In less than a week the State Legislature will return to Atlanta (run for your lives!). In addition to the new laws that will be considered, many Legislators will consider their own political futures. Several officials have made their intentions known, but many others have not. I thought it might be fun to throw some names out there for consideration:
GOP Governor: We know about Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Insurance Commissioner Oxendine. Will SoS Karen Handel jump in? How about Herman Cain? Who else might jump in?
Dem. Governor: David Poythress is out there and many think former Gov. Roy Barnes may attempt a comeback. How about Rep. Dubose Porter? Anyone else?
GOP Lt. Governor: Senators Eric Johnson and David Shafer are both running hard. I doubt anyone else gets in this race. Agree?
Dem. Lt. Governor: I haven’t heard any names. Who’s out there? Surely a Democrat Senator wants this job.
Secretary of State: If Karen Handel runs for Governor, who will seek the open seat? I’ve heard of at least one State Rep. who is thinking about it. What are the rumors out there?
Insurance Commissioner: Who will seek this open seat? Again, I know of a State Rep. thinking about it whose name I’m not a liberty to share.
Attorney General/Agriculture/Labor/Education/PSC: Who wants to take on Thurbert Baker/Tommy Irvin/Michael Thurmond/Kathy Cox or a PSC Board Member?
Also, with Senators Cagle, Johnson and Shafer creating open seats, who might seek those seats?
UPDATE: As drjay mentioned, Politics1 has a list of potential candidates. Here’s the link, and here is there list of potential Governor and Lt. Governor candidates:
GOVERNOR:
[ George "Sonny" Perdue (R)* - Term Limited in 2010. ]
Casey Cagle (R) – Lt. Governor, Ex-State Sen. & Businessman
Karen Handel (R) – Secretary of State, Ex-Fulton County Commission Chair, Ex-Gubernatorial Aide & Ex-Lobbyist
Johnny Isakson (R) – US Senator, Ex-Congressman, Ex-State Sen., Businessman & ‘90 Candidate
Sam Olens (R) – Cobb County Commission Chair & Attorney
John Oxendine (R) – State Insurance Commissioner
Lynn Westmoreland (R) – Congressman, Ex-State House Minority Leader & Home Builder
Roy Barnes (D) – Ex-Governor, Ex-State Sen., Ex-State Rep. & Attorney
Tim Golden (D) – State Sen., Ex-State Rep. & Ex-Congressional Aide
Denise Majette (D) – Ex-Congresswoman, Ex-District Judge, ‘04 US Senate Nominee & ‘06 State School Supt. Candidate
DuBose Porter (D) – State House Minority Leader, Newspaper Editor & Attorney
David Poythress (D) – Ex-State Adjutant General, Retired Army Lt. General & ‘98 Candidate
Michael Thurmond (D) – State Labor Commissioner, Ex-State Rep. & Attorney
Sam Hay III (Write-In) – Environmental Activist, Retired Businessman & ‘02 CandidateLIEUTENANT GOVERNOR:
[ Casey Cagle (R)* - Candidate for Governor in 2010. ]
Eric Johnson (R) – State Senate President
David Shafer (R) – State Sen., Ex-State GOP Executive Director & ‘96 Sec. of State Nominee
Denise Majette (D) – Ex-Congresswoman, Ex-District Judge, ‘04 US Senate Nominee & ‘06 State School Supt. Candidate
Michael Meyer von Bremen (D) – Ex-State Sen., Attorney & ‘08 State Court of Appeals Candidate
Jim Powell (D) – Retired US Dept. of Energy Official, Navy Veteran & ‘08 State PSC Candidate
Leah Ward Sears (D) – State Supreme Court Chief Justice
Michael Thurmond (D) – State Labor Commissioner, Ex-State Rep. & Attorney
Allen Buckley (Libertarian) – Attorney, Accountant , ‘06 Nominee & ‘04 US Senate Nominee
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The reason I use a screen name is because my kids have the same last name. When their employers google them etc…. I would rather PEACH PUNDIT not come up in the search. I have a FAMILY. Something Bil would know NOTHING about!
* Bile
I mean *Bill
The storm will come to the Georgia Republican Party as it will visit every GOP chapter in the country. The differences between actions and principles is irreconcilable and, of the 2 parties, conservatives take things much more seriously.
Republicans cannot enjoy total hypocrisy much and their inner beings cry out for change and not Obama change either.
RedState Erick is trying to do this but just looks silly because he is welded to the apostates, to the failures, and to the con artists.
We need to get behind as many new faces as can be found, the bright stars in the GA, and even old hands willing to seriously acknowledge party faults and failures over the last 8 years.
