Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for November 11, 2016

The first twenty-three cadets at Virginia Military Institute began their service on November 11, 1839.

On November 11, 1918, word reached Georgia that an armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany, ending World War One. Georgia Governor Hugh Dorsery declared a state holiday. Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I, was first celebrated on November 11, 1919 and is celebrated on November 11th every year.

In 1938, Congress recognized November 11th as Armistice Day, making it a legal holiday, and in 1954, at the urging of veterans, Congress renamed the holiday “Veterans Day.”

The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery was dedicated on November 11, 1921.

On Armistice Day, in the presence of President Harding and other government, military, and international dignitaries, the unknown soldier was buried with highest honors beside the Memorial Amphitheater. As the soldier was lowered to his final resting place, a two-inch layer of soil brought from France was placed below his coffin so that he might rest forever atop the earth on which he died.

The Tomb of the Unknowns is considered the most hallowed grave at Arlington Cemetery, America’s most sacred military cemetery. The tombstone itself, designed by sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, was not completed until 1932, when it was unveiled bearing the description “Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God.” The World War I unknown was later joined by the unidentified remains of soldiers from America’s other major 20th century wars and the tomb was put under permanent guard by special military sentinels.

On November 11, 1942, the draft age was lowered to 18 and raised to 37. At the time, African-Americans were excluded from the draft over concerns about a racially-diverse military.

In 1945, the idea was put forth to expand Armistice Day to honor all veterans and in 1954, Congress made the change to “Veterans Day” official.

The “General Lee” first left the ground, using a ramp to clear a police car, during filming of “The Dukes of Hazzard” on November 11, 1978.

Ronald Reagan became the first President of the United States to address the Japanese Diet in Tokyo on November 11, 1983.

On November 11, 1988, the Georgia Vietnam Memorial was dedicated in front of the Sloppy Floyd state government building across the street from the Georgia State Capitol.

On November 11, 1997, a monument to Georgia’s World War I veterans was dedicated, also in front of the Sloppy Floyd building.

Three years ago today, on November 11, 2013, the Atlanta Braves announced they would move from downtown Atlanta to Cobb County.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Chuck Payne, an experience Georgia Republican Party leader is the first candidate to throw his hat in the ring to succeed Sen. Charlie Bethel in the 54th Senate District. Payne wrote on Facebook,

Because the compassions, the care and the concerns of a lifetime have brought me to this day, and with my wife, my children and my family and friends standing with me, today, I announce that I WILL seek the Georgia State Senate in the 54th District of Georgia.

From the time that I was 18 years old and signed my name to join the US Army, and throughout my 30 years of service to kids and families with the GA Department of Juvenile Justice, and of my 26 years of committed efforts with Georgia Republican Party, a single voice of purpose has driven me in seeking a better tomorrow for ourselves and the next generation, and only, “Because the Future Matters!”

As, generations before us had committed themselves to insure the very freedoms we have known, so is it our great responsibility; that we do the same for the next. So, just as a family friend had recently shared, “The time has come; the door has opened”, so, faithfully, I step forward seeking to serve my neighbors, and our communities of the 54th District of Georgia.

I hope you will join us, as we move forward to the Special Election of December 13th, and graciously, I would appreciate your support, your prayers and certainly your vote!

I pray, may God’s Blessing be upon us, all.

Oconee County Commission Post 3 voters will return to the polls for a December 6 runoff election.

Oconee County voters sent the three-way race for the Post 3 seat on the Board of Commissioners to a runoff. The race is to fill the the unexpired term of Republican John Daniell, who resigned and is unopposed for the commission chairman’s seat. Daniell’s unexpired term continues through 2018.

Seeking the seat were Republicans Ben Bridges, 50, production manager at a chicken-processing facility; Chuck Horton, 62, the director of parking in downtown Athens who is also a former Oconee County commissioner and former Oconee County Board of Education chairman; and Marcus Wiedower, 40, the president of BluePrint Builders, 3 BH Inc., and Bulldawg Builders.

Horton led balloting with 45.4 percent of the vote, or 7,701 of the 16,945 votes cast. Wiedower, who will join Horton in the runoff, garnered 5,201 votes for almost 31 percent. Bridges received almost 24 percent of the vote in his losing effort, claiming 4,043 ballots.

Oconee also voted to legalize Sunday package sales of liquor and in favor of a 1% E-SPLOST.

Jackson, Georgia Mayor Kay Pippin is prepared to issue liquor store licenses after voters approved a referendum on Tuesday.

The vote was 858 in favor and 508 against, or 62.81 percent to 37.19 percent, according to uncertified results.

Campaigns had been waged on both sides of the issue with proponents pointing, in radio ads, to jobs and development. One opposition group, the Foundation For Life Change, argued package stores will hinder development and harm the community.

“The voters have made their support of the referendum abundantly clear with nearly 63 percent of the vote. The city is ready to issue business licenses to the first applicants prepared to meet the criteria required by the city’s ordinance governing the sales of packaged spirits,” Jackson Mayor Kay Pippin said. “This new retail business in our city will be held to high standards.”

