#GAGOP Round-up: Down To The Wire

This should be a fun convention. I won’t be in attendance as I will be spending this weekend with my son Lucas, but I know others will enjoy what I can imagine will be a fun ride of yelling out points of order and general grumpiness for not being recognized by the convention chair to speak.

Current GAGOP Chairman John Watson has decided not to run for re-election, so former 9th District Chairman Bruce Azevedo, former 11th District Chairman Scott Johnson, and former State Senator David Shafer. The chairman’s race has suddenly turned quite heated with Johnson lashing out at Shafer for being on the Georgia Underwriting Association board during the time Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck was allegedly embezzling money during his time with the GUA…to which, Shafer has responded.

The race for First VC has been relatively quiet with current GAGOP 1st VC Carolyn Fisher making rounds across our great state getting folks pumped up about 2020. Radio personality Monica Matthews filed the appropriate paperwork, but she was still considering what she wanted to do a couple weeks ago. I haven’t heard a word from her since, so I can only guess that she’s still considering what she wants to do. Maybe she will decide on Monday

The race for Second VC has been between former Georgia YR Chairman Robert Lee, Coweta GOP Chairman Brant Frost V (and, by proxy, his dad BFIV), and former Gwinnett GOP Chairman Rich Carithers. The race has been relatively tame compared to the state chairman race with the exception of hopefully an errant statement when Frost questioned Lee’s ability to balance time between the GAGOP and his family.

The GAGOP treasurer race is between former 2nd District GOP Chairman Joseph Brannan and Nathaniel Darnell. This race has gotten quite interesting with a blog piece authored by Nathaniel Darnell about women against feminism surfacing on Facebook. The question that has been circulating around is if Darnell’s stance on women’s suffrage has changed in the past few years. I’ll present the passage in question (emphasis mine):

“ 3. As to your third question, I have not read Dr. Abshire’s work pertaining to women voting, so I could not provide an evaluation of his ideas on that subject.

“The Word of God, however, in all its positive examples of societal structures and directions, has men as the heads of households casting the family’s vote, or serving as the civil representative of the family. The Sinai Law had the men serving as the civil heads just as the New Testament Law has the men serving as the spiritual heads for their families. (See, for example, Acts 11:13; 16:31.)

“The idea is that the family as a unit is to be united together under Christ in these matters.

“Howard Phillips observed that when the constitutional amendment was passed that gave women the authority to vote in the United States, we moved from being a nation of families to being a nation of individuals.

“Under things as they presently stand, it seems to me to be adequate for a woman to vote as long as she is doing so in agreement with her father or husband’s vote after they have discussed the candidates and whether they meet the Biblical criteria. If a woman believes her father or husband’s direction on who to vote for is contrary to God’s Word, it would be best for her to not vote at all.

“That being said, I do believe that if we are operating under the normative direction God has given for societies in both the civil and ecclesiastical arena, the family should be respected more as a unit, rather than trying to break the family apart, and that husbands/fathers should be treated as the representative shepherds of each family, speaking with one voice on their behalf.

“In all this consideration about authority, we must remember that the responsibility that comes with authority, Jesus said, is not to do what I the supposedly sovereign individual thinks is best, but to be the servant of all as Christ.

“ ‘Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves” ’ ” (Luke 22:24-27 NKJV).

I can only assume that Darnell would want all of the women who are delegates to have discussed with and are in agreement with their husbands (or significant others, but that might make me a heathen) and/or fathers before they cast their ballots.

GAGOP Secretary race only has former district chairman Mike Welsh in it. The same with the Assistant Secretary position with current Asst. Secretary B.J. Van Gundy running for re-election.

Finally, Assistant Treasurer is between current GAGOP Treasurer Mansell McCord and Vicki Consiglio. This race has been fairly quiet, but it would seem that Mansell would have name recognition as he’s the current treasurer.

There’s the breakdown. Feel free to opine about the GAGOP races and all things GAGOP Convention in the comments below. Also, #moarbourbon and #moarfireball. Y’all have fun!