Jimmy Carter Releases A Statement On Racial Justice

Former President Jimmy Carter released the following statement on racial justice on June 3rd.

These are the words we need to hear from our current president -- but unfortunately, he cares only about himself and not the country or its citizens.

Mr. Carter reminds us of what it was like to have a decent man in the White House, and that we must do better if we truly love this country.

He wrote:

Rosalynn and I are pained by the tragic racial injustices and consequent backlash across our nation in recent weeks. Our hearts are with the victims’ families and all who feel hopeless in the face of pervasive racial discrimination and outright cruelty. We all must shine a spotlight on the immorality of racial discrimination. But violence, whether spontaneous or consciously incited, is not a solution.

As a white male of the South, I know all too well the impact of segregation and injustice to African Americans. As a politician, I felt a responsibility to bring equity to my state and our country. In my 1971 inaugural address as Georgia’s governor, I said: “The time for racial discrimination is over.” With great sorrow and disappointment, I repeat those words today, nearly five decades later. Dehumanizing people debases us all; humanity is beautifully and almost infinitely diverse. The bonds of our common humanity must overcome the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices. 

Since leaving the White House in 1981, Rosalynn and I have strived to advance human rights in countries around the world. In this quest, we have seen that silence can be as deadly as violence. People of power, privilege, and moral conscience must stand up and say “no more” to a racially discriminatory police and justice system, immoral economic disparities between whites and blacks, and government actions that undermine our unified democracy. We are responsible for creating a world of peace and equality for ourselves and future generations. 

We need a government as good as its people, and we are better than this.

Texas House District 31 Is NOT A Safe Republican Seat

 A remarkable thing is happening in Central Texas.

Just a few months ago, Texas House District 31, located in two counties north of Austin, was considered a "safe" seat for the Republican Party.

That is no longer true. M.J. Hegar (wife, mother, and military veteran) has shocked the pundits by making the district one in which the incumbent Republican (John Carter) just might be unseated! The seat is still rated by pundits as "leaning" or "likely" Republican, but no one now considers it a "safe" seat anymore. And Hegar has just completed a series of ads that will be released soon, and they could take the seat into the toss-up category.

Here is just some of what the Texas Tribune had to say about this race:

By force of her personal story and fundraising prowess, Hegar, a military veteran, has put this traditionally Republican stronghold of a House district on the midterm map. . . .

Since he was first elected in 2002, Carter has cruised to re-election. The district's voting history would normally suggest a similar outcome this year. But Democrats are seeing momentum in races across Texas and the country and hoping Hegar might turn out to be the right Democrat at the right time to flip the seat. . . .

Hegar blew Carter out of the water in fundraising over the summer largely on the strength of a biographical viral video. The 3-minute clip highlighted her military service, including being shot down by the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2009, as well as her successful bid to change the military’s policy on women in combat. It quickly gained more than 2 million views on YouTube and turbocharged Hegar's fundraising. Last month, she reported raising $1.1 million in the second quarter, four times Carter's sum over the same period. She also had a $300,000 cash-on-hand advantage. . . .

There are a few reasons some in GOP circles fear a perfect storm is brewing against Carter. Perhaps the one quietly discussed the most is that the mechanics, fundraising and tactics of modern campaigning have changed dramatically since his first successful run more than 15 years ago and he hasn't kept up. Also, Democrat Beto O'Rourke's spirited bid against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is beginning to spook Republicans about how a potential surge in Democratic turnout might impact down-ballot races just like Carter's.

The shifting demographics of this district — particularly in suburban Williamson County — are also raising some alarm bells. While still considered a Republican district, it was redder when Republican officials drew its lines seven years ago. If a Democratic midterm wave sweeping across the country did reach Central Texas, could the district possibly flip? . . .

Carter is a senior member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. In political terms, this means that the House GOP campaign arm relies on him to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars every cycle to help other candidates.

But in his most recent campaign finance report, Carter shifted from a donor member — one who sends money to vulnerable members — to a recipient member. About a dozen U.S. House Republicans, including U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, donated money from their campaigns to Carter’s re-election effort. . . .

And so Carter looks to the fall for what could be the fight of his life. 

Trump Is Sending Money To Help Texas Republicans

 The 2018 race is really starting to get interesting. Some House seats in the red state of Texas are no longer considered gimmes for Republican incumbents.

We learn now that Donald Trump must be getting worried about whether the Republicans can keep control of the House of Representatives. He is sending a maximum contribution under law to 100 candidates -- six of them in Texas.

