Author: Nathaniel Darnell
This Thanksgiving, Let Us Remember to Whom We Should Be Especially Thankful …

This Thanksgiving, Let Us Remember to Whom We Should Be Especially Thankful …

We at the GRA wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving Day tomorrow as we celebrate the blessings of God upon our nation! These blessings were particularly evident in the recent general election as we saw NFRA-endorsed Donald Trump re-elected as U.S. President, and Republicans win back the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House!

We’re also thankful for a newly emerging breed of local and state Republican leaders like State Senator Colton Moore (District 53) who are providing a higher caliber of Republican in Georgia—focused on advancing Republican principles.

I recently had the delight of joining Senator Moore, Rep. Charlice Byrd (District 20) and former State Rep. Matt Gurtler (now Chief of Staff to Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky) at Moore’s Machine Gun Shootout in northwest Georgia. We had a blast celebrating together the recent wins.

Moore has been a voice of conviction for truth in the state legislature when many others shrink in cowardice. For example, you may have seen Moore’s recent reaction when Laken Riley’s murderer was convicted. Moore immediately called for GA’s Attorney General Chris Carr to act so that the convicted murderer would receive capital punishment, but do-nothing Carr continues to sit on his hands as usual in failing to enforce critical Georgia laws.

The Word of God says that the best way to protect innocent life is with the death penalty against those who would destroy it. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man” (Genesis 9:12). This is much of the reason for why we stand for gun rights in America: Everyone has the right to defend himself with deadly force against those who would threaten him with deadly force

But after a crime has occurred, God has delegated the authority and responsibility only to civil government to impose capital punishment for convicted murderers who have received due process. (See Exodus 21:12Romans 13:3-4.) The brutal murder of Laken Riley deserves such a punishment.

But instead the taxpayers are being forced to provide Riley’s vicious murderer with free room and board for the rest of his life.

And yet Mr. Carr is not only ignoring the necessary action, but he’s apparently tone deaf enough to have announced he’s the first candidate to run as Georgia’s next so-called “Republican” Governor. We hope better candidates will enter that race in the days to come.

In the meantime, the GRA is going to continue to work alongside and support courageous and principled champions such as Colton Moore and resist the RINOswho would make America pathetic again.

The Bible teaches clearly that the role of Civil Government is to do justice, not charity, and not economic development. We look forward to the day when civil government gives more attention to doing real justice for victims, and less attention to micro-managing people’s lives and livelihoods.

To Whom Are You Thankful?

The Pilgrim fathers who gathered in Plymouth for the first Thanksgiving Day knew exactly to whom they owed gratitude. Likewise, President George Washington made it abundantly clear who our nation should be thankful for in his first national Thanksgiving proclamation.

Being thankful always requires an object of that gratitude.

The other day I was listening to a high school teacher explain to his students how the word “love” only makes sense if there is a specific target of that love. In grammar, words like “love” are what they call transitive verbs. No matter what the Democrats say, one is not simply a love person or a hate person. Everyone loves something and everyone hates something. Usually, we hate that which opposes what we love. It is the same with being thankful. Thankfulness is not just a warm fuzzy floating around in our feelings directed at no one in particular. We must have an object.

Who is the object of your thanksgiving this year? Hopefully, we are counting our blessings and thanking our families for their support throughout the daily grind. Tell them how much you appreciate them. Being grateful is good for the soul.

We should also be grateful for all of the hard-working volunteers in the GOP who made the recent victories possible. They worked tirelessly for the families in their community, who will all benefit from Republican policies, but never know who made it happen and will likely never express their gratitude.

There are many people we should thank. But most of all, we must give thanks to God.

This need is particularly underscored when we witness remarkable acts of providence and blessing for which mere coincidence cannot adequately account. Events like Donald Trump turning his head at just the right split second to only be grazed on the ear by a would-be assassin’s bullet.

Such events do not play out that way without, as George Washington would say, “the finger of providence” being in it.

Thanking God necessarily means we are acknowledging our dependence upon Him, and thus are acknowledging our need to trust and obey Him above all others as we continue to live.

