Friday, August 25, 2006

The Culpepper Campaign Responds

Hi kids. If you've been following things here on AthPo for the last few days, you know that there's been some back and forth about the House District 115 race. Supporters of Doug McKillip and E to the H Culpepper have been going round and round. The Culpepper campaign emailed me a more official response, which I'm posting here in toto for your perusal. Go nuts.


In the last few days I have been following the rancorous online debate of several issues concerning the candidacy of E.H. Culpepper, the first independent to seek the District 115 seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. I feel it imperative to address several points raised in these commentaries. Several issues are of factual note and several are more abstract.

I'd like to start with the factual, personal arguments brought to bear on E.H. The most prevalent issue is over a tax lien levied against E.H. in the early '90s. My, and our, response is this: it is true that due to a lack of attention to the proper amount E.H. owed in the early 90's the IRS did issue a tax lien to E.H. in May of 1996 for the years of 1988 - 1991. Just like many other taxpayers that do not have their taxes prepared for them, E.H. simply did not pay enough. In fact, in the last 11 years more than 6 million Federal tax liens were issued in the United States (IRS website, in the taxstats section). That number may seem surprisingly high, but is in fact a low estimate of how common a mistake this is (especially considering the low rate of auditing by the IRS). That analysis is not an excuse; it admittedly was a mistake. A mistake E.H. corrected long ago (as opposed to a anonymous poster's claim that these still exist). It is ancient history, and as such this will be our only comment on it because this election is about the future of our community and the candidate whose professional experience best suits the needs of Athens-Clarke County and The University of Georgia.

Another seemingly factual argument is the E.H. is really a Republican. Well, I've known E.H. personally, as have many of you, and I know his ideas for our citizens future genuinely do not fit in with either of the two parties' ideology. Of his voting record (available at the ACC Board of Elections), he has frequently voted in both parties' primary elections. Of his public contributions (available at opensecrets.org), he has given to Jack Quinn (R), Barbara Dooley (R), Roy Barnes (D), Johnny Isakson (R), and Max Cleland (D). He's worked tirelessly for the Athens Greenway, the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority, the Classic Center initiative, 441 Heritage Corridor, the Northeast Georgia Roundtable, the BrainTrain initiative and a slew of other projects (check out the full list available on our website). There isn’t a partisan pattern – that’s why E.H. is a fit for Athens. He can’t be stereotyped, no matter how hard you try. The only logical explanation is that E.H. supports the candidates and initiatives he feels are best for this community, and has for close to a half century.

The accusation that E.H. is in any way discriminatory is definitively laughable to literally anyone who knows him. That being the case, I will not respond to such unfounded attacks that try to make this race a character battle that no one would win. In actuality, this community will lose with a lack of actual exchange of real ideas on the progress of our community (if you want to know about E.H., ask any one of his friends rather than throwing around the names of national political groups with no impact or role in Athens).

E.H.'s candidacy is based on the fact that he is the best candidate for the district. The reason’s are outlined in the five “E’s” on our website: Experience, Education, Economic Development, Effectiveness and Environmental Health. E.H. has proven he has the unique leadership skills and long-term relationships to get more results in these areas than any of the other candidates. As the campaign moves along, more and more detail will be provided on the specifics of E.H.'s vision and how he will work with the community to get tangible results back from our state government.

As I have insinuated throughout this post, E.H.'s campaign will not engage in the type of partisan rhetoric that we and the citizens of Athens-Clarke county abhor. That is part of the reason E.H. believes his independent candidacy is in the best interests of Athens-Clarke County: we can honestly evaluate the candidate that the community feels is best on the issues that genuinely affect our citizens.

To Mr. McKillip's supporters I ask this: To you, does progress mean continued slick campaigning on frivolous and personal issues? Or does it mean, as Mr. McKillip has eloquently stated himself, “debat[ing] real issues, such as education, health issues and the environment (ABH, 10/24/00)?” I think all the candidates and voters deserve a constructive airing of the concerns at stake in this race. I thank all of E.H.'s supporters and would encourage them to continue to be active in debate of these important issues.

