February 6, 2022 / Newsletter 262 |
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RUN FOR OFFICE!
You can help Dems up & down ballot by being a candidate.
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Next meeting of the Hall County Dems:
When: Monday, February 14, 2022 6-8 pm (meeting gaveled to order at 6:30)
Where: Gainesville Civic Center
830 Green St, Gainesville, GA 30501
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Hall County Board of Elections Meeting Feb. 8
The Hall County Board of Elections will hold their monthly meeting on
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 8, 2022 at 3:30 on the FOURTH floor
of the Hall County Government Center located at 2875 Browns Bridge Road,
Gainesville, GA. 30504
Read more
www.hallcounty.org
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Newtown Florist Club shared this video on their Facebook page. “”These incredible women have paved a way. Their voices still lead and guide us to better days on issues involving environmental justice. Listen to their voices from 2009.” |
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Spelman Independent Scholars Travel to Newtown |...
For the past five years, Young Scholars in SIS have collected stories of women who live in Newtown, Georgia, a small African-American community outside Gaine...
Read more
www.youtube.com
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Upcoming key election dates:
For May primary election:
First day to qualify to run for office: 9 AM March 7
Last day to qualify to run for office: NOON March 11
First day to request absentee ballot for May primary: March 11 (mailing out begins April 5)
Last day to register to vote in May primary: April 25
For Flowery Branch City Council Post 2 special election:
Qualifying: Feb 14-16
Election: March 15:
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Apply to Be a Poll Worker |
Hall - WorkElections
Apply online by clicking on the "Apply Now!" button above. Hall County also has a downloadable PDF application, available here. Poll workers should plan to vote before Election Day unless they are assigned to their own polling place. Citizens who ...
Read more
workelections.com
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Drive Voters to the Polls
Hall County Dems have the opportunity to work with RideShare2Vote, a national organization that helps coordinate getting voters to the polls.
if you're interested in volunteering to drive people to the polls during the primaries or the general election, email Jennifer LaRose at jblarose13@gmail.com to learn more.
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Run for Hall County School Board |
Are you a resident of Hall County who cares about education? Then run for the Hall County School Board! Three seats are up for election this year:
Board of Education Post 1
Board of Education Post 2
Board of Education at Large
To run for the Post 1 or Post 2 seats, you must live in the associated district. To run for the at-large seat, you cam live anywhere in Hall County except inside the city limits of Gainesville (which has its own school board).
Serving on the school board requires a small time commitment for attending monthly meetings and keeping abreast of school issues and initiatives. It provides huge rewards through its impact on the education of all K-12 students in the county.
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Weekly Thoughts from the Chair:
Taking on the GOP in NE GA
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Republicans are taking over County Election Boards in Georgia. Democratic County Committees are determined to fight these anti-democratic attacks. Democratic Committee members believe that these Republican acts are unlawful and unconstitutional. These Republicans may be violating their oaths of office.
Arguing, protesting and cajoling has failed. Now many Democrats are calling for legal action. Here in Hall County, our Election Board is being attacked by Republican County Commissioners. Our current Election Board has worked to ensure access to the polls for every voter and is a fair and reasonable Board. Our Hall County Board has two Republican members and two Democratic members – and a reasonable chairman. So what’s wrong? Nothing!
However, our Republican Commissioners do not want Fair and Reasonable. Why else do they want to destroy our Election Board? If something isn’t broken, it doesn’t need fixing. Republicans spout nonsensical anti-reality claims to be “restoring” confidence in our elections – when it is the lies of these very same Republicans that destroyed voter confidence.
Andrew Clyde called insurrectionists “tourists.” The RNC claims January 6th was “normal discourse.” Republicans are destroying our understanding of normality. Republicans want authority without accountability or responsibility.
Legal action can work. Dominion Voting Systems may force Fox "News" into bankruptcy, Sidney Powell and Rudy the magnificent are getting disbarred, Trump may soon be indicted – and the January 6th Committee is coming for the seditionist insurrectionists. On February 14, we will discuss our legal options to stop the County Commissioners power grab to control our Election Board. Our Valentine’s Day Party meeting should be quite lively!
County Commission seats are up in District 1 and 3. School Board seats are up at Post 2 and at large. State Representative seats are up in the 27th, 29th, 30th, and 103rd. Senate seats are up in the 49th and the 50th. The 9th District Congressional seat is up. As this is written, we are not aware of any declared Democratic candidate for any seat. Run for office!
An exploratory committee has been formed to investigate the viability of a run against Clyde in the 9th District. It appears that Clyde has a Republican primary challenger – and perhaps there will be a Democratic challenger as well!
Join us on February 14 to get the latest information and to help with efforts to unseat these Republicans.
