Abigail Darnell, Author at The Georgia Republican Assembly

From Jail Threat to Republican National Convention: The Journey of the Catoosa GOP Secretary

May 15, 2024 by Abigail Darnell in events

Ringgold, GA – When 77-year-old widow Sherre Bales asked what was involved in the open Catoosa GOP Secretary position, she had no clue that her involvement might eventually lead to crippling fines and prospective time in the County jail. She was told the duties would include taking minutes and keeping records, which sounded easy enough.

Sherre grew up around politics knocking Chattanooga doors with her parents at the age of 14 and occasionally making phone calls to Republican voters. Now as a semi-retired real estate agent, struggling to make a commission in Biden’s economy, her volunteer service to her community may cost her dearly.

Sherre is one of the Catoosa GOP officers that was ordered by a local judge to refrain from refusing to qualify four commission candidates after they were denied access to the Republican primary ballot for their lack of adherence to Republican policies. For refusing, she and her fellow GOP officers faced $1,000 per hour fines and jail time.

Sherre’s political involvement has been occasional throughout her adult life and was almost never paid work. It was something she did as a volunteer at different stages of her life in between raising children and starting her business.

“I’m pretty friendly and personable, so I’m good at door to door,” she said.

Like many GOP volunteers who tirelessly put up campaign signs, make phone calls and wear out their tennis shoes door-knocking, Sherre had experienced the disappointment of having a candidate she volunteered for “turn RINO” after getting elected.

“They would change from what they campaigned on,” said Sherre.

Regret. Betrayal. Disillusion. Exploitation.

It is difficult to describe the intense feelings of a volunteer who believed in the policies that a candidate talked about, was motivated enough to put time and sweat behind that campaign, only to be double-crossed when the politician changed their tune after getting elected. This was a common theme among Sherre’s different volunteer experiences working for Republican candidates.

Like most voters, Sherre had never personally attended a county commission meeting until she got elected Secretary in 2021. By 2023 the community was embroiled in a battle for the freedom to keep backyard chickens with 100 or more citizens showing up at Commission meetings to voice concerns about a new chicken ordinance. At these meetings families would beg their Commissioners to let them keep their chickens and give them a chance to experience the health, economic, and educational benefits for their children.

“There was so much going on about the chickens and I thought, ‘I guess I had better go since I’m the Secretary of the party.’” Sherre was not prepared for what she saw at the Commission meeting that night.

“I was just floored by how the public was treated. It made me so mad. I felt like [the commissioners] were just overlording over us as minions. It was frustrating and humiliating.”

The Catoosa Commissioners have developed a reputation of not caring what the people think, not treating them with respect, and ignoring the hundreds of citizens that would show up to voice concerns about their actions. The commissioners changed the agenda of the meetings to put public comments at the end, after all the voting and decision making was finished.

All of the Commissioners claim to be Republicans, and every election season there is an expectation that GOP volunteers like Sherre have a responsibility to help rally the vote for all Republican candidates.

The Catoosa GOP had been frustrated with the commissioners for years, and Sherre and the other officers felt hopeful about the new Accountability Rule and the process that was established to determine if a candidate really shared the values of the Republican Party.

“Every GOP local party needs to be able to vet their candidates. I know we’ve got some non-Republicans running. You could have a socialist or communist, and if you don’t vet them, people could get in under wire,” she said.

The rule implemented a new practice for Catoosa county, but not a new concept. The state level Republican Party exercises the freedom of association in whom they allow on the Republican presidential preference primary ballot.

“It was kind of like a leap of faith that we could do it.”

Sherre’s signature was required on the official copy of the new party rules, and they were filed with the elections office in the same way as they had been filed for many years, and by many GOP Secretaries prior to Sherre. As an officer of the party, Sherre was one of the 16 members of the County Committee who had a vote on which candidates they believed met the minimum standard to be considered a Republican. Sherre was present during all the candidate interviews.

“We were pretty somber. I was nervous about what was going to happen after we listened to all the candidates.”

