Last Call! Vote Today

There will be no House race runoff, so if you want Bill Gillespie to be our next U.S. Representative from Georgia's First District, and you haven't voted yet, vote today!

The VDT was confused about the runoff, but they weren't confused about Jack Kingston being in a precarious position. Help oust Jack and elect Bill.

If you have already voted, go on down to the Tybee Island office and help get the vote out.

Or go to your local Obama Campaign for Change office (such as 102 East Adair St., Valdosta) and help call to remind people to vote, join door-to-door canvassing to remind people to vote, or volunteer to give rides to get people to the polls.

These people waited 45 minutes to 2 hours Friday in Lowndes County to vote. People in Atlanta stood in line up to 8 hours. Are we in the 1st District going to let Atlanta outdo us? I didn't think so. Get out the vote!

Veterans' issues in WSVH radio interview

The intro says "long-shot candidate" but the audio interview includes snippets like a veteran wearing a McCain hat recognizing Gillespie, calling him by name, engaging in conversation, and later saying he may vote for him. Lots of material about Bill Gillespie's Iraq experience, disabilities, and knowledge of veterans' health care. Also economy, taxes, and Iraq. Well worth listening to.

Poll: Jack Kingston in Precarious Position

The Valdosta Daily Times says:

The position of Jack Kingston is equally precarious. Kingston’s support is exactly 50 percent with almost one in four registered voters undecided, according to the survey, making a runoff in Georgia’s First Congressional District with challenger Bill Gillespie a possibility.

This is from a telephone survey of 453 random phone numbers (margin of error 4.6%) in Lowndes County on 16-26 October by the Center for Applied Research (CAR) at Valdosta State University (VSU), Professor James LaPlant.

Update: The VDT was confused about runoffs. While a runoff is quite possible for the Senate race, which has three candidates, a runoff is extremely unlikely for the House race, which has only two candidates. So if Jack Kingston is to plummet from his precarious perch, it will happen today, and, if so, Bill Gillespie will win today.

The Valdosta Daily Times previously relegated a story on massive new voter registrations to the inside pages and put a story about Lowndes County supposedly always being Republican on the front page of the same issue. The VDT later declined to endorse anyone, because they didn't expect so much early voting! If even the VDT says Kingston's position is precarious, Kingston is perched on a precipice indeed. Bill Gillespie can win!

I have the whole poll, and among respondents who said they'd already voted, Kingston was below 50%. This is ignominious for Kingston, who in 2006 got 59% against 41% for Democrat Jim Nelson in Lowndes County.

This figure shows early voters vs. likely voters:



Chris Prine (D) and Freddie Taylor (R) are running for sheriff, Ashley Paulk (D) and G. Norman Bennett (R) for county commission chair, Bill Gillespie (D) and Jack Kingston (R) for U.S. House GA-01, Jim Martin (D) and Saxby Chambliss (R) for U.S. Senate GA-Sen, and Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R) for U.S. president GA-Pres. As you can see, the local races are not even close; the Democrat is way ahead in each of those. The national races show the Democrat trailing, but much closer in early voting. In GA-01, Jack Kingston (R) fell below 50% in early voting, and Bill Gillespie (D) is catching up. The poll showed 28% early voters at a time when more than 20% had voted early. The last day of early voting was packed in Lowndes County. Final early voting was about 22,000 out of about 57,000 registered voters, or about 38%. So if the trend shown in this survey continued, the Democrats are even closer in the national races now.

The professor who organized the survey, Jim LaPlant, tells me:

I should also note that the survey found that Democrats outnumber Republicans in our sample of Lowndes County registered voters. Our sample was 36% Democrat, 34% Republican, 26% Independent and 4% no
response. In 2004, Republicans outnumbered Democrats and the numbers were roughly equivalent in the 2006 survey.

The survey also shows 53% of voters chose the economy as their biggest issue, with terrorism coming in a distant second at 12%. Bill Gillespie's top issue is the economy, and on terrorism Bill is a decorated Iraq veteran and Jack is not.

The poll summary says 2008 has:

...a presidential election that has the potential to generate the highest voter turnout since the 1960 presidential election.

This turnout, especially of the massive number of newly registered voters, will favor Bill Gillespie, especially in Lowndes County, where the local Obama office has handed out thousands of Bill Gillespie flyers and has mentioned his name at every opportunity.

