GOP National Committee Chairman in Savannah

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is scheduled to appear as the featured speaker at the Georgia GOP convention.

Steele, who's in charge of boosting the Republican Party's image nationally after election losses in 2008, will address about 2,000 Georgia delegates Saturday at the state convention in Savannah.

The party chief has suffered some recent missteps, such as critizing conservative talk host Rush Limbaugh and telling a magazine writer that abortion is "an individual choice."

But Steele seemed to speak more in tune with core conservatives Friday when he told the National Rifle Association's convention in Phoenix that Democrats want to take away American's gun rights in order to suppress drug crime in Mexico.

(Associated Press)

GOP Convention Recap

Georgia Republicans united behind likely GOP presidential nominee John McCain at the party’s annual convention this weekend in Columbus. They selected delegates to represent Georgia at the national GOP convention in September.

Elected officials taking the podium said the party needs to return to its conservative roots, focusing on issues like tax, immigration, military might and gun rights.

Perdue urged Republicans to be steadfast, and said recent Democratic wins in the Bible Belt should be a warning around the south and the nation. Then outside to reporters, he said he feels very good about Georgia.

(Associated Press)

Columbus: GA GOP unites behind McCain

Sen. Chambliss addresses a sparse crowd of convention delegates at the Columbus Civic Center, on Friday, May 16th, 2008. Many more arrived for Saturday's session. (Dave Bender)

Georgia Republicans united behind likely GOP presidential nominee John McCain on Saturday and fired up their faithful members at the party's annual convention Saturday.

Delegates were selected to represent the state at the national GOP convention in September, and a steady stream of elected officials who took the podium said the party needs to come home to its bedrock conservative issues from taxes and immigration to military might and gun rights.

"We've got some work to do. We've got some proving to do,'' said U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Sharpsburg. "The base didn't get lost. We got lost.''

Governor Sonny Perdue urged Republicans to avoid poll-driven "gimmicks'' and suggested there was a damaging disconnect between party leaders in Washington and conservative states like Georgia.

Recent contests in the Bible Belt that have elected Democrats "ought to be a warning around the South and around the United States,'' Perdue said. But, he later told reporters, "I feel very good about Georgia.''

Democrats made gains in 2006 by winning control of the U.S. House and Senate, but Georgia bucked the trend by electing Republicans to a couple of statewide posts that had been held by Democrats.

However, Republicans said they were not taking anything for granted, especially after Democrats cast more ballots in this year's Feb. 5 presidential primary than the GOP.

The main order of business Saturday was to select delegates who will attend the national GOP convention. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won Georgia's presidential primary with strong support from religious conservatives and independents. But on Saturday, John McCain stickers were everywhere and nearly every speech plugged the Arizona senator.

The slate of 30 delegates and 30 alternates selected included prominent supporters of Huckabee, as well as other former GOP contenders including former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani; Fred Thompson, the one-time senator from Tennessee; and ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Among the delegates were supporters of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. A vocal group of Paul supporters were also in the stands, according to the Associated Press.

Bickering on the floor turned caustic at times. One delegate demanded a resolution condemning abortion as "prenatal murder.'' Another participant had his microphone turned off when he criticized the war in Iraq.

"I've never seen debate stifled that much,'' said state committee member Brian Laurens, of Ellijay, who said he's been involved in state conventions since 2002.

Turnout by delegates on Friday afternoon's 2 p.m. opening session was light; many arrived later in the evening, and on Saturday. (Dave Bender)

U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss on Friday said he'd warned President Bush that vetoing the farm bill could hurt presumptive GOP nominee John McCain in reliably Republican states this fall.

"If they get turned off by Republicans it's going to make it tough for John to get those votes," Chambliss told reporters following his speech.

Chambliss, a loyal Bush ally who is running for re-election, said he told the president that that with his low approval ratings he should avoid alienating voters in agriculture-rich states in the South and the Midwest that have supported him.

White House officials have suggested Bush will veto the bill.

Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, defended the recently adopted bill from critics who said it is heavy on rich subsidies to wealthy farmers.

"That's ridiculous," Chambliss said. He said the bulk of the farm bill spending went to nutrition programs, like food stamps and school lunches. And he argued that individual farmers earning more than $750,000 a year don't qualify for federal aid, under the bill.

Chambliss was asked about the five-year $300 billion farm bill by reporters but he made no mention of it in his speech to the party faithful at the Columbus Civic Center for the kickoff of the state party's convention. Also missing from the speech: Any reference to President Bush.
Bush's dismal approval ratings have many election-bound Republicans steering clear.

Chambliss did talk up McCain and urged Georgians to unite behind the Arizona senator. Georgia went for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the Feb. 5 primary. Huckabee drew strong support from independents and religious conservatives.

Chambliss made a case for his own re-election to a second-term by issuing a dire warning about what the nation will be like if Democrats win a handful of additional seats in the U.S. Senate. Under Senate rules, Republicans will lose the ability to block the Democrats' agenda.

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(The Associated Press)

GOP convention comes to Columbus

Georgia's Republican Party convention meets this weekend in Columbus. Some 5,000 GOP faithful from across the state are expected to pack the Columbus Civic Center.

They'll pick half the state's delegates to the national convention, to be held this fall in St. Paul, Minnesota. And, convention-goers will choose two representatives to the Republican National committee.

Josh McKoon, who chairs the party's Muscogee County branch expects over 1,100 delegates to attend. And, he says, factional politics could provide some surprises:

"I think there will certainly be a move by those that support Ron Paul to get some of their supporters on the delegate list representing Georgia. I know that's happened on the local level at earlier stages of this process, so that potentially could be something that could cause a little bit of a stir."

But McKoon predicts a straightforward event, rallying behind presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain.

There is one stumbling block however.

McKoon says the elected delegates are pledged to former Arkansas governor and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee:

"...and unless he releases them from that, when they go to the convention, they'll be bound to vote for Huckabee on the first two ballots. Huckabee will have the lion's share of delegates coming out of Georgia..."

This is the second time in four years the event has been held in Columbus, and is expected to boost the local economy.

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Perdue approves voucher program for disabled students; gets ready for GOP convention

Gov. Sonny Perdue has signed into law a program that allows disabled children to attend the school of their choice on the state's dime.

In this new program, parents can use voucher money to take their children with special needs out of their neighborhood school and put them in another public school, or a private one.

"We've seen over and over that when parents take charge of their family's education, I believe families win," Perdue said. "The competition that results from parental choice will raise all boats, benefiting all the special needs children of Georgia."

Each voucher will be worth the same amount the state pays to teach a special-needs child in public school—roughly $9000 per year now. Children must spend a year in public school to qualify for the program.

At the same meeting, Perdue told reporters that he will speak Saturday to Republicans at the GOP convention about his principles of governing.

"I think I will describe to them what my convictions are about being a true conservative and how I think true conservatives act," he said.

Perdue says he will not discuss his argument with state House Republicans over the 2007 midyear budget.

He struck a property tax cut from the budget before signing it.

He says he will use his line-item veto power again on the 2008 budget later this month.

Some conservative bloggers are urging convention-goers to walk out during Perdue's speech tomorrow in protest of the veto.