Women of the GOP In the News: Governors Race Edition

As election time draws closer, several Republican women are making headlines, all across the country. Here is a look at some who are running for governor and have been in the news this week:

- In January, we wondered if New Mexico would see a female governor. Tuesday, that prediction became a reality when prosecutor and Dona Ana County district attorney Susana Martinez won the Republican nomination for governor. Martinez, whose entry into the race was called a "game-changer" by the media, will face Democrat Diane Denish. There are a lot of "firsts" in this race. Either woman has the chance at becoming the first female governor in the state, while Martinez is also the first Hispanic woman of either party to be nominated for governor of any of the fifty states. Also, this is only the third time in United States history that two women will go head-to-head in a gubernatorial general election.

- Former Georgia Secretary of State and current gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel might have been pretty shocked when pro-life group Georgia Right to Life (GRTL) failed to endorse her this week, considering she has definitely established herself as a pro-life candidate. Handel, who has spoken publicly about her inability to have children of her own, disagrees with the group's desire to prohibit invitro fertilization and fertility treatments. She has also stated that, like many pro-lifer's, she believes abortion should be allowed in the case of rape or incest. Unfortunately, GRTL president Dan Becker chose to twist Handel's words, by saying, "...she does not believe that an embryonic human is a child,” something Handel immediately denied. Becker also used very insensitive language to describe women who are incapable of conceiving, which probably didn't help his case with several female voters in the Peach State.

- South Carolina's sweetheart, Nikki Haley, also found herself fighting false allegations this week, when blogger Will Folks decided to announce he'd had an affair with the gubernatorial candidate. Haley, with her husband by her side, immediately said the allegations were "totally false." Another Women of the GOP fave, Sarah Palin, stood up for Haley by saying, "for traditional media to rely on an accusation via some blog entry is almost laughable, but I know the seriousness of it because that's exactly what my family and colleagues have had to put up with, every single day, for the past couple of years." Former Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney also voices his support for Haley, who is hoping to replace South Carolina governor Mark Sanford.

---

Considering a projector rental or a plasma rental for your your next convention or event? Then Call a Tech Travel Agent today at 800-736-8772.

Dr. Deborah Honeycutt for Congress in Georgia's 13th

Dr. Deborah Travis Honeycutt calls herself an "independent Frederick Douglass Republican." She says she's running for Congress because she's "angry" at what our government is doing. "Congresspersons are supposed to be leaders, servant leaders, serving the people and leading them toward solutions... I do believe that anyone in leadership must exhibit honest, integrity at the highest levels. Otherwise, we need to allow them the opportunity to do something else," she says on her website. And if Honeycutt has her way, Congressman David Scott of Georgia's 13th Congressional District will be allowed "the opportunity to do something else." Here is a look at Honeycutt's life and where she stands on the important issues facing Georgia and the United States.

Dr. Deborah Honeycutt was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended the University of Illinois - Urbana, where she received her Bachelor's degree in Dance Education, Master's degree in Dance, and eventually attended the school's College of Medicine, where she became a doctor and laid the foundation for what would be a very extensive career in the medical profession.

She's worked as a faculty member at Atlanta Medical Center's Family Practice Residency Training Program and has also worked as an educator at Emory University's Family Practice Residency Training Program. She's worked as a family physician at Georgia Baptist; at her own private practice, Five Points Family Practice in Fairburn, Georgia; and Eagles Landing Family Practice in Hampton, Georgia.

In 2004, Dr. Honeycutt became the President of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians and later served as Chairman of the Board of Directors. She's been appointed to the American Academy of Family Physicians' Commission on Education and served twice as the Minority Constituency Delegate and twice as the Georgia State Delegate to the American Academy of Family Physicians. In 2005, she was appointed Medical Director of Good Shepherd Clinic, a free clinic located in Morrow, Georgia and she worked in this position until her decision to run for Congress.

She has been instrumental in lobbying for better health care at both the state and federal level and is very involved with the community and health care-related activism. She often speaks on topics that often affect African Americans such as diabetes, obesity, and domestic violence, and has served on the board of the CareNet Pregnancy Resource Center of Atlanta, as well as the Board of Directors of the Georgia Partnership for Caring. Currently, she is a member of the Georgia Free Clinic Network Board of Directors and is co-chair of the Georgia Department of Community Health Minority Health Advisory Council.