OK Bill, that’s it. As soon as I can figure out how to change my name, I will change it to my real name. I know these fake names get on your nerves and I can see why.
I’d like to put a picture up too but I can’t figure out how.
I have been in this fight before most of you kids were born. I am a looooooooooong time foot soldier in this war.
It that is true, I hope you realize that during that time ranting and verse quoting hasn’t been too successful. The law and number of abortions have moved in the opposite direction than what seems to be your goal.
I believe the Good Lord will allow me to see the day when I will see Abortion be banned in Georgia!
I thought your goal was to end or drastically reduce the number of abortions. Banning and ending them is two different things, you know.
GOPeach,
I was not being flippant, I was just pointing out that maybe it is time for you to try something different and I apologize if I have wasted your time.
TC,
If you’re serious, I guess I owe you an apology, too. For I’m sure I wasted your time.
One last suggestion, if you’ll indulge. Your best hope of success in ending or drastically reducing the number of abortions, I touched on this earlier, is to make unwanted pregnancies obsolete through education and medical advances. Think about it, how many telegraph repair men do you know? And as far as I know, the telegraph was never banned. I’m sure there are better examples.
Quite frankly, if everyone who professed to be prolife in Georgia would ignore the legislature and get their a** out in front of abortion clinics on the weekends, the mills would close down quickly. One day we had 41 people in front of Atlanta Surgi-Center praying silently. The abortionist refused to come in to do the abortions, and they let 27 mamas and babies go.
But it is easier to stay home, whine, judge, and feel self-righteous because you voted prolife.
These are real women, with serious problems. Pretending abortion is the law of the land has made women in crisis pregnancies totally available to be capitalized on by a blood thirsty billion dollar industry.
And the church is where it always is. Inside an expensive building, hanging out with people who agree with them, and getting their “I’m a Christian” card punched for showing up at church.
Jesus was in the streets. That’s why He was effective.
Daniel –
My goal is for STATE FUNDED -TAX PAYING ABORTIONS TO BE BANNED. Now – if a “Pro- Choice” group wants to build a clinic and hire doctors to “get rid of the mistakes” – Then let THEM raise their own money and perform their own private operation. The reason I RANT is because I WORKED too hard for money that is being used to kill dispose of human fetuses by the thousands. I happen to be in a large tax bracket and I want tax dollars to be spent on helping pregnant women get an education, have job opportunities, childcare etc… This is for all the women who do not have a church, synagogue,
supportive family, etc…
My goal is for STATE FUNDED -TAX PAYING ABORTIONS TO BE BANNED.
I did not know this is what you meant by “ban.” This I support.
I want tax dollars to be spent on helping pregnant women get an education, have job opportunities, childcare etc…
This I don’t. If privately funded, I would.
Daniel -
Why not take the MONEY AWAY from Planned Parenthood and give it to PREGNANT STUDENTS to be educated and employees who would otherwise drop out of school and become “a statistic” living off of welfare? I am NOT taking about raising taxes. I am talking about REFORMing the PRO-LIFE AGENDA to be benificial to women.
You see – men do not have to drop out of school and get on welfare when a women gets pregnant. WOMEN suffer immensely. And when they abort the baby, they suffer immensely with depression, hormone imbalances, even raising the risks of breast cancer. So she is damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t.
Hey I am ALL FOR PRIVATE organizations putting up the money for this. BUT UNTIL this becomes mainstream ……( for a limited time) – we need to jump start the idea.
GoPeach
That’s not a bad idea but is either an actual function of what government was intended to do?
I’m with Daniel in that government should not spend a penny on either side of this. If private organizations choose to fund abortion clinics/pro-abortion media, feel free. If other private organizations want to fund adoption centers/pro-life media, feel free. The government should stay completely out of the issue though.
But let me also give jenny, GOPeach, and others with similar viewpoints a tip:
I’m pretty much alone when it comes to trying to organize a Libertarian presence in the Albany area. There are literally like 3 LP-Ga or LP-National members in the area, so recruitment is something I’m pretty big on. Now, I firmly believe that the Libertarian philosophy is the right philosophy for this country.
But the Party’s platform has some stances that while correct, are hard for some to swallow. Most of the time, people hear our name through some of these more controversial stances and assume us to be cracked pots, at best.