“I did not have my mind made up on anybody when it came down to voting. People can say anything, but I went by what their voting record was [while in office]. It was not personalities, it was voting record. We knew this was a big thing and it was unprecedented. We took each candidate and we discussed them and then we voted. Everybody voted from their heart.”

Most of the candidates that interviewed with the party were qualified, and only four were denied – the notorious incumbent commissioners and a former commission chairman: Steven Henry, Vanita Hullender, Larry Black, and Jeff Long.

Less than a week later the Catoosa GOP volunteers were being sued by the four candidates and the judge ordered the Catoosa GOP to sign the qualifying papers approving the candidates as a Republican, or else.

“I was really taken aback when we were threatened with 20 days in jail and thousands of dollars of fines.”

“To go against the court… that’s not how I was raised. I was raised to abide by the law – what was said in court was to be followed. But in this case, I couldn’t. I was Secretary of the Committee. The committee voted this way and that was the way it was going to be.”

She was driven by a sense of duty. Her commitment to her office, and her principles constrained Sherre to abide by the agreed upon rules of the party.

She knew she wasn’t in it alone. The GOP leaders prayed together before they went into the courtroom.

“Our faith is getting us through this.”

Sherre talked to her adult son and two daughters about the situation as well. They said it was ridiculous that the commissioners can throw their weight around.

“You just stand firm, Mom.”

The Catoosa GOP county committee was pretty tight-knit already but this experience really bonded them. Some shed tears, some were quietly resolute, fully prepared to suffer for what they knew was right.

“It was difficult. We were crying. We’re gonna do it, but it’s hard and we’re scared. We had to stick together.”

Sherre had already given up a lot of her time away from her grandchildren, her real estate business, and her cats to serve the cause she believed in, but this was a real test of dedication. Now she was spending long hours in the courtroom anxiously waiting to see if she and her fellow officers would be put in jail like common criminals.

The case is being appealed and Sherre is eager to hear the decision of Judge Billy Ray in the Rome-based federal court, as well as the other courts addressing different aspects of this controversy.

“If the judge imposes those fines, I’d be pretty mad and pretty scared. Where am I gonna get that?“

Sherre never envisioned herself being in a position like this at 77-years-old, but she doesn’t regret her actions.

“I’m happy we did it. I will go to the Supreme Court with this if we have to. We have got to set a precedent that local parties can vet their candidates.”

Meanwhile, Sherre has been chosen to represent Northwest Georgia at the Republican National Convention this Summer. She was elected unanimously by the roughly 200 delegates at the 14th District GOP Convention as an alternate. These same delegates overwhelmingly passed a resolution supporting the freedom of association and the recent actions of the Catoosa GOP. Sherre has loved attending Trump rallies and it will be the experience of a lifetime for her to be able to see Donald J Trump nominated for President.

“What an adventure I’ve been on! Threatened with jail and a bunch of money and now going to the RNC,” she said.

“This is going to be the icing on the cake of my Republican career!”

How To Recognize A Good Candidate (and Avoid the RINOs)

April 15, 2024 by Abigail Darnell in Candidates / Election

Not all Republicans are the same. What is the difference between a good Republican and a bad one?

One of the major distinctions between a GRA-endorsed candidate and a run-of-the-mill Republican is how the candidate would determine if a piece of legislation is good or bad.

*(R to L) Former Congressman Paul Broun with his wife and former State Sen. Mike Crane*

The esteemed former Congressman Dr. Paul Broun (GA-10) developed an excellent method of evaluating legislation that could serve as a model for any candidate. It was a simple four question test.

1) Is it Moral?
2) Is it Constitutional?
3) Do We Need it?
4) Can We Afford it?

Dr. Broun required the legislation to pass all four questions to receive his support. Using this grid, he earned the nickname “Dr. No” while serving in Congress because of the minuscule number of bills that passed his four question test and earned his “yes” vote.

Of course, all of these questions presuppose that the legislator has actually read the bill. In the event the legislative leadership places a large bill on your desk in the morning and expects you to vote on it by Noon, the default vote should be “No.”

