Americans for Prosperity Defending the Dream 2013

This weekend I attended the AFP Defending the Dream and RightOnline conferences in Orlando and will be discussing them a little bit this week.

I’d say the best-received of the politicians who spoke in the main sessions was Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). Here’s an excerpt of the section of his speech dealing with defunding ObamaCare.

This Saturday, AFP Georgia will hold their 2013 Metro Atlanta Georgia Freedom Conference including sessions on Surviving Obamacare and Fighting Common Core. I’ll be attending at least part of the conference and hope you can make it too.

What I learned about Facebook at RightOnline

For me, the best of the breakout sessions was called “Building Your Clout: Upping Your Social Media Impact,” and featured speakers from Facebook and a digital political consulting firm.

Facebook had some nifty giveaways, and I grabbed a set for a lucky reader. Simply “Like” Doug Everett’s PSC reelection page on Facebook and I’ll send the goodies to one person from that page on Friday.

Here are two interesting facts I learned about social media this weekend.

First, Facebook now has more users on mobile devices than on desktops. So if Facebook is important to your business, organizations, or campaign, give some thought to how mobile users are experiencing your page, posts, and videos, and make sure it’s useful for mobile users too.

Second, on Facebook, only a percentages of your friends and followers will see any given post. This doesn’t mean that the answer is to triple the amount you post on Facebook. Rather, understand that how many of your posts your friends and followers will see depends on the level of interaction they have with your posts. The more people like or comment on your posts, the more likely they are to be seen by more people. And when someone interacts with you on Facebook, by commenting on a post, for instance, the more likely that individual is to see your posts.

From this perspective, is appears that the most interesting thing I do on Facebook is eating at The Varsity.

Georgia Pols may change fundraising rules

Leadership in both the State Senate and House indicated they may be open to changing the rules on campaign fundraising while the legislature is in session. The impetus for changing the ban on session-fundraising comes from the prospective shift of primary elections to May 20, closer to the session than ever before. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, said he expects nearly unanimous support from lawmakers for moving the state primaries up to May 20, too. And he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he supported “having a vigorous discussion” about the ban because, with the changes to the elections calendar, “the whole landscape changes.”

State law says no elected state official — including legislators, the governor and others who face statewide election — may raise money while the General Assembly is in session starting in January. That includes legislators running for Congress.

In normal years, that has led to a rush of fundraising by incumbents immediately before and immediately after the session, which lasts up to 40 non-consecutive days. Moving state primaries from July to May 20 would severely limit incumbents’ time to solicit contributions.

Ralston would not rule out also extending the ban on fundraising to challengers.

“There’s a fairness argument there,” he said. “I’m not prepared to say I support it, but it looks different under the primary calendar.”

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who presides over the Senate, framed the anticipated discussion as a way to improve Georgia’s ethics laws and strengthen public trust in government.

Senate President Pro Tem David Shafer, R-Duluth, called the ban “sound public policy,” and said “all candidates, whether they are incumbents or not, would benefit from a ‘cooling off period’ during which the focus is on issues, ideas and talking directly with voters, not endless fundraising.”

Contrary to what the writers of the AJC article state, the state ban on legislators raising funds to run for federal office does not in fact limit the ability of state legislators to raise money for a federal campaign while the General Assembly is in session. A 1996 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that state law could not ban fundraising for a federal campaign because federal law preempts state law.

Some qualified to run for office, others not so much

One of the most interesting campaign qualifications last week was Mary Norwood qualifying to run for City Council. In 2009, Norwood ran against Kasim Reed for Mayor of Atlanta and lost the runoff by 700 votes; now her sights are on incumbent City Council member Aaron Watson in Post 2, which is elected at-large.

It will be interesting to see if and how Norwood’s appointment by the Fulton County Republican Party to the county elections board is framed by both Norwood and her opponent.

Pablo Picazo was booted from the ballot after he failed to collect enough signatures to turn in with his Pauper’s Affidavit, which if accepted would have allowed him to qualify for Gainesville City Council without paying the usual fee. From the Gainesville Times.

Pablo Picazo, a student, filed to run for Ward 1 as a pauper, meaning he needed 110 signatures from qualified and registered voters in the city. He got 146 signatures, but Hall County Elections Director Charlotte Sosebee said only 65 could be verified.