So when I’m talking to people, I don’t mention these positions or the intricacies thereof. At least, not at first. Instead, I build common ground. I talk about how the Democrats and Republicans are both essentially the same thing, and how there HAS to be SOMETHING different. I use particular issues that the people I’m talking to care about, and I know enough about the overall LP philosophy that I can show how it agrees with them far more than the Democratic-Republican philosophy, or how their position is wrong because it limits freedom. I remain civil at all times, and there are actually several friends of mine who I disagree with completely on political matters. To the point where I’ve actually gained several allies simply because they know exactly where I stand, and that I’ll stand there steadfastly but calmly.
The hysterics and name calling that have become a large part of the Democratic-Republican philosophy of winning elections is actually driving people directly to the LP- if only those of us within the LP can get out there, talk to them, and capitalize on it.
And that is my point through all of this: Name calling, hysterics, thread jacking, etc don’t make allies. Indeed, they typically turn people away from your message.
UMBK wrote…..
This gets us nowhere which is a problem even within the Republican Party. As soon as the GOP makes abortion a major part of their platform they lose any chance of winning over any independents.
And it isn’t because fiscal conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians don’t detest abortion, it is because we are frightened to death of one issued voters who throw away every other principle, mainly ours, in blind pursuit of their monolith. People like that can do unlimited damage to us as a group and as individuals.
We have had our fill of them, and apparently, they of us, and that is why the party is in deep doodoo.
The party knows that they are incredibly easy to manipulate. They are useful idiots just like the welfare activists on the Dem side. It is really weird that the socons stick with the GOP, for they are just pawns to be used at election time, then ignored. In all of these years of having their candidates in power they have not advanced their cause one iota. There are as many abortions as ever and on gay issues, the GOP has a proven affinity for all manner of gay travesties as witness having that Guckert guy in the WH press corps, Larry Craig lurking in men’s room, Foley hitting on page boys, and Ted (I bought that meth, but did not use it….I only got a massage from that gay prostitute) Haggardministering to Bush.
Closer to home, they tried to vote Ralph Reed in as Lt. Governor despite his “pimping” out of the Baptists to defend Choctaw gambling interests. The evidence was damning, but all Reed had to do was cling to his Christian Right past to keep their votes.
Socons who vote only on abortion and opposition to gays are a total joke politically.
Obama had Reverend Wright and his own radical churchmen, who are the moral equivalents of Reed and his churchmen.
My point was the pro lifers end up running the show at times and that is all that anyone will hear or see in the media. The dems just love it when that happens.
SWL,
Don’t get discouraged. Ask any of the old GOP members in GA, as little as 15 years ago a lot of counties in GA had only 2-3 members meeting at their local restaurants. The LP in Georgia is growing at a great rate. So people like yourself are doing a great job getting the message out.
During this years General Assembly session, the Libertarian Party of Georgia will not only be following, but also issuing press releases presenting the “SOMETHING different” you spoke of. This will be on top of our weekly e-newsletter known as the GLO, Georgian Libertarian Online. Those that would like to follow but are not members of the LPGa send an e-mail to operations.director@lpgeorgia.com and say “add me to the GLO. The Libertarian Party of Georgia made huge strides in 2008 and are very exited about 2009 and 2010 due our coverage of the issues and our candidates that will be announcing in short orer. If you believe government should start with Freedom, then work to find solutions instead of expediency first freedom be damned. Then come join us: http://www.lpgeorgia.com/index.php .
I like the ballot idea….. Lets do it in the next election. Since Cagle is as good as it gets as far as being pro life. This would make his blowout even bigger. For all you Karen Handel sympathizers, she will be looking for a job along with Oxendines whole staff, Shepard included…
SWL,
I don’t recall name calling…but that doesn’t mean I don’t or won’t do it.
I agree about building bridges, etc. I would start a new thread, but haven’t time to write it out until Tuesday or Wednesday. Gotta think about what would be brief and suppositional.
I’m for getting the government out of the whole business. Abortion existed before Roe v. Wade. The government just dragged the whole country into every woman’s uterus by giving abortionists free reign to set up shop and actively recruit their prey. Get the tax dollars out (that includes using tax dollars for harvesting aborted baby organs, tissue, research, etc.), and only private dollars to help women in crisis. Perfect.
I appreciate you guys batting this around, and I respect your view point. It is helpful for me to get your feedback.
As for highjacking threads…..um, I’m just not feeling really guilty about that. But I do think I’ve reined it in quite a bit.
Daniel, did I send you that currency legislation? I think you will love that! And nothing to do with a uterus.
Got it. Might be seing something in the GLO about it soon.
Daniel, did I send you that currency legislation? I think you will love that! And nothing to do with a uterus.
I don’t know about that. My wife’s uterus has cost me plenty, regardless of what standard is used for our currency.
LOL
LMAO!
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