We are thanking God with you this week! Together let us seek His wisdom and blessing as we work to improve Georgia. He has granted us a merciful reprievein the recent election results. Let us make the most of it.

We have not achieved success merely because Republicans were elected. We have achieved success when Republicans policies get enacted into law. So our work to provide accountability begins today.

If you are not currently engaged in the Republican Party, or if you would like to be more effective at advancing the principles and fighting off Democrats and Establishment RINOs, we invite you to contribute to our outreach in Georgia! Join the team of grateful warriors.

More GRA-Endorsed Legislative and Local Candidate Victories!

More GRA-Endorsed Legislative and Local Candidate Victories!

The Georgia Freedom Caucus has another member among its ranks at the State Capitol. In spite of opposition and harassment from the Republican Establishment in Atlanta, our GRA-endorsed State House candidate Noelle Kahaian came out on top in her election for State House District 81 with 19,122 votes to the Democrat’s 14,392 votes. Noelle has been a patriot activist for several years working on common sense legislation to protect children from obscenity and harmful gender ideology in government schools and libraries. Her victory is particularly notable because she defeated a R.I.N.O. incumbent in the primary earlier this year.

Meanwhile, GRA-endorsed State Senator Colton Moore (R-53) resoundingly won re-election with 78.77% of the vote in Northwest Georgia. Moore has had the best vote score of any legislator in the Georgia General Assembly over the last term — a fact that seems to have sparked some jealously among the R.I.N.O.s in the State Senate who removed him from their Senate so-called “Republican” Caucus.

Ken Pullin

In other local down ballot races, several GRA-endorsed candidates also clinched it. For example, GRA member Keith Bowen won election as Miller County Commissioner, receiving 84% of the vote! Endorsed candidate Clyde McDaniel for Whitfield County Cornor won his race with 73% of the vote.

Still more GRA-endorsed candidates won without opposition in the general election, including State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-20), Tony Abernathy for Murray County School Board, and Ken Pullin for Pike County Board of Commissioners.

Record-Breaking Success in the 14th!

Record-Breaking Success in the 14th!

We’re in the final stretch of the general election campaign season, and the GRA is busy all across the state, working to make the biggest impact possible on November 5th!

Last week, several of us from the GRA Board were pleased to support our GRA-member Denise Burns, the Chairwoman of the 14th Congressional District GA GOP, in her special fundraiser dinner featuring hero journalist Tucker Carlson and GRA-endorsed Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) at the beautiful new McClemore Resort in Senator Colton Moore‘s district of northwest Georgia. This event was primarily organized, promoted, and coordinated by GRA-members who lead the 14th District GA GOP Committee, especially Denise, Joanna Hildreth, and Jackie Harling, with help from others in the district.

As the Treasurer of the 14th GA GOP, I was thankful that the event turned out to be such a success. It was not the Buckhead corporate lobbyists who came to the rescue to sponsor the dinner, but many regular grassroots folks in north Georgia and Tennessee who admire the courageous efforts Tucker and Marjorie have taken for the well-being of the country — even when it has cost them dearly. The event ended up raising over $200,000 (gross), which is far more than we have ever seen a congressional district GOP organization in the state raise all at once!

In addition, at the dinner VoterGA‘s Garland Favorito presented Tucker with the “Truth in Journalism” award for exposing evidence of tampering and fraud from the 2020 election on his old FoxNews show before he was forced to leave that network.

Those of us on the 14th District Committee met shortly thereafter to put these hard-earned funds immediately to good use to help our key Republican nominees in the district facing Democrat opposition. GRA-endorsed candidate Gary Chaffee, for example, received the maximum contribution for his State House race. But the committee was also careful to reward only principled Republican candidates, not RINO incumbents who can get backing from Speaker Burn‘s House “Republican” Caucus, where their loyalties obviously lie. I’m proud of the committee for taking that approach. It is good to reward real Republicans who actually uphold and advance the principles of the platform.

Meanwhile, Georgia has been seeing new records of early voting turnout around the state. Have you voted yet?

One of the friendly neighbors in my precinct I had the pleasure of meeting while canvassing for candidate Brad Wheeler.