Pro-tip: if you’re collecting signatures to get yourself or a referendum on the ballot, aim for at least twice as many signatures as are required. Historically, large numbers of signatures collected for candidacies and ballot measures are found invalid by the local elections offices, which must verify that each accepted signature represents a qualified voter in the district in question, as well as that some other paperwork rules were followed. Even if Pablo Picaso had gotten twice as many as needed here, he would have fallen short, as less than 45% of his signatures were accepted as valid.

Also filed under pro-tips: generally speaking, you have to actually live and be registered to vote in the district you seek to represent, unless you’re running for United States Congress. From the same Gainesville Times article:

Albert Reeves did not qualify for Ward 4 because the Elections Office determined he was not a registered and qualified voter in the city of Gainesville, something required under the city charter.

Dems elect DuBose Porter as state party Chair

The Democratic Party of Georgia elected this weekend former State Rep. and failed 2010 Gubernatorial candidate DuBose Porter as their new state party chair. In the State House, Porter introduced legislation to return the 1956 Georgia flag, featuring the Confederate flag prominently, over the State Capitol twice each year, and voted twice to ban gay marriage in Georgia. Neither of those facts appear to have been touted during his candidacy for Chair.

Tea Party at the Georgia State Capitol today

This morning at 9:30, leaders of Tea Party Patriots are holding an Exempt America from Obamacare rally and press conference at the Gold Dome. Among the speakers will be ea Party Patriots founder Jenny Beth Martin, Media Research Center’s Brent Bozell, Atlanta Tea Party Co-Chair Debbie Dooley, and Atlanta Tea Party Co-Chair and Georgia Republican Assembly President Julianne Thompson.

ATLANTA (July 30, 2013) – Senate President Pro Tempore David Shafer (R – Duluth) today released the following statement supporting the emergency appeal by Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens to delay the implementation of massive Obamacare health insurance rate increases.

“Notwithstanding the President’s many assurances to the contrary, I have always suspected that Obamacare would lead to higher health insurance rates.  But the rate increases pending before the Georgia Insurance Department are absolutely staggering in magnitude.”Continue Reading..

ATLANTA (July 2, 2013) – The swearing-in ceremony for new Secretary of the Senate David Cook will be held TODAY at 4:00 p.m. in the Senate Chamber at the Georgia State Capitol. Cook was appointed in early May to the position by Senate President Pro Tempore David Shafer (R – Duluth) after an extensive search process and succeeds the now-retired Bob Ewing.

Please contact the Senate Press Office regarding interview opportunities.

WHO:           David Cook

WHAT:         Swearing-In Ceremony

WHEN:        Tuesday, July 2, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.

WHERE:     Senate Chamber, Georgia State Capitol, 206 Washington Street S.W., Atlanta, GA

A poll conducted this weekend by GaPundit.com shows that voters approve of Governor Deal’s handling of job growth by a better than 3-1 margin.

Asked “Do you approve or disapprove of the job Governor Nathan Deal is doing in bringing new jobs to Georgia?” 60.1 percent of past Republican Primary voters answered affirmatively, while 18.6 do not approve of Deal’s performance and 21.3 percent are undecided.

A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling in December and November of 2012 showed self-identified Republicans giving Deal a job performance approval/disapproval rating of 58/20, with 23% not sure.

Last week, Fox5Atlanta noted a poll showing Governor Deal with a 55-29 approval/disapproval rating in another poll.

InsiderAdvantage/FOX 5 political analyst Matt Towery said the poll results weren’t surprising.

Towery said that the results suggest that Deal would be a strong candidate if he chooses to run for a second term next year.

“At this point I would say that Gov. Deal is about as popular as a governor in this region of the nation can get. We used to require approval of 50 percent to say a governor was in good shape for reelection, but that bar moved several years ago to around 45 percent, so Gov. Deal is sitting pretty as of now,” Towery said.

A poll commissioned by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and released two weeks ago showed Deal with a 51% “favorable approval rating” among all voters, but did not meet the minimal requirements for disclosure of a poll under industry and academic standards.

Click here for a copy of the script and research methodology.

Rumor has it that former lobbyist Maria Strollo Zack is considering running for State Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, joining B.J. VanGundy in the race.

In 2012, she ran the Newt Gingrich presidential campaign in Georgia, where Gingrich won his former home state.

