Monthly Archives: July 2018

July 27, 2018 Radio Commentary

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Did a Tweet Elect Brian Kemp?

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, July 27, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

On July 18th President Donald Trump endorsed Brian Kemp for governor with this tweet: “Brian Kemp is running for governor of the great state of Georgia. The primary is on Tuesday. Brian is tough on crime, strong on the border and illegal immigration. He loves our military and our vets and protects our Second Amendment. I give him my full and total endorsement.”

On the morning of the run-off, the president tweeted again, “Today is the day to vote for Brian Kemp. Will be great for Georgia, full endorsement!”

That’s powerful stuff, but Trump’s tweets did not elect Kemp. If the president lived in Georgia, he probably would’ve voted for Kemp, but even if he lived in Georgia, the president couldn’t elect anyone with his lone vote. Those tweets ignited the Kemp campaign, but Brian Kemp was elected by Georgians who decided voting in the run-off was too important to ignore. Although the run-off election was available as scheduled, 98 percent of registered voters didn’t bother to participate.

Only 585,515 voters decided whose name will be on the Republican ballot for governor this year. That’s astonishing, considering the fact that Georgia has 6,178,600 registered voters. But that’s not the end of the story. 28,793 fewer people voted for lieutenant governor than for governor and 22,890 fewer ballots were cast for secretary of state than for lieutenant governor. Continue reading →

July 2018 Newsletter

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Primary Run-Off Election July 24th

State-Wide Candidates- Governor, L.S. “Casey” Cagle and Brian Kemp*
Lieutenant Governor: Geoff Duncan and David Shafer*
Secretary of State: David Belle Isle* and Brad Raffensperger
*My picks

Why I Can’t Vote for Raffensperger

H.B. 33, introduced in 2017 by Representative Raffensperger, prompted two critical questions:
Will someone who is not a U.S. citizen be allowed to govern in Georgia?
Should U.S. citizens or Georgia citizens be governed by someone who is not a U.S. citizen?
The answer to the first question above would have been “yes” if H.B. 33 had passed, because it (a) added a new section to three Georgia Codes – Titles 36, 45, 50 – to (b) allow non-citizens to hold public office in counties, municipal corporations and other governmental entities that make policy, spend public money, levy taxes, or assess, impose, or collect fees or charges.

H.B. 33 would have allowed non-citizens to serve in local government authorities, school districts, commissions, councils and boards. Such non-citizens are (a) U.S. nationals (b) lawful permanent residents, (c) aliens with lawful status in the U.S., (d) legal residents of Georgia, (e) active members of the U.S. military, and (f) members of the soldier’s immediate family.

  • To read the rest of this newsletter in PDF format, please click here.

July 20, 2018 Radio Commentary

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Supreme Court Okays Gerrymandering

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, July 20, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Every ten years, before and after the census, “gerrymandering” becomes part of the political conversation, because the census is used to determine district lines for Congress, the General Assembly, and the Public Service Commission. Judicial district marshals performed the first census in 1790 by visiting households and recording each person living there. Mail-out census forms were first used in 1960 and, since then, census data has been available on computer.

Since the constitution does not mandate straight district lines and the census was implemented to provide equal representation for voters, by 1812 district lines had become so erratic that the word “gerrymandering” was created to describe Massachusetts districts that were drawn to defeat the Federalist Party. Those lines were so crooked they were compared to a salamander, a mythical lizard. Gerrymandering was coined by using the Honorable Mr. Gerry’s name, the last two syllables of salamander, and adding “ing.”

In Georgia, the 2001 new district maps were not finalized until 2004. Although then-Governor Roy Barnes called two special legislative sessions to get it done, legislators did the work, but Barnes rejected the maps. One map squeezed 180 house members into 147 districts, meaning 23 of the most heavily populated house districts had two, three, or four representatives. Also, during those years, three lawsuits were filed. Continue reading →

July 13, 2018 Radio Commentary

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Life & Free Speech Upheld by Supreme Court

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, July 13, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

On June 26th the Supreme Court overruled a California law that (a) forced medically licensed pro-life pregnancy centers to post in a conspicuous place in their waiting rooms signs in 22-inch font or distribute forms advertising that the state offers free or low-cost abortions. That law, also, (b) required pregnancy centers dedicated to ending abortion to include on that sign a phone number that would refer women to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

But that law went further. It forced pregnancy centers, including religious pro-life centers that are not medically licensed by the state, to post in waiting rooms and advertisements a disclaimer in up to 13 different languages, that they are not a medical facility. During the hearing, Justice Kennedy asked, “What would happen if an unlicensed entity, unlicensed center, just had a billboard that said ‘Choose Life.’ Would they have to make the disclosure?”

The answer was “yes.” That center would have to post a disclaimer on that billboard, in the same size font as “Choose Life,” in up to 13 different languages, which would completely drown out the pro-life message. Continue reading →