OK, by now it’s no longer news, but there are still questions being bantered around on the major news channels about whether or not McCain made a wise decision in picking Sarah Palin as his running mate.  My opinion is that it was a stroke of genius! With his naming of Sarah Palin as V.P., John  McCain shocked many in the political arena and completely stole the show from Obama. I’m sure Hillary has pitched more than one fit by now.  Just imagine the worst case scenario - McCain and Palin win the election, Palin runs for President in 4 years and names Michael Steel as her V.P.  In one fell swoop, McCain may have defused Obama AND Hillary Clinton.

There is suddenly an energy and excitement in the Republican party that hasn’t existed for years. Republicans are suddenly talking about the elections with enthusiasm, calling each other on the  phone.  The Obama campaign came up with a “great” angle immediately after the announcement - they decided to argue against Palin’s lack of experience.  My first (and lasting) impression was “You have GOT to be kidding!”.  Palin has 7 years of executive experience in government compared to Obama’s none.  She is currently governor of the only American state bordered by 2 different countries, one of them being Russia. They (Obama’s campaign) claim that she lacks experience in foreign relations.  Umm… wasn’t that why Obama named Biden as his V.P., because he (Obama) has the same amount of experience in that area as Palin.  He’s a first time senator that has spent almost his entire term concentrating on running for President!

Time will tell whether or not McCain made the right choice, but I believe that his move was probably THE thing that will win him the nomination in November.  It’s amazing at how much the dynamics of the entire Presidential race changed in 24 hours! It’s a case of the Obama campaign simply severely underestimating McCain. You’d almost think that they actually believed all of the nonsense that they keep putting out about McCain’s age.  My closing comment is a simple request - I ask the Obama campaign staff to keep underestimating McCain, the GOP, and the American public. Unless Obama starts giving some specifics about just HOW he is going to do what he says, then the voters will figure out that while he may be able to give a speech, there’s hardly anything behind the words.  All talk, but no substance!

  - Keith D. Sellars

We are very proud to have conducted the largest Mass Precinct Meetings and District Convention ever in Decatur County, Georgia. The convention welcomed the attendance of National Committeeman Alec Poitevint and is wife Doreen. Alec served as the convention’s chairman and his experience and leadership was invaluable during the meeting. The County Convention was attended by many new faces that had never attended a political convention before. We were excited to have this level of interest in our local party and encouraged those in attendance to remain involved in the political process.

The convention was comprised of attendees that had one time earlier in the nomination process may have supported John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, or Ron Paul, but by convention’s end, had agreed as a body, to endorse the presumptive Republican Party nominee, John McCain. We stressed inclusiveness, but order, at our convention. Our far-reaching goal is to bring together all of the new ideas and new faces into a body of like-minded believers that collectively can further the goals and direction of the local, district, state, and national GOP. As a local GOP party, we strongly adhere to the traditional core beliefs of the Republican Party, those held dear during the days of Ronald Reagan. We support John McCain as our nominee and ask the he keep these core values in mind as he conducts the remainder of his campaign.

As the Decatur County GOP Chairman, I would like to personally thank everyone that attended and want to also extend my heartfelt gratitude for those in attendance conducting themselves in a manner that was professional and orderly. It is through this type of effort, focused in the correct manner, that we can achieve great things!

One of the goals at the beginning of my term as Decatur County GOP Chairman was to grow our local party. With the assistance of a great board and other committed party members, we’ve been able to see great progress in this area. The attendance at this most recent convention almost doubled our largest attendance ever. This is a testament to several dedicated people getting out and working towards this goal on a local grassroots level.  Through this type of sustained effort, we expect to see these numbers continue to grow.  It’s not just about the numbers, but the numbers represent real people with real ideas, therefore they ARE important.

We elected a slate of State and District Delegates and Alternates that I feel is truly representative of our community. By conducting a fair and inclusive convention, we were able to propose and pass a slate of Delegates and Alternates that I believe will represent our County well at the District and State level.  I have stressed to all Delegates and Alternates that we must present a united front at this point in the election and that although our origins may have been with candidates with differing ideas and philosophies, that our responsbility now is to ensure that we place Republican candidates into office.  This can only happen by us now coming together and speaking with one voice.

Thanks again for a great County Convention!

On Feb 29, 2007, Dan Provence and myself (Keith Sellars) attended a training session for Candidate Qualifying.  The training session was given by Ann Hicks and Wes Tailor from the Secretary of State’s Office.  The training was very solid and provided extremely valuable insight into the proper procedure for candidate qualification.

Training started at 10:00 A.M., lasted until  shortly before noon, and was attended by county representatives of both the Democratic Party and Republican Party of Georgia.  The entire training session was open to questions by participants and was structured but relaxed.  Questions were encouraged and adequately answered as they were asked.

Dan and I met Doug Reineke and Ben Fry from the Georgia GOP state office.  It was nice to finally meet in person some of the people that have been instrumental in providing answers to my emailed questions over the last year.  We were very impressed by Doug and Ben and their professional attitude.

The result of the training is that I believe our local GOP Party here in Decatur County now has solid knowledge of the proper procedure to quality our own candidates.  We will be doing so and will post the time and date of the pending qualification period very soon.  This is just one more piece in the puzzle of properly organizing our local party.  We are excited to take this step and will continue taking such steps in the future.

The 2nd Congressional District of Georgia will hold its 2008 District Convention on April 19, 2008. Delegates and Alternates to the convention should have already received their letters with registration forms attached. Decatur County is proud and excited to be hosting the convention this year. The convention will convene at 9:00 A.M. on Saturday April 19 and will be held in the banquet room of Terri Lynn’s Place. Terri Lynn’s Place is a restaurant located inside of The Charter House Inn and the convention.

If you have NOT received your letter, please contact Don Cole by email, the District Chairman.

  For an interactive Google map and turn-by-turn directions to the convention, visit our Events Calendar or Blog.

The Chairman’s Dinner will be held at 7:00 P.M. on Friday, April 18th. Georgia State Senator John Bulloch, from Georgia’s 11th Senatorial District, is the scheduled speaker. Delegates and Alternates to the convention should have already received their letters with registration forms included.

If you have NOT received your letter, please contact Keith Sellars by email, the Decatur County, GA District Chairman.

For an interactive Google map and turn-by-turn directions to McDaddy’s Sports Grill, view the Google Map below.

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If you’re interested in being a part of the planning and execution of this important event, please be sure to contact us by visiting our Contact Us page.