From a press release I just received:
Karen Handel has officially filed the necessary paperwork to form a campaign committee to seek the office of Governor of Georgia in 2010.
Handel said, “After prayerful consideration and with the support of my husband Steve, I have decided to run for Governor. I am humbled by the level of support I am receiving from all across Georgia and I’m looking forward to the campaign.
“Our next Governor will face many difficult challenges. I look forward to meeting those challenges with exciting new ideas and a vision that will put us on the path to growth and prosperity.”
Handel also announced that Fred Cooper will serve as Campaign Chairman. “Fred Cooper is recognized as one of the great leaders of the Republican Party and in the Georgia business community. I am fortunate to consider him a great friend and I am honored to have him as chairman of our campaign,” Handel said.
Cooper said, “Karen Handel possesses the qualities that are so important in public service – absolute integrity, exceptional experience, remarkable intelligence, and strong, fair leadership. She has consistently demonstrated those qualities….as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor; as Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners; and as Secretary of State.
“She is ready to be Governor; she will be an excellent Governor; I am proud to be on her team,” Cooper added.
{ 132 comments }
← Previous Comments
Next Comments →
No, Track. It’s that John Konop nailed your ass for how idiotic your statement is about people who do not have a college degree.
Fishtail,
You said this: While a lot of attention has been focused on which candidates have a college degree, maybe it would also be informative if we knew which candidates have been divorced? I know Ox has at least one divorce in his past, but I don’t know anything about Casey and Karen matrimonial record.
Wowww…glad to see that you, as a somewhat proclaimed “thinking person” needs information like the aforementioned to feed your decision-making construct.
By all means, resort to the simplest reasons why you should reject or accept someone as a candidate.
Trackboy1,
What do Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and entertainment mogul David Geffen have in common?
These industry leaders are some of the most successful people in business and none of them has a college degree.
Whoa boys!! Back off, please. All I did was pose the question about divorce. I personally could care less, unless there was some of spousal abuse or other weird stuff involved. Some of my best friends are divorced. As a matter of fact, if I had to vote today I would vote for John Oxendine. He has been a statewide office holder for about 16 years or so and has done a decent job. Neither Casey or Karen have been put to the test, and so I would have to go with Oxendine’s experience.
And all I ever said was that a man divorcing a women proved that the man was tried and true.
Thanks for putting me in my place Bill. You rock.
There’s always exceptions to the rule, of course. Whole lotta highly intelligent, self-starting, highly successful people out there who never went to college. However, out of all the CEO’s out there, small business or large, how many do not have degrees? Out of all the other governors, elected officials, police chiefs, fire chiefs, nurses, developers, builders, landscape architects, computer repair technician, college football coaches, etc., what is the percentage who don’t have degrees? Is Mark Richt UGA’s head coach without a degree and a graduate assistantship?
Our society values leaders and high level administrators/managers with degrees. An undergrad in history or a master’s degree in public administration doesn’t mean you’ll be a good elected official, but there’s value in a degree like that for any potential elected official.
A degree doesn’t guarantee success, but it’s pretty darn clear there’s value to a degree, and can be indicator of future success.
JK – I appreciate and approve of much in the way of your comments on many matters, but in this case Trackboy’s concern was Gubernatorial, not self-made entrepenuer, qualifications. How about a list identifying current successful pols under age 5?
An undergrad in history or a master’s degree in public administration doesn’t mean you’ll be a good elected official, but there’s value in a degree like that for any potential elected official.
Quite frankly, in looking at the mess we have in this country (and state) I’d say that liberal art degree-carrying politicians (including history, poly-sci, law, etc.) tend to be the most demonstrably INCOMPETENT “leaders” in their policies and practice.
Dave Bearse
I have worked with and met many people I respect who have never finished a degree. Early in my career after college I work for a Greek guy with a 6th grade education that taught many business and life principals I use today.
The concept of IQ testing was not about intelligence but more for matching people toward what they would most likely succeed at. And I think a major problem in society is the concept of judging one set of skill sets as being intelligent over another set of skills.
The person who fixes my car is a genius because I cannot do it. And if I was judged on that skill set via intelligence I would not score very high.
