The unlikely partnership behind TSPLOST opposition
Colleen Kiernan couldn’t remember the exact day the alliance was formed. But it was over lunch, and definitely in the spring, said the director of the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club.
“Right around Earth Day,” Kiernan said, using a marker that probably never occurred to her partner, Debbie Dooley, a founder of the Atlanta Tea Party Patriots.
At table that day, the two women from opposite ends of the political spectrum quickly discovered they had something in common. “Conservatives and Republicans are not the only voters that distrust their elected officials. There is a lot of distrust among Democrats as well,” Dooley said.
If the transportation sales tax in metro Atlanta scrapes through on Tuesday, the partnership between Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, and their last-minute efforts, will get much of the credit.
If the measure fails, victors raising their hands will range from Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, a Republican from Woodstock, to John Evans, the DeKalb County NAACP president who confronted Reed last week — however ineptly.
But the crux of this disparate opposition has been the partnership between the Sierra Club, one of the few environmental groups to stand against the sales tax referendum, and a tea party movement unafraid of forming temporary friendships.
Differences were supposed to make even a short-term alliance ineffective. The Sierra Club opposes the TSPLOST because its $6.2 billion spending package doesn’t include enough rail. Tea partyists have denounced the same package for including too much emphasis on rail.
But suspicion of cronyism and back-room deals has served as an effective, non-ideological glue for both sides. And by sticking together, the two groups have permitted right and left wings to communicate and coordinate in a way that otherwise would have been unlikely. For instance, state Sen. Vincent Fort, a liberal Atlanta Democrat, recently wanted a tea party presence at an anti-TSLOST event he was organizing He called an old ally, Sierra Club lobbyist Neil Herring, who completed the connection. Problem solved.
On Friday, the Sierra Club and Atlanta Tea Party Patriots held a news conference at the state Capitol – but not for a final push against the TSPLOST. They were much too confident for that.
They were there to talk about Plan B — what should be done beginning Wednesday, should the transportation sales tax be defeated. Leaders of the two groups picked out the areas – pipe dreams in some cases, common sense in others — where they will continue to agree. Among them:
— Consolidate the three current, complicated taxes on motor fuel into a single tax dedicated solely to transportation. A portion of a state tax on gasoline, worth about $175 million a year, currently goes into the state’s general fund. Additionally, some of the tax on gasoline is applied per gallon pumped. The two groups say gasoline taxes should be fixed to the price. Prognosis: Dim, given that this would likely be condemned as a tax increase.
— Rather than the current, proposed system of 12 regional tax districts, shift toward a system built on smaller agreements between pairs of counties. Prognosis: Interesting, but unlikely. And it would aggravate metro Atlanta’s basic political weakness – the fact that the region is already divided into too many separate and uncooperative fiefdoms. Should the TSPLOST fail on Tuesday, reaction from the state Capitol is likely to be directed toward more top-down planning, not less.
— Make members of the state transportation board more accountable by reducing their six-year terms to one year. Currently, DOT board members are elected by lawmakers, who cast secret ballots. The groups would have these votes cast in public. Prognosis: Needed, but unlikely to pass muster among state lawmakers who don’t want a governor or House speaker to know who isn’t following orders.
— Reform the operation of MARTA, and increase its funding. Shift revenue – about $300 million — generated by the current hotel/motel tax in Atlanta toward the transit agency rather than a new Falcons stadium. Prognosis: Impractical, given that a deal is likely to be struck with the football franchise before the Legislature meets in January.
But there was also agreement on an idea long overdue. Decades ago, when MARTA was created by the Legislature, white state lawmakers suspicious of rising black political power in Atlanta imposed a restriction on how the transit agency could use funds generated by a sales tax levied on Fulton and DeKalb counties. Only 50 percent could be used for operations. The rest must be used on capital improvements.
The restriction has been temporarily lifted, but that holiday will soon expire. Many Republicans want that restriction to remain – or at least want to exact a large price for lifting it permanently. That isn’t a tea party position, however.
“That may be a position of Republican legislators, but Republicans believe in local control,” Dooley said. “The voters in Fulton and Dekalb pay that tax. The state has no skin in the game. What are they doing, telling the voters that pay that tax what they can do with the money?”
