The Buzz of Northwest Georgia: Click
-Final political rants: Ban the robo calls in 2012
-Vote nostalgic: Big changes on legislative, congressional districts in 2012.
-Early voting a big hit in 2010.
-The 'wet' vote, part one: Rainy forecast for election day.
-Part two: Euharlee residents to decide Sunday beer/wine sales.
-Party of the year: The Tea Party. No other group has worked harder than the local tea party in 2010. And wait until you see what's brewing next.
-Buzz: 3rd time charged for Waffle House? ... Opi's to open with BYOB?
-Candidate profiles: House 13, 14; Senate 52; County Commission. Click
-Nov. 2: Floyd County Republican Women meet at 11:30 a.m. for lunch at Red Lobster, noon for monthly meeting. Speaker: State Rep. Melvin Everson.
-Nov. 2: Rome Tea Party's "Victory: An American Tea Party," 7 p.m. MB's at the Village Theatres. Reservations due later today: 706-346-3400.
Your latest forecast:
-Monday: High of 73, low of 47.
-Election Day: 40% chance of rain. High of 60, low of 47.
-Extended forecast: Click / Regional radar: Click
Norman Arey's Sports Commentary. Arey
-Like it or not, welcome to the new reality that is college football today
John McClellan's high school football picks. Click McClellan
-Week 11 picks posting Tuesday morning.
Darlington, Calhoun hold steady in state's top 10 listings. Details
Shorter Hawks football. Hawks
-Nov. 6: Senior day for the Shorter Hawks as they play Union at 1:30 p.m. at Barron Stadium. It is the last home game of the football season.
Rome Braves/State Mutual Stadium. Click Sports
-Nov. 12: Braves Celebrity Shootout golf match. Atlanta Braves Third Base Coach Brian Snitker has joined the lineup.
Final political rants: Ban robo calls; tons of changes by 2012
Palin, Huckabee add to disgust with those phone calls; great early voting numbers; Sunday by-the-drink sales in Euharlee; legislative, congressional district changes
Maybe there's a connection between the final arrival of fall weather and the local outbreak of campaigning. It seems as the temperatures dropped, we also saw -- and heard -- more political signs and radio ads. Please, please, please don't play the J.B. Powell/Beverly Hillbillies thing again (ag commissioner candidate).
-First campaign promise of 2012 -- ban political robo calls. As we write this at 9 a.m. Saturday, we've just had our second call from Sarah Palin. Or was it Tina Fey? Or Amy Poehler doing an updated version of the Sarah Palin rap? And then precisely at 9 a.m. Sunday, here comes Mike Huckabee (you'd think a Baptist preacher would know better than calling on the Sabbath?) Our household rule: Don't vote for the candidate who makes robo calls. Bye-bye, Sarah and Mike.
-Perhaps the scariest thing is we probably face four more weeks of Deal-
Barnes ads as more and more pollsters see the governor's race moving to a runoff Nov. 30.You'd best believe the TV station ad managers are loving it.
-Feeling nostalgic about this election? You should. A lot could change by 2012 thanks to the Census and reapportionment. A new seat in congress and changing state House and Senate districts await us--and lengthy legislative and court battles.
-Turnout already at 10% with the big day still a day away: Gordon and Floyd elections officials are reporting robust early/advance voting numbers, about 9 to 10 percent of eligible voters in each county. Bartow County did even better-- 5,273 total votes for early voting and 1,041 mail ballot returned. Here's hoping another 40 percent find their way to the precincts Tuesday -- if not more.
-Sunday beer, wine restaurant sales on Tuesday's Euharlee ballot: Sunday diners at Euharlee hot spot Johnny Mitchell's Smokehouse would be able to order beer or wine with their Sunday meals if this one gets voter approval. Mitchell approached City Council in August (WBHF), asking the referendum be added to the ballot. Since opening almost two years ago, the Mitchells have been supportive of the community, especially when it comes to events and history. Here's an issue we'll endorse wholeheartedly. Our Redneck Reuben sandwich this past Sunday was fine with water but when paired with a beer? Even better.
-Gloomy election day? The weather forecast calls for a 40 to 60 percent chance of rain Tuesday with a high of just 64. Can we get a recount?