In addition to Dr. Broun’s four question test, I imagine our founding fathers might ask these questions as well:

Does this legislation conform to the laws of nature?
Is this legislation in harmony with the Law of nature’s God?
Would this bill be just to all of my constituents?

*The T-shirt most of the incumbent “Republicans” are handing out at their fundraisers this time of year. 😉*

By contrast, the establishment RINO candidates have a strikingly different grid for evaluating legislation that goes something like this:

1) Does the Republican Leadership approve of this bill?
2) What would my large donors think about this bill?
3) Would this legislation advance my personal political career?
4) How is the mainstream media likely to characterize this bill?
5) Would I be criticized for supporting this bill?
6) Would I be marginalized by other legislators for supporting this bill?

Another factor to consider as we attend candidate forums this year is the character of the candidate. The Bible provides a divinely inspired list of qualifications for determining whether an elected official is worthy of being entrusted with authority. Exodus 18:21 says:

“Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:”

Following the Exodus of God’s people out of slavery in Egypt, Moses was tasked with implementing a system of government for adjudicating controversies among the 3 million former slaves of the fledgling nation. It was not a centralized government. It was decentralized. (See this article.) They established rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

This became the requirement for the rulers and judges over the people, at every level:

    ⁃    Able men (competence)
    ⁃    Fear God
    ⁃    Men of Truth
    ⁃    Hating Covetousness

Founding Father Noah Webster, who wrote the first American Dictionary, said:
“When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, ‘just men who will rule in the fear of God.’ The preservation of government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty; if the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.”
[Noah Webster, History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1832), pp. 336-337.]

An inclination of magistrates to greed, corruption, accepting bribes or special interest lobbyists money has been a concern for more than 4,000 years. It crosses party lines and remains one of the major concerns among honest American voters today.

According to Exodus 18:21, one of the qualities you should look for in a civil magistrate is someone who has a righteous indignation and disgust for covetousness. Any candidate who truly hates covetousness is probably not, for example, going to be able to vote in good conscience for the Georgia budget next year without a massive overhaul to remove the corporate welfare handouts to Hollywood companies, among other things.

Similarly, lying politicians must have been a problem 4,000 years ago as well, because “men of truth” is another requirement. A commitment to the truth is vital among those leading in the civil realm. A man of truth keeps his campaign promises. A man of truth doesn’t tell constituents he is pro-life, then tell the feminists he supports abortion, and change his position a dozen times based on the audience present or the latest polling data.

These requirements, and the Law of God, became the foundation for the Hebrew Republic. Our founding fathers recognized the importance of these qualities as essential to the preservation of our constitutional republic. (See this article.)

So, as you attend candidate forums this year and consider which Republicans to support in the primary, try asking the candidates “If you were elected, how would you evaluate legislation?” And judge them by the Exodus 18:21 standard. What are some other questions that you have found useful? Please comment them below.

Catoosa GOP Challenges Illegal Qualifying of RINOs, BOE votes 4-1 for RINOs

April 3, 2024 by Abigail Darnell in Issues

Ringgold, GA — On Tuesday the Catoosa Board of Elections held a hearing to consider the illegal qualifying of four candidates who attempted to force their way onto the Republican ballot by circumventing the local GOP.

A whopping 53 Catoosa County voters filed official voter challenges to the qualifying of these four candidates and this hearing was called to consider the controversy and give those 53 voters an opportunity to speak before the board.

GRA President Nathaniel Darnell reports live at the Catoosa County Board of Elections Hearing

More than 25 patriots gathered outside the courthouse before the meeting, waving signs in favor of the GOP and the accountability rule that ultimately led to the denial of the Republican brand to four commission candidates: Steven Henry, Larry Black, Jeff Long, and Vanita Hullender.

“The only reason that we are here today is because the law has not been followed,” said Catoosa GOP member Adrianne Kittle at the hearing. “I am angry that I have to be here today all because there are four individuals who want to steal the Republican brand and strong arm their way onto the Republican primary ballot. … Each candidate voluntarily participated in the process and interview … and they did not pass because their actions while in office are the antithesis of a Republican Representative!”

