From a blog post by Rep. Steve Davis about Family Day at the Capitol last weekend:
Today is the 17th legislative day of the session. It is called Family Day so that legislators can bring their wives and kids up for the day and show our family atmosphere. However I do not bring my family due to the spectacle presented by the fringe groups in front of our children. You have Labor Unions, “Working Families” wanting minimum wage increases, marches for racial equality, and the worst is GSLBT groups that try to prove they are families too(by exposing our young children to them kissing and holding hands). I will just say that I am very passionate about the issues but I did not get into politics to expose my children to adult issues. It is a shame that these groups try to exploit this event the way they do.
So, middle class working families who lobby their legislators are “fringe groups?”
Racial minorities who lobby their legislators are “fringe groups” as well?
I guess Rep. Davis would rather leave the messy job of legislating to paid lobbyists and campaign contributors rather than common folks. They wear suits and ties and look like they’ve got money, I guess.
Oh, and does someone want to give Rep. Davis a memo about how females can be in the General Assembly now?
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The funny thing is yesterday at the Senate Public Safety Committee, Sen Heath voted against a bill requiring seatbelt use in pickup trucks. The reason? He’s sick and tired of the government constantly imposing on our private lives. This of course comes from the same guy who amended the Female Genital Mutilation Bill, to prohibit women from piercing their genitals.
There is nothing wrong with lobbying your legislators, but doing so during a family event specifically so you can make them feel uncomfortable (apparently to the point that some legislators like Mr. Davis won’t even bring their families to the event) is in my opinion inappropriate, and only serves to polarize those very politicians even more against your cause.
But I guess these groups have yet to grasp that concept. They hurt their causes through this action more than they helped.
So, just because my husband and I would want to bring our son to an event, it would make the poor widdle legislators unconfomfortable? My husband is a Teamster. We are a Labor family. Why do they hate our family so much?
We pay our taxes. We don’t break any laws and yet the mere sight of us (and hell, we’re even white!) is enough to make the mighty GOPers shake in their family boots?
Well CobbGOPer (and I expect this type of crap from you), that gold dome is not the sole property of the GOP. Like it or not, there are others in this state that don’t subscribe to your ridiculous, narrow view of what “family” means.
I guess that it too grand of a concept for you to grasp.
I wonder what Rep. Davis thinks when Rep. Karla Drenner brings here wife & kids to the legislature on Family Day? Is she making an inappropriate spectacle unsuitable for children? Puh-lease? The man is a doofus, clearly.
And explain to me how marching for working families and racial equality is somehow inappropriate for children? Are Rep. Davis’ children supposed to think that there is NO conflict at the state legislature? I’m confused about what he’s trying to keep his children from seeing.
I agree with Decaturguy’s comments. Fat-cat lobbyists in suits & ties are appropriate family fare, but working or gay families are somehow inappropriate? Is he being obtuse?
Okay, you all should get your panties out of a wad. Clearly, Rep. Davis isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer to so inarticulately state his opinion, but I think he is right to the extent that folks show up just to make a political statement. There are plenty of other opportunities for folks to stage their own events to achieve their own political purposes rather than hijacking someone else’s event.
Skeptical, yeah, union protesters are generally quite civil individuals; throwing rocks, pipe bombs in the mailbox, vandalizing trucks during strikes, physical intimidation. And always in those satin jackets. Heck, I’d certainly feel comfortable taking all the kids from my neighborhood kids to a union rally.
Honestly. Google “union violence”
Holding hands and kissing are hijacking an event? Maybe in third grade.
rightofcenter,
Everything that goes on under that dome is a political statement and these families are no better and no worse than that of Rep. Davis. Having people come to the capitol and ask their representative to raise the minimum wage so maybe families don’t have to work quite so hard is a bad thing? Well, you just have a nice time in that lovely little world you live in. Bless your heart.
I think he is right to the extent that folks show up just to make a political statement.
Then how come he didn’t mention some other “fringe groups” that were there?