Strollo Zack ran for Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party in 2001, coming in third against eventual winner Ralph Reed and now-Senate President Pro Tem David Shafer.

Strollo Zack also came in third in 2002, when she ran against then-State Representative Renee Unterman, who won the runoff and fellow lobbyist Joyce Stevens for Georgia Senate District 48.

Save the Dates: 2013 GAGOP Convention Cycle

The Georgia Republican Party is gearing up for the 2013 Convention Cycle!. If you want to be a delegate to the county convention, you must be elected at the precinct meeting. The district and state delegates are elected at the county convention. Please review the dates below, and mark them in your calendar!

Precinct Mass Meetings: Saturday, February 9th, 2013
County Conventions: Saturday, March 9th, 2013
District Conventions: Saturday, April 20th, 2013
GAGOP State Convention (Athens, GA): May 17th – 18th, 2013

Convention Process Information

In a four-year cycle there are three conventions. In the odd years, conventions are held to elect leadership from the precinct to the state party officials.

In the Presidential even years, conventions are held from the precinct to the national level to elect national delegates and the National Committeeman and Committeewoman from GA (to serve four year terms) to represent us in establishing and maintaining district policy in our platform. The GA National Committeeman and Committeewoman serve Georgia Republicans at the Republican National Committee (RNC).

During the other even years, such as 2006 and 2010, there were no conventions. Contact the Georgia Republican Party Headquarters (404) 257-5559 or www.GAGOP.org for more information.

The State Committee establishes the dates for the Precinct (February), County (March), District (April) and State (May) Meetings. Information in the yellow table below is intended to provide a summary of the events. The Call for these meetings is sent to each County and District Chairman. These Chairmen select the location for meetings.  Please contact your county chairman for more details.

Via Greater Gwinnett Republican Women

Biscuit (black-and-tan) and Mayflower (yellow) are lab-hound mix puppies who are approximately 3-4 months old and weigh about 15 pounds each; the littermates are available for adoption from Walton County Animal Control.

June is a happy , beautiful, adorable, playful, very affectionate lab mixed puppy, who is about 3 months old and weighs around 8 lbs; she is available for adoption from the Savannah Chatham Animal Control.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns & Elections

Because GeorgiaDailyDigest.com and GeorgiaPoliticalDigest.com have shut their doors, we’ve started GaNewsDigest.com to provide a wider variety of links to news stories about Georgia politics, business & economy, education and energy issues. The site is updated through the day.

On Friday, Governor Nathan Deal announced that he decided against setting up a state healthcare exchange under Obamacare.

“I remain committed to common sense health care solutions that empower consumers to take responsibility for their own health, motivate the private sector and drive efficiencies for consumers, employers and governments alike,” Deal said. “I continue to hope that we might finally engage in a serious conversation about restoring meaningful flexibility to states around health care programs.”

Deal said the federal government needs to loosen regulations that restrict states’ options.

“We have no interest in spending our tax dollars on an exchange that is state-based in name only,” Deal said. “I would support a free market-based approach that could serve as a useful tool for Georgia’s small businesses, but federal guidelines forbid that. Instead, restrictions on what the exchanges can and can’t offer render meaningless the suggestion that Georgia could tailor an exchange that best fits the unique needs of its population.

“I have joined numerous other governors seeking guidance from the federal government on establishing exchanges. We’ve yet to receive serious answers to our questions. I will not commit Georgia taxpayers to a project with so many unknowns.”

State Senator Vincent Fort (D) doesn’t like anything ever done by any Republican anywhere  Governor Deal’s decision.

“I bet this crowd, when the feds set up the health care exchanges, are going to howl about that,” Fort said.

Fort also said that putting uninsured people in the Medicaid program would decrease the costs that insured patients pay to cover the bills of those who need medical care but lack insurance to pay for it.

“It’s unfortunate that the governor’s chosen to put politics over the need of Georgians,” Fort said.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a feature on the long, strange trip that is Glenn Richardson’s political career. The story is worth reading in its entirety.

In Senate District 30, where Richardson failed to make the December 4th Runoff, State Rep. Bill Hembree will meet Carrollton businessman Mike Dugan, and it’s a jump ball.

