Gotta get some feedback on why only Dems are hurting in Ga?

[vetwife]

Been noticing that all of my former friends or acquaitances in Georgia are not feeling the crunch of the recession. Some of these fundies were really hurting finacially until the 2002 election. I started noticing that people with the same income as my husband and me..Exactly the same.....but are R-wingers are coming into money. I got to examining some things. How are they doing it? I asked myself? How are they buying new cars? Without jobs? How are they putting in pools? How are they taking month long vacations? What the heck is going on. In the same neighborhood, a republican r winged fundie has been given the opportunity of Private schools, putting in swimming pools, inground mind you, and they maybe work at a Drive in resturant and drive a small truck. these folks are living like millionaires. I realy started noticing this after the 2002 election. Buying new cars, remodeling homes, and all kinds of things and some on fixed incomes. Then two doors up a the dem household, they are taking family members in to help buy food. Ddid a little checking and lookie lookie.......These folks I suspect are tapping into Faith Based programs and it looks like it is only available to card carrying republicans..

Wanna guess why Georgia is so RED ! See if your republican governors are offering this kind of money while medicaid and public assistance is being cut. !

Tuesday, October 07, 2003
1:00 PM

Governor Perdue Proposes Faith-Based Constitutional Amendment

Legislation would align US and GA Constitution, allow funding to best providers


ATLANTA, GA - Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that he will submit legislation during the 2004 session of the General Assembly that would alter the controversial Blaine Amendment in Georgia's Constitution. The constitutional change would allow faith-based social service providers to compete for state funds without facing discrimination.

"Georgia's Constitution often unfairly prohibits the state from funding the best, most dedicated human services providers," Perdue said. "Georgia's neediest families and children deserve our commitment to removing this barrier to finding quality services."

Georgia's Blaine Amendment provides that "o money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect, cult, or religious denomination or of any sectarian institution." This presents an even higher barrier to faith-based initiatives than the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Governor Perdue proposed adding to the beginning of the Blaine Amendment the following line: "except as permitted or required by the United States Constitution, as amended."

"My proposed amendment will put the Georgia Constitution in step with the U.S. Constitution," Perdue said. "The state should not discriminate against a private, voluntary organization, merely because it is faith-based."

Governor Perdue's proposal will be submitted by his floor leaders in the form of a resolution. The resolution would require a 2/3 vote in the House and Senate for passage. Upon passage, the amendment would appear on the November 2004 ballot and require a majority vote.

Attached is a fact sheet on the Blaine Amendment and Governor Perdue's proposed change.


FACT SHEET: BLANE AMENDMENT/ PERDUE PROPOSAL
• Since the late nineteenth century, the Georgia Constitution has contained a Blaine Amendment.
• The amendment is named for United States Senator James Blaine of Maine.
• Senator Blaine capitalized on a national wave of anti-Roman Catholic bigotry to propose, and very nearly passed, an amendment to the United States Constitution in the 1850's prohibiting all forms of faith-based initiatives.
• The current iteration of Georgia's Blaine Amendment provides that "o money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect, cult, or religious denomination or of any sectarian institution." Ga. Const. art. I, § II, VII.
• Georgia's Blaine Amendment presents an even higher barrier to faith-based initiatives than the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
• Georgia Attorneys General and the courts have interpreted Georgia's Blaine Amendment to prohibit the following faith-based initiatives. In each case, the initiative likely would have been permissible under the First Amendment:

The provision of "Reading Challenge" grants to sectarian schools. 2000 Ga. Op. Att'y Gen. No. 00-5 (May 18, 2000).
A contract between the City of La Grange and the Salvation Army to "handle charitable cases for the city." Bennett v. City of La Grange, 153 Ga. 428, 112 S.E. 482 (1922).

"a county contracting with the Y.M.C.A. to provide recreational facilities and programs for the children of a particular county . . . ." he Y.M.C.A. would be an inappropriate party to such a contract . . . since the Y.M.C.A. is probably a sectarian institution . . . ." 1969 Ga. Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-136 (Mar. 25, 1969).
• There have been a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions stating that the U.S. Constitution allows for faith-based providers of human services.
• The text of what Governor Perdue proposes to add to the Georgia Constitution is very simple: "except as permitted or required by the United State Constitution, as amended."
• This revision puts the Georgia Constitution in step with the U.S. Constitution.
• This revision would not interfere with separation of church and state because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the U.S. Constitution allows for faith-based providers of human services.
• This revision would allow the state to fund the best human services providers.
• As required by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, taxpayer money will be used for secular purposes and not for religious purposes and activities. All state contracts can spell this out clearly.
• Revising the Blaine Amendment eliminates the threats of expensive lawsuits and removes the barriers to finding quality services for those in need.
• Revising the Blaine Amendment will expand the resource capacity upon which the state can turn to for social services.



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For More Information Contact:
Georgia Republican Party
[e-mail]
404-257-5559


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5600 Roswell Road, Suite 200-E · Atlanta, GA 30342 · 404.257.5559(P) · 404.257.0779(F) · [e-mail]
Paid for by the Georgia Republican Party, not authorized by any candidate or any candidate committee

[vetwife]

1. Kick !

[loudsue]

2. Is there any way you could PROVE that they are?

I'm not clear by your post where the "faith based" money could be finding its way into the pockets of your neighbors.

If this IS the case, I'd say some DNC people in Washington need to find out about it, as well as MoveOn -- a commercial needs to be aired on this.

I'm just wondering if you have any proof, or if it's just a hunch.

