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GOP Widens Lead in Georgia Senate (They just keep SWITCHING and SWITCHING in Georgia...)
AP ^ | 11-12-2002 | AP

Posted on 11/12/2002 3:43:21 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj

November 12, 2002 at 14:05:15 PST

GOP Widens Lead in Georgia Senate

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA- A fourth Democrat in the Georgia Senate has changed parties, bolstering the Republican majority and giving a boost to GOP Gov.-elect Sonny Perdue.

State Sen. Jack Hill's decision Tuesday gives Republicans a 30-26 edge over Democrats in the chamber and it reversed the Election Day results that gave Democrats a four-seat majority.

Republicans have not controlled a legislative body in Georgia since Reconstruction, and Perdue is the first Republican in 130 years to become governor of the state.

Democrats still control the Georgia House with 106 members to 73 Republicans and one independent.

The new majority means Republicans could strip Democratic Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor of his power to appoint committees and assign legislation to committees, leaving him only with the power to preside over debate.

Taylor has called on party switchers to resign and run for re-election as Republicans.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: georgia; perdue; republican; switch; taylor
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To: Hildy; Hodar; Glenn
I understand how you might think the switchers are
somehow less than nonorable. In other circumstances
I would probably agree with you.

But you must understand this about Georgia politics.
Georgia has had a Democrat Governor since 1872.
You have to stop for a moment and think to understand
how big this issue is. Realize that for the ENTIRE 20th
Century Georgia has had a Democrat Governor. Entire
generations of voters have come and gone knowing nothing
but a Democrat Governor.

- ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS AGO -
Just think about that. It is incredible.

Politics in the state has been a crony system.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, went on in this state
without the governor's approval.

In 2002, the crony system was finally broken.
That single fact is the simple important news
in Georgia politics following the 2002 elections.

That snake is now dead.

These people (the switchers) have had to either tow the
party line - or leave politics. They have been treated
badly by their own party because of conservative ideas.
The Georgia Democrat party is now in shock (and denial).

It is a necessary thing now for these men to switch.
Not just to be "independent", but to become Republican.
Why? because of the existing Senate rules - thats why.
This is one of the ways the Democrat's crony system worked.
The party in the Majority in the senate sets all the rules.
They control committee appointments, set agendas, control
which bills come to the floor and which ones are tabled,
etc, etc, etc.
The switchers are needed so that the Repulican party can
run the senate in order to use the Democrats own rules
against them. The Republicans need a firm majority in
the Senate or the Republican Governor's agenda will never
see the light of day.

I only wish this election truly indicated that Georgia
was more supportive of Republican candidates. I do not
think that is what happened. Sonny Perdue was not elected
because he is a Republican. He was elected because he was
not Roy Barnes. Many issues came together at the right
time to cause this to happen, gerrymandering the districts,
snubbing the teachers union, snubbing the state workers,
selecting Democrat Miller to fill Republican Coverdale's
seat after he died, and yes, changing the flag played a
role in Barnes defeat, too.

Few people actually went to the poles to vote
FOR Republican Perdue, but many went to vote
AGAINST Democrat Barnes.
I do not necessarily expect a repeat in 2004.
I think it will be a whole new ballgame.
Republicans may only run this state for the next 2 years.

footnote:
(The last Georgia Republican Governor was in the times
when there was a series of Military Governors appointed
by General Meade following the "Great War of Northern Agression".
In the election of 1871 the Democrats gained
a majority in the legislature, Governor Rufus Bullock
of New York, fearing impeachment (or worse), resigned.
Benjamin Conley of New Jersey served as Governor for
a few months after Bullock fled the state. A special
election was held and Democrat James M. Smith was elected
Governor to fill Bullock's unexpired term. Since that
time, the control of the Democrats has been complete.
... but I digress)
101 posted on 11/12/2002 7:53:24 PM PST by error99
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To: coca-cola kid
How are the voters reacting to the switches? Are they ok with them or are they angry?
102 posted on 11/12/2002 7:55:03 PM PST by Wait4Truth
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To: Atlantian
This is just what the conservative politicians in GA feel like. They have finally been liberated from the corrupt, arrogant, mean-spirited Dem Party in GA.

Right, words can't adequately describe how evil and corrupt the GA Dem party was and still is. But at least it has now had it's wings clipped.

People not familiar with GA don't know it of course, but getting rid of house speaker Tom Murphy was equally as great a victory for Georgia Republicans (actually all GA) as getting rid of Barnes and Cleland. Unfortunately, the rabidly partisan Mark Taylor is still there, but now he won't have the power to run roughshod over Republicans in the state Senate. I hope he enjoys making paper clip chains, because I don't think there will be much else for him to do the next four years.

