Political Vine: The Insider's Source on Georgia Politics

Rumors have it that there is a developing “list” out there of pro-TSPLOST candidates running for political office that PV’s taking a keen interest in. Why? Because, if you’re running as a “Republican” and you are for a “tax hike,” no matter what you claim, you are not a “conservative.” AND…since we have this trivial […]

To: Mr. Sam Olens, Attorney General So, Mr. Olens, we’re kinda, sorta puzzled about what it is you think your role is as Attorney General of Georgia, and how you actually promulgate your duties in real life: 1) You bring forth new legislation that causes news organizations up and down this state to swoon and […]

MEMORANDUM To: Mr. Sam Olens, Attorney General Sir, you are familiar with the Georgia Constitution, correct? The one you swore an oath to uphold when you became a licensed attorney in Georgia? Specifically, we’d like to point you to this section: Article 1, Section 1, Paragraph X states the following: “No bill of attainder, ex […]

Rumors have it that while Attorney General Sam Olens and State Representative Jay Powell have been touting HB 397 as “The Sunshine Bill” designed to provide more “transparency” to state, county and local governments, in fact, it is making it more challenging to access information by way of throwing-up financial barriers to make it more […]

The Basics of State Tax Dollars Which costs more, a dollar of private money or a dollar of state government tax money? While this question may provoke you to think of an age-old question like “Which weighs more, a pound of gold or a pound of chocolate?”, and subsequently you jump to the conclusion that […]

Rumors have it that a multi-agent special investigative squad assembled by the FBI in August 2011 is here in Georgia because of a certain straw that was laid on the camel’s back in June 2011 at the Georgia State Ethics Commission, and broke it. First published by Jim Walls over at Atlanta Unfiltered tonight, Walls […]

Rumors have it that Senator Cecil Staton is growing a bigger pair of cojones (pronounced ka-hon-ees) these days. So much so that he has taken it upon himself to invoke his title “State Senator” when he solicits new business for advertising on his radio station business. One such incident happened several weeks ago when he […]

Rumors have it that House Speaker David Ralston has officially flown over the Cuckoo’s Nest…and, apparently, is intent on dragging the entire state house with him. PV Provides A Little Background: The oft-discussed T-SPLOST coming-up in 2012 had its beginnings in a vote on HB 277 in April 2010. Bill Evelyn of the State of […]

HD 43-Brian Laurens vs. Geraldine Wade In a previous PV, we described an incident regarding Brian Laurens of the Robert Lamutt Campaign and Geraldine Wade, who was a candidate for the HD-43 Special Election. That election has come and gone, and Wade, while receiving an impressive 22.2% for her first time out with a pure […]

Rumors have it that a robo-call phone poll was conducted on September 15, 2011 that resulted in 356 voters responding to questions regarding how they felt about the upcoming September 20 Special Election….and Legend-in-His-Own-Mind Candidate Robert Lamutt is not in first place. The poll was conducted by Insider Advantage/Rosetta Stone Communications and results are due […]

For the 2012 RATS vote, the misinformation war has begun…and, to no surprise to anyone, the misinformation comes from the “pro” side. What is “RATS?” RATS stands for Regional Atlanta Transportation SPLOST. It’s that 1% sales tax addition to 10 metro-Atlanta counties’ existing total sales tax. (If this “RATS” concept sounds familiar, a few months […]

From Jim Galloway’s Political Insider column: When newly re-elected state GOP chairman Sue Everhart arrived home from an out-of-town trip on Wednesday, she found a sizeable bouquet of flowers on her porch. There was a card attached, which read: “I couldn’t beat Nathan Deal, but you did.” It was signed, “Your friend, Roy.” Democrat Roy […]