You probably won’t be reading this today, as the Government Shutdown has obviously taken the entire internet down. There will be plenty of sources on what happened and what it means, but I want to discuss the politics of the situation briefly.

Republicans are getting killed on this issue. We traded the Obamacare issue where we were winning with 50% of Americans opposed to 36% in favor for the government shutdown issue, where 45% support the shutdown to 46% who wish to continue at current spending levels. That’s political jiu-jitsu by President Obama and the Democratic Senate.

What does that mean for elections? It means that on the generic ballot test (asking if voters are more likely to vote for a Democrat or Republican without using individual candidate names), the GOP (38%) has fallen further behind Democrats (42%). That doesn’t mean that the government shutdown caused the change in GOP fortunes in the generic ballot test, but we shouldn’t ignore the possibility.

The last government shutdowns were in 1995 and 1996. Ask Newt Gingrich how those worked out for us.

According to Pew Research, in 1995, more blame was placed on Republicans for the government shutdown than on Democrats, while today, they appear more evenly split.

Then, as now, the American public does not appear to be tolerant of using the government shutdown as a negotiating tactic. According to a CBS News poll, 80% of respondents don’t approve of the practice, while 16% do approve. A Quinnipiac Poll shows a similar split at 77-to-22. Also from the Quinnipiac Poll:

American voters are divided on Obamacare, with 45 percent in favor and 47 percent opposed, but they are opposed 58 – 34 percent to Congress cutting off funding for the health care law to stop its implementation.

Republicans support the federal government shutdown by a narrow 49 – 44 percent margin, but opposition is 90 – 6 percent among Democrats and 74 – 19 percent among independent voters.

 

American voters disapprove 74 – 17 percent of the job Republicans in Congress are doing, their lowest score ever, and disapprove 60 – 32 percent of the job Democrats are doing.

Senator McKoon fights back

With his name cleared of allegations that he threatened to do his job withhold state funds if Muscogee County School Board officials wouldn’t do their jobs eliminate large dollar no-bid contracts, Senator Josh McKoon accused members of the board of bullying, name-calling and intimidation. From the Ledger-Enquirer

Sen. Josh McKoon announced at a news conference today that he will sponsor legislation to change the way school districts do business.

Specifically McKoon said he will try to pass a law ending exclusive, no-bid contracts for professional services such as the Muscogee school board maintains with Columbus law firm Hatcher-Stubbs. McKoon and Columbus attorney Frank Myers have been outspoken critics of the board’s contracting with the firm without considering competing bids. Some board members accused the senator of threatening to withhold state funds from the district if the board didn’t end that relationship.

“These accusations have been reviewed now by three different entities, the Senate Ethics Committee, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Attorney General’s office,” McKoon said today. “They have all cleared me.”

But the Muscogee board is not the only “dysfunctional” one in Georgia, so statewide reform is needed, he said.

“That is why I have consulted with several education experts including Fife Whiteside, a 16-year veteran of the Muscogee County school board, to develop a package of reforms that will end no-bid, sole-source contracts that are sweetheart deals for those that get them while taking money away from the education of our children,” McKoon said.

Guns in Schools

For those who think that arming our schools from the inside will help protect children, it’s a tough issue to balance that against safety concerns of putting a gun permanently inside each school. Here’s how Gainesville City Schools are considering doing it.

Under the plan, a Colt 6920 M4 carbine would be placed inside a safe in the three schools. Currently, the school resource officer would be the only one to have access to the rifle.

The safe would only be able to be opened by fingerprint recognition, Lt. Jay Parrish said.

The cost is expected to be around $6,000 for one rifle per school, plus a safe for each campus. The cost would be split by the police and the school system. The school’s $3,000 portion would come out of the system’s general fund budget, Superintendent Merrianne Dyer said.

Along with the safe being accessible only by the school resource officer, Kelly said the rifle would never be left on school property unattended.

The resource officers would lock the weapons in their vehicle during non-school hours, Parrish added.

In the meantime, he said criminals may first target an officer’s vehicle. The school resource officer would be able to more easily access the weapon in a secure safe inside his or her office, he said.

Resource officers are not based at elementary schools, but the department is looking into adding more. School resource officers do visit and have responsibilities in elementary schools, Parrish said.

Head like a hole

Pro-tip for donut lovers: don’t steal the tasty morsels, and if you do, don’t walk right past a police officer when you do so.

“The guy walks right by us, signs for his gas and walks out with the doughnut,” said [Villa Rica Police Chief Michael] Mansour. “We asked the other cashier if he paid her for it, and she said no. So we walked out and said ‘hey buddy, we need to see you.’”

The man claimed he was going to his truck to get a check card so he could pay, but the story had a hole in it. He hadn’t told the cashier of his intentions, plus video evidence showed him allegedly stealing doughnuts twice before.

“We talked to the manager, who wanted him charged with three counts of shoplifting,” said Mansour. “So we booked him. Don’t steal a doughnut. We take that serious.”

Despite the humorous circumstances, shoplifting definitely isn’t something the VRPD just glazes over.

“The main thing is,” said Mansour. “Don’t steal doughnuts in front of police.”

Clayton County officials “irresponsible”

I believe in elections and in the wisdom of the electorate, but at times, the officials chosen in Clayton County have cause me to question my conviction. Today, a glimmer of hope as a special purpose grand jury reported that some elected and appointed officials in Clayton County are “irresponsible” and have abused the positions entrusted to them. From the AJC report:

“The evidence led this body to conclude that people elected or hired for the public trust were irresponsible in using the power of their office to hire friends or family, and/or to use money or resources for personal interests, all to the detriment of citizens,” the special purpose grand jurors wrote.

The section of the report concerning the County Commission described a secretive body that traveled at taxpayer expense when it was not justified. The report, which was obtained exclusively by the AJC, complained that public records were destroyed, there were no checks and balances in approving expense reimbursements, the commission did not advertised its upcoming meetings and agendas and commissioners made appointments despite obvious conflicts or even criminal histories.

“It is our strong belief these activities undermine the morals, values and welfare of the citizens of Clayton County,” the grand jurors wrote. “As each new piece of evidence was revealed — as each new witness testified — this body was continually shocked, saddened, appalled and dismayed at the state of affairs in Clayton County. More difficult was being cognizant of what was going on, watching situations continue, but being sworn to secrecy until due process of law was meted out.”

An interesting tidbit

Jeff Davis, the Executive Director of the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission, which enforces the Code of Judicial Conduct is also an ordained minister and pastor. If you’re running a judicial campaign, you should familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations that are specific to judicial races, and when in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask them, as their approach favors preventing violations beforehand over having to take disciplinary action later.

Outside Georgia

Yesterday, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) announced he will serve out his current term but will not seek reelection, setting off the first open seat in his district in more than 20 years. A crowded field is expected for the 2014 election.

While the 2014 gubernatorial election in Florida is more than a year off, Republican incumbent Rick Scott (38%) trails former Governor Charlie Crist (R-I-D) (50%) by twelve points, according to a poll by Public Policy Polling.

The Cook Political Report moved the 2013 Virginia Governor’s election from “Toss Up” to “Leans Democratic”. The RealClearPolitics average shows the race at +4.2 for Democrat Terry McAuliffe over Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.