More than a dozen citizens spoke to the board in protest of Judge Don W. Thompson’s order to circumvent the party and have the elections superintendent qualify the candidates as Republicans in spite of the party.

Many aspects of this Board of Elections meeting were unusual and seemed to be conducted to stack the deck against those challenging the four candidates. The public hearing was conducted more like a judicial courtroom proceeding than a standard Board of Elections hearing, where usually citizens are allowed to hold signs in the seats and record what transpires. But this Board of Elections hearing was held in the county courthouse where phones and recording devices were prohibited, which violated state law O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(c) which states “Visual and sound recording during open meetings shall be permitted.”

Those making public comments were compelled to be “sworn in” like in a trial. “I was on the elections board for 18 months,” said Debbie Gwaltney. “During my time as a board member, not once did we ever put someone under oath to testify before the board in a public hearing. I’m flabbergasted!”

Furthermore, attorneys for the RINO candidates were allowed to bring in “witnesses” who had not filed formal complaints or voter challenges with the Board.

The attorneys for the RINO candidates even attempted to cross-examine each of the voters after their public comments! They squabbled over definitions and posed numerous leading questions to put words in the citizens’ mouths. After seeing numerous “cross examinations” of their fellow patriots, speakers began refusing to answer questions.

Another unjust aspect of the hearing was that the four attorneys for the candidates were allowed to each give “closing arguments” like in a court hearing. All four attorneys gave their own closing arguments, but not one person was allowed an equal opportunity to give closing arguments for the Catoosa GOP before the Board moved to executive session and the vote. It was as if they treated it as a judicial hearing when it benefitted the RINOs and then treated it like a normal, casual board meeting when it came to the Catoosa GOP members. All of these things just infuriated the patriots more and more.

NWGRA Member Jim Coles from Catoosa made several helpful analogies to drive home the importance of freedom of association. “Would you force the Republican Jewish Coalition to accept a Neo-Nazi member? Would you force the NAACP to accept a KKK member?” asked Coles.

Trans-ing Kids: Are Parental Rights Absolute?

January 28, 2024 by Abigail Darnell in Issues

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.”

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).

RINOs Sweaty-Palmed as Chattooga GOP Implements Local Accountability Rule

January 5, 2024 by Abigail Darnell in Issues

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 Tudor

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.”

Click here to watch the full video broadcast of this Chattooga GOP Meeting.

Chattooga County GOP Adopts Local Accountability Rule

December 7, 2023 by Abigail Darnell in Candidates / Issues

Summerville, GA – Chattooga GOP Chair and GRA Member Jennifer Tudor announced a new bylaw amendment adopted by the county party in early November that specified how the Chattooga County GOP could exercise their accountability power and prevent known RINOs from running on the Republican ballot. Notice of the bylaw change was posted in the local courthouse for all to see. This ruffled quite a few feathers and made front page news in the rural community despite the fact that the Democrat Party of Chattooga County had previously exercised this same power to prevent a candidate from running on the Democrat ballot.

Tudor issued a statemen t on behalf of the party:

“Republican voters deserve truth and transparency. The Chattooga County GOP believes that when a candidate is labeled a Republican, they ought to represent the principles of the Republican Party such as limited government, low taxes, the right to life, gun rights, etc. (See GAGOP Platform: https://gagop.org/resolutions/).

“Should we be forced to accept a candidate who claims to be Republican but supports abortion, gun control, big government and high taxes?

“Struggling families in our community continue to be hurt by high taxes, inflation and wasteful government programs. Deceptive politicians should not be allowed to take advantage of poor, low information voters.

“With this bylaw in effect, the people of Chattooga county can rest confident knowing that, when a candidate runs on the Republican ballot, they will work to truly advance Republican policy.

“We believe, as members of the CCRP, we have a responsibility to the voters of Chattooga County to ensure the candidates on their Republican ballots are true Republicans that believe in the Republican platform. We strive to be worthy of this trust and believe this bylaw amendment will equip us to better serve the people of Chattooga County.”