I am big believer in the big brain theory of management. My job as a CEO is to take in as much information as possible with as many views before making a rash decision. My current National sales manager never completed college and does a great job.
I am very slow to evaluate people on education alone. Ironically a study was done that showed that people that started from the bottom before becoming an executive out performed MBA with no bottom up experience.
I am all for education but we do not all obtain it the same way. And I think Karen and Casey should be judged on their past performance and ideas.
BTW a list of successful politicians from either party would be very short one college degree or not.
Doug Deal,
Saxby Chambliss lost the Georgia Right to Life endorsement when he changed his position on Abortion between the Primary and the General election. At one time he voiced support for amnesty. Saxby is for Georgia at least a Social Moderate.
Sonny Purdue – Refused to hire any prominent social conservatives let alone long time Republican activist. He hired so many Democrats and RINO’s that the joke is that we will not get a real Republican until 2010. He plays at being a social conservative, but refuses to advance the agenda.
George Bush – Pro-Life and Pro-Guns but weak on almost every other issues. Endorsed by Log Cabin Republicans in 2000. Supported amnesty for illegals and a greater role of the federal government in education. He is no pure social conservative.
National Republican House delegation – refused to stand up for social conservatives over compromises with the Democrats. The House leadership was bad both on Social and Fiscal issues.
As for Ralph Reed, he sold out to corporate interests a long time ago. He support in the Right to Life community was weaker than Casey’s and do not get me started on his support for Gambling. He has about as much credibility in the social conservative movement as Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker. He is probably a fiscal conservative due to his ties with Grover Norquest.
GENERAL DAVID H. PETRAEUS
From Wiki: earned a M.P.A. degree (1985) and a Ph.D. degree (1987) in International Relations from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He later served as Assistant Professor of International Relations at the U.S. Military Academy and also completed a fellowship at Georgetown University. He has a BS from the U.S. Military Academy—class of 1974—from which he graduated as a distinguished cadet (top 5% of his class).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/04/AR2007020401196.html
Reed pimped out the Baptists.
He and Ted Haggard would make a good tag team.
Let’s consider a moratorium on cheerleader posts like “GO CANDIDATE NAME!!!!!”. Sophomorish cheers are not persuasive or compelling.
Make your case intellectually on what your candidate’s strengths are and what sets them apart. Talk about their executive leadership and what they have actually accomplished.
The ability to raise money also is not an indication of one’s likelihood of being elected either…ask Mitt Romney
SFG
GO JACKETS! BEAT DAWGS!
Persuasive enough?
Ok Jane, lets use some logic here. You say if you are a social moderate you are probably a fiscal moderate. That is quite possibly true. A social moderate wants more control over some social issues and thus needs more government funding and vice versa. But, a Social conservative, who opposes abortion, gay marriage, perhaps sodomy, wants prayer in school, and whatever else is actually more likely to be a fiscal liberal. I know, it sounds crazy, but hear me out. If you want Abortion to be illegal then you want to use the power of the state to prevent women and doctors from having/giving abortions. That requires police, regulation, and the use of the court system. Those things cost money and it means the government must have funds to pay for these powers. That is both a legal and fiscal expansion of government, they have to get the money from somewhere so it also means at the least your taxes won’t go down, more likely it means an increase in taxes. Uh oh, sounds like a fiscal leberal policy to me!
Now take Gay marriage. Instead of just getting the state out of the marriage business all together, you “Social Conservative” types want to have a Federal amendment banning Gay marriage, that means taking power from the states and transfering it to the Federal government. At the very least, by having even the states regulate marriage period, saying who can and can’t get married, issuing licenses and so on, you have increased government regulation paid for through taxes and fees. Again a bigger government budget and a bigger government reach. Fiscally, its liberal. So, Jane, the truth is, your Social Conservatism is directly (and logically) tied to Fiscal Liberalism. And for the record, before some kook starts calling me a baby killer, I am pro-life, not for religious reasons, but because, in my opinion, a fetus is biologically a seperate human being and thus entitled to the protection of it’s life under our Constitution.
Oh, and gambling is so evil isn’t it folks, I mean it pays for thousands of Georgia college students’ tution every year How terrible. And don’t get me started on how casinos have ruined so many Native American tribes…payouts for college and what not, its just awful.
