Quickie: Woman Who Beat Sarah Palin Enters Politics

By GottaLaff






Today's Quickie:

The woman who beat Sarah Palin for the beauty queen title of Miss Alaska in 1984 is running for the Georgia state legislature, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.


Blackburn’s entrance is a happy development for Democrats. The 34th District has some rapidly shifting demographics.

Maryline Blackburn voted for Obama in 2008... and didn't quit in the middle of her Miss Alaska reign. That's two reasons to vote for her in 2010.

That was today's Quickie. Was it good for you?

Quote of the Day

"Do they not know that the Yankees have got the atomic bomb now?"

-- Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes (D), quoted by the Athens Banner-Herald, on Georgia Republicans threatening to secede from the United States.

I say let them go. Via Taegan.

Ralph Reed won't seek House seat

By GottaLaff

Oh goody. Ralphy's not running for congress in Georgia. He figures he can do enough damage via Faith and Freedom Coalition (he's chairman) and his consulting firm.

Reed:

"I believe electing 50 to 100 men and women of character and conservative beliefs to Congress and statewide office over the next two election cycles is a more efficacious way to advance the conservative agenda than seeking public office myself in 2010."

That's because he's not a man "of character" and would be a hindrance.

However, he left the door open for a future run. But he still wouldn't be "efficacious". Nope.

Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) Postpones Resignation to Vote on Health Care

By GottaLaff

Deal or no deal:

Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) will not be leaving Congress on Monday, as he announced earlier this week, but will instead stay through the upcoming House vote on a health care overhaul. [...]

State party leaders had encouraged him resign his seat so he could dedicate himself full time to the race. But House GOP leaders urged Deal to stick around Washington a little longer after realizing that his departure would lower the threshold for passage of the health care bill from 217 to 216 votes.

As I said in a previous post, they're feeling more threatened than ever, because health care reform is about to become a reality.

Unfortunately, the more threatened they feel, the more desperate they become, and so the more smeary and feary and irrational they get.

The next few weeks should be a barrel of laughs.

Video- President Obama discusses jobs and the economy during a visit to Savannah, Georgia

Looks like he got a good lunch while he was there too-

President Barack Obama wants reporters to do the unthinkable: keep a secret.

Obama sat down Tuesday afternoon for a Southern-style lunch at Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room, a popular restaurant and tourist attraction in Savannah, Ga. In front of him was a plate piled high with fried chicken and bowls of beans, sweet potatoes, greens and macaroni and cheese.

Turning to reporters who accompanied him on the trip, Obama said he didn't want to hear any lectures about his cholesterol. And above all, he said, don't tell his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, about his lunch.

Bonus votes for health care reform

By GottaLaff

Yesterday I posted about Rep. Deal's resignation. Well, looky here, what do we have as a result? Bonus votes for health care reform!

Today's resignation of Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) essentially gave House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an extra vote to help her push health care reform bill through the House.

Now, with Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) facing a primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is virtually guaranteed to have her vote -- assuming she still wants to be a senator -- as he tries to push the health care bill through the reconciliation process in the Senate.

Aww, Nathan,, you shouldn't have.

Nathan Deal (R-Ga) reportedly resigning

By GottaLaff

And another one bites, and another one bites, and another one bites the dust (apologies to Queen):

Nathan Deal has called two press conferences tomorrow morning, one in Dalton and one in Gainesville, to announce that he is resigning from Congress.

Sources close to his campaign tell me that Deal will resign his seat in Congress to focus on his campaign for Governor. The thought process is that he is spending too much time in D.C., and needs to be around “Real” Georgia voters more often.

As opposed to fake Georgia voters?

Here's an interesting twist:

If he’s no longer a member of Congress, he can’t be on the list of CREW’s most unethical Congressmen anymore.

Oops. Guess that's the real Deal...

John Linder (R-Ga.) to retire

By GottaLaff

And another one bites the dust:

Veteran Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.), an early ally of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and an outspoken fiscal conservative, announced Saturday he was retiring. [...]

The 18-year congressman represents a heavily Republican seat in the sprawling suburbs east of Atlanta that is likely to stay in GOP hands.

Enjoy spending more time with your family.

Atlanta Anti-Abortion Billboards: Black Children Are An "Endangered Species"

By GottaLaff

"It's ingenious"? Really? That's not the word that comes to mind when I look at that billboard:

The reaction from black leaders has been mixed, but the "Too Many Aborted" campaign, which so far is unique to only Georgia, is drawing support from other anti-abortion groups across the country.

"It's ingenious," said the Rev. Johnny Hunter, national director of the Life Education and Resource Network, a North Carolina-based anti-abortion group aimed at African-Americans that operates in 27 states. "This campaign is in your face, and nobody can ignore it."

These zealots are outright discriminatory. You can't get much more blatant than this:

The effort is sponsored by Georgia Right to Life, which also is pushing legislation that aims to ban abortions based on race.

