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85 Responses to “Open Blogging Opportunity Here…”

1. Charley Levinson Says:
   October 23rd, 2006 at 4:57 am

   Gay issues have nothing to do with job. So why does Handel have her social positions front and center on her website, as mentioned in AJC’s halfhearted endorsement of her? It is Handel talking irrelevancies, not me and not Gail Buckner.

   Rep. Buckner has stayed on the subjects at hand; a paper trail to varify election results, transparent government, improving the efficiency of service delivery, and even-handed use of regulatory powers. As a 16-year member of the Georgia House, she has served on committees directly related to these issues. We need someone who understands the issues surrounding the office of Secretary of State, not a political gamester.

   I did not support Bill Stephens. In the first round, I voted for Scott Holcomb, and for Rep. Buckner in the runoff. That said, did Stephens lie about Handel’s record?

2. Josh Says:
   October 23rd, 2006 at 6:57 am

   Funny last night in the debates Buckner reminded me even more of Stephens. What’s up with legislators who come up with bulls… attacks.

   I guess when you can’t get people to support your campaign and you’re rich enough to loan yourself $265k you feel bad about yourself and have to attack.

3. Chris Says:
   October 23rd, 2006 at 7:31 pm

   I’m voting for Dems Buckner and Irvin (who is as old as the dirt he regulates).

4. Charley Levinson Says:
   October 24th, 2006 at 4:02 am

   Josh, you had better hope that Handel hiring firms using illegal immigrants is a BS charge. If true, Gail Buckner is our next SoS, hands down.

   The personally financed campaign is a non-issue. Michael Coles, Roger Kahn, and Guy Millner did not lose because they self-financed, they lost because they either ran bad campaigns, or (in the case of Coles’ run against Gingrich in 1996) it was no-win situation to begin with.

5. Josh Says:
   October 24th, 2006 at 7:58 pm

   Charley,
   WTF are you talking about. Your right the issue isn’t about self funded campaign. It’s about people be hypocrite’s, saying that the public should fund campaigns, then self funding. I think it tells something about a candidate when they can’t muster financial support. Even the unknown Sonny raised $3m in 2002.

6. Charley Levinson Says:
   October 25th, 2006 at 3:47 am

   It isn’t hypocrisy because right now, there is no public financing of Georgia camapigns, unless you want to count Perdue’s use of state assets for campaign purposes. Oh, but he promptly reimburses the state for those expeditures, a Sonny defender might say. So as a Gergia taxpayer, I’m giving Perdue’s campaign an interest free loan. Charming.

   I went to a political function last night, and be assured. There will be more on Handel’s contracts with companies cited for hiring illegal immigrants. The evidence is there.

7. Bill Simon Says:
   October 25th, 2006 at 7:25 am

   Charley,

   Did you lose ALL of your logical faculties when you went to the Dem Party?

   The Handel campaign receives contributions from 1000+ entities. Is she PERSONALLY to know how each and every one of them operate? Or, who they hire?

   You are beginning to sound a lot like your screeching candidate who thinks that if someone observes that they have loaned their campaign $300,000, THAT observation constitutes an “attack” of drawing first blood.

8. John Konop Says:
   October 25th, 2006 at 7:30 am

   Charley

   Big Bill makes a good point! But she should give the money back if what you said is true.

9. Josh Says:
   October 25th, 2006 at 7:56 am

   Charley,
   Show me a contract. Do you know the difference between a contract and a contribution. Buckner accused Handel of loaning herself money. Show me that. Buckner has yet to show any facts. Is Buckner going to lend herself another $265k so she can go on TV with these allegations?

   As Bill said over 1000 Georgia voters have shown support for Handel by opening their check books in support. Where’s Buckner support.

   The hypocrisy is that your candidate is calling for public funding, yet trying to buy the election herself.

10. Charley Levinson Says:
    October 26th, 2006 at 3:13 am

    Not to worry, gentlemen, I’m not taking anything personally. The truth is I offered no specifics, but they will be forthcoming. I still maintain that in the absence of public financing, there is no hypocrisy in calling for such, regardless of how a campaign is currently being financed.

    Bill, WHY did Handel make the point about Buckner self-financing in the first place? Was she paying her a compliment, with the implication that Gail Buckner cannot be bought? It seems unlikely. The truth is, you never mention your opponent UNLESS it is an attack, subtle or direct, of some kind.

