Fresh Loaf

U.S. Rep. Nathan “One of the 15 Most Corrupt Members of Congress” Deal plans to make ample use of what remaining time he has left in Washington, D.C.

High on the list for the the Hall County Republican who’s also running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination? He and some congressional colleagues will kindly ask President Barack Obama to show a copy of his birth certificate.

Deal told his grand plans to Political Impact’s Tom Crawford during an online chat this morning.

Expecting the “Oxendine demands Obama birth certificate” press release in 5…4…3…

UPDATE: Invasion of the body snatchers! John Oxendine says Deal needs to back off the president. From his campaign:

“While I will lead the conservative charge to oppose President Obama on policy issues, candidates running for Governor need to understand that we have a responsibility to do business with the President of United States,” said John Oxendine. “For the sake of the taxpayers of Georgia, a high degree of respect is required and questioning his citizenship after he has been elected to the highest office in our land is disrespectful.”

(H/T to Jim Galloway)

Bookmark It

Is an endorsement really an endorsement if you give the nod to two candidates from the same party who are running for the same seat?

From GOP gubernatorial candidates Eric Johnson and John Oxendine’s Twitter doohickeys:

Whatever, Johnson posted it first! Eat that, Ox©!

Bookmark It

First we had John Oxendine’s “innovative” commercial in which a giant bull destroyed homes and slaughtered a mutant rodent at Turner Field and Buford Dam.

Now there’s an ad pillorying the leading GOP gubernatorial candidate. Tagline: “The Ox. At least he went to college.” That’s an obvious (and not entirely accurate) jab at Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, who’s also running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. She recently said she attended night college classes, but didn’t earn a diploma.

Regardless, flash animation lives on in Georgia political campaigns. Huzzah!

(H/T to Andre Walker at Blog for Georgia)

Bookmark It

Rasmussen reports that John Oxendine still leads candidates battling to become the GOP’s gubernatorial nominee. According a telephone survey conducted by the pollster, 27 percent of likely Republican primary voters favor the state insurance commissioner.

The Ox’s© lead, however, has shrunk by four points — and the number of undecided voters has grown. Rasmussen says many likely voters still haven’t formed an opinion about the candidates — which isn’t surprising for a contest that’s still 10 months away.

Here’s how the other pachyderms stack up:

Twelve percent (12%) prefer Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, while nine percent (9%) like Congressman Nathan Deal. Handel and Deal were tied at 13% each in the previous survey.

Rounding out the list is State Senator Eric Johnson, State Representative Austin Scott and conservative businessman Ray McBerry, each with three percent (3%) support among primary voters.

Seven percent (7%) favor some other candidate, and 35% are not sure. The number of undecided voters climbed four points from two months ago, suggesting that the race is far from decided.

That “other candidate” favored by seven percent of poll respondents could easily be a Libertarian. Pray to God it’s not this guy. Rasmussen will release details on the Democratic gubernatorial candidates tomorrow.

Bookmark It

John Oxendine

On Oct. 15, GOP gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine e-mailed supporters to alert them to a “vicious attack” by “homosexual activists” at local gay weekly Southern Voice regarding his defense of marriage between a man and a woman. He asked supporters to help him fight the “gay lobby” — by donating money, of course.

“The radical homosexual activists over at Southern Voice have launched a vicious attack on me — by name — for my defense of traditional marriage in America. These homosexual activists join a long and growing list of those on the radical Left who are, by their very attack, acknowledging who the true conservative is in this campaign and who they are afraid of.”
— Oxendine, in an Oct. 15 e-mail to campaign supporters

“Those who are engaged in homosexual behavior are people—who need love and forgiveness, and who need to understand the love of God.”
— Oxendine, in an Oct. 9 e-mail to supporters

“So sacred is your marriage that when your baby Jake is born, you immediately put him in a starring role in one of your campaign ad commercials? No way is that exploiting the family, right?”
— Southern Voice news editor Dyana Bagby, in the Oct. 12 blog post that raised Oxendine’s ire

“Marriage has not, in fact, ‘always been’ between ‘a man and a woman’ — for most of the period of the Old Testament, from which Oxendine and his brethren like to quote a certain passage from Leviticus to condemn us, marriage was between a man and several women.”
— Southern Voice Editor Laura Douglas-Brown, in an Oct. 15 response to Oxendine’s plea for funds

Bookmark It

Yesterday afternoon, the five or six Georgia journalists who still have jobs received an email from the John Oxendine campaign.