So, if you haven't voted for Bill yet, get out and vote Tuesday!

Major Endorsement!

Bill Gillespie snags a major endorsement from newspapers distributed throughout Georgia's First District:

Coastal Empire News, publishers of Savannah Daily News, The Business Report & Journal and Coastal Family Magazine, is endorsing Savannah's Bill Gillespie (D) for Congress to represent the 1st Congressional District over incumbent Jack Kingston (R).

Savannahian Bill Gillespie is a highly educated, fiscally conservative Democrat, a war hero of the Iraq War, a recipient of the Bronze Star and a candidate with a vision of how to bring jobs back to the 1st District in manufacturing, alternative energy and the timber industry.

And as for Jack "flag pin" Kingston:

And these times force us to step back, and take a hard look at his actual voting record on critical issues including fighting all measures to set a timeline to get out of Iraq, his failure to fight runaway Federal spending as a member of the House Appropriations committee that develops the budget, his leadership in defense of Tom Delay and President Bush as well as Republican party smear campaigns this election cycle, and his failure to file his personal financial disclosure information due last May 15 even though he was up for re-election. These votes and others lead us to believe that it is time for a change in 1st District representation.

Frankly, Jack began to lose our support last Feb. 27 when he appeared on the Dan Abrams show and said it was okay to "question Sen. Barack Obama's patriotism because he doesn't regularly wear an American flag lapel pin."

Problem was, sitting there on the TV set with the cameras rolling, Jack wasn't wearing a flag pin. These types of smear tactics are repugnant and demean elected officials in an era when voters are begging for straight talk on the issues versus old-style personal attack politics.

Yet, he continues to use such tactics, seeking to smear his opponent Bill Gillespie in this race, accusing him of lying about his educational degrees and other achievements, despite two news organizations having confirmed that Gillespie's resumé is accurate.

I guess they agree with Larrietta Johnson about that Atlanta debate.

Much more in the endorsement, con Kingston and pro Gillespie.

Concluding statement:

Bill Gillespie is a credible candidate and a man in touch with the needs of the military establishment in our region, which is a critical component of our local business economy.
To achieve a change, we must change.

All that and Bill Gillespie can fly!

Oh yeah: you can, too.

Letter from a Veteran

This one needs no editing:

From: "Larrietta Johnson"
Date: Tue, October 28, 2008 2:02 pm
To: billgillespie@billforgeorgia.com

Hello Bill,

It's Larrietta Johnson. I was the soldier in the accident traveling behind your vehicle in Kuwait. I just wanted you to know that I voted for you today to represent the first congressional district of Georgia as our congressman.

I also watched your debate against Jack Kingston on GPB and I was proud of the way you handled yourself. I remember you saying that no one listened to you when you were in charge. I think the important thing is that you listened to others. I once had a young army captain tell me "Sergeant there is nothing to discuss" when I was trying to explain something to him. You were not like that and I will never forget you telling me that I could always come to you whenever I had an issue to discuss. Thank you for that.

I am currently about to finish my last semester to become a registered nurse. I attend school at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Beaufort, S.C. Out-of-state tuition, inadequate funding in educational benefits for veterans, and gas prices has left me on the verge of packing it up and leaving Hinesville. I've just about lost everything that I've worked so hard for trying to better myself and my financial situation through education.

We certainly need change here in the first congressional district of Georgia and I wholeheartedly believe that you are the change that we need. I was graded on an assignment in one of my nursing classes and ironically the subject was that I write a letter to my congressman. My nursing instructor was so impressed with the letter that she gave it her seal of approval, asked to speak with me privately about my concerns, and put a cute little sticky on my assignment that read "bet he contacts you." Guess what?

Congressman Jack Kingston never contacted me. I guess the issues concerning soldiers, their benefits, and education incentives for Licensed Practical Nurses to become Registered Nurses were not worth his time.

Thank you Bill for fighting the fight with me that most politicians only talk about. I voted for you today and I wish you all the best!

Sincerely,
Larrietta Johnson
Veteran, US Army

Here's a link to the debate.

Atlanta Debate Video

Look in the GPB election archive, scroll down in the menu to APCD-1st Congressional District Debate, and press play.

A very few snippets are below. You've already seen some other impressions. Now you can watch for yourself.