With all of this experience in health care under her belt, Dr. Honeycutt strongly opposes nationwide, government sponsored health care, saying the issues failed in other countries, and "a government sponsored one size fits all solution won't fit anyone." Instead, she feels we should rely on "free markets and multi group efforts that allow government to do its part and citizens to do their part." She says that when she was working in her own private practice, she was not able to help the people who most needed help because of government restrictions in place that prevented her from doing so and feels people should be empowered to help themselves, not to be helpless.

Dr. Honeycutt is also a proponent of the Fair Tax system. From her website,

"I have examined alternatives and found the FairTax to offer the best hope of returning our tax system to our constitutional principles, providing both increased fairness and dramatic simplification, as well as positioning this country to continue to prosper in the increasingly competitive global marketplace of the 21st century. "

Even though she's currently campaigning, Honeycutt continues to work as a volunteer physicians at the Good Shepherd free clinic. She has also taken an active roll, becoming a voice for issues in her community, such as community values and public education. She attends school board meetings in Clayton County, as well as Clayton County Home Owners Association meetings, and regularly meets with elected officials.

Dr. Honeycutt is married to Dr. Andrew Honeycutt, a Distinguished Fellow of Business at Shorter College. They are members of the Word of Faith Family Cathedral in Austell, Georgia and reside in Fayetteville, Georgia.

---

Considering a projector rental or a plasma rental for your your next convention or event? Then Call a Tech Travel Agent today at 800-736-8772.

Valerie Meyers: A Lifelong Republican for Georgia's 8th

Valerie Meyers describes herself as a "lifelong Republican." That's because she's always believed in limited government in our lives, as well Constitutional rule. She believes that current leadership and representatives are betraying the country's principles in the name of self-interest, and feels that the base of the GOP needs to reclaim the party. Above all, she feels it's important for citizens to be able to take advantage of their right to life and liberty as granted by the Constitution. From her website:

"Our personal liberties have gradually been eroded. The federal government has asserted that it has the authority to mine, collect, and store information on the personal matters of American citizens based on security or expediency, often in violation of our 4th Amendment guarantees against illegal search and seizure, and our 5th Amendment guarantees against self-incrimination.We can prosper and protect our national security without intruding into the personal lives of American citizens. I vow to fight on behalf of preserving our personal liberties."

Like many Republicans, Meyer is pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-free markets. She feels the country needs to return to its capitalistic roots to become prosperous again. Meyers feels this can be done by, "removing all government imposed barriers that impede or prevent business and industry from conducting business," including the corporate income tax. She also feels the 16th Amendment must be repealed and supports the proposed, much-talked-about Fair Tax system.

When it comes to education, she supports a parent's right to choose where and how their children are education. She attributes Georgia's 22% high school drop-out rate to federal government control and a malfunctioning statewide system. She is also in opposition to government-controlled health care, again feeling that an individual has the right to choose what kind of health care they receive and where they receive it.

She is an active member of the Georgia Republican Party and has served as vice chairman in her district, as well as serving as a delegate at the county, district and state conventions and as a precinct chairman. She has been campaigning and fundraising for GOP candidates for twenty years. In 2008, she served as the Houston County Coordinator and 8th Congressional District Coordinator for Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. She still remains active in Campaign for Liberty, a movement that began after Congressman Paul's presidential run. She is considered one of many "Liberty Candidates" running for office across the country.

A true Southerner, Meyers grew up in Huntsville, Alabama and graduated from the University of South Alabama. She currently attends Mercer University in Atlanta, where she is working on her Master's Degree. She also works as a technical writer and information technology business analyst for Computer Services Corporation. Her work there involves product development for United States Air Force bases around the world.

Meyers and her children, Isabel and Zane live in Bonaire, Georgia. She attends the Warner Robbins Church of Christ and runs in her spare time. She has participated in several marathons and triathlons.

---

Considering a projector rental or a plasma rental for your your next convention or event? Then Call a Tech Travel Agent today at 800-736-8772.

Karen Handel takes on Voters' Rights

In what Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel calls a "shockingly political move," the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently discarded Georgia's voter verification program which was put in place to help prevent non-Georgia citizens from voting. According to Secretary Handel, the DOJ's new orders essentially violate federal law and contradict previous demands placed in 2007, before the new administration took office. In an exclusive statement Handel explained to us,

"The irony of this DOJ situation is that, right after I was elected I received a letter -- a demand letter if you will -- from the DOJ asking why we did not have the verification program, required by federal law, in place. The reason was pretty simple, the previous administration did not do it. We did, immediately and communicated the details to DOJ. For more than a year, the DOJ knew this verification program was in place, and no one raised a question or an objection. It was only after groups like MALDEF and the ACLU starting complaining that the DOJ become interested. When those groups sued Georgia, two federal courts ordered us to continue the verification programs -- with lawyers from the DOJ sitting in the court room.

