jack Kingston’

Fair Questions: Are you cool with Obama? Voted for Rep. Bishop? Ride with Senator Isakson? Down with Speaker Boehner? Deal with Governor Deal?

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2015| 1 Comment »

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Is it fair to ask a candidate how they voted for another office?  Should you ask them if they are Republican or Democrat if they are running in a non-partisan election?

Personally, I say yes.  Local elected officials are representatives to state and federal governments and officials; they tell other officials what the people are saying.  Unfortunately, the Republican Party has been commandeered by the far Right Tea Party Movement and the first thing they tell their officials is “you don’t need to speak with those who oppose us.”

Wait a second, once candidates become elected officials, they should communicate with everyone to explain their decisions and opinions.  Democrats generally do it.

So, people hate President Obama, say ugly thinks about him and his wife then dare local elected officials to do business with the Obama Administration.  Some mayors and city councilmen don’t want federal grant money because it’s from Obama or was from the Clinton Administration.   They need to get ready for another Clinton Administration.

Folks laugh about questioning Obama’s birthplace and even his religion and local elected officials stand there and smile.  That’s wrong.  I am Democrat but I am quick to walk away from a liberal nut who thinks President Bush had prior knowledge of the September 11 attacks.

Check this: former Representative Jack Kingston got cool points for taking questions in forums at Savannah State University from liberal students.  However, Jack playfully laughed when asked if candidate Obama was from the U.S.A.   Later, Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed was the Georgia point person for getting federal funds to deepen the Port of Savannah, a project that meant countless jobs to our region.  I think Reed took the lead because Obama staffers didn’t want to hear from Savannah congressman Kingston after the birther mess.

Today, Speaker John Boehner announced his resignation.  Yesterday, he was meeting with the Pope and today he is gone.  Boehner is a real dude and must have been overwhelmed by the love of the Holy See.  Mr. Speaker must have told himself that he wanted no more of the Tea Party’s ugly influence on the Republican Party.

So, Rep. Sanford Bishop has done right by American farmers since day one because agriculture is Georgia’s number one industry.  When the Tea Party came for Bishop with lies and made-up silliness, many local elected officials and ag leaders stood by smirking.  We are talking about the same people who were constantly asking Bishop for this and that.

Speaker Boehner came to Albany, Georgia, and had a private meeting at Doublegate Country Club.  You know Boehner tried to tell those knuckleheads that they could beat Bishop fair and square on fiscal issues but attacking a good man’s character was messed up.  The Republican establishment doesn’t control the Tea Party, Fox News or talk radio.  Those nasty attacks made us circle the wagons around Bishop and he won that election by the thinness of margins.

So, for stake of full disclosure, I have voted for Obama twice, Rep. Bishop every time after he beat Charles Hatcher, and a couple of Republicans in the GOP primary because there are no Dem primaries anymore.

Also, like many Black Democrats in Atlanta, I often vote for Senator Isakson because he is a good Georgian.  Sometimes, we need reasonable members on the other team telling fools to shut up.

When these local candidates come around smiling, asked them if they voted for Obama, Bishop, Scott, Romney, Mccain or whoever.  It’s funny how they get votes from Obama supporters but later hang with people who would like to see the worst happen to the president.  I never wanted anything horrible to happen to a president and those who do are sick.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20.

Matthew 7:15-20

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?  17 So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit.  18 A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.

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Look, I am not saying some candidates are evil but they are sometimes around questionable people and say nothing.  Senator John McCain was campaigning for president and an old lady got the mic and said Obama was a Arab.  She didn’t even get the right part of the world.  McCain took the mic back from her and said no madam, no madam…I don’t agree with him on issues but he is a good man.

What about asking candidates how they feel about the Black Lives Matter Movement?  I think that could have been called Black Lives Matter Also.

Questions in general about the confederate flag seem unfair but questions about displaying that flag on city grounds are fair in my opinion.

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Wow, Senate candidate David Perdue blasted Jack Kingston on Kids Working for School Lunches and Michelle Nunn Isn’t Really a Liberal Democrat

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on October 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Last winter, Senate candidate Jack Kingston said kids should pay a little something or work for school lunches to build character.  I didn’t notice that fellow candidate David Perdue put him on blast for that statement.

http://zpolitics.com/perdue-fires-a-shot-at-kingstons-free-lunch/

 

The play callers on the Dem Team must be out of touch with the average Americans because that statement in a statewide discussion would bring many unlikely voters to the polls.  The statement could divide the GOP voters who supported Kingston in the primary if they felt Perdue was tossing Jack under the bus.  Do we see Jack campaigning with Perdue in southeast Georgia?  In the next two debates, the reporters should ask Perdue how he feels about the school lunch issue today because if he vacillates, the far Right wing of their party might bounce on him.

 

Would my Black Republican friends please screen the TV ads before they air?  Geez.  We know the Dems need unlikely voters to turnout but the energy is weak so far.  Obama supporters weren’t making the connection between Michelle Nunn winning and Obama avoiding a Republican controlled U.S. Senate that might impeach him.  Then, these GOP geniuses starting these out of context pictures of Nunn and Obama smiling together…”Michelle Nunn will work for Obama’s liberal agenda.” Thanks to those one zillion ads, unlikely voters now get the importance of voting and for the record, the picture was taken at a President Bush event.

These are the same fools who might have beaten Rep. Sanford Bishop a few years back in they stayed on the fiscal issues but instead they started saying constructed character crap and that’s when my community got busy in defense of the homie.

