There is a very contested governors race going on in Georgia, which of course means nothing to people outside the state, but some of the non issues they are rolling around in the mud over are, well childish.
In fairness and some sort of vain attempt at disclosure I will admit that I am partial to Karen Handel in this race. She is the former Secretary of State who fought hard to have legislation passed to verify the citizenship status of those who vote, and was fought every step of the way. In Georgia you need to show photo ID when you use your credit card for a purchase but not for casting a vote. It just doesn't make sense.
Anyway now the latest hit job on her is coming from former congressman Nathan Deal who retired from congress right after voting no on the health care bill to pursue his run as governor. He is shocked, shocked I tell you to find out that Karen may have some friends who are gay and may have actually belonged to a group called the Log Cabin Republicans, which represent the gay community.
Is Mr Deal trying to say that gay people can't be conservatives? Not real smart for a party which is trying to make inroads in to those voting blocks that have always been considered solid Democrat.
I quite frankly don't see what his beef is.
So far in this race I have crossed candidate Oxendine, the current insurance commissioner, off the list. A lot of it has to do with how he conducted business while acting as insurance commissioner. From buying himself new fancy cars to some of the funding he has received to run his campaign, to his absolute silence during the Obamacare debate. He did not speak up for the citizens of Georgia and only made a weak statement against it after it was passed. The Ox is part of the 'Good 'Ol Boy' network in politics in Georgia and he is counting on that to help him win the primary battle, and polls do show him leading, but in my eyes he is dirty and running on nothing more name recognition. Most might call this old news, but I think it is important to remind people that past performance can be an indicator of future performance, just like voting records can.
Sure the state's public schools face $180 million in cuts and Georgia's nursing homes must fill a $37 million funding gap, but a few key lawmakers weren't going to be denied the chance to plug a little pork in the bareboned budget. Special projects ranging from libraries to a Civil War Naval Museum managed to find room in this tight budget.
So much for being united in sacrifice.
Apparently you don't even have to be a legislator to tap into more than your fair share of state money - just ask John Oxendine. While other state officials combed through their budgets looking for places to scrimp and save, Georgia's insurance commissioner found a way to get a brand new car fully equipped with the luxury bells and whistles.
Just days after being reelected last November, Oxendine's office put in a request for a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria. The car's $25,322 price tag included $6,362 for options such as leather seats, six-disc CD player, ''premium'' cassette player, electronic instrument panel and upgraded suspension, according to news reports.
That was in 2003, and even thought the request was denied, he went around the normal channels and got his car. Arrogance doesn't begin to describe this guy.
It looks like I will now add Nathan Deal to the list. It isn't so much that I have reached the point where I am dedicated to voting for someone yet as much as I am crossing names off the list.
In the past I always tried to keep an open mind and look at candidates from both major parties, but after the actions of the Democrats over the last couple of years, from their over the top rhetoric where they have called average Americans everything but Klingons, and one of them may have done that for all I know, and their continuing power hungry grab for power and money I won't even entertain the thought of seriously considering anybody who chooses to align themselves with the Dems. Sorry Mr Barnes.
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