Senate GOP to require pledge of allegiance to state flag
In an apparent nod to state sovereignty, Senate Republicans will require members of their chamber to recite the pledge of allegiance to the state flag of Georgia every morning they gather – after a daily devotional and a pledge to the U.S. flag.
The addition to the chambers’ rituals was adopted Friday at a caucus meeting in Macon, as part of a wholesale change in state rules that included the stripping of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle of most of his powers.
Both the House and Senate now include a daily sermon and a pledge to the U.S. flag as part of the beginning of each day’s business.
Afterwards, in the House, state Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-Cobb County) has led a small group of GOP lawmakers in a wildcat recitation of the Georgia pledge:
“I pledge allegiance to the Georgia flag and to the principles for which it stands: Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation.”
This afternoon, Franklin said the Senate was highly appropriate, “given the usurpations of Washington.”
“It’s time for the House Leadership to join the Senate and add the Pledge of Allegiance to the Georgia Flag to the House’s morning order of business,” Franklin said.
We’ve obtained copy of a draft of the rule changes, which you can see here.
(The draft does not include a notation of a daily pledge to the state flag. Neither does the draft include Cagle’s two appointments to the Committee on Assignments. Also, simply cross out Section 12.)
From the draft and other sources, we can say the following about the new eight-person Committee on Assignments, the new governing unit of the Senate:
– The Committee on Assignments will name the chairmen of all committees, and will determine the number and identity of all senators who sit on committees;
– Cagle will have two appointments to that committee. Other members will be – as stated before – the President pro tem, the majority leader, the chairman of the majority caucus, the majority caucus vice chairm, and the majority caucus secretary;
– The “hawk” provision that gave the lieutenant governor the power to pack committees with ex officio members – in order to move favored legislation — now shifts to the Committee on Assignments;
– Gubernatorial appointments that require Senate approval will be handled by the Committee on Assignments. You’ll recall that last year, Cagle was blamed for sabotaging Sonny Perdue’s appointment of longtime GOP activist Fred Cooper to a seat on the Board of Regents.
– Cagle will retain the right, as president of the Senate, to preside over the chamber. But should two or more senators rise to speak at the same time, he “shall recognize the President Pro Tempore (Tommie Williams of Lyons), the Majority Leader (Chip Rogers of Woodstock) and the Minority Leader (Robert Brown of Macon), in that order of precedence, should any of them rise to speak, prior to recognizing any other Senator.”
That’s a rule that had been in place during the GOP icing of Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, a Demcrat.
– Points of personal privilege – opportunities for senators to speak on any topic they want – will be moved to the bottom of the days business. Which could make a long day for 4H groups in the galleries, waiting for a shout-out from their senator.
– In addition to maintaining the limited power to direct legislation to individual committees, Cagle apparently retains the power to name the conference committee members who will negotiate with their House counterpoints over specific pieces of legislation. That’s not a small thing.
For instant updates, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me on Facebook.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
201 comments Add your comment
td
November 9th, 2010
10:16 pm
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:13 pm
Gee, who cares if people want to move to GA or not? It’s crowded enough.
Good point. I could support no more housing starts in metro Atlanta, unless of coarse they are more conservatives.
JJ Harper
November 9th, 2010
10:20 pm
To Gee
I think that’s great, Gee! I was a “grad” in 1990 with a BSEE degree. My GPA was 3.0. (I received my degree after serving six years in the U.S. Army.) I sent out (at least 150) resumes to prospective employers in Atlanta, GA. Out of those 150 resumes, I had about three interviews in Atlanta.
Keep your butts out of GA, if you don’t like our politics! We’ve made Georgia what it is today, and I plan to keep it that way!
I’ve lived in other states, and I’ve lived over seas! There’s no place like Georgia!
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:21 pm
td, it’s just too crowded. The traffic is horrible, the pollution is bad and it’s becoming too crime ridden.
td
November 9th, 2010
10:22 pm
B. Thenet
November 9th, 2010
10:16 pm
God grant me the strength to survive 4 years of Nathan Deal as Governor.
It is going to be eight years not four. I hope you get some knee pads for the prayer rug.
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:25 pm
JJ Harper, you can say that again. I have been outside of Georgia before and in the Navy and nothing has been as nice as GA.
td
November 9th, 2010
10:25 pm
JJ Harper
November 9th, 2010
10:20 pm
“I’ve lived in other states, and I’ve lived over seas! There’s no place like Georgia!”
If heaven ain’t a lot like Georgia then I don’t want to go.