Our Campaign invites intelligent discussion on the variety of issues in the race for House District 115. It is our contention that E.H. represents a real chance in Athens for substantive representation, as opposed to the symbolic or formalistic representation offered by our two opponents’ candidacies. As a start and on a personal note, I would like to thank Publius for posting the article on the BrainTrain. As one of E.H.'s strongest initiatives, we welcome a debate on this issue who's fate can greatly enhance the economic development, employment level, education and overall quality of life (among other affairs) of Athens-Clarke County.

We look forward to hearing from anyone who reads this who might have any information or questions relating to the issues in our campaign. Please feel free to frequently check our website for updates and continuously forthcoming information about E.H.'s Legislative plans and contact us via email or the “Ask E.H.” section of our website (www.ehculpepper.com). We'll talk to you soon!

Respectfully,

Ryan Hicks

Campaign Manager

706.355.9114

ryan@ehculpepper.com

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll take your word that E.H. is an independent candidate, but in trying to be an educated voter I look at the issues section and see that it mentions education, economic developement and environmental health. My question is where does EH stand on these issues and where does EH stand on the myriad of other issues? Does education mean school vouchers or teacher raises? Does economic developement mean tax incentives to big businesses? Where does EH stand on gay rights? Where does EH stand on abortion? Where does EH stand on property rights? Where does EH stand on immigration? For all the voters out there, we don't know what an independent is except for not a Democrat, not a Republican. What does independent mean to EH?

Anonymous said...

I don't think that Culpepper understands the seriousness of this issue. Not paying your taxes is always fair game in every election in the country. Paying your taxes is the most basic ingredient in being a citizen and should certainly be a consideration in voting for someone. To say that it's okay because a lot of people do it is a serious lack of judgement. In fact, the people of Georgia obviously think it's a serious issue or else they wouldn't make you sign a candidacy of affidavit stating that you have paid your taxes. Culpepper is handling this all wrong.

Anonymous said...

I think that McKillip is an attractive candidate in more way than one, he's a sexy beast!

Cufflink Carl said...

I don't necesarily disagree. In fact I agree with a lot of what our anonymous friend up there says. Paying your taxes is important, and I'd be a massive hypocrite if I didn't say so, given how many times I've gotten on this blog and shilled for tremendously expensive and crucial programs in health care and education, to name two.

So how should the Culpepper campaign handle this?

Anonymous said...

I don't give campaign advice for free (well, I take that back) ... not to Republican candidates.

Anonymous said...

I don't to pretend to be a wizard that can cure not paying your taxes. After all, not paying your taxes is the kiss of death for any political candidate. But Culpepper is definitely making some POLS 1101 mistakes on this one.

Anonymous said...

It seems that McKillip's suporters, at least the ones on this thread, missed the point of the statement. I thought it was a good explanation: the taxes were paid and everything from the government's point of view is taken care of. It seems like they want to see who's led a mistake-free life (I'm sure if they dug around they could find stuff to put up about McKillip). The more the McKillip team just keeps repeating that, the pettier they seem, at least to me.

Because I'm trying to evaluate my kid's future in this county, I am interested in the response to the first poster's comment in this thread. I hope the Culpepper campaign put up more detail on thier site (as they said they would).

Al_Davison said...

E.H.’s tax problems aren’t such a huge concern to me but it does demonstrate something about the man that is a concern – a pattern of poor judgment. From his involvement with the dirty rotten liars, thieves, and scum that he associated with and was manipulated by during his run for mayor (many of whom are now associated with the Maddox campaign but, that’s a different topic), through his ethical problems in business, through his multiple other poor choices that were frequently influenced by those who used, abused, manipulated, and summarily discarded him, until now that he has once again exercised some very poor choices in a very public arena…it’s just a pattern with E. H. that hardly inspires confidence. Of all those civic activities in which he has engaged, there has been pretty much nothing whatsoever in the way of accomplishments.

