After shower of boos, Nathan Deal loses fight to pick GOP chairman
Gov. Nathan Deal as a delegate at the state GOP convention in Macon. AP/The Macon Telegraph, Grant Blankenship
Macon — The Republican grassroots of Georgia on Saturday declared themselves a free and sovereign power – independent of Nathan Deal.
It’s something that Newt Gingrich might want to take note of.
After showering the governor in boos, delegates to the two-day state GOP convention rejected Deal’s choice for a new chairman of the party. Instead, they re-elected Sue Everhart of Cobb County to a third and final two-year term.
“Republicans are passionate people,” Deal said after receiving his onstage rebuke – the most disapproving reaction at a GOP convention since U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss was chided for his efforts at immigration reform in 2007.
Deal was fully committed to Marietta businesswoman Tricia Pridemore, who worked on his campaign — to the point that the governor, his wife and his chief of staff all took seats in the convention as voting delegates. A first for a GOP convention.
But it was the second time that a Republican governor has been rebuffed in an attempt to place his own choice as head of the network that organizes tens of thousands of volunteers – and handles millions of dollars in campaign funds every other year.
The first time was in 2005 – when Everhart, a longtime GOP volunteer, pushed past Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Pridemore announced in December, shortly after Deal’s election.
The governor followed Herman Cain, the GOP presidential contender, to the microphone – where he received healthy applause from the crowd for putting his signature on HB 87, the illegal immigration bill.
Then he changed topics. “I have the utmost respect for Sue. I appreciate the job she has done,” the governor began – but said the party needed to reach out to newcomers to the party.
Deal waded in deeper. “I’m grateful that Tricia Pridemore has stepped up,” he said. And then the boos began.
A few of the 2,110 delegates stood to cheer Pridemore, but the chorus of boos was stronger.
Deal quickly wrapped up his speech. “I will respect your judgment, and I will work with whoever you select as the leader for our party,” he said.
The tug-of-war for control of the party chairmanship is a legacy of the long Republican march through the wilderness in the South. Without office-holders, mass meetings were the only tool for the selection of party leaders.
This year’s fight had elements of last year’s GOP race for governor. Former state Senate president pro tem Eric Johnson – a candidate for governor — of Savannah nominated Pridemore.
Karen Handel, who landed in the GOP runoff with Deal, was seated as a member of the Fulton County delegation. Her husband Steve sat beside her, sporting an Everhart sticker on his shirt.
But Deal’s biggest mistake may have been attempting the move at the height of tea-party fervor within the Republican party.
“This party belongs to us. We will not make the mistake to turn the party over to those who we, the people, [elect],” said Larry Mrozinski, a retired U.S. Army colonel, who spoke for Everhart – as she stood beside him.
Everhart is not a stellar speaker, as she herself admits. It was a point made to reporters by the governor, who said that elected officials need someone who can carry their messages to the media.
The independence of the chairmanship has also had implications for Republicans during campaign seasons. Last year, in the race for governor, national Democrats sent millions of dollars to the state organization in Georgia. The Republican Governors Association did not – and kept control of more than $5 million.
Everhart is a close friend of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, but he and most other GOP elected officials steered clear of the contest. Deal said he had no regrets about making his pitch for Pridemore.
”I knew there was division, but I felt it was only appropriate since I’d encouraged Tricia to be a candidate – that I let people know exactly where I stood,” he said. “She was an important part of my campaign. I came to know her, I came to trust her.”
“I don’t necessarily think the governor or anybody else in elected should dictate who the leadership of the party is,” the governor said. “I do think it’s important though, that the party has a good working relationship with the elected officials, whether it be the governor or members of the General Assembly.”
Then the governor took his seat as a voter. Voting lasted throughout the afternoon. At one point, the convention center ran out of food.
On the first ballot, Everhart took 48 percent of the vote, to Pridemore’s 36 percent – whereupon Ron Paul follower Carter Kessler of Athens dropped out, and Shawn Hanley, chairman of the Fulton County GOP, withdrew.
Everhart won on the second ballot. The convention quickly adjourned.