GRA members have been volunteering as poll workers and poll watchers. We’ve been out door-knocking and sign-waving for local Republican candidates. In-between the work, some of us have managed to squeeze in a rally or two with Trump or J.D. Vance.

There are only 15 days left before the polls close on Election Day. We need to make hay while the sun shines!

Tuesday evening GRA members will have a Zoom call with Trump attorney (and fellow graduate from my law school alma materMark Meuser from California.

It will be vital that we be all on the same page and coordinated about how to handle any possible election fraud that comes to light on November 5th.

Since we still have to put up with the Dominion voting machine systems for this election, please be sure to encourage all of your friends and family to be careful to review their printed ballot before submitting it to ensure the selections match the choices made on the computer touch screen. There have already been reports of inaccurate printed ballots in some cases.

Let’s stay vigilant and keep pressing on for victory!

State Senator Brandon Beach Supports Removal of Duncan, Wants Moore Back in the Caucus, & Opposes Making County Commissions Non-Partisan

State Senator Brandon Beach Supports Removal of Duncan, Wants Moore Back in the Caucus, & Opposes Making County Commissions Non-Partisan

Woodstock, GA — State Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) last night spoke to a precinct dinner hosted by North Metro RA chapter President Richard Jordan in Cherokee County. Beach’s Senate district includes much of east Cherokee County and a portion of north Fulton County, and Beach faces Democrat opposition in the general election. He encouraged the attendees at the dinner to rally behind President Donald Trump in the race, and praised his integrity while highlighting how damaging the polices of the Biden / Harris administration have been over the last four years.

Sen. Brandon Beach

During the Q&A portion of his presentation, Beach answered a number of questions on a variety of issues. In particular, Beach expressed his support of GA GOP Chairman Josh McKoon‘s recent proposal to have the GA GOP Executive Committee vote to block Geoff Duncan from ever being able to qualify to run for office again as a Republican. “I don’t understand how you can consider yourself a conservative in any way if you support the radical agenda of Kamala Harris!” he said.

The GA GOP Executive Committee in early August decided to draft a proposal on that subject that will be voted on in a future meeting. The vote would only require a simple majority of the 28-member Executive Committee, or 15 votes. The GRA has been reminding the GA GOP of their power protected under the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and parallel provisions in the state constitution of a “right of association,” and we applaud this proposed action regarding Duncan. The GOP E.C. already possesses all the accountability power necessary to block fake Republicans like Duncan or Raffensperger and we are grateful for this step in the right direction. 

On the other hand, Sen. Beach said that both he and Lt. Governor Burt Jones (R-Jackson) hoped the Senate Republican Caucus would welcome back Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton) very soon. Sen. Moore was suspended from the Senate Republican Caucus last September for calling out fellow Republicans in the Senate for not supporting his proposal to sanction Fulton Democrat D.A. Fani Willis in her harassing lawsuit against former President Trump. Beach indicated that most of the tension on restoring that relationship is coming from the State Senate President Pro Tem Sen. John F. Kennedy (R-Macon).

When asked by former Cherokee GOP Chairman James Dvorak what he thought about the proposal from State Senator Ed Setzler (R-Cobb) to enable county commissions to become non-partisan, Sen. Beach said he had not previously heard about that proposal but that he could not see a good reason to support it. “You pick your horse and you ride it,” said Beach.

Marcia Cox reports on progress in Cherokee County.

Beach also expressed his support of on-going Election Integrity reform. He reminded the audience that it was he and Burt Jones who ran afoul of then-Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan by speaking out on election integrity after the 2020 election, and they were punished by Duncan for doing so.

GRA-member Marcia Cox from Cherokee also gave a report at the meeting on outreach efforts in the county, and reported that the Cherokee GOP membership has grown to a record-breaking level as people are rallying together to help in the general election.

Participants at the meeting last night also got to meet Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s sweet mother who was in attendance.

Time for a Reagan Movie Night!

Time for a Reagan Movie Night!