~ Mike
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GOP officially supports authoritarian rule in US |
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It’s been apparent for years to those paying attention that the Republican Party has pivoted away from believing in democracy to actively trying to undermine it. However, this past week they made it official. In terms that anybody can understand, they declared that free and fair elections should be a thing of the past, and that trying to overturn elections through violent insurrection is “legitimate political discourse.”
The path to the downfall of the GOP goes right through Georgia’s own Newt Gingrich (who now has a paying gig as advisor to Kevin McCarthy’s House Republican leadership team). Never an example of human decency, the Newt pioneered the modern GOP’s messaging style of hate, demonization, and lies. He also foreshadowed the now-blatant unethical behavior on the part of his party’s members. Hypocrisy never worried Newt, who brazenly labeled Democrats hedonists while he cheated on his second wife (with whom he had carried on an adulterous affair while his first wife was battling cancer). Lying, cheating, undermining government—Newt did it all.
Now the vast majority of the party has openly abandoned any pretense of honor, decency or democratic values, deciding instead that baiting their shrinking voter base with lies is their best chance of clinging to power. Electorate be damned, they’re going to keep the deluded Trump followers angry and self-pitying long enough to ensure that they establish themselves as rightful rulers over an authoritarian white, Christian, male-dominated country.
The only way we can thwart their plan is to vote, and to get others to vote, against them. We need Democrats in Georgia to vote as reliably as Republican voters do. A Democratic governor would veto laws designed to disenfranchise voters, keep our children ignorant of history, and deprive women of the right to make decisions about her own health. A Democratic Secretary of State for Georgia would manage the voter roles responsibly instead of purging thousands of legal voters.
At the risk of being repetitive, if we want to keep our nation and our state from being ruled by rich white men who are unresponsive to the needs of our state, working to get Democrats elected up and down ballot is our best chance.
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Opinion | The GOP is now officially on record as being...
The Republican National Committee on Friday approved an astounding resolution that all but expressly condoned the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year. In doing so, it's given up any pretense that the party stands in opposition to the violence...
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www.msnbc.com
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Trump escalates racist rhetoric and plays on white...
subscribe to The NPR Politics Podcast podcast With former President Donald Trump off mainstream social media, his messages aren't as ubiquitous. It makes it harder for them to break through. But in recent rallies and statements, Trump has seemed...
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www.npr.org
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He's Head of a Georgia Election Board-and Fixated on QAnon
The Republican chair of a rural Georgia election board-which has the power to restrict or expand access to voting, call for audits and investigations into alleged voter fraud, and certify election results-is a QAnon-fixated election conspiracy...
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www.thedailybeast.com
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Opinion | The Republican Party formally declares that...
The Republican Party on Friday took an official stand - against truth and democracy. At the Republican National Committee's winter meeting in Salt Lake City, party leaders censured Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and moved to aid her primary opponent,...
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www.washingtonpost.com
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Bookman: Trump continues to threaten violence against...
Like his buddy Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump is a thug willing to use violence to achieve what he cannot achieve by legitimate means. He has shown a willingness to do so in the past, and because he himself has paid no price, he is threatening to...
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georgiarecorder.com
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Analysis | This was the week when Trump revealed all
Former president Donald Trump has told some big lies over the years. One of the biggest, it now is clear, came on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after his supporters assaulted the Capitol. On Jan.
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www.washingtonpost.com
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Opinion | Newt Gingrich started us on the road to ruin....
Kevin McCarthy and his House Republican leadership team have called on Newt Gingrich to advise them on their midterm election strategy, The Post's Jeff Stein and Laura Meckler reported recently. Man of No Principles hires Man of Low Character:...
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www.washingtonpost.com
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Local voices speaking out through Letters to the Editor in the Gainesville Times show that there are thoughtful, rational people in our community who care about the future of Hall County, our region, our state, our nation, and the globe. This past week, The Times published several letters from citizens concerned about proposed bills in the Georgia legislature designed to make us less safe and to restrict what schools can teach.
You can help amplify the message that our area isn’t a monolith of right-wing adherents. If you are interested in writing a letter to The Times, sign up for our Letters to the Editor project. The mission of our Letters to the Editor project:
- counter disinformation with facts
- express opinions that reflect Democratic Party values
- raise the profile of Democratic voices in the Hall County community
The Times limits individuals to having 1 letter published per month. We’re looking for writers to help our members with expressing their views and for individuals willing to have their letters published in The Times. Email hallcountydemocrat@gmail.com to help with our Letters to the Editor project.
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Opinion: Constitutional carry bill puts politics over safety
At the present time, Georgia has limited gun safety protection for its citizens. Numerous guns are purchased privately with no background check of the purchaser who could be mentally unstable, a criminal or a would-be criminal. Once purchased,...