-Live election coverage: Listen to Rome/Floyd results on WRGA 1470 AM (webcast). Get Cartersville-Bartow County results and commentary at WBHF AM 1450 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Webcast on Bartow Headlines (click)
-Hometown's election coverage: Join us for continuing coverage all evening from the largest elections team in Northwest Georgia. Details Tuesday.
-And up next -- 2012. U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, who was unopposed this year, speaks to Rome Rotarians at noon Thursday. Get ready for a preview of Campaign 2012. Change? You can believe it.
After big year in 2010, Rome Tea Party seeks to continue to be driving political force. Plans for 2011, '12 already brewing.
By Natalie Simms
nsimmshh@att.net
While Election Day is Tuesday, Rome Tea Party leaders say their work is just beginning as they seek to motivate local voters through 2012 and beyond.
"We are focused on creating a more informed voter," says Mike Morton, local Tea Party leader. "We want to inspire the voter to get out and vote. We are not substantially focused on candidates. We are more focused on information and knowledge."
And educating voters has been its goal this election cycle. The Tea Party has coordinated a number of political forums, debates and rallies this year, including a run-off candidate forum in August, the "Get Out the Vote" rally on Oct. 16 and most recently, the joint political forum with the NAACP on Oct. 26.
"We have sponsored a number of candidate forums and debates in which we invited the general public," Morton says. "Attendance was good and information was shared by candidates. And while we invited all candidates both Republican and Democrat to attend, only Republicans came, so we were disappointed with that.
"But we had great results with the NAACP political forum. There was a very substantial turnout and a very diverse community of voters. Candidates had to actually decide on one message and say it to both Democrats and Republicans together. The event went well and it clearly started an open dialogue among leadership of the black community. All-in-all, it was all we intended it to be and succeeded in our mission."
And that mission is something that local voters have misunderstood. Morton says the Tea Party is not a third political party nor does it want to be.
"Over time, we want to be more influential on candidates but it is not our intent to sponsor candidates or field candidates," says Morton, right. "And many have asked what is going to happen to the Tea Party after Nov. 2. Do you think conservative values are going to go away? Absolutely not … therefore, the Tea Party is not going to go away."
Morton says local efforts will now focus on extending the outreach of the group and seeking new members.
"We're also planning a substantial rally that we'll hold in the middle of the first quarter next year. We're planning speakers now but we haven't had this large an event since our July 4, 2009 rally," he says. "We hope our speakers will inspire new folks and generate lots of enthusiasm."
The Rome Tea Party also will be unveiling its "report card plan" for elected officials that will start when the new officials take office in January.
"A demand on the part of the general Tea Party is that we hold elected officials accountable to what they said, what they do and their values," Morton says. "We have teams that will be assigned to each official to report how they vote, what they support, what legislation they introduce, their travel and official behavior."
Along with holding officials accountable, local Tea Party leaders will continue their efforts to educate voters and the community.
"So many have forgotten the Constitution and our founding principles…forgotten what our Founding Fathers were all about," Morton says. "We're going to continue our mission to develop ways to educate the community through conferences and seminars, as well as reaching our school systems with courses on the Constitution and our roots."
In the meantime, the next thing on the agenda is their "Victory: An American Tea Party" on election night. More than 200 local conservatives are expected to celebrate their anticipated victories at MB's at the Village Theatres at 7 p.m. Reservations can still be made through today by calling 706-346-3400.
For more information about the Rome Tea Party, visit the Facebook page.
Business Buzz:
-Scattered, smothered and covered?
Public records yielded a scoop for our friends at the Rome News last week concerning the fate of the fire-damaged Waffle House on Turner McCall (click). The franchisee is leaving that location and plans to build on U.S. 411, a.k.a. Hotel Highway. The real news: This is the third time Waffle House has looked at that site; you can see the highway cuts from the last look (photo, right, by Jack Druckenmiller). But even more interesting: A tiny parcel of Turner McCall is available. With the Hight Homes site awaiting (and waiting and waiting) debris removal and the new center where Ark's Liquors stood and the activity on Floyd's campus (cancer center, specialty hospital), you'd think a central Turner McCall address is one to keep.
-Opi's Roadhouse to open with BYOB?: Ah, the joy of Facebook as a promotion tool. The owners say food service will begin soon but BYOB might be required until alcohol permits are in hand. Opi's is rebuilding at Ga. 53 and 140 near Shannon.
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