My father always says, “It’s not a bargain if you can’t afford it.” I believe that is the advice he might pass along to MARTA supporters.

MARTA has long desired more flexibility in its ability to determine how it will spend its funds. Currently, 50% of MARTA funds must be spent on capital improvements and 50% on operations. This is a fairly tight financial straitjacket, though it is a way to prevent subsidization of riders at the expense of abandoning necessary upkeep of the system.

There is a possibility that the ties on spending might be loosened in the draft legislation suggested by the Transit Governance Task Force. There are; however, strings as Maria Saporta writes in The Saporta Report:

To free MARTA from the state-imposed restriction that 50 percent of its revenues be spent on capital and 50 percent be spent on operations, MARTA basically would have to turn over most of its authorities to the newly-created Transit Governance Council. For the record, no other transit agency in the nation is saddled with such an unworkable rule.
MARTA represents a $6 billion investment in our region. Why should MARTA turn over its Constitutional powers to a state-controlled entity and give up its designation as the transit authority that can receive federal funding in the region.
According to folks close to MARTA, relaxing the 50/50 rule would give MARTA flexibility over how it spends its sales tax revenue (and it is expected that currently would be worth about $20 million a year for the transit agency.
It is inconceivable that MARTA could or should give up most of its powers and its $6 billion investment in return for getting flexibility in how it can spend the MARTA sales tax collected in the City of Atlanta, and Fulton and DeKalb counties.

And then there is the issue of the make-up of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) which would be the body with the ultimate control of MARTA. The 15 members would all be appointed: 9 by the governor, 3 by the lieutenant governor and 3 by the state house speaker. It’s not as though petty, personal politics ever happens in Georgia, so what could possibly go wrong?

From the state’s perspective, things are different. One of the complaints about the state is that it has not contributed as much money to MARTA as is needed. It is a fact that state governments are reluctant to give up control of funds, but let’s take this a step farther.

If the state increases its control of the funds, then it has greatly increased its responsibility for MARTA. It can no longer stand at a distance and point fingers. It will be forced to have a hands-on, problem-solving approach and let’s face it, the state has many more resources at its disposal that it could employ to improve MARTA – if the price is right.

In this case, the price for the state of Georgia taking so much control of MARTA is inescapable political responsibility.

If one wants the state to “man up” and do the right thing by MARTA, then allowing the state to be responsible might be the right way to go. The next logical step would be for the state to increase its funding of MARTA to acceptable levels for a state that still lays claim to the title Empire State of the South.

Is this a bargain that MARTA can’t afford? Perhaps, after all, it is not. My father, actually a man of few words, might offer another bit of sage advice to MARTA supporters, “If you want a man’s help, then make your interests his interests.” Yeah, that bit of wisdom would certainly fit.

There is much more at The Saporta Report, so check it out to get additional information. This is not the only issue with the draft legislation that is discussed. You’re big boys and girls so you can wander over there and find your way back again. For the weary, here’s the link.

It’s a nasty political fight with no-holds barred and kicking, biting, gouging and low blows galore – and no Democrats are involved. It’s the battle for control of the Georgia Senate. Following the national example, Georgia Republicans formed a circular firing squad last year and commenced firing and never slackened until the session was over.

Georgia Lt. Governor Casey Cagle - Image via Wikipedia

The past few peaceful months for the combatants have been spent re-loading and apparently preparing for further embarrassment in 2012. One indicator is that the sales of red rubber noses, big floppy shoes and frizzy orange wigs have skyrocketed. When the Georgia Senate convenes with Lt. Governor Cagle as its nominal head, the appropriate theme music will be Send in the Clowns.

The only thing protecting Cagle and various Georgia Senators is the relative lack of attention paid by Georgia citizens and the fact that most Georgians neither know nor care who these people are. If the people of this state stop long enough to study the sorry mess that calls itself a legislative body then all bets are off in the local and state elections.

While The Columbus Leger-Enquirer has an excellent interview with Georgia Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, touching on many subjects of interest, the real news is not in the headline. The real news is Cagle’s take on the continuing power struggle between himself and the majority of the Georgia Senate. From the story:

The Senate will continue to operate under a leadership structure implemented last session that forces Cagle to share power with other GOP leaders, but Cagle maintains that he is still head of the chamber.

“The leader in the Senate is the lieutenant governor,” said Cagle, who is still in charge of day-to-day operations, but no longer has the power to appoint committee chairs. “Last year illustrated that chaos occurs in the absence of leadership, and we really didn’t have leadership last year. This year is going to be very, very different. We’re going to be far more engaged and far more active because, quite candidly, the experiment last year was not successful.”

Cagle said the current leadership structure is hurting the Senate, and pointed out that no major legislation originated in the Senate last year. He said the issue is not about him, but about preserving the institution.

The amazing thing about this quote is that Cagle publicly proclaims himself to be “the leader”  and then bemoans the lack of leadership. Let me sort out the confusion here: There is a difference between holding a position that has some authority and being a leader. Cagle has the position, but I’m awaiting a sign of leadership. Frankly, I’m not sure Casey Cagle could lead a group of sailors onto the campus of an all-women’s college after six months at sea.

While voters may not pay much attention now, a continued lack of accomplishment will draw the interest of voters. If Governor Nathan Deal or even members of the other legislative body are forced to get involved, then the press cannot ignore the continued Senate stalemate. This would be good news for Georgia’s citizenry whose legislature is being held hostage by egos, childish grudges and an addiction to power.

The struggle has even spread outside the Georgia Capitol building in the form of special election battles. It appears the two sides are using candidates as proxies in their ongoing struggle for potential supporters by funneling funds and support to different campaigns. From here, it looks as though the balance of power remains just where it was at the end of last year’s legislative session.

I don’t know if Lt. Governor Cagle has figured this out or not, but in ’14 he is at a disadvantage. Incumbent state senators are much better known to their individual constituencies than is the Lt. Governor. If he attempts to interfere in their races, he would likely be unsuccessful and lose political power and influence. On the other hand, the collective endorsements by a large group of state senators would carry much more influence. When it comes to the ballot box, this is not an even fight.

Let me make a modest recommendation: If these two groups are serious about making the Georgia Senate work, then they should get together, reach an agreement and hold a press conference that outlines the agreement. I will be happy if this happens, but on the bright side, if it fails I will have a lot to write about.

