Still Facebooking It

Just wanted to let those of you who may find this blog know that I am still posting political updates on my fan page at http://www.facebook.com/carolporter4ga
I also have a personal page where I give updates on what I am doing in my personal life at http://www.facebook.com/caroldoddporter
I also twitter and you can follow me there at
http://twitter.com/#!/carolporter4ga

While I am no longer running for Lt. Governor our race did make a difference. The abuse of power by the current Lt. Governor has been corrected by those in his own party. The children however are still going into jails instead of jobs at a rate the taxpayer will never be able to catch up with so we do need to stay engaged in the system.

Thank you to all who voted in the past election. Regardless of how you voted, I am glad to know you did participate in your government.

Thank you, Carol Porter

Now click on over to facebook and let's hold those politicians accountable. Please feel free to join me in the conversation. Click here.

51. Georgia Needs New, Ethical Leadership

Hello, I'm Carol Porter and I love Georgia. Right now Georgia needs a new Lt. Governor. We don't have reliable water or efficient transportation, and we are in the bottom of education. None of that will grow our economy. We need jobs and our children need a quality education. There are solutions for Georgia, but we must cut waste, cut corruption and elect new, ethical leadership. I'm Carol Porter, and I ask for your vote for Lt. Governor.

50. Carol's First TV Ad Hits The Air Today

Carol Porter grew up in Georgia, raised her children in Georgia and has Georgia values. As a wife, a Sunday School teacher and the mother of four Eagle Scouts, Carol understands the importance of faith and hard work. As general manager of nine Georgia newspapers, Carol sees firsthand how businesses are suffering and feels the urgency of creating jobs in Georgia. Carol understands the issues facing Georgia, and she had the right kind of experience to lead Georgia forward. Vote for Carol Porter for Lt. Governor.

49. Please Volunteer!

The Carol Porter for Georgia campaign is on fire! Her TV ads start Monday, but we need your help to make sure her message reaches all Georgians. 

Carol’s campaign is expanding into two new locations.

New volunteer centers are opening this week in Dublin and DeKalb County in addition to our existing Fulton County location. Help spread the word and support across Georgia by volunteering at one of the new locations.



For more information about volunteering with the Carol Porter Campaign, please contact Rashad Richey by phone or email at: 404-549-1196 or rashadrichey@yahoo.com

48. Ethical leadership? You decide.

Really love having the Tea Party group say they are not voting for my opponent because he has misused his power and raised taxes and said he didn't. Thanks to the Internet he can't keep the truth from the people. See his own words on what repealing the HTRG would do before he did it.

The words of my opponent the Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle --before he repealed the HTRG.

"Today marks a big victory for Georgia homeowners -- House Bill 143 was just signed in to law, preserving the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant. Without this bill, 3 million homeowners would have been forced to pay another $200-300 in property taxes this year. In this economy, Georgians shouldn't be forced to decide between paying another tax bill or meeting the immediate needs of their families."

But in 2009, when the economy was even worse, he did just the opposite of the above quote and goes all over Georgia saying he keeps your taxes low.

Ethical leadership? You decide.

47. Do You Want More Of This?

Want more of this? Georgia's whopping 13.1% loss made it a big loser. Georgia's median income dropped faster than any other state in the nation. New ethical leadership will turn these sad figures around. Please help me spread the truth on what is happening in Georgia's government and therefore to Georgians.

Want more of this? Georgia's whopping 13.1% loss made it a big loser. Georgia's median income dropped faster than any other state in the nation. New ethical leadership will turn these sad figures around. Please help me spread the truth on what is happening in Georgia's government and therefore to Georgians.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/16/news/economy/Americas_wealthiest_states/index.htm

46. New Poll Shows My Opponent At Only 52%

A new 11Alive poll came out that shows my opponent only has 52% of the vote! And with the margin of error and undecided votes counted, which amounts to 11.1%, he is down way below half. Once I get my message and the truth out, Cagle will be like others who have fallen aside-- for him, until they know what he did.