Prognosis: Logical, and perhaps even possible.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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114 comments Add your comment
hiram
July 28th, 2012
5:27 pm
Just a little review for those singing the praises for Georgia’s highly respectable politicians:
24/7 Wall St.: America’s Most Miserable States
According to Barrett, states with stagnant political environments often encourage corruption. Governments with high levels of corruption tend to have a political party — either the Democrats or Republicans — in power for a long time. The states that have had a “machine” in place for a long time often tend to be the most corrupt. Machines tend to want to protect themselves.
These are America’s most corrupt states.
1. Georgia
• Overall grade: F (49)
• Public access to information: F
• Legislative accountability: F
• Political financing: F
• Ethics enforcement agencies: F
Georgia has the worst levels of corruption risk and lack of accountability of any state in the country. The state scored a D or worse in 12 of the 14 categories. The state’s biggest problem is the absence of a strong ethics enforcement agency. Republican governor Sonny Perdue managed to get an ethics bill through the legislature, but by the time it passed, his proposals to ban gifts to state workers and clearly define appropriate campaign spending had been stripped out. According to State Integrity reporter Jim Walls, while Georgia has provisions to prevent certain kinds of corruption in campaign finance and lobbying, the state is full of unaddressed loopholes and lax enforcement. “About 2,000 Georgia officials, including one in five sitting legislators, have failed to pay penalties for filing their disclosures late, or not at all,” he said.
http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/03/27/10812551-states-with-the-most-lax-anti-corruption-laws
VOTE YES!
July 28th, 2012
5:31 pm
@oldfart. No we don’t get tolls. There are no tolls in the project list! Where do they come from???
I do not work for either of those companies. Why is it that if someone has a different opinion they MUST be getting paid for having said opinion?
VOTE YES!
July 28th, 2012
5:32 pm
@hiram. Even more reason to pass this law. It has more oversight than any other options. Citizen Review Panel, annual audits by independent auditors, etc.
hiram
July 28th, 2012
5:33 pm
LATE & NON-FILERS INDIVIDUAL DETAIL
PERDUE , SONNY
Filing Office: Secretary of State
Report Type: Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report
12-31-2007 Not Filed $75.00
PERDUE , SONNY
Filing Office: State Ethics Commission
Report Type: Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report
06-30-2008 Not Filed $75.00
PERDUE , SONNY
Filing Office: State Ethics Commission
Report Type: Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report
12-31-2008 Not Filed $75.00
PERDUE , SONNY
Filing Office: State Ethics Commission
Report Type: Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report
06-30-2009 Not Filed $75.00
Total Outstanding: $300.00
VOTE YES!
July 28th, 2012
5:34 pm
@oldfart. Who do you work for, Exxon or Mobile? Or maybe for the toll building manufacturers. Or maybe you’re married to Debbie Dooley.
findog
July 28th, 2012
5:39 pm
VY, tolls are from lexus lanes
A yes votes gives the state legislature a 10-year pass to do nothing, like the last six years it took to get to this point
A no vote forces them to do their job
Where are the accountability republican’s when it come to the state legislature?
hiram
July 28th, 2012
5:40 pm
VOTE YES!
July 28th, 2012
5:32 pm
“@hiram. Even more reason to pass this law. It has more oversight than any other options. Citizen Review Panel, annual audits by independent auditors, etc.”
Your kidding, right? Look at my last post. Perdue still hasn’t paid fines dating back 5 years, and who has done anything about it? No one. It is documented that this is THE MOST CORRUPT STATE IN THE COUNTRY – WE’RE NUMBER ONE. Your claims aren’t credible.
Ga Values VOTE NO FOR WASTE, GRAFT & CORRUPTION
July 28th, 2012
5:50 pm
Enter your comments here
oldfart
July 28th, 2012
5:52 pm
What is a toll building manufacturer? Why would Exxon or Mobile[sic] be for or against a regional sales tax? Why is Debbie Dooley your strawman?
I will spell it out for you as you keep parroting the company line using toll roads as a scare tactic. While it is true there are no toll roads in the TIA to use their future existence as the result of a no vote is completely disingenuous as we are going to pay for $10 Billion dollars worth of them even if this boondoggle passes.
Back to the Future
July 28th, 2012
5:59 pm
Cybil is correct. 85% of state and federal motor fuel tax funds must be proportioned equally among all congressional districts, except funding for GRIP, the ports, M&O and MARTA (which gets no state funds anyway). The allocation has no basis on where the funds are raised so economic zones like metro Atlanta have funding that is raised here sent elsewhere throughout the state. So someone who travels to metro Atlanta and uses our highway infrastructure has some of their gas taxes sent to Hahira and Hiawasee, which isn’t impacted at all by someone using metro Atlanta roads. So that’s what the Tea Party thinks our rural dominated legislature will pass next year to address metro Atlanta’s transportation funding challenges. Yea. Right.
jj
July 28th, 2012
6:11 pm
The current road problems stemmed from years of siponing funds from the metro area to the rural areas by the state rural politician. They need to be out of the process totally. They need to fix it right and politicians never, ever get it right.