LMAO@GAVoters
November 9th, 2010
10:26 pm
I REPEAT since the Repubs think we are giving them a second chance I expect 2% unemployment in Georgia and the budget balanced by January 2, 2011. Come on Repubs you CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Show us why you ran those chessy campaign slogans…Lets GO
OhPlease
November 9th, 2010
10:28 pm
“I’ve lived in other states, and I’ve lived over seas! There’s no place like Georgia!”
Indeed.
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:28 pm
LMAO@GAVoters, we have had Democrats in power since 2007 and now a Democrat president and I still haven’t seen the Dems do anything about unemployment.
B. Thenet
November 9th, 2010
10:30 pm
Deal is no spring chicken, he will either be in prison or decide he is too old to run for re-election.
Before moving to the south I never knew what it was like to be a minority, but well educated Christian white people down here are few and far between….sorry td but you don’t make the cut.
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:30 pm
LMAO@GAVoters, also the unemployment will keep getting worse as long as jobs are going over seas. You may want to think of that next time you use 411 and you talk to Patel on the other line.
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:32 pm
B. Thenet, is there really any reason for you to disrespect pretty much a whole state? If you think GA folks are so stupid why do you live there?
zoom1717
November 9th, 2010
10:36 pm
what next cow tiping!!!!!!!!!!!
JJ Harper
November 9th, 2010
10:39 pm
To B. Thenetz
Now that you know what it is to be you, how about moving back up north?
B. Thenet
November 9th, 2010
10:40 pm
Not disrespecting the whole state, just fools like you and td who are celebrating keeping the same people in charge in Georgia that have made this state a complete joke.
Our banks are failing week after week because of no government oversight over what the heck they are doing.
Our politicians are among the most corrupt in the country and the GOP majority still refuses to sign any meaningful lobbyist reforms….despite numerous scandals over the past couple of years.
Our teachers are being furloughed all over the state because we have no money to pay for our educational system.
Now tell me Trey, why on earth would someone like you not only continue to re-elect the party that is responsible for this….but actually celebrate it? Is that the act of a well educated person? I love Georgia, really do. Just wish the populace would remove their heads from their bottoms once in a while and understand there is more to life than one tax cut after another. If you want nice things, you have to pay for them. It is a real simple concept.
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:44 pm
“Not disrespecting the whole state, just fools like you and td who are celebrating keeping the same people in charge in Georgia that have made this state a complete joke.”
What prestigious college did you attend that teaches you how to insult rather than focus on the issues? You call me a fool, yet you do not know me. How very liberal of you.
“Now tell me Trey, why on earth would someone like you not only continue to re-elect the party that is responsible for this….but actually celebrate it? Is that the act of a well educated person? I love Georgia, really do. Just wish the populace would remove their heads from their bottoms once in a while and understand there is more to life than one tax cut after another. If you want nice things, you have to pay for them. It is a real simple concept.”
Again, you resort to insults, how educated can you be? What makes you think I voted for these people who won? What makes you think I voted at all? I wanted to vote, but I left my absentee ballot back home. To assume I wanted the Republicans to win is ever so ignorant of you, as I am a third party supporter. Then again, what do I know? I am a fool to someone online, who must have gone to a really great college, as he seems to know how to insult people online rather than stick to facts.
OhPlease
November 9th, 2010
10:46 pm
I’m going to go out on a limb and propose that few here are seriously disturbed that Georgia’s two main political parties have become proxies for racial representation in state government. Race and politics have always been intertwined at some level, but when observers in 2010 can more effectively reduce the parties to the “white party” and the “black party” with a great deal of accuracy, I can’t find much to celebrate. If politics is so segregated, then it’s a toxic reflection of a segregated civic culture in all but name only. Little or no good can come of it.
JJ Harper
November 9th, 2010
10:47 pm
Since McDonnald Vs. Chicago, you might not even be interested in Illinois, eh…. Thenet? Try New York! You are Booomberg’s kind of people! If Booooomberg isn’t interested in you, you might could marry a queeer in Massachusetts. If all else fails, move to California! I know (for sure) that you’ll fit right in – there!
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:47 pm
OhPlease, it doesn’t really matter who wins between those two parties. They are both about greed and corruption.
BamaGurl
November 9th, 2010
10:48 pm
At the end of the day, any body can recite the Pledge of whatever. But, do you mean it. Quote me a scripture and practice it. That will impress me. All of these racist sit in church on Sunday and put their sheets on on Sunday nite. I am going to be my own senator, govenor and whatever. Those people in the Golden Dome don’t represent me. They represent the old (never left) South. All are Klu Klukers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ATL Guy
November 9th, 2010
10:48 pm
They need to do the Macarena after the devotional but before the pledge to the flag. That would be awesome.