So white abortions pass muster? How about Latina ones? Or Asian? What other things might they ban based on race?

Will they encourage more births based on race, too?

"The language in the billboard is using messages of fear and shame to target women of color," said Leola Reis, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Georgia. [...]

In 2008, Issues4Life, a California-based group working to end abortion in the black community, lobbied Congress to stop funding Planned Parenthood, calling black abortions "the Darfur of America."

Pro-Life Action League Executive Director Eric Scheidler said a race-based strategy for anti-abortion activists has gotten a fresh zeal, especially in the wake of the historic election of the country's first black president, Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights.

"Fresh zeal". Somehow that sounds especially crass, doesn't it? "Fresh zeal". How nice for them that they're so energized. So... zealous.

The next time some conservative insists that there's nothing race-based in their condemnation of all things Obama, please feel free to share this post with them.

"To use racist arguments to try to bait black people to get them to be anti-abortion is just disgusting," said Guy-Sheftall, who teaches women's history and feminist thought at the historically black women's college.

Maybe we should ban anti-choice groups by race. And age. And height. And weight. And gender. And everything.

H/t: Ellen

Obama to roll out first nuclear plant loan guarantee next week

By GottaLaff

Why? So we can create more waste that we can't store? That will last a kajillion years?

President Obama will next week announce a federal loan guarantee for utility giant Southern Company to build two new nuclear reactors in Georgia, an administration official said.

The Energy Department loan guarantee will be the first devoted to nuclear plant construction under a program authorized in a 2005 energy law.

President Obama and I do not see eye to eye on this at all.

Secret Service looking into Obama effigy in Plains, Ga

It just never stops.

A spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service says the agency is investigating an effigy of President Barack Obama found hanging from a building in the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told The Associated Press that the large black doll was found Saturday morning along Main Street in the small town of Plains.

According to footage from WALB-TV, the doll was hanging by a noose in front of a red, white and blue sign that says "Plains, Georgia. Home of Jimmy Carter, our 39th President." A witness told the television station that the doll wore a sign with Obama's name on it.

Donovan said the doll was removed Saturday. He declined further comment.

Georgia restaurant sign: "Obama's plan for health-care: N****r rig it."

By GottaLaff

The owner of a restaurant in Georgia says he's merely against what he calls a "sub standard healthcare plan," that he stands by his president, and is simply exercising his First Amendment rights.

I call it something else:

When you walk into the Georgia Peach Oyster Bar in Paulding County, you feel like you've walked into a different era.

Behind the pool tables stands a mannequin in a Klu Klux Klan costume, but it's what's outside of the Patrick Lanzo's restaurant that has some people angry.

Lanzo put up a sign that reads "Obama's plan for health-care: N*&%*r rig it."

See? Not racist at all. It's just opinion, just self-expression, just....

.... despicable.

“Why did you use the N word?” Marsh asked.

“Well, I’ve used it most of my life. There are different ways to put your opinion up, but that's just the words I choose,” Lanzo answered.

Pshyeah! It only stands to reason that if you use racist language long enough, it becomes acceptable. What were we all thinking?

Despite the sign, Lanzo said he's not a racist.

Of course he isn't. Silly us. By the way, both black and white people in the area want the sign down.

“I stand by my president, but I also stand by my First Amendment right to criticize him if I feel he’s wrong,” Lanzo said.

Here's what the West Metro NAACP had to say:

"This latest ploy for attention by Mr. Lanzo is not surprising. What is of concern however, is the total lack of leadership and action from the elected officials of Paulding County, who repeatedly have allowed this type of toxic public display."

This reminds me of unsuitable parents who don't discipline their unruly children, and then everyone wonders over the years how the kids got that way. Unacceptable behavior has to start somewhere, and subsequently be tacitly or overtly encouraged for it to persist.

This guy needs a time out and some extended grounding... badly.

Video here.

Georgia congressman: Wilson's outburst 'carefully calculated'

By GottaLaff

Hey, come on, what do the Sons of Confederate Veterans and keeping the Confederate flag up have to do with racism? Why would a disdainful outburst at a joint Congressional session aimed at the first black president suggest prejudice? Race has absolutely nothing to do with it! That's just silly librul paranoia!

Rep. Hank Johnson, like so many of us, must be mistaken:

Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, wrote in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Monday that he doesn't think that most of Obama's opponents are motivated by racism, but that he believes Wilson's comments "winked at a racist element" and that there is a small but "racially motivated fringe" among those who disapprove of the president and his policies.

"Wilson is a canny politician," Johnson said. "His outburst was a carefully calculated appeal to a particular constituency who question the legitimacy of Barack Obama's presidency. The symbolism of his act, which violated the rules of the House and attacked the dignity of the president's office, emboldened and validated those who believe that President Obama, despite having been lawfully elected, is an illegitimate occupant of the White House."