We’d like to invite you to join us on Thursday evening, August 22nd, for a special pre-release showing of the final cut of the Reagan MovieAbout twelve years ago, when I was paying my way through law school while working as a film editor in San Antonio, I had the pleasure of meeting the filmmakers behind this movie when it was in the early stages of pre-production. I can’t tell you how excited I am that they finally got it made after all these years!

My wife and I had the delight of seeing an early cut of the film back in May, and it brought tears to our eyes. While there are many excellent documentaries about the life of our 40th President, we have never seen a dramatic film made about him before that was not out to make him look like a bafoon or heartless. What people will see in this film is a moving depiction of Reagan’s heroic presidency in spite of his flaws. It pays honor to a man who helped to tun the tide of American history. The Republican Party, and the world, has not been the same since Ronald Reagan.

So what a great way for us to get in the mood right before campaigning gets into high gear for the November General Election than to go and see this movie together! Supporting the movie will also support the brave independent filmmakers who have labored for so long to bring this to the screen.

Come join us on Thursday evening, August 22nd, at 6:00pm for this special pre-release showing of the FINAL CUT of the new Reagan Movie — hosted by the Cobb County Republican Assembly chapter! The showing will be at the NCG Acworth Movie Theater. Those who register will receive a drink and popcorn along with their movie ticket!

Seating is limited! There is an early bird $5 discount if you register before August 20th.

Here is a summary of the event:

Reagan Movie Night
Location: NCG Acworth Movie Theater
4421 Cinema Dr, Acworth, GA 30101
Time: 6:00pm EST
Cost: $35 for movie, popcorn, & drink

Funds raised go to the support of local Republican candidates in the general election.

Click here if you would like to register for the REAGAN MOVIE Night.

August State Board of Elections Meetings Continue to Show Signs of Progress

August State Board of Elections Meetings Continue to Show Signs of Progress

Atlanta, GA — An estimated over 300 election integrity activists from every corner of the state showed up at the State Board of Elections Meeting and a Press Conference (organized by Georgians for Truth) Tuesday at the State Capitol, filling up three rooms! Many of us from the GRA were pleased to be among them. With so many items on the agenda, the meeting progressed into a second day.

Chairman John Fervier (appointed by Governor Brian Kemp) displayed what appeared to be hostility to the election integrity activists by throwing a curve ball in changing the process for how people could sit in the main room. In the past, access to the main room has been based upon first-come-first-served, but the Chairman imposed a new system whereby attendees had to receive tickets to get a seat, and priority was given to members of the press and state legislature in order to have access to the main room. Several who arrived early to get a seat were told they had to move to an overflow room because they did not have a ticket.

Jason Frazier

The GRA’s Election Integrity Action Group Chairman Jason Frazier observed about the meeting: “I would be surprised if Fervier makes it to the end of his term. Pressure is building. Meetings went from quarterly to 3-4 days/month. He is no longer the alpha in the room. Hundreds of people are showing up, thousands more watching. He has lost control of the meeting. People that know him and his family say that he wasn’t like this, etc.” He described Fervier’s actions as “Waffle House,” a play on Fervier’s career as an Executive at the company.

GRA-member & 1st District Chairwoman Kandiss Taylor summarized the situation on the State Elections Board well when she wrote on X that it “has [three] ethical, moral, election responsible members. They have a liberal [D]emocrat as well as a Kemp appointed Chairman that both are fighting the Georgians who just want truth and accountability.”

So far both Republican Party appointed Dr. Janice Johnston and GA State House appointed Janelle King have been the most reliable leaders of election integrity reforms on the SEB, although even they mused aloud that some of the rule proposals presented this week crossed the line, in their minds, from rule-making into possible legislating, in particular one that would have substituted Dominion computer voting for paper ballots under particular circumstances. State Senate appointed member Rick Jeffres is increasingly voting with Johnston and King in favor of rule reforms. Democrat appointed member Sara Tindell Ghazal and Kemp appointee Chairman Fervier are more often finding themselves voting together in the minority.

GRA-member and Cobb GOP Chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs pointed out the problem of the SEB not having their own legal counsel, but being strapped to the counsel of the Secretary of State. “How many times are y’all going to allow a data breach form the Secretary of State’s office before you do something about it?” she asked.