On Thursday night, the email said, the 2010 GOP gubernatorial candidate would release a “‘new media’ advertisement” hitting Roy Barnes. A campaign spokesman said the ad “demonstrates John Oxendine’s commitment to using innovative, cutting-edge genre to communicate serious messages in creative mediums.”

The release included this hilarious paragraph:

The [event where the ad will be released] is being held at an undisclosed laser-tag facility and is closed to the public. After viewing the commercial, the volunteers will enjoy pizza and laser-tag.

Reporters were under strict orders not to publicize the advertisement until its formal release tonight at 7:20 p.m. Reporters complied. Not out of respect, really, but because we didn’t care.

This, my friends, is the cutting-edge technology, all four minutes of it:

If you don’t have the patience to listen to the man with the slow drawl talk about “Obama liberals” and choppy animations of “The Ox” headbutting a rat all the way to ole socialist France,  then we’ve provided screenshots for your enjoyment after the jump.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine managed to lose the two or three intown Atlanta supporters he had on Aug. 31 with a proposal to “talk about” building “parallel downtown connector” that, if made a reality, could potentially slice through much of Inman Park, East Atlanta and other popular neighborhoods.

Inman Park residents, familiar with such ideas after they successfully helped squash I-485 in the 1970s, demanded he drop the idea. The frontrunners in the Atlanta mayoral race say it’s a terrible concept.

Well, The Ox© hath responded:

“I love East Atlanta, Morningside, Grant Park, Inman Park and that entire wonderful part of our great state,” said Oxendine. “But I know we must find a way to move Georgia forward towards “greener” roads, mass transit, light rail—every option must be on the table.”

(more…)

Bookmark It

Few neighborhood groups have been as vocally opposed to Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine’s proposal of a “parallel downtown connector” than the Inman Park Neighborhood Association. Since Oxendine’s proposal to “talk” about an east-of-Atlanta interstate that could help motorists avoid driving through the city received attention late last week, the neighborhood’s message board has been filled with discussions about the candidate’s pie-in-the-sky idea.

Many of its members still remember the bitter battle over Stone Mountain Freeway/I-485, the proposed interstate that would’ve converted Inman Park and nearby vibrant hamlets, at the least, into “exits” rather than “neighborhoods.” Through an intense showing of community engagement and opposition, residents helped kill that proposal.

And if Oxendine’s proposed road were to ever be built, it could potentially displace many of the intown  residents and impact their quality of life. It would also cost the state an arm and a leg.

Inman Park Neighborhood Association President Lisa Burnette has sent a letter to Oxendine demanding that he retract his statement. The missive is beautiful in a scathing type of way — she gives him an Inman Park history lesson and takes him to task for his “build-more-roads” strategy. She leaves the candidate with this warning:

These Atlanta neighborhoods, including Inman Park, most soundly defeated this highway proposal decades ago, at a time when they had little organization and little resources. Today, we are highly organized and closely networked. We have neighbors and friends in many high places, and we have a lot of money, set aside specifically to protect ourselves against these kinds of proposals.

Burnette’s full letter after the jump.

(more…)

Bookmark It

1. In the auction for Creative Loafing, the winning bidder is … (… these guys. Hey, they seem pretty OK!)

2. The mayoral ‘machine’ goes haywire, Reed fires back (Memo urges Atlanta’s black leaders to rally behind a single black mayoral candidate — to keep a white candidate out of office.)

3. Wendy Whitaker, symbol of flawed sex offender law, rearrested (When she was 17, Whitaker gave one of the most regrettable blow jobs ever.)

4. Sen. Jeff Chapman’s views on water conservation, water wars (Chapman’s one of the Gold Dome’s greatest enigmas — one of the few Republicans who doesn’t march in lockstep with his fellow pachyderms.)

5. Oxendine: Build an interstate through East Atlanta? Let’s talk! (Um, no.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

Good morning, John Oxendine, Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate. What bad ideas do you have for us this morning? Oh, you think we should talk about building a “parallel downtown connector” that could plow through most of East Atlanta! OK. Lemme just first clean up all this coffee I spit all over my desk.

Oxendine pitches the idea — along with a Western Bypass, a new Northern Arc, and a couple of other projects that will most likely never get built — in this campaign video.

Building a massive asphalt artery through some of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods isn’t going to win Oxendine any support inside the perimeter.

But this pie-in-the-sky idea, which will most likely never happen, could win the gubernatorial hopeful points with the North Fulton crowd, a tried and true Republican enclave that’s thought to most likely favor Karen Handel. The Ox says that people who live in the Ga. 400 and I-85 corridors — unlike potential voters in Cobb County — don’t have the luxury of bypassing the city.

But anything to get Georgia out of gridlock, right?