The bylaw amendment establishes a “County Qualifying Committee” whose written approval is required before a candidate may be placed on the Republican ballot.

The statement from the Chattooga GOP also referenced the constitutional authority under which a political party may exercise this power – the First Amendment right to Freedom of Association. The statement included a quote from Justice William Brennan:

“There can be no clearer example of an intrusion into the internal structure or affairs of an association than a regulation that forces the group to accept members it does not desire. Such a regulation may impair the ability of the original members to express only those views that brought them together.”-Roberts v. U.S. Jaycees, 468 U.S. 609 (1984) U.S. Justice Brennan (also quoted by the late U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist in the case Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000)).

“RINO policies hurt real people,” said Nathaniel Darnell from the GRA. “GOP leaders shouldn’t just stand by and watch families and communities be destroyed by harmful policies and politicians masquerading under the Republican label. This is a big win for the accountability movement in our state and we applaud Jennifer and her team for their courage.”

Chattooga County is one of several counties where local Republican Party leaders have indicated they will begin exercising their accountability power and serving as the gatekeeper for the low information voters in their County.

GRA Members Participate in Another Successful Pro-life Outreach in Dalton

November 19, 2023 by Abigail Darnell in events / Issues

*NWGRA chapter President & Whitfield County GOP Chairman Eddie Caldwell holding a sign at the pro-life outreach.*

GRA members in northwest Georgia were pleased on November 19th to join with our friends at Georgia Right to Life for NW GA RIGHT TO LIFE’s Stand for Life event. over the last two months, pro-life activists have lined up along busy interstates and highways to display pro-life messages near high-traffic areas and still active abortion murder clinics in our state.

In spite of the Georgia Heartbeat Bill, studies are showing that the number of allowed abortion murders in our state have actually increased as people from neighboring states with more protections for pre-born children have come here to commit their abortions. The Georgia Department of Public Health statistics for 2019 through 2022 report a total of 35,401 abortions were committed in 2022, up from 34,989 abortions in 2021.

The current law does not provide equal protection nor equal justice for all innocent human lives in the womb. Critical to the statistics is that the number of chemical abortions remains an anomaly. Reports indicate that 54% of abortions around the country are now performed by drugs that kill the growing child and then cause a premature delivery. Just how many chemical abortions take place in Georgia is unknown since this deadly drug regime is available online and the so-called “LIFE Act” doesn’t address chemical abortions.

Below are some photos from the gathering in Dalton:

Pro-Family Activists Arrested for Peacefully Protesting Rome “Transqueer” Pride Parade

June 24, 2023 by Abigail Darnell in events / Issues

Rome, GA – Today a group from the Etowah Republican Assembly led a protest against the City of Rome’s “Transqueer Pride” parade. They were joined with members from a local church and other concerned citizens. Police arrested four of them as they peacefully waived signs from the side-walk in view of the people participating in the parade.

This second annual event for the city features “trans” men dressed as women performing highly sexualized dances and other acts, although it was marketed as a “family-friendly” event that children were encouraged to attend. One witness reported a 4-year-old boy wearing a girl’s dress. The child’s parents encouraged him on to the stage with the drag queens where one drag queen grasped his hand and attempted to induce him to dance with him. The child seemed terrified and bolted from the stage. The protesters believe sexually provocative events like these should be restricted to adult entertainment and not be permitted in public or in the presence of children.

Another witness reported a male attendee wearing a skirt so short that part of his genitalia was exposed in view of the many children in the park. Last year’s “pride” event included bare-chested women and sex toys being sold at eye level of the children.

You can help us continue this fight for freedom of speech and protection of children by donating to the GRA. These patriots are going to need legal counsel and media support to ensure their story gets told.

“I understand a lot of people are scared of being called names like ‘transphobic,’ but there is a sexualization of children issue going on here,” said Melissa Smith, one of the protesters. “You can’t call something family friendly when it’s sponsored by sex shops. I don’t care about your lifestyle, I care about protecting children.”