GRA-member Matt Rowenczak testifies at the SEB Meeting Tuesday.

Eyebrows were raised when a lawyer from Washington, D.C. was brought in Tuesday to testify against the need for certain election integrity reforms. Dr. Johnston asked who invited him to speak for 30 minutes in front of the Board, and Chairman Fervier replied somewhat testily that that was his decision.

The Georgia SEB received national attention this week for voting to pass a rule that would require “a reasonable inquiry” before certifying an election where there were signs of possible fraud or miscalculation. Detractors of the rule argued that the rule provision was ambiguous and could keep election results tied up in court for months.

Former President Donald Trump praised the development. “I won Alabama by a record,” he said of the 2020 election. “I won South Carolina by a record. You don’t win Alabama and South Carolina by records and lose Georgia. It doesn’t happen. All we want is honest elections. If we have honest elections in Georgia, if we have honest elections in Pennsylvania, we’re gonna win ’em by a lot.”

Update: In a 3-2 vote Wednesday, election board members Rick Jeffares, Janice Johnston and Janelle King voted to report findings from the Fulton County investigation of double balloting, missing ballot images and a host of other violations tied to the controversial 2020 presidential election to the Attorney General. The vote Wednesday referred the Fulton case to Attorney General Chris Carr‘s office for investigation into 17,852 reported missing ballot images, the double-counting of more than 3,000 ballot vote images, and other election-related violations.

Remember that Trump only allegedly lost Georgia in the presidential race of 2020 by about 12,000 votes. If there were double votes on some of those, that would reduce the number to about 9,000 votes. If there are over 17,000 ballot images missing that were in favor of Trump in that election, then he would have rightfully won that presidential election — contrary to what has been reported.

Above are images of the three full rooms with attendees at the State Board of Elections Meeting Tuesday.

The Fight Against Tyranny Today

The Fight Against Tyranny Today

Happy Independence Day from the Georgia Republican Assembly!

It’s time to break out the fireworks and enjoy some tasty barbecue! Yes, it is good for our country to come together and celebrate days of remembrance.

But through all the fun, I hope that we make sure our children and grandchildren really know and understand why we are having all of these festivities. Because the battle-cry against tyranny that our founding fathers sounded in their generation is still the cry that we must sound today.

Our founders faced tyranny from the British King and Parliament. Today we face tyranny from global agencies, the White House, Congress, numerous federal agencies, sometimes the Gold Dome, and even our local county commission and board of election buildings!

Our founders gave their “lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor,” and we are standing on their shoulders. We may not yet be called upon to risk our lives or our fortunes, but surely we can give something to the cause of freedom. It may be an evening at a county commission or board of elections meeting, or a Saturday door-knocking for a strong candidate.

Even more significantly, it may mean taking the time to personally raise our children (and not just let the government schools or the T.V. do it for us!). It may mean regularly going to church, and giving charitably to replace government welfare. It may mean working a job faithfully and living within our means so that we and our families don’t become dependent slaves of the state.

Some of these things may not sound all that political, but they are all a part of building a culture that makes America great again! That culture is what the French author Alex de Tocqueville observed about Americans in 1835 when he wrote: “America is great because she is good.”

An America that has that kind of culture can withstand any attempted tyrannies from the state. A hero in office like Donald Trump needs a people with that kind of culture to back him up and spur him on to success.

So let’s work to rebuild the best aspects of the American culture that first made it “great.” Let’s return to those founding presuppositions of the founding generation — not all of which they personally lived up to, but which they fearlessly proclaimed as the nation’s aspiration!

Let’s get back to acknowledging, first, as our founders did in the Declaration of Independence, that we are “created” by God with a special human purpose. We did not randomly happen to rise out of the ooze without meaning. We are not the product of chance. Moreover, there is a Divine Authority over all human authorities that holds them in check.

That Creator “endowed us with certain unalienable rights.” These rights mean that God has placed jurisdictional limitations upon civil government. He did not give them a blank check. The state may not morally murder (or help murderers get away with it), and it may not steal — just to touch on a few of the tyrannies our modern civil government regularly practices today.

We must expect better from our elected officials.