 

“Michelle Nunn is a liberal.”  Let’s see, how many liberals would “I love conservatives” Zell Miller appear with in an ad.  Hell, she is Sam Nunn’s daughter.  Senator Sam Nunn was one of the last Dixiecrats; he did what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it because he wanted to do it.  I was on the Hill as a staffer in the Georgia delegation at the time and Senate Nunn was in a party of one; he was a moderate between the two parties.   The peach doesn’t fall to far from the tree.

 

Barrack Obama went into the White House with the hope of working across party lines or even erasing said lines altogether.  It didn’t happen and both parties basically suck today.  Nunn and Perdue are both refreshing outsiders but Nunn wants to build bridges and find solutions.  Perdue seems like a pleasant fellow but he is bring zany Sen. Ted Cruz, the biggest Obama hater in Congress, to the peach state to campaign for him….birds of a feather.

http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/10/16/ted-cruz-to-rally-for-nathan-deal-david-perdue/

 

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Leaving Black Votes on the Table: What Jack Kingston should have learned from Thad Cochran

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Rep. Jack Kingston could have won the primary runoff easily in the Black community but the wrong cats must have been in his ear.  We are talking about the same Jack who has frequently visited and represented Savannah State University for years.

Military bases and the agriculture industry are the economic backbones of non-Atlanta parts of Georgia but no one had the idea to get 6,000 or so votes from Democrats who Jack has helped time and time again.  Look, I live in little Worth County and Kingston got 605 votes here but in huge Albany with a Marine base, Jack only received 655 votes.  Say what?

It’s the proverbial two-edged sword.  The consultants around the Kingston campaign knew that he needed  Tea Party support to win the primary and the Tea Party will not vote for anyone who gets any votes from moderates.

Was anyone in the Kingston camp watching the Thad Cochran Senate primary in Mississippi?  Cochran turned to the Black community for enough support to get over the top; he sought his old friends.  Jack Kingston has more old friends on the Democrat side than any House Republican from Georgia.

I just talked with Georgia Secretary of State’s office and they confirmed that people who didn’t vote in the primary election could have voted for either side in the runoff.  The right Black community leaders in Savannah alone could have gotten out 6,000 Black votes on the strength of Jack’s closeness to our community and long history of hiring Black staffers in key position. But, they decided to leave that on the table.

To be honest, Democrats wanted to see Kingston vs. Michelle Nunn because Jack has a long history of statement about President Obama.  Nunn will not say it nor think it but Black folks coming out to vote in November will be as much about helping the Obama administration have a Democrat-controlled Senate as much as it is about her….and that is okay.

When David Perdue’s cousin took the governor’s office from Roy Barnes, some people vote for Sonny Perdue but many people voted against Barnes over the confederate flag and a teachers issue.  You win how you can.  David Perdue shouldn’t say the word “Obama” until Christmas but he will…the far Right will require that he does.  The attacks on Obama will drive Obama supporters to the polls and if Nunn can secure a few percentage points from suburban GOP women, she wins and helps the Dems hold the U.S. Senate.

Mrs. Nunn must know that Get Out the Vote and street operations will be as important as T.V. ads.  Remember, if Jack had half the street operations that Thad Cochran had, he would have won.

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Julian Bond: Cultivating White Democrats

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2014| 1 Comment »

The Democrat Party can’t be mostly Black nor should the GOP be all White.  This blog has been saying that for years.  First, I really don’t care too much for political parties because they are about power and control over good governing.  If we must have parties, the best ones look like America—they are comprised of a cross-section of peoples and groups or the leaders communicate with everyone.

The “All In With Chris Hayes” show on MSNBC is starting a new segment on race.  The promo for the segment features Georgian Julian Bond telling Hayes that Black elected officials need to give up some Black areas to neighboring districts to get White Democrats elected.  I love it because you don’t necessarily need Black politicians to serve Black folks (and a few Black Republicans might not be bad for understanding and informative purposes.)

If you take race off the table, congressional districts should be draw in a way where candidates from either major party can win—that keeps them on their toes.  The scary fact is that the GOP turned in the early 1990s into a party that often demands that its elected officials not listen to those with other points of view.  Look here, officials are paid by all taxpayers—not just the people that voted for them.  If you listen to a constant diet of vitriol from left or right zealots, you too would swear that the other side is the devil.

Let’s look that two congressional districts that makeup southwest Georgia.  For most of his time in the Georgia state house and the U.S. Congress, Sanford Bishop didn’t have a majority Black district.  He won by serving a cross section of people well.  Former Rep. Jim Marshall was one of the last southern White Democrats and his seat was important until he started slamming Obama and Speaker Pelosi to keep rural voters.  He had to go and he was replaced with a reasonable GOP candidate, Austin Scott.  Who knew that Scott would be one of the most conservative members of the House?

In theory during redistricting, members of congress don’t own districts but the General Assembly had no problem lumping more and more Blacks into Bishop’s district because that action made the three contiguous districts more and more GOP.  Bishop is a fighter and a true representative; he could represent anyone.  But, the Tea Party, Fox News and the far right talk radio has rural Georgia White twisted and negatively brainwashed so can you blame him for accepting more safety.  In southeast Georgia, Rep. Jack Kingston took all of Black Savannah to increase the GOP chances of taking Rep. John Barrow’s seat—Barrow is the last White Democrat in the U.S. House from the deep South.

