Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for April 17, 2014

The Trustees of the Georgia colony learned on April 17, 1737 that Spain had 4000 soliders and two warships in Havana, Cuba and was planning on invading Georgia or South Carolina. Thus began the rivalry between then-Spanish occupied Florida and Georgia. Floridians would have to wait until after the 1873 invention of blue jeans by Levi Strauss to develop their modern uniform of jean shorts.

On April 17, 1944, a fifteen-year old Martin Luther King, Jr., a junior at Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, traveled to Dublin, Georgia to give a speech in a contest sponsored by the local black Elks club. During the bus ride to Dublin, King and his teacher had to give up their seats to white riders and stand for much of the ride. King won the contest, delivering his oration, “The Negro and the Constitution.”

On April 17, 1950, the United States Supreme Court dismissed South v. Peters, a complaint against Georgia’s County Unit System of elections.

Each county is allotted a number of unit votes, ranging from six for the eight most populous counties, to two for most of the counties. The candidate who receives the highest popular vote in the county is awarded the appropriate number of unit votes. Appellants, residents of the most populous county in the State, contend that their votes and those of all other voters in that county have on the average but one-tenth the weight of those in the other counties. Urging that this amounts to an unconstitutional discrimination against them, appellants brought this suit to restrain adherence to the statute in the forthcoming Democratic Party primary for United States Senator, Governor and other state offices. The court below dismissed appellants’ petition. We affirm.

On April 17, 1964, the Ford Mustang debuted at the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York. The world has been a better, if somewhat louder, place ever since. To honor fifty years of the quintessential American car, Ford cut up a 2015 Mustang and reassembled it at the top of the Empire State Building.

Modern Georgia Politics

Jack Kingston drops new ad this morning

Transcript:

“On Georgia roads like this, I drove thousands of miles selling business insurance. I helped grow a small company into one that employed over 500 people.

“Hard work built our economy but today too many choose a hand out rather than a hand up.

“That’s why my plan requires able-bodied adults on welfare and food stamps to work for their benefits. It’s good for them and for taxpayers.

“I’m Jack Kingston and I approve this message.”

Pennington becomes cautionary tale

Four pro-tips arise from the disastrous press conference held by now further-marginalized candidate for Governor David Pennington.
You can watch video of the exchange here. I would embed it, but WSB videos start playing automatically when the page loads, and that’s annoying.

Jim Galloway sets the stage, describing the announcement:

Former Dalton Mayor David Pennington’s “major announcement” turned into one of the most bizarre events of the campaign season. It featured a hand-lettered sign, a few rather confused reporters, snickering Gov. Nathan Deal staffers and a made-for-TV interruption from the governor’s attorney.

Deal attorney Randy Evans actually spoke longer than Pennington (and that hand-drawn sign challenging Deal to a debate was at his side for part of it.) Here’s how it unfolded.

Pennington, surrounded by a gaggle of reporters and TV camera crews, stood just outside Deal’s second-floor statehouse office to challenge Deal to meet him for a debate or drop out of the race. He said Deal is so “poisoning the well” for state Republicans that Democrat Jason Carter could pull out a victory.

One reporter asked the tea party candidate what, exactly, his major announcement was. Pennington said he would leave a formal invitation to Deal to attend the upcoming debates and urged the governor to pack it in if he didn’t.

Evans, standing on the sidelines, jumped in to challenge Pennington to unseal federal court records related to a potential bankruptcy of a company he once ran. And he asked the former mayor whether he would release tax returns, which prompted Pennington to eventually agree to disclose five years’ worth.

The attorney then took the podium after reporters exhausted their questions for Pennington.

First is a lesson learned by General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg – it is much more difficult to attack the other side on their own territory, especially if you are out-gunned.

ohn Buford and his few hundred Union cavalry men arrived early and secured the high ground at Gettysburg. Through the advantage of their elevated position, they were able to successfully hold off superior forces.

When you go against a sitting Governor using the Capitol as a venue, you have ceded the high ground. When Randy Evans shows up for the other side, you are almost certainly out-gunned.

Second, plan your work and work your plan without getting distracted by the other side. Pennington loses control of the press conference the moment he recognizes Randy Evans. If it’s your event, there’s no reason to give up control or allow your opponent to take the podium.

Third, 24 hours notice gives the other side time to plan a counter and execute it.

Fourth, visual aids can help or hurt the point you’re trying to make. There is a time and place for hand-lettered signs, and that’s usually in the crowd showing organic grassroots support. This should be encouraged. But as visual aids in a press conference, they can look amateur. The same information, profesionally printed, mounted, and on a stand might have helped make your point visually.

Fifth, the super-secret, high-profile press conference for a challenger in the single digits might work one time, but it won’t work again. Without the spectacle of a lawyer challenging the press conference, this might have been productive – next time you try this, the only reason any press might show up is in hope of a repeat of the confrontation; otherwise they’ll have a hard time taking it seriously.

Meanwhile, Governor Deal was in Macon, congratulating the Mercer Bears basketball team on their performance in the NCAA tournament.

Deal’s campaign has also released a new ad called “One” and put a million dollars worth of television time behind it.

It’s a good commercial for this time, setting a positive tone and discussing economic development and job creation. But how much more awesome would it have been with this background music?