Do you think Dr. Phil does legislatures?

If you want to open a can of worms at Peach Pundit, simply start a thread that gives readers an excuse to talk about “separation of powers” and the role of the Lieutenant Governor. Eventually someone will start throwing around the term “separation of powers” and even suggest that a lawsuit is inevitable if Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle is given back some of the traditional administrative duties of the office he holds.

But such a viewpoint fails to consider the context of the notion of separation of powers in the twenty-first century and oversimplifies a complex subject to the level of an episode of Schoolhouse Rock. Eventually it bends the concept so far by suggesting that the judiciary may intervene to sort out a disagreement about Senate rules, that it breaks the principle of separation of powers more effectively than any change in Senate rules could manage.

Context and the Georgia Constitution

Now whenever a writer starts talking about “context” the very next thing you should expect is for them to try and tell you that some words you think you understand mean something completely different from what you think they mean. But when construing our state Constitution, the most important piece of context is the rest of the document itself. Check it out or just jump to the summary.

Section II, paragraph III of the Georgia Constitution (.pdf) states

Separation of legislative, judicial, and executive powers. The legislative , judicial, and executive powers shall forever remain separate and distinct; and no person discharging the duties of one shall at the same time exercise the functions of either of the others except as herein provided.

Sounds simple enough, right? You might even point to an Attorney General’s opinion addressing whether an Assistant District Attorney may serve in the legislature that along the way discusses the Constitutional separation of powers.

“This provision distinguishes our state Constitution from the federal Constitution, which has no express provision ‘prohibit[ing] the officials of one branch of government from exercising the functions of the other branches.’”   Sentence Review Panel v. Moseley, 284 Ga. 128, 129 (2008).

In addressing the application of the separation of powers doctrine, it is evident that under the plain language of the Constitution any analysis of whether the doctrine has been violated must look both at the legal designation of the branch of government to which a particular position is assigned as a matter of law and at the underlying duties and responsibilities that are being performed.

Seems pretty clear. Until you get to Article IV (Constitutional Boards and Commissions) and Article V, Section I, paragraph III, which states

Lieutenant Governor. There shall be a Lieutenant Governor, who shall be elected at the same time, for the same term , and in the same manner as the Governor. The Lieutenant Governor shall be the President of the Senate and shall have such executive duties as prescribed by the Governor and as may be prescribed by law not inconsistent with the powers of the Governor or other provisions of this Constitution [emphasis added]….

The rise of administrative agencies in Georgia government

The first sign that separation of powers isn’t going to be as simple as it seems is not the grant of power to the Lt. Gov., but the creation of Constitutional Boards and Commissions, which are not clearly placed in any of the three traditional branches and in many cases exercise a blend of quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial and executive powers.

In fact, these boards and commissions have their own section of the Georgia Constitution, Article IV, while the legislative branch is constituted in Article III, the executive branch in Article V and the judiciary in Article VI. This clearly demonstrates that as far as separation of powers, these agencies are neither fish nor fowl; they throw a monkey wrench into any simplistic understanding of separation of powers.

The Georgia Public Service Commission, created in Article IV, Section I is the best example of a triple-quasi administrative agency. Under our current constitution, the PSC is established “for the regulation of utilities” and exercises “such jurisdiction, powers, and duties as provided by law” without further explanation or limitation.

The Public Service Commission was established in 1879 as the Railroad Commission of Georgia. During this period most states developed similar agencies to address the complex issues of railroad regulation. In 1922, the commission was given its current name in recognition of the expansion of its regulatory responsibilities, which came to include intrastate trucking, limosuines and household goods movers, for-profit electric utilities, gas companies, intrastate telephony and other similar industries that are widely considered to be “natural monopolies.”

This mirrored the rise in the federal government of a new form of government called the administrative agency, a development that would accelerate through the New Deal era until the 1980s and 1990s saw movements to consolidate and in some cases, curtail these agencies.

By 1952, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote:

The rise of administrative bodies probably has been the most significant legal trend of the last century, and perhaps more values today are affected by their decisions than by those of all the courts, review of administrative decisions apart. They also have begun to have important consequences on personal rights. Cf. United States v. Spector, 343 U. S. 169. They have become a veritable fourth branch of the Government, which has deranged our three-branch legal theories much as the concept of a fourth dimension unsettles our three-dimensional thinking.

Courts have differed in assigning a place to these seemingly necessary bodies in our constitutional system. Administrative agencies have been called quasi-legislative, quasi-executive, or quasi-judicial, as the occasion required, in order to validate their functions within the separation of powers scheme of the Constitution. The mere retreat to the qualifying “quasi” is implicit with confession that all recognized classifications have broken down,and “quasi” is a smooth cover which we draw over our confusion, as we might use a counterpane to conceal a disordered bed.

FTC V. RUBEROID CO., 343 U. S. 470 at 487-88 (1952) (Jackson, J., dissenting).

But back to Georgia. Under current legislation, the Public Service Commission promulgates and enforces rules about how regulated companies may interact with ratepayers. This is a legislative function that has been delegated by the General Assembly. The PSC also makes decisions in rate cases and in cases between regulated entities that include procedural rules, lawyers, sworn witnesses, and written decisions. This is a quasi-judicial function, and in some cases includes the ability to levy fines. Until changes made under Governor Perdue, the PSC had sworn enforcement officers with badges, guns, and Crown Vics; clearly an executive function.

This mish-mash of functions from the three traditional branches of government would almost certainly be unconstitutional…. if it weren’t actually in the Constitution itself.

There are other examples I could give, but I’m well over 900 words now, and Richard Halicks at the AJC must be judging me harshly by now.

Whatever simplistic understanding we might have had about the meaning of “separation of powers” does not survive the rise of administrative law, and must give way to a more nuanced understanding.

If it’s in the Constitution, then by definition, it cannot be unconstitutional

The problem with simply asserting that “[t]he Lt. Governor is a member of the Executive branch and has no business being involved with legislating” is that the Constitution requires that he preside over the Senate. It’s not optional under the actual language of the Constitution. “Shall” does not mean “may” and if presiding over the Senate is required by the Constitution, it is by definition constitutional.

So what did the framers of our state constitution mean when they said the Lt. Gov. shall be President of the Senate? The courts, should it ever come to that, would likely look at what the role of the Lt. Gov.