Bill criticises Jack for not doing anything for the soldiers in his district, and compares Jack to Colonel Sanders: good for the fast food industry; not so good for the chickens.

Jack keeps shifting ground on Iraq and Afghanistan, sounding more like Barack and Bill all the time.

Bill: "This was a war of choice." "We can leave honorably in eighteen months." "Listen: this is a sinkhole." "The Iraqis can start taking care of themselves, and we can start focusing on our own internal problems."

Reporter to Jack: "Wouldn't it be a benefit to connect south Georgia to Atlanta and other cities?"

Jack: "You know there could be a time." "...the critical mass is not there."

Bill: "The time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining." But Bush didn't do that. Ties Kingston to DeLay. "We need to make public transportation a part of our public stimulus package."

Reporter to Bill: How do you propose to pay for the things you want to do?

Bill: "It's time we look at investing in skills for the 21st century."

Reporter asks Jack about earmark reform, given his many earmark requests.

Jack: Why yes! It's all the Democrats' fault that we don't have earmark reform. Jack: #1 have to have strong military! Decisions by generals in Baghdad! "vigilant military" etc. Worked for Tybee beach erosion. (Yet Mr. Zero on the Environment wants offshore drilling.)

30 second closing statements

Bill: Not set up for 21st century. Champion of middle class and working people. Change.

Jack: "He wants to kill No Child Left Behind!" Thump thump!

I'm pretty sure he said something else, but the blatancy of "kill" "child" was over the top even for Jack.

Jack must be scared!

Jack Kingston: Before Bachman, Worse than Saxby

Michelle Bachmann's got nothing on Jack Kingston. The whole country knows Kingston as the hypocrite who accused Barack Obama of being unpatriotic for not wearing a flag pin while not wearing one himself. And harping on Obama's middle name Hussein and claiming Obama wouldn't say the pledge of allegiance and trying to peg Michelle Obama as unpatriotic; Dan Abrams tells Kingston not to come back unless he's wearing one himself. Kingston calls this just a little banter back and forth. OK, so he doesn't know the difference between debate on the issues and impugning a candidate's patriotism.

We could all shrug and say that's just Jack being goofy. What can you expect from somebody who wants Congress to commend Rush Limbaugh? But this foolish persona hides deeper problems.

Jack claims to be a champion of the middle class, but actually gets an F from the middleclass.org year after year, most recently with 23%, worse than Saxby Chambliss, who got 52%.

Yet Kingston get a C from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA): worse than Saxby Chambliss, who gets a B.

Jack's been out front on keeping the war going in Iraq. When he compared more years in Iraq to Germany and South Korea Chris Matthews slammed that as lazy and untrue propaganda.

Jack hasn't stopped with promoting the wrong war at the wrong time; a war that's draining our economy. He's also against new bridges, paper ballots, local fruits and vegetables, preserving nature, health care for children, equal pay for equal work for women, unemployment compensation, and an Office of Congressional Ethics.

And that's before even mentioning Abramoff.

Let's replace Jack Kingston with someone who will work to end the war, bring jobs and renewable energy to south Georgia, and improve healthcare, education, and the environment: Bill Gillespie.

Jack's been a paragon of contradiction from the beginning. He signed Newt Gingrich's Contract with America, which included

The Citizen Legislature Act: A first-ever vote on term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators.

Yet Kingston has been in Congress for 16 years! That alone convinces a lot of people to vote against him.

Jack has gotten exposure through Stephen Colbert's show. On the very first Better Know a District, Jack says he's African-American because he once lived in Ethiopia. Colbert lampooned Kingston for complaining about a five day work week for Congress. Colbert probably thinks he's put one over on Kingston. And another. And another. But Kingston is using Colbert to promote his goofy clueless persona, which hides a darker side. As the DNC noted:

...if he thinks he's African-American, why has he supported so many policies that are harmful to the African-American community?" asked Amaya Smith, a spokesperson for the DNC. "Look at his record. He's anti-affirmative action ... and he's been an adamant supporter of Bush's plan to privatize Social Security, which would harm African-Americans that have benefited from Social Security."

Jack brags about supporting agriculture in his district. yet:

...he voted against providing fresh fruits and vegetables for public schools, using local food whenever possible, as part of the ‘Buy American” statutes (HR 2419). Wouldn’t that promote local farmers and get our children healthy food?

