Those Racist Republicans In Georgia

Sundays are slow days in the blogging world so I decided to waste some bandwidth and do a piece with a tilt to my home state of Georgia, and one which will no doubt wind up rather lengthy. The subject of this posting? Calling attention to swelling ranks of minorities who are calling the Republican and Libertarian parties home. Both groups are associated with conservative views, and thanks to the efforts of the mainstream media and liberal talking heads, therefore in some way connected to the Tea Party movement. I want to state from the outset that I have not determined if any of these candidates have either received support or acknowledgment from any Tea Party organization or if they have any connection to the Tea Party. It is just that the conventional wisdom nowadays seems to be that if you are conservative you are somehow a de facto member of the Tea Party. By extension, being associated with the Tea Party you are therefore a racist.

Let's see if I can strike a few blows against that stereotype.

First up. John Monds, Libertarian candidate for governor.

He advocates a repeal of the state income tax, instead prefering a sales tax system modeled on what is done in Texas and Florida, supports charter schools with more local control of schools. He does, however, give a nod to the notion of global warming, while disputing claims that it is caused by humans and opposes any cap and trade policy.

Next is Victor Armendariz, who is running for the congressional seat in the Fourth District on the Republican ticket currently held by that noted geologist, Hank Johnson.

What does this candidate of Hispanic heritage feel about immigration policies?

We have always had immigration. In fact, this legal immigration is and has been an incredible source of prosperity for America. Illegal immigration threatens the foundation of this system. There is no doubt that we need to fix our immigration system, and it must begin by securing the border and fixing the visa and entry process. This should not include amnesty.

He supports the Fair Tax, doesn't believe the government can create jobs--except, of course, government jobs--and is a strong advocate for the Second Amendment.

Also running on the Republican ticket for Hank Johnson's seat in the Fourth District is Cory Ruth.

His campaign website is still under construction and I could find very little out about him.

In my congressional district we have not one but two African Americans running on the Republican ticket for the chance to unseat the noted race card playing Congress critter David Scott. I will do ladies first, and she is someone I have written about before, Deborah Honeycutt.

She is a doctor and small business owner and advocate. This is her third attempt to unseat the Democrat in a district that is so solidly Democrat it sometimes has to be frustrating trying to sway the voters. I will give her a lot of credit, however, for not giving up.

This year she is joined by Rupert Parchment on the Republican side for the chance to send that thin-skinned David Scott back to the home he lives in that isn't even in the district.

His policy statements are still a little nebulous but he appears to be in favor of more school choice so we will have to wait to see if he moves beyond flowery catch phrases and provides more details and specifics.

And last but not least is a candidate for the position of Labor Commissioner, Melvin Everson.

Mr. Everson's priorities lie in trying to boost employment and job creation in the state. Our unemployment rate is currently above the national average--I think the last numbers put it at 10.8%--through a combination of cooperation with the technical colleges in the states and attracting companies to locate to the state. This is good news for those who pursue a blue-collar career and one I welcome. While much time is spent moaning about the loss of manufacturing jobs in the country, so much emphasis has been put on the younger generation to attend schools which provides academic schooling at the expense of creating people who possess technical skills that having a technical skill nowadays has become a stigma.

So there you have it. A state deep in the heart of Dixie with a wide variety of minorities competing all across the board for elected office as conservatives. Maybe later I will do a piece on the women of the GOP here in the state, but the message I want to convey is don't buy the stereotype that the Republican or other conservative parties are simply made up of angry old white men. Learn something about the candidates and their stance on the issues and vote accordingly, then make those we elect accountable.

For those so inclined, an excellent source to find out about candidates in the state of Georgia is Politics1.