In this Issue: Research on the Candidates Running for Judge in November
Judges elected November 2, 2010 take office January 1, 2011.
Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeals Judges are elected for six-year terms.
Superior Court Judges are elected for four-year terms.
Republican Party – Eight Run-Off Races, 16 Candidates
For Governor
Nathan Deal received 155,920 votes (22.9%). Voters rank him conservative by 54% moderate by 21% and liberal by 11%. He believes in the sanctity of life and that life begins at conception and his pro-life voting record is 98% – 100%; a lifetime NRA rating of A and an A rating from Gun Owners of America. He is a native Georgian with a distinguished career as captain in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, Georgia prosecutor, juvenile court judge, state senator (5 terms) and U.S. Congressman (9 terms). The National Journal named him one of 10 most conservative in Congress. Non-partisan OnTheIssues.org rates him a “Hard Core Conservative.”
He scored 100 on the Eagle Forum survey
Karen Handel, with 231,959 votes (34.1%), is viewed as conservative by 44% of voters, moderate by 30% and liberal by 14%. She moved from D.C. into Georgia 13 years ago, served as president of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, resigned (2003) to run for Chairman of Fulton County Board of Commissioners. She won. While there, she voted with the Commission to approve grants to Planned Parenthood. During her Commission term, she resigned (2006) to run for Secretary of State and won. Less than three years into her four-year term, she resigned (2009) to run for governor.
She did not return the Eagle Forum survey.
The 29-question Eagle Forum Survey was sent to Georgia candidates for state offices and the U.S. House and Senate. Along with the usual data gleaned from surveys, the ones returned also revealed a, truly, disturbing fact – some candidates are unaware of the dangers of a constitutional convention (con con). The following information may help you decide which candidates would best represent you in the offices they are seeking. Candidates that are not listed on this page did not return their survey.
Since Georgia law requires the Attorney General to be an “advisor to legislative counsel,” is determining the constitutionality of legislation the duty of the Attorney General?
As is customary after each legislative session, the Legislative Services Committee and Office of Legislative Counsel compiled and released a Summary of General Laws Enacted at the 2010 Session of the General Assembly of Georgia. It includes a brief synopsis of bills that passed and lists Code Sections that are amended or repealed or created if those bills become laws.
The Summary is a very valuable tool. In addition to the above, it indicates which bills the governor vetoed within the allotted 40-day veto period that began April 29th – the last day of the 2010 session – and ended 40 days later on June 8th.
The Constitution of the State of Georgia authorizes the General Assembly to override a veto if two-thirds of the members of both House and Senate vote to do so. It, also, authorizes the next session of the General Assembly to override vetoes that occur during the last three days of the previous session, as well as vetoes enacted after the General Assembly adjourns sine die.
Party Platform Comparisons, A Decision-Making Tool
In a Nutshell
“If you want life, traditional marriage and the right to bear arms, then vote Republican. If you want partial birth-abortion, abortion on demand, same-sex marriage and gun control, then vote Democrat!”
U.D. Roberts, Brentwood News Service
Party platforms reveal how political parties expect their candidates to vote after they’re elected. The following provides platform positions of Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians.
Right to Life
Republican Platform: includes a pro-life agenda. “[T]he unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment … we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislation and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions…. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life…. We oppose abortion, but our pro-life agenda does not include punitive action against women who have an abortion.”
Democrat Platform: pro-abortion. “The Democratic Party stands behind the right of every woman to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of ability to pay…. [I]t is a fundamental constitutional liberty that individual Americans – not government – can best take responsibility for making the most difficult and intensely personal decisions regarding reproduction … will appoint justices to the Supreme Court who have a demonstrated concern for and commitment to the individual rights protected by our Constitution, including the right to privacy.”
