September 26, 2021 / Newsletter 243
HELP US FIGHT JIM CROW 2.0!

Your donations help us in the fight for all eligible voters to be able to cast their votes & have them counted.
This week's events
Rabun County Democrats Blue BBQ
When: Sat, Oct 30, 4:00-8:00 pm
Where: The Gatehouse at Parker Ranch, Clayton

Click the image for details.
March For Reproductive Justice

Starts On Saturday, Oct 2 11:00am



MARTA Rail is the easiest way to get there, with the Georgia State Station nearby (but there is a lot of public parking in the area).

National website: https://womensmarch.com/.
Blue To Dos
YOU MAY NOW REQUEST ABSENTEE BALLOT FOR NOVEMBER MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS!

Due to the new GOP voting laws, you’ll need include your Georgia Driver’s License or State-issued ID number on the application. If you don’t have either of those, you’ll have to send a photocopy of your ID with your application.
Check your registration! Even if you voted in 2020, you could be marked to be purged from the voter rolls. Deadline to register to vote in November 2 election is OCTOBER 4TH.
Sign up to canvass for Devin Pandy's mayoral campaign:
To volunteer for phone-banking for Devin's campaign, please email Volunteer@MayorOfGainesville.com
ENTER YOUR COMMENTS TO THE REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE

The GA Legislature is collecting citizen comments about redistricting. Click the link to add your comments so that those calling for fairness and transparency overwhelm any others.
 

If you haven’t already mailed your Fair District postcards, please do so ASAP.
MAKE A PLAN TO VOTE EARLY

Early voting for the Nov 2 elections is taking place October 12 - October 29 including two Saturdays, October 16 and October 23. Early voting hours are 9 am to 5 pm.  

Early voting locations vary based on municipality. Click the link to find your early voting location on the Hall County Elections site: https://www.hallcounty.org/249/Elections
Weekly Thoughts from the Chair:
McConnell & Friends Ready to Default on Debt to Sabotage Biden
A Federal Budget fight is coming. The House passed a bill to prevent a government shutdown and default on the U.S. debt. All Democrats voted in favor – all Republicans voted against. The Republicans in the Senate, under McConnell, refuse to pass a bill. If nothing happens, the government will shut down and all non-essential functions will cease. The debt ceiling limit will also have to be increased. McConnell will oppose that as well
.
Constitutionally, the validity of the public debt is beyond question. Funding is the issue. Fights by both Parties go all the way back to reconstruction. In the 1980s, it became imperative that only appropriated money could be spent. Enter government shutdowns as a tool of Republicans. Reagan furloughed 240,000 federal workers. Full shutdowns happened after Republicans took control of the House in 1995. Newt Gingrich caused a shut down for 28 days. His plan backfired and Clinton's poll numbers climbed.

In 2013, Republicans shut down the government for 16 days trying to defund Obama Care. Trump shut it down 2019 over funding for his nonsensical border wall. McConnell and Trump added about $7.8 trillion to the current $28 trillion national debt. Now McConnell says it’s all the Democrat’s problem! Here is the grim reaper McConnell fully exposed – completely amoral.

Republicans don’t care if they cause tragic consequences. They want to create as much confusion and uncertainty as possible – to take attention away from our other critical problems – like voting rights and infrastructure. I sincerely hope that we get the same result for Biden that Clinton got from Newt’s nonsense. We’ll see.

Mike
GA Lt Governor Explains Motivation Behind GA Voting Law
Unlike many in his party, Republican Geoff Duncan, Georgia's Lieutenant Governor, continues to separate himself from the GOP mainstream cult of Trump. In his new book, he clearly explains that GOP legislators drafted draconian voting laws out of fear. "Because they got scared, GOP leaders became too focused on making voting more difficult." He criticizes Newt Gingrich for attacking the GOP Secretary of State for not doing more to make it easier for Trump and Republican candidates to win.

The GOP has become the party of fear. They use fear to manipulate their followers, instilling fear of the COVID vaccine, fear of immigrants, fear of women, fear of education, fear of anyone not in line with the idea of white male supremacy. They whip up their fearful followers with the language of violence, as a way to encourage their supporters to threaten school board members and teachers, attack medical workers trying to save lives, and show up at state houses armed with weapons of war to intimidate state employees, The Trump faithful have already tried one violent insurrection to prevent the peaceful transition of power. Watch what they do at the state and local level next.

One of the ways to counteract the party of fear is to show up for democracy. Show up to work the polls to ensure they don't try to intimidate voters waiting in line. Show up to register voters to be sure everyone eligible to vote in Georgia has the chance to vote in Georgia. Show up at school board meetings, city council meetings, county commission meetings so that local officials know that we are watching. Show up to candidate events to support those who are running to bring us a better future. Show up at marches, to demonstrate how many Georgians are not willing to give into the GOP's campaign of fear. Show up in large numbers at the voting booth. Show up for your neighbors, your community, and your state, for yourself and for the future.