More Jack backwardness:

Jack voted against HR 3999, the National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act. He voted no to state and local grants to make backup paper ballots available for this years election (HR 2642). Check out how easy the voting machines can be wrong and manipulated.

...

Jack voted against equal pay for equal work for women (HR 1338) and against the establishment of the Office of Congressional Ethics (HR 1031). I think they need a whole building on ethics, not just an office. He voted against an emergency bill to extend unemployment compensation (HR 5749).

Jack not only voted against SCHIP (health care for children), he published against it in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Jack voted against the Anti-Predatory Lending Act (HR 3915), but he was and is for financial deregulation; in 2006 he said:

Despite the critics, it is clear that our economy is rocking and rolling like never before!

On the military front,

Jack voted against an amendment to HR 2642 that provides education funding for eligible members of the Armed Forces. He voted against mandatory rest time for our troops in between deployments (HR 3159).

Kingston, sitting in a Congressional committee, accused Robert Greenwald of being a war profiteer because Greewald made a documentary about war profiteers; nevermind Greenwald didn't take a dime. Watch this one: Kingston's goofy persona almost hides what he's saying, which is basically he's for war profiteering and anybody who isn't is against profits, anti-capitalist, and probably anti-American.

Jack is the king of pork for Georgia, and it's amazing how many military contractors donate to his campaign and coincidentally get earmarks!

Oh, yeah: Jack is also for building roads in nature reserves.

Finally, Kingston's curious closeness with Jack Abramoff has never been investigated; more on that in another post.

Bill Gillespie will work for the people of Georgia's First District. When people hear about Bill, they want to vote for him. Listen to the applause when he speaks.

Term limit Jack Kingston and elect Bill Gillespie!

Kingston Is Liberal! (with earmarks)

Jack Kingston is "the House champion for Georgia" in pulling in federal funds.

(Photo: Waldo Jaquith, CC license)

He defended earmarks back in 2007:

"Why do you think we have 13 (military) bases in the state of Georgia?" Kingston said in an interview. "That doesn't happen by accident."

Hm, well, that sounds plausible; who in GA-01, with its four major military bases, would object to that? And earmarks in themselves aren't the problem: they only account for less than 1% of the federal budget.

But when you dig deeper a different picture emerges:

Nearly one-fifth of the $552,000 war chest U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston collected in his 2008 re-election bid came from intended recipients of earmarks he requested this fiscal year or their hired lobbyists, campaign finance reports show.

How many earmarks are we talking about?

The eight-term Republican congressman from Savannah requested $100.2 million worth of earmarks - funds inserted into federal appropriation bills for specific purposes - either solo or jointly with other lawmakers in 2008 spending bills. That's the 13th highest total among the 435 U.S. House members.

Indeed most of it goes somehow to various military installations.
Still, the coincidences mount:

Kingston was appointed to the House appropriations subcommittee on defense in 2005, and campaign contributions from defense contractors soon came pouring in.

By the end of his 2006 election cycle, Kingston had collected $1.1 million - the most in any of his campaigns for public office. Defense contractors and their hired lobbyists also emerged as his top contributors.

Those same groups are among the largest donors to his 2008 campaign.

How much came from intended earmark recipients? $101,600 according to the Federal Election Commission.

Nearly one-third of that money came from big defense contractors - L-3 Communications, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems - and their lobbyists.

The congressman earmarked a combined $7.2 million in U.S. Department of Defense projects for those three firms, or their subsidiaries, this fiscal year.

Helping out local military bases that constituents want is one thing. Earmarking funds for companies that contribute to Kingston's campaign provides the appearance of something else.

There's a lot more in Mike Perry's June 8 Savannah Morning News article.

See also the 11 Jan 2008 CBS News story about the FBI investigating a military contractor called ProLogic for its use of some public funds, and Kingston's role in providing earmarks for ProLogic. Kingston is on the list of political contributions ProLogic provided CBS News.

So if none of this is a problem, why is Kingston now proposing earmark reform, in a bill (HR 967) introduced 7 Feb 2008, shortly after the CBS News ProLogic story?

Maybe he was for earmarks before he was against them.