We must be willing to work as hard as our founders.

We must, as our founders, trust in Divine Providence.

In 1775 when General George Washington was struggling to keep his army together in the war against Britain, the greatest empire on earth, he wrote:

“If I shall be able to rise superior to these and many other difficulties which might be enumerated, I shall most religiously believe that the finger of Providence is in it …”.

George Washington

We need to get down our knees and pray to God for help in our own battle against tyranny today. We need to acknowledge our sins, both personal and national, and turn from them. We need to ask God to forgive us and help us to overcome even as He helped the founding generation overcome in 1776.

We in the GRA are ready to lock arms with you in this endeavor. Reach out to us if we can help you in this on-going fight against tyranny!

Catoosa GOP Finally Gets Heard In Federal Court

Catoosa GOP Finally Gets Heard In Federal Court

Rome, GA — Wednesday, federal Judge Billy Ray heard arguments from the Catoosa GOP that the Catoosa Board of Elections acted unlawfully when they followed state Superior Court Judge Don W. Thompson‘s order to violate the Catoosa GOP’s 1st Amendment protected right to freedom of association by forcing four known RINO candidates onto the Republican primary ballot. These candidates have a record of implementing democrat policies (like raising taxes, prohibiting property rights, etc.) and opposing basic tenants of the Republican Party platform. For the first time, attorneys for the Catoosa GOP were allowed to present their legal arguments in the courtroom since Judge Thompson had precluded any oral arguments on the merits of the Catoosa GOP’s position in his courtroom in Ringgold.

At issue is whether private organizations (such as political parties, businesses, clubs, or churches) have the right to freely associate or disassociate with someone who does not share the standards of that private organization. Recent SCOTUS precedent on that question says political parties do have that right, according to the Catoosa GOP.

Federal Judge Billy Ray

Unlike the courtroom in Ringgold, the federal courtroom in Rome hearing this case was not covered in police officers or following unusual measures in an effort to intimidate. Indeed, the federal courtroom did not appear to have a single officer in the room. Federal Judge Ray adopted a very inquisitive posture, asking numerous questions of attorneys, coming at the controversy from many angles, and musing aloud regarding the implications of different legal positions.

Judge Ray mentioned in the proceedings that the threats of jail time and exorbitant $1,000 per hour fines against the Catoosa GOP Executive Committee members that were imposed by Judge Don W. Thompson should, it seemed to him, no longer apply since that was from a civil case and the plaintiffs have already obtained their desired remedy. Time will tell if other judges in on-going proceedings agree with Judge Ray on that point.

The crux of this case is really questioning the very essence of a political party,” said GRA NFRA Director Abigail Darnell. “If a political party plays nothing more than a superficial administrative role, rubber stamping every candidate with no regard to their beliefs or their record on public policy, then why have a political party at all?”

Some of the supporters of the Catoosa GOP who came to the Rome courtroom meet for lunch after the federal hearing Wednesday.

Attorneys Alex Johnson and David Oles (also the 11th Congressional District Chairman) were on hand to represent the Catoosa GOP, and Catoosa County government attorney Christopher Harris represented the Catoosa Board of Elections members. Harris also represents the county commissioners — three of which are also among the four rejected candidates — which, as an employee of the county, paid by those commissioners, appears to be a conflict of interest.

Harris made the argument that the Catoosa GOP procedures for vetting and qualifying candidates were “inconsistent” with the GA GOP state party rules. Attorney Alex Johnson pointed out that there is no “inconsistency” because the GA GOP State Party rules do not address county processes on this point, and certainly do not preclude county party’s vetting and refusing to qualify candidates who don’t demonstrate a track record of faithfulness to Republican Party platform principles. The Catoosa GOP rules, including the new accountability measures and candidate vetting process, were unanimously approved by the delegates at the Catoosa GOP County Convention after the rejected candidates filed their lawsuit.

Harris also argued that such an Accountability Rule was rejected by the GA GOP State Convention last year. When Judge Billy Ray asked attorney Alex Johnson about that event, Johnson pointed out that he was actually the delegate at the convention who had submitted the proposed Accountability Rule last year, and that that proposed Accountability Rule had nothing to do with county party organizations. He also pointed out that the rule was never actually allowed to be voted on at the convention since it was blocked in committee and the convention chairman did not allow the proposal to be brought up from the floor.