Hear, Hear! To Cmurray for speaking the Truth.
(As a note, I doubt Jane will agree with you since “logic” is something most “social conservatives” possess to start with)
Correction: (As a note, I doubt Jane will agree with you since “logic” is something most “social conservatives” do not possess to start with)
Bill, you can’t take it back now. You’ve already stated your lust for Social Conservatives.
I say forget that she didn’t go to college, and let’s just talk about her total lack of experience. Being Secretary of State for 3 years does not qualify someone for being Governor of the state. She has no legislative experience, let me say that one more time, ZERO days of actually sitting down and hammering out laws, trying to get them to pass in the eyes of the House and Senate, and she has never HAD to push laws to a public who probably have no idea what the Secretary of State actually does. While I have respect for Karen Handle, stick with what you know, you can’t jump into the highest position in Georgia with training wheels.
Conservatism is a unifying philosophy just as socialism and libertarianism is. You cannot be true to conservative values by being ½ conservative without rejecting the underlying philosophy. You cannot be conservative on some issues and a moderate on others and still be a conservative.
To those who call themselves moderate Republicans who try to mix right wing and left wing positions, they are like a ship without a rudder moving with the winds and every changing as the winds change. This type of moderation breeds unpredictability in voting habits and disloyalty from disillusioned supporters. You can trust a Ron Paul, or Paul Broun, or Lynn Westmoreland to always vote the conservative almost libertarian line regardless of the issue. You cannot say the same about more moderate Republicans like our two Senators.
Jane
In your mind is Barry Goldwater the father of the conservative movement not conservative since he was not a social conservative?
Barry Goldwater was the American politician most often credited for sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement
He was criticized in 1964 as a radical reactionary, yet he energized a conservative grass roots movement which, sixteen years later, helped to nominate and elect Ronald Reagan. However, after 1981, the influence of the Christian Right on the Republican Party so conflicted with Goldwater’s libertarian views, that he openly voiced his opposition.
In a 1994 interview with the Washington Post the retired Senator said, “When you say ‘radical right’ today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican Party and make a religious organization out of it. If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye.” He said about Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority, “I think every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass,” in response to Falwell’s opposition to the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court where Falwell said, “Every good Christian should be concerned.” ….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Goldwater
Would you welcome Goldwater in the GOP today?
The #1 skill I want in the next Governor is to just be literate enough to spell the word V E T O (and be able to sign their name of course) any and every skill beyond that will be considered icing on the cake.
Even though, I and others have recently stated that the Libertarian Party is not just the party of “NO”, everyone should be able to agree by now that this ability in our elected officials would do us all pretty well in our current political climate.
“When you say ‘radical right’ today, I think of these moneymaking ventures…”
They are playing us all for rubes, and we’re playing along.
ksu–i think she does have at least some similar experience having chaired the county commission for like the largest county in the state–and she has taken positions and done some leg work on a couple of legislative initiatives that relate to her office–like the voter id bill–and besides–strictly speaking she is running to be an executive–not a legislatorso i’m not sure “experience is going to be the albatros you can hang around her neck…
KSUOwls,
The Governor has these people designated as “Governor’s Floor Leaders” in the House and Senate to help with writing and passing bills in the legislature.
Also, they have a legal team.
Getting legislation passed really ain’t that complicated. Knowing what to VETO, as was pointed out above, is way more important.
John Konop
Goldwater was an emotional reaction to the moderation of Eisenhower and the LBJ civil rights efforts. In 1964, the conservative movement was not totally established or fully thought out philosophically. Goldwater in 1964, was calling for a strict constitutional approach to Civil Right legislation and a strong military reaction to communism. The social issue of today, Gun Right, Defense of Marriage, opposition to Amnesty, opposition to abortion of demand, were not significant issues in 1964. I would point to Ronald Reagan as the organizer and unifier of the Modern Conservative movement rather than Goldwater. It was Reagan that stood up against the social radicals at Berkeley while governor of California. It was Reagan that voiced opposition to government funded abortion, and affirmative action. It was Fiscal and Social moderates like Nixon who first gave us government funded abortion, and affirmative action. The later musing of Goldwater was more libertarianism than Reagan conservatism.