Bill Gillespie Wakes Up the Candidates' Forum in Valdosta

Bill got applause for saying what needed to be said:


Video by Gretchen Quarterman

A few of my favorite bits from Bill Gillespie's speech at the south Georgia Political Forum in Valdosta, Oct 14:

"going from analog to digital ... new leadership, new opportunities; I want to be one of those new leaders that put people first",

"Iraq war... wrong war, wrong time; it's a money pit, money that we could be better spending right here on our own economy",

"it's sad to see our number one export, our children... we need to fix that",

"I knew when America was right, because we were respected around the world and we were respectful, and I want to able to be a Congressman that reinstates that around the world with our allies",

"we're not set up for the 21st century; why don't we make something again?"

"Lowndes County, you know about service industry jobs, because you have the lowest wages ... compared to the sixteen counties that come to Lowndes County for services",

"there are things we need to do with ... 21st century in terms of education; 40% high school dropout rate; we've got to do better",

"No Child Left Behind left many people behind",

"if the Blazers had a failing season, we would get rid of the coach. It's time for a new coach, I'd appreciate to be that next coach."

The audience loved it.

Bill vs. Jack in Atlanta, Sunday Oct. 26

They met in Brunswick.

Jack cancelled in Savannah.

They meet again in Atlanta, Sunday, October 26th, at Georgia Public Broadcasting in a debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club.

All debates will take place at Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) before a live studio audience. Members of media, students and the general public are welcome to attend. Please call 404-577-7377 with questions or if you would like to attend a debate.

Georgia Public Broadcasting is located at 260 14th Street, Atlanta 30318.

See Bill beat Jack again!

VSU-TV shows South Georgia Political Forum

The South Georgia Political Forum of Tuesday 14 October is appearing repeatedly on VSU-TV, today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, and more times after that. Both Bill Gillespie and Jack Kingston spoke, so this should be of interest across GA-01. Here's the schedule:

Sat Oct 18: 6PM
Sun Oct 19: 12AM, 9AM, 6PM
Wed Oct 22: 8:30PM
Sat Oct 25: 9AM, 6PM
Sun Oct 26: 12AM, 9AM, 6PM
Wed Oct 29: 8:30PM
Sat Nov 1: 9:00AM, 6PM
Sun Nov 2: 12AM, 9AM, 6PM

Maybe VSU would agree for other south Georgia universities, such as SSU, to rebroadcast this show, as well.

Dennis Marks, Lowndes County Democratic Party Chair, says:

Thank you to AAUW and all the co-sponsors for presenting the South Georgia Political Forum at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center. Special thanks to the Conference Center and to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Conference. It was a wonderful opportunity for voters to meet and greet the candidates and to hear their speeches!

A special thank you to the candidates with opposition on the ballot who participated: John Monds and Jim Powell for Public Service Commission; Jack Kingston and Bill Gillespie for 1st Congressional District; Sanford Bishop and Lee Ferrell for 2nd Congressional District; Freddie Taylor and Chris Prine for Sheriff; Terry Hawke and Bill Watson for Coroner; Norman Bennett and Ashley Paulk for County Commission Chair; David DeMersseman, Earl Wetherington, Steve Davis, Ronald Miller, and W. G. Walker for Tax Assessors; Jim Tunison and Greg Voyles for Superior Court Judge; and Jeff Spradley for Lake Park City Council. Thank you also to all the public officials and unopposed candidates in attendance.

Vote early. To quote Dennis: "I'll say it often: vote early."

Oh, and vote for Bill!

Bill @ SSU Tonight! (Jack Cancelled)

Jack debated Bill once; guess he didn't want to try again.

Bill Gillespie, Candidate for Congress in Georgia's 1st Congressional District will address a Joint SSU/AASU student body @ SSU tonight. The event was suppose to be a Debate, but Mr. Kingston cancelled!

The Political Science Association -- Sponsor of the event will allow Bill to give a Policy Address -"A Vision for the 21st Century." The event is open to the public. Please attend, bring a friend, or forward to others that might be interested.

Tonight!, Friday, Oct 17th: Political Forum with Bill Gillespie 6:00PM at Hubert Auditorium, Room 109;

Contact Quartavius Swanson, President of the Political Science Association, Swansonq@savstate.edu, 912-695-5685.

Students, here's your chance to support renewable energy, jobs, environment, healthcare, and getting out of Iraq.