For nearly sixty years between the 1945 adoption of the first Georgia Constitution to include Lt. Gov. as a constitutional office until the 2003 stripping of many of the internal organizational functions from Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, the Lt. Gov. exercised powers including naming of committee chairs and playing an active role in the internal organization of the Senate. No successful constitutional challenges were mounted against the exercise of these powers.

The Senate can delegate power to the Lieutenant Governor

When the Lt. Gov. exercises organizational powers under the Senate Rules, it is clear that the Senate has delegated those powers to him. While that historical context is not conclusive, it does suggest that a full generation of Georgia politicians believed that the Lt. Gov. could exercise such powers if they were properly delegated to him by the General Assembly.

I’m not aware of any Georgia court cases determining the limits of the General Assembly’s ability to delegate organizational responsibilities to the Lt. Gov. in his role as President of the Senate, but some cases addressing the legislature’s power of delegation in the agency context are helpful.

In 1990, the Georgia Supreme Court addressed the limits of the General Assembly’s ability to delegate its legislative power to an administrative agency and cited an earlier case for the proposition that “[w]hile the Constitution declares that the three departments of government shall be separate and distinct, this separation is not and from the nature of things cannot be total.”

A 1978 case in the Supreme Court dealt with the legislature’s grant of some legislative power to another constitutional officer

It has often been held that the constitutional restriction on delegation of legislative powers does not prevent the grant of legislative authority to some ministerial officer, board or other tribunal to adopt rules, by-laws, or other ordinances for its government, or to carry out a particular purpose.

Scoggins v. Whitfield Finance Co. 249 SE2d 222 (1978).

So it is clear that the General Assembly, or one house, can delegate some of its rulemaking power to a constitutional executive officer, like the Lt. Gov. but there are also limitations on the General Assembly’s power to delegate.

In 1936, the Georgia Supreme Court discussed limitations on the legislature’s delegations, stating “those functions which are essentially legislative must be performed by the legislative body, and may not be delegated to executive or ministerial officers.”

So we now have some idea of the limitations of the powers that the Senate might delegate to the Lt. Gov. — somewhere between merely administrative or ministerial functions, up to the limits of essential legislative functions dealing with substantive legislation. While not the height of clarity, it appears that the traditional functions of the Lt. Gov. in presiding over the Senate can legitimately be delegated to him by the General Assembly.

It has been suggested that any Senate rules that restore the traditional functions of the Lt. Gov. might result in a lawsuit challenging the rules. Another commenter raises the issue that private citizens would not have standing to challenge the rules in a lawsuit.

Standing is the legal doctrine stating that a plaintiff cannot challenge a law unless she can demonstrate that she has actually been harmed by it or will imminently be harmed. Georgia’s cases on standing generally require a plaintiff challenging a legislative action as unconstitutional to show that they are individually harmed by the statute they are challenging. It is difficult to imagine a set of circumstances in which a court would find that an individual plaintiff had been harmed by the adoption of Senate rules that delegate administrative functions to the Lt. Gov., though some of you have more fertile imaginations that I do.

We now come to the real separation of powers issue, which a commenter touched upon; that a state court is unlikely to insert itself into an internal dispute over legislative procedural rules. While it is true that in our system of government the courts are the final arbiters of constitutionality, they traditionally have shown great deference to the other branches of government in organizing their own internal affairs. And if we are talking about rules adopted by a majority of the Senate, the defendant in such a challenge would not be the Lt. Gov., but the Senate itself.

In summary, the doctrine of separation of powers under the modern Georgia constitution is more complicated than the Schoolhouse Rock version some citizens proclaim. The existence of Constitutional boards and commission, which at times exercise powers traditionally considered to be legislative, judicial and executive, at the same time that they stand outside the traditional three-ring structure indicates that strict separation is no longer the rule. The constitutional requirement that the Lt. Gov. shall serve as President of the Senate means that some exercise of legislative involvement by the Lt. Gov. is not only permissible under the constitution but is required. Further delegation by Senate Rules of administrative functions to the Lt. Gov. is almost certainly permissible under the constitution, though not required. Ordinary citizens will not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of such rules in any case. And no court in its right mind will wade lightly into the propriety of internal Senate Rules.

I take no position on whether the Senate should delegate more of the traditional functions exercised by past Lt. Govs. to the current occupant of that office. That is a political decision for the Senate alone.

First let me say that I encourage my friends on the left and middle, as well as fellow conservatives to critique this list – and hopefully add to it. The state legislature will convene in a few days, and I’m sure they are all waiting breathlessly to know what we citizens want. What do you really want? Please share your ideas.

Dear Georgia Legislature, The citizens of the state, with a few exceptions. have been good this year and so they deserve some consideration. Here is my Christmas wish list for the state of Georgia. I hope you’ll look at it carefully.

Georgia Capitol Building - Image via Wikipedia

1. The state needs to give individual counties the flexibility to increase the limit on local option sales taxes subject to the same current restrictions (other than the overall cap) but limit that authority to the next five years with tax receipts to go into the local government’s general fund. Some poor, rural counties may need this to remain financially viable in this economy. I don’t like increasing taxes, so if there is a better way, I’ll certainly accept it.

2 – EVERY department at the state level needs to implement zero-based budgeting.

3 – Stop thinking about education in its present form. Look for alternatives that work whether they are within the current framework or not. Look at eliminating grade-levels so that students can work at different levels within each subject matter without regard to age. Grade levels stifle students in their best subjects and bewilder them in the areas in which they struggle. Could you please pass legislation making it possible to fix this?

4 – The most independent, politically neutral ethics commission possible should be established. There is a great motivation for this: The majority today may not be the majority tomorrow and this commission must be established in a way that no one can manipulate it for political gain and so that it is effective, consistent and renders the closest thing to justice available in this world.

5 – Commission a committee to study the state government, focusing on duplication of services and resources and make recommendations on reducing the cost of state government. Think of it as Georgia’s Grace Commission.

a – Put people on the committee from varied industries and backgrounds such as financial, manufacturing, agricultural, academic, logistics, health, medical, legal and all levels of government. Put the best and brightest forward, not necessarily the most politically connected. Set up a liaison with the Georgia Congressional delegation to obtain any necessary federal information.

b – Give that committee the keys to get any and all information from any state official and agency that can be legally obtained.

c – Make public all recommendations without interference from any elected officials. Establish a website to receive suggestions from citizens. Divert any suggestions for local and county governments to another website and make them available to the public, as well.