Far-left newspaper Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein was in the federal courtroom observing and incorrectly reported yesterday that Johnson’s proposed Accountability Rule would have given the GA GOP the power to reject candidates to state office. In actuality, the GA GOP already possesses the constitutional authority to reject candidates under the freedom of association — and has recently done so for the presidential ballot last year as well as for former K.K.K. clansman David Dukes when he attempted to run for president as a Republican in 1992. The proposed Accountability Rule from last year would have only provided a process for the delegates at a state convention to vote on potentially blocking a state candidate from running for future office as a Republican instead of that authority being seen as exclusively the domain of the GA GOP 28-person Executive Committee or the 180-person State Committee. According to the Call of the GA GOP, the state convention has a capacity this year of 2,641 delegates.

In Star Wars, Chancellor Palpatine violates the freedom of association of the Jedi Council by forcing them to allow Anakin Skywalker to have a seat on the council. Later Palpatine would dissolve the Republic, declaring himself Emperor.

Federal Judge Ray allowed Johnson to chronicle how Judge Don W. Thompson had called an ex parte hearing with little notice to the attorneys on the Tuesday morning the week of candidate qualifying, and did not allow attorneys to present oral arguments on the First Amendment issue of right of association. Johnson delved deeply into the extensive case law from the United States Supreme Court which repeatedly applies that legal right specifically to political parties.

Judge Ray asked Johnson about the interplay between state law specifying the procedure for how candidates are qualified and the U.S. Constitution in the 1st Amendment. Attorneys for the four RINO candidates have argued that the state law does not specify that political parties have any discretion over qualifying candidates who appear and follow the process. Johnson argued that the state law must be seen to be in conformity with the First Amendment and not in conflict with it. If somehow the state law did prohibit freedom of association, Johnson pressed, the 1st Amendment from the U.S. Constitution must have supremacy over state law. “That’s what the Civil Rights movement was all about,” Johnson said.

The Catoosa GOP’s county committee voted unanimously to adopt the procedures in their organization’s rules for vetting and qualifying candidates. The members of that committee are elected every two years by the local activists in Catoosa County, and serve as the representatives of the Republican voters in that county. They are responsible for guarding the interests of the local Republican Party, says the Catoosa GOP, including upholding minimum standards of quality that Republican voters can rely on when they go to vote in the primaries. Approving a candidate for qualifying as a Republican operates as a stamp of approval that voters, who cannot often pay close attention to local government operations, can rely.

Catoosa GOP’s Muzzled Ballot Questions

The hearing on Wednesday also addressed ballot questions the Catoosa GOP had submitted to the Catoosa Board of Elections to be included on the Catoosa Republican Primary ballot. Some of those questions inquired about voters’ awareness of the candidate qualifying controversy, and awareness of public votes of the County Commission and were not an example of defamation. County attorney Harris said that the Secretary of State’s office had told the local BOE to refuse to use the questions because, they argued, they were illegally “electioneering.” However, Harris admitted “in candor to the court” that the Secretary of State’s office called him and said they are no longer claiming the ballot questions are “electioneering” and that the decision rested solely with the Catoosa Elections Board. Judge Ray pointed out through his questions that the statute prohibiting “electioneering” says no “person” shall engage in that activity, and neither a printed ballot nor a voting machine are a legal person under that statute. He also said that the statute relating to qualifying questions from political parties says they “shall” be posted and do not give the Board of Elections much discretion on whether to post questions submitted or not.

“This is yet another atrocious example of bias and discrimination against the Catoosa GOP,” said Abigail Darnell. “If this illegal action is allowed to stand, it will demoralize GOP activists and discourage party participation across the state. I mean, why would I want to give unpaid volunteer hours to an organization just to be strong-armed by the government? Party activists shouldn’t be forced to conform to a government-approved message or government-forced association.”

Time is Ticking

The ballots will soon be finalized for the upcoming primary election in May.