Hey, Democrats would be fine if the people they helped legislatively would simply vote.  A surprisingly large number of GOP members of the state legislature have 25% or more Blacks in their districts but folks don’t vote.  The deciding factor for the elections in November might be the effectiveness of the Get Out the Voter efforts and that requires money—more cash should be put on the streets than on the airwaves.

http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/all-in-america-behind-the-color-line-285576771633

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Questions before the Georgia Senate Runoff

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , on June 7, 2014| 2 Comments »

David Perdue, Jack Kingston

Georgia primary voters should think long and hard before next month’s runoff election.  I give myself credit for being a moderate Democrat who voted in the Republican primary because that’s where the action was in this generally red state.  So, I get to vote in the runoff and important questions must be addressed.  For the record, my interests focus on improving our state more that supporting either major political party because parties are mostly interested in power and control.

  1. Will Jack Kingston explain his comments about school kids working for free lunch?  Readers of this blog know I like Jack but that was some dirty dirty design to secure the nut vote.  Shall we humiliates children who were born into families of modest means?   Does the same apply to summer lunch programs?  Is that for high school and middle school only are will 7 year olds be mopping also?  I will say that Democrat leaders on the national level want Kingston in November because that one comment could tip the election by driving young voters to the polls.  “He wants my little sister to clean food trays!?”

 

  1. Are Michelle Nunn and David Perdue Obama-like in their newness?  I am about to hit you with a new angle on the Senate race: because Nunn and Perdue are new to the political arena they don’t have a record of statements and actions like Jack Kingston now and the Clintons in 2008.  Hillary Clinton might have made a better president (to some) in 2008 but we would have never known because the conservatives would have rallied behind Romney to keep the Clintons out of the White House.  Smart Republicans know that Perdue would be safer.

 

  1. How do we want the world to see our state?  I have a problem with President Obama.  While he is still my guy, he speaks of the USA that should be rather than the USA that is.  He see a fair, positive colorfree nation and that simply isn’t reality.  Ole Jack Kingston is similar to the average Georgian and me but doesn’t attract new industry.  David Perdue is a corporate baller who can represent an international city like Atlanta.  Chambliss and Isakson are balanced gentleman and Perdue seems senatorial like them.  Kingston has done a fine job representing southeast Georgia but we should remember that Port of Savannah funding might have been delayed because Jack couldn’t or wouldn’t get the crazies on the far Right to dial down the anti-Obama vitriol.  Perdue’s handlers are messing up because they should be spinning his time at Dollar General as a job creator in my community.  Oh, we love those baby Wal-marts on every corner in forgotten neigborhoods.

 

  1. Is Hillary Clinton reading Nunn’s putt?  In golf, players watch their playing partner’s putts to judge the greens and the line.  I think Team Hillary is watching the 2014 performance of moderate Democrat women candidates to craft their 2016 approach to the South and to gauge which states are winnable.  A Michelle Nunn win puts Georgia on the table for Hillary because some GOP women put gender over party—that’s why they should have selected Karen Handel.

 

  1.  Would the Democrats prefer Kingston or Perdue in November?  I think Dems want Kingston for the school lunch thing and the southern drawl.  Yes, I am country my dam self but Jack pours that southern twang on like Karo syrup to the delight of rural voters.  But, when Dem voters in Georgia six biggest cities pay attention in the fall,  it will be on and popping because he sounds like an overseer on Roots.

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U.S Senate Race and Public Assistance: Help the Needy vs. Help the Seedy

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

You can’t think about public policy for the needy in the South without coming across several related Bible verses.  2 Thessalonians 3:10 says “For even when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”

But, we should also consider Psalm 82:2-4 “How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?  Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.  Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.”

Look, no one thinks of themselves as wicked and I am not calling anyone wicked.  However, some good people in politics and policy will do some somewhat devious things to win the battle and hopefully the war.

Everyone hates seeing hungry people and particularly hungry children.  Reasonable folks fairly state that those people got themselves into their circumstances with questionable life choices and personal responsibility.  It burns a taxpayer up to get into an old truck to leave a shift at a plant after standing 12 hours in steel-toed shoes then past grown fathers standing on the corner—guys who are too proud or crazy to do manual labor, pick crops or flip burgers.

The radio in that old pickup is blasting far Right talk radio in that worker’s ear.  “Your tax dollars provided those assistance checks, food stamps and free school lunches…you are sweating over a drill press while that bum plays video games all day in government assisted housing and sips malt liquor that was purchased with money intended for hungry kids.”  Dam, I am writing this stuff too easily…have I been watching Fox News.

We live in a free society; this isn’t North Korea or China.  Dictating better living isn’t legal.  So, children are born into struggling situations but Jesus wouldn’t want us to let them starve because their parents made bad choices.

The Farm Bill is the law that directs USDA programs and therefore seriously impacts the South.  Back when members of congress talked across the aisle, the farm bill supported commodity programs (which helped farm families) and provide food assistance programs (which helped farm families by creating  additional markets.)  Today, the far Right wanted to end most food assistance to force needy people to work and stop having kids they can’t afford.  Social media was a buzzed this week with the story of a seedy woman with 15 kids who upset that the government wasn’t doing more to help her.  Say what? I watch the news video about this family but paused it to say a little pray for those kids.

http://nation.foxnews.com/homelessness/2011/12/01/homeless-lady-15-kids-somebody-needs-pay-all-my-children

 

The school lunch/breakfast program ensures that needy kids have two meals a day five days a week during the school year.  Without those meals, the hospitals would be packed with malnourished kids and that cost would be astronomical.  Of course, hungry kids can’t focus on classwork so the labor force would be untrained and looking for ways to make fast money.  Fast money leads to prison at a cost of $35,000 a year.

