Tomorrow’s Georgia Republican gubernatorial primary run-off
Opinion July 23, 2018
Reposted with permission from the Dustin Inman Society blog
Lt. Governor Casey Cagle (left) and Secretary of State Brian Kemp (Right)
D.A. KING
While the liberal media ignores the fact, both candidates in the bruising two-month Georgia Republican gubernatorial primary race have avoided immigration issues where the eventual governor can make the biggest difference.
With run-off day looming tomorrow, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp have mostly kept their immigration focus away from topics that may offend the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and narrowed to “sanctuary cities” and on illegal aliens who have already committed additional crimes in the United States – or “criminal illegal aliens.”
The main driver of illegal immigration is illegal employment, which was not mentioned in either campaign.
In addition to black market labor, they are also both dodging obvious and voter-popular immigration issues where a governor can play a central role, including drivers licenses to illegal aliens and official English for government.
No mention of protecting jobs for American workers
When asked in a statewide December 2015 poll, “Who should get the future jobs in Georgia? – Americans, including legal immigrants already here, illegal immigrants already here, newly arrived legal immigrants and guest workers or it doesn’t matter, workers who will work for the lowest wage.” A whopping 90% of Republicans said Americans, including legal immigrants already here should get priority.
Silence on allowing voters to decide on constitutional official English
Nearly 86% of Republicans – and 76% of all voters polled – answered “yes” when asked “would you support an amendment to the Georgia constitution that makes English the official language of government?” in the same poll conducted by Atlanta-based Rosetta Stone Communications
Despite the objections of the business lobby and with a unanimous party-line vote, in 2016, the Republican-controlled Georgia state senate passed a Resolution that would have allowed all Georgia voters to answer a ballot question that year on English as the state’s constitutional official government language.
But the legislation quietly died with Democrat “no” votes when Republican House leadership instructed Republicans to stay away from a sub-committee hearing which killed the bill.
Official English is not a voluntary campaign topic for either of the Republican candidates for Georgia governor. This despite one metro-Atlanta school district boast that 140 foreign languages are spoken by its students.
While it is not widely understood by voters, currently, the state of ten million offers the written road rules portion of the drivers license exam in eleven foreign languages.
Drivers licenses for illegal aliens – not a campaign issue
The same statewide poll that asked about official constitutional official English showed that 80% of Republicans and 63% of all Georgians also want to end the practice of giving any drivers license to any illegal aliens.
Many voters are unaware of the fact that Republican Georgia has issued more than 20,000 drivers licenses and official state photo ID Cards to individuals who the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services classifies as lacking lawful immigration status – but who have been given work permits by both the Obama and Trump administrations.
This group of aliens includes recipients of the Obama DACA deferred action on deportation amnesty, aliens who have been granted deferred action outside of the DACA amnesty and aliens who have already been ordered to be deported by federal officials.
Work permits, officially known as Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) are issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services which is an agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The 2005 REAL ID Act implemented after the horror of 9/11 says that illegal aliens who have been granted deferred action on deportation or who have been ordered deported but then apply for permanent residence use that temporary condition as “evidence of lawful status” for the purpose of obtaining a federally approved drivers license or state ID card.
⦁ In a direct contradiction, USCIS says “Current law does not grant any legal status for the class of individuals who are current recipients of DACA. Recipients of DACA are currently unlawfully present in the U.S. with their removal deferred.”
⦁ Through an official spokesperson, USCIS has provided a breakdown of the classification codes contained on the work permits that illustrate the immigration status of the bearer.
⦁ USCIS also operates the SAVE verification system for official agencies to determine immigration status of applicants for public benefits. Drivers licenses and ID cards are public benefits in Georgia.
⦁ Appointed by current governor, Nathan Deal, Georgia’s Attorney General, Chris Carr, has told an Atlanta NPR affiliate that “We have continuously and clearly taken the position in ongoing legal cases that DACA does not confer legal status.” (July 17, 2017 WABE News).
Georgia is among the states that issues the identical drivers license to legal immigrants with ‘green cards’ and foreigners who entered the US lawfully on temporary visas – including Mercedes Benz executives – as are issued to the aliens the state Attorney General and USCIS says lack legal status. The defacto national ID, these credentials are used as valid ID to enter military bases, federal buildings and board airliners in America’s airports.
Drivers license issued to all non-citizens in Georgia, legal status or illegal status. Photo: DDS
Sponsored by conservative state Senator Josh McKoon, in 2016, legislation passed the Georgia Senate by a two-thirds majority – with every Republican vote except one – that would have clearly marked driving and ID credentials to note the illegal immigration status of the bearer. That measure was allowed to expire without a hearing in the GOP House, controlled by business-oriented Speaker David Ralston. McKoon also sponsored the official English Resolution.
Most Georgians do not realize that under state law the same aliens USCIS says have no lawful status but have been issued a work permit are eligible for state unemployment benefits.