6 – Increase the penalties for the commission of voter fraud in state and local elections.

7 – Hey state senators and Lt Governor Cagle! Pay attention. The country is in a financial mess and state unemployment is at an unacceptable level, meanwhile you’re in a contest to see who’s the most juvenile. This is unacceptable. I have my own beliefs on who is mostly responsible for this, but it no longer matters. Fix it or it’s going to get really ugly and you may not get your fondest wishes in the coming years.

8 – Is there an organization that seeks out “best practices” from other state governments and reviews those practices to see if they will help Georgia? If not, isn’t it time to do so?

9 – I remember hearing you were going to review and improve the state tax structure. How about it?

10 – When Austin Scott was campaigning for governor, he suggested a state-wide grand jury to handle some matters that seem to fall in the cracks. It’s still a good idea, so how about looking into that?

Merry Christmas!

Any other wishes?

The Georgia Senate has been fairly quiet for the past few months, but January is only a couple of months away. The Senate will have a slightly different make-up. The 1st session ended in a deadlock where the Senate GOP Caucus was basically split into Pro-Cagle and Anti-Cagle factions. That could potentially change in a few days when voters in the 50th senate district elect a new senator to fill the balance of Sen. Jim Butterworth’s term as well as Sen. Mitch Seabaugh’s now-vacated seat in the 28th district.

Battle lines are being drawn between Rep. Rick Austin, who is known for bucking GOP leadership and would probably do the same in the senate, and John Wilkinson, who is an apparent Pro-Cagle candidate. I’m sure Lt. Gov. Cagle and his allies are looking to hold on to the stalemate (and even shift the balance of power in favor of the LG since Sen. Mitch Seabaugh has left as well) in the senate.

Come January, we’ll see a power-shift in the senate either towards the LG and his allies or towards Sen. Chip Rogers and his allies or just a repeat of the 2011 session. It could be the “Fight of the Century”…or not. Have your popcorn ready!

The first few months of 2011 was tumultuious in the Georgia Senate with a group of senators leading the charge to topple Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle as the leader of the Senate. That ended up being more of a flesh wound rather than a full-fledged coup d’etat. The Senate GOP Caucus civil war was the butt of most jokes for those who follow inside baseball in Georgia politics. Once the gavel slammed down on Sine Die to close the 2011 session of the Georgia General Assembly, it seemed like both sides retreated back to their camps and pretty much been mum on the issue since. It’s been quiet…all too quiet.

The General Assembly will come back for a special session to draw new district lines in the state next week. Where will the battlefield be made for the two warring factions of the Senate GOP Caucus? Will the lieutenant governor flex some political muscle behind the scenes and try to draw out some of the more vocal and powerful malcontents within his own party? Will both factions try to cause each other problems on the congressional district map?  Are there troop movements behind the scenes, or will the leadership and lieutenant governor agree to a temporary truce for the special session?

I believe the ultimate victor in the Senate civil war will be the lieutenant governor. He doesn’t have anything to lose since his “district” is the entire state of Georgia, and the senators can’t really draw him out (unless they draw a congressional district that would be irresistible to Cagle). As for the GOP senators at odds with Cagle, they might consider treading lightly for the next few weeks. It will be an interesting next few weeks to see how things will play out in the Senate. I suspect that things will be tense in the upper chamber, but I believe ultimately that there will be a truce in place. That is, unless a senator, or a group of senators, feels bold enough to take on the lieutenant governor head-on yet again.

My friend and colleague Travis Bowden, Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia, has written an op-ed about the office of lieutenant governor and the role it plays:

At last month’s 7^th Congressional District Convention, a resolution was proposed that would demote the Lieutenant Governor of Georgia by stripping him of the title of President of the Senate. I respectfully disagree with this plan and the ideas behind it.

If the Lieutenant Governor were to be demoted in such a way, then the constitution would be needlessly violated. The resolution brought up at the convention says that the Lieutenant Governor is a member of Georgia’s Executive Branch, and therefore he should not be able to govern any part of Georgia’s Legislative Branch, in this case, the Georgia State Senate.

However, if one were to consult Article 3, Section 3, of the Georgia Constitution, the first paragraph says that the presiding officer of the Georgia State Senate shall be the “President of the Senate”. Article 5, Section 1 of the Constitution then says that the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected at the same time for the same term of office, and that the Lieutenant Governor is the “President of the Senate”. Finally, it says that the Lieutenant Governor only has Executive Branch duties when “prescribed by the Governor”.

Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor is a government officer who serves in the Legislative Branch as President of the Senate and can legally work for the Governor on certain matters with the Governor’s blessing. The 1971 Georgia Supreme Court case Henderson V. Maddox explains that the Lieutenant Governor does not receive Executive powers in his own right unless the sitting Governor dies or resigns. The powers of the Chief Executive would then devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor, who would resign his office then ascend to the role of Governor.

If the Lieutenant Governor is removed as the President of the Senate, only then would he become part of the Executive Branch and would serve no formal function other than acting as an understudy for the Governor. The Senate would then elect its own leader and voters would have absolutely no say in the matter, as was the case before the position of Lieutenant Governor was created. For Georgia to demote our Lieutenant Governor without just cause is a step backwards when the state should be moving forward.

I realize supporters of this plan may disagree with me, but I must go with my conscience on the matter. As the Chairman of the Georgia Chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus, I took an oath to fight for the conscience of the Party. I do not believe it is constitutional or fair to the 1.4 million voters who reelected our Lieutenant Governor to be disenfranchised in this way. If there is a problem with the Lieutenant Governor or his office, this resolution is not the way to remove him from the process.

It’s my fondest wish that the aggressive infighting inside government and political circles would end peacefully. There are more pressing concerns ahead of us as Georgians, Democrat and Republican alike. I hope that Georgians can one day meet our challenges together as friends.

Nothing can stir political controversy like a good old fashioned battle over abortion.  Unless, that is, you’re the committee assigned jurisdiction to hold hearings on the matter.  Today, Senate leadership tapped freshman Charlie Bethel (R-Dalton) to become an ex-officio member of the Rules Committee so they could approve SB 210 with a quorum present. (Please don’t call him a “Hawk”.  That was a term used in Glenn Richardson’s House, when the Senate quietly disapproved of the practice.  And besides, a hawk is a bird of prey, and today’s hearing was about being pro-life.)