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:50 pm
ATL Guy, that would be hilarious. Just think if they did the chicken dance too.
B. Thenet
November 9th, 2010
10:51 pm
Trey, you seem to spend your entire existence hurling insults on these blogs….please do not attempt to take the higher ground here.
You said yourself on this thread that you were glad the Democrats lost to the GOP, how can you possibly defend that statement based on where the state is right now. Surely Obama is not to blame for the state of affairs in this state, is he?
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:53 pm
B. Thenet, considering that I do not spend much time on these blogs, your logic is flawed. Also, I do not insult like you.
I said I am glad the Democrats lost to the GOP, but doesn’t mean I support the GOP. I just don’t like Democrats.
Ga. Peach
November 9th, 2010
10:56 pm
Man, the Dems are such poor losers!!!
staying_right_here
November 9th, 2010
10:57 pm
Why should I leave the state of my birth and where I’ve lived all my almost 60 years just because a bunch of morons are camped out in Atlanta? I ain’t never thought much of Atlanta anyway.
It’s those bozos that need to leave – I was here first and I’ll still be here when they’re rotting in a federal prison.
And Georgia voters can be so very proud of our Congressmen representing us in D.C. – like this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/09/republican-study-committe_n_781122.html
Trey
November 9th, 2010
10:57 pm
Ga. Peach, I don’t know about all of them, but B. Thenet obviously can’t have an intelligent debate.
B. Thenet
November 9th, 2010
10:57 pm
The last time we had one in office in GA, times were good Trey. Things have gone on a steep decline since Purdue took over, and lets be honest…we will be left with whatever Deal cannot carry out of the Governors mansion in 4 years.
Trey
November 9th, 2010
11:03 pm
B. Thenet, Roy Barnes was not that great as governor.
B. Thenet
November 9th, 2010
11:06 pm
Roy was not great, in fact he was the master of his own demise with the horribly bungled flag fiasco. I would still take him over Sonny, our state certainly was better off 8 years ago….and Deal does not seem like he knows what is necessary to right the ship.
BamaGurl
November 9th, 2010
11:07 pm
B.Thenet Now you know that President Obama is responsible for EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!! The two wars, Sept. 11, the economy, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Bishop Long taking young men on trips. They really believe it themselves and have obviously gotten many of their dummies to believe it. However , while they are saying the Pledge of Allegiance to Georgia, I am going to be on my knees, as usual, praying and praying and praying that I am not in “Kansas anymore”. I can not believe that there are so many people willing to suffer and make others suffer because of race. And these people knock the preachers down on Sunday getting into church. A lie don’t care who tells it!!!!!!!!!!!
Trey
November 9th, 2010
11:09 pm
Anyway, I am going. I have to get ready for work in the morning.
Trey
November 9th, 2010
11:10 pm
B Thenet, actually before I go I do need to respond to your comment. Roy Barnes shouldn’t have worried so much about the flag, as there were more important issues. When he changed that flag, I was quite irked with the blue garbage that he gave Georgia.
Trey
November 9th, 2010
11:11 pm
BamaGirl, why would you even make a joke using September 11?
Trey
November 9th, 2010
11:11 pm
BamaGurl*
td
November 9th, 2010
11:12 pm
B. Thenet
November 9th, 2010
10:57 pm
The last time we had one in office in GA, times were good Trey. Things have gone on a steep decline since Purdue took over, and lets be honest…we will be left with whatever Deal cannot carry out of the Governors mansion in 4 years.
Now this is a wild accusation. What proof do you have to back up such an accusation? The only person I have heard of to carry everything not nailed down out of a mansion when they left office was the last Democratic President we elected.
Trey
November 9th, 2010
11:12 pm
Anyway, have a good night B. Thenet.
td
November 9th, 2010
11:16 pm
B. Thenet
November 9th, 2010
11:06 pm
Roy was not great, in fact he was the master of his own demise with the horribly bungled flag fiasco. I would still take him over Sonny, our state certainly was better off 8 years ago….and Deal does not seem like he knows what is necessary to right the ship
I am so happy to know that a Governor of a small backwoods state has the power to cause a world wide recession. Your comment was a joke? Right. I got a laugh out of such an asinine statement.
insider
November 9th, 2010
11:16 pm
Why don’t some of you come sit in and watch the Senate during session? It is open to the public and you will see that they recite the pledge everyday and after, have a 5 minute sermon to get the day started. You’ve obviously not read the article very well. They are only adding a Georgia pledge after the normal one and also state some rules that were changed. Please read over and over until you understand. Better yet, come and watch before you judge!!