I have met E. H. a number of times. I know lots of people who know him well. I don’t think he is evil or prejudice or anything like a fundamentally bad person. He’s just not too bright and he is too easily manipulated. There is no great crime or shame to being a little too slow in thought or a little too trusting but you just don’t want to elect somebody like that to represent you on any level.

I mean, he’s not quite Forrest Gump but he’s way too close to that for me to ever vote for him. In fact, I really wish he had not entered this race and made himself such an easy target for this kind of scrutiny and ridicule. I really do feel somewhat sorry for him. He cooks some great BBQ and is a congenial fellow!

Mr. Hicks is very much mistaken if he thinks Athenians are tired of the partisanship – we’re just tired of being shit on and lied to by Republicans. We want the damn state legislature back into the hands of those who built a prosperous state to begin with! For one of the last places in Georgia that is still heavily Democratic, why in the hell would we elect an “independent”? Stupid is as stupid does and I don’t think Athens has gotten quite that stupid, yet.

Anonymous said...

As featured on Peach Pundit = www.peachpundit.com

From Jay Hanley, Secretary, Oconee County Republican Party, former member of the Oconee County Board of Elections and two-time candidate for Watkinsville City Council.

Nine weeks out from the Nov. 7 election, it appears that the battle for House District 115 (the Athens-based seat that Jane Kidd is vacating to run for state Senate 46) is shaping up to be a battle between an Independent, attorney and civic leader E.H. Culpepper and Democrat attorney Doug McKillip. A third lawyer, Republican Regina Quick, was a late entrant in the race, filing during the court-ordered extended qualifying period resulting from Kidd’s redistricting lawsuit.

As of June 30, McKillip had over $70,000 cash on hand ($50,000 was a candidate loan). It should be noted that he had been fundraising for almost a year before challengers emerged. Culpepper reported $1,300 cash on hand. However, he had only been raising money for a few weeks before the report was filed. Quick listed a ZERO balance in her campaign fund, and did not list an active campaign committee.

McKillip appears to have the backing of the traditional liberal constituency of Athens. It is said that Culpepper will draw support from longtime Athens residents and the business community, as well as conservative Democrats and many Republicans. Culpepper and McKillip both have name identification in Athens-Clarke County, having run for office previously. Some Republicans have reportedly been unimpressed with Quick and plan to vote for Culpepper. It is difficult to see Quick gaining much ground unless her fundraising and name identification improves.

However, Quick may draw enough support to force a Culpepper-McKillip runoff in December. Runoffs are already expected in crowded races for Athens-Clarke Mayor and commission seats. I believe that a Culpepper victory would be a win for the Republicans in the state House, although Culpepper vows to remain an Independent if elected.

[Editor’s note] As we hear it, Quick still had not appointed a Treasurer or registered with Ethics to receive donations as of the middle of this week.

hillary said...

I'm pretty sure Dean hadn't started dating Castro last time I looked. If we're gonna use examples of extreme liberalism around here in an insulting manner, could we do so in a slightly more accurate manner?

Cufflink Carl said...

I agree with most everything MP says, excepting the Dean comments. There's throwing mud, which is cool, that's part of the process too, and there's making a factual argument backed up with evidence. But you can't really combine the two.

Not to digress too much here, but Dean was not the diehard liberal that the mainstream media implied that he was.

For instance, of the Democrats vying for the Presidency in 2004, Dean was one of the most ardent supporters of the 2nd Amendment. You probably didn't hear much about this in early 2004, but NRA actually supported him in his earlier races.

Similarly, a lot of people point to his signing of civil unions in Vermont as a sign of his raving liberalism. Not so. In fact, Dean only signed that law because the Vermont Supreme Court more or less made him. So he was under a little legal duress in his official position as Governor.