The fact that Rules was even hearing SB 210 is a bit of a surprise.  After all, 210 is clearly a tort bill, allowing suits for wrongful death depending on circumstances surrounding an abortion.  Yet only one permanent member of the Rules Committee is an attorney (Bill Hamrick, not present).

In the recent unpleasantness that was the battle over Senate control, Casey Cagle was left with the sole authority to direct legislation to committee of jurisdiction, and little else.  A bit low in his political capital these days, Cagle directed SB 210 and SB 209 to the Rules Committee with solid pro-life Chairman Don Balfour, who also couldn’t hurt by brushing up his social conservative bonafides.   SB 210 sailed through without too much difficulty after some testimony.

SB 209, however, became a pure bait and switch on behalf of its sponsor, Barry Loudermilk.  Many states this year are attempting to pass pro-life legislation to prohibit abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, when a baby is estimated to have the ability to feel pain.  Thus, those in attendance for the hearing were prepared to give testimony for or against the “fetal pain” bill.  Yet at the beginning of the session, Loudermilk instead passed out a substitute bill, taking virtually all in the room off guard.

The new SB 209 restricts abortions in Georgia to hospitals only, effectively closing all Georgia abortion clinics.  It also restricts any insurance plan created by the pending Georgia Insurance Exchange from covering abortion except in the case of physical health of the mother.

Given that it is essentially a new bill rather than what was expected, Balfour held over the hearing until 10am Friday to give everyone a chance to absorb the changes prior to a vote.

Normally, bills that pass Rules head straight to the floor for a full Senate vote.  However, because Rules is the Committee of Jurisdiction, these bills must survive another Committee vote (assuming SB 209 passes tomorrow) before moving to the floor.  The second vote would be to apply the rule under which they will be voted on, and is essentially approval for the full Senate to vote.

And, if you notice a sense of urgency surrounding this somewhat unconventional approach to advancing legislation, consider this.  Crossover day – the day a bill must pass the House or Senate to be considered by the other body this year – is scheduled for Wednesday.  Thus, informally, anything that will be considered by Rules for a floor vote must be approved by the committee of jurisdiction by tomorrow.  This will allow Senators to review over the weekend – or not – before the Rules Committee holds its final scheduled meeting before crossover day Monday afternoon.

In Summary, you’ve have this:  The Georgia Senate has honored Widespread Panic and Drivin’ & Cryin.  In between, they argued for weeks over legalizing Sunday Sales of alcohol without ever taking a vote.  Now, with literally days left, they’re going to try to advance the biggest change in Georgia’s pro-life laws in over a decade.  And their starting move is a bait and switch.

It’s a serious topic.  Regardless where you stand on this issue, Georgia deserves a Senate that will treat it seriously.  Even normal Balfour critics have praised his actions today.  Let’s hope a few more members of his committee are in their seats tomorrow at 10am so that the next freshman walking slowly down the hall doesn’t have to do the heavy lifting again.

Senate leaders demanded they be returned the power of committee assignments from Lt. Governor Casey Cagle.  Within days of executing their new found toy power, they have been put in the uncomfortable position of having to determine if the Chairman of Banking should continue in light of his pending suit by the FDIC on charges of breach of fiduciary duty and neglect.  Jim Galloway brings us a quote obtained by his AJC colleague Chris Quin from Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers:

 “The Committee on Assignment’s work is done for the most part and already complete. I don’t know that there is going to be a lot more action by the committee.”

It sounds like the dog has caught the car he’s been chasing.  Somewhere, Casey Cagle is laughing hysterically.

The annual “Eggs and Issues” breakfast sponsored by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce will be held tomorrow morning at the ungodly hour of 7:30am at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Because it was delayed by the ice storm of inaugural week, the Eggs and Issues is now being held on the same day as the State of the Union.  Thus, the day will begin with the issues of the State, and end with the issues of the Nation.

The Eggs and Issues is usually significant because it features the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker with presentations, and usually is a major tipoff to legislative strategy and goals for the session.  I’m glad to see that the Lt. Governor will represent the Senate again this year, as listening to the priorities of all 8 members of the Committee On Assignments would be quite lengthy, and would re-define the “issues” that are supposed to be highlighted at this event.

If getting up early and heading downtown on a winter Tuesday morning sounds like you’re idea of fun, there are still tickets floating around.  Just call someone that works for one of the larger businesses in town and ask them if they have extra tickets, because you have issues.

Today’s column in the Courier Herald (Subscription Required)

Whether planning a Super Bowl or swearing in a Governor, there is a certain element of risk planning an event in Atlanta in January.  Despite much hard work by Governor Deal’s Inaugural committee, most activities were canceled, and the official ceremony to swear in the Governor was moved inside the House chamber from the capitol steps.

Presiding over this House is David Ralston, Republican from Blue Ridge Georgia, a man who was not supposed to be Speaker.  A little over a year ago, it was reported that then Speaker Glenn Richardson had tried a suicide attempt, and a few weeks later, his ex-wife produced documents proving infidelity with a lobbyist.  Richardson, who along with a small inner circle, enjoyed house rules that allowed him to stack committees at will, giving him more power over the body than Speaker Murphy had ever dreamed of.  Yet his inability to get along with neither Lt. Governor Cagle nor Governor Perdue limited the reach of his power beyond the house, and Senators privately enjoyed the leadership vacuum in the House in the wake of Richardson’s resignation.  Even when a new speaker was elected, he had to bring disparate groups together under a new agenda while making needed changes in House rules and operations.

One year later, Speaker Ralston has full control over his body, and with a very successful election and additional Democratic defections, is just a couple votes shy of an outright supermajority – the two-thirds of the body needed to pass Constitutional amendments.  Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, Republican Senators are still trying to decide how they will operate their body, with changes to the Senate Rules – updated primarily to take away most of the power of the Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle – still being negotiated up to their final vote yesterday.

While Ralston spent last year building consensus on how the House would govern, the Senate and the Lt Governor who presides over it devolved from backroom infighting into a public brawl, culminating in a caucus meeting in Macon where they voted to give Cagle the Mark Taylor treatment – treating Cagle as a Democrat after Republicans just eliminated them from all statewide constitutional offices.  The result is a “Committee On Assignments”, which leaves the decision on who chairs committees, and thus, who decides if legislation ever gets to the floor for a vote, not in Cagle’s hands, but in a committee comprised of Senate leaders.