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston is the best House Republican from the Georgia but as a Senate candidate even Jack started tripping.  Kingston has represented chocolate city Savannah for 20 years, he was worked in chocolate city D.C. for the same 20 years and he has served during that time on the House Ag Committee and/or the Appropriations Sub-Committee on Agriculture.  Jack is UDSA food programs like the back of his hand.

If Kingston really said that needy kids should work at the school to pay off their free lunch, he was saying that to get Senate primary votes.  He knows that would never happen nor would he want that to happen.  So, poor people, people who grew up poor (Black, White and Brown) and those of us with compassion for the poor make up a bloc of voters who some in the GOP are simple writing off.

I watched the GOP Senate primary like a hawk and waited to see how much campaign would be done in the Black community.  Karen Handel had a wealth of supporters in the ATL and Jack has always shown the flag in every community in his district.  I never heard these two candidates making overtures to the Black community because there are few primary voters there.   For the record, I am a moderate Dem who voted in the GOP primary because that was where the action was.

Surprisingly, former Dollar General executive David Perdue was the only GOP senate candidate that my Black GOP friends said reached out to the non GOP Black community; he supposedly met with 32 Black pastors in the Albany area.  I like that right there.

I told those same GOP friends that they can mark my word:  the school lunch comment by Kingston would drive out thousands of occasional voters—it’s a hornet’s nest.  Voters sometimes vote for candidates and sometimes vote against candidates.  Remember, the confederate flag drama drove some people to vote against then Governor Roy Barnes….hell, some of them didn’t know David Perdue’s cousin Sonny at the time.

People who live off checks provide to assist kids are seedy.  Blue Dog Democrats supported Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich’s welfare reform that included work or training requirements.  As Justice Clarence grandfather taught him, public assistance makes people weak and dependent.

However, Democrat blood will boil when the T.V. ads run next fall featuring kids mopping schools as their friends laugh.  I think control of the U.S. Senate for the last two years of Obama presidency hang on that school lunch comment.  Oh, it’s going to be on and popping when child nutrition supporter Michelle Obama and Orpah see that YouTube video.   School lunch programs also teach kids about healthy food choice and that education leads to better eating as adults.

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2014 Primary Big Picture: Golden Opportunities About To Be Squandered

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , on May 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The primary elections next month will place the foundation for what kind of Georgia we want to have.  With secondary consideration for party politics, I want to point out a different view of a few candidates.

Helen Blocker Adams, Augusta Mayor: Helen has a heart of gold and I have never ever known a person so committed to a place.  Augusta is an old boys city but Helen is about bridging the divide between regular folks and that is a good thing.

Aaron Johnson, Dougherty County School Board: We hear too much about elected officials who aren’t smart or those who don’t spend time explaining policy and budgets to the people.  Well, Aaron Johnson can break macroeconomics down so smoothly that I can understand it.  Look, one of the biggest problems with personal responsibility is that regular folks don’t get the limited role of government or grasp governmental fiscal constraints.  Well, you have an econ professor who has sat on a dozen citizen boards running for school board and he is neck and neck with a nice Country Club type lady who attended private school.  Really?   Actually, Johnson’s opponent did a fine job in the candidate forum at Darton College but she would be a better city commissioner than school board member.

The big picture about Aaron Johnson tossing his hat into the ring is that his hat should be in another ring in a few  years.  He likely doesn’t like the speculation but I don’t care.  His students emailed this blog years ago to say that he should be considered for Congress when Rep. Sanford Bishop retires.  Dude clearly loves his wife, baby, college, and church too much to start that fly to DC every Sunday night stuff.  But, I hate the Georgia congressional map because I want Albany to have a congressman, Macon to have and congressman and Columbus to have a congresswoman.  We don’t need to share.  To me, the election of Aaron Johnson to school board would give  him years to work in K-12 education and preps him to be one of our best shots at having congressman from our part of Georgia.

Vivian Childs, U.S. Congress:  The GOP is giving lip service to wanting to dialog with the minority community.  Who better to do that than someone from said minority community?  During the primary season, I have personally seen Mrs. Childs warmly discussing issues with Black voters who welcomed her to the discussion table.  Okay, they didn’t know she was a Republican because they never met one who wasn’t angry or ticked off.  Oh, she is just as ticked off as the rest of them but as a Black woman she knows how to channel that energy into productive action.  Why is Vivian Childs a member of Delta Sigma Theta who hasn’t use that bond as a campaign opportunity?  I think she is too nice to play the soror card but that niceness is her best tool at breaking Rep. Sanford Bishop’s lock on the second district. Well, she has gotten her foot into doors that never would have opened for other GOP candidates.

 

U.S. Senate Race:  First of all, the race for U.S. Senator from Georgia is really a midterm referendum on the Obama White House.  Control of the Senate by the Dems or the GOP will likely come down to this one seat.  I have choice words for people who help put President Obama in office but aren’t wise enough to know that he needs Dem control of the Senate to finish his presidency properly.