Hembree led the four-candidate field in all three counties of Carroll, Douglas and Paulding, which comprise District 30. He led Carroll with 12,173 votes, topping two Carroll County candidates — Dugan, with 9,703 votes, and business consultant Jim Naughton, who had 5,091 votes. Former Georgia Secretary of State Glenn Richardson of Hiram finished a distant fourth in Carroll County with 3,627 votes.

In the total district vote, Hembree got 27,565 votes; Dugan, 13,843; Richardson, 8,467; and Naughton, 7,043.

Hembree believes the upcoming advance voting will be important to his chances of winning — he said his campaign determined that he received roughly 15,000 votes during the general election’s early voting cycle. That would account for more votes than he received on Election Day.

“We received more in advance voting than we did on election day,” Hembree said. “With 15,000 voting for me early, if we can get that same type of commitment we feel like that is a real positive step for us.”

In 2011, a pair of Senate special elections held in November went into December runoff elections; in SD 28, Duke Blackburn led the first balloting but was overtaken by now-Senator Mike Crane in the runoff and in SD 50, former State Rep. Rick Austin led the first election but lost the runoff to Senator John Wilkinson. There was some spillover in those elections from the leadership battles in the State Senate that may be absent this year, but those examples should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone finding himself or herself in a December runoff.

Here’s what I told the Carrollton Times-Georgian:

“I could go on all day with examples [of December runoffs that reversed earlier results],” said Todd Rehm. “That said, Bill Hembree still has to be considered the leader in the runoff for SD 30. Hembree’s experience and ability to fundraise, along with the fact that Hembree carried Carroll County, make it his race to lose. But if there’s a lesson for candidates who come in first in November elections and head for a runoff it’s that they can’t afford to take anything for granted and Bill Hembree should be doing everything possible to ensure his victory.

“And remember, there’s yet another election in January.”

Speaking of Senate leadership, here’s an interesting inside tidbit: Senator Renee Unterman (R-Buford) punched above her weight at the Swamp Showdown in Little Ocmulgee State Park, where the Senate Republican Caucus elections were held last week.

Renee Unterman, another powerful senator from the Gwinnett delegation, said she was honored to nominate and second Shafer for the position [of President Pro Tem], during a meeting at Little Ocmulgee State Park. She had 19 proxies from the Reform Caucus to support her colleague.

“Our Reform Caucus is committed to uniting fellow senators with the lieutenant governor restoring order, transparency, and ethics to the Georgia State Senate,” she said of the group.

The appointment is a coup for the county, she said.

“Gwinnett’s prominence continues to rise with the state’s legislative leadership, as our delegation leads both in the Senate and the House,” she said. “Sen. Shafer is a shinning example of our talent in Gwinnett County.”

So, including her own vote, Unterman was voting for an absolute majority of the Republican Caucus.

Walter C. Jones of the Morris News Service writes about what changes in Senate leadership may mean for the state.

The leaders legislators picked says a lot about them and the coming two-year term of the General Assembly.

House Republicans made no changes. Most observers figure they didn’t need any. They had success on Election Day, during the last session passing major legislation and in negotiating contentious bills like the budget and tax reform with the Senate and the governor.

His loss continues the concentration of power in North Georgia. With the exception of mid-state residents House Majority Leader Larry O’Neal of Bonaire and Senate Majority Whip Cecil Staton of Macon, the leaders reside upstate.

The Senate Republicans did make changes to their leaders.

Winning the nomination for president pro tem was David Shafer of Duluth. Other winners are Ronnie Chance of Tyrone as majority leader and Butch Miller of Gainesville as caucus chairman.

Consider how their elections consolidate power. Shafer has been a long-time ally of Cagle, who’s from Hall County like Miller and Gov. Nathan Deal. Chance has been Deal’s Senate floor leader.

Having the bulk of the legislative leadership living close enough together to carpool to the Capitol could mean favoritism toward the region they all call home. But remember that two of Deal’s top projects are the deepening of the ship channel in the Savannah River and investing enough in Georgia Regents University in Augusta to make it one of the country’s premier medical schools.

At the very least, it suggests there will be close cooperation. It may not seem possible to exceed last year when Deal’s signature legislation, criminal-justice reform, passed unanimously and his HOPE reforms nearly did the year before. But other bills ran into less harmony, and Deal and Ralston reportedly held off on more ambitious legislation out of fear of discord, mainly in the Senate.