(H/T to Jim Galloway)

Bookmark It

1. Beltline proposal near Piedmont Park prompts concerns about density (How dense is too dense at 10th and Monroe?)

2. Thoughts on passing of Atlanta LGBT rights leader Allen Thornell (Beloved activist, 38, dies after suffering a stroke.)

3. Letter to editor about Georgia reservoirs hilariously suburban (Second only to CL, the Marietta Daily Journal has some of the best letters to the editor.)

4. Oxendine attacks Obama on behalf of big donors (The Ox has to look out for his base — which, is, of course, big insurance companies.)

5. MARTA service cuts start Aug. 15 (Bus route 23 — which runs along Peachtree, linking Midtown to Buckhead — gets the axe.)

(Photo courtesy Atlanta Beltline Inc.)

Bookmark It

Don't worry, bears. John Oxendine hears you!

No, not those bears! (Update – Or even these bears.)

Back in May, we posted a video in which Republican gubernatorial candidate John “I have enough guns in my house to take over a small Caribbean country” Oxendine said, if elected, he’d run Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers out of the state. Go and watch the clip, it’s nice and creepy.

This morning, Oxendine went even more public with his vow. He echoed his pledge to run abortion providers out of Georgia. He signed the Right to Life pledge. He’s been doing all the right things. But he’s not editing!

“If elected, I will use the power of the Governor’s office to create an environment where abortion providers will not want to do business in Georgia any longer,” said Oxendine, now the proud dad of a new baby boy. “The Oxendine Administration will enforce existing laws and use the state Constitution to put Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers out of their grizzly business.”

Planned Parenthood, you’ve been exposed as the bear-smuggling heathens we all knew you were. For shame.

(H/T to Dash Riptide at Peach Pundit for the catch, Bears photo courtesy Wikipedia)

Bookmark It

The Georgia GOP gubernatorial primary is still a year away, but gubernatorial candidate and Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine is ahead of the pack when it comes to kissing up to conservatives.

“I am running to protect the business community in Georgia from Roy Barnes and his anti-business friends. I am running to protect Georgia farmers from Roy Barnes and his environmentalist wacko regulators. I am running to protect the traditional values Georgia holds dear from Roy Barnes and the liberals in Atlanta. … I am going to run a positive campaign. “

— Oxendine plays defense against current candidate and former Gov. Roy Barnes in a June 24 fundraising pitch to supporters. The Democratic nomination is still more than a year away.

“[If elected governor, I'll] make it so uncomfortable that Planned Parenthood is not going to be able to operate in this state. They’re going to start losing money, and we’re going to make it economically difficult for them. … Yes, they will be out of business in Georgia. They will leave the state of Georgia.”

— Oxendine in a YouTube video uploaded May 12

“When I see this and my other three kids, it reminds me of why it’s important that I run for governor, and why it’s important that we transform government.”

— A campaign video posted hours after the July 8 birth of Oxendine’s son, showing the candidate with his wife, who’s cradling their newborn in a hospital recovery room

Bookmark It

When Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle announced on April 15 that he decided to drop his bid for governor, rumors started flying that the reason he gave — complicated back surgery — was a white lie, and that Cagle had actually been confronted with damaging evidence that would’ve hurt his campaign.

People pointed fingers at Cagle’s opponent for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John Oxendine. Others whispered it was Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, another challenger. Some said it was those pesky Democrats, kicking up dirt and slinging mud. But these rumors were never reported by the press because they were just rumors.

Around that time, I searched Oxendine’s campaign reports to see if there were any odd expenses. I noticed one for Investigative Consultants International, an Alpharetta-based private eye firm. Its founder, T.J. Ward, rose to the national spotlight for his involvement with the search for Natalee Holloway, the coed who disappeared during a spring break trip in Aruba.

Jim Galloway yesterday morning reported that James Salzer and Cam McWhirter contacted the Oxendine campaign for clarification about the item. All Tim Echols, the commissioner’s campaign manager would tell the reporters was “campaigns routinely hire investigators.”

That might be all Echols, who took on the role of campaign manager two weeks ago, will say. But Jeff Breedlove, Oxendine’s chief strategist, was a bit more open with CL a few months ago.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine took to the Twitterverse earlier to announce he’d raised about $420,000 in his quest to become the GOP gubernatorial nominee. His campaign says he’s raised a total of $1.45 million to date and has “slightly over one million” cash on hand.

“John Oxendine’s positive message offering real solutions for the issues facing Georgia is clearly resonating with people all across the state,” said Tim Echols, campaign manager. “John Oxendine’s Contract with Georgia offers specific policy solutions the people of Georgia are looking for from a leader.”