If this Senate seat stays with the GOP, I hope it will be a Republican who doesn’t ignore Blacks folks because so many of us are with the Blue team.  Yea, I will be a Democrat voting in the GOP primary to select a quality person if Michelle Nunn doesn’t win in November.

Karen Handel, U.S. Senate: GOP candidates seem to be running away from Blacks who know them and who have supported them in the past.  Karen Handel graduated from Frederick Douglas High in Maryland but you don’t hear about that from her team.  Plus, she was chairwoman of the Fulton County Commission.  Black folks know her but her handlers must equate Black with liberal and are trying not to alienate the far Right.  Check this out right here, if she had some of those Black friends a few years ago, she would be governor today.

Jack Kingston, U.S. Senate: Savannah is a chocolate city and Jack has had a functioning relationship with the Black community on the coast for over 20 years.  His knowledge of agriculture and the military makes him the GOP candidate best suited to serve the interests of Georgia south of Atlanta.  But, Jack is alienating Black voters in the process of impressing the far right with his level fiscal conservatism.  Jack is still a good dude.

David Perdue, U.S. Senate:  First, Perdue is an outsider who made me laugh with his ad about the congress being made up of babies and his opponents being babies.  The Karen Handel baby was wearing her signature pearls.  Funny.  But on a serious note, a Black GOP friend, yes I have those, told me that Perdue came to Albany and sat down with 32 local pastors.  So, he seems to be the only GOP Senate candidate who is talking with my community during the primary process.

Summary: Voters should consider the big picture next month because politics as usual simply isn’t working.

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Georgia Election Summit: Put It On the Table

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Everyone has agendas this election year and there is much to sort out.  My agenda is based on the best interest of Georgia and the South but the word trump has always been a cornerstone of this blog.

To me, some factors “trump” other factors and the factors of race, faith, region, country, money, and gender can be prioritized 100 different ways by 100 different people.  For example, a local congressional candidate from a different party knows person X’s interest better than a candidate from X’s party from the other side of the area.  At the end of the day, Colin Powell and Condi Rice care more about Black people than the Red party.  Actually, they joined the Red party because in their hearts they felt they were helping every American.

If I won the sweepstakes, I would use some of that money to convene a summit on the Black agenda for this election year in middle Georgia.  The meeting would include folks from both major political parties and of every racial background.  While the “Changing Mindset” outline found as a tab at the top of this blog would be the central theme, some other matters need to be put on the table.

https://projectlogicga.com/changing-mindsets/

 

Voter Suppression: It’s clear that some leaders of the GOP plan to counterbalance changing demographics by making it hard for certain people to vote. President Obama recent comments on this topic should be heard.

http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/obama-takes-on-assaults-to-voting-rights-223929923741

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-the-real-voter-fraud-is-people-who-try-to-deny-our-rights/

 

Georgia 2nd Congressional District race:  As quiet as it is kept, many Black Republicans know that the voter suppression efforts from their party is hogwash.  These good Americans believe that the conservative agenda is in the best interest of everyone and that silly tricks and shady methods drive reasonable people away from their party.

GOP primary voters have the opportunity to select a candidate, Vivian Childs, who might plant the seeds that change the whole political arena.  Let’s be honest, the GOP often pushes Black candidates who seem a little bland on the Black hand side.  With the trump matter in mind, Vivian Childs, Andrew and Deborah Honeycutt, Karen Bogans in Savannah and Michael Murphy are Black Georgians who are conservative but they lived in the Black world, attend Black churches, and likely have Black gold fish.  I personally saw Mrs. Childs in fellowship with her sorority sister, the ladies of Delta Sigma Theta.

Fraternity and sorority trumps political party in my community and you can best believe that the Childs campaign will never function in a way that dishonors her bond.  Okay, I worked for Rep. Sanford Bishop and I was dumfounded by the ugliness of some previous campaigns—hell, if they kept the debate civic they would have won.  Childs vs. Bishop would have a residual benefit of showing how to disagree without being disagreeable.

President Obama On the Ballot: Oh yea, the primary this spring and the general election in the fall are referendums on the president in some way.  The Republicans want control of the U.S. Senate because with both houses of Congress they can make the rest of his hair gray.  If the Senate candidates are constantly attacking Obamacare, their election is a vote on Obamacare.  To me, the people who elected Obama in the first place should vote this year also.

Senate Candidate Breakdown:  I want to put a few points about these candidates on the table…as I see it.

Michelle Nunn– Don’t sleep….she can win.  While she will be running from Obama, she can’t win without a massive pro-Obama turnout.  Her father wasn’t big on being a political party person and hopefully is the same way.  She might do well with suburb Atlanta GOP soccer moms.

Paul Broun– The Democrats so so so very much want him to be the GOP nom because he has a record of being ugly to candidate and President Obama.  He would drive large numbers of ify voters to the polls for the dems and the national fundraising for Nunn would be huge courtesy of his youtube videos.

Jack Kingston– If region trumps party with me, Kingston is the people’s champ from south Georgia.  Georgia political power is now centered in north Georgia and that is scary because you can count the Black folks up there.  Jack served Black Savannah and Savannah State University for years and dude has lived in part-time in D.C.  Because he likes to play that Andy Griffin role, Kingston knows Black and White rural Georgia inside and out.  The economic engines of our state outside of Atlanta are agriculture and military.  Those Tea Party people would cut both of those areas to the bone but Jack knows what’s up.  He should come to our summit and explain that statement about free lunch kids cleaning the schools.