“It’s time we wake people up. Someone at some point had to do something about it. Now they want to drag children with autism into it,” said Angela Rubino, one of the activists who was arrested, referencing a social media post from the group’s organizers that specifically targeted gender dysphoric people. A scientific link has been observed between people with autism who also suffer from “gender dysphoria” and that fact has made the autistic community a new target for trans groomers.

The four people arrested were charged with “unlawful assembly.” However, the protestors say that they were simply exercising their First Amendment-protected rights of freedom of speech and right to peaceably assemble. They were not hurting anyone, not inciting any riots, nor even speaking over the “trans”-performers who used amplification equipment. Peaceful counter protests are a common and accepted part of American life.

Brad Barnes, Angela Rubino, David Smith, and Melissa Smith were the four Etowah Republican Assembly members from the group who were arrested by police. They reported that the policemen seemed awkward and embarrassed about arresting them.

“They didn’t read us our Miranda rights or nothing!” said Angela Rubino.

Employees at the jail indicated they had never seen anyone arrested and booked for an ordinance violation. In most cases they should have simply received a ticket. They were released shortly thereafter on bail, but in addition to the charge, the four activists were issued a 72-hour ban from all the facilities owned by Floyd County Parks and Recreation.

You can donate to help provide legal support to these persecuted patriots.

“If you cannot use your rights, you don’t have them. And if you need to ask permission to use your rights, they’re not rights, they’re privileges,” said Barnes, President of the Etowah Republican Assembly. “For me it was the intersection of defending children from what is obviously inappropriate for anyone, and defending the Constitution.”

Fulton Commissioners Subvert Law to Block Appointment of Republican Jason Frazier to Board of Elections

June 21, 2023 by Abigail Darnell in Issues

The Fulton County Board of Commissioners this morning voted to illegally reject the Fulton Republican Party nominee to the Board of Elections. More than thirty election integrity activists (including many local GRA members) showed up to speak and passionately addressed the Board in favor of Jason Frazier, who was nominated by the Fulton County Republican Party.

The word “shall” in the Fulton Ordinance 14-33 means they are required to accept the nomination from the Fulton County Republican Party.

The Fulton County Commission has always appointed the four Board nominations from both the Republican and Democrat chairs of the county, giving them two slots each. So why try to subvert the law now?

They opposed Jason Frazier for being a “disrupter,” and Democrat Commissioner Barrett indicated in a recent podcast interview that she was opposing him in an effort to protect against the “far right.”

Fulton resident Jason Frazier, has been volunteering his own time and money to clean up voter rolls in his county because the county wasn’t doing its job as required by law. In one example of his challenges, an abandoned house at 850 Oak Street NW in Atlanta had twenty voter registrations!

Over the last two weeks, activists have been collecting signatures on a petition for free and fair representation on the Board.

They were able to collect a large number of signatures despite the petition link being entirely banned from Facebook.

“I am holding a petition of 900 Fulton constituents!” declared activist Jamie Parrish.

The activists that took to the mic to make public comments were met with loud applause from the crowd. GRA Member Michael Gordon said, “The Board just re-appointed those who fail to do their job, and opposed Jason Frazier, who has been doing the job!”

“You have made Fulton County a nation-wide joke on elections. I call you to rise above your partisan hack and appoint Jason Frazier to the Board of Elections,” said GRA Member Julie Allen.

Republican Commissioner Bridget Thorne pointed out that the county is eager to save costs, yet they continue to do nothing about the “bloated voter rolls”, which cost tax payers money in the equipment that is required for every 2,000 registered voters.

Jason Frazier had been the one to discover that there were approximately 20,000 duplicate voter registrations in Fulton and approximately 2,000 registrations had no address listed. How were they registered with no address?

The Fulton Board of Elections overwhelmingly acknowledged that Jason’s challenges to the voter rolls were correct — nearly 100% of them! Yet instead of showing gratitude for his volunteer service, and recognizing his experience and potential, the Fulton Board of Commissioners blocked his appointment to the Board of Elections. To the Democrat Commissioners, Frazier’s challenges were considered to be “frivolous and irrelevant.”