FMX
November 9th, 2010
11:17 pm
Let’s give these guys a chance before you condemn them. I really felt as if our choices for governor this time were awful. My gut is telling me that we will be in store for the most corrupt government this state has ever seemed. Mr. Deal has surrounded himself with lobbyists. Do you all realize what that mean? Its a shame because Georgia is one of the poorest, most uneducated states in the union. They talk about working hard etc, but Georgia is a welfare state. Deal wants to give businesses huge tax breaks which end up offering low paying jobs and costing the state millions in lost revenue. I am a republican and really feel that we will come to regret making this a one party state. I just hope that they try to move the state forward and not backwards to 1955. THE CIVIL WAR IS OVER AND THE SOUTH LOST. PLEASE MOVE ON.
JJ Harper
November 9th, 2010
11:19 pm
BamaGurl
You said, “Quote me a scripture and practice it. That will impress me.
Which scripture would you like for me to quote? Would that scripture be about the Babylonians in Genises, the jews in John 8, or the Sodomites? …or would you like to hear about the money changers or mongrels?
I used to sit in church and “put my sheet on – on Sunday night.” I did that until the “church” kicked me out, and poor, white, trash decided to infiltrate the Klan. In fact, I still have my “sheet!” I was the Imperial Wizard of the American White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan for five years. …and it is not “Klu Kluxers.” Try studying your history… and spelling. Google “Ku Klux Klan.” You might learn something. You might just learn that the Ku Klux Klan corrected corrupt white people just as they did black folks!
If you’ll Google “JJ Harper KKK,” you might also learn that I marched 300 members of a black church around the Fulton County Courthouse in support of Proverbs 13:24 in 2003.
If you’re going to preach about the KKK, at least study the facts!
td
November 9th, 2010
11:21 pm
BamaGurl
November 9th, 2010
11:07 pm
All of this mess is not Obama’s fault but he is the current face of the real problem. The real problem is the liberal/progressive/socialist/communist movement in this country. And yes there are also Republicans that belong to this movement (See John McCain and Sonny Perdue as examples). The good news is the conservatives along with the tea party is starting to expose them for what they are and rooting them out. We will need at least a couple more election cycles to complete the tasks but the recent election was a good start.
R. Gray Smith
November 9th, 2010
11:32 pm
I posted under my real name because I’m proud to support the brave Senators who finally said enough is enough to Mr. Casey Cagle. Cagle was a power hungry mad man that finally got caught with his pants down. Pretending to be a consevative Republican, 4 yrs. ago, then state Senator Cagle ” sliped” a little jewell into the “right to farm” bill that would have denied all citizens of the great state of Georgia to participate in their right to “due process of the law”……..This man wouldn’t know the constitution if it bit him on the back side, nor did he care. It was all about Casey……..Certainly not “We the people “………..Bravo ! Brave Senators……..and a special thanks to out going state Senator Dan Moody…….Keep-up the good work listening to “The People “………….And by the way, Cagles version of the bill never made it out of committee.
LizBeth
November 9th, 2010
11:50 pm
It seems like it is really difficult to have a serious conversation on these AJC blogs. Mostly, everyone’s so busy running “smear campaigns,” no one really discusses what is happening and what could be done.
This article says that our representative government is going to require everyone in the same chamber with them to recite the pledge of allegiance, listen to a Protestant Christian sermon (I’m assuming here), and then recite the state pledge. What does choosing not to mean…treason? To the GOP or the state of Georgia? Which will the GOP choose to describe dissenters? USA, the Bible, Georgia, GOP, self….how many allegiances can one person have? Or are they one and the same to these folks?
