Yesterday newly elected representative to Georgia House District
22 Sam Moore was publicly excoriated, humiliated, and denigrated for
introducing House Bill 1033 before the Georgia Legislature. It was a move that
revealed a lack of political savvy on Moore’s part. More on that in a minute.
I was on my way to a doctor’s appointment yesterday morning
with my son when I read the news on facebook. A long-time Georgia Republican friend
now working in Washington D.C. was irate that a freshman rep would be so
foolish as to introduce such awful legislation that stupidly gave cover to sex
offenders. He lamented the setback it would be to Georgia’s stellar political
reputation, probably on a nationwide scale.
Without even knowing what bill this friend was referring to,
I knew he was talking about Sam Moore. How did I know? I’m accustomed to
Republican ‘outrage’ when anyone ‘new’ introduces anything, especially anything
that doesn’t go through the normal vetting process, e.g. doesn’t adhere to the elbow
rubbing, back patting, pay your dues-ing, lunch eating, waste-of-time protocol
HB 1033 so clearly must have avoided. The arguments from these Republicans are
always over how such actions discredit the party, or Georgia, or them
individually as they tirelessly work for the good of Georgia’s great citizenry.
I already knew instinctively that whatever bill Moore introduced wasn’t what the press and pundits wanted to claim it to be. I knew it had to
be part of some greater effort toward smaller government and more liberty. I
also knew from experience that the mischaracterization of these efforts to
limit government gives great joy and glee to many who make their living reporting
on the expansion of power and those in power themselves.
What I wasn’t prepared for, however, were Moore’s natural
allies in the legislature, most of whom I know personally, taking the road my insider
Republican friend did and going along with the ‘for the children’ scare
tactics by making loud public pronouncements against Moore and the bill. Particularly
when I’m certain these legislator friends knew the true objectives behind Moore’s
legislation: the intent to return many
of our 4th and 5th Amendment constitutional protections
back to Georgians.
Let me repeat, I’m very doubtful that those legislators didn’t
know where Moore was headed with this bill, a bill which basically attempts to
make right the burdensome requirements to identify oneself to law enforcement even
if one is not suspected of a crime.