The Jackson City Council voted in August to call for the referendum after being notified a petition had collected enough signatures to put the vote on the ballot. In the months since then, the city crafted a new ordinance to regulate package stores.

Democrat Hillary Clinton appears to have won the popular vote, while the Electoral College will deliver the presidency to Republican Donald J. Trump. I hope this means all that silliness about the National Popular Vote will fade away, at least among Georgia Republicans. The LA Times reminds us that in November 2012, Donald Trump tweeted, “The electoral college is a disaster for democracy.”

Georgia Congressman Tom Price (R-6) could be at the center of Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare in coming months.

The fast-track procedure Republicans will most likely use to avoid a Democratic filibuster in the Senate puts Georgia U.S. Rep. Tom Price at the center of the effort to undo the law.

“What the American people understand is that the only person standing in the way of Obamacare repeal is President Obama,” the Roswell Republican said in an interview Wednesday. “So when President Obama is gone, there’s a great opportunity to work together.”

As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Price will be in charge of authoring and shepherding a special type of legislation that will allow the GOP to strike broad sections of the Affordable Care Act — the same mechanism Democrats used to advance key portions of the health care law six years ago without the help of the GOP.

Price, who worked as an orthopedic surgeon before being elected to Congress in 2004, estimated there would be a transition period between the repeal vote and when a replacement plan could be crafted and advanced.

“You can’t just change it overnight,” he said. “What we believe is important is to allow individuals voluntarily to move to the kind of health coverage that they seek for themselves and for their families. We’re not going to force anybody to do anything like the Obama administration has done.”

Senator David Perdue is urging his colleagues to take a hard line on dealing with Obamacare after the national elections.

“If we have the majority, they don’t need to compromise, we don’t need to compromise on one thing, that’s Obamacare,” the Georgia senator said on Trending Today USA with Rusty Humphries Wednesday.

“We repealed Obamacare this year without the Democrats. We can do it again early next year and it will become law — we will repeal it from law, because we’ll have a president that won’t veto it. I believe that we’ll repeal the Waters of the US, we’ll repeal the Clean Air Act, and we’ll pass Keystone Pipeline again. And all three, all four of those things will get signed into law by President Trump, so that’s with the votes we already had. That’s no new Democrats. That’s just what we did this year. So I’m hopeful that that will set a tone.”

“All four of those things will get done in the first 100 days, I think,” he said.

Purdue added Republicans would take aim at the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill as well.

Four hundred residents of Atlanta took to the streets to protest Trump’s electoral win.

Upson County voted more than 2-to-1 for Donald Trump, as the Republican demonstrated great strength through South Georgia.

“For our community I think we see a future. We heard the things we wanted to hear again. He knows that we are hurting and he’s going to help us,” said Trump supporter Kayla Thompson.

Thompson, a longtime Thomaston resident, and her friends voted for Trump, encouraged in part by his economic plan which includes creating 25 million jobs over the next decade, and what that might mean for their own families.

“He’s going to create jobs. There’s no jobs where we live. You have to go out of state to work,” said Trump supporter Megan Epps.

“Many good people around here, especially in this town, in this county, they want a good job and I think President-Elect Trump will be the one who can help bring some of this back to America,” said Thomaston Mayor John Stallings.

The Thomaston mayor is an ardent Trump supporter. He believes Trump will make good on his campaign promise to repeal NAFTA and bring jobs back to the United States, back to economically depressed communities.

“We’ve had high unemployment rates here and I think having someone in the presidency that’s a businessman and that’s mentioned doing away with NAFTA bringing these jobs back from overseas putting these people , that’s what people want,” said Stallings.

CBS News visited Dublin, Georgia to hear from voters about the Presidential election.

We sat down with three Trump voters at the Minute Grill, where diners have chewed over politics since 1963.

“If Donald Duck had been running against Hillary Clinton, I would have voted for Donald Duck,” said Harold Martin, who is retired Navy.

Joe May is a soybean farmer. They’re both lifelong Democrats. Not this year.

How can Trump make Dublin great again?

“By helping the economy,” May said. “Putting more money in here. Money is everything.”

That was their big issue.

Trump’s message of America-in-decline resonated in Dublin, Georgia, population 16,000. This midpoint between Atlanta and Savannah was once a manufacturing hub.

On Election Night, America’s rural areas voted overwhelmingly for Trump. Urban areas were Clinton country: She won 81 percent of Georgia’s metro vote.

Lance Hooks is a 39 year-old registered Republican. He remembers when Trump campaigned in rural Georgia back in February.

“He was smart enough to come rally his base,” Hooks said. “His base was the working-class America and that is the reason he got the electoral vote he got.”

Butts County District 2 Commissioner Robert L. Henderson Sr. was reelected to a third term in office.

Gwinnett County Judge Melodie Snell Conner extended voting hours an additional twelve minutes at the Sweetwater Middle School precinct due to the precinct opening late. Your humble narrator attended Sweetwater Middle School.