Hmmm. Positive messages.

Last Thursday, Oxendine’s supporters heard a little bit of that positivity. In an email to fellow members of the Ox Army, the candidate asked supporters to scrounge up whatever coins they had in their couches, seal them in an email, and fax them to his campaign. The deadline for fund-raising reports was drawing near, Oxendine wrote, and he wanted to frighten his fellow elephants fighting for the nomination.

Sure, Oxendine touted the “Contract with Georgia” you’ll be hearing a lot about. But he also looked into the future, saw that former Gov. Roy Barnes had won the Democrat nomination, and decided it was time for some scare tactics!

(more…)

Bookmark It

Erick Erickson, editor of Peach Pundit and RedState, has gotten all Lawnmower Man up in this and rappelled into the darkest depths of the Internet to do some good-ole fashioned sleuthing.

Erick Erickson

For several days, Erickson’s had a sneaking suspicion that someone close to state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has been vandalizing Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel’s Wikipedia entry. Handel and Oxendine are considered front runners in the race that’s still more than a year away.

A few readers — some of whom it’s safe to assume are supporters of Das Ox — questioned Erickson’s motives. (It’s worth noting that he’s a fan of Handel.) But now he’s uncovered some more evidence.

So while I realize the Oxendine supporters will use this as a forum to go after me again for daring to speculate based on the circumstantial evidence at the time, as the Oxendine campaign seems intent on doing, the Oxendine campaign is not out of the woods by a long shot.

I now have the IP address from which RomneyGingrich12 made the changes to Karen Handel’s biography.

That IP address is a State of Georgia IP address that, I understand, connects from the Sloppy Floyd building. Unfortunately, it is also my understanding that it is pretty difficult to tell from there which computer, in fact, uses that particular IP address or it may rotate.

Read a list of more clues over at Peach Pundit.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Poythress says a recent Rasmussen poll that both former Governor Roy Barnes and state Insurance Commissioner John “PAC Man” Oxendine enjoy strong leads in the 2010 governor’s race was kind of quirky.

In an email blast to supporters today, Poythress basically says the poll’s sample size wasn’t large enough and that chicks dig him. Oh, and that Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, one of Poythress’ Democratic opponents, either lost a lot of support since the last poll was conducted or never had any to begin with.

1. The sample was only 247 respondents. Most legitimate statewide polls require no less than 400-600 respondents to get an accurate gauge on public opinion;

2. The crosstabs show that all of the respondents supporting me were all female. While I believe I have strong support across the state among women, the fact that not a single male supported me suggests a badly skewed sampling process;

3. Another poll released last week showed Thurbert Baker at 30%, in this poll he was at 8%. I seriously doubt that the Attorney General has dropped 22% in the span of a week. Clearly one of these polls is way off base!

We’re not pollsters, but maybe Poythress is right about the first gripe. And women do like a man in uniform. On the last point…well, maybe it’s only THE OX that’s immune to front-page stories about campaign contributions. (UPDATE: Yes, yes, we know the Rasmussen poll was conducted on June 17, prior to the AJC’s story about Baker’s allegedly questionable campaign contributions. Just some snark and a poke at the AJC-hates-Oxendine contingent, folks.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

Lots of goodies out there today.

• Jim Galloway sends word that Ralph Reed, the posterchild for suburban Bible beaters, is back with some new sort of coalition. It’s supposedly not “your daddy’s Christian Coalition.” In 2006, former Loafer Doug Monroe and artist Josh Latta produced an eye-openin’, form-bustin’ graphic comic about the David Cassidy doppelganger. It’s always good for a guffaw.
• Sarawara explains why a Gwinnett County mall made the right choice not to allow a July 4 Tea Party protest.
• Griftdrift explains how bloggers and traditional media need one another.
• Decaturite posts the list of authors and events scheduled for this year’s Decatur Book Festival.
• Jason at Peach Pundit hypes the latest Rasmussen poll, which says state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine enjoys a “commanding” lead.
• Jim Walls at Atlanta Unfiltered reports on the bizarre turn of events in the drama surrounding state Rep. Pam Stephenson, D-Decatur, and former Grady Hospital CEO Otis Story.

Bookmark It

1. Atlantans mourn Frank Mullen (Beloved music photographer succumbs to cancer.)

2. Beltline CEO Terri Montague stepping down from project (A surprising move from the woman who’d been heading one of the largest public-works projects in recent Atlanta history.)

3. Ga. governor candidate John Oxendine loves ‘Confederate gray’ (Twittering candidate gives us a little too much information about his decorating taste.)