Libertarian Platform: pro-abortion. “We oppose all laws likely to impose restrictions on free choice…. [W]e believe the government should … [allow] all individuals to be guided by their own consciences. We oppose legislation restricting or subsidizing women’s access to abortion or other reproductive health services; this includes requiring consent of the prospective father, waiting periods, and mandatory indoctrination on fetal development.”
Sine die: [Latin, without day]: without any future date
being designated for resumption: indefinitely.
- Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary
During the 2009 – 2010 term, the Georgia General Assembly introduced just over 6,000 pieces of legislation – almost equally divided at just over 3,000 per year. That’s quite a load for a 40-day part-time legislature, the majority of whose members are employed in the private sector.
So, consider this. Do those legislators read the bills and understand their affect before voting yes or no? A better question would be this. Is it possible for them to read and comprehend the effect of each piece of legislation before casting their vote? A little arithmetic provides the answer to both questions and reveals how helpful it is for citizen lobbyists to read bills for them.
Start with the allotted length of a session – 40 days – and presume eight hours to work per day. That presumes a total of 320 work hours per session. Some days they work less, some more. Multiply the 320 hours by 60 minutes and conclude that legislators have only 19,200 minutes to do “the people’s work” during those 40-day sessions. By dividing 19,200 by the rounded-off figure of 3,000 bills and resolutions, you learn that legislators would have 6.4 minutes to read and study each piece of legislation, if they did nothing else all day, every day for 40 days.
S.B. 235 Prohibits Coerced Microchip Implants
S.B. 235 introduced by Senator Chip Pearson in 2009 protects the general population from forced microchip implants, if such were ever required, which is a distinct possibility, if the governor were to call a state of emergency.
The microchip that most concerns us today is the product of three businesses that jointly developed and are marketing disease detecting radio frequency microchips (RFID), built with the capacity to identify infections, locate infected individuals and notify officials, all in real time, 24/7, 365 days per year. Such action would require microchip implants in the general population, and under current law, no personal permission for the implant is required. But, personal consent for a microchip implant would be mandatory, if S.B. 235 becomes law.
Status. S.B. 235 passed the House Judiciary Committee April 14th with no amendments, which is good, and is now in the House Rules Committee, that decides whether it goes to the full House for a vote and, hopefully, final passage.
On Tuesday afternoon the House Judiciary Committee held hearings for two very important bills: S.B. 235 requiring personal permission for a microchip implant and S.B. 529 prohibiting coercive (forced) abortions and abortions based on the sex or race of the child.
S.B. 235 is Georgia’s effort to join other states – California, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Oklahoma – that have passed laws mandating the individual’s permission before a microchip could be implanted in that individual. Other states, including Ohio, Colorado and Florida, are studying the issue, as well. However, it has been thoroughly studied in Georgia since 2006, when a special House committee held a series of hearings to learn how microchips were then used and their expected use in the future. The full gamut of interested parties – law enforcement, medical professionals, business – attended the meetings, shared experiences and plans for bar codes, RFID tags and the more complex microchip implants for animals and humans.
Action Needed
S.B. 529 introduced by Senator Chip Pearson March 18th passed the Senate 33 – 14 March 26th and could pass this session. It (a) prohibits abortion based on the sex or race of a child and (b) prohibits coercive (forced) abortion. After it passed the Senate and went to the House, the Speaker put it in the House Judiciary Committee, whose members will decide its fate.
S.B. 529 is the Senate version of the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PreNDA), which was introduced as H.B. 1155 and died in the House Non Civil Judiciary Committee. S.B. 529 will be killed, also, unless an avalanche of contacts is made to Judiciary Committee Chairman Willard and his committee members.
S.B. 317 provides that no law or rule or regulation shall compel any person, employee, or health care provider to participate in any health care system. Also, it authorizes individuals and employers to pay directly for legal health care services without penalty or fine and allows the provider to receive direct payment. It does not affect the (a) services a health care provider or hospital must perform or provide or (b) health care provided under workers’ compensation. It passed the Senate 31 – 16 on March 17th and is in the House.