Karen Handel– She would hold the GOP women vote against Nunn.  She should play up her hard knock life story.  Who knew that she attended Fredrick Douglas High School in suburban D.C.  The lady was chair of the Fulton County Commission.  Her campaign clearly doesn’t want to tap her potential support in our community.  Did I mention that she went to Doug?

David Perdue– this political newcomer is was balling in the private sector. Perdue was CEO at Reebok and at Dollar General.  DG sure brings revitalization to some rough areas and heaven knows the jobs are needed.  His campaign website contains a list of companies he has helped: Rockport, Hanes, Levi’s, Polo, Coach, and Greg Norman.  I kid you not; I can get dress in a Polo shirt, a pair of Levis, Hanes drawers, old Rockport Dressports, and Greg Norman footies.  Look for forward to Dems asking if these companies gave back to our communities.

Governor race: This race will be a referendum on Governor Nathan Deal and the GOP in the state houses refusal to expand Medicaid under Obamacare.  We need to hear the GOP alternative to Obamacare because current the uninsured are using the emergency room as a doctor’s office and that’s costly.

State House and State Senate:  With secondary regard for party, stay on your state legislators’ behinds because voter suppression and stand your ground start with them.

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Changing Mindsets: A Fresh Approach to Governing

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , on February 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

This election year is an important opportunity to change the mindset of policymakers and citizens.  Most elections aren’t contested and seem more like coronations.  But, fighters should continue to fight the good fight because the stakes are so high.  We should use the debates and campaigns as platforms to unveil new and better approaches to old problems and situations because status quo simply isn’t working.

Status quo:  To me, status quo with candidates, political parties and policymakers involves the far Right telling everyone what they should do as you would address children and the far Left trying to help everyone with their problems after the problems occur.

Solution:  We need lawmakers  and policy makers who speak clearly and frankly to the people about the role of government and about personal choices, decisions, and consequences.  We need a fresh and different mindset about how we carry ourselves.  “Carry ourselves” is old school Black heritage; it harkens back to the days when we knew who we were and whose we were; times when Black people sought the opportunities to achieve and strive without encumbrances. Today, many of our encumbrances and obstacles are self-made.

Most politicians know that their abilities to improve our nation are limited by reality and fiscal constraints but those so-called leaders are reluctant to say that.  Presidents Kennedy, Reagan and Obama basely said the same thing: ask not what this country can do for you, ask what you can do for this country; government is the problem.  Some might be surprise that I put President Obama on that list but I think he is a “do for self” person who is hamstrung by party politics.  The post-presidential Obama will be so beneficial to the spirit of this blog post.

The good fiscal news is that my solutions are free, cheap or low-cost.  It’s all about K.S.A.  Oldheads will remember that Knowledge, Skills and Abilities requirements were once part of the federal government employment application process. But, I still think in terms of young people getting knowledge from those who went before them, developing skills to function smoothly in life and understanding their God-given abilities.  Politicians and candidates always speak to youth about soaring like eagles and bla bla bla—there is plenty of that “wind beneath my wings” talk out there.

But, it’s time for some substances…some tools….some meat.  I wrote a blog post years ago called “A and B before C and D” that asked leaders to encourage if not demand that government spend more resources and energy preventing problems and life crisis than addressing the growing numbers of people with messy situations.  To be honest, most people with troubled lives walked right into their circumstances.  Did momma, daddy, school, church, friends and the police beg them to get on the right track?

(Here is the part when a moderate Democrat admits that the conservatives are right about something.) You almost want to say forget them; they made their beds when they ignore the warning and stop signs.  But, you can’t because idly watching human suffering isn’t very Christ-like.  What about 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

U.S. Congressman and Senate candidate Jack Kingston is one of my favorite lawmakers.  I kicked it with Jack at a RNC Club one night for 15 minutes alone 20 years ago and he outlined his career-long efforts to advocate for Southeast Georgia.  It blew me away to learn that Kingston wants to consider having kids who eat free school lunch clean the school or cafeteria to pay off their tab or whatever.  Come on, Jack…that’s jacked up.  I think Jack is really thinking that parents without lunch money for their kids should be shamed into going to work…. “get off your fat behinds and provide for yours.”  What ticks off reasonable people are the fact that people who need help are sometimes the same people who are too good and too proud to flip burgers or harvest vegetables.

We are approaching this wrong.  We must find a positive way to encourage personal responsibility and achievement.  To be honest again, leaders need to speak knowledge and wisdom to help replace the home training that isn’t taking place anymore.  At the same time, that old school home training needs to take place and young people should delay starting families until they have themselves together.  The writers of this blog welcome the opportunity to talk with any campaign staffers seeking to mix our thoughts and ideas into their approaches.

And the first mindset change involves video games and hip hop music.

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Sensitivity or Common Sense: From Duck Dynasty To Congress

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 28, 2013| 1 Comment »

So, the political comic strip Doonesbury spent this week messing the GOP regarding sensitivity training.  They should have hired me because I would have made it simple: love thy neighbor as thyself.  Secondly, the Left and Right should try to know as much as possible about others (the opposition.)  Finally, you learn about the other side from members of the other side.

As kids, we loved Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett because those White guys were smart enough to learn the ways of the Indians.  Of course as teens, we discovered that that knowledge was useful in robbing the natives.  I tell young guys to keep several women in their circle of close friends because no one knows about women as much as women (but you still can never understand women.)