Of course, the big thing people point to in the "Dean as liberal" argument is his opposition to the war in Iraq. Well, a lot of folks now think he was right, but that couldn't possibly matter less. My point is, Dean was the only major candidate who didn't have a recorded vote on the war. (excepting Clark.) Dean had the luxury to not be outspoken in March and April of 2003, until he saw which way the wind was blowing. Dean's folks understood that primaries on both sides are controlled by the less centrist members of the party. (Put another way, more liberal Democrats tend to come out in early Presidential primaries, and more conservative Republicans tend to vote in the early primaries as well.) Dean's folks knew that the majority of liberal Democrats opposed the war. His position on it worked very well with that angry liberal contingent, who felt abandoned by the more centrist Dems in Congress. Did Dean actually oppose the war, or was it just political convenience? Who the hell knows? I imagine Dean did oppose the war, but he also didn't have to make a recorded vote.

What else? Well, health care. Dean's health care plan was, in my opinion, far less "liberal" than those put out by Kerry, Edwards, even Gephardt. I don't remember what Clark and Lieberman were talking about in relation to health care.

On most of the other issues, Dean was in line with the more traditional Democratic talking points: repealing No Child Left Behind, getting rid of NAFTA and opposing CAFTA, etc. (Side note, if I recall correctly, Dean initially supported NAFTA, which is not exactly a liberal, pro-labor position. That position changed when he became a presidential candidate.)

None of this could possibly matter less to the Culpepper/Quick/McKillip race. I'm just saying, I don't like seeing Dean charaterized as a "liberal" however much the media tried to pin him with it, and however much his campaign tried to embrace the label to get the more lefty Democrats on his side during the primaries. The facts just don't match the record. I could do this same rant about people calling Hilary Clinton liberal as well.

Anyway, none of this matters. We now return you to your regularly-scheduled Culpepper/McKillip cage match.

Al_Davison said...

Whoa, there! Maybe in the midst of all the mud being slung my points were somehow lost and maybe there was something about the way I wrote that post caused people to think it was meant as some kind of vicious attack. I actually thought I was being rather kind and gentle about it.

The “book” on E. H., from talking to people who really think he’s an OK guy is just that he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer and he’s made a lot of serious errors in judgment that have caused him a lot of trouble. It’s part of his history that he has allowed himself to be influenced and even manipulated by some unsavory characters. There’s nothing there that’s not fair or out-of-bounds or unsubstantiated by history. I still think he would have been better off staying out of this race for his own sake. I also still think we shouldn’t consider electing an independent but that is not why I writing this.

I’m not going to attempt to write a book about all of it to document everything and everybody that I broadly referenced. (If you don’t know all the history then you can look it up for yourself.)

I was being completely sincere when I said that it was a shame that he got into this race and exposed himself to having the whole world examine this history. I truly meant that I believe that was just another error in judgment in a series of them. Those kinds of flaws are fair game when you throw your hat in the ring and put yourself under everybody’s microscope. The fact that he is generally considered to be a likeable fellow doesn’t mean that voters are required to ignore all this history. Informed voters should be required to look at the history. Most of them won’t so, that advantage goes to Culpepper.

If the Forest Gump reference offended anybody then I take some responsibility for not fully explaining my points. That movie character was someone who had a good heart but wasn’t bright enough to see when he was being used. I never meant to imply that E. H. is retarded!

I don’t apologize in any way for anything I said about the Republicans at the state level. The Republicans in charge for the last 4 years all ran on platforms of improving education and healthcare among other things. They have severely underfunded and damaged both while focusing primarily on dumb-ass issues like the flag, gay marriage, and hunting and fishing rights. Stupid wedge issues that don’t help Georgia a bit but have helped Georgia rise to national prominence as one of dumbest states in the union.

hillary said...

[Sidebar continued: Maybe a commitment to trying to create rational policy equals flaming liberalism now, though. I'm pretty sure I thought Dean's healthcare plan would work at the time, as opposed to those of the other dudes.]

Anonymous said...

I hope that Culpepper and Co. actually believe that this is not an issue, because the vast majority of voters do. Don't believe me. Well this actually was on the ballot four years ago, when the voters were asked about a constitutional amendment to make someone who defaults on his or her taxes ineligible to hold public office. The result 77% of Athens believes that person shouldn't be allowed to run for office. If 77% don't believe Culpepper should be allowed to run for office, how many will vote for him?

Anonymous said...