    Where is Buckner’s support? Again, drive around Marietta, and look at the yard sign comparison. Gail wins hands down.

11. Josh Says:
    October 26th, 2006 at 6:39 am

    If yard signs win elections, then every candidate in the city council races in Johns Creek is going to win.

    Once again, show me proof. If I was Buckner, I would have issued a press release Sunday night or Monday after the debate with all the facts. Since she didn’t, I say it’s all bull s…

12. Bill Simon Says:
    October 26th, 2006 at 10:56 am

    Charley,

    The statements about Buckner using her own money to finance her campaign were related to FUNDRAISING letters written by the Handel campaign.

    You know, like “My opponent is able to dump $300,000 of her own money into their campaign. I do not have the ability to do that, which is why I need your financial support right now…”

    Do you understand now? It wasn’t an “attack,” it was a FACT.

    Jeez-Louise!

13. Josh Says:
    October 26th, 2006 at 11:12 am

    Bill,
    I also believe that it shows lack of support for a candidate. It’s one thing to put $500k in like your buddy Ralph, and still raise a boatload more money, but it’s another to put in $265k of your own money, and not even be able to match it from your “supporters”.

14. Josh Says:
    October 28th, 2006 at 8:16 pm

    Charlie,
    Still waiting for specifics. Seems to me like we have a desperate candidate, making stuff up.

15. Kevin Bailey Says:
    October 28th, 2006 at 11:16 pm

    OK KIDS THIS GOES IN ALL CAPS. THERE WAS A RUMOR FROM A PRIVATE CONVERSATION WITH SEAN AND I WHICH WAS PRIVATE AND WAS THEN SENT TO SOME MEDIA OUTLETS. I WANT TO SAY THANKS TO THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK FROM MY VACTION AND HAD ME RESPOND TO EMAILS AND OTHER THINGS WHILE ATTENDING AN OUT OF STATE WEDDING. TO THOSE WHO THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO SPREAD THE RUMORS LETS SAY THERE MAYBE ONE WEEK LEFT BUT THE ==== CAN HIT THE FAN. I CAN NOT WAIT TO HEAR WHAT WAS SAID FROM OUR PRIVATE CONVERSATION AND WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND. I KNOW MOST THINK I AM SOME LAME ASS DUCK TAKING A DIVE FOR THE PARTY WELL F OFF YOU WANA BES AND THANKS ONCE MORE TAKING FROM A WEDDING WHICH WAS SUPPOSE TO BE A GREAT TIME.

16. Bill Simon Says:
    October 29th, 2006 at 3:27 pm

    Kevin,

    I do not know what you are talking about, but it appears you have a beef with Sean.

17. Kevin Bailey Says:
    October 29th, 2006 at 6:23 pm

    Bill,
    Sean and I spoke last week and had a short conversation in which some topics were tossed back and forth. I had brought up a personal family matter and in that time Sean asked me to concede and I mentioned I would bring it up in conversation since It would go against what i represented, for the District, in which time passed I spoke with my family and decided to let the election dictate the path in which we would let it affect our lives since it was a major event. I called and left Sean a message and it was a dead issue. Then I was on vacation out of town at a family wedding and rumors in the media and my camp said I had dropped out of the race. I had in no way told anyone I dropped out and it came clear where the rumor had come from and I made 2 calls to the Cherokee Gazette and the matter was handled. Bart had responded to a request from a Democrat, that the paper publish his letter and Bart responded that I had dropped out so it was a mute issue. I made the quick calls and responded to the emails on my cellphone and then called my spokes person to pass the word I never dropped out. I would never put my party in the position even after a monthly meeting of being left out of a decision in which would have left the Cherokee Democratic Party looking like cut and runners.

18. John Konop Says:
    October 29th, 2006 at 8:07 pm

    Kevin,

    Did Bart call you and ask if you dropped out?

19. Kevin Bailey Says:
    October 29th, 2006 at 8:12 pm

    John,

    The only person who contacted me was a member of the Cherokee Dems which sparked a range of calls. Bart has never spoken to me on the phone or person but had told people I had dropped out according to the emails. I called the Gazette and had the problem handled. I am so having to bite my tongue right now. I can forward you the copy of the emails I had sent while on my vacation.