Rocking and Rolling? Kingston on the Economy in 2006

Here's Jack Kingston on his blog (found by Capitol Impact), in 7 April 2006:

Despite the critics, it is clear that our economy is rocking and rolling like never before! In fact, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent, which is lower than the averages of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

It is clear that the economy is continuing to thrive and surge thanks to common-sense Republican policies of lower taxes, less government, and less regulation and red-tape for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

How does Jack's prediction look now?

This week the Republican Treasury Secretary made the nine largest banks in the U.S. an offer they can't refuse to sell shares to the federal government, in other words, to be partly nationalized. At 3PM the bank CEOs arrived, and:

But by 6:30, all nine chief executives had signed — setting in motion the largest government intervention in the American banking system since the Depression and retreating from the rescue plan Mr. Paulson had fought so hard to get through Congress only two weeks earlier.

Oh yes: Jack linked to an article about Nancy Pelosi warning of falling rocks:

Pelosi claims the Bush tax cuts that have led to economic growth are only benefitting a certain segment of the U.S. population.

"With tax cuts for the wealthiest few causing red ink as far as the eye can see, incomes falling, and our jobs moving overseas, the economic record of President Bush is dismal for middle-class families," Pelosi said. "The Bush economy is going in the wrong direction: gas prices are sky-high and health costs are an overwhelming burden for too many Americans."

How are those Republican policies working out now?

Jack Kingston Is Putting Roads on Cumberland Island

Nature writer Janisse Ray likes Cumberland Island:

I like the kingfishers, sea turtles, dolphins, pelicans. I like the sea oats and live oaks. The royal tern.

But paving is coming even to that remote wildlife sanctuary:

Now all that wildness is in jeopardy. The National Park Service (NPS) wants to run motorized tours through it. It wants to rewrite history: take 9,800 acres of wilderness and hamstring it. It wants roads, Moses in an 18-passenger van.

The Wildlife Act says you can't do that, and:

An 11th Circuit Court judge agreed. No motor traffic. But the NPS and Cumberland landowners have a friend in Rep. Jack Kingston, and he performed a little magic trick for them. He made a bill that would redraw the wilderness. After the bill failed more than once on its own, he attached it as a rider – one of an infestation of anti-environment amendments -- to the Omnibus Spending Bill of 2004. The bill passed, so the rider rode through. Abracadabra!

Jack Kingston, the developers' magician! I think he's talking roads bigger than the one in the picture, too.

Bill Gillespie points out that if they wanted easy access to the chapel JFK Jr. got married in, they could have moved it to the southern camping end.

Preserve nature: oust Jack and vote Bill Gillespie for GA-01.

Veterans for Bill Gillespie

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) rates Jack Kingston a C for veteran's issues. Meanwhile, Bill Gillespie is a veteran of the Iraq war, and Bill is endorsed by Gen. Wes Clark. After he served in Iraq, Bill ran ROTC programs throughout south Georgia, so he knows conditions on GA-01 military bases first hand. Bill strongly supported the 21st Century GI Bill.

So if you're a veteran, related to a veteran, or care about veterans, Bill Gillespie is the candidate for you.

Anti-Predatory Lending Act: Jack Kington voted Nay

On November 2007, 291 members of the U.S. House voted for H.R. 3915: Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007. All of Georgia's Democratic representatives voted Yea; all Ga. Republican representatives voted Nay, including Jack Kingston.

If we had that law, the country wouldn't be in quite such an economic mess now, but Dec 3, 2007: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Senate Republicans never let it be voted on.

All the testimony from the House hearings is available online.

We need Bill Gillespie in the House for GA-01 and Jim Martin in the Senate for Georgia.

Jack Kingston for War Profits

Just let Jack speak for himself:

More than 40,000 people have viewed this on YouTube.

Oh yes, Jack wasn't wearing a flag pin.

Is this who we want representing GA-01? If not, support Bill Gillespie.

South Georgia Political Forum

Bill Gillespie, plus almost all the state and local candidates for office, will speak at the South Georgia Political Forum, Tuesday 14 October 2008, at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center, One Meeting Place (off Norman Drive), in Valdosta.