The motion was made by commissioner Thorne and seconded by Commissioner Bob Ellis, but the vote to approve Jason Frazier failed by a vote of 5-2.

Plan of Action for the GA GOP Convention Cycle

March 9, 2023 by Abigail Darnell in conventions

As the Republican Party convention approaches, it is critical that all GRA members are acquainted with the plan of action and understand the vital importance of their involvement. One of our goals is to reform the GOP from the inside (so that the GOP truly advances its professed principles,) and the conventions are an opportunity to make progress toward that goal. At the convention there will likely be a competition to see which faction of the party can successfully get more of their people into positions of leadership and on the delegate lists.

At war in the GOP are two groups which we often call “the Establishment” (or “the Uni-Party”) and the Patriots.

Step 1: Know Your Opponents – The Establishment Activists

The Establishment (“Uni-Party”) is largely made up of RINO politicians, lobbyists, bureaucrats, staffers who work for politicians, consultants and printers who produce campaign materials for politicians, and also a few well-intentioned but misguided patriots. Nearly all the members of the GOP Establishment are people who work for the political industry in some capacity.

This Establishment group marches on dangerously because they have an inherent conflict of interest. The fact is that people who receive a paycheck from the industry are going to be far less objective in their evaluation of politicians’ behavior and their voting record, and far less likely to bring accountability to that entrenched industry. These Failed Establishment Operatives (ie. Karl Rove ad nauseum) have a strong incentive to remain in the good graces of the powerful political industry, because “after all,” an Establishment activist concludes, “they write my paycheck. If I offend the political class, I could lose my job, then how would I support myself and my family?”

These folks might have the best of intentions, but they have a strong incentive to protect RINOs from accountability, that is often too strong to overcome.

RINO politicians typically find implementing the principles of the GA GOP to be either “too extreme,” or just “not a good idea at this time,” because there is always an election approaching and we have to be “cautious about offending voters, ya know”… or any number of excuses like that.

The Establishment group is obsessed with protecting the reputation of politicians whether the politician deserves it or not. An Establishment activist makes it their goal to ensure that everyone thinks the politician is wonderful. Whatever excuses they provide for their inaction, voting for Democrat policies, ignoring election fraud, ignoring the continued slaughter of babies, etc., is propagated to the broader GOP base in the most favorable, believable light possible.

Their loyalty is often entirely with the politicians, or at best it is divided between the principles of the Republican Party, and the politician they work for or lobby for while on the clock. They don’t want anyone to know the dirty little secret that most Republican officials vote contrary to the Republican Party platform about half the time as you can see on our Legislative Vote Scorecards.

They think wistfully, “If I’m loyal to this RINO now, and he is successful at climbing the ladder, maybe he will appoint me to a prestigious position (or a higher position) some day.”

Step 2: Know Yourself – The Patriot Activists

We call this group of GOP activists “Patriots” because, like the Founding Fathers they sacrifice time, toil, and treasure to make America more principled and more constitutional for the next generation. They usually never make a dime from their political activism (in fact, they usually sacrifice many dimes,) and they are okay with that. They believe there is a transcendent source of law, as the founding fathers did when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence about the “laws of nature and of nature’s God.” They are not ashamed of America. They labor out of passion for the principles of the Republican Party (principles displayed in our founding documents) which have made America great. They are often infuriated by the outcome produced by Republican politicians who don’t do what they campaigned on when they get into power.

People in this camp generally cling to the GA GOP platform; so that they can have a “measuring rod” for determining if officials are doing well or poorly at advancing Republican principles. You can see those here: https://gagop.org/resolutions/

This group is typically oriented toward accountability.

When officials don’t advance Republican principles and instead govern as “Republicans In Name Only” (RINOs), activists in this accountability group call out the RINOs and expose their bad behavior in hopes of convincing enough of their fellow Republicans to vote them out next election. This group can often be seen circulating petitions, leading citizen lobbying, phone call & email campaigns to persuade Republicans to do the right thing.