(Remember, he says he didn't raise taxes and we know he did. He has totally gone against his base. And that is just the tip of the iceberg of what has happened in his office.)

Plus there are solutions for Georgia in water, transportation and education that will turn this economy around and make this state the greatest place in the world when we put your voice in your government.

Many of the people I meet have no idea what Cagle has been up to behind those closed doors and when they find out they are amazed he is still in office.

When they hear the solutions we could have put into operation to move the economy forward they really get on board with my message.

At this point the incumbent Lt. Gov. is getting the Republican base, but once they hear the truth, they no longer will put the party above their values. Republicans vote the issues, character and ethics and when they hear the truth on Cagle they will vote for me. I already have three Republicans for Carol groups around the state. As they find out the truth, they are coming on board with me. Hope you will reach out to all and share my message of solutions and ethics.

To prove my point on my campaign model, I could not help but smile when I went to google the new poll to double-check my numbers. I googled "11alive poll georgia"and the search results made my point for me. ( Make sure you read the second one:)

NOW:
New Poll: GOP Sweep of Statewide Offices in the Making - 11Alive ...
Sep 13, 2010 ... If the election for Georgia Governor were today, ...

2 MONTHS AGO:
New Exclusive Poll: Oxendine Still Leads, Handel Challenging ...
Jul 9, 2010 ... the Georgia Primary Election, a new 11Alive/V103 poll ...

45. Priority Budgeting

"I believe in priority budgeting. You hear the incumbent Lt. Gov. talk about it, but then never do it. Why? Because then he could not keep tax wasting programs in your state budget, like the one for the no bid contracts. Waste can still be cut, if we stop the "legislation for friends" approach to government. I would also never have raised your property taxes like he did." - Carol Porter

44. The Evidence Can Respond

The "Backroom Deal" story of how the incumbent Lt. Gov. Cagle abused his power is slowly circulating. I think the key line (in story below) is, 'Cagle declined to respond...' What could he say? The "backroom" was his office. The evidence can respond -- on page 11 of the Congressional Report.

See for yourself at http://oce.house.gov/disclosures/Review_No_09-1022_Referral_to_Standards.pdf (scroll to page 11) and read the story below to see the brush-off.

43. The Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Helped Increase Property Taxest

"I gave a speech yesterday and people are always amazed to find out it was the incumbent Lt. Gov. who helped increase property taxes when he pushed to repeal the Homeowner's Tax Relief Grant. Please help me spread the word of the duplicity. Raising taxes in a recession crippled our economy even more. The taxpayer's just can't take any more duplicity." - Carol Porter

42. Carol Attends AKA Forum At Clark Atlanta Woodruff Library

"I spoke at the 1st forum of the campaign season last night at Clark Atlanta Woodruff Library. My opponent, the incumbent Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle did not show up. He is going to have such a hard time explaining raising property taxes in a recession, the Fred Cooper incident, the no bid contracts, stripping Sen. Smith of his Chairmanship, increased fees, etc... that we should not have been surprised by the no-show." - Carol Porter

41. Labor Day weekend profitable for Atlanta

"It is obvious we have to change the mindset of where we can pull money into this state. We have to do more than give lip-service to tourism. We have multiple blue ribbon committees and then we do nothing they recommend. Look at the figures below and see the lights come on. The turf protection and "governance to friends first" must stop." - Carol Porter


Dragon*Con was expected to bring 30,000 sci-fi and fantasy fans to the city, with an economic impact of $14.9 million. The LSU-UNC football game at the Georgia Dome was projected to bring in 70,000 fans and a $29.1 million impact. NASCAR's race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway was expected to bring in 100,000 with a $7 million economic impact.

And, the Publix Atlanta Cup was slated to bring in 650 soccer teams. Overall possible economic impact of the weekend: around $51 million.

Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle

(although I got the info through a news clip service. You can get from from info@georgiaclips.com published by Elliot Brack)

40. Happy Labor Day!

"Have a great Labor Day! I have had a busy weekend and met a lot of new people. At one location many said they were voting Republican because of Washington. I said the incumbent Lt. Gov. wants you to focus on Washington so you won't notice what he has done to Georgia. Once they hear about the corruption and then the solutions that could have happened instead, they change their minds. Facts make the difference." - Carol Porter

39. Abdicating responsibility in a recession is not good.

"The campaign is really taking off as more people become aware of the issues at stake in my race. Most people did not realize property taxes went up because under the incumbent Lt. Gov.'s leadership the Homeowner's Tax Relief Grant was repealed and cost was passed down to local governments. Abdicating responsibility in a recession is not good." - Carol Porter

38. Now The Only Female Candidate For Lt. Governor

"The Libertarian Party of GA just replaced their female candidate. I am now the only female in the race. Regardless, I think every sex wants to cut corruption, stop the tax increases of the incumbent Lt. Gov. and return their voice to their government. I welcome citizens of both sexes to my race. (With four sons and a husband,) I know we all just want honest, hardworking, informed leaders who put the citizens first." - Carol Porter

37. Dropouts Cost Georgia Billions In Lost Wages

"Dropouts cost GA billions in lost wages. Who knows how many dropouts we have? In 2008, The GA D.O.E., reported a 72.3 percent statewide graduation rate, but independent estimates rated it at 56 percent. All the reports I found this morning also differ wildly from state reports. What is the truth? All I know is we need new honest and ethical leadership telling Georgians the truth." - Carol Porter

A story from 2008 to show the manipulation has been going on for years.

36. We Must Have Ethical Leadership In Georgia

"There are ways to budget in a financial crisis that will allow for more Georgians to enter the workforce, raise the upward financial mobility of those already working and grow the economy. The most important key? We must have ethical leadership making the decisions based on the numbers and not the influence. Read the article below and count the red flags." - Carol Porter

Georgia's tax scheme no longer generates enough for all the state services

35. Business

As the general manager of a small chain of newspapers, my business touches every business, large and small, in nine counties. I see, first hand, the struggles of business owners and their employees. I know it is poor governance and lack of ethical decision making that is holding our state back. There are solutions that will turn our economy around and get people back into Georgia businesses, buying the goods and services that will make our economy thrive.

Tax incentives for small business and for big business, when they give us a true return on our investment, are good, but now tax incentives are the norm both nationally and globally. For Georgia to move our economy forward we must legislate in a way to improve the systems that must be strong for business to grow.

Georgia’s rankings on educational achievement are at the bottom and our dropout rate is excessive. Because of this, the thing we are now becoming known for is being number one in the percentage of our population in the correctional system. Law enforcement has been reduced to unsafe levels and our population is in the top ten most unhealthy. Business in Georgia is struggling and unemployment is high.

Although we made great strides when we appointed a new Speaker in the House, the lack of ethical leadership in the Lieutenant Governor’s office will continue to hold Georgia’s economy back. New leadership is clearly needed for Georgia.

34. New Campaign Headquarters

The campaign sent out this email earlier today:

If you are one of Carol’s Facebook fans you already know our terrific news; we have a great new campaign headquarters! We have 4000 square feet of space, conveniently located right off the 10th & 14th St. Exit off of 75/85. It is in Midtown Atlanta and our street address is 1080 Spring St., on the corner of 12th and Spring St. If you’re in the area you should see the yard signs and the big banner is coming soon.

We plan to move in as soon as the phone lines are connected and we will keep you updated. Be thinking of any furniture that you may have in your basement, attic, or storage shed because we need desks, chairs, and sofas for all of our staff and volunteers.

Once we get everything set up, we will send out another email so that if you’re able, you can come by and help us Call for Carol.