The GA DOT has done a good job (except under the evans tyrany) given the political process they face. GA DOT along with the private sector strategic thinkers can fix this problem if they can get the ploiticians out of it. This needs a regional big picture solution. T-Splost does not do it.
Vote NO
YeahRight
July 28th, 2012
6:30 pm
I still think that we ought to pass the TSPLOST (Plan A)… and then let the SierraTea crowd show that they really are serious and can push through a Plan B, as they have described, to replace Plan A in 10 years. That way we will be doing something, and have it replaced with another thing that will even be better. That beats waiting 8-9 years for anything at all to get done!
See if they are really serious, or just blowing smoke where the moon don’t shine.
I have a hunch that this ‘alliance’ is just one of convenience, and they really are not serious. They need to prove it to me with actions, not just convenient words.
Richie
July 28th, 2012
6:34 pm
Vote Yes or else!!
jj
July 28th, 2012
6:37 pm
Don’t have to wait for 10 years for plan b when Tsplost is voted down. It will be on the ballot again in 2 years.
Ga Values VOTE NO FOR WASTE, GRAFT & CORRUPTION
July 28th, 2012
7:08 pm
Vote NO on plan “A” which just lines corrupt cronies pockets not reduces congestion & yes on plan “B” if it actually reduced congestion.
shady
July 28th, 2012
7:17 pm
How come the abortion law, drug testing people all over, and other laws not get put on the ballot. What does TSplost propse to do? What do the people for and against the law have to say. What are the good and bad points aganst. Teach
Ray
July 28th, 2012
7:24 pm
And, the Sierra Club does not support the start of the “Northern Arc” by any name.
The special interest behind this bill were obviously hoping the public could be fooled into supporting this bill by providing a little piece of “eye candy” to each region or district. But, let’s be clear, you are voting for a wish list that the powerful interest, and lobbyists created. These are the people who get their calls answered, within minutes. Once this passes, see how many politicians receive donations of great appreciation. This is big, big money, no matter who you are.
G Mare
July 28th, 2012
8:00 pm
Mailed my absentee ballot 2 weeks ago. NO on tsplost. If it had been on the Dem ballot, probably would have voted for gambling tho. Anybody know why it was only on the R ballot?
GaBlue
July 28th, 2012
8:24 pm
Regressive tax. Look it up.
hiram
July 28th, 2012
8:39 pm
Why a $100 cap?
Public Officials or Group Name:
Rudy Bowen
Chairman State Transportation Board
Lobbyist Name/On Behalf Of:
MOELLERING , DAVID J/
GEORGIA HIGHWAY CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
Date/Amount/Description
04/29/2012
$1200.00
Georgia Highway Contractors Association
Annual Convention Guest and Speaker
RitzCarlton, Amelia Island, Fl. – 4/26/12 – 4/29/12.
ethics.ga.gov
voted yes
July 28th, 2012
8:57 pm
Too bad. The Sierra Club will never get better. Hot Lanes on the way if Tsplost fails.
I voted yes because this is the closest that we have come to individual respresentation in Georgia, the list of projects is balanced, this will put Georgia in the lead economically in Georgia, the Nation, and the World.
True it is a new path and new paths can be reasons to be afraid. True growth comes when we confront those fears.
Go Georgia! Go Atlanta!
VOTE YES!
July 28th, 2012
9:26 pm
Fact of the matter is a vote no will set this state back at least a decade. Plan B will not be on the ballot in 2 years. It will be 6 at least because of who is up for election in 2 years. GDOT and the state will be forced to up the gas tax and build toll booths/lanes in order to keep up with a depleted infrastructure. This higher gas tax and tolls will cost you more than a 1% sales tax and have ZERO oversight.
It is economic suicide to not vote for this. Bottom line.
Shar
July 28th, 2012
9:28 pm
The extra tax on Georgians due to T-SPLOST is supposed to be justified by an improved ability to move through the Atlanta metro area.
The most optimistic estimates of improvement that I have seen are a 6% decrease in commuter time for SOME north/south commuters in ten years’ time IF no increases in flow rates are taken into account. For the rest of us, there is no appreciable difference.
