“Arrested at Any Moment”

Could Nathan Deal be indicted or, “heaven forbid, arrested at any moment?” I don’t think so,  and while I don’t suggest that he might be, less than three months ago a key Republican strategist did.

While Nathan Deal and his supporters would like to blame Barnes, Democrats or “the liberal media” for the uncomfortable truth-telling going on about his record, his biggest problem is with Republican insiders, people who know the Real Deal. People like Tom Perdue, Mike Carter, Karen Handel, Dan McLagan and Clint Murphy.

The people who know Deal the best – people from his own political family- have leveled the most direct, the most scathing criticism of this nominee. It’s like me wanting to work at your lemonade stand and my momma telling you not to hire me. You’d be well-advised to heed her words.

See just a sample of the comments, below the fold:

Recently, Tom Perdue, a prominent Republican strategist who worked for Sen. Saxby Chambliss, called on Deal to step down as the party’s nominee:

“People in the party feel betrayed and they feel cheated because if they had known about all of this earlier, there would have been a different nominee,” and consequently “[Deal] should step down as the nominee.”

Earlier this month, Mike Carter of Cleveland, Georgia resigned from the Republican State Committee so that he would be free to express his opinion regarding Deal, whose misconduct he described as “unethical, intentional and calculated.” Read more here.

Dan McLagan, who managed Handel’s campaign, and who inexplicably now supports Deal, as recently as August told the Savannah Morning News:

“What would truly destroy the party,” McLagan said, “would be to nominate someone like Deal who is under a federal grand jury investigation and could be indicted or, heaven forbid, arrested at any moment. …”

What’s happened with that grand jury, anyway?

Karen Handel was equally pointed, calling Deal a “corrupt relic of Washington, D.C.” When Deal challenged her for being negative, Handel told him it was time to “time to put the big boy pants on” and stop “squealing” about her campaign ads.

Where is Karen Handel, by the way? She’s been conspicuously silent.

Clint Murphy, former Handel staffer, recently announced his support for Barnes, and in part said:

As a candidate for Governor, Nathan Deal has not been honest about his financial dealings, disclosures, or other potential liabilities that may exist. It is clear that he has immediate items that require his attention and therefore will not be able to focus on the betterment of the entire state.  Additionally, he used his Congressional office to try and continue a sweetheart arrangement with the state.  Because of the lack of disclosure, we also now know that Deal participated in creating a company with his cronies that made hundreds of thousands of dollars off of his official Congressional travel.  It might have been legal, but it sure wasn’t ethical and he worked pretty hard to conceal these items from the voting public.  The jury is still out as to the status of a possible federal grand jury investigation.  There was a time when people with as much baggage as Nathan Deal has would never have run for office.  The pure shame associated with their greed and corruption would have been enough to have discouraged them from making the decision to run.