A reader writes:
Thank you for posting about how the Palin endorsement has impacted the Georgia race for Governor. As you know, Karen has shot to the lead in the polls after floundering in second or third in the race to make the runoff in several weeks.
As a side note, Ms. Handel has a somewhat sordid history with the Atlanta LGBT community. In her first two races for a seat on the Fulton County Commission (Atlanta) she actively sought the LGBT vote, going as far as joining the Log Cabin chapter here and pursuing an endorsement from Georgia Equality. She said she supported domestic partner benefits for Fulton County employees and said she was not opposed to adoption by gays and lesbians.
Well, as you might expect, she did a 180 soon after winning her seat on the commission and setting her eyes on statewide office.
She voted against domestic partner benefits for county employees, then ran successfully for Secretary of State in 2006 while completely denying she ever joined Log Cabin, pursued an endorsement from Georgia Equality, or said she supported gay adoption. The Journal-Constitution documented all of this here, here, and here.
In addition to being one of the worst kind of political opportunists, Ms. Handel is like Ms. Palin in other ways; she can’t seem to serve a full term for any elected office; she quit the county commission to become Secretary of State and quit as Secretary of State to run for Governor.
And it's paying off:
[Handel] came in first in Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday evening and will face Nathan Deal, a former Congressman, in an Aug. 10 runoff.