captguitarman
November 10th, 2010
12:02 am
Well, at least Georgia did make a credible stab at it. I remember way back when — when I worked in the north and traveled to Atlanta a lot in the late 80’s — to Georgia, the new capital of the South. It was exciting to see the rise of Atlanta and to watch Georgia move forward and begin to compete for companies, jobs, growth, with the rust belt states, and to read Lewis Grizzard in the AJC every day, a steady voice for Georgia and the New South. Then I moved down here, and the Olympics were coming, and all the economic growth was on fire, and it was just really a great and exciting place to live. Except then, after I moved here, I began to see the cracks between the old an the new south, and the “us vs. them” thing between Atlanta (full of African Americans, yuppies, gays, etc.) and Democratic hold on the state. I despised the regionalism, the us vs. them and did not really understand it, coming from a state, where cities, suburbs, counties, and neighboring states all worked together. I realized that beneath veneer the vesitges of the Civil War and Reconstruction remained. I despised the Democrats. King Roy and the legislature, and all their attempts to hold on to control with gerrymandering of the Congressional districts on steroids. I thought they were holding the state back until What, Me Worry? Sonny Perdue gained power in the Republican Revolution and Richardson became the Speaker of the House. I realized that it was bidness as usual and we had just traded party names, but nothing else. And now here we are. The glory days are truly over, and every important issue facing this state, that must be dealt with for it to move forward, is caught in the “them vs. us” vortex, and the new Gov is clearly set in the What, Me Worry? tradition. The Pubs/Dems (the party name really doesn’t matter) now control the Dome and the Mansion, and they and the lobbyists are now officially “Open For Bidness.” And the New South is looking for a new headquarters in Nashville, Knoxville, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Charlston. It can’t be a city that is running out of water and heading for no growth, and no one in the state government has the first clue to do about it, and could care less anyway. It was a great run while it lasted. But, I will admit, it will be lots of fun to watch if the Shady Deal gets indicted, and the good old boys and girls under the Dome and their lobbyist pals have to suddenly deal with the scorned Cagle. We can only dream.
JJ Harper
November 10th, 2010
12:30 am
LizBeth
Here’s what it is all about, dear…
It’s not about the USA, Georgia, GOP, or Democrats. It is about a set of morals which we mush all follow.
Everybody lives by some kind of moral background. The laws of this land are (for the most part) built upon some “moral” foundation. Our moral foundation is built upon the oldest known foundation called the Bible. There is another known “foundation” called “satan.” You are either for or against either. There is no in-between according to both foundations. In other words, you cannot support any configuration of both. Even though, God’s chosen people have only one choice, we can choose (in an earthly sense) that which we want to believe. Though not saved by works and by God’s grace alone, works are a very good sign of God’s grace.
How does all of this play in with the First Amendment rights regarding the fact that government cannot make any infringement upon relgious freedom? Think about it. Our Government has never forced any kind of religion one over another or lack thereof on anyone. But, in effect, our government has always enforced and espoused the Christian religion on the people through our legal, moral foundation.
Many can call that foundation anything they wish – whether “of God” or not, but the fact remains that our founding laws were created by the very foundation God set before us. One may chose (in his/her own mind) from wince those laws originated. Law (and mankind – through fore-ordination) does not have the power to neglect such foundation in a spiritual sense. The laws of the land may be altered to deny the very foundation upon which that land was afforded the right to life as we know it on earth. And, many liberals are taking that right to extemes to do what God has forbade.
While our government (especially in Georgia) has chosen not to deny God, “it” has not infringed upon the satanic rights of those who are lost. Government (still) gives everyone the right to be ignorant and “lost” according to the moral foundation upon which this country was built.
To my knowledege, not one law-maker of any capacity has been dismissed because of his or her beliefs – moral or otherwise.
JJ Harper
November 10th, 2010
12:43 am
Correction…
I said, “Though not saved by works and by God’s grace alone, works are a very good sign of God’s grace.
…shoud have read, “Though not saved by works BUT by God’s grace alone, works are a very good sign of God’s grace.
FMX
November 10th, 2010
12:44 am
It just seems to me that the folks that are always talking religion are the most racist and corrupt people you will encounter. A lot of folks around here seem to have more loyalty to the confederacy than to Christianity. They want respect but they don’t want to give it.
JJ Harper
November 10th, 2010
1:02 am
FMS
I understand.
At the same time, I know that what you say is true. Many who “go to church” are damed to hell. Many of them “go to church” to be socially accepted. Many churches are nothing more than social gatherings. Many use religion to justify evil. Those are no different from satan, himself.
You might know of much scripture regarding those who say “they are” but are not – but are of their father – the devil. If not, believe me, the world is full of them.
I am racist, and I am very judgemental of others. Many people believe that God’s people aren’t to judge others “lest ye be judged.” Many people don’t understand that god commands His people to judge otheres, however. We must judge others to know right from wrong. Even the laws of this land judges others to punnish those who violate “morally” unnaceptable behavior.
While this is not the place to hold “Bible Study,” I am willing to discuss the topic of “judging others” personally. Simply email me at “admin at americanmilitant.org.”
FMX
November 10th, 2010
1:14 am
Its judging others based off of their actions. Sir there is no double standard. You can twist the bible all you want to but you know that Jesus expects of us. Hate and bigotry are the tools of the devil and you justify this by using the bible. Someone has to stand up for whats right and whats just even in the midst of madness. I refuse to judge anyone that I don’t know especially based off of their race. I can judge someone based off of their own individual actions rather than by looking at them and passing judgment because they are white, black, asian, or hispanic.