Now, to the implications for Gingrich. Not a few Republicans in Macon were noting that, if a governor can’t get his own candidate for chairman approved by the GOP hardcore, it doesn’t bode well for his choice for president.
No straw poll was taken, but Cain – like Gingrich, a man with Georgia roots – did very well with Republican delegates here.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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117 comments Add your comment
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA
May 14th, 2011
12:10 pm
that damn crook,,,,first
Sue's the One
May 14th, 2011
12:13 pm
Sue is the One!
Ernesto
May 14th, 2011
12:16 pm
Little by little everyone is recognizing what a crook Nathan Deal is…
John Ross
May 14th, 2011
12:17 pm
Beth Merkleson was leading the boo’s.
http://www.grassrootsfrenzy.com
Just peachy
May 14th, 2011
12:23 pm
Deal is a classless man… The skunk of a man is coming out more and more.
jd
May 14th, 2011
1:10 pm
Why are people from Cobb in charge fo the GOP? The power base of the state GOP is in Gwinnett and Columbia Counties, not poor Cobb.
jd
May 14th, 2011
1:10 pm
Enter your comments here
hedley
May 14th, 2011
1:17 pm
Give the Governor a harumph!
Nathan Deal receives a round of boos in Macon | Conservative GA
May 14th, 2011
1:22 pm
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Powder Springs
May 14th, 2011
1:26 pm
Sue Everhart is part of the crony past, not part of the future. Time for a change.
Schultz
May 14th, 2011
1:28 pm
If Deal is a crook by your standards, then Obama and Clinton are capital criminals.
Mickey7
May 14th, 2011
1:29 pm
The crowd was saying”SUUUUUEEEE!”, Not boo!
catlady
May 14th, 2011
1:43 pm
How quickly the worms turn!
Given the continuing revelations about Mr. Deal’s “family support group,” I am surprised folks are not wearing name tags that say, “Hi! I am Nathan Deal’s cousin (aunt, brother in law’s brother, etc).” And, on the other size of their lapel, “Hi, I am David Ralston’s cousin (aunt, brother in law’s brother, etc.)” Why miss an opportunity?
Ag Nostic
May 14th, 2011
1:44 pm
They better be careful. Deal will get the Gestapo State Patrol to take their names and chuck them into a concentration camp. He’s building in one in Marietta: an old lynch-mob center. Just get a Brumby to run it.
snickers
May 14th, 2011
1:45 pm
Nathan “let’s make a” Deal will be indicted before the end of his first term. I’m confident of that. The man just can’t stay away from a crooked scheme to save his miserable life.
ND
May 14th, 2011
1:45 pm
“Deal” with it you liberal socialist. We Georgians only want people who pay their way in Georgia
Browncoat
May 14th, 2011
1:49 pm
Deal’s gonna send out the state troopers to “deal” with anyone who booed him.
Matthew
May 14th, 2011
1:54 pm
What a classless bunch of people. They are attending a political convention–not a Hawks game. Show some respect.
BigAl
May 14th, 2011
1:56 pm
There’s nothing wrong with backing Tricia Pridemore and it seems like a good move for many in the know.
Tim
May 14th, 2011
1:57 pm
Term limits start at home. Two is plenty for any person.
Ultra Conservative
May 14th, 2011
1:57 pm
Saxby Chambliss is a joke. Every time I hear him put on his southern drawl in an attempt to sound like a “good ole boy” it makes me nauseated. Maybe he meant well when he was originally elected, but it seems he got to Washington and drank the punch like all the other big dogs up there and totally forgot why he was there and who sent him there. All the problems facing the United States today and we rarely hear a peep out of good ole Saxby. Finally saw him in front of this crowd yesterday…..every politician needs to show his face every now and then I assume. And that’s all he did….put his face in the limelight. He sure didn’t give us any glimpse of hope that he was doing anything for us. The federal deficit that is crippling the nation, Medicare and Social Security is going broke, the price of gas is breaking the average person, and the numerous entitlement programs which pads the palms of many able-bodied person every month, and not a word. He should be raising so much hell in Washington that he’s making the headlines every morning, but I saw a long time ago that wouldn’t be the case. As a staunch Republican, I’m very disappointed in our elected officials, especially Saxby. I’ve recently told friends that I’m about ready to jump ship….at least the Democrats work hard in Washington to make sure the entitlement programs are funded…..better than the Republicans who seem to work hard to make sure their own pockets are funded. Is there not any red-blooded Republican who will go to Washington and truly and genuinely work for the betterment of the people and not for themselves. If there is I haven’t seen them. I’m going to work as hard as I can to throw this bum out of office next election, and I urge all Republicans to do the same. Let’s elect a true Republican who will go and work hard to do what’s best for the people.