Federal Judge Billy Ray pointed out that he has particular experience in the subject matter of the case since he was formerly a Republican State Senator from northeast Georgia from 1996 to 2002, so he was familiar with candidate qualifying procedures, and he had also formerly been a Gwinnett County GOP officer responsible for qualifying candidates. In 2002, Ray was appointed to the state superior court by out-going Democrat Governor Roy Barnes. Ten years later he was appointed by Republican Governor Nathan Deal to the Georgia Court of Appeals. In 2018, he was appointed by former President Donald Trump to the federal District Court for Northern Georgia.

Judge Ray cautioned at the conclusion of the proceeding that he would not be making any promises on how quickly he would decide on this case. He made it clear he did not want to be rushed, even though he was mindful that the ballots would soon be printed for the Catoosa Republican primary election in May. He also pointed out that even if the four candidates do end up on the ballot, the Catoosa GOP could still pursue monetary damages.

Political Lessons from Advent Season

Political Lessons from Advent Season

As the recently elected new GRA President, I want to extend a happy greeting to you on behalf of our organization at this “most wonderful time of the year!” We count it a privilege to work alongside all of our grassroots friends across the state. Although we’ve changed a few things on our leadership team, we want to renew our commitment to you to continue to stand for the American principles of the Republican Party which have made our nation great.

The Christmas season is a good time to consider how we should reform the political landscape in our state. The themes and archetypes of the season depicted in the popular stories, songs, and movies are rooted in the original historic story of Christ’s birth and the circumstances surrounding it. Here are some lessons we can learn from them:

1. Don’t Be a Herod / Grinch / Scrooge / Mr. Potter

All the classic Christmas fiction seems to have a hardened bully character with a bad attitude who opposes the spirit of the season. Whether the character goes by the name of “Scrooge” or “Mr. Potter” or “the Grinch,” they ultimately hearken back to the curmudgeon of the original Christ’s birth story: King Herod. At the state capitol in Atlanta, we’ve had our share of real-life characters of this sort. Sometimes they come under the label “Democrat” and sometimes by the label “Republican,” but they all have some things in common such as a lording of their human power over others, a closing of their ears of compassion to needs they have the jurisdiction and power to alleviate, and a rejection of the significance of Christ’s coming in their lives.

King Herod in the Bible was so desperate to cling to his material political power that he became notorious for murdering a whole generation of babies in his land in his attempt to kill Christ, and today we also have politicians complicit in the murder of thousands of babies—and they force you to pay for it with your tax dollars. In fact in Georgia since Dobbs, there are now more abortion murders committed at clinics each year than there was before!

The Herod-type political characters are not only cold to the murder of those who cannot vote, they’re hard hearted to the stealing of millions of dollars through socialist programs, they turn a blind eye to evidence of stolen elections, and they don’t care about the dissolution of the nuclear family.

In some of the Christmas fiction stories, the Herod archetype character experiences redemption (such as Scrooge or the Grinch). We observe that kind of thing in the Bible when the persecutor Saul of Tarsus had his Damascus Road experience and became the Apostle Paul. But in the original Christ’s birth story, King Herod sadly never experienced any change of heart. Only judgment.

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Canton Fundraiser for Alternate Electors a Success

Canton Fundraiser for Alternate Electors a Success

GRA-endorsed 11th Congressional District Chairman David Oles, chapter President Richard Jordan, and the other leaders of the North-Metro RA chapter put on another successful fundraiser event in Canton on November 18th to help with the legal defense for the alternate electors. This event came on the heels of the Banks County GOP fundraiser with Senator Colton Moore leading the auction and where reportedly $30,000 – $40,000 were raised to assist with the legal defense.

Click to watch GRA President Alex Johnson & others speak at the recent fundraiser event.

At this second regional fundraiser, the GRA & NFRA President Alex Johnson spoke, joined by GA GOP Chairman Josh McKoon, VoterGA’s Garland Favorito, Georgia Freedom Caucus Executive Director Mallory Staples—and many others. You can watch the video of the speeches here. They met at the Mill at Etowah.

Donate to the Georgia Patriot Legal Defense Fund here.