Before the committee could hold its first meeting, Senators began asserting themselves as the one who controls said committee, and the reality of everyone being in charge seems to have resulted in no one being in charge.  One of the more recent committee meetings held during the Biennial became heated, and spilled into the hall afterwards with continued heated discussion among Senators.   As they bickered, The Speaker passed in the hallway, followed by his leadership team in tow.  An observer who caught Ralston’s glance at one of the Senators in the midst of an argument said it all.  What a difference a year makes.

Ralston’s team now has a year of experience under their belt, and given the tough year it was, I’m sure it seems to them like it’s been longer.   Meanwhile, Deal is just settling into the Governor’s mansion, and the Senate as of Monday’s swearing in had not yet announced their committee assignments.  

The Governor and his team face a learning curve.  The Lieutenant Governor and the Senate continue to deal with a lack of mutual trust and respect, and new Committee assignments may continue to bruise egos that will have to be soothed.

Yet Ralston walks through the Capitol tall and proud, almost as if he owns the place.  For the time being, and maybe much longer, he does.

Republicans have had a lot to smile about lately, and look for Cheshire grins to be on display in Athens as the epicenter of Georgia government to be in Athens today and tomorrow.  The biennial meeting, hosted by UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute, is a meeting held for all legislators and other interested members of GA Government, represents the first time for the newly expanded Republican majorities to meet en masse.

Moving beyond the obvious successes of a statewide constitutional sweep and the resulting parade of party switchers, however, there is still a bit of friction that must be addressed in-house.   The Senate leadership and the Lt. Governor are still at war with each other, and bits of this fissure continue to show themselves publicly.

A story was floated again last week, this time landing in the AJC, regarding government affairs work Majority Leader Chip Rogers has done for a “plant based diet” advocacy group.   While the work was not done to influence the Georgia legislature, nor when the legislature was in session, someone has been working hard to make sure you know that Chip Rogers has worked for a group that breaks neither state law nor (almost nonexistent) ethics rules, or worse, that he may be a vegetarian.

I say working hard because the first time this story was sent to Peach Pundit’s tip line, it was Good Friday afternoon.   The tip had so many extraneous links and exposed html codes that I originally didn’t read it, until a local Atlanta political reporter texted me asking if I had gotten the “amazing” picture of Chip Rogers and Dennis Kucinich.  (Kucinich’s wife has also worked PR for the same group).

After I went back and looked, there were a lot of links, a lot of pictures, but no real “news”.  I would estimate that half the legislature has some corporate/government affairs tie that allows them to work “part time” while serving the legislature.  There are many who walk up to and cross a line that use their position to steer contracts or other business to their employers, or the prime contractor to which they are a sub.  So I called the reporter and had the next level conversation with him:  Why would someone want to drop a story with no other reason than to embarrass the Majority Leader on Good Friday?   Peach Pundit decided to pass on the story, as did he.  GALiberal, now Georgia Politico, ran with it.

The unique thing about the timing of that tip, however, was that it was the day after Rogers had a very public meeting with Austin Scott, then candidate for Governor who was openly considering a run for Lt. Governor.   Other charges of leaking information, specifically the shopping of Scott’s divorce record, are attributed to Lt. Governor Cagle because of that meeting.

While there is no evidence that Cagle participated or knew of these leaks, there is also now a pattern.   The next time it appeared in our tip line was a couple of days before the Senate caucus meeting in Macon, when Lt. Governor Cagle finally acknowledged that the move to limit his powers was a real possibility.   The third coincided with the Gang of 6 meeting at the 191 Club, the first meeting on the Senate’s power sharing Committee on Assignments, which did not include the Lt. Governor’s appointees.

The timing of these tips relative to the threats to Cagle’s power represent amazing coincidences, and most politicos don’t believe in coincidence.  Someone with ties to Cagle appears to want to take the battle against Rogers and perhaps the rest of the Senate Leadership public.

Privately, however, things are not faring much better.  Though the directive upon forming the Committee On Assignments was to have the Senate Leadership to immediately meet with the Lt. Governor, five weeks passed before Tommie Williams dropped in on the Lt. Governor last Monday, unannounced.  Given the strain between the two that must be addressed, the timing is weak and the lack an appointment is tacky and denotes a lack of respect.

Given that even the likes of Doug McKillip is now claiming to be a conservative, this dysfunction within the Senate is not likely to cause an immediate threat to the permanent majority that Republicans hold.  However, one should also be reminded of the story of a freshman legislator who called the other party “the enemy”.   A senior legislator grabbed him and shouted, “The other party is the opposition, the enemy is across the hall in the other chamber.”

One year ago, the House was in total disarray.  The Speaker and Speaker Pro tem were mired in ethical questions and unable to continue in leadership.  The majority leader followed them out the door.  A new speaker held the reigns gently in order to hold things together.   He did a good job, and the House is now strong again.

The Senate, now, continues to fight among themselves, and the fight continues to bubble up in Public.  This is not good for the Senate, for the party, and most importantly, for the people of Georgia.  While the term “power sharing” was floated to save face, it is clear at this point that little has yet been saved.  Republicans need to close the doors at their caucus meeting later today and settle some of these issues.  Georgia needs their attention on the very real problems we face, not on trying to even the score of the inside baseball game.

On Monday Nathan Deal and his transition team began work on taking over the governor’s office. Foremost on their very long to-do list is the state budget.

Also on the table is rewriting the overly complicated and legislatively fluid Georgia tax code. Don’t forget the ever thorny issue of HOPE funding. With a new GOP majority in the US House of Representatives, it’s doubtful Georgia will receive much, if any, federal aid in 2011.

Redistricting will also come up, with the possibility of a new congressional seat for Georgia.

And then there’s the Cagle issue. While the governor-elect tries to shape a new administration, the ethics rumors will continue to swirl. After last Friday’s meeting where the Republican caucus basically gutted Cagle’s powers as Lt. Governor, can we expect Cagle to fan those ethics flames to bolster his tattered agenda?

What about the traffic? The crippling, mind-numbing, revenue-sucking traffic? Atlanta is ranked 15th in the nation in regards to traffic. I’m sure Nathan Deal would like to improve that ranking.