I question whether this is the beginning of the end of Georgia’s financial existence…or if this is the end of the beginning of GA’s conservative movement.
9/11 is not an issue the GOP can rely on in 2010…only ignorance.
Handel is worse than cancer.
Georgia’s Conservative movement will be very strong in 2010 without the 9/11 issue.
I think we should calling the new national crisis the 1/20. (The coronation day of King Barack Hussein of Illinois/Hawaii/Harvard/New York)
HELLO….I thought Karen Handel was running for Governor, not the state legislature, Speaker of the House or Lt. Governor. Her job would be to approve and execute law, not make it.
It is interesting to see some of the posters recently pointing out what they say disqualifies the lone female candidate for Governor. (first formal “higher” education, now legislative experience for an executive role!) Curiously I don’t see the same vigor with “disqualifying” the male candidates.
It’s the same nonsense straight from the democrat playbook, saying repeatedly that Sara Palin was not qualified when in reality she had more executive branch experience than Obama, Biden and McCain put together.
I think some of you just don’t like a successful “uppity” woman with actual accomplishments.
If service in the legislature is a litmus test to be Governor, you’ll eliminate Oxendine, Olens and Poythress as being qualified also. I do think there are indeed GA Governors who did not served in the legislature.
Lay off the Koole-aid and look at these candidates objectively based on real executive governing, otherwise you end up coronating King Roy for a third term in 2010….
Ok….let’s look objectively:
Handel- Liberal acting Republican with good experience.
Cagle- Conservative with experience as Lt. Governor and in the legislature. Name one thing he’s accomplished other than the feud with Richardson.
Olens- Not ready for prime time, yet. King Roy likes him though. Not good for Olens:
Olens “took over a county that’s historically been run well and he perfected the efficiency of the county,” said former Gov. Roy Barnes, a Marietta attorney who also is weighing a run for his old job. “Sam’s greatness as a public official is that he’s dull. He doesn’t surprise you. You don’t have crises with him. We need more dull politicians.” AJC 3/22/09
Oxendine- Proven leadership of the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioners office since 1994. Conservative through and through while consistently running that office UNDER budget, while expanding the hours of operation to serve the people of Georgia.
TG,
Handel- Liberal acting Republican with good experience.
DO point out 3 specific examples of Handel “acting Liberal” in her job as Secretary of State.
Dittos Bill,
TG’s “liberal acting” label is another baseless change, devoid of substance or evidence.
Childish name calling efforts will not retain the Governor’s Office for Republicans in 2010, nor will it make a case for John Weimann Oxendine.
By the way your standard of coming under budget as his sole qualifying accomplishment, I guess all GA elected officials and commissioners are qualified as by law we cannot run a deficit in Georgia.
Presumably cutting the blue police lights from Oxy’s state vehicle balanced his budget. When you play the liberal card TG back it up…OK?
an aside–do any of you atlantans know what happened to the football hero turned politician that was handel predesessor of fulton chair–i would think he’s still young enough to stay politically active if he were so inclined.
the county next to mine just elected a former nfl player as its county commission chair as well
I understand that she is vetting for an Executive role, but in STATE politics I believe that some Legislative experience is necessary, if not extremely important. I believe that this legislative experience gives the educated voter a better barometer of how that candidate may view different issues. From her position as Secretary of State I know that she is for the Georgia’s voter ID law. I also know that she can over see an election. That’s really about it. She has NO paper trail to see how she would really do when it came to making tough decisions that effect the citizens of Georgia, not just Fulton County.
People can support her, but I ask why? Other then what are currently empty words, their is no decent evidence to support how she feels about any issue that is pertinent to the citizens of Georgia.
DrJay,
Mike Kenn is who you mean (…but, I’m not sure why.)
KSU,
What decisions has Sonny made that affect Georgians that you are particularly enamored about?
Ok…..So when she was running for Fulton County Commissioner in 2003 she didn’t pander to gays and gay rights in Georgia?
After her election as SOS, she stated that it didn’t matter what the Southern Voice, a gay newspaper, said she didn’t care what the paper wrote about her, yet back in 2003 she did an interview with the paper and stated that her “gay supporters and pledging “an open door and a seat at the table”….. Sounds kinda liberal to me…..