Now, a new combination of leaders will give their full attention to legislation. And as Shelton said, “Any organization is a reflection of its leadership.”

The image in the reflection is coming into focus, and it looks a lot like a soft-spoken grandfather, Nathan Deal.

Given Governor Deal’s leadership in bringing jobs to Georgia, and his respectful approach to working with the legislature, this bodes well for our state.

State Senate Democrats will meet today to elect their leadership.

Welcome to the 2013 season of Georgia Republican Party elections! I’ve already received a piece of direct mail from John Padgett, who is running for First Vice Chair. Here’s my two cents: if you want my vote, you have to ask me for it personally. The pool of eventual voters for Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party is small enough that you can identify frequent flyers from past convention cycles and start calling them personally.

The first rule I tell anyone running for office is that the best way to earn someone’s vote is to ask them for it personally; everything else, all mass media, are second-best ways of dealing with the fact that in most elections above the level of State House, you won’t be able to reach every voter personally. This is the most fundamental rule of winning elections.

Unfortunately, the last few cycles have seen GAGOP elections take on the aspects of large-scale media-driven campaigns featuring direct mail, robocalls, websites, and mass emails. But it doesn’t speak well of your promise to be the “Grassroots” candidate if you don’t personally contact the actual voters who make up the grassroots, tell them about yourself, and ask personally for their vote.

If you want a truly grassroots-drive Georgia Republican Party, join me in declining to vote for anyone who does not ask personally for your vote.

Speaker David Ralston will address the Nov. 28 breakfast of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce Marietta Chapter.

The Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials has notified the Gainesville City Council that it objects to the at-large districts in which council members are elected.

“At-large voting processes have been undone by litigation in many jurisdictions across the county,” said Jerry Gonzalez, GALEO’s executive director. “We believe the city of Gainesville is not in compliance with the Voting Rights Act and we want to work to eliminate the at-large voting process with the City Council cooperatively.”

File under bad headline writing: “Gov. Deal to pay fees in failed ethics complaint” states the headline in the Rome News-Tribune, which might sound like Governor Deal was being fined for an ethics complaint filed against him. But the story is about the State Ethics Commission deciding against making Rome-based ethics gadfly George Anderson pay the legal fees incurred by Deal’s campaign to defend against a frivolous ethics complaint that was dismissed.

The Government Transparency Commission voted 3-1 on Friday against making Anderson pay a portion of the legal fees that Deal spent to address complaints from Anderson….

Anderson apologized for some of the language used in his complaints. But he said it’s unfair to ask citizens to pay for lawyer fees when their complaints against public officials are rejected.

The executive director of Georgia Common Cause, William Perry, said his group was concerned that forcing citizens to pay would discourage others from filing complaints.

File this one under “please don’t give the General Assembly any ideas.”

Moonshine distillers are making their first batches of legal liquor in this tiny Georgia town’s city hall, not far from the mountains and the maroon, orange and gold canopy of trees that once hid bootleggers from the law.

A handful of moonshine distilleries are scattered around the South, but observers say this is the first they’ve ever seen right in a city hall. The distilleries come amid an increased interest in the U.S. for locally made specialty spirits and beer brewed in homes and micro-breweries.

The Dawsonville moonshine makers and city officials say the operation helps preserve a way of life. It also carries on traditions of an era when moonshine meant extra income for farmers, medicine for their children and helped fuel the beginnings of NASCAR racing.

“Dawson County was, sure enough, the moonshine capital of the world at one time,” distiller Dwight Bearden said, as he checked on the still where the third batch of Dawsonville Moonshine was being prepared. “It was just a way of life back then.”

Last week, the distillery was delivering the second batch of moonshine it’s made to its distributor, which has orders from liquor stores and other businesses around the state. Georgia law prohibits the distillery from selling its liquor at the site, but allows a distributor to ship it to stores with a liquor license, where it can be sold legally.

Wood recently got approval from state officials to offer small samples for tourists to taste.

State Rep. Rusty Kidd of Milledgeville, who introduced that bill during the most recent session, said Thursday he believes there will be more legislation during the upcoming session that would allow the Dawsonville distillery and others in the state to sell a single bottle of moonshine to tourists who want to take one home.

Locally made and locally grown products are a key aspect of the business, she said. A batch of apples fermenting last week came from the north Georgia town of Ellijay, about 30 miles away, she said.