Strap in folks, it’s going to be a wild ride! You’ll find me sitting in my usual spot on I-20 somewhere.

First of all, I’d like to thank Charlie and Erick, et al., for this opportunity to add my voice to the wild and woolly arena of Georgia politics. I’m one of those rare commodities, a native Georgian. Raised a Democrat, I’m now mostly Republican, but always a conservative first and foremost.

I’ve been at this blogging thing for a while. It started as a hobby, really, just an amusing experiment. The original plan was to write about the Georgia of my youth – memories of places I’d been and how they’d been buried by over-development, neglect or careless zoning. A big issue was how Georgia could still grow and change, but keep that graciousness I remembered. Ranting about bad manners almost always turned to politics. The rants turned into something bigger; almost a calling to do my part to set things right, not only in my own backyard but across this country I love so much.

Obi’s Sister was launched on Pi Day (3/14) in 2006. Last year I also began writing at Potluck, a blog for conservative moms. It’s a warm and sometimes hilarious place.

In my blog’s first anniversary post was a dedication of sorts to the “Obi” behind Obi’s Sister.

It was named in honor of my little brother, the great Obi-Wan Ben Kenobi: Master Jedi, Champion Blue Devils Snare Drummer, Bulldawg to the Bone, PGA Golfer, Footballer, Marathon Runner, Consumer of Mass Quantities of “Do-Do” balls, great brother, friend, husband and father. During many nights in his yard/driveway/kitchen, the discussions we had brought me out of my middle-age induced fog to the realization that we Americans needed to take back America.

Over four years later, that gut feeling hasn’t changed, but the focus is more fine-tuned.

On November 2, fed-up Americans sent a message to Washington, DC and to the many states, including Georgia. It stops here. It stops now. I may be a speck of dust in America’s backyard, but you hear me now, don’t you? If you’re impressed by what average Americans were able to accomplish in the last two years, just wait ’til you see what we do for the next two. We’re just getting started!

See updates at the bottom of the post.

We’re getting more details on this power-sharing agreement between Senate Republicans Lt. Governor Casey Cagle.

As we understand it, Cagle will still direct legislation to committee. However, the appointment of committees will be done by a five member “Committee on Committees,” if you will.

This committee with be comprised of two members picked at the discretion of the Lt. Governor, the Caucus Chairman (Bill Cowsert), Majority Leader (Chip Rogers) and the President Pro-Tem (Tommie Williams); the latter only voting if there is a tie.

The purpose behind this committee is keep the Lt. Governor from stripping a member of their chairmanship because of a vote they may have made.

[UPDATE - 7:00pm] I’m now hearing that this committee will be comprised of eight members. In addition to the names above, it will also include the Majority Whip (Cecil Station), Caucus Vice-Chairman (David Shafer) and Caucus Secretary (Greg Goggan).

[UPDATE - 7:07pm] The vote to create this committee was 30-5.

Lori Geary from Channel 2 is reporting that the Senate Republican Caucus has reached an agreement with Lt. Governor Casey Cagle to “share powers.” We’re still waiting on more details as to what exactly that means, so look for an update later.

The proposed change in Senate rules essentially was a referendum on the performance of Governor Casey Cagle, with a failure of Cagle to retain power over his chamber just days after his party swept all statewide offices likely seen as the equivalent of a vote of “no-confidence.”   

Cagle spoke to the caucus earlier in the day, in a part of the meeting that was called “testy” by one attendee.   Senator Dan Moody, who will not be returning to the Senate next year, followed and made the case why the caucus needs to take some powers away from the Lt. Governor by changing Senate rules.

Senators I spoke with seemed to think that a majority of the returning members of the caucus were in favor of curbing Cagle’s powers.  Each was realistic, however, in understanding that the 12 new members elected this year probably had closer ties to a Lt. Governor who helped many of them campaign for their seats. 

 Early additional motivation was given to Cagle to work for their support.   Caucus chairman Bill Cowsert announced in his run for Caucus Chairman at the end of last session that it was his intention to “take the power back from the Lt. Governor”, so Cagle has had time to play some defense.

A late campaign was also waged apparently by Cagle, as Senators reported a flood of phone calls within the last 24 hours from large donors, supporters, local elected officials including local sheriffs, questioning why Senators wanted to strip Cagle of power.

Votes moved ahead of the rules vote were for Senate and caucus leadership.  Majority Leader Chip Rogers and Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams were re-elected (they ran unopposed).   Mitch Seabaugh lost to Cecil Staton for the postion of Majority Whip, a position Seabaugh resigned during the last session over the hospital bed tax.   Cowsert is running unopposed for a full term as Caucus Chariman.   David Shafer defeated Ross Tolleson are running for Vice Chair.  Greg Goggins is running unopposed for treasurer/secretary.

The following was posted on Facebook by Carol Porter.  Note that the same commenting rules from yesterday’s Cagle thread still apply.

Since the day I announced to run, I have kept to the issues facing Georgia and have not once made a personal attack on my opponents. I have stated many times when asked about the incident reported, I was not going there and that I could beat the incumbent Lieutenant Governor on his poor record on the issues facing Georgians. It is obvious from the viciousness of his false attacks on me that I am doing just that.

I have been endorsed by leading Republican pundits and by Republican leaning newspapers. I am getting the cross over needed in Georgia to win and Cagle sees that.

As the people hear the truth on the property tax increases and the tax wasting decisions made by the incumbent Lieutenant Governor, they are coming on board with my message of stopping corruption and cutting waste.

If Cagle were not in fear of losing, he would not have gone back into the studio to cut his latest false attack ad, saying I would raise billions in government spending, when I am the one who wants to truly prioritize the budget and cut the non-goal achieving, tax wasting programs that he protects– like no bid contracts, fish ponds, and choosing to protect the sales tax cheaters. Nor would he have felt the need to make the vile filled and evidence free implication that I influenced Mr. Boyd to file the complaint when I did not. My campaign and I found out about the complaint when we were called by a reporter right before the broadcast.