As far as acting “liberal” as SOS….you got me…I can’t name 3 things. However, in her position as SOS, what policies can she affect, other than voter’s rights, that can be characterized as liberal or conservative?
My assertion is based on the fact that nothing on her website shows anything about where she stands on the issues…..And what I’ve stated above.
“but I ask why? Other then what are currently empty words, their is no decent evidence to support how she feels about any issue that is pertinent to the citizens of Georgia.”
I’ve yet to pick a dog in this fight, but I’m struck by the above word choice, and was wondering what exactly you would use as “evidence” from the other two major candidates.
In addition, I also think it is fair to point out that Handel has only officially announced her campaign, and has yet to put forth any policy advocacy statements that I’m aware of. (Same for Austin Scott, who I’m still not really sure how to take, and for Sam Olens, who may be in the mix soon.) I’m interesting in reading them, comparing to the other candidates. I’ll be making my decision based on who I think wants to tackle real issues, not who wants to pander the most.
True Grit
You think gay people should have no say at all? You sound like a Hitler style fascist to me.
True Grit
If you read or even understood the bible you would know that people like you are what Jesus warned about!
Never said that…..I said that her stance was liberal and that she basically denied the fact that the gay community existed. That’s called pandering….Or as John Kerry said,
“I voted for it before I voted against it.”
Should gays have a voice? Absolutely. Should they have rights? Absolutely. Should a candidate use gays to get elected and then deny that you spoke in their favor? Absolutely NOT. That’s pandering! And her original statement makes her more liberal than I’m comfortable with.
Mike Kenn is who you mean (…but, I’m not sure why.)
just curious what the deal was there–didn’t he resign sparking the special election that put handel in an elected office in the irst place–and the guy in effingham that got elected lasy being a former football player too–just got me thnking about it that’s all–wasn’t there some kind wwf wrestler on the school board up there too??
seeing the sort of folks that are trying to line up against her makes her oddly more appealing…
TG,
For at least ONE conservative thing she’s done is ENFORCE the law. Liberals ignore laws.
Bill,
She does enforce the law Conservatively….Granted.
I do not fault Karen on Gay issues. Gays should have as much rights as everyone, but no more rights than anyone else. Karen represented her constituents who are Gay, but did not pander to them. I do not know how she stands on the De fence of Marriage acts.
I shook her hand at a Gay Pride event when she was running for the Fulton Commission.
Icarus,
I believe that there are only two candidates in the race who have made any type of decisions that could be used by the citizens of Georgia to make an educated decision: Austin Scott and Casey Cagle (served in the Senate before he was Lt. Gov). As for Oxendine and Handel they have nothing but words to offer to the citizens of Georgia. I will never argue that these two candidates have served their position well, but the decisions that they have made have in large been narrow in scope and they really have not had to sell them to the people of Georgia. I expect that many on this message board knows what an Insurance Commissioner or Secretary of State does, but ask the average joe what this position entails and I bet a solid majority would have no idea.
I guess all I am saying is that there is not a soul on this board who can give me any solid evidence as to how Handel or Oxendine would handle many policy issues. As I stated earlier there is no paper trail for these two. Call me old fashion, but I just like to see evidence instead of hearing words. I can tell you a whole bunch of things on what I think, but until I provide you with a record of my past experiences and actions what would make you believe me? If you are to take me at my word I guess that makes you a better man/woman than I.
Jane
You seem like a very nice person who has not thought out your position on issues. Your premise was only social conservatives are fiscally conservative. Yet when I point out the father of the fiscal conservative movement who was not socially conservative you just dismiss him.
The GOP got into trouble with fiscal liberals like Delay who played the social conservative card to manipulate you.
True Grit
I do not know you nor I am I picking a fight with you, but it seems like you did a 180 on the gay issue. At the end of the day it seems like you agree with Karen.
I know Karen and Casey and like both of them. As far as OX I have met him a few times and he seems like a good guy. My vote will not be based on hate spewing spin but instead on the issues.
← Previous Comments
Next Comments →
Comments on this entry are closed.