Five of the Republicans receiving money are Michael Burgess (District 26), Michael Cloud (District 27), Mike Conway (District 11), John Culberson (District 7), and Pete Sessions (District 32). Culberson and Sessions were both outraged significantly by their Democratic opponents (Lizzie Pannill Fletcher in District 7 and Colin Allred in District 32) and both represent districts that Clinton carried in 2016. Democrats have a good chance of snatching both Districts away from the GOP. Cloud is brand new (having replaced Farenthold who resigned) and Democrats have a decent chance to take that seat also.

The sixth is in my own congressional district -- District 31. John Carter is the Republican incumbent, and a few months ago it was thought he was a "safe" incumbent. But that was before he got a credible Democratic opponent -- Army veteran Mary M.J. Hegar. Hegar has raised four times as much campaign money as Carter this year (well over a million dollars), and the Cook Political Report has moved the race from SAFE Republican to only LIKELY Republican.

Hegar has the money to compete, and seems to be a good campaigner (with her first political ad going viral). I think she has put District 31 in play.

If the Democrats can take a few seats away from the Republicans in Texas, the blue wave would really be on its way. Texas is not a state where the GOP expected to lose seats.

Another Poll Shows Georgia Races Are A Dead Heat

These charts on the Georgia governor and senate races were made from information in a new WXIA-TV / SurveyUSA Poll. That survey was done between September 5th and 8th of a random sample of 558 likely Georgia voters, and has a margin of error of 4.2 points.

The charts are a demographic breakdown of voters and their preference in those races, but the most important figures are the first ones -- those for "all adults". They show a 1 point lead for Deal over Carter in the governor's race, and a 3 point lead for Perdue over Nunn in the Senate race. But those leads are not statistically significant, since both fall within the poll's margin of error.

In other words, both of these races are, just like they have been for weeks now, still a dead heat. There are still slightly over seven weeks until election day, and someone could establish a significant lead in that time. But for now, these races are anyone's to win.

Georgia Is Looking More And More Like A Purple State

Georgia is one of those states that has been commonly referred to as a "red state" -- a state where Republicans have an easy time getting elected, and Democrats (especially on a statewide level) have a tough row to hoe. A year ago, the political pundits were predicting that Republicans would easily hold on to both the open Senate seat and the governorship in the 2014 election -- but it's just not working out that way. They still might win those races, but it won't be easy because both of those races are currently a dead heat between the Republican and Democratic candidates.

The charts above show the results of the latest political poll in Georgia. It is the WRLB / Ledger-Enquirer Poll -- done on August 24th and 25th of 1,578 likely Georgia voters, with a margin of error of 2.47 points. The poll shows Democrat Michelle Nunn with a small lead over Republican David Perdue (44.74% to 43.09%) in the U.S. Senate race, and Republican incumbent Nathan Deal with a small lead over Democrat Jason Carter (43.60% to 41.51%) in the race for governor.

Neither of those leads is statistically significant though, since both fall well within the survey's margin of error. That means both races are currently a dead heat right now -- and that's what the polling has been showing for a few months now (with candidates switching leads, but always within the margin of error). The only thing that can be said with certainty right now is that either party could win one or both of these races.

Georgia used to be a solid red state -- but in this election it is definitely turning a nice shade of purple.

Carter Has 7 Point Lead In Georgia Governor's Race

The Georgia primary is over (except for a runoff between the GOP senate candidates), and we now know who will be the party candidates in the Fall. Last week, I posted about a poll showing Democrat Michelle Nunn with a small lead over both Republican runoff hopefuls in the senate race. Now the Rasmussen Poll has released a survey on the governor's race between Republican incumbent Nathan Deal and his Democratic opponent Jason Carter.

The survey was done on May 21st and 22nd of 750 likely Georgia voters, and has a margin of error of 4 points -- and it should give Georgia Democrats a good shot in the arm as the general election campaign gets started. That's because the poll shows Jason Carter (grandson of former President Jimmy Carter) has a 7 point lead over the incumbent Republican (48% to 41%).

Polls have shown for a couple of months now that this is a close race, and this latest survey shows the Democrat is not fading in the race. There's still a few months before election day in November and anything can happen, but the poll does show that Georgia may not be as red as some people think. The Democratic candidates for both the governor and senate races have a real chance to win this year.

Jason Carter Is Still Close In The Georgia Governor's Race

This chart was made using information in a new SurveyUSA Poll, which was done between April 24th and 27th. They surveyed 1,567 likely Georgia voters, and the poll has a margin of error of 2.5 points.

The state of Georgia has started it's early voting for the primaries, and that will continue for a couple of weeks (until Primary Day on May 20th). But we already know who the nominees are going to be, since Republican incumbent Nathan Deal and Democrat Jason Carter have large poll leads and will be nominated -- joining Libertarian Andrew Hunt in the November general election.

