GraniteGrok

The saga continues.  There is much work to be done in rebuilding the Republican Party in a number of ways.  One of the areas in which there has been much whining by a number of the talking heads is which part of the Party is the "drag" on the rest.  Lately, it seems that we in the Religious Right (and yes, as a practicing Evangelical who goes to church pretty much most of the time, I include myself in that group) are being cast as the villains. Like what Kathleen Parker has been doing in her last couple of columns (the "oogedy-boogedy" one here) and her latest missive:

The glue that binds the GOP’s religious right — social issues, especially abortion — is not insignificant and doesn’t deserve to be dismissed. But nor should those issues be tied to scripture. Some religious conservatives understand this, but the memo apparently isn’t reaching all the pews.

There is a nugget of truth there, but I can no sooner ditch my beliefs than I can my skin color.  My religious beliefs are my morality - it is my internal compass and forms the base UNDER my political philosophy - and not the other way around.  No, not to beat it to death

Actually, I'd rather be known as a Platform Nazi (and yes, I was called such at the State Party Convention earlier this year) as I simply told the story, at the open mic, that I believed in the platform.  As a Town Chair, it is humiliating to try to persuade people that the ideals of Republican Party are good and are best for all, only to be shot down by those that I am talking to by them bringing up examples of Republicans ignoring those principles.  

In that same vein, our friend Erick from Redstate has this little example of Republicans deciding to ignore the platform (both the national one here (P. 15) and the Georgian one here - what, a state GOP that DOESN'T have its platform at it's website?!?!).

Meet Charles Banister. He is the Chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners in Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Ostensibly, Charles Bannister and the bulk of Gwinnett County is Republican.

Ostensibly.

From the AJC:

While neighboring counties encourage recycling, Gwinnett County’s new solid waste management ordinance puts teeth into it. The ordinance provides for a civil fine of $500 for violations, which includes those who fail to “source separate residential recovered materials.”

Mandatory recycling is not common in metro Atlanta, but Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said the move is in line with a state policy that local governments develop plans to reduce solid waste by 25 percent.

Ladies and gentlemen, a Republican County Commission Chairman in a Republican county in a Republican state is making it a crime to not recycle.

The kicker, of course, is that the county is also going to start putting the cost of garbage collection in property tax bills so residents won’t be able to keep track of the costs.

Let’s compare that to the Republican leaning county of Cobb, which is just west of Gwinnett. There, a private recycler is required to offer recycling services, but it is not mandatory.

In Democrat DeKalb County, recycling is voluntary with a $30.00 start-up fee for recycling containers.

In Democrat Fulton County, recycling must be offered by private haulers, but it is not mandatory.

In Gwinnett County? You get fined $500.00. And that was a Republican brain child.

You can reach Charles Bannister at 770.822.7010 or at Charles.Bannister@gwinnettcounty.com You might want to remind him what it means to be a Republican.

You can reach the other Gwinnett County Commissioners here.

Look, if you want to be a Republican, there is a standard to follow - it is called the Party Platform.  Where there are many "planks", there are some that are "more" equal than others: limited and less intrusive Government?  More individual freedom?  Less taxes (and in this case, fines)? 

Yeah, right.  Merely words on a piece of paper to these chuckleheads.  But I guess, they are only taking their signals from Washington.