Now seven months later, DOJ has essentially voided the court orders and are now directing us to stop the verification process -- the same process they directed us to implement in 2007. DOJ's directive prohibits the citizenship verification and even prohibits the basic verification to ensure that that individuals registering are at the very least who they say they are. The fraud potential created by the DOJ decision is vast. There are dozens of cases across the country involving improper and illegal voter registration activities by ACORN and other groups. This decision creates a gaping opportunity for additional fraud and opens the door for "universal voter registration” with no checks whatsoever.

It's also important to note that the verification process is required under the Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA). HAVA specifically requires states to verify information from new voter registration applicants with the Department of Driver Services databases and with the Social Security Administration databases. DOJ's decision essentially directs us to ignore Federal law. Because of this, we have sought clarification from the DOJ. To date, we have not received a response."

Though Secretary Handel is currently working harder than any other elected official in the country to protect the rights of citizens to "fair and honest elections," the issue reaches far beyond the state of Georgia. This move by the DOJ under the Obama administration is setting the tone for the 2010 and 2012 elections and will, according to Handel, have serious implications all over the country,

Should DOJ confirm its intention to prohibit the verification process in its entirety, all states will be affected. This is a direct assault on the integrity of elections and is yet another example of the Federal government overreaching into the state's authority. Further, I am very concerned that we are seeing the beginning of politicizing the elections process as we approach 2010 and head into 2012, which will be the first election after redistricting and reapportionment.

So, if we consider the controversies surrounding the census and the anticipated fights that will occur around redistricting, one can see that this issue here in Georgia may well have an impact nationally.

So what can you do to help Handel in her effort to protect the voting rights of all American citizens? The Secretary asked us to pass along this message,

"[You] can help with a mouse click or two. I started an online petition with the goal of getting 10,000 signatures of people who want their voices heard in opposition to this terrible decision. That petition now has more than 20,000 names on it. It can be found at www.karenhandel.com and I urge your readers to sign it, ask their friends to sign it, post it on their Facebook pages and tweet messages in support of it on Twitter. We can make a difference and that is the first step."

Karen Handel was elected Secretary of State in Georgia on November 7, 2006 and been a champion for the people, their rights, their tax dollars and an advocate for responsible government ever since. She is currently running for Governor of Georgia and more information can be found at her website.

We'd like to thank Secretary Handel for taking the time to answer our questions and wish her luck with leading the fight for voters' rights.

Karen Handel for Governor of Georgia

"Karen's strength of character, her traditional conservative values and her determination to do what is right are what is needed in political office today." - Former Vice President Dan Quayle

On Friday, March 27, Karen Handel announced her decision to run for Governor of the state of Georgia in 2010. A message posted on her Twitter account read, "After prayerful consideration and with the support of my husband Steve, I have decided to run for Governor." Handel, a conservative, has been serving as the state's first Republican Secretary of State since she was elected in 2006.

As Secretary of State, Handel has been a champion for the citizens of Georgia and a strong advocate of responsible government. She fought against voter fraud by defending the state's Photo ID law and has launched the "Transparency in Government Initiative" which allows citizens to view the Secretary of State's financial information online, along with the Office Ethics Policy. Handel has even cut her agency's budget and saves money by eliminating wasteful spending. She told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she goes "line by line" through the budget each month. Recently, she launched a website providing resources and information for voters with disabilities.

Even before becoming Secretary of State, Handel had already achieved quite an impressive resume. She served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Marilyn Quayle (wife of former Vice President, Dan Quayle) where she helped support efforts to raise breast cancer awareness and secure funding for women's health research. She also served as Deputy Chief of Staff and as a senior policy advisor for current Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Handel served as President and CEO of the North Fulton County Chamber of Commerce and was also elected as Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. During her time as Chairman, Handel managed to balance the County's budget, fight against tax increases, uncover corruption, and pass a strong ethics policy. Politics hasn't been Handel's only career. She has worked as executive in the business world for several major companies.

Handel's accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Georgia Trend Magazine named her one of the "100 Most Influential Political Leaders in Georgia." She was also chosen as one of "Atlanta's Most Influential Leaders" by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and was Atlanta Woman magazine's "Woman of the Year" in 2007. Former head of the Georgia GOP, Rusty Paul, has praised her as "relentless and extremely hardworking."

I think it's safe to say that if elected, Karen Handel will continue her hard work and dedication to the citizens of Georgia. You can learn more about her at her website: Karen Handel for Governor of Georgia.