Johnson said that some feel "resentment that the president of the United States is a black man" and that the "risk of violence is real." He said he believes some of the angry protests during town hall meetings over the summer were also motivated by racism and warned that if that element of some opposition is ignored, it will "fester, grow and come back to haunt us in ways we haven't seen in decades."

Pfft. What a Commie fanatic biased alarmist. Next thing you know he'll start wildly speculating about the KKK's impending resurgence:

"I guess we'll probably have folks putting on white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside, intimidating people," Johnson said on September 15. "That's the logical conclusion if this kind of attitude is not rebuked."

Just ignore him.

Video- Georgia State Senator Wants 'Amendment' To Protect From Health Reform

You'd never know that 1 in 3 Georgians are uninsured.

Republican lawmaker wants to end ‘birthright citizenship’

By GottaLaff

I demand to see Deal's birth certificate! Who are his people?!

U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, a Republican candidate for governor of Georgia, has proposed changing the long-standing federal policy that automatically grants citizenship to any baby born on U.S. soil, a move opposed by immigrant rights advocates.

Supporters of Deal’s proposal say “birthright citizenship” encourages illegal immigration and makes enforcement of immigration laws more difficult. Opponents say the proposed law wouldn’t solve the illegal immigration problem and goes against this country’s traditions of welcoming immigrants.

Automatic citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” That provision, ratified in 1868, was drafted with freed slaves in mind. [...]

Under Deal’s proposal, babies born in the U.S. would automatically have citizenship only if at least one of their parents is a U.S. citizen or national, a legal permanent resident of the U.S., or actively serving in the U.S. military.

Azadeh Shahshahani, director of the Immigrants Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, said the proposed law “is not cognizant with the American spirit.”

Here's a peek at the proposal.

Tuh-Weet! John McCain/Saakashvili edition

By GottaLaff

The latest Tweet from John McCain:

Meeting President Misha Saakashvili

Seems Tweeting about Russia is becoming the awesome new trend.

But whenever J Sid gets going on Georgia, it makes me nervous.

Georgia Senate Bill Bans Creating or Destroying Embryos for Research

By GottaLaff

Seems Georgia's definition of "pro-life" differs from many of ours... and President Obama's:

A Senate panel today approved a bill that would ban the creation or destruction of an embryo for embryonic stem cell research.

The move comes on the same day that President Barack Obama lifted limits on using federal dollars for such studies.

Critics say the bill would hinder embryonic stem cell research, and harm the biotech industry.

Supporters say it would protect human life in its earliest form.

You can still study and research stem cell lines, see. You just can't use a Georgia embryo, or create one, for that research.

Besides, we wouldn't want a "negative light" to "shine on the state", you see.

Besides, we all know that blastocysts (What's a blastocyst? How does all this work again? ) must be protected at all costs, but once we're actually, you know, born? Not so much.

Listen to the (2:30 minute) audio here.

H/t: Bruno Machiavelli

Many Georgia Lawmakers Didn't Pay Taxes

By GottaLaff

And they weren't even Obama cabinet nominees:

Nearly 10% of Georgia's state legislators are late filing or paying their state taxes, reports the Macon Telegraph.

Poll-itics: 12 Percent of Atlantans Plan to Attend Inauguration

By GottaLaff

Queuing up: A voter waits in College Park, Ga., to vote in [the] primary.

Take that, Saxby:

ATLANTA -- A recent survey conducted by Survey USA, commissioned by 11Alive News, found that 12 percent of Atlantans polled planned to attend the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama on January 20th. [...]

The survey results indicated enthusiasm among Atlanta residents for Barack Obama and his 2008 election win.

Last night on MSNBC, someone said Bush got a crowd of 150,000 at his inauguration. They're expecting millions at Obama's, including, apparently, many Georgia residents.

For a "very red" state (as Rachel Maddow likes to say), Georgia's awfully excited. What a great story. Thanks, Jon!

H/t: Jon Lester

VIDEO-- Fox's Cavuto: Voters reconsidering Democratic victory

By GottaLaff

Via Think Progress:

In a Politico op-ed published today, RNC Chairman Mike Duncan tried to squeeze the maximum propaganda benefit from Tuesday’s reelection of Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). He claimed that the (very predictable) Republican victory “proved” that the 2008 election had not given progressives a mandate, and that the country remained fundamentally conservative:

[...] Georgian’s [sic] clearly sent a message that any rhetoric about a liberal mandate is nothing but hot air.

[...] Fox Business host Neil Cavuto suggested yesterday that Chambliss’s win was “a sign that voters are already reconsidering the Democratic victory they gave the country last month.” [...]

As staunch conservative Charles Krauthammer noted yesterday on Fox News, “If the Republicans can’t win a straight up Senate race in Georgia, they ought to disband and join a country club.”

Yeah, I guess one win in a state that Obama didn't carry, one state in a general election that Obama won by a landslide, is a real reversal of public opinion.