At times, people don’t know what they don’t know and the righteous way to handle those situations is to enlighten them.  The guy from Duck Dynasty isn’t a bad guy; he isn’t knowledgeable of people and groups outside his comfort zone.  The same can be said for those liberals who don’t live in rural areas.

However, we do have people in politics that know better and are acting to maneuver in the political arena.  Readers of this blog know that Rep. Jack Kingston of Savannah is one of my favor members of Congress from my Hill days; I spent some time hanging with his staff.  Kingston is currently running for the U.S. Senate and I wouldn’t mind seeing him as the GOP nominee because he has a deep knowledge of regional issues and a long relationship with the Black community in Savannah.

So, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I learned that Jack was saying that kids who eat free lunches at school should maybe work off the free meals by cleaning at the schools.  (Crickets)

Okay, I could have heard that parents worked at school for that reason but kids.  Clearly, Jack made that statement to make himself appear to be the most conservative badass in the GOP primary.  Hell, I like my idea that only healthful foods are purchased with food stamps but Jack’s lunch plan is too much.

I have a close friend who worked for Jack and she should be in the middle of his campaign at night and on the weekends because a Spelmanite would have put the kibosh on that cleaning kids stuff.  She knows that statements like that would energize the Dems voters who might normally blow off a non-presidential election.  Why upset the hornets’ nest?

My area is represented by cool young Congressman “hey, man, how are doing” Austin Scott.  Who would have “tunk” that Scott has the second most conservative voting record in the House?  Austin could learn a valuable lesson Jack’s schoolhouse drama because Atlanta and Georgia’s other urban centers will be motivated to learn that conservative candidates said some interesting things.  Politics is like chess and you must think three moves ahead and if my conservative friends need some risk management eyes, they should call me.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/doonesbury-slideshow/

 

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Politics: Be Careful What You Say Out Loud

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

An old southern adage states “be careful what you say out loud.”  Everything you think isn’t supposed to be said when and where you think it—maybe it shouldn’t be spoken at all but it’s clearly understood.   I wanted to touch on a few of those “out loud” matters.

 
A leader in the Democratic Party of Georgia recently got in hot water for saying that the party must “clear the field” in next year’s primaries. Everyone knows that the Dems here are poorly organized.  I want to say out loud that Dems create policies that support people who don’t vote—oh, they can go to every local high school football game but they can vote on the regular.  Non-voting working folks have no right to complaint governmental actions and laws.  Hush.

 
The only hope Dems have in southern red states is to go into those legendary, smoke-filled backrooms and decide who their candidates should be without primary contests.  I forgot that people can’t smoke inside anymore but you get the point.

 
For U.S. Senate, Rep. John Barrow and Michelle Nunn are the best options but they have zero hope if they battle in the summer.  Actually, their only hope is that the GOP primary voters will select controversial Rep. Paul Broun.   I am not supposed to say this out loud but the Dems should switch over and vote for Broun in the primary because he would be the easier target in the general election.   The Obama machine would be in full force in November against Broun.  Money would pour into Georgia from sea to shining sea.

 
I am not supposed to say that I voted for GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss in the past because south Georgia regional interests (ag, military, transportation) are more important than party politics to me.  I can’t believe that GOP voters won’t admit that Rep. Sanford Bishop has their backs on these issues—dam it, say it out loud.  Oh, Bishop is the enemy and Broun is a conservative super hero.  Yeah, “Senator” Broun would likely ended most farm programs.

 
I am not supposed to say out loud that non-GOPers better consider voting for the best available candidate in the GOP primary because that is where the senator might be chosen.  Personally, I like candidates like Jack Kingston who- while being full-blooded conservative- have a history of explaining their views to those who vote against them.  That is called the democratic process.

 
Finally, I shouldn’t say out loud that we should cultivate the next crop of leaders now because waiting until they decide to retire is too late.  Who is next when Rep. John Lewis gracefully concludes that he has fought the good fight.  In southwest Georgia, the replacement for Rep. Bishop should be the next generation Black leader—someone who teaches about the limited role of government.  We have some folks in mind but we aren’t saying…out loud.

http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/fearing-another-bruising-primary-democrats-seek-to/nXS7q/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch

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Naturally: African Americans, Jack Kingston and the U.S. Senate race

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

My thoughts on the future of Black political centrists in the South have been two weeks and/or two decades in the making.   So, brace yourself for an unusual brainstorm.  The open U.S. Senate race in Georgia next year forces us to plot our best plan for representation.

 
Senator Saxby Chambliss is an establishment Republican and I have appreciated his service regarding the regional issues of agriculture, military and veterans.   Rep. Sanford Bishop, Rep. Jack Kingston, now Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and those who went to congress in the early 1990s worked together on issues of vital importance to the peach state.   In this Progressives vs. the Tea Party era, I miss that old school dialog.

 
For two weeks, I have been hearing that the Democrats won’t likely field a viable Senate candidate and the practical part of me says that moderate to conservative Georgia Dems could and should vote in the GOP primary next year to ensure that we don’t have a divider  representing our diverse state.