4. Beltline’s affordable housing program starts up despite shakeup, economy (Efforts are afoot to make sure us regular people can afford Beltline-proximate property.)

5. Craigslist dropping ‘erotic services’ category (Alt-weeklies rejoice! We’ve beat out Craigslist for smut ads.)

Bookmark It

Gov. Sonny Perdue last week irked many fellow Republicans when he vetoed a bill that would have slashed the state capital gains tax. Critics warned the bill would have cost the cash-strapped state between $340 million and $1 billion in lost revenues.

“I’m scratching my head…If I were the governor, I would have said, ‘Where is that? Let me get my pen.’”

— House Rules Chairman Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, in the May 11 AJC

“Cutting capital gains taxes would have encouraged more investment into the state. It is a sad day when this type of legislation gets vetoed by a Republican governor.”

— State Insurance Commissioner and GOP gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine in a May 11 press release

“If Governor Perdue vetoes it, I hope legislators will consider overturning his veto. The JOBS Act could do a lot of good for Georgia.”

— David Raynor of the Georgia chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business

“Republicans I talked to in the legislature are angry and demoralized.”

— Pro-growth, anti-tax Wall Street Journal columnist Stephen Moore, writing about Perdue’s veto

Bookmark It

John Oxendine likes the Twitterz. He loves the insurance moniez (but gives it back). And he hates the abortionz.

A video uploaded to YouTube three days ago — but filled with heady rhetoric from 2002 — shows the GOP gubernatorial candidate addressing people in what appears to be a subdivision clubhouse. Or maybe it’s a Rooms To Go showroom. Regardless, it’s creepy.

In the video, Oxendine says if elected governor he’ll “make it so uncomfortable that Planned Parenthood is not going to be able to operate in this state and they’re going to start losing money, and we’re going to make it economically difficult for them…Yes, they will be out of business in Georgia. They will leave the State of Georgia.” He then says Planned Parenthood is a business and “they’re in it to make money. Cue the “they don’t mind killing babies” shortly thereafter. (3:45 in the video)

(more…)

Bookmark It

Well, let’s see what’s on the ole Twitter, eh? Oh, what’s this? John Oxendine for Governor? Why, “The Ox” is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to lead the great state of Georgia! What did he do this weekend?

(Turns Twitter off, commences to weep)

Bookmark It

State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, a 2010 Republican candidate for governor, sat down with Fox5’s Paul Yates in one of the station’s series of interviews with gubernatorial hopefuls. The commenters at Peach Pundit are debating Oxendine’s position that the government is responsible for providing water to its citizenry.

But it was “The Ox’s” comment that cash-strapped MARTA needs to be “reworked” — and that the state should examine the pros and cons of privatizing the system — that caught my eye.

(Hat tip to Jim Galloway and Jason Shepard at Peach Pundit)

Bookmark It

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has announced he will drop out of the 2010 governor’s race for health reasons.

“Often times we’re dealt certain cards we have to face,” Cagle told reporters today at a press conference at the Capitol before choking up and leaving the rotunda.

“It is a degenerative spinal condition and treatment will entail significant recovery,” spokesperson Jaillene Hunter later told reporters. She did not elaborate on the name of the condition or the course of its treatment.

In other words, the treatment — which involves surgery — would likely require Cagle to stay off the campaign trail.

Dick Pettys reports Cagle told members of the Senate Republican Caucus that he would run for another term as lieutenant governor in 2010. If so, he’ll face Sen. David Shafer, R-Duluth, and Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah — assuming they remain in the race following this news.

Cagle, a Gainesville Republican, was considered the front-runner to become the GOP nominee for governor. Remaining Republican candidates now include Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, state Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, and Ray McBerry. Possible candidates include Cobb County Chairman Sam Olens, whom Jim Galloway reports is expected to make an announcement on Friday.

(File photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

Save your energy, gents — the 2010 governor’s race is going to be a long and tiresome slog.

From the AJC’s Gold Dome Live:

In a post-General Assembly session interview with the AJC this week, Oxendine, who holds a law degree, took some pointed shots at the way Cagle, who doesn’t have a college degree, thinks.

“The Legislature and the presiding officers, and more so with Cagle, would rather have the status quo than have somebody else get their way,” Oxendine said. “If change means somebody else’s idea, he (Cagle) would rather have the status quo.

“The status quo is the easy way to govern. It doesn’t take a lot of thinking, it’s not brain surgery. To do things differently requires intellectual thought and sometimes he may prefer the easy way out. I think sometimes he just prefers the easy way out, of saying, ‘I’ll stick with the status quo, that way I don’t have to think hard.”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It