Um, excuse me, Rev. Moon, could you please pass the Kool-Aid? Are we supposed to believe that an attorney / banker (1) by "mistake and oversight" did his own taxes wrong for 4 years, and that (2) the IRS did not make him aware of it until 8 years later? When they filed a lien?!? I just bet they send a letter or two before filing a lien for income taxes. Come on! Pretty obvious paying tax is just low on his list of things to do.
Speaking of a pattern, what about the Georgia Income taxes for 99 that did not get paid until 2004?
2004 does not exactly feel like ancient history. Is this when he paid off the federal lien as well? Very convienent to get that "nearly two decades" old lien taken care of just before running for office. McKillip couldn't hope to be that slick.

Anonymous said...

This tax thing seems like a time-bomb. Doesn't anyone have anything on McKillip?

Anonymous said...

E.H. seems to know all this right doors, except the one you go in to pay your taxes. 6 million liens filed by the IRS? Does this make it ok? If we had all that money we could have financed W's war for an extra 23 days before going broke.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Ryan, for that blistering rebuttal. McKillip ran in 2000 and stuck to issues against Hudgens (look it up). Culpepper ran in 1990 and approved and paid for a mailer attacking the other candidate's spouse for not wanting to discriminate against homosexuals!!! A little hypocritical for you to cry about sticking to what YOU think real issues are.

Cousin Pat said...

RE: the tax thing. You've got to be kidding me. The worst scandal that can be brought up about this guy is a red tape issue that no longer exists because it got paid?

That's about the weakest scandal I can think of to hit someone with: "you made a mistake, on your taxes (cause nobody ever makes mistakes on their taxes) and took a while to get it straight and pay it off." Notwithstanding the fact that, if you make a mistake on taxes one year, it can compund into a multiple year mistake, and the fact that you always fight the numbers to make sure they are actually correct.

Maybe you can get him on parking tickets or jaywalking, too.

Anonymous said...

Was I mistaken or did Culpepper give money to Brian Kemp? I didn't see that on the list though it was mentioned in the Athens Banner-Herald.

Anonymous said...

Alert: EH Culpepper seen attempting a "rolling stop". He obviously has no respect for traffic laws.

Rumor has him also taking a penny from the "take a penny" holder at the Golden Pantry. Investigation to determine if he really needed a penny.

Meanwhile, the Doug McKillip campaign continues to worry about how they can beat the BBQ powerhouse.

Anonymous said...

Wow. So someone messes up on their taxes, pays the bill a little late, and it is the biggest issue in the campaign? Really a sad day when the opposition has nothing better to go after.

I applaud the Culpepper campaign for setting the record straight on this. Now lets talk about the issues instead of this BS. I'm ready to hear how Mr. McKillip plans to work with a neutered minority party to have any impact on Peachcare or UGA.

Anonymous said...

Interesting fact of the day about the Culpepper campaign: Campaign Manager Ryan Hicks has only voted in Republican Primaries.

hillary said...

Good lord, people. It's a state house campaign. Vitriol expended here is not proportional to importance.

Anonymous said...

Hillary, it's really bigger than that though. Republicans have never won this seat and realize that a Republican v. Democrat = LOSE. So they've got nothing to lose by putting up an "independent" and seeing what happens. Athens Democrats have already been hurt enough by the non-partisan county commission races and now the same creator of non-partisan races, Doc Elderidge, has decided to run a gentleman who has given money to Brian Kemp, Johnny Isakson, Barbara Dooley and a Republican Congressman from New York. He ran on a "southern values" campaign against Democrat Gwen O'Looney and is former President of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce and the Country Club. The Secretary of the Republican Party says that Culpepper would be a win for the Republican Party. In short, if we allow this type of manipulation of the system and Culpepper gets even remotely close to a good showing, then we have handed Republicans a formula for winning in Athens that they can play with until they know how to beat Democrats in Athens. Who knows how long it will take them to apply the formula statewide. This is a dangerous precedent that needs to be fought back.

Anonymous said...