 
I was thinking about who is a “natural” Democrat or “natural” Republican last week and it made my head hurt.   While watching to the T.V. show TMZ, a story came on about Raspberry favoring of food.  It turns out that a food can be labeled as naturally Raspberry because it is natural and taste like Raspberry but it comes from the backside of a beaver. http://www.befoodsmart.com/blog/tag/raspberry-flavor/

 
That isn’t natural to me and it’s not natural to force everyone in a big state like Georgia into two political parties and expected them to naturally and neatly stay there.   A few years ago, the Georgia Dems lost two rising young stars to the GOP.   Ashley Bell of Gainesville and blogger Andre Walker of Atlanta were on CNN explaining their rationale and it seemed natural to me.   Before, they were my brothers and today they are still my brothers.   Walker once wished happy birthday on facebook to the naturalized American actress Charlize Theron, whom he considered an African-American because she is an American born in South Africa. Huh?

 
I personally like the No Labels political movement because we shouldn’t run away trying to put people neatly into boxes and categories. Like they say at church, we should look at a person’s “thoughts, words, and deeds.”

 
A Black conservative from the ATL told me yesterday that Rep. Tom Price looks good to him in the race for U.S. Senate.  I asked about his track record for explaining conservatism to non-conservatives and dude could say anything.   Remember, the wave created by the Tea Party doesn’t cotton well to conservatives talking with others without yelling.  Moderates and liberals are often viewed as the enemy.

 
Look, on Capitol Hill, I worked for Rep. Charles Hatcher, Rep. Don Johnson and Rep. Sanford Bishop and all three strongly insisted that we listened to and served everyone in the congressional district—not just the people who voted for them.   I was personal friends with a staffer in Rep. Kingston’s office and would hang after work with her at conservative functions because she was a natural hair wearing, smart Spelman College woman.   Yeah, Jack had a Spelman grad in a major position on his legislative team.   I talked with Kingston alone at a reception one night for 15 minutes and came away with an appreciation for his commitment to southern Georgia.   He mentioned that he promoted south Georgia colleges and universities during his time in the Georgia statehouse because students should get quality educations in our part of the state also.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/59464/october-18-2005/better-know-a-district—georgia-s-1st—jack-kingston

 
We would trip about Kingston going to political forums at Savannah State University without staff.   The guy loves the lively debate. Actually, he was the first member of congress to brave Stephan Colbert’s “Better Know a District” segment.   Because Kingston briefly lived in Ethiopia as a child, Colbert decided that he is an African American—like Charlize Theron.   There you have it; Jack Kingston is an African American who might run for U.S. Senate next year.   Some wiseacre is going to Kingston knows as much about the southern African American experience as my man President Obama.   I will leave that alone but he like knows more than most GOP candidates for Senate.

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South Georgia Congressional Delegation: Basketball’s JAB Step

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 10, 2012| 1 Comment »

I am sick and tired of national folks taking political jabs at my south Georgia congressional delegation.  The fellows need to jab back.  My rural south agenda focuses on agriculture, education/jobs, military/veterans and transportation.  If they take care of those areas, other stuff is secondary because all politics is local.

My Georgia is the area south of a line from Columbus to Macon to Savannah.  “JABS” could be Jack, Austin, Bishop and Saxby as in Rep. Jack Kingston, Rep. Austin Scott, Rep. Sanford Bishop and Sen. Saxby Chambliss.  Of course, Senator Johnny Isakson is the coolest of the cool and we appreciate his ATL-based service as well.  Party politics requires these guys to publicly act combative with each other but we know that JABS circle the wagon when Georgia issues are on the table.   

Sen. Chambliss catches heat from the far Right when he negotiates with Democratic senators but kuckleheads should know that negotiating is what leaders do.  Jack Kingston can throw policy jabs with the best of them but coastal Democrats will admit that Jack will go anywhere to explain his rationale and many African American conservatives have worked in his D.C. and district offices; the same can’t be said about most GOP congressmen.  

The Austin Scott and Sanford Bishop areas of south Georgia are interesting because the recent changes to the congressional map made Bishop’s district more Dem-friendly and Austin’s area more GOP friendly.  Does this mean Bishop is going to become more liberal?  No.  Actually, Bishop, as an appropriator, has become more of a fiscal educator during his Georgia visits.  Of course, he isn’t as fiscally conservative as Austin Scott but considering SDB’s district he does more than expected and hears it from real liberals. 

The new map will move my hometown from Bishop’s district to Austin’s district but that is fine with me because interests don’t stop on political lines.  Kingston has always protected Naval Air Station Jacksonville because many employees from that base live in southeast Georgia and a similar situation exist between the 8th district and the 2nd district.  People live in rural towns but work, dine and shop in Albany, Columbus and Macon.  So, the conditions in both areas are contingent or mutual.  

I am keeping my eyes on JABS and would love to see them use the basketball fundamental technique called the jab step to get the national haters off them.  In basketball, this moved is used to create space from the opposition before executing one’s next scoring move.  Jack, Austin, Bishop and Saxby deliver or score for south Georgia but I need them to be more vocal about their achievements.  And if an occasional misstep occurs, Georgians can weigh the good vs. the nots-so-good and decide.  For example, we heard a lot of drama about candidate Nathan Deal but he has been a decent governor who is about to overhaul the expensive criminal justice system in this state.  We spend too much money on criminals and change starts with education. 

Look, people have agendas and you can detest folks for working their hustle. But, national groups can’t tell me that JABS are wrong; those guys are fellow Georgians and we will make that determination on our own.  As a matter of fact, regular Georgians should use the web and public events like our unlikelyalliesproject.com meetups to discuss our elected officials.

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