Thanks,

Carol Porter for Georgia

P.S. – For all of you who have already donated to the campaign and helped to make this possible, thank you. As you know, we are gearing up for the General so please feel free to donate.

33. Deal/Cagle "A Corruption Story" or "How to Behave in an Untrustworthy Way" with hot links.

The incumbent Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle (against whom I am running) and Nathan Deal brought Bart Graham, the Revenue Commissioner into the office of the Lt. Gov. (that is your office by the way) to allegedly strong-arm Graham into stopping his efforts to privatize the DOR inspections which would have quite possibly slowed Nathan’s 1.5 million of no-bid state money for his company. Graham thought his ideas would save the taxpayers' money. Cagle and Deal allegedly didn’t like Graham’s suggestion.

Somehow, in the Senate, over which Cagle presides and is the President, the money in question got put back in the budget again. Deal says he sent an email asking Cagle not to do it. He did. The little fact he keeps leaving out? It was an hour after the vote had been taken, Really. They thought we wouldn’t check? By the way, Nathan Deal has used some of his funds to donate to Cagle.

Ready for new leadership yet?

1. This is the list that recently jump started this story again (well that and Deal being in a run-off for Governor.) All this happened last session. I do not know the group at CREWS well enough to vouch for them, but this is what stirred the pot up again.
http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/summaries/deal.php


2. This is a link to the actual Office Of Congressional Ethics
United States House of Represenatatives report complete, with the emails.

http://oce.house.gov/disclosures/Review_No_09-1022_Referral_to_Standards.pdf?loc=interstitialskiphttp%3A%2F%2Foce.house.gov%2Fdisclosures%2FReview_No_09-1022_Referral_to_Standards.pdf%3Floc%3Dinterstitialskip

3. Here is a telling comment in an email from the ethics report (pg. 65 ) from Brain Knight to Chris Riley:

"In regards to DOR inspections of salvaged vehicles; I just want to clarify that you are asking that the DOR inspection Program be fully funded at the previous continuation budget of 1.7 M?"

There were also comments like: "please keep between us" in other e-mails.


4. One thing the Deal side keeps saying is (my paraphrase)- “we asked to remove our request.” But it was after the vote.

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/agreement-with-state-benefits-121572.html

From the AJC story:

"Within days of their final meeting, on March 30, the money was slipped back into the budget by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Barely an hour after the vote, after the program’s continuation was all but guaranteed, Riley sent Cagle’s office an e-mail saying it was OK if the money was left out of the budget after all."


5. Also interesting is the nationwide coverage on this. This is a major breach of trust.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/us/30ethics.html

The report by the Office of Congressional Ethics, however, concluded that Mr. Deal had apparently used his House office to promote his self interest. It also raised questions about the actions of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who it said helped Mr. Deal press his case to state officials. Mr. Cagle’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.


6. A key to find out is: Has Lt. Gov. Cagle ever agreed to go before the Ethics committee? In all the articles, from the time the incident was first being investigated, indicates he refused. Deal resigned from Congress right before he could be investigated. Did they then quit asking Cagle to testify?

Quote below from following link:

http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/03/29/fallout-from-the-nathan-deal-report-casey-cagle-may-have-some-explaining-to-do/

“The Lieutenant Governor’s Office would not cooperate with the OCE’s requests for interviews but did produce some information concerning the Lieutenant Governor’s presence at meetings discussed above concerning vehicle inspections. Thus, the OCE recommends that the Committee on Standards of Official subpoena the Georgia Lieutenant Governor.”

7. Just in case this was a sticking point for you.

From another AJC article:

Graham would not comment Tuesday, but he told the AJC in 2009 that Deal and Cronan made it clear they did not want the inspection system changed.

"Without a doubt, " Graham said at the time.

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/federal-
grand-jury-sought-579989.html

You decide, but if you ask me, new leadership is clearly needed.- Carol Porter