TSPLOST is not a jobs bill. If I wanted to give away money and get nothing of value back, I’d hand out cash to those people who hold their sad “Will Work For Food” signs while cradling their feet in $400 Nikes. T-SPLOST was designed in backrooms throughout the state to do two things generate huge piles of cash to the well-connected and fund partial or initial projects that can then justify the (minimum) two additional decades of tax justification to keep this slush fund full.
The politicians and business people who colluded on this list were arrogantly confident that they could jam it through by scheduling the vote at the time that voter turnout would be lightest, by pressuring employees of companies that have gotten sweetheart contracts to get out and vote their self-interest, by spreading disinformation like “there is no Plan B” or “no more employers will open in Georgia if it fails” or even the pathetic “we have to do something, so why not this?” and by electioneering on the ballot itself by adding misleading propaganda on the very instrument of the vote.
All of this underhanded arrogance and greed left out one crucial consideration: the T-SPLOST projects needed to deliver transit value to the taxpayers who have to pay for them.
The plan, while excellent at offering limitless opportunities for corruption and for justifications for the thirty years that supporters expect this tax to run, fails, completely, to accomplish any significant improvement at all.
It deserves to fail, completely, at the polls.
G Mare
July 28th, 2012
9:39 pm
Voted yes, I voted NO because I am a senior citizen on a fixed income & simply can not afford to pay another penny on everything I buy, not to mention that I have never & will never trust a politician to spend our money wisely. Ergo, when I get a chance to vote on a tax, I will vote NO. Okay, I did vote yes on the last Splost in Cobb County only to find that $$ was spent on widening sidewalks that were seldom used. “Fool me once…”.
hiram
July 28th, 2012
10:07 pm
This is the guy we’re supposed to trust?
Georgia Transportation Official Gets Camera Shy When Asked Simple Question
http://www.pixiq.com/article/georgia-transportation-official-gets-camera-shy
Dan Miller
July 28th, 2012
10:30 pm
Just one example of the pockets of corruption that TSPLOST will hold from our beloved Georgia representatives in charge. GA received $97 million from the FED for the people suffering from the housing debacle. GA kept the money and said it was going to use it to create jobs. which is what GA homeowners really needed. Sound familiar?? Wnat we really NEED is TSPLOST The AJC needs to investigate and track the $97 million to where the money really went. Do you think it went into some friendly business pockets? Also investigate how many jobs actually resulted and what the employees got paid. Then you will have a clue how your tax money will be handled with TSPLOST. It may be too late for the TSPLOST vote on Tuesday but vote NO until you get answers to the $97 million. Crooks are crooks, no matter how they dress!
Kris (voted NO)
July 28th, 2012
11:47 pm
I think the Federal auditors should do a top to bottom audit of the states finances for the last 15 to 20 years to find out if all TAX money was used properly (Probably not). As well as GDOT, Board of regents etc, and all dealings of the present and past governors’ DEAL and Sonny and barnyard.
This should be done in a timely manner.
Just the few of the taxes and the $$$ collected by the state that was not used as it should.
Super speeder fines (Ruse to help trauma centers).
Gasoline tax. Distributed where collected. Not to be used for pet projects. (cheep asphalt and pocket change).
Old tire disposal.
97 million returned to the state from the federal gov’t in the foreclosure SCAM.
To name a few
The phrase “crime doesn’t pay” would probably more accurately be stated as “crime can pay quite well, at least until you get caught.
There is a cure for greed and corruption. Vote the crooks out.
Vote NO tsp-LOST.
Buckhead Boy
July 29th, 2012
3:52 am
Suggest that Plan B is to deny a driver’s license to those older than 68 years of age and younger than 21 to reduce highway congestion and enhance safety, and watch the dynamics of this referendum change overnight. And, that might be even less absurd than many of the points made above, pro and con!
Jeff
July 29th, 2012
7:13 am
FTR: Atlanta is NOT the only ‘major city’ in Ga. Look to your east. Directly on I-20 even. At the Savannah River. There sits a city of 200K+ people. Not exactly a ’small town’ – and yet without NEAR the problems of ATL.
BrakePad
July 29th, 2012
8:27 am
I am voting YES, reluctantly. Beats a combination of toll lanes, higher gas taxes at the pump and more federal borrowing (and lack of oversight.) Teacher’s union love the TSPLOST debate diversion and would much rather hav folks focus on the bad traffic getting to the school, than the poor education received our kids do manage to get there. The ARC should create a lottery to fund MARTA to shore up what TSPLOST only begins to address. Vote YES.