20. John Konop Says:
    October 29th, 2006 at 8:18 pm

    Who sent e-mails saying you dropped out?

21. Kevin Bailey Says:
    October 30th, 2006 at 6:10 am

    The emails were sent by Bart to anyone who had emailed regarding the Gazette run a story on the campaign. I then had my party email me asking if I had dropped out since Bart had so and told the people everyone knew I had dropped out.

22. John Konop Says:
    October 30th, 2006 at 7:28 am

    Bart send out an e-mail that a candidate has pulled out of a race based on a rumor that he never varfied?

    That is interesting way to run a newspaper. I think that is a first.

23. Kevin Bailey Says:
    October 30th, 2006 at 7:01 pm

    Well what do you expect and like usual no one really cares, since it was not a rep on a rep.

24. Charley Levinson Says:
    October 31st, 2006 at 4:44 am

    On http://www.wehirealiens.com you will find a list of Georgia companies cited for hiring illegal immigrants. One of those companies is A.L. Grading, Inc. Anthony Wood, listed as an executive of said company, donated $1,000 to Karen Handel’s campaign. This according to reports available on the Georgia Ethics Commission website.

    Other instances may be lurking out there, but with dial-up, Internet research is not easy for me.

    Of greater interest may be a crosscheck between Handel’s donors and zoning activities in Fulton County. According to my sources, it is a typical GOP pay-for-play operation. Donate to the campaign, get results. I was unable to do the crosscheck myself, but the information is out there.

    Maybe Handel WAS paying Gail Buckner a compliment when she spoke of the latter’s self financing. Still, at this time of year, anything elephants say about donkeys, or vice versa, must be construed as an attack of some kind. It’s the nature of the beasts, and there must not be any shame in admitting it.

    I fully expect the litany of excuses for Handel to come forth. “It’s only one.” “She’s not responsible for the conduct of those who donate.” “The websites in question are liberal.” “Wood was only an executive, and may not be responsible for hiring practices.”

    Why not use the only one that matters; “It’s OK for Handel, because she’s a Republican.”

25. Kevin Bailey Says:
    October 31st, 2006 at 6:27 am

    Sean did the same thing and attacked Mary for attacking him after he took donations from builders. Sean took a donation from the builder who is building the 12,000 homes off Allatoona think anyone cares hell no cause he is a republican and no one cross checks but if I attack which I will then I will be the bad guy.

26. Bill Simon Says:
    October 31st, 2006 at 10:31 am

    Charley,

    Karen Handel is extremely honest. That I know from personal experience.

    Frankly (and, don’t take this personally), if all you can come up with is a “cross-checking” of donors who have been cited for a violation of “X”, and one (or 2, or, etc.) have given money to a campaign, that’s really not anything to use to judge someone for their candidacy.

    Hell, Roy Barnes took contributions from a bunch of people who didn’t pay their payroll taxes. I know because I did the research on him. SO WHAT? It was never used against him because you cannot police donors.

    If that’s all you got on Karen Handel, Charley, then you are exactly where you belong: in a party that relies more on hysterics than issues.

27. Kevin Bailey Says:
    October 31st, 2006 at 8:00 pm

    As you know I am running for House District 22 as a Dem and I have heard John Kerry’s remarks over and over. John offered no apology to the Troops or to any of the troops families or to any other people he offended. I back the troops and do not back John Kerry and I am ashamed for his remarks and wonder who else feels he crossed the lines. I will still run for office but as far as I am concerned if the party feels this way then I if elected, I am a public servant not a servant to the party. I in no way endorse John Kerry and do not see him as my leader.

28. Charley Levinson Says:
    November 1st, 2006 at 8:22 am

    Hysterical, Bill? You mistake. Where you TALK about your displeasure with Perdue’s land deals and his attempts to give eminent domain powers to private developers, I ACT. I act by opposing Perdue and his candidates, including Handel. Where you TALK about the DeLay/Abramoff/Reed pay-for-play system, I ACT, by supporting Steve Sinton for Congress.

    We can go back and forth with partisan charges and counter-charges. My firm conclusion, reached after much careful deliberation and thought is this: the pattern of Democratic corruption is far less destructive to society than Republican corruption patterns. Democrats cross ethical boundaries for personal gain (Clinton’s sex addiction, Charles Walker’s greed, etc.). Republicans cross ethical boundaries in a broad, systemic way (wars for Hallibuton, Abramoff & Co., land use manipulation, voter disenfranchisement, Enron, etc.)