Dawg On It
May 14th, 2011
1:59 pm
@ND define Liberal and or Socialist
ND
May 14th, 2011
2:00 pm
Dawg on it I can’t use that kind of language to describe liberal or socialist
Hmmmmmm
May 14th, 2011
2:01 pm
All these politicians are CROOKS. Repubs and DEMS, all crooks, and you sheep still fall in line…. We are in DEEP dodo….
deal me in
May 14th, 2011
2:06 pm
deal will privately get his “friends” in politics to pay off those millions in debts he owes. It will “magically disappear” as they like to say in DC.
Peter Hoover
May 14th, 2011
2:08 pm
I am a conservative, and I can not for the life of me see how anyone in their right mind voted for this spineless, value-less, person. I just don’t get it. We knew he had been charged with committing transgressions in Congress. If he is a moron, then we need to look at the majority of voters who elected him.
Saxby Chambliss
May 14th, 2011
2:22 pm
I ain’t juz walking around da town fur nuttin. Deal is gonna git me elected to Gubner of dis state, wach and cee
MCG
May 14th, 2011
2:26 pm
Republican cronyism in the south??? Well, I’m just SHOCKED, I tell you.
In other news, the sun is hot.
Freedom of the Press
May 14th, 2011
2:28 pm
Does not $axby’s son Bo lobby every day for great causes in D.C. ?
I was hoping they were booing Nathan for kicking Fox5 News out of the State Capital.
brad
May 14th, 2011
2:32 pm
ND can’t use any language to make a description, because he doesn’t have a clue. He uses the terms as knee-jerk responses to those who don’t agree with him.
mayfair
May 14th, 2011
2:35 pm
It’s been proven in a scientific peer reviewed study that liberals have higher IQs than conservatives
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1968042,00.html#ixzz1MH8Yvwxb
Kat
May 14th, 2011
2:39 pm
Which one is his wife? To his left or to his right?
Me, too!
May 14th, 2011
2:49 pm
Freedom of the Press@ 2:28pm
Hopefully, some were. Whoever made that idiotic decision should be fired. That’s embarrassing and illustrates a small-minded, petty decision making methodology. If they have nothing to hide, why not just address the issue and move on? I have no problem with the daughter-in-law being paid for work done. I do have a problem with trying to hide something and then when unsuccessful, crucifying the messenger who discovered your ill-fated attempt at deception. I voted for Deal, but he or his advisors made a really amateur call on this one.
JT
May 14th, 2011
2:51 pm
Shultz, you sound like someone that’s still looking for WMD’s in Iraq!
wise solomon
May 14th, 2011
2:53 pm
Nathan Deal is a crook! All the signs were there prior to his election. He has a serious problem with ethics and he think the people are fools. He and his family are going steal the State of Georgia dry. Like a bunch of looters, in a riot. We Georgians have only seen the beginning of his surreptitous and deceitful antics. I can’t believe that Georgians actually gave this man a chance. Let us pray for just one term, so he can get his financial house in order, on the backs of his contributors and the taxpayers.
Bobby
May 14th, 2011
2:55 pm
The amateur call was probably made by his spokesperson.
Me, too!