The local movement has been a successful one in north Georgia, where several vineyards dot the mountain landscape and offer tastings of wines made with locally grown grapes. In Blue Ridge, at least one apple orchard brews and bottles its own apple and peach ciders.

Corn used by the distillery is also grown locally, and the distillery sticks to authentic recipes and doesn’t use any sugar, Wood said.

“This ain’t sugar liquor,” she said, “this is the real deal.”

From today’s Gwinnett Daily Post:

In case you missed the news last week, Gwinnett Sen. David Shafer was picked by the GOP to serve as the president pro tem of the Georgia Senate.

(Officially, the vote will take place when the session begins in January, but because the Republicans have such strong control of the chamber, the party gets the pick.)

Shafer, who represents Duluth, will become the 68th president pro tempore in the history of Georgia. The president pro tem chairs the Senate Administrative Affairs Committee, which is responsible for operations of the Senate, and is charged with speaking on behalf of the entire Senate, a press release said. He also assumes the duties of the lieutenant governor in his absence.

Renee Unterman, another powerful senator from the Gwinnett delegation, said she was honored to nominate and second Shafer for the position, during a meeting at Little Ocmulgee State Park. She had 19 proxies from the Reform Caucus to support her colleague.

“Our Reform Caucus is committed to uniting fellow senators with the lieutenant governor restoring order, transparency, and ethics to the Georgia State Senate,” she said of the group.

The appointment is a coup for the county, she said.

“Gwinnett’s prominence continues to rise with the state’s legislative leadership, as our delegation leads both in the Senate and the House,” she said. “Sen. Shafer is a shinning example of our talent in Gwinnett County.”

Shafer Elected President Pro Tempore by Georgia Senate Republican Caucus

ATLANTA (November 15, 2012) – Senator David Shafer (R-Duluth) has been elected by the Senate Republican Caucus to serve as the next president pro tempore of the Georgia State Senate, effective with the start of the 152^nd Legislative Session of the Georgia General Assembly. The Senate Republican Caucus held leadership elections today during a retreat at Little Ocmulgee State Park, where they will also adopt caucus rules and proposed Senate rules for the upcoming legislative session.

“I am humbled by the support shown by my Senate colleagues in today’s election,” said Senator Shafer. “With the upcoming legislative session less than two months away and with several critical issues needing immediate attention, it is imperative that we begin work now.”

“I congratulate Senator David Shafer on being nominated by the Republican Caucus for President Pro Tempore and have great confidence in his leadership and his ability to work together with our colleagues to advance the commonsense conservative agenda that will encourage private sector job growth, strengthen education, and work to address the concerns of our common constituents,” said Lt. Governor Casey Cagle.  “This is a united team and together we will do great things for Georgia.”

Senator Shafer will become the 68^th president pro tempore in the history of Georgia, the Senate’s second-highest ranking position after the lieutenant governor.  The president pro tem chairs the Senate Administrative Affairs Committee, which is responsible for operations of the Senate, and is charged with speaking on behalf of the entire Senate. He also assumes the duties of the lieutenant governor in his absence.

Senator Shafer most recently served as chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee, vice chairman of the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee, and as a member of the Senate Finance, Government Oversight and Rules Committees. He also served as an ex-officio member of the Health and Human Services Committee.

The 152nd Legislative Session of the Georgia General Assembly will convene January 14, 2013 at the Georgia State Capitol. At that time, the entire Senate will cast a formal vote for president pro tempore.

Chance Elected Majority Leader by the Georgia Senate Republican Caucus

From Jim Galloway’s Political Insider:

“The fact that Cagle’s name was included in the press release may be more important than what the lieutenant governor said. The breach with Senate leadership has been that wide – to the point that Gov. Nathan Deal was quietly drawn into the machinations that resulted in Thursday’s vote.”

“The fight for control of the Senate has disrupted the first two years of Deal’s governorship, and threatened a third.”

“New faces emerged in the counter-coup, which could portend new spheres of influence when the Legislature convenes in January. Renee Unterman of Buford, whose district abuts Shafer’s, was a key force in gathering up votes for the new leader. Josh McKoon of Columbus – whose push for a cap on gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers has made him unpopular in many quarters of the state Capitol – served as parliamentary strategist during the Ocmulgee takeover.”