Hillary, pepper's campaign started with "business promotion" and a quote from Doc (ABH), went on to support research at UGA ONLY if it creates an income stream (R&B), and has now been ripping off Dem ideas to try to shade toward the middle. He is backed by Reps and will be a Rep if elected. He will be able to get more for Athens: More school vouchers, more denials of a living wage, more incentives for business to destroy the environment, more cuts to public education funding, more cuts to HOPE, more rules against gay people talking to straight people, and the like. Don't be fooled. The tax issue just shows he doesn't care to follow rules. It fairly draws his integrity into question on issues of public trust.

Anonymous said...

You know, I do not really have a dog in this fight, but McKillip's folks are coming across as petty and childish. I could care less about what primary EH's campaign manager voted in, or what EH's problems are with the IRS. They simply do not effect me. Give me a #%&* break! Move on and grow up anonymous campaign manager for McKillip and anonymous campaign manager for EH.

Cousin Pat said...

To digress from the EtotheH debate for a moment...

One thing I find very interesting in this thread was the idea that independent = Republican. I see some relation to the Lieberman vs Lamont thing in Connecticut, and the online buzz concerning a possible 3rd Party candidate for President in 2008.

The thing that strikes me about this, and its effect on electoral politics, is that while voters seem quite unhappy with the way things are going with Republican control of many things, that unhappiness doesn't necessarily translate into votes for the Democrats.

Just a thought.

Anonymous said...

"Move on and grow up anonymous campaign manager for McKillip and anonymous campaign manager for EH."

The E.H. Campaign Manager has addressed these issues openly- not anonymously. If you ask them a question (via the website), they will give you an answer. If people are worried about where E.H. stands on issues, email the website and ask.

The same goes for the McKillip campaign- see what they say.

But don't make assumptions based on loose facts. E.H. has ties to Republicans- big deal. Maybe that's because he has worked in government for DECADES. On a state level- that means you're going to know a couple republicans. But check his voting record- it goes both ways.

I am a bleeding heart liberal, who has had concerns like the ones on this post about where he stands on certain issues. However, I have had the opportunity to work with E.H., and I will defend E.H. against any comment that comes across that says he would ever enact legislation to limit educational resources or especially civil rights.
--Stepping off my soap box...

Anonymous said...

I've got an E.H. question. You site philosophical differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. What are those differences?

Anonymous said...

My impression of the differences between D's and R's, at a foundational level, are relatively clear. D's would rather tax everyone higher and provide more social program help for the "needy". R's would rather provide lower taxes thus creating more incentive to earn (thus creating personal responsibility).

The problem with this (like any generalization) is that D's are all over the spectrum - from moderate taxes and moderate programs to high taxes and elaborate social programs. Likewise, R's range from a moderate belief in some social programs down to a very slim tax base and extremely minimal social programs.

Throw in the corruption that exists on either side of the isle, and don't tell me that it happens on either side more prevalently, and the generalized comparison becomes a bit more fuzzy.

Bottom line, in my humble opinion, is that our government has grown well beyond what our founding fathers intended. The Federal government was never meant to be this big or this powerful. Neither was State government for that matter. And as for city/county governments, I don't think they could have been this bad in John Adams' worst nightmare.

After all, a bunch of tea took a bath for far less than what we put up with. My latest check to the ACC stormwater utility is yet another example. For God's sake, I am now being taxed for the rain that falls on my property. Nevermind that property taxes are absurd in-and-of themselves, and I certainly have problems with taxing the freakin' rain falling on that property.

Ok... I have digressed to a soap box and now I'm so pissed I need to go contribute some sales tax revenue through the liquor store.

(P.S. - How does this relate to E.H.?)

Anonymous said...

anonymous 7:03Pm -
This relates to E.H. because I was trying to find out what E.H. actually believes other than the standard things that everybody believes in education, economic developement, etc. The point was I have no clue what E.H. stands for other than he has philosophical differences with both parties. That's nice. I'm sure everyone does. What are they?

Anonymous said...

i love me some local Republicans whinin' and bitchin' about being taxed on the rain fallin' on their gated community houses since this "tax" (which is really a utility fee) was caused by the Republican-controlled federal government mandating that our stormwater be cleaned up but not giving any money to help us pay for that. I believe they call that an unfunded mandate!

