Shocker: One party rule in Georgia leads to total abandonment of ethics (Atlanta: buy, college)

[spotch]

I-Team: State Ethics Commission Shake-Up (http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/iteam/i-team-state-ethics-commission-shake-up-20110617-es - broken link)

ATLANTA, Ga. - A major shake-up is underway at the state’s ethics commission. The top two staffers are both on their way out after the commission voted to slash one staffer's salary and eliminate the other staffer's position.

But there is more. The budget decision was made while those two staffers were conducting an investigation of Governor Nathan Deal's campaign-- an investigation that the FBI offered to help with.

Seriously y'all, I was hoping to come back to Georgia once my current work assignment end, but from where I'm sitting it's looking more and more like some kind of dysfunctional corrupt third world country. What the hell is going on!?!?

[johnatl]

Originally Posted by spotch

I-Team: State Ethics Commission Shake-Up (http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/iteam/i-team-state-ethics-commission-shake-up-20110617-es - broken link)



Seriously y'all, I was hoping to come back to Georgia once my current work assignment end, but from where I'm sitting it's looking more and more like some kind of dysfunctional corrupt third world country. What the hell is going on!?!?

In a word, Nathan Deal is a crook. Hopefully, he won't complete his first term.

[spotch]

Originally Posted by johnatl

In a word, Nathan Deal is a crook. Hopefully, he won't complete his first term.

I don't see what's going to stop him when anyone who investigates him just gets fired. It's f**king ridiculous.... this is the kind of stuff that the South was supposed to have outgrown decades ago. It's downright scary that these kinds of things can happen and nobody can or will do anything about it.

[johnatl]

Originally Posted by spotch

I don't see what's going to stop him when anyone who investigates him just gets fired. It's f**king ridiculous.... this is the kind of stuff that the South was supposed to have outgrown decades ago. It's downright scary that these kinds of things can happen and nobody can or will do anything about it.

The Feds are onto him. Remember, he resigned from Congress at Midnight right before the ethics hearings were due to start.

He's also really ticked off Fox 5. They aren't going to let this go. Neither is Common Cause.

[SW30303]

spotch wrote:

Shocker: One party rule in Georgia leads to total abandonment of ethics

Well, this is very true if you know a lot about Georgia History and voting in elections, GA has some of the most strict laws regarding third party access. In the old days, in the 1940s to be specific, Democrat segregationist-era GA lawmakers passed very strict ballot access measures in order to keep the "carpetbagging" Republicans out of the general elections mostly at the local level. But party preferences in Georgia changed over the decades and the Republicans eventually got on the ballot despite the high obstacles. Nowadays even, the activity of any Georgia politicians of either major party is about the same in terms of "good ol' boy" corruption, hence, lack of "ethics."

This recent article from the Fox I-Team basically alleges what happened with Nathan Deal getting his daughter-in-law's company a "deal (http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/iteam/iteam-deal-campaign-funds-part-2-20110609-es?obref=obinsite - broken link)" by being paid directly from campaign funds.

[spotch]

Nowadays even, the activity of any Georgia politicians of either major party is about the same in terms of "good ol' boy" corruption, hence, lack of "ethics."

I don't buy that... that's a cop-out that makes it to easy to let corruption off the hook.

[SW30303]

I don't buy that... that's a cop-out that makes it to easy to let corruption off the hook.

Don't buy what? Only Republicans "get off the hook?" Explain what you mean, I would like to know.

[AcidSnake]

Well you also got to remember that Georgia used have a crooked voting system called the "county unit" system. I guess one could say that it was the hillbilly version of the U.S. electoral college system.

New Georgia Encyclopedia: County Unit System

But the more meanspirited effects of this system was that conservative politicians in Georgia used it to maintain power in rural Georgia and prevent any meaningful effort to get rid of de jure race segregation. So it's simply par for the course for Georgia's state political leadership to govern in this manner.

But as to the Guvna Deal situation with the essential nullification of the state ethics commission?

Boy o-boy...

All I can say is, where are the resident city-data forum atlanta's conservatives when you need them, eh? They were all poo-pooing Barnes in 2010. What do they have to say now about their new governor?

Probably nothing. Just as expected. Hypocrites.

Originally Posted by SW30303

spotch wrote: Well, this is very true if you know a lot about Georgia History and voting in elections, GA has some of the most strict laws regarding third party access. In the old days, in the 1940s to be specific, Democrat segregationist-era GA lawmakers passed very strict ballot access measures in order to keep the "carpetbagging" Republicans out of the general elections mostly at the local level. But party preferences in Georgia changed over the decades and the Republicans eventually got on the ballot despite the high obstacles. Nowadays even, the activity of any Georgia politicians of either major party is about the same in terms of "good ol' boy" corruption, hence, lack of "ethics."

This recent article from the Fox I-Team basically alleges what happened with Nathan Deal getting his daughter-in-law's company a "deal (http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/iteam/iteam-deal-campaign-funds-part-2-20110609-es?obref=obinsite - broken link)" by being paid directly from campaign funds.

[spotch]

Originally Posted by SW30303

Don't buy what? Only Republicans "get off the hook?" Explain what you mean, I would like to know.

I've seen the "well everyone is corrupt so what are you going to do about it *shrug* " thing used far too often to excuse or justify bad actions. If everyone does it then it's not a big deal, and there's really not anything you can do about it anyway, and I disagree with both of those.

[DreamKeeper]

Originally Posted by spotch

I-Team: State Ethics Commission Shake-Up (http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/iteam/i-team-state-ethics-commission-shake-up-20110617-es - broken link)



Seriously y'all, I was hoping to come back to Georgia once my current work assignment end, but from where I'm sitting it's looking more and more like some kind of dysfunctional corrupt third world country. What the hell is going on!?!?

Well, if this type of stuff is going to prevent you from moving somewhere then you're going to have a hell of a time finding somewhere to live in this country. If you want to see real hardcore corruption try living in New Jersey or Illinois. I've lived in both and corruption in Georgia is mild compared to those two states.

And yes, the entire U.S. is becoming third world. Our entire political system is corrupt and we are now buried under more debt that any country has ever held before. The corruption and stifling debt are what make a country third world. I spend a lot of time in several third world countries due to my job and I'm sorry to say that a lot of the problems that cause these countries to be third world are now very prevalent in the U.S.