Earhart has abused his office and power and needs to be displaced and Keen’s arrogant leadership style and BLIND EYE at Richardson’s transgressions make me question O’Neall’s associations.

And Hembree – well I don’t take him serious as a candidate.

I do agree with you. Harbin needs to go.

Looks like Jesus is making a deal with the Devil.

As fast as the district is changing, it will probably be nearly 40% black by 2010 election, and off year or not that is just not winnable for most Republicans, especially since the Dems would throw everything they could at him to beat him as speaker.

The district changing is not Hembree’s fault, but if he is misleading people about how bad his district is then it is his fault.

Let me assure you that Larry O’Neal is making LOTS of phone calls and is working very hard, and with all his heart and energy, to win this election. Also, be assured, only two people decided that Larry needed to run – Larry himself, and his wife Kathy. “The Speaker’s folks” had absolutely nothing to do with it, I know that for fact.

6. Lastly the retroactivity complained of was done by an amendment actually added in the Senate so one must believe the Bobby Kahn machine that a representative can amend a bill in the Senate, which is now and was then against every rule of the Senate and the Constitution of the state of Georgia; hence impossible on its face or the “immaculate amendment”.

Minutes from the Senate committee that made the change retroactive indicate that this was added as a courtesy because a last-minute request for that change was made by… wait for it….

http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2009/12/16/oneal-offers-his-version-of-perdues-100000-backdated-tax-break/

Ralston

A lot of members think David Ralston is simply the strongest candidate. He stood up to Richardson when most would not. He commands respect he doesn’t demand it. He has been calling the caucus like crazy, speaking to everyone, trying to include everyone, even the folks that are close to O’Neal and Hembree. He is saying very respectful things about both of his opponents. He has addressed the concerns and reservations members had about him head on.

O’Neal

O’Neal, for some reason has not been calling people. Allen Peake and Earl Ehrhart have been calling on his behalf. O’Neal has (in print) tried to answer some of the questions about the tax issue. There are still concerns about his close relationship with the Governor and his allies (Keen and current leadership). One member said “I don’t think running for Speaker was something Larry thought up himself, I think the Speaker’s folks saw that they were going down and they thought Larry was the cleanest one of them that they could get elected Speaker.” More than one person has said O’Neal’s heart just doesn’t seem to be in it.

Hembree

Hembree wants to be Speaker bad, but unfortunately, he seems to be bringing up the rear at the moment. His supporters like him a lot, but don’t think he can win. There also appears to be some bad blood between the Hembree and O’Neal camps. One member said that “Bill is really hard on Larry and David over the phone.” Another concern is that Hembree’s district is going more minority everyday. Hembree is telling folks that he can hang on in 2010 and redraw the seat. Members are worried that he will have to raise a ton of money just to survive next fall, which may draw dollars away from them. One member put it this way, “we can’t afford to have a Speaker who has to spend all his time and energy trying to get himself re-elected. We need a Speaker who is in a safe district who can spend his time helping the rest of the caucus.”

Are you saying that the only reason to oppose Richardson was the affair he had with the AGL lobbyist? Are you serious?

Glenn Richardson’s abuse of power took many forms including punishing fellow legislators for opposing him for legitimate reasons. How many people did he “demote” from committee chairmanships? How many people lost their office space because they crossed Richardson?

Larry O’Neal did not have the courage to stand against Glenn Richardson. He did not even have the courage to vote against Glenn Richardson.

A man without the courage to do what is right in adverse conditions should not be elected Georgia House Speaker.

“Isn’t that a fair statement?”

Why not show up and see for yourself? The meeting is at 10:00 Thursday morning in the House chambers. That is, if the meeting isn’t closed… again.

You really should try some of politicalwidow’s tasty snake oil! Mmmm. It’s good for what ails you and keeps you from having those nasty headaches caused by actual rational thinking!

Perhaps O’Neal is simply diplomatic and has learned how to work with different people from different perspectives without getting into unnecessary conflict.

He was so diplomatic that he voted for Richardson last year when Richardson had opposition. I believe this makes him a little TOO diplomatic to be Georgia House Speaker.