From this years family day event:
Some half-dozen supporters of legislation outlawing abortion in Georgia gathered inside the House Judiciary Committee meeting room to urge members of that panel to hold a hearing on the measure.
“The baby is a person, a human being, not a blob of tissue,” said the Rev. Alveda King, a niece of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who became an anti-abortion activist after undergoing two abortions during the 1970s.
Talk about exposing your children to “adult issues.” How come you didn’t mention these people as “fringe groups,” Rep. Davis?
Cite for the above:
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=1&url_article_id=24638&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2
Peaceful demonstrations of any kind should always be allowed at the Capitol (subject to some reasonable time/place/manner restrictions). There is probably no more appropriate place to hold a political demonstration in Georgia. Moreover, demonstrations should always be expected to coincide with special events at the Capitol. If a legislator decries such demonstrations, he or she is at best politically clueless and at worst a fascist. I think Rep. Davis has maybe a 99/1 split.
And again, there is such a thing as political timing. Like I said, you have every right to protest and/or lobby your legislators, but there is a right time and place. Instead of getting your message across to legislators like Mr. Davis, you just come off as angry jackasses looking to be obnoxious at every possible opportunity.
Of course, maybe that’s what you want to do in the first place, but it doesn’t seem like effective activism to me, just a waste of time and resources.
And Mrs. Skeptical, you can bite me. I didn’t say a thing about what I think “family” means, I merely pointed out that the timing of these particular demonstrations was probably not the most effective in getting their point across.
Jumping to unfounded assumptions and accusations is another great way to get people to completely tune you out…
What do you think about the appropriateness of the anti-abortion protesters who attended family day CobbGOPer?
Ya know, it’s awkward to see people kissing and hugging in public no matter what their sexual orientation may be. I wouldn’t bring children to see that if it were hetero teens lobbying for back seat lovemaking in state parks.
All the guy is saying is that he doesn’t want to expose his wife and kids to the tension created by all the demonstrations on a day that was meant to be a fun time for the family. He has a right to shelter his family from anything he chooses.
I agree with rightofcenter. Loosen up.
No.
I should add that this is not intended to be just a “family day” event for legislators and their families, it is intended for familes all across the state who may not otherwise have a chance to get to the Capitol during the week, to see the legislature in progress.
Again, I think it was the wrong place for protests of any kind, pro, anti, wacko, whatever.
DG,
Yes, it is true, women are allowed in the General Assembly now … who else is going to do the office work while the interns are gazing in the rotunda!
(was that sexist?)
At least you are consistent, but I think you still misinterpret the reasons family day is held.
And to be honest with you, I think there are much more effective methods of activism than standing outside someone’s office chanting and screaming like a lunatic.
Who was chanting and screaming like a lunatic? It must have been the anti-abortion folks, because from what I experienced in 2005, once inside the building everyone was on their best behavior.
And to be honest with you CobbGOPer, I think that’s stupid. I mean, if you can’t make a political statement at the Capitol, where can you make it? In the privacy of your own home where no one is listening?
It isn’t appropriate to make a political statement at the Capitol?
*stares*
*blinks*
What??
So, where IS it appropriate?
Sorry, I guess I have to be more literal for you Teamsters: old-fashioned ’60′s style “Hell no we won’t go” protests are probably the least effective form of activism if your goal is to actually influence policy in a significant fashion.
Unless you’re bringing 100,000 people to the Gold Dome, no one will care.
And that applies to any group, Dem, Repub, commie, fascist, racist, whatever.
“protests are probably the least effective form of activism if your goal is to actually influence policy in a significant fashion.”
I would agree that in general protests do not directly result in changing policy. However, protests are sometimes the only way to get the medias attention. Would there have stories in all of the major papers on Sunday about workers calling for a minimum wage increase if they had not shown up? No.
It is also a way for average people with little individual political power to show their power in numbers. If there are 500 people down at the Capitol with Teamsters (to use your example) pins on their shirts, people do notice.