Mike(I Voted YES)
July 29th, 2012
8:38 am
I voted YES because unliek the TEA PARTY, I am for an econimic stimulus! I cant say no to 200,000 jobs and this recession has hit minorties the hardest. We cant afford to say NO to $3 billion in business that will be available for minority businesses. Marta will recieve $600 million if the TIA passes. If we vote NO, Cobb County, Gwinnett, Cherokee, et. will never pay anything into Marta. The passage of this referendum would ensure for the first time ever that revenues from the region would support Fulton and Dekalb’s residents’ investment in MARTA. The only way to get them to pay at all is to pass the TIA!!!!
Super Delegate
July 29th, 2012
8:54 am
Vote YES and be commited to ATLANTA’s future! Our quality of life is what this all about. This is about connecting us to everywhere we want to go. Rarely do we get to vote yes to something that benifits everyone! This is that rare opportunity! VOTE YES for the TIA!!! Be the change you want to see, don’t live in the past!
Its About the Future
July 29th, 2012
8:57 am
VOTE YES!!! I did!!!!
Chris Sanchez
July 29th, 2012
8:58 am
Folks in the metro Atlanta area are not against paying for projects that improve traffic congestion. What we are against is handing over $7 Billion to politicians for a plan that has no hope of relieving congestion, half of which is not intended to relieve congestion in the first place. I imagine that much money could really impact our traffic woes if it were all spent to do so.
There is a complete lack of trust in our politicians, underscored by Gov. Purdue extending the GA 400 toll, and it is the fault of the politicians. So seeing there is insufficient support to pass TSPLOST in recent polls, Gov. Deal decides that seventeen months from now the GA 400 toll will go away to try and get some support for TSPLOST (I may be a doubting Thomas but I will believe it when I see it with my own eyes!). Frankly it is insulting! Had he been bold and done so quickly after taking office he may have had some influence on this and other issues. However, the voters see Deal’s actions for what they are.
If economic development is an issue that needs funding, then propose it and lets have that debate. Don’t try to hide it in this TSPLOST nonsense. A glaring omission is the opinion from Chris Leinberger of the Brookings Institution who admitted that the goal of the transit is economic development and NOT relieving traffic congestion. We already know how Mr. Jackson feels about spending more money on transit so I will not go down that rabbit hole. Fortunately, the current project list is not stacked enough towards those whose support the transit spending to earn their vote. See, there is a bright spot in this and it is coming on July 31 with a big NO vote!
Change GEORGIA's History (VOTE YES)
July 29th, 2012
9:01 am
Say NO to MORE TOLLS and HIGHER GAS TAXES! VOTE YES FOR THE TSPLOST!!!!
Debbie Dooley
July 29th, 2012
9:07 am
Everyone should know that Bob frequently posts on Peach Pundit and always defends the Governor and House members. Most feel he actually is a paid employee of either Gov. Deal or House Leadership.
Bob wrote;
“Debbie Dooley knows less about transportation than the dog that just ran across my yard. The Sierra Club can’t pass anything in Georgia.”
Hey Bob, and Vote yes, I know as much about transportation as the GA DOT Planning Director Gov. Deal just appointed – Toby Carr.. Toby is a political crony of Gov. Deal’s and has had NO transportation experience. His employer have either been political related or involved with installing flooring.
Ga Values VOTE NO FOR WASTE, GRAFT & CORRUPTION
July 29th, 2012
9:09 am
ONE OF THE MOST FREQUENTLY HEARD ARGUMENTS made on TSPLOST’s behalf in recent days was “It’s not the perfect project list, but …” That’s hardly a ringing endorsement. In fact, it’s like saying that of one’s future bride that, “She’s not the wife I had hoped for, but …”
And we suspect that by Tuesday evening it will be abundantly clear that this was not the transportation fix that Cobb residents wanted and is not a tax they want to pay … and pay … and pay.
Debbie Dooley
July 29th, 2012
9:12 am
As for as jobs creation, the AJC Truth-o-meter rated the claim of the pro tax groups that 200,000 jobs would be created as FALSE..
Bob Loblaw
July 29th, 2012
9:24 am
That’s right! Debbie Dooley knows job creation, too!
Bob Loblaw is offended that ou would think he is a state employee. Unlike you, Bob Loblaw is a job creator. I’ve signed the front side of a paycheck, unlike you.