    In this context, I have a difficult time with the concept of an ‘honest’ Republican. Even if Handel is as great a person as you say, it would be like diving after a dollar bill in a pit of raw sewage. It’s not worth it, and neither is she. The GOP as a party of conviction is dead, and for you to be fiercely loyal to that ideal reminds me of the Russian soldier guarding Lenin’s tomb after the Soviet collapse.

    I’m not being hysterical. You’re being used.

29. Bill Simon Says:
    November 1st, 2006 at 8:43 am

    Interesting analaysis, Charley. Just an interesting analysis regarding the group that the corruption hurts.

    I’m going to have to ponder that more.

30. Charley Levinson Says:
    November 1st, 2006 at 9:52 am

    Please do. Just bear in mind that for blue-collar America, the people who need that increase in the minimum wage, who need basic universal health care, who need protection from cheap overseas labor, who need better access to higher education, who need affordable housing and an effective transit system, the choice could not be more clear.

    The above is me, Bill. That is my world, my life, and my working-class brothers and sisters are to whom my loyalty lies.

    I HAVE to be a Democrat. If some must hate me for that, then so be it.

31. Bill Simon Says:
    November 1st, 2006 at 10:38 am

    Charley,

    You did used to be a Republican, though. Why were you that?

32. Josh Says:
    November 1st, 2006 at 4:58 pm

    Charlie,
    Have you looked at wehirealiens.com did you notice that anybody could post an entry on there? Did you notice that the US Marine Corp, The US postal Service, and the US Immigration Service are on there. We don;t you call Anthony Wood and have a conversation with him about his hiring practices.

    Typical GOP pay for play. How much did Barnes and the Dem’s raise when they were in power? Where did that money come from.

    Once again show me some proof, on either of your bull s… charges.

    If there is any credible proof, why didn’t Buckner release facts after her charges, why hasn’t she released anything yet. Seems like desperate bull s… from a desperate candidate. Who just put another $101k of her own money in.

33. Charley Levinson Says:
    November 2nd, 2006 at 10:26 am

    It was never ideological, Bill, and it probably showed at the time. My reasons were, in no particular order, these:

    Family connections. Two of my father’s best friends were former state Rep. Fred Aiken (who later went on to work for both Newt Gingrich and Bob Barr) and Babe Atkins, later Babe Atkins-Byrne (so you can imagine my feelings about the 2002 gubernatorial primary). As long as I was living in the old house, I felt bound by those connections. Moving changed a lot.

    Moderate Johnny Isakson. I felt that with Republicans like Isakson, there was a chance to change the party from within, make it less harsh on social issues, and more welcoming of diversity (not just racially). With gay marriage and immigration issues breaking down as they have, and Sen. Isakson’s rightward lurch, none of that is possible now.

    Randy Sauder. What Sauder did in 2000 was WRONG, and I make no apologies for helping defeat him (something I have shared openly with my Democratic colleagues, without any counter-argument from them). His machinations encapsulated the arrogance of Democratic power in Georgia, and their blind faith in government power for its’ own sake, rather that for the sake of the people. This led to my frienship with Ginger Collins, and my support of her 2000 and 2002 candidacies. Like Isakson, I felt Collins was ultimately a moderate Republican, committed to broadening the base and leaving the phobic elements behind. Here again, I was disappointed in due course.

    The promises failed to match the results. Tax cuts spurring economic growth became merely the agency for the widening gap between rich and poor, and for the resumption of unsustainable deficits. The war over Iraqi WMD’s became something else, and something else again, and the post-“Mission Accomplished” deaths mounted. Less government? Didn’t happen, did it?

    Hopefully, Bill, this answers your question.

    Josh, calling my posts bull…. is high praise from you indeed. From such an expert as yourself, the honor is greater than the words to express it. At least we know Gail Buckner isn’t being bought, right?

34. John Konop Says:
    November 2nd, 2006 at 9:36 pm

    Babe Atkins-Byrne is a great lady!!!!!!

35. Josh Says:
    November 2nd, 2006 at 9:58 pm

    Charlie,
    Once again, show me one vote that has “been bought”. Show me one valid example of a company that has hired illegal immigrants and supported Handel. the BS rhetoric is old, tired and desperate.