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Karen Handel on Principles & Values |
She's a longtime Georgia politician. She ran for Fulton County Board of Commissioners and lost in 2002, then won a special election in 2003. Next, she became Georgia secretary of state in 2007, before resigning to run for governor in 2010, losing a Republican primary run-off despite Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney endorsements. She ran for Senate in 2014 and came in third in that primary. One of Handel's Republican opponents in the 6th District special election used this record against her: "Over the last 15 years, Karen Handel has run six times for five different offices. She didn't even finish the jobs we did give her, always running for the next office."
The Handel campaign responded by releasing two emails from Spratt. Both were written after Kingston joined the race. The first, dated May 2, said, "I campaigned for Karen in the 2010 election and she carried my county. Please let her know that I will be very happy to help her if she decides to run for the Senate seat."
The second email, dated May 9, assesses Kingston's strengths and weaknesses: "Kingston is a fence-rider and has no track record of making strong stands. Karen, you and I are both anti-establishment candidates. If you choose to run for Senate, all of your announced opponents are beltway boys."
The calls for my resignation were growing. There were hundreds of emails and phone calls, and petitions circulating the Internet that had already garnered thousands of signatures. The left had taken a page directly out of the Saul Alinsky playbook: pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it. They needed someone to demonize--and that someone was me.
The apology was a total reversal of the new grants policy and focused on reinstating Planned Parenthood's eligibility.
The message for Republicans and the faith community was that Komen was only backing down for now; it would take more time to transition out of Planned Parenthood grants. [Handel ultimately did resign]
I was already bored. I hadn't sorted out what was next, but I needed something to do--a challenge for myself. That challenge was running-- literally. I'd never run before (except campaigns). My goal: 5K by Christmas. I did it--and in the process, got in better shape and used the time to reflect and rejuvenate. Today I'm an avid runner, covering 12 to 15 miles of pavement a week.