The jobs-for Americans, drivers license/illegal alien/unemployment benefits issue is not a topic in either Republican candidate’s campaign for the Republican nomination for Georgia governor.
Georgians deserve to now where the candidates stand.
The powerful Georgia business lobby has long worked against protecting jobs and wages for legal workers, use of E-Verify, immigration enforcement and official English. Georgia ranks ahead of Arizona in its population of illegal aliens, according to estimates from DHS and the Pew Research Center. One estimate is that the crime of illegal immigration costs Georgia taxpayers $2.4 billion annually.
The current governor, two-term, business-first Republican Nathan Deal, has avoided the illegal immigration issue since his first year in office. But, Deal boasts that Georgia is named number one state in which to do business by Site Selection magazine.
The influx of migrants and the anti-enforcement power of the business lobby will eventually result in a Democrat in the Georgia governor’s office. This year’s far-left, anti-enforcement candidate for the office, Stacey Abrams, has a real chance of winning and has recently received a one million-dollar donation from Georgia Soros.
Author
Speaker, Governor & Lieutenant Governor Announce Tax Cut Plan
Politics, State & National February 21, 2018
Gov. Nathan Deal, along with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston, today outlined updates to HB 918, which addresses state tax code. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Efstration, now combines the 2017 Internal Revenue Code (IRC) bill, HB 821, with 2018 IRC updates. It also addresses the state revenue projections resulting from the Federal Tax Act.
HB 918 would double the standard deduction for Georgia taxpayers for all filing statuses, effective Jan. 1, 2018. It would also reduce the income tax rate for individuals and businesses from 6 percent to 5.75 percent effective Jan. 1, 2019. Finally, the legislation includes a provision further reducing the tax rate to 5.5 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2020. This reduction would require approval of the General Assembly and signature of the governor in order to take effect.
The bill will also help our state be more competitive by eliminating the sales tax on jet fuel, which will encourage airlines to fly additional direct flights from Georgia to destinations around the globe.
“Taxpayers have already started to experience the positive effects of federal tax reform here in Georgia and throughout the country,” said Deal. “Our state is also projected to benefit significantly in the coming years. The legislation presented today is a result of ongoing dialogue between House and Senate leadership and addresses Georgia’s projected windfall while balancing the state’s fiscal health and protecting our AAA bond rating.
“This bill keeps more of taxpayers’ hard-earned money in their pockets by doubling the standard deduction and reducing income tax rates. It will save taxpayers more than $5 billion over the next five years. Doubling the standard deduction will also allow Georgia filers to take fuller advantage of the newly enhanced federal standard deduction. Further, these combined changes mark one of the biggest income tax cuts in state history, and does so in a fiscally responsible manner. The standard deduction was last increased in 1981. The individual rate was set at 6 percent in 1937 and has not changed since, while the corporate rate has also remained at 6 percent since 1969. I’m confident HB 918 will be passed by the General Assembly quickly and immediately transmitted to my desk. The sooner I sign this landmark reform legislation, the sooner taxpayers may file.”
“This historic tax cut lowers Georgia’s income tax rate for the first time ever, returning significant savings to millions of families across our state,” said Cagle. “Most importantly, this framework sets the stage for continued reductions – building on the Trump administration’s tax reform to allow Georgians to keep more of what they earn.”
“I am committed to keeping the tax burden on Georgians as low as possible,” said Ralston. “This measure is yet another example of the General Assembly working with Governor Deal to empower families to save more of their money. I appreciate the Governor’s leadership and the cooperation between the House and the Senate in developing this income tax cut legislation. I look forward to it moving quickly through the legislative process.”
Casey Cagle’s Reprehensible Acts, The Michael Williams Press Conference that missed the Target
Featured, Politics July 18, 2017
“The Die Has Been Cast”
Swing and a miss, strike two. State Senator Michael Williams now has two strikes against him with the media in his quest to be the next Governor of Georgia.
Williams’ first strike was at the State GOP convention when he announced in a speech that a member from Lt. Governor Casey Cagle’s campaign team approached him backstage and offered him a deal to get out of the Governor’s race. In his speech at the GOP convention Williams claimed in front of 1500 people that he was offered the Chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee if he would get out of the race. He never named the individual with Cagle’s team who made the offer in the backroom deal. An accusation with no name leaving the media hanging. Strike one.
Williams’ press conference last Thursday at the Capitol was strike two.
Williams sent out an invite last Wednesday announcing a press conference he would be holding at the Capitol Thursday afternoon. The invitation stated he would be revealing the reprehensible acts of Lt. Governor Casey Cagle.
The press conference was scheduled for 2PM and Williams was 30 minutes late. The press conference only lasted twelve minutes. I attended this press conference and from memory the only thing I got out of it was ‘campaign Casey, a member of Casey Cagle’s team, offered him a committee chairmanship to get out of the race. Angered that Cagle may have out maneuvered him on minimum wage for Sheriff deputies, Willams directly asked Cagle to get out of the race and something about “tying shoes”.
