Johnny Isakson (R GA-Sen) was one of the 30 Republicans who voted against Al Franken's amendment to require choice of judicial trials by federal contractor employees after a KBR employee was gang raped in Iraq. Here's a chance to replace Isakson with a progressive Democrat, RJ Hadley.
RJ Hadley came to Valdosta, Georgia to speak at a rally in support of president Obama:
I was asleep before; I'll admit.
But then I heard this great man talking.
And I heard him say that we are the change.
And I heard him say that change would be possible.
Lee Touchton, secretary and former president of the NAACP here in Valdosta (that's right, a white woman in the NAACP) reminds us of what Isakson voted for and why we should unelect him and replace him with RJ Hadley:
Isakson was also one of the ten Republican Senators who voted in 2006 that domestic abuse was a pre-existing condition that health insurers could use to deny coverage.
Here's what RJ Hadley wants to do now that he's awake:
But you know what, our best times are ahead of us. We did this, so that now we can move to this next step. Because the president now needs involvement. To get involved in the process, local, state. And that's why I'm taking this federal run.
Now I'm not a politician. I'm not a multimillionaire. You know, by their standards I guess I'm just nobody.
But you know what, they told me that, and I went back to Rockdale County, and I said you know what we're going to change this county from red to blue. And they said R.J., you're crazy. 140 years, they said, no, you're not going to do it. And I said that's OK.
We put our heads down and we started registering folks. And by the time it was all done we had registered 10,000 new voters in little Rockdale County.
(applause)
By the time it was all done that little county that was never going to be able to turn blue?
Turned blue.
(applause)
With the largest vote margin in the state of Georgia.
(applause)
It went from 36% Democrat to 56% Democrat.
So don't listen to them when they tell you you can't do this and you can't do that.
This was a locally-organized rally in support of the 44th president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, in Valdosta, Georgia, in the cold wind on the Lowndes County Courthouse steps. A dozen speakers spoke to around 60 people for more than two hours. As R.J. put it:
Don't tell me about red Georgia or this and that. I don't want to hear that. That's our president up there. They should all be down here right now.
Isakson praises deathers.
RJ Hadley says:
I'm for the public option. ... A free market? ... A free market should be able to work with a public option.
He's from Georgia, went to Dartmouth, and clerked at EPIC. You still doubt he's a progressive? This is the video from his Valdosta speech he put on his Facebook page, with this intro:
Let's cut through the fog and focus on what's important. We can do this - together.
The real gap ... is between the rich and the poor.
A progressive who also goes to Libertarian and teabag events, because he wants to represent everyone. A progressive who could bring the independent swing vote.
Meanwhile, Johnny Isakson's idea of meeting the people is to have the Chamber of Commerce do the invitations, or to hold it by telephone.
You want to get rid of Johnny Isakson? Here's a way to do it.
Is RJ Hadley a long shot? Maybe. But like he said, nobody thought Rockdale County could change 140 years of Republican tradition, and they did.
And kos's favorite pollster, Research 2000, finds "Isakson Surprisingly Weak":
We were not expecting much from the Senate numbers, as Isakson is generally considered more or less safe, if not invulnerable. So the results took us somewhat by surprise.
Research 2000 polled Isakson at less than 50% against either of two well-known Georgia politicians, Roy Barnes and Jim Marshall. As the pollster acknowledges, Barnes is running for governor, and Marshall has given no indication he wants to move from GA-08 (where he's enough of a pain as a DINO).
But this could turn into an interesting flanking race if some wealthy self-funder or enterprising young State Senator were to take a flier.
RJ Hadley is not rich, but he sure is enterprising. RJ Hadley is all over the state, meeting people in person. And he's computer-literate. He's on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and he's got a blog on MyBO (OFA). And he's just started an ActBlue donation page.
You want a chance to replace a knuckle-dragger with a real progressive? Then step up and help RJ Hadley win.
Turn that dial back up!
Full speech by RJ Hadley:
I have met RJ Hadley on several occasions, but I am not part of his campaign, and he has not seen this diary before posting. I calls 'em like I sees 'em.
These videos are part of Citizen dialog for transparent process by Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).
So don't listen to them when they tell you you can't do this and you can't do that.