Frankly Speaking - By Frank
Gillispie - May 10, 2006
Do I remember
correctly? I was under the impression that it is unethical for a
political party to run advertisements supporting one of its
candidates in a contested primary election. Yet the Georgia
Republican Party is already running ads supporting Governor
“Sunny” Purdue and basically ignoring the other Republican
candidate, Ray McBerry. The Primary vote is set for July 18, 2006.
But they are not
alone in this. Most of the state’s media outlets have ignored or
downplayed his qualification to seek the Republican nomination for
Governor. Recently I conducted an informal, in person survey of a
number of Madison County citizens. Not one of them were aware of
McBerry’s candidacy. In fact none of them had ever heard of him.
McBerry was born in
Atlanta and has lived most of his life in Henry County. He is a
born again Christian and a strong advocate of the “States Rights”
principle of government. He is a self employed contractor in the
advertising field working primarily with SBN Television in the
South Atlanta region. In addition, he is President of
DixieBroadcasting Radio, an internet radio station that features
pro-south speakers and music.
“Politically, I
consider myself a ‘constitutionalist’ – that is, I strongly
support a return to the original principles of our Founding
Fathers,” he said in his on line biography. “!” When elected
governor of Georgia, I will represent the People of Georgia… NOT
the interests of the downtown Atlanta establishment… and NOT the
interests of the federal leviathan in Washington, D.C.” he said.
He opposes amnesty
for illegal immigrants, pledges to support property rights by
limiting the power of imminent domain, promises to use the office
of governor to push for the ”fair flag vote” that the current
governor promised then failed to deliver. He also supports the
Second Amendment right of citizens to keep and bear arms. He
opposes abortion, saying that life begins at conception and
strongly supports displays of the Ten Commandments.
He is a member of
the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and has been active in the
effort to protect and defend our Southern Heritage.
Common opinion is
that McBerry has no chance to defeat a sitting Governor. But then
again, the pundits said that Purdue had no chance of defeating
then Governor Roy Barnes. McBerry starts his campaign with the
support of thousands of Southern Heritage activists. If they can
act together to force the state’s big media to give McBerry a fair
hearing he may have a real opportunity.
Even if he fails to
win, McBerry is giving those who love the South and Southern
heritage the voice they were denied in the state flag referendum.
If you want to
learn more about McBerry, I suggest a visit to his web page,
GeorgiaFirst.org,
http://georgiafirst.org/main/entry.php. You are not likely to
get the full story of his campaign from the media.
And while you are
at it, you might want to let your local Republican leaders know
that you object to the party giving favorable treatment to one
candidate while ignoring the other.
