I have been enjoying the GOP Georgia U.S. Senate primary. It's filled with nut jobs and assholes and I have really been enjoying watching this nut job take on this asshole:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Rep. Paul Broun, a tea party favorite, ripped his establishment rival Rep. John Kingston Monday for his support of House Speaker John Boehner. Kingston voted for Boehner's speakership last year; Broun opposed it. Broun questioned Kingston's conservative credentials, given his allegiance to Boehner, following a National Journal report on each member's ideological voting record.
“Congressman Kingston conveniently fails to explain that the National Journal uses Speaker Boehner’s position on issues as the benchmark definition of conservative," Broun said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "By that logic, the more one votes with the Speaker, the more conservative he is. While we all wish that was a reliable measure of conservative, experience has taught that it’s not.” - TPM, 2/17/14
Here's a little more info:
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/...
Last week, the Madison Project handed a fulsome Senate endorsement to U.S. Rep. Paul Broun. Among the things that made Broun “special,” the tea party group declared, was his vote against Boehner as speaker in 2013.
That was before Boehner, unable to bring his GOP caucus to heel, capitulated and offered up a “clean” bill to raise the federal debt ceiling, with a minimum of Republican votes.
Tea party groups are after the speaker’s head. From our own Jenny Beth Martin of Cherokee County, speaking for Tea Party Patriots:
“A clean debt ceiling is a complete capitulation on the Speaker’s part and demonstrates that he has lost the ability to lead the House of Representatives, let alone his own party. Speaker Boehner has failed in his duty to represent the people and as a result, it is time for him to go.”
Broun’s congressional rivals, Phil Gingrey of Marietta and Jack Kingston of Savannah, are likely to be asked whether their support for Boehner was a mistake. (The issue is already rippling through GOP congressional races.) - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/17/14
So because Kingston voted for Boehner to be Speaker, he's not a real conservative? This is the type of crazy shit Republicans like Kingston are dealing with in their primaries but what more could you expect from a guy like Broun:
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) added another tile to the increasingly colorful mosaic of his political record yesterday, explaining that he will only consider voting for a bill if it fits “Judeo-Christian Biblical principles.”
Broun, currently running in a crowded field for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, also said legislation needed to be constitutional, but did not delve into the First Amendment’s prohibition on Congress passing a law “respecting an establishment of religion.”
His comments came during an interview with the Tea Party Express.
BROUN: I do go against my leadership all the time because I stand firm on the four questions that I ask about all legislation. The first, is it constitutional according to the original intent? The second, does it fit the Judeo-Christian Biblical principles that our nation is founded upon? Third, do we need it? Fourth, can we afford it? If all four yes, I vote yes, otherwise I vote no. - Think Progress, 2/11/14
And Broun and Kingston are two of the three top nominees in this race, along with clown:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Rep. Phil Gingrey, another candidate regarded as one of the strongest in the large GOP primary field, earned himself plenty of criticism for complaining that his $172,000 congressman's salary was too little. Before the Senate race he also defended then-Rep. Todd Akin's (R-MO) "legitimate rape" remarks by calling them "partially right," even though other top Republicans raced to distance themselves from.
In November there was a mass exodus of top Gingrey campaign officials for mysterious reasons. Gingrey also eagerly mimicked Broun when asked if he would impeach Obama. - TPM, 2/7/14
But all three of these jackasses have one thing in common; they love accepting gifts from special interests:
http://www.wsav.com/...
News 3 has already shown you the hundreds of thousands of dollars in gift travel and meals that our local lawmakers have received from third party interests. However, what about other federal lawmakers that you may see on a primary ballot this spring? We worked to get you answers in our latest Good Government Project.
When we reviewed Jack Kingston's free travel from third parties, we found a $22,000 business class trip to Israel with his daughter, along with forged signatures we confirmed on some of his ethics permission forms.
Kingston's two congressional opponents in the Republican Primary, Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey, received a different proportion of gift travel from various groups.
Congressman Paul Broun actually accepted less in the form of meals and trips, but documents show that nearly every dollar spent on his behalf came from partisan issue and business interest groups. The anti-union, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation gave Broun and his wife a three-day trip to Amelia Island so Broun could deliver a speech just one night of the trip.
The Israel lobby AIPAC's charitable arm, AIEF, also sent the Brouns to Israel, business class for nearly $30,000. Broun's press secretary also got a nine-day junket to Turkey from the Turkish Coalition—who the National Journal reported spent more than $1 million on lobbying contracts for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt. The $4,500 trip would've cost his then deputy press secretary more than a month's pay, if it wasn't free.
Congressman Phil Gingrey received even more in travel and meals from third party groups—some $58,000 in all—nearly all from partisan issue and business interests. The highlight for Gingrey and his wife was a nearly $29,000 10-day safari to South Africa and Botswana at two luxury reserves to study the importance of conservation. It was paid for by the charitable arm of a group of conservative lawmakers who call themselves the Conservation Caucus. It's run by one of their former members. - WSAV 3, 2/7/14
Not to mention you have these two trying to make waves:
http://www.southernpoliticalreport.com/...
Karen Handel, 51, served three years as Georgia’s secretary of state. She ran for governor in 2010; she led in the primary but lost the runoff to now-Gov. Nathan Deal (R). She gains name ID, but also some political foes, from her clash with Deal. After that, Handel became an executive with Susan G Komen for the Cure and resigned after the group ended, then restored, its association with Planned Parenthood, a pro-abortion group. The controversy is unlikely to hurt – or help – her in this race. Handel believes in the post-20 week ban on abortions, but also supports exceptions for rape and incest. She opposes same-sex marriage and adoption rights for gays. Her fundraising is poor. Handel will compete with Kingston for the votes of establishment Republicans and with Gingrey for Metro-Atlanta votes, but may gain support from women across the state.