103 posted on 11/12/2002 8:05:03 PM PST by epow
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To: The Other Harry
Would Taylor also make the resignation recommendation to Senator Jeffords...say if he was invited on Hannity and Colmes to discuss this issue?
104 posted on 11/12/2002 8:09:11 PM PST by Binghamton_native
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To: Seeking the truth
Yes, all of these switched and to be honest (IMHO) they make BETTER pubbies because they have already seen how the RATS operate, up close and personal. Give me any of these former dems over, say McCain, Chafee, Jeffords, etc. any day. Expect MANY MORE defections as the weeks unfold.
105 posted on 11/12/2002 8:11:35 PM PST by shilohsvictory
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To: AnAmericanMother
"Two more tonight, and my source on Capitol Hill says that there are still more on the way. . . . stay tuned."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I will stay tuned.....
I think this is one of the most under-reported, yet significant outcomes of this historic election. It has been decades since I've been to Georgia, but my family had roots there and I am just blown away to finally see this happening.

This election was not just a victory for the GOP, it brought about the smashing of generations of Dem control in certain areas and regions. This was the kind of absolute control that you would have had to pry from their cold dead fingers even a decade ago.

As I said, I think this is an important sign indicating the momentum strength of this political shift. Go Georgia!
106 posted on 11/12/2002 8:12:05 PM PST by Route66
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To: Theodore R.
When Rep. Phil Gramm, D-TX, switched parties in 1983, he resigned his seat and then ran in a special election as a Republican.

Phil Gramm is a very special case. In his second term he co-authored the Gramm-Latta tax bill that enacted the Reagan agenda in 1981. Tip O'Neil was furious and had him removed from the budget committee in 1983 after he was re-elected in 1982. As a result Gramm had absolutely no political future as conservative Democrat in the House.

Fortunately Tip O'Neil's famous line "all politics is local" proved to be very true in Phil Gramm's district. Because he represented narrow gerrymandered district, he was able to run a campaign that foreshadowed his Senate campaign in 1984. His district ran from Northwest Houston to Southeast Dallas with College Station in between.

The idea when it was created in 1970 was to use yellow dog votes in the rural areas to cancel out the Republican votes in the suburbs of Houston and Dallas. Texas A&M which was located in the 6th district not only is one of the most conservative public universities in the country, but it also was the fastest growing university in the country. Enrollment grew from 13,000 students in 1970 to 32,000 students in 1982. The growth of Texas A&M and the ratification of the 26th amendment (allowing 18 year-olds to vote) created the conditions allowing Gramm to switch parties. The fact that the district included two top ten US media markets meant the special election got lots of media coverage in the most important cities for a Republican candidate for statewide office to carry.

After spending over a million dollars campaigning in his special election, Phil Gramm won back his seat with a majority in the first round against the son of the longtime Democrat Congressman he had unseated in the 1978 Democrat primary. About a month after Gramm won his House seat back, four-term Republican senator John Tower announced he would not seek a fifth term. Gramm almost immediately announced his candidacy for Tower's senate seat which he won in 1984.

107 posted on 11/12/2002 8:14:46 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
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To: fieldmarshaldj
Randy Sauder
108 posted on 11/12/2002 8:14:56 PM PST by higgmeister
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To: fieldmarshaldj
"I said Georgia ---- Georgia , on my mind"
109 posted on 11/12/2002 8:16:45 PM PST by Semper Paratus
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To: Paleo Conservative; Theodore R.
I forgot to mention, as soon as Phil Gramm won his seat back as a Republica, the Republicans put him back on the budget committee.
110 posted on 11/12/2002 8:19:40 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
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To: fieldmarshaldj
I'm not from Vermont but as a Republican, I wasn't offended or surprised that Jeffords switched parties. He was always a big liberal and the biggest surprise was why didn't he do it sooner? It is true that his one vote made all the difference in who controls the Senate but it was only a matter of time. What really angered me was when Mike Forbes switched parties. Now here was this guy who was Newt's best friends and supporter of the Contract with America and all of a sudden he's best buddy with Bubba Bill? What the heck? Well we got our revenge in the end because even the Dems dumped him, he ras on a 3rd party and lost miserably.
111 posted on 11/12/2002 8:27:21 PM PST by arielb
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To: fieldmarshaldj
This is how I feel - if a Republican switches to Democrat it's wrong but if a Democrat switches to Republican it's O.K.
112 posted on 11/12/2002 8:31:51 PM PST by Contra
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To: The Other Harry
This is the right way to go about changing party affiliations.