Hahahaha! The jokes on the Red Team because personally, I think it's a good idea and making it a fee rather than adding it into the property taxes means I don't have to pay to clean up the rain water that falls on Prince Avenue Baptist Church! But all those Republicans have to pay for a Republican Congress' one-and-only environmental action. It's poetic, I think!

Anonymous said...

I think the Whigs were at the 40 Watt recently . . .

Anonymous said...

Seriously though, I hear all this talk about how Culpepper wants to talk about issues when he hasn't paid his taxes, but when asked about any kind of issues...nothing.

Anonymous said...

You're not going to get an answer out of E.H. about any of those because he can't. Every time he talks about issues he's going to lose votes.

Anonymous said...

10:49 AM anonymous poster: could you please let us know how exactly you're not getting an answer out of Culpepper's Campaign? The email address, phone number, webpage and mailing address are all listed on this site. (Maybe It's my Republican insecurity, but it seems like the problem might be that you don't want to give a name or return address to get your answer!)

Anonymous said...

I just think it's funny that you make sure that you don't have any answers in public. That way you are free to play to both sides in private.

Fishplate said...

You can't keep track of the anonymouses without a program these days.

You know, you can use a handle that doesn't identify you , and still remain anonymous. If you won't take that tiny step (in the words of Bluto, "Don't cost nothin'"), I just think you're lazy, and that doesn't help you make your point.

Sheesh.

Anonymous said...

So the Culpepper campaign response is that when asked about why E.H. doesn't pay his taxes, issues are important and will go to the length of putting a 1000 word essay on why issues are more important than paying taxes. However, when you ask E.H. about issues, you can only get an answer if you e-mail him. Some how, I don't think running on the issues but not answering any questions about the issues work well together.

Anonymous said...

oh y'all, this is really, really tiresome. EH is a smart old coot, and look at all the free press he's getting here, w/out lifting so much as a finger. Thanks guys, for giving the enemy of all things progressive such a great forum.
And don't tell me you're not doing it on purpose, why not start another thread, this crap has been up here for a very long week now. Isn't there someone else we can not say anything real about for 25 or 30 posts?

aquariusrizing

Cufflink Carl said...

"And don't tell me you're not doing it on purpose, why not start another thread..."

How about because we're busy and have real lives, too?

Jeez...conspiracy theories abound.

Anonymous said...

Democrats in this town need to get their stories straight on Cully-baby. You guys can't decide whether he's a joke or a threat.

And "enemy of all things progressive?" Um...Tom Chasteen, States McCarter, Doc Eldridge, Bob Smith, Brian Kemp, Bill Cowsert, and the list goes on and on.

Silence Dogood

Anonymous said...

Doug McKillip: House candidate urges support of PeachKids
| | Story updated at 12:02 AM on Tuesday, September 5, 2006
Recently, gubernatorial candidate Mark Taylor visited Athens and spoke at length about PeachKids, a program he is proposing that will provide health care to every Georgia child, regardless of their parents' income. I encourage all of the candidates in the Athens area to support this proposal, whether Democrats, Republicans or independents.

To me, there is nothing partisan about insuring Georgia's children. PeachKids will cost only $10 million in its first year of implementation and then only $20 million per year after that. This is less than one tenth of 1 percent of the budget, and in my view, should be a priority for Georgia.

Doug McKillip

EDITOR'S NOTE: McKillip is a candidate in the race for state House District 115.

Anonymous said...

...appeared in Today's Athens Banner-Herald

Anonymous said...

In the Loop posted on November 1, 2006 - 8:30pm.

Posted by Blake Aued, government reporter

"And now for something completely different.

News that Elijah Hamilton Culpepper had four years' worth of unpaid federal income taxes in the late 1980s/early 1990s caused a bit of a stir back in September. E.H. said then he'd paid them, but court records said otherwise. He presented me with a letter from the IRS stating that his taxes, as Rakim might say, are paid in full."