It is illogical to assume that since Mr. Boyd endorsed Carol Porter and Mr. Boyd later filed a complaint against her opponent, that Carol Porter had knowledge Mr. Boyd was filing a complaint. It is this kind of shallow thinking that has the state in the mess we are in today. I had no knowledge of any kind Mr. Boyd was filing a complaint or even had filing a complaint in his mind. I met Mr. Boyd for the first time when he came by my campaign headquarters to say he was endorsing me and to give me a donation. If you have met him you would know– no one spoon feeds Ray Boyd. He is a man on a mission to bring ethics to Georgia’s government. He has recently put together, with the combined effort of ethics lawyers and past government ethics researchers, a comprehensive ethics bill. Mr. Boyd recently brought the proposed bill by my office. That was the third and last time I have ever seen him. ( In between he attended one of my fundraisers in Roswell. ) Mr. Boyd, as well as others who know the incumbent Lieutenant Governor, have endorsed me because I stand for ethics and openness in government. We all believe Cagle’s political record clearly shows he does not. For Cagle to seize on Boyd’s complaint as an opportunity to attack me and score political points in an election is what is wrong with politics.

The irony that he is protesting what he says is a false allegation, with another false allegation, seems to be lost on his campaign.

I want to make it clear–I had no knowledge of any kind that Mr. Boyd was filing or even had ideas about filing, an ethics complaint against the Lieutenant Governor. I do not need that to win this race. As I have always stated, if I can get the message out to enough people about the truth of the incumbent Lieutenant Governor’s unethical record, I can beat him on the issues facing Georgia. Now, let’s get back to that.

WSB TV led their 6:00pm newscast with this story.  

ATLANTA — A one-time candidate for Georgia governor is aiming a salacious accusation at the current lieutenant governor.

Ray Boyd, a businessman who dropped out of the governor’s race, laid out the complaint to the State Ethics Commission on Friday.

 Boyd claims Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle had an affair with a female staffer, then paid her nearly $200,000 in campaign funds — claims Cagle adamantly denies. 

A note to our commenters:  We have discussed certain rumors surrounding the Lt. Governor here in the past.   It is late heading into a weekend prior to a Tuesday election.   The timing of this news is bad for both a campaign as well as moderators on blogs.   For now, the rules of commenting on this story are this:   The names redacted in the above piece shall not be mentioned below.  Anyone doing so faces at least a temporary suspension of their posting privileges.  Comments should be restricted to the political implications of the story, the fairness/unfairness of the timing, and related matters.   Keep it clean and within narrow boundaries.  If you have to ask if you should comment on something, you probably shouldn’t.

It should have come as no surprise to regular readers of Peach Pundit that I, along with most other contributors, will not be voting for Incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle.   We’ve dedicated many posts to our problems with the “Light” Gov, and so as to not lose focus on the topic, I will not repeat them here.  

But voting against someone does not equate to voting for someone else.  There are options for protest votes, and there’s the too often realization that you’re voting for the lesser of two evils.  Carol Porter was kind enough to join me for breakfast two weeks ago, which I requested at the urging of some mutual friends.   I wanted to learn more about the person who was most likely going to be the recipient of my vote against Cagle.   I left with Porter not only receiving my full support, but a small campaign contribution as well.

At the risk of dooming any future she may have in the Democratic party (and in the hopes that one day, she may have one in the Republican party), I’ll start by saying that my assessment is that Mrs. Porter is more conservative than many people the Republicans currently have on the ballot this year.   She has a clear understanding that removing the homeowners’ property tax relief grant is in fact a tax increase on property owners.    She’s quick to point out that Cagle agreed with her two years ago when he bragged about saving it, but now claims it’s a local government problem since he helped eliminate it.  She also cedes no ground on social issues, and in my opinion, could teach the leadership of certain so-con groups a few lessons on manners, decorum, and dignity.

Porter’s solution to Georgia’s ongoing budget crisis is what she calls “Priority Budgeting”.  In short, she believes that constant across the board cuts require neither courage nor great intellectual capacity.  Rather, they are a knee jerk solution that merely passes the buck; that don’t address what government should be doing, and more importantly, what it should not.  Anyone can cut 5% of everything, and pass the decisions along to staff and bureaucrats, but it takes leadership to decide what programs will get funded and which ones will be gone.   Porter promises that leadership.

On this point she was clear:  Items that the State needs to prioritize should not be receiving across the board cuts so that ineffective and outdated programs can survive.  Rather, Georgia needs to focus its limited tax resources on the programs the state needs to be involved in, and others need to be eliminated entirely. 

She believes that education is among the state’s top priorities, and as such, needs a serious refocus on preparing students for their next step beyond K-12.   In what she calls “Earn or Learn”, she wants every high school graduate either prepared to excel at college, or prepared to earn a meaningful salary via technical education.   This concept ties into her economic development plan, as she believes that Georgia will not attract employers unless there is a readily available, trained work force. 

She’s also an outspoken critic of the current ethical environment surrounding state government, and seems to have a good grasp of what is, and what needs to be.   Further discussion of that topic will probably just cause me to discuss why I’m voting against the incumbent.  This article remains about Mrs. Porter.

At what I thought was the end of a mostly political breakfast, I decided to ask about the family business.   Carol, along with her husband (and house minority leader DuBose), run several newspapers in central Georgia.   I asked casually if things were going well, and if they’ve noticed signs the economy is bottoming out.  My follow up question was “…but have you figured out the business model for newspapers,” as most newspapers, large and small, have faced readership leave for the internet, and advertisers leave for Craigslist, or, just leave.   The answer was surprisingly affirmative, and what followed was a discussion about what Mrs. Porter had to do as the mother of 4 (all Eagle Scouts), with a husband in a leadership position in his party mostly in Atlanta, to re-invent a business. With the economy collapsing, stakeholders doubtful, and IT folks saying what she wanted couldn’t be done, she set about re-building their entire business model and within 24 months, has turned the enterprise around.   I know there are a lot of folks currently on the ballot, and many more of us who are not, who wish we could claim the same.

The conversation continued for quite a bit longer after that, and each time she responded to any question with a firm, matter of fact, common sense reply.  The kind of replies that frankly, you don’t get from many in either party these days in an era ruled by poll driven sound bites and consultant speak.

Frankly, to say that Carol Porter has an uphill battle is an understatement.   Her fundraising has not matched that of the incumbent, and her name ID in the Atlanta region remains somewhat low.   She’s also running as a Democrat in what may be the biggest Republican wave in history.   Regardless, my votes and my public support aren’t given because I’m trying to pick a winner.   I’m voting for Carol Porter because she best represents and articulates the conservative principles that my party claims to stand for.   I will make no apologies in voting for a Democrat to demonstrate that.