In Georgia there is no official party registration to run for office. You can be a dues paying member of one party, and register to run as a candidate in the opposing party. It happens sometimes here in Gwinnett County. It is always funny to see copies of Party contibution reporting forms in campaign ads against that person. You can run for office without ever having been to a meeting or given a dime to that party. The primaries aren't conducted by the parties, but through district wide elections conducted by the state.

Dues paying members of any party can select a primary ballot for any party they choose (Hence, Cynthia McKenney whining about her race.) This is done because it is known that only one party has a chance of winning on election day. So, to get elected, you must "claim" to be from that party. This happens in both Republican and Democratic districts. In my county 85+ % of the primary ballots were for Republicans, but the general election split was closer to 60-40.

Look up the policital life of Vinson Wall. Gwinnett went Repub - so did he. After redistricting new candidates were always asked why Vinson wasn't running. These people didn't care what party he was in. All they knew was that he actually answered their letters and checked on their problems. The average voter isn't partisan - and if they have any general bias on that front, most would say that they vote for that party in charge, becasue their elected official will have power. In that case, the official is giving them excactly what they asked for!

113 posted on 11/12/2002 8:41:00 PM PST by gatechie
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To: gatechie
Make that MCKINNEY. Most people I know do not spell it the way she does. It is a bad habit to use McKenney.
114 posted on 11/12/2002 8:45:04 PM PST by gatechie
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To: Hodar
They are as slimy as Jeffords.

I say the welcome mat is out...what matters right now capitalizing on the momentum that was created during the election...this is one way....there are a lot of guys who were on the fence...and they are jumping on our train...emotions are still high right now....

Also are these jumpers all "newley" elected?...got to make sure of that....either way...surfs up and our party is making swells..

115 posted on 11/12/2002 8:51:46 PM PST by antaresequity
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To: Route66; error99
I think we are in for a pretty rough ride.

The Republicans literally have not been in power for 5-6 generations. They have no idea how to run the state. They'll have to stop being back-bench bombthrowers and actually DO something. And the Dems can't even comprehend being out of power. I think Mark Taylor is beginning to dimly see what he's in for, hence his ongoing hissy fit.

I was just telling somebody today that if I were the new Repub floor leader I would be over talking to Tom Murphy's staff and trying to hire on one or two of them to show me the ropes.

Of course, if enough Dem senators switch over, it won't be a problem. They already know how things work.

116 posted on 11/12/2002 8:57:28 PM PST by AnAmericanMother
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To: doug from upland
I agree.

I tend to agree with you. If you want to be a Republican, run as a Republican. I do not, however, fault any RAT who switched over to the GOP during the Clinton times. Theirs was a reasonable position because the head of their party was a criminal and the party would not do anything about it. They did the right thing.

117 posted on 11/12/2002 9:00:41 PM PST by GOPJ
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Comment #118 Removed by Moderator

To: AnAmericanMother
Of course, if enough Dem senators switch over, it won't be a problem. They already know how things work.

They know the old ways about how things were done. What's the point of getting control if you run things exactly the way the RATS did. In 1994, the abuses of power by the Democrats in the US House were some of the main reasons for supporting a Republican takeover. The Wall Street Journal reported that polls showed the more people watched C-SPAN, the more likely they were to vote for a Republican House candidate in 1994. Congressman Obey from Wisconsin thought the biggest mistake Democrats made was allowing cameras to document how Congress actually works. I think that viewpoint is very cynical.

One rule I hated that the Republicans abolished immediately was voting by proxy in committee. You would see the Democrat chair of the committee vote the proxy votes of other Democrat members who were absent or attending other committee meetings. What this really meant was the real meeting occurred prior to the televised meeting. The Republicans were able to eliminate proxy voting because they started using commercially available off-the-shelf software to schedule committee meetings so they would not conflict with each other.

While there might be teething problems in figuring out how to be the majority party and be responsible for the outcume of legislation, I would much rather Republicans have that problem than the opposite problem which the Democrats have. The Democrats made the mistake in 1995 of electing the same leaders they would have elected if they were still in the majority. They then elected that same leadership in three additional consecutive terms. The Democrats have just failed to retake the House for the fourth consecutive election cycle. They are just now realizing they need to change their leadership. Fortunately for Republicans, they seem to want to really go off the deep end and elect Pelosi as minority leader.

119 posted on 11/12/2002 9:30:52 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
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To: Glenn
"No different than Jeffords."

Or Trent Lott, Mr. Pom Pom Boy.

120 posted on 11/12/2002 9:39:50 PM PST by Bedford Forrest
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