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PRESS RELEASE
JULY 8, 2006
INCUMBENT PROTECTION IN PRIMARY RACES
By Andy Rice
Candidate Georgia Senate District 37
www.ElectRice.org
www.RiceGang.com
In this election season, there are a few
Republican incumbent elected officials facing opposition from
other good Republicans candidates. My wife, Taffy Rice, and I
are running true grass roots campaigns against powerful and
well-financed incumbents. Taffy is running for House District
36, which includes a major section of West Cobb County.
Senate District 37, which I hope to represent, covers
unincorporated West Cobb County, as well as the entire cities
of Acworth and Kennesaw.
Senate Majority Leader
Although we had already disseminated our initial
candidacy announcement, Taffy and I had decided to visit the
Capitol on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 to qualify due to the
recommendation of the Georgia Republican Party to avoid Monday
and Tuesday, due to numerous incumbents planning to bring
entourages for photo ops, as they filed their candidacy. On
the morning of April 25, 2006, I was initially honored to
receive an unexpected phone call from Senator Tommie Williams,
the Georgia Senate Majority Leader. I believed he was calling
to encourage me, as a good conservative Republican, in my
recently announced campaign. Imagine my surprise when he
asked me to reconsider running against John Wiles. It seems
the Majority Leader is close friends with John, recently
attending a fundraiser at John’s home in the Marietta Country
Club.
Senator Williams asked me to avoid running against
an incumbent Republican, as he stated, “…so we can focus
our resources in races against Democrats.” Senator
Williams is aware that no Republican faces a Democrat in a
Primary Race. Now that the Primary is only 10 days away, it
can be seen that only 4 Republican Senators in Georgia
have primary opposition. I would say Senator
Williams’ plan worked in most of the state. Political party
ethics mandate that a party should not support or endorse any
candidate who faces primary opposition. After the primary,
when one Republican candidate remains, is the only proper time
to “focus resources” in support of the party’s candidate in
the general election. For Senator Williams to suggest “we”
will be focusing resources in support of John Wiles, and other
incumbents suggests corruption in the highest positions of the
party. It matters not whether Senator Williams is referring
to GA GOP resources, Senate Republican Caucus resources, or
any other Republican organization’s resources. It is highly
improper. Party officials should either provide resources
equally to all Republican candidates in a particular race, or
stand back and allow the primary process to proceed without
interference from the party elite.
Georgia GOP
The GA GOP has financed TV commercials on behalf of Governor
Sonny Perdue. The GA GOP also has a still photo, with a video
link, prominently positioned on the party home page of
www.gagop.org. Governor
Perdue faces a Republican opponent in the primary in the face
of Ray McBerry.
The GA GOP has its own set of rules, but it
would seem prudent to also honor the intent of the Rules of
the Republican National Committee (RNC). RNC Rule 11(a) says,
“The Republican National Committee
shall not, without the prior written and filed approval of
all members of the Republican National Committee from the
state involved, contribute money or in-kind aid to any
candidate for any public or party office except the
nominee of the Republican Party or a candidate who is
unopposed in the Republican primary after the filing
deadline for that office.”
Speaker of the House and the Incumbent
Proteciton Agency (IPA)
Now I come to Georgia Speaker of the House, Glenn Richardson.
Two years ago, Taffy and I, in the presence of our three
children, spoke to Glenn in the House Office Building, to let
him know Taffy was running for House District 36 in 2004. He
spoke of the tactics he and other Republicans would use to
“protect” Earl Ehrhart. Glenn said, “Earl is our most senior
Republican in the House. We will protect him at any cost.
It’s like a high school football game. We may shake hands at
the before the game, but by the 4th quarter,
we’ll be clawing your eyes out.” Glenn was unambiguous in his
intent to mobilize what I like to call his Incumbent
Protection Agency (IPA).
In the mobilization of the IPA, Earl was assisted by incumbent
Republicans. Rep. Sharon Cooper and Rep. Sue Burmeister
mailed a post card to our home, and presumably Earl’s entire
mailing list. In this post card, they wrongly accused Taffy
of attacking Earl’s family in her campaign. In reality, Taffy
never said anything negative about Earl’s family. Instead,
she only presented information about Earl’s House of
Representative activities and the curious financial
contributions he tends to receive. The lack of honor and
ethics displayed by Ms. Cooper and Ms. Burmeister fit right
into Glenn and Earl’s IPA battle plan.
On April 26, 2006, when Taffy, our children, and I went to the
Capitol to qualify, we again saw Speaker Glenn. Although, the
Senate Chamber (the location for GOP qualifying) was empty
except for 3 volunteers and our family, the Speaker
mysteriously arrived. I presume he was checking on the
qualifying status, although it was not a function of his
office or staff. When Taffy politely said hello and asked if
we could take a photo of him, he refused. This powerful
politician could not bring himself to look her in the eye as
he laughed and said, “Earl is my best friend in life.”
Clearly, Glenn plans to use his resources and political clout
to support Earl in a contested primary.
Official Republican Party IPA?!?
Anthony Scott Hobbs, the elected Chairman of the
Cobb County Republican Party, has a blog at
www.citizengeorgia.com. On this web site, Hobbs asks the
rhetorical question, “Should Georgia Republican Party return
McBerry’s and other non-incumbent’s qualification fees?
Should Georgia GOP no longer accept qualification fees except
from incumbents?” Is this coming from the Republican National
Committee because most incumbents were thrown out in the
California Primary? I wonder what the Federal Elections
Commission thinks about protected elections and not allowing
good citizens to challenge incumbents. It kind of sounds like
Animal Farm, doesn’t it? All pigs are equal, but some are
more equal than others. (paraphrasing the book, with apologies
to George Orwell, for not knowing the exact quote). This is
clearly not a local issue, but has negative ramifications for
ALL AMERICANS.
Goodbye Earl and Evict Wiles!
There is no doubt it is time for a change of the
elitists in the Georgia General Assembly. Earl and John are
not in office with the intent of representing you, the
citizen. A quick glance at their campaign contribution
disclosures will show who they really represent, powerful
lobbyists, Political Action Committees, and out of state and
out of district oil companies, banks, insurance companies,
developers, and the like. Earl derives his income from a
company that thrives on government projects. John derives his
income from shopping center developers and evicting small
businesses from the shopping centers. John’s business web
site is www.EVICT.net.
Taffy and I do not receive financial benefit from government
contracts, law firms, developers, oil companies, PACs, or
lobbyists. We are small, Christian family, trying to help the
people, not ourselves. We have spent the last 7 years
fighting government, Chamber of Commerce, and law firm
corruption, fraud, and other crimes. This fight has cost us
dearly, but we have shown we have the courage to continue the
fight. If you want a true advocate for individual rights,
property rights, Constitutional rights, and God-given rights,
please consider voting for us on July 18, 2006. Please help
us “Evict Wiles” from the Senate, and let’s all help the
Georgia House say “Goodbye Earl.”
Make Your Vote Count on July 18, 2006
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