Political Activism

Blogging On The Back Burner


Sorry folks, but I'm busy these days doing some real writing on a story about Political Polling, and this morning I had to take time out to write a letter to the State Republican Party headquarters on behalf of my County Commissioner Cap Fendig's campaign for President.

I know...I know...I know, Cap stands a snowball's chance in hell of actually getting elected, but the assholes in Atlanta geniuses on the Republican Executive committee jumped the gun this week and tossed their slate of candidates for the February Republican primary to the Secretary of States' office with only the nine national candidates names on it--omitting Cap entirely.

Apparently they knew that he had qualified with the Federal Election Commission, that he was already on the New Hampshire and South Carolina primary ballots, but the "powers what be" are afraid of a two term county commissioner and what he might do to the state wide pecking order for offices like Senator and Representative and Governor if they allow people to find out about him by letting him on the presidential ballot.

Well, you know me, I couldn't just silently sit beside the process as it goes on (the deadline is November 17th), so I sat down at the keyboard this morning and blasted this off to Sue Everhart, Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party:

Chairman Everhart,

I am writing to you this morning to express my dismay over the state Republican Committee's decision to limit the slate of Presidential candidates in the upcoming State Republican Primary to the nine national candidates, in the process omitting Glynn County commissioner Neil H. "Cap" Fendig, Jr.

I believe that the committee owes the Republican voters of the state of Georgia the opportunity to consider the candidacy and, as a result, to potentially vote for any legal resident living within the borders of the state of Georgia that spends the time and money required to qualify to run not only for President, but for any statewide office.

I find the words "Grassroots Leadership" plastered all over the home page of the Republican Committee's website, yet apparently the words have a different meaning for the committee that they do for myself and the other Republican and independent voters down here in Glynn County.

It seems that you and your fellow committee members believe it prudent and fair to allow 56 people on the Executive Committee, mostly from the Atlanta metro area, to decide that Georgia voters aren't sophisticated enough to read ten names on a ballot, therefor limiting our choice to nine. (One has to wonder how many other excellent but as-yet unknown candidates' efforts have been stymied in the past here in Georgia by this same heavy handed political tactic?)

Commissioner Fendig has an excellent reputation here in Glynn county, he meets all of the requirements to run for President to the letter of the law, and it's just plain dirty politics that you deny him the opportunity to win or lose his bid to be on the November 2008 ballot by letting the GEORGIA VOTERS DECIDE as the voters will be doing in at least two other states.

I doubt that the cost of the extra ink on the ballots or the pixels on the electronic voting machine display are going to break the Committee or the State's budget next winter, therefore I respectfully ask that you and the committee reconsider your decision.

Best Regards,

Virgil R. Rogers, III
St. Simons Island Georgia


Now let's see what happens...

UPDATE 1:30 PM

I just received an E-mail from Commissioner Fendig thanking me. I copied my letter to both of my US Senators, and the two southern Georgia US Representatives who are also on the committee, and I really hope that they will reconsider.