Bob Loblaw
July 29th, 2012
9:31 am
Also, why you continually attack Mr. Carr with names like “crony” is beyond me. He has served as the Executive of the State Republican Party, has been a policy advisor to elected officials and has most recently served as, wait, here it comes: Transportation Policy Advisor to the Governor. So someone who has served public officials and earned their trust is a “crony”? You basically just insulted everyone who has a career in government. And you’re so freaking clueless about how government works that you should be humiliated that I have to continually break out “American Government 101″ on you to show how your “policies” (And I use that term ever so lightly) are either unlawful, conflict with law, already law or otherwise just plain pathethic.
A Conservative Voice
July 29th, 2012
9:33 am
I’ll say it again……”You can’t trust politicians to do what they say they’re gonna do”. Also, you don’t vote to raise taxes in a recession…..Also, I would never vote to give any more money to MARTA, a bottomless pit that just keeps getting deeper. TSPLOST, you’re GOING DOWN.
Debbie Dooley
July 29th, 2012
9:34 am
Bob, what I find amazing is that the same elected officials that condemned the Obama Administration for the Stimulus Bill and, plan to raise taxes to pay for it are now touting the same thing on a state level to spur economic development and create jobs, President Obama called the Stimulus Bill an investment, too.
The GOP elected officials and Republicans that support T-SPLOST should stop being hypocrites. I guess they support massive government spending and tax increases as long as it is not the Democrats that propose them.
Debbie Dooley
July 29th, 2012
9:39 am
Bob, I know how government works. You just don’t like it because I disagree with you. I love it when you are losing an argument and result to insults and start throwing a temper tantrum like a spolied child..You are so predictable..
hiram
July 29th, 2012
9:43 am
This is all about trust. How can you trust politicians who refuse to limit the amount of bribes they receive from lobbyists? The number one issue in Georgia is a corrupt politicians, and the most important vote you cast, will be the one that removes them from the office.
Bob Loblaw
July 29th, 2012
9:45 am
Now your political attacks are weak. You just finished your absolutely irrelevant event with your liberal do-nothings in the Sierra Club where you agreed to raise other taxes to fund transportation. So, I guess you’ll raise only the taxes that you think should be raised? How is a supporter of T-SPLOST a hypocrite and how on Earth do you break out Obama and the Stimulus bill in the same conversation? Stop the doubletalk! I’m shocked that you didn’t wiggle the word “Pelosi” in that statement. Go get another cup of coffee. Bob Loblaw is off to church. I need to pray for this country and for wisdom to be dispensed upon the likes of you.
Debbie Dooley
July 29th, 2012
9:57 am
We agreed to combine the tax and adjust the way gas taxes are collected. We did not say the tax rate would stay the same. the rate could be adjusted so it is not a tax increase but we believe all gas tax revenue should go for transportation needs.
We believe that the people that use the resource should be the one to pay for maintenance and operations of the resource and that funding for transporation needs should come from a variety of consumption based user fees – not just one
You criticize us for working with Sierra Club, yet you think it is ok for Gov. Deal to work with Mayor Reed. Once again, Bob, your hypocrisy is showing.
hiram
July 29th, 2012
9:59 am
I lost all respect for the Sierra Club over their open borders advocacy, which contradicts everything they stand for. It seems that everyone is for sale to the highest bidder.
honested
July 29th, 2012
10:17 am
Well with this development, I’m sure Ms. Dooley will get behind a new T-SPLOST with the region being all of North Georgia and having a horizon of at least 20 years.
That way there will be enough money to build an interconnected inter-city rail system and make a REAL dent in the traffic.
I’m sure Ms. Dooley will corral her hordes into full and unquestioned support.
Right Debbie?
honested
July 29th, 2012
10:27 am
hiram,
The SC discusses issues with all contributing participants (at least they are supposed to) and sometimes a decision occurs that defies logic. ‘Open Borders’ may well be one where the CA input
was given a bit too much heft.
Yet it isn’t really a reason to throw out the whole baby.
By the way, the ‘highest bidder’ guy has been gone for nearly two years.
middle of the road
July 29th, 2012
10:29 am
To all you “yes” people – Georgia will not die if the vote NO people win. I think you have an inflated sense of how important Atlanta is. Smart money is going other places (Caterpillar), where the crime is not as bad and the schools are better. Let Atlanta rot in its own cesspool of crime and poverty. People want to live in the suburbs, so that is where businesses should relocate. SPRAWL IS GOOD!