The media pressed Williams to give the name of who from Cagle’s team offered him the chairmanship. Williams’ only response was, ‘not at this time.’ I asked him the final question of the press conference, “did you not say that it was a member of Cagle’s team?” Williams said, “correct.” And I asked, “and you’re not prepared to give us who that is”? Williams: “no”. Williams then told everyone to have a nice day and walked off taking no more questions.
Williams held up a copy of SB 254 entitled: Minimum annual salary for each deputy appointed by each Sheriff; provide; Local Law Enforcement Officer Compensation Commission.
Senators Greg Kirk and Josh McKoon co-sponsored the bill along with Williams. Williams claims that Cagle is the reason the bill went nowhere during the past legislative session. Maybe Williams thought this would be his strongest campaign issue. This could show he is the true friend of law enforcement in the campaign.
In May Cagle announced along with Greg Kirk the Compensation of Police and Sheriffs Task Force. Statement released by the Lt. Governor’s office, “The service and dedication of our law enforcement officials is nothing short of heroic,” said Lt. Governor Cagle. “We must make every effort to ensure local compensation packages are both competitive and fair to those who protect and serve. COPS will help local governments identify ways to maximize their support for the men and women who bravely protect our communities and neighborhoods.”
Kirk, one of Williams’ co-sponsors gone and with the other Josh McKoon running for Secretary of State he may not have any backup concerning his claim that Cagle killed the bill.
Recently Cagle commented about a possible sheriff deputy minimum wage. He has not gone into any detail though.
This week is the Sheriffs’ Association’s Summer Conference where each candidate will get a chance to address the Association.
Brian Kemp, Hunter Hill, Michael Williams and Casey Cagle will have their chance to make their pitch. You can forget this week which one is the true conservative, cause this week all you will hear is ‘I am the true friend of law enforcement’, {no} ‘I’m the true friend of law enforcement,’ {no} ……
My suspicion is that the Sheriffs’ Association will support whomever they think will be best able to get something done for them when it comes to minimum wage for deputies. If that turns out to be Cagle then that may mean Williams has been totally out maneuvered on the issue and SB 254 could turn out to be, as a campaign issue for Williams, no more than good initiative/poor judgment.
You can understand Williams’ frustration. If Cagle gets almost every Sheriff in the state to actively campaign for him that is big. Really big. Maybe that is the ‘reprehensible’ act.
But, Williams’ shoe tying comment directed toward Casey Cagle was a ‘low blow’ no pun intended. Williams experienced several personal attacks especially during his first State Senate race. The rumors are already flying and emails being sent concerning Williams’ past. Maybe Williams’ comment was a subtle warning not to go personal. It’s disappointing this early in the campaign that things are taking a dirty turn rather than staying focused on the issues.
The voters of Georgia may want to hear about issues like casino gambling, rural economic development, tax reform, healthcare, infrastructure…… not who can tie their own shoes.
I feel Williams’ gets one more strike with the media. I can only speak for myself. If he calls another press conference I will attend. Williams has to make good on his claims of reprehensible acts by Cagle soon or that will be strike three and he will lose his credibility. It’s a long time until election day and Williams will need the media to take him serious to help get his message out.
Kemp and Hill have not commented on the Williams’ attacks of Casey Cagle. They both seem to be able to keep their campaigns focused on the issues and not the dirt for the time being. Odds are they will have to join the mud pit before the race is over.
Michael Williams was the first Georgia politician holding a state office to support Donald Trump for President. Williams is attempting to run a Donald Trump-style campaign. There’s only one problem, he is not Donald Trump.
Trump never held public office. He had no legislative voting track record. He could run against Washington D.C. and the Media.
Williams has a State Senate voting record. During his first two years in the State Senate his voting record looks like he was working well with the Republican Establishment. His third year looks more like someone preparing to run for governor.
I am not questioning Williams’ conservative credentials, just the direction his campaign is headed. If you going to demand Casey Cagle get out of the race, it’s time to give the reason why with the facts.
Deal: Georgia will not accept Syrian refugees
Featured November 16, 2015
Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that he will not accept Syrian refugees in Georgia and called upon President Obama to suspend the resettlement program in the United States. Since 2012, Deal has demanded that the federal government limit the number of refugees sent to Georgia.
“In light of the terror attacks in Paris, I’ve issued an executive order directing state agency heads to prevent the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Georgia,” said Deal. “Further, I call upon the Obama administration to work with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security to confirm the backgrounds of the 59 Syrian refugees recently resettled to ensure they do not pose a security threat to our citizens. Until the federal government and Congress conducts a thorough review of current screening procedures and background checks, we will take every measure available to us at the state level to ensure the safety of Georgians.”
. Deal’s letter to President Obama is attached. Read the executive order here.