Georgia is a red state, and normally the Republican candidate (especially an incumbent) would have a pretty easy time winning. But that is not what's happening, at least right now. Previous polls have shown that Carter is within striking distance of Deal, and this SurveyUSA Poll verifies that. Currently Deal has 41% support, to 37% for Carter and 9% for Hunt (with a significant 13% still undecided).

It looks like Deal's unpopularity has driven some Republicans to support Hunt, who is polling more than twice the support the Libertarian candidate got in the last gubernatorial election. It's also allowing Carter to remain close.

Deal is still the favorite, but it looks like Carter may give him a run for it this time. It won't be easy (and will require a lot of work and a large turnout), but Jason Carter could win this race.

Democrats Will Have A Strong Gubernatorial Candidate In Georgia

(This image of Jason Carter, with his grandfather, is from Politico.com.)

Democrats were already hoping to score a major victory in the red state of Georgia. They have an excellent candidate for the U.S. Senate -- Michelle Nunn, daughter of the revered Democratic Georgia senator Sam Nunn. Ms. Nunn has been running equal in the polls with all of her possible GOP rivals, and many believe she has a good chance to win that race. But having some other strong Democratic candidates on the ballot would increase her chances.

Now that has happened. State Senator Jason Carter announced on Wednesday, in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that he will seek the Democratic nomination to run against the incumbent Republican governor in the 2014 election. Jason is the grandson of former Georgia governor and U.S. president, Jimmy Carter.

I haven't seen any polls on Carter's chances in the gubernatorial race, but his family name won't hurt him and I'm sure his grandfather will do some campaigning (which will help). Best of all, having both Carter and Nunn on the Democratic ticket will increase the party's chances of winning either or both races. With candidates like these, competent candidates sporting well-known family names, will show us whether Georgia (like Virginia) is ready to move from a red state to a purple one.

Carter Not Afraid To Speak The Truth

Last week Bush tried again to tell us that his administration does not torture prisoners. He said this even though there were memos discovered where his administration specifically gave the CIA permission to use torture techniques. Sometimes I think he's so used to lying that he no longer knows how to tell the truth.

But ex-President Jimmy Carter doesn't have a problem with the truth. In a CNN interview on Wednesday, Carter was asked if he thought the US tortured prisoners. There was no hedging or waffling in his answer.

Carter said, "I don't think it. I know it. Our country for the first time in my life time has abandoned the basic principle of human rights. We've said that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to those people in Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo, and we've said we can torture prisoners and deprive them of an accusation of a crime to which they are accused."

When Carter was reminded that Bush said his administration doesn't torture people, Carter replied, "That's not an accurate statement if you use the international norms of torture as has always been honored -- certainly in the last 60 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated."

But Bush wasn't the only person Carter criticized. He also discussed the rabid nature of the new crop of Republican presidential hopefuls. He said, "They all seem to be outdoing each other in who wants to go to war first with Iran, who wants to keep Guantanamo open longer and expand its capacity -- things of that kind. They're competing with each other to appeal to the ultra-right-wing, war-mongering element in our country, which I think is the minority of our total population."

Carter also took some Democrats to task, saying he was disappointed that Obama and Clinton would not pledge to get the American troops out of Iraq by the end of their first term. He said, "I disagree with their basic premise that we'll still be there; I think the American people want out."

After all the lying Republicans and spineless Democrats of the last few years, it's refreshing to see someone who's not afraid of the truth. Thank goodness for Jimmy Carter.

Carter Says Bush Presidency Is "Worst In History"

Say what you will about Former President Jimmy Carter, but he always told us the truth, unlike the current resident of the White House. Carter is still not afraid to speak the truth. In interviews with the Arkansas Democrat and the BBC, Carter had a few choice comments about Bush and his lapdog, Tony Blair.

About Bush:

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history."

"The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

"We now have endorsed the concept of pre-emptive war where we go to war with another nation militarily, even though our own security is not directly threatened, if we want to change the regime there, or if we fear that sometime in the future our security might be endangered."

"For the first time since Israel was founded, we've had zero peace talks to try to bring a resolution of differences in the Middle East. That's a radical departure from the past."

When asked what he thought about Blair:

"Abominable. Loyal, blind, apparently subservient."

"I think that the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies by President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world."

"One of the defenses of the Bush administration in America and worldwide...has been 'OK we must be more correct in our actions than the world thinks because Great Britain is backing us.'"

"I think the combination of Bush and Blair giving their support to this tragedy in Iraq has strengthened the effort and has made opposition less effective and has prolonged the war and increased the tragedy that has resulted."

Wouldn't it be nice to have an honest president again? One that would tell us the truth, even when we didn't want to hear it. President Carter may have had his faults (and who doesn't?), but lying and warmongering weren't among them.

I believe Carter is right. Bush truly is the worst president in our history.