The Republican Presidential Primary debates may be over, but some of the discourse from those debates continue to reverberate across the country. In one of the debates between the GOP Presidential hopefuls, former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey asserted that to be consistent on parental rights, Republicans should allow for parent-initiated gender transition surgeries for minors. He proclaimed:
“I stood up every single time for parents, to be able to make the decision for their minor children… every once in a while, parents are going to make decisions that we disagree with. But the minute you start to take those rights away from parents you don’t know that slippery slope… what rights are going to be taken away next.”
Governor Ron Desantis
Meanwhile Governor Ron Desantis of Florida maintained, “You do not as a parent have the right to abuse your kids…. This is cutting off their genitals! This is mutilating these minors. This is irreversible procedures!”
How did we know what is the appropriate jurisdiction of parental authority? The “law of nature’s God” makes it clear. Since the Founding Fathers believed all rights come from God, it makes sense that the limitations of those rights are also set by God.
Different Spheres of Authority
The Bible teaches that Civil Government and the Family each represent a jurisdiction of authority that is separate and carries distinct responsibilities. Both are legitimate and instituted by God himself (see Gen. 2:24, Gen 9:6) Both include specific, defined responsibilities (Ephesians 6:4, Prov 8:15, et al).
After the GA GOP State Committee meeting concluded in St. Simon Island on Saturday, GRA members on the state committee and local GRA members from the Coastal RA chapter, SEGRA chapter, and South GA RA chapter gathered for a reception and fellowship:
GRA President Nathaniel Darnell, GRA-endorsed GA GOP Secretary Caroline Jeffords, & GRA Chairman Alex JohnsonNFRA Director Abigail Darnell & GRA Membership Chair Nancy Rikard (Cobb)Members of our Coastal RA chapter
Most of these fellow GRA members are separate by so many miles that they rarely get to see each other in person, so this was a delightful opportunity. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Much of the conversation centered around the business of the State Committee meeting. In particular, particpants discussed the close vote by the GA GOP State Committee to nearly endorse Donald Trump for President, the resolution Sam Carline introduced and was passed in favor of paper ballots, and the progress on the legal efforts to stop Democrat D.A. Fani Willis from harassing the alternate electors.
South GRA members Tyler Johnson (2nd District GA GOP Chairman) & Kevin ParkerNorth Metro RA members from Cherokee County: Marcia Cox, her mother, Susan Haddad, & Annabella BrancoSouth GRA ladies: Beth Majeroni, Debra Giddons, Kandiss Taylor, & Brittany Brown (Chatham County GOP Chair)Lots of good food and fellowship shared by all!
We were excited last year to help GRA-member Kandiss Taylor win election as the new 1st Congressional District GA GOP Chairwoman, and we were also happy to help Brittany Brown (our SEGRA President) win election as the new Chatham County GOP Chairwoman. These two ladies and their teams have greatly improved the Republican Party in the southeastern corner of the state, after two years of chaos for the region, and Kandiss’ skills as a hostess were on bright display as state committee members, elected officials, and other esteemed guests arrived for this special event:
GRA President Nathaniel Darnell, GRA member Jackie Harling (Walker County GOP Chairwoman), & GRA member Ron Hooper (Banks County)Our NFRA Director Abigail Darnell with husband Nathaniel & baby daughter Blessing SophiaThe M.C.s for the Gala: GRA member Kandiss Taylor (1st District Chair) & Cooper Jacks
GRA-endorsed State Senator Colton Moore (R-Dade) once again led the auction Friday evening for the 1st District’s fundraising gala, which grossed $50,000. At least $15,000 was raised to help the alternate electors being harassed by Fulton D.A. Fani Willis.
GRA member Denise Burns (14th District Chair) with GRA 1st Vice President Brant Frost VSouth GRA member Holly Kessler with Cooper JacksGRA President Nathaniel Darnell with south GRA member Kevin ParkerState Senator Colton Moore taking with Coastal RA President Jeff Jones (former State Representative)GRA member Joy Turner (1st District Treasurer) with NFRA Director Abigail Darnell
Last Thursday, the Chattooga County GOP hosted a public forum for questions and respectful debate regarding the local Accountability Rule recently adopted by their organization. The meeting attracted enthusiastic attendance from no less than eight different counties and included four different GOP County chairs who came out to show their support for Chattooga GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Tudor and her team.
GRA Chairman Alex Johnson & GRA President Nathaniel Darnell both stand shoulder-to-shoulder in support of Jennifer TudorA Congressional District Chair, two fellow county GOP Chairs, & an attorney standing in solidarity with Jennifer Tudor of Chattooga County
Attorney and GRA Chairman Alex Johnson answered questions from the crowd and moderated the discussion. The vast majority of comments and crowd feedback was overwhelmingly supportive with only a few who opposed the rule.
Jennifer Tudor read aloud from the 2023 Georgia Election Code Annotated a passage that says:
“Authority of Party to Refuse To Qualify a Candidate: The state and county executive committee of a political party have the authority to refuse to qualify a candidate upon a determination that such candidate does not meet the qualifications for nomination to a public office.”
Brian Pritchard, GA GOP 1st Vice Chairman also presented to the crowd his reasons for supporting the Chattooga team that implemented the rule. He shared how his area in rural Fannin County is overwhelmingly Republican and suffers from the same problems as counties like Chattooga where the community is roughly 75% Republican, making it nearly impossible to win an election as a Democrat. In these cases, Republican primaries can be flooded with Democrats in disguise. One woman in the crowd commented that this rule would help people like her who are “tired of having to hold their nose to vote Republican.”
“I’ve never had to hold my nose to vote Republican!” retorted one of the handful of men present who opposed the by-law change. “Never!”
Members of the Etowah RA chapter attend up to show support.
One of the concerns brought forward was that the Accountability Rule might in the future be used arbitrarily by the local party against a candidate for no good reason. Alex Johnson shared how Chattooga citizens could remedy that problem if it ever arose by participating in the local party convention and show up to elect different leaders who could be trusted to be loyal to the principles of the party. One of the main goals of the GRA is educating grassroots Republicans so they know how to get involved in the convention process and in elections to replace people who abuse power with those who steward it with integrity. This is one of the reasons the GRA hosts parliamentary procedure trainings and mock conventions where patriots can practice making motions.
Interestingly, the Chattooga County Democrat Party used a similar Accountability power to block a candidate from running as a Democrat back in 2014. The Democrat Party Chairman wrote: “When you sign the qualifying papers, it signifies that you are a Democrat. If you wish to support the opposition, then you should feel free to do so. But, do it as a member of that opposition. We must and should expect a Democratic elected official to actually be a Democrat, and to publicly conduct themselves as one. And frankly, those of us who labor for the Party and candidates like yourself as volunteers don’t feel that’s too much to ask. We must stand for something. We have a philosophy unique to our Party as all political parties do.”