May 14th, 2011
2:57 pm
On first blush, there doesn’t appear to be any wrong doing with the campaign funds directed to the daughter-in-law, if she did the work. This could have possibly been rendered a non-story rather quickly if handled correctly, but the way the Gov’s people responded seems to indicate there is a story here. Thou doth protest too much…and then making the GSP do your dirty work? ‘You can come in if you apologize for the lies you told,’ said the press weasel. What were the lies? Seems Fox5 did a solid job of reporting and you didn’t respond appropriately, weasel.
Cobb Woman of Color
May 14th, 2011
2:59 pm
Sue Everhart has done a good job.
Me, too!
May 14th, 2011
3:00 pm
Bobby @2:55pm
I hope so. That would make me feel a lot better about our state’s chief executive. Whoever made that call should be reassigned to the line at Georgia Dept. of Labor.
ga female
May 14th, 2011
3:09 pm
It was an amazing couple of days in Georgia to see the local Fox station go after Deal for his Daughter-in law being paid $90K. Then Deal outright retributing like a mob boss ordering the State Troopers not to allow Fox new’s local reports or camera’s into the signing of the illegal alien bill. Now he will go after the AJC for reporting that he was boo’d at the Republican Convention. A few people have got to be sorry they slammed Karen Handel now.
Save our State
May 14th, 2011
3:10 pm
@ 2:53 pm . . . . . . wise solomon hit the nail on the head.
Bobby
May 14th, 2011
3:12 pm
Brian Robinson is his spokesperson who barred Fox5 from coverage of the Immigration Bill signing. It is also he who decided so arrogantly that Gov. Deal would not freeze the gas tax despite Georgia residents struggling with gas prices. I suspect he along with Gov. Deal do not pay for their gas as the State citizens pay for it for them so what do they care if gas prices go up due to taxes (which is ironic that the Republican Governor is supporting the gas taxes when they are supposedly the party of less taxes). I get the impression maybe Brian Robinson is the actual governror somewhat similar to Cheney running the Bush Presidency at least in Bush’s first term.
TruthBe
May 14th, 2011
3:19 pm
mayfair, said “it’s been proven in a scientific peer reviewed study that liberals have higher IQs than conservatives”. That’s total BS.On the other side the democrats ALWAYS stack the deck by using only liberals, democrat voters, progressives, and socialist minded people to do these so-called scientific peer reviews. As usual the left wing is dishonest and can’t be trusted. The media is an great example of that bias dishonest behavior.
Hide-n-seek
May 14th, 2011
3:24 pm
Where did that Brantley guy go?
Mr. History
May 14th, 2011
3:46 pm
TruthBe
May 14th, 2011
3:19 pm
You didn’t even read the article did you? It’s pretty obvious. Instead you pull out the typical con response simply proving mayfair’s point, and supporting the study. It’s the old con mantra of “we don’t believe in no science” or “those scientists are paid off” or “they’re all socialists”. It is a little hard to argue with a study of 20,000 people.
Here is another interesting article. The states with the most college graduates per capita tend to be blue states.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/10/most-college-graduates_n_607543.html#s98673&title=Washington_DC_635
best for georgia
May 14th, 2011
4:04 pm
THE Governor on Immigration:
Racist?
Idiot?
On the Take?
Coward?
All of the Above
And EMBARRASSING!
It is unbelievable that it appears that the majority of Georgians (and GOP) are side-by-side with the Governor on immigration. In general i am a republican, but if your with Deal on illegal immigration, you fall under one or more of the ? above.
Sincerely,
Married White middle aged Catholic Georgia Businessperson (who loves the arts and sports)
Clear Thinkin Man
May 14th, 2011
4:05 pm
Everyone who thinks this is the right time for immigration reform is a fool. Everything thing from peanuts to homes just got more expensive at a time when we need prices to fall.
Reality Bites
May 14th, 2011
4:07 pm
How do you convert a democrat to a Republican?
Get em to move out of their parents basement and start paying rent.
Greg
May 14th, 2011
4:07 pm
Nathan, you’ll feel the wrath of the tea party today!
independent
May 14th, 2011
4:12 pm
How do they feel about Deal keeping Fox News out of his press conference because someone at Fox had the nerve to write an unflattering report about him. What does this say about the candidate Deal supports? It appears that he only wants sycophants around him.