To find out when local governing bodiesare holding meetings, check these sites:



Gainesville Board of Education: https://gcssk12.net/community/board_of_education/100421BOEMeeting (includes instructions for attending remotely)

Hall County Board of Education: https://www.hallco.org/web/boe-meeting-dates/
Georgia GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan says party leaders...

In a new book, Geoff Duncan said that GOP leaders pushing restrictive voting laws are "scared." "Many held to the theory that if more people vote, Republicans will lose," he wrote. The controversial SB 202 was signed into law in Georgia after...

Read more
www.businessinsider.com
Former Lawmakers Provide Insight Into Georgia...

Interviews with Georgia lawmakers involved with redistricting in previous years shine light on the complicated deliberations that go into the mapmaking - and the acknowledgement that maintaining power for the majority takes precedence over...

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www.gpb.org
Federal Court Blocks "Proof of Citizenship" Voting...

An official violated federal law when he allowed three states to require proof of citizenship for voting, court rules. Last week, a federal court ruled in League of Women Voters v. Harrington that a former U.S.

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www.brennancenter.org
Georgia Is How American Democracy Falls Apart

ATLANTA ― David Dreyer just needed a nap. The morning of Jan. 6, Dreyer, a Georgia state representative, had spent most of the last 24 hours in the Georgia World Congress Center watching local officials tally absentee ballots in the two runoff...

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www.huffpost.com
How will redistricting impact Georgia?

Two years ago, Janet Grant and her husband moved to Decatur from St. Louis to enjoy retirement. Her career as a healthcare executive behind her, Grant could now pursue a lifelong interest in local politics and civic engagement.

Read more
www.atlantamagazine.com
On Monday night, Hall County Democrats had the chance to hear from Gainesville mayoral candidates Devin Pandy (on the right in the photo) and Sam Couvillion. The municipal elections are November 4, with absentee voting already underway and early voting starting on October 12 Be sure to check your My Voter Page to ensure you know where to vote in local elections.

We will be bringing Democratic candidates for state and regional offices to speak as we approach the 2022 election year.
State & Local News (Some links may require a subscription)
Bookman: Eastman memo shows how close Georgia GOP chair...

Eleven months after the election, and nine months after the Jan. 6 insurrection attempt, we are only now beginning to understand how organized, intentional and dangerous the Trump coup attempt had been, and how dangerous it remains. Take, for...

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georgiarecorder.com
Think tank: Trump faces 'substantial' legal risk in...

A team of legal experts says former President Donald Trump is at "substantial risk of possible state charges" stemming from his efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election results.

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www.ajc.com
Nicole Horn, Democratic Candidate for GA Labor...

The North GA Blue: Getting into Good Trouble podcast covers democratic politics in North GA, the 9th Congressional District, and across the state of Georgia. The podcast is in Q&A/Interview format with various democratic politicos including...

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www.buzzsprout.com
Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Georgia's...

The U.S. 11th District Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Friday in the case of Georgia's controversial law HB 481, also known as the "heartbeat bill" because it would ban abortions after a doctor can detect a fetus' heartbeat. But judges...

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www.gpb.org
National News (Some links may require a subscription)
Opinion | Our constitutional crisis is already here

First, Donald Trump will be the Republican candidate for president in 2024. The hope and expectation that he would fade in visibility and influence have been delusional. He enjoys mammoth leads in the polls; he is building a massive campaign war...

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www.washingtonpost.com
White House calls video of border agents chasing Haitian ...

Haitian migrants face deportation amid crackdown at U.S.-Mexico border Thousands of Haitian migrants are stuck at the U.S.-Mexico border wading through the Rio Grande near Del Rio, Texas. WASHINGTON - Video of U.S. border agents chasing Haitian...

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uw-media.usatoday.com
Maybe we should be talking more about the Trump coup memo

Fight disinformation. Get a daily recap of the facts that matter. Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter. There was big news this week on what is known ominously and euphemistically as "the democracy beat," and like all such news, it was bad.

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www.motherjones.com
The House Passes A Bill Meant To Counter Texas-Style...

subscribe to The NPR Politics Podcast podcast The U.S. House on Friday approved a bill that Democrats say will protect a person's access to abortion. Passage of the Women's Health Protection Act is a response to a Texas law that essentially bans...

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www.npr.org
If you have news, photos, or announcements for the newsletter, please email them to kccopeland1@hotmail.com or dadavieslee@gmail.com. The deadline for including in Sunday’s email is noon on the preceding Friday.