Political Insider

By RJ

January 24, 2007 6:18 PM | Link to this

The complaint document is pretty tight and buttressed strongly by the associated attachments.

As a citizen, I can care less about the source of a complaint against an elected or appointed official. My main concern… is the complaint fact based? It may even be partisan motivated but is it fact based?

I hope Eric Johnson will not get in the habit of rebuking citizens who file complaints that are later dismissed. After all, the technical requirements for submitting complaints is mostly “insider knowledge.”

By Much Ado

January 25, 2007 1:43 PM | Link to this

ANY ONE CAN MAKE HEADLINES ABOUT ANYTHING NEGATIVE…ESPECIALLY if the person being maligned is rich enough, powerful enough, or is just well known. The Democrats were successful in the last two years with killing Republicans’ election chances by inflicting the death of a 1,000 cuts.

Each cut can be healed with a little antiseptic on a cotton swab. Two years hence the scars will begin to show on the body. In four years, there will be a gushing, bleeding wound. Come on Republicans…can’t you innoculate against the pandemic disfiguring Democrat germ warfare of baseless charges.

After so long of hearing how sick the person is, HE BEGINS TO FEEL UNWELL!

By A Concerned Georgian

January 25, 2007 6:25 PM | Link to this

I live in Houston County where all these “crooked politicans” are from and there are some more local ones. They all look out for each other. I have done a lot of research on my own on O’Neal and Perdue and this complaint is correct, but nothing will be done. Perdue is Governor and one of their Houston County friends works on the Ethics Committee. It is a real shame.

By RJ

January 25, 2007 7:52 PM | Link to this

I just learned that this complaint was rejected by Senator Eric Johnson, Chair, Joint Legislative Committee, because it was not signed and properly notorized. The coverage I read suggets that Mr. Johnson took some pleasure in rejecting the complaint. I also learned that it is being refiled in accordance with the requirements and is expected to arrive tomorrow.

To minimize these kind of dents procedures for filing a complaint ought to be posted under the Committee on the web.

The complainer has requested that Speaker Richardson recuse himself from hearing the complaint because of some comments he made about the matter some months back.

“If you attack one of us, you attack all of us,” Richardson said about O’Neal in a House Majority Caucus meeting in November. “Somebody attacked one of us, they attacked all of us. We stand with you, Larry.” (source: Capitol blog).

If the foregoing is true and the Speaker does not recuse himself, it will TAINT the entire investigation. Any secrecy associated with this investigation will also undermine its credibility. I hope the Speaker will do the right thing. Georgia does not need this mess blasted in news papers all over the world.

By Much Ado...

January 25, 2007 10:42 PM | Link to this

Mr. RJ is worried that the investigative process might be “TAINTED.” Mr. RJ should worry that the Democrats will continue to keep on “crying wolf.” The only “TAINT” I observe is, ‘TAINT TRUE!

By RJ

January 25, 2007 11:10 PM | Link to this

Much Ado, With due respect, this matter is not about partanship. Because of its broader implications there is no joy from this writer.

A serious complaint has been filed against someone whom we, the citizens, have placed our trust. How this complaint is disposed of is just as important as the nature of its allegations. Why? Because an orderly society requires confidence in its system of justice. If there is no confidence in the process, there is no confidence in the outcome.

Apparently you have not read the complaint because if you had you would be just as reserve as I am about your judgement.

By TROLL

January 25, 2007 11:18 PM | Link to this

Mr. Much Ado If you read the whole nine pages and the attachments, how can you say none of it is true?

The message I get from it all is an attitude that “I’m up here in Atlanta passing all of these laws for Georgians to obey but I don’t think I should obey them myself”.

By TROLL

January 25, 2007 11:38 PM | Link to this

Here we go again. Sen. Johnson has already decided that any hearings by the Ethics Committee will be closed to the media and public.

This slaps the face of all Council, Commissioner, Authorities and Boards throughout the State who must hold their meetings in public or face jail.

By Much Ado

January 26, 2007 9:08 AM | Link to this

Mr. RJ and Troll Guy, do you not SEE? The Dems would LOVE to bog down the entire government process with their “ethics-compaints-of-the day.”

I do not find reading 9 or 90 pages of fiction to be ENLIGHTENING! I predict that like the vandal in the cemetery, the Dems are going to buried by toppling one too many tombstones…er, that is ethics complaints.

By RJ

January 26, 2007 10:59 AM | Link to this

Much Ado, Having an opinion is one thing…having an INFORMED opinion is quite another. An informed and engaged citizenry is the life blood of our Democratic Republic. You can issue the the last opinion on this matter if you want…I just hope its not a blind opinion.

By Guy Pinestra

January 26, 2007 11:22 AM | Link to this

Well, after reading the complaint and supporting documents all I can say is this needs to be investigated thoroughly and if necessary, prosecuted fully.

I voted for Sonny, but after reading that I may regret it.

By Much Ado

January 26, 2007 5:55 PM | Link to this

Ever hear the 60’s ballad…”there are none so blind as THOSE WHO WILL NOT SEE…”

The beauty of the blog is one should know that…there are two kinds of liars…blog liars and all the others. Maybe those who say they voted for the Republicans really did…perhaps they didn’t.

Maybe the “FACTS” reported are a true representation of the truth and maybe they are not. Would the Dems stoop to making false charges and manufacturing convincing (to you) evidence. It happens to those who are in power all of the time! Perhaps the Dems know all it takes to get an ethics complaint to make the headlines is to simply make it.

In all those days the Dems were in power it was well known that then Speaker Murphy had a slush fund, took favors from BCCI, that good ole boys bought highway rights-of-ways, sold their property to create state parks and golf courses, were put on high paying hospital boards and authorities, given bank charters, and much more. The Republicans may have been dumb, but they didn’t file ethics complaints. Oh, yes, now I remember…there WEREN’T ANY ETHICS LAWS!

By Guy Pinestra

January 27, 2007 7:53 AM | Link to this

Much Ado,

Because it was the way it was means it should stay that way now and in the future? I don’t see much progress getting made that way. The Dems were crooks, that’s why they got voted out. Now Sonny and Larry continue the kinds of activities that got their predecessors booted out, and you jump up to defend them “because the Dems did it first!”

God help us!