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www.gainesvilletimes.com
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Opinion: Political meddling has no place in our schools
Steve Gooch wants to ban books. This is not hyperbole. State Sen. Steve Gooch, former Realtor with a few years as an elected official, thinks he and his extremist Republican cadre in the Georgia legislature know what's best for Georgia children's ...
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www.gainesvilletimes.com
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Opinion: Banning what's uncomfortable is not the answer
In 1933, we got a taste of the horrors to come from Nazi Germany when thousands of University Students burned some 25,000 books thought to be "Un-German." Horrors like the Holocaust followed. Flash forward to just last week when the McMinn County ...
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www.gainesvilletimes.com
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What's happening in the GA Legislature in 2022 |
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Last week, Republicans in the state legislature considered bills to turn Georgia public schools into indoctrination centers and make it easier for parents to take taxpayers’ money from public schools and give it to private schools. Democrats in the general assembly are speaking out forcefully against these bills. The Senate, over the objections of the Democrats representing Gwinnett County, approved a measure to make school board elections non-partisan.
Meanwhile, Kemp decided to re-up the idea of appointing the totally unqualified Sonny Perdue to be the Chancellor of the Board of Regents, apparently to repay Sonny for past support & undermine Sonny’s cousin David Perdue. The head of the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools, the body that grants accreditation to the Georgia university system, warned last year that putting political pressure on the Board of Regents to approve Kemp’s favored candidate could adversely affect accreditation. Kemp apparently doesn’t care if the schools lose accreditation, but one would think corporations considering relocation to Georgia might, and it would certainly affect applicants from out-of-state. Perhaps to show how non-political his interference with the BOR is, Kemp appointed key donors to two recently vacated seats.
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Editorial: Those battling over what our kids learn would ...
The political wars of the nation are being fought on the battleground of public education, and the intensity of battle thereon is increasing by the day. The escalation does not bode well for the cause of education nor political discourse. But the ...
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www.gainesvilletimes.com
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Critical race theory poised to rank among hottest...
ATLANTA - While Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly tangle over guns, noncitizen voting and Medicaid expansion, education could become the most highly charged issue of the election-year session that began last month. GOP Gov.
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www.gwinnettdailypost.com
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Georgia Senate passes nonpartisan Gwinnett school board...
Georgia senators on Wednesday passed a measure that would make school board elections nonpartisan in the state's largest school district, a Republican power play that overrode the opposition of the mostly Democratic lawmakers representing...
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www.wabe.org
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Fresh Air - Teachers Could Face Penalties For Lessons On ...
Across the U.S., educators are being censored for broaching controversial topics. Since January 2021, researcher Jeffrey Sachs says that 35 different states have introduced 137 bills limiting what schools can teach with regard to race, American...
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podcasts.google.com
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State & Local News (Some links may require a subscription)
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PLEASE NOTE: Any articles we post about Georgia Democrats on the primary ballot in 2022 are intended to keep you informed. They are not an endorsement of any candidate. |
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Democrats continue uphill fight against GOP state...
The state House passed a GOP-drawn Gwinnett County commission map Thursday which would give their party more say on the board, but Democrats say the move flies in the face of long-established legislative norms. Typically, local bills such as...
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www.gpb.org
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Sharp growth in Georgia voters alters landscape for 2022 ...
A comparison of Georgia's voter lists by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows how quickly the state has grown from 2018 to 2022, setting up tight elections for governor and the U.S. Senate.
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www.ajc.com
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Raffensperger: New Georgia voter registration system to...
ATLANTA (WALB) - On Wednesday, Georgia's top election official said he is continuing his work securing the Peach State's elections by launching a new voter registration system. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is partnering with Salesforce...
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www.wtvm.com
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Former UGA football player, North Hall resident to...
Clyde was drawn out of the Ninth District when legislators drew new district lines last fall following the 2020 Census. Clyde, of Jackson County, now lives in District 10, but he announced last fall that he would still defend his current seat.
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www.gainesvilletimes.com
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More than 100 potential witnesses identified in Trump...
Willis declined to identify any of the witnesses, saying only that the number is "well in excess of 100." The district attorney said she met in December with attorneys representing the former president. Willis indicated local prosecutors would...
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www.usatoday.com
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3 candidates announce intention to run in Special Election for Flowery Branch City Council Post 2
If you live in the city of Flowery Branch, make your plan to vote on March 15.
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National News (Some links may require a subscription)
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Republicans' redistricting maps are motivated entirely...
lthough the phrase "All politics is local" is usually attributed to Tip O'Neill Jr, a former speaker of the US House of Representatives, the aphorism probably originated in the February 1932 Associated Press column "Politics at Random", when the...
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www.theguardian.com
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North Carolina Supreme Court strikes down redistricting maps
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A divided North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the state's new maps for congressional and General Assembly seats Friday, declaring that state courts had authority to throw out lines engineered to secure a long-term...
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apnews.com
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