:kick::kick:

[vetwife]

3. I am gonna do some checking but look at the last line of article

Check with Republican Party. the last line that gets me.......
A 501 Status and I know cause I got a Vets organization is suposed to be non partisan but while Purdue is pushing Faith Based Org. At the bottom of article it says Contact the Republican party.

I have a cousin and a Fundie who pastored for years having it real hard till this faith based thing took place and now going on vacations and really really doing some extraordinary things and on a fixed income. We are talking Buying small race cars, month long vacations. I do think the DNC needs to check some of these programs.
They aren't gonna tell us (The Fundies) where they are getting their money. But look please at that article again. Especially the tag at the end on who to contact. I think a lot of them are getting Faith based grants and registering republican. How else can one explain this. They don't play the stock market, not inherieted and don't play lottery? Where is the money coming from? We got Reid down here and now they are using the pulpit as a fundraising tool.
It will take someone bigger than me to prove it but I know something no good is in the pockets of Mr and Ms. Georgia citizen or they are hurting.........it's too cut and dried between party affiliation.

[loudsue]

6. Vetwife, if this is truly the case, this is HUGE!!!!

Think, for just a moment if you will, back to Ronald Reagan railing against "Welfare Queens". That meme has lived on 'til this very day.

When I read your first post, I had overlooked the "contact the Republican Party" part at the bottom of the article.

If John Kerry's campaign wanted to send shockwaves that would wake up the American people, he could send some detectives/investigative reporters to find out what is going on with your neighbors....and to find out if it's happening with other middle-class Ameican families who are claiming they're "down on their luck".

This is faith-based WELFARE for the WELFARE KINGS, if it is true. And that would be a HUGE election point. MANY of us regular folks are just appalled at where all our country's wealth has gone, and Kerry could point the finger right back at the neocons who pushed the faith-based shit on everyone. There were a lot of regular folks that didn't like the smell of this issue to begin with.

In fact, even Jon Stewart would have a good time with this issue, if we could prove it.

Any DUers out there who could help us do some investigations? My guess is, these neocon neighbors of yours were republican party donors. That could be verified by looking at the web site w/ political donors listed.

:kick::kick::kick:

[vetwife]

4. Just found out...non christians and dems

and greens are the ones really hurting. Posted this on some other boards and this is Cultural War big Time ! Their responses were startling. This we knew would do away with social programs as we knew them but to think they would totally right winged mandated is something else and to get paid for it too !

[checks-n-balances]

5. The gov. & legislature are now GOP, Ralph Reed is state GOP chair

(and probably had huge hand in defeating Max Cleland) and it's more than likely that our voter machines were rigged in the '02 elections.

Just answering the question in your topic title.

[vetwife]

7. Right and read this from the AJC

A White House official came to DeKalb County this week to explain to religious institutions how they can get grants from the federal government.
http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=464

[vetwife]

8. Kick...we gotta know !

[loudsue]

11. That's the very same thing as the "welfare" these neocons rail against!

The article details how they are getting this money to the non-profits and churches.....but how is there any way of knowing that the NEEDIEST of our people are benefitting from our tax dollars?

And what kind of laws determine how much can be kept for "administrative costs"?

This is, indeed, Pandora's Box.

:kick:

[vetwife]

9. Lookie Lookie Lookie..We better wake up !

The Washington Post reports that top officials in the Bush administration's "faith-based initiative" program are using the bait of government grants to attract interest and support for Republican candidates at political events around the country, often appealing especially to black audiences - particularly pastors.

There are critics of this use of dollars and religion, though. Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Tex.) commented: "Madison and Jefferson understood the lesson of human history - that when you start combining the power of politics and the power of religion, you end up with politicians using religion as means to their own ends."

[loudsue]

10. This IS HUGE!!!!

The NEOCONS ARE BUYING VOTES!!! That's all this is! Kerry's campaign needs to get wind of this.

Are there any DUers on the board who are active in Kerry's campaign? This needs to be looked into!

We also need Will Pitt to weigh in with an article. We need some more researchers!

HELP!!!!

:kick::kick::kick::kick:

[vetwife]

12. Wake up People..Calling all activists on this one !

[loudsue]

13. Maybe we need to bring this up again during the week.

Sometimes the "Saturday crowd" has other things to do besides post here.

I've bookmarked this thread, and I'm going to link to it next week.

This is too big to drop out of sight. The Dems need to be all over this issue!

:kick::kick::kick:

[vetwife]

14. well..That Blane admendment appears un constitutional !

No wonder Georgia is so red !

[doni_georgia]

15. Checkin in Vet Wife.

I've seen the same thing. Don't know where some of the folks I know who are unemployed are getting their money - I mean people who are unemployed supposedly living on $300 a week unemployment seeming to have as much money as my husband and I and we're close to the top of the tax bracket food chain. I haven't really thought about it much, but we have to look into this.

[vetwife]

16. It is really worth looking into !

Lets call that number on RNC and see what they say !
Ga Republican Party ! You know for more info ..the last line.
I just told it on Guy James

[doni_georgia]

17. Their offices are closed - I'll try again Monday

Found it interesting that they have an African American female on the answering machine. One note, Vetwife - call from your cell phone, or disable your caller ID feature so they won't know who you are.

[vetwife]

18. Thanks Doni They do know who I am and hate me !

I will call Monday too !

[doni_georgia]

19. Ralph Reid and I knew each other in college and the hate was mutual

[Gold Metal Flake]

20. Kick

bump