The wild card in the GOP race is former CEO of Dollar General and Reebok David Perdue, first cousin of former Gov. Sonny Perdue (R), who is supporting him. With no political track record, Perdue’s prospects are difficult to gauge. He has already put more than $1 million of his own money into his war chest and has raised more. He opened his campaign this month with a TV ad portraying his four opponents, all of whom hold or have held elected office, as crying babies, complete with diapers, and their names on their t-shirts. Perdue lambasted “the inexcusable, childish behavior exhibited in Washington right now,” adding, “I hope you’ll give this outsider from Georgia a chance.” He could possibly cost Handel or Kingston a spot in the runoff. - Southern Political Report, 2/17/14
And Handel is really tying to make herself stick out:
http://www.northfulton.com/...
"There is one thing missing in Washington. You have to deliver results. And the bottom line is that results are not there," Handel said.
With gridlock among the two parties and a Republican Party facing fracturing, Handel, a Republican candidate, stressed the need for results to turn around a crumbling faith in Congress.
Handel is running in the Republican primary vacated by longtime Sen. Saxby Chambliss. She is running against a large field of candidates, including U.S. Reps. Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey and Jack Kingston, as well as businessman David Perdue.
Fixing the country's fiscal problems is high on her list of objectives if she wins the seat.
"We have had no tax reform in 30 years," she said. "We have the highest corporate tax rate of any industrial country in the world. With regulations going up, companies are under siege."
She said regulatory agencies have moved beyond just enforcing rules, but are actively trying to find fines. For example, she said, payment processing companies fall under 19 different regulatory agencies, with many regulations in direct conflict with each other.
The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is "fundamentally flawed," she said.
"The costs are too high," she said. "It will cost jobs and money."
She predicted that in five years, the ACA will become the largest expenditure in the national budget.
"These folks [Congress] are asleep at the wheel," she said. "You can kick the can down the road only so far."
To solve these problems and many more, Handel offered a few solutions. First, establish a two-year budget cycle and enact zero-based budgeting at least every decade. This would pare down growing budgets, she said.
She also suggested implementing term limits for Congress.
"Term limits will help bring new blood into government," she said. - North Fulton, 2/10/14
Yawn. Handel's pretty boring compared to Broun, Gingrey and Kingston. And with those three being the top contenders that could lead into a nasty runoff, it's no wonder Democrats are excited about this race:
Democrats view the GOP's field as a boon for likely Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn, daughter of the former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA), who many think has a chance even in a red state like Georgia. There's a real possibility that the large GOP field will split the vote causing a runoff GOP primary between the two lead candidates.
"I mean, the runoff is going to be a shitshow," a Democratic campaign official told TPM. "In the past six weeks we've seen 'sweep the floor,' we've seen 'impeach Obama,' we've seen Paul Broun raffle off a rifle." - TPM, 2/7/14
And Michelle Nunn (D. GA) has been out getting the base excited:
http://members.jacksonville.com/...
St. Simons Island resident Karen Brown said she liked what she heard.
“Can she win? I think she has a good start engaging people in the country and expressing her platform,” Brown said.
“Somebody has to go to Washington to fix the gridlock,” and Nunn can help with the process, Brown said.
Linda Muir called Nunn a common sense person who can “bring people together from different walks of life and different points of view.”
Dave and Carolyn Hinderliter moved to Georgia from what was once solidly Republican Kansas. They now have homes on Jekyll Island and in Dawson County.
“To have somebody to get behind with your same priorities is wonderful,” Carolyn Hinderliter said.
She is a former teacher and worked in adult literacy, and he was in sales for Proctor and Gamble and he also helped write Dawson County’s tree ordinance.
Both said that the Republican party they knew is gone and that the current GOP has staked out extremely conservative positions. The Hinderliters said Nunn brings moderation to the race.
“I think she can win,” Dave Hinderliter said. “That’s what we’re excited about.” - The Florida Times-Union, 2/12/14
And she's getting some backing from some big names:
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/...
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and mega-investor Warren Buffett are behind Michelle Nunn’s campaign for U.S. Senate, according to her year-end fundraising disclosure.
Both billionaires gave the maximum $5,200, split between primary and general election season – small change to these fellows. But they could also give unlimited amounts if and when a Nunn-friendly Super PAC is formed.
Bloomberg’s own Super PAC, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, spent money last year for ads attacking Georgia’s current senators on gun control.
Word of Nunn’s donations from former Republican Sens. Richard Lugar and John Warner had already gotten out, but being snowed in gave us an opportunity to finally sift through late-arriving full Senate campaign finance disclosures. - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/14/14
And the Democrats are going to make sure the base gets out and vote in Georgia:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Both voter registration and mobilization efforts are at the center of the Democrats’ new strategy. In Georgia, for example, the committee estimates that there are 572,000 unregistered African-American voters, and that there are more than 600,000 likely supporters of Michelle Nunn, the Democratic Senate candidate there, who voted in 2012 but not in 2010. The goal, then, is to register the African-American voters, and to target the likely Nunn voters to show up at the polls during a midterm election.
But black voters who did not register to vote in 2008 or 2012, amid all of the excitement surrounding the nation’s first black president, could pose a challenge to register in 2014.
The Bannock Street project is specifically focused on 10 states — Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Michigan, Montana and West Virginia — with plans for senior field operatives and other staff members to be in place by the end of the month.
Each state team will be required to come up with a “strategic plan,” complete with a budget and data-mapping program. Paul Dunn — the newly hired national field director at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, who also ran the 2010 Bennet field effort — will travel around the country, subjecting the teams to rigorous questioning and review and making sure they are in constant communication with the Democratic committee. - New York Times, 2/6/14
If you would like to donate or get involved with Nunn's campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.michellenunn.com/