Posted on 08/28/2011 12:22:06 PM PDT by mdittmar
ATLANTA -- It was supposed to be a simple vote amid the work of redistricting: change the date of when voters would consider a proposed transportation tax from the July primary to November general election.
Enter the Georgia tea party and suddenly the vote was not so simple. After the tea party came out against the move, support among Republicans crumbled and the governor and legislative leaders were forced to drop the plan.
It's the latest victory for the state's burgeoning tea party movement, which has gained considerable momentum in the past year and is looking to further capitalize on its recent efforts. Outspoken and on the ground, they have been able to influence Georgia politics both as outsiders and as lawmakers working under the Gold Dome.
"It's been an amazing phenomenon to watch," said Kennesaw State University political science professor Kerwin Swint. "They're really having their weight felt this year in Georgia. The effect is a source of people that are really paying attention to issues and eager to tell legislators and candidates how they feel."
Nationally, tea party groups have been gathering steam since the 2008 presidential election, and have increasingly factored into the political process as anger has boiled over on issues including government spending and high unemployment. The movement was slower to arrive in Georgia, but has quickly caught up at the Capitol, with the arrivals of a new administration that is more responsive to the group and of several freshman legislators who were elected with tea party support.
Georgia Tea Party Patriots co-founder Julianne Thompson said citizens are more vocal and active than ever before, and their voices are being heard.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsbtv.com ...
It would seem that it would have been a good idea to have the tax vote at the same time as the general election. That would maximize turnout and ensure its defeat.
We need to really watch for infiltrations because you know damn well they are trying.
Turnout in the July primary will favor Republicans - on the presidential level there won't be a Democrat contest and the Republican side could be lively. There are no state wide offices on the ballot.
So if you are looking to defeat the initiative you want to keep it in the summer when motivated (and conservative) voters will be participating.
bookmark
Actually the opposite which is what they wanted to do here. Too many union/dem/carpetbagger votes in the general as opposed to those who actually pay attention to issues here. This is a union/dem boondoggle that would insure overruns and waste along with a bunch of do nothing jobs without any traffic improvement.
Also we don’t want “improved” public transit out here in the suburbs. Enough section 8 crime already.
Thanks for the info.
That might be the case for this specific case, I don’t know. But there will be democrats running for all the other offices who have to go thru the primary.
I know this strategy did NOT work in Wisconsin with the recall elections and I know that turnout is maximized in the General Election. Since Georgia is safely Republican I would believe that having the tax vote then would lead to a massive defeat.
Those who are of the mindset of the Tea Party need to fill the seats in the states’ representative bodies. It is HERE that the fundamental change in the fed begins. The states best represent the will of the people, as the Founders knew. The states enforcing the 10th amendment and exerting their power is the best means for keeping an out of control fed in check. It can re-claim its rights to fed held land, refuse to enforce agency regulations and control the unions. It’s past time that they started.
Unions in Georgia are pretty weak so I would not expect much impact there. I would expect a General election vote would produce a massive defeat for this issue. Plus, the candidates would have to address it which would be instructive for the voters.
The WSB article didn’t report the real story. The Tea Party is negotiating to get ALL sales tax referendums moved to November where they will be considered by the greatest number. They are saying to the spenders, let’s be consistent and not have sales tax increases approved by handpicked groups. So, yes, they want referendums in November if the policy is applied consistently. The legislature would have done it, but at the last minute it was opposed by Democrats, school boards, and the transportation lobby.
The country club republicans support this tax raise - more taxes to fund more projects for big business. Add in the unions and the purchased votes from the minorities, and it would be a done deal in November.
Just because they are republicans doesn’t mean that they are on your side.
“The country club republicans support this tax raise...” I doubt it.
It certainly wasn’t the Tea Party crowd that pushed this through the legislature to begin with.
Sen. Don Balfour(R) is saying that keeping the TSPLOST off the November ballot was a “victory for the Tea Party”. Do they really think we’re that dumb? What it was, was an effort to keep tax measures voted on by small voter turnouts, which is a victory for the spending lobby: the school boards, transportation lobbyists, and state and local government interests. Hopefully in January our legislators will take up making any and all future SPLOST and TSPLOST measures be on the November ballot. If they don’t, it will be a clear indication that leadership is in the pocket of the spenders.
The Georgia Republicans are nothing more than glorified democrats.
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