I’d have to disagree with Davis on the fringe group comment, myself being a member of what is considered to be a “fringe group.”
But I don’t agree with groups that want to raise the minimum wage, nor do I support affirmative action programs (I assume that this is what he was referring to).
Effectiveness and appropriateness are two different things. This statement:
…implies you believe the protests to be inappropriate. There couldn’t possibly be a more appropriate place for a protest than the state Capitol.
And here’s my suggestion for you:
Instead of wasting your time in silly protest marches, you need to focus your efforts on getting people elected who agree with your positions. The only polls that matter are the ones on Election Day, and those are the only ones politicians pay attention to.
oooooohhh, there are pissed off “lunatic fringes” on this board
Instead of wasting your time in silly protest marches, you need to focus your efforts on getting people elected who agree with your positions. The only polls that matter are the ones on Election Day, and those are the only ones politicians pay attention to.
Great points.
Nobody cares about “demonstrations” except the the “demonstrators.” Grandstanders. If they want to change things, why not organize a grass-roots campaign effort? Oh, that’s right, there isn’t a sufficient electorate to carry their extreme messages. Mob-rule never works.
Again, focusing on effectiveness and ignoring your stupid appropriateness comment from earlier.
I suggest you get used to seeing those faces at the Capitol, because they aren’t going away no matter how unpleasant or rude you think they are. And I’ll refer you to Decaturguy’s comment above regarding effectiveness.
This whole thing reminds me of back in ’01, when an Islamic Institute e-mail alerted its readers that “there will be a march and rally in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., to protest Israel’s aggression.”
If you think that constituents going down the the Capitol on their day off to talk to their representatives about an issue that is important to them is ineffective, then you are nuts.
And I’ll refer you to the election day polls that placed Republicans in the solid majority of both houses of the legislature, as well as the Governor’s office, the Lt. Governor’s office, the Insurance commissioner, the SecState, the State School Superintendent…
Are you noticing a theme here? So you brought 500 people to stamp their feet outside the Capitol. So what. You need to start bringing people to the polling booths if you want action on your issues.
Yes, election results are quite telling…especially Westmoreland over Glenn.
Hmm, and so what exactly is your problem with me, Memberg?
And I’d refer you to pretty much every other state where Republicans just had their asses handed to them.
If your goal was to deflect attention from the inherent bigotry of Steve Davis’ blog statement, then you’ve succeeded to this point. So, good job on that.
I never said anything about his statements. What I’m telling you is that if you don’t like it, then you need to get someone else elected instead of whining and pointing fingers. We aren’t talking about other states, we’re talking about this one.
But…you live in Georgia. Right?
Exactly. Your goal appears to have been to deflect attention from the original topic, which was the inherent bigotry of Steve Davis’ blog statement.
Peace and love, brothers and sisters.
The fringe groups and the non-fringe groups all have a right to picnic, protest, and generally pursue happiness (although I must agree that any kissing more involved than a peck at a “family” outing seems rather ridiculous). And Rep. Davis certainly has the right to not take his family to such an activity if he doesn’t think it is appropriate for them (and I’d like to see the dictionary where that would make him a fascist).
Kum ba ya.
That wasn’t my intention, my comments were directed at the protests that sparked Mr. Davis’s comments. I don’t defend them at all. But he can say whatever he wants as long as he keeps getting re-elected.
You’re sidestepping the fact that if you don’t project your power at the polling booth, then politicians don’t care what you have to say.
exactly. Most name-callers on here can’t even define fascist.
Typical GOP bullshit. Blame the victim. Steve Davis makes bigoted statements and somehow it’s their fault for being there.
Aha, and now we get down to it. You’re victims, eh?
Yes, Steve Davis directs racist, sexist comments at a group of constituents, they are victims of discrimination.
Should we prosecute Mr. Davis under criminal statutes?
Poll: Who’s the bigger racist?
A. Joe Biden D-Delaware
B. Steve Davis R-Fayetteville
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