Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 27, 2015

Advertising in the rights of way of state roads and placing signs on private property without the owner’s approval were prohibited in the first Georgia law regulating outdoor advertising, which was signed by Governor Richard Russell on August 27, 1931. Over the years, both practices would become enshrined in Peach State political strategy.

Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox was nominated for President on the American Independent Party ticket on August 27, 1976, making the race probably the only one to ever feature two former Georgia governors. During the campaign, Maddox described Jimmy Carter as “the most dishonest man I ever met.”

On August 27, 1982, Oakland Athletics outfielder Rickey Henderson broke the record for stolen bases in a season, nabbing number 119 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Georgia Governor Zell Miller addressed the Democratic National Convention on August 27, 1996. In 2004, Miller would address the Republican National Convention, likely becoming the first Georgian to address both major parties’ national conventions. Congressman John Lewis and Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney also addressed the ’96 DNC.

I can’t find video of Miller’s 1996 speech anywhere. So here’s his 2004 speech to the RNC.

On August 27, 2008, Barack Obama became the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, the first African-American nominee of a major United States political party.

Anita Perry in Atlanta

Former Texas First Lady Anita Perry will appear at a Meet and Greet at Ginger Howard Selections, located at 3164 Peachtree Rd, Atlanta, GA 30305 at 5:30 PM tonight.

As it happens, Ginger Howard’s shop is just a couple of doors down from the White House Restaurant. Perhaps a good sign?

Georgia Politics

After being sworn in by Gov. Nathan Deal yesterday, the Georgia Medical Cannabis Commission met and discussed Peach State cultivation of marijuana and processing and distribution of oil to medical patients. From Maggie Lee at the Macon Telegraph,

“There is a good, effective business model for what Georgia allows now,” said state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, just after a Wednesday hearing of the Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis.

[W]hat Peake and other committee members want to do is figure out if and how Georgia can germinate an in-state industry that will grow specially bred cannabis and process it into a no-buzz medicine for a limited customer base.

Such liquid already is legal to possess under state law for the nearly 200 Georgians who have a medical marijuana card for any one of eight diagnoses. But growing cannabis, much less making anything out of it, is still illegal under state and federal law. Patients either pick up their medicine in a state like Colorado where it is legal to manufacture, or they rely on an out-of-state company to send it. That kind of interstate transport of a cannabis compound is a legal gray area at best.

[T]here is still a national cannabis prohibition, with only the tiniest exceptions for some hemp products. That fact is important to GBI Director Vernon Keenan, who sits on the panel. The Obama administration has decided to close its eyes to state-legal, tightly regulated medical marijuana programs. But a future president might be of a different mind, he said.

“I think this has to be resolved at the federal level,” Keenan said.

The state ought to approach medical cannabis guardedly, he said.

“This is getting outside of the scope of the (Food and Drug Administration) and the medical community,” he said. “To me that is very problematic.”

In Effingham County, a controversy over the local high school mascot and accompanying accessories continues.

The Effingham NAACP remains committed to removing the vestiges of the Confederacy from Effingham County High School, the group’s president said.

“This is far from over and we are not going quietly in the night!” Leroy Lloyd said in a news release. “Parents are outraged and may pull their children from band and the playing fields.”

Lloyd was responding to a statement released Tuesday by Superintendent Randy Shearouse, which said the school will continue to use the nickname “Rebels.”

Johnson said the fight is “about the failure of the school system to engage parents, listen to the community and to put the common good over allegiance to a heritage of hate.”

Lloyd said an “anti-diversity climate” is “pervasive.”

“Superintendent Shearouse is desperately trying to nip this in the bud because what he describes as a system where every student is successful is as untruthful as his attempt to reconcile the Confederate swastika and the racist tune ‘Dixie’ with a heritage of pride,” Lloyd said.

The Political Consultant Apprentice

The AJC Political Insider reports that Donald Trump is shopping for Georgia-based political consultants to help his Presidential campaign.

Buy the ticket, take the ride.

Erstwhile kingmakers who wish to audition might make their way to Greenville, South Carolina, where Trump is set to speak to the Upstate Chamber Coalition at noon. The bad news is if you’re not already standing in line with a ticket in hand, you might not make it through the door.

Folks started lining up about 8 a.m. to get in the door. For video of the line, click here.

The event is sold out with about 1,400 people preregistered and about 100 media personnel expected.

WYFF 4 will stream his speech live on WYFF4.com and the WYFF 4 app.

A recent Monmouth University poll shows Trump has 30 percent of South Carolina Republicans support. In second place, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson with 15 percent. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has 4 percent.

The Greenville Chamber website said registration to the event was closed due to maximum capacity.

Here are my thoughts on Donald Trump. The fear of some Republicans is that Trump is a loose cannon, but loose cannons tend to do their damage and then end up on the sea floor. If Trump doesn’t rein in his statements and actions, he may well take himself out of the race without GOP insiders or operatives having to show him the door. He may also make the decision that he doesn’t want to actually serve as President, which might not be as fun as waking up super-rich on any given Thursday.

But he may also learn the ropes and become a formidable candidate for President. Think dialing down the showman and dialing up the statesman. He enters the race with the star power and money that most candidates, certainly everyone in the current GOP field, can only dream of. In that case he might revolutionize politics the way some of his supporters expect him to.

Even if he doesn’t become the nominee, a Donald Trump who is committed to the election of a Republican President could be a great asset. If he spent the last six months of the 2016 campaign jetting around in Trump Force One, filling stadiums with a mixture of GOP voters and non-voters who share some of our values, he could be a turnout machine like you’ve never seen.

The big question, as yet answered, is whether he will be committeed to the election of a Republican not named “Donald Trump.” For those who seek to rein in The Donald, perhaps setting your goal as keeping him in the party as an effective force should replace the idea of casting him offstage.

For the other candidates, here’s the best advice I’ve seen:

“At this point, ignore him and stay the course,” says Mike Dennehy, a New Hampshire adviser to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. “I am a firm believer that you try to run positive until it’s absolutely necessary to contrast. And with such a large field, the contrast or attack will likely help another candidate rather than your own.”

“The most important thing for Team Walker is to stay with our game plan,” says David Polyansky, Walker’s Iowa strategist.

“You contrast with Trump on issues and substance, of which he has little. And, you don’t allow the media or Trump himself to make you a contestant in his game show,” says Jamie Burnett, a political consultant and Bush backer in New Hampshire.

That last part is the money quote. You’ll never beat Donald Trump if you’re on his television show.