View Larger Map

According to the Lowndes County Democratic Party:

First, candidates will stand at tables around the large meeting room at the conference center, answering questions and having free-form conversation with voters. Second, there will be scheduled microphone time during which each candidate can make a three minute speech. The microphone time will be moderated by Dr. Sharon Gravett, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and longtime member of the AAUW. The American Association of University Women (AAUW), Valdosta Branch, organized the forum working in conjunction with Myrna Ballard of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce, Julie Greenhaw of the Lowndes County Republican Party, and Dennis Marks of the Lowndes County Democratic Party. For more information contact Christine James at chjames@valdosta.edu.

I don't know whether Jack Kingston will attend. Ah, looks like Jack has confirmed after all. Jack and Bill in the same room: should be interesting!

Busses and Trains for South Georgia

Bill Gillespie will work for mass transit for south Georgia, including busses. This dovetails nicely with Valdosta's new Comprehensive Transportation Master Plan which contemplates a bus system for Valdosta. Bill goes beyond local mass transit:

I will also seek to commission a study to research the impact and cost of developing a light-commuter rail system for South Georgia, with lines connecting our centers of trade and education. I envision a “coastal connector” with a line to Savannah, Richmond Hill, Hinesville, Jesup, Darien, Brunswick and Kingsland. I also envision a “mid-south connector” with a line extending to Baxley, Waycross, Douglas and Valdosta. A goal would also be to use commuter rail to someday interconnect our region with other parts of the state: Athens, Augusta, Macon and Atlanta. No private property would be taken through eminent domain. Commuter trains could use current commercial tracks, or rails could be constructed through interstate medians. The trains would be clean, safe, fast, reliable and affordable, and would run on bio-fuel, produced in the First District, or another form of clean, efficient alternative energy. As your Congressman, I will connect South Georgia.

Much of south Georgia exists because of railroads. The Atlantic and Gulf Railroad connected Savannah to Waycross (shown as Tebeauville), Valdosta, and beyond by 1870. (A&G map from Official Guide of the Railways 1870. Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage by Steve Storey.) Residents of Troupville actually picked up and moved 4 miles to found Valdosta on that railroad.

Other railroads were added, mostly to exploit turpentine and logging, plus passenger trains. (GS&F map from Official Guide of the Railways, April, 1918. Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage by Steve Storey.) By the early 1900s, you could take a train to most sizeable towns in the state, and this remained true through the 1940s. Ask anybody over about the age of 70, and they'll remember.

The beauty of it is: most of those railroads are still there and still in use for freight. South Georgia doesn't need to buy rights of way; it just needs to make deals with the owners of the existing railroads. We know this is possible because Central Florida Commuter Rail is doing it with CSX, which is the owner of one of the main lines through south Georgia and north Florida.

The price of gas may be temporarily down right now, but $3.50/gallon is still more than twice the price of 2000 and there's every reason to expect gas prices will go back up, and even higher. People are already driving less. They'd drive even less if they had another way to get places. It's time for mass transit. Bill Gillespie can help bring back busses and rail for 21st century south Georgia.

Bill Gillespie Impresses in St. Marys

Here's a good example of Bill Gillespie's effect when he talks to people:

I'll tell you right up front, we walked away from the conversation with nothing but positive things to say about him. He impressed us as genuine, sincere and concerned about the future of this district as well as the country. We spoke briefly about policies and I was impressed. Bill seemed to be very pragmatic and a real progressive. He understood the financial crisis this country is in, and approached the bailout with the skepticism that we all approached it with. It's a difficult decision for any lawmaker. I was convinced, however, that he had the best interest of the American people, and our district in mind.

All you people in safe Atlanta metro districts or from out of state, don't forget who Bill's running against:

George Bush did not do this alone. He had republicans carrying his water in the House and Senate. There is no bigger offender than Jack Kingston.

And here's why it's an uphill fight worth fighting:

So, stop by Bill's site and help out any way you can. If you can donate, please do. He's up against a candidate that is heavily entrenched. Along with that entrenchment comes lobbyists and special interest groups. Anything you can give will definitely help. If you can't contribute, then get involved some other way. As always though, keep talking to your friends and neighbors. This is our chance for real change. Don't let it slip away. Don't wake up on November 5, as say coulda, shoulda, woulda.

And remember, cable TV buys in GA-01 are among the cheapest in the country. Bill's busily fundraising, but you can help up the ante so he can flood cable with ads. The only thing Bill really needs to win is name recognition, and that would do it. You can help.