Marietta Daily Journal - Georgia Should Nominate, Re-Elect Johnny Isakson
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By Unknown
Georgia's senior senator, Johnny Isakson, has plied a successful political career over the last 40 years-plus. He's done so with genuine concern for constituents, a forthright manner in his dealings and judicious decision-making.
As he seeks his third term in the U.S. Senate, Isakson stands as the clear choice for Republicans in the May 24 primary and for all Georgia voters in the November general election.
In the U.S. Senate, seniority matters. Isakson is the only Republican senator to chair multiple committees: the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs and Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
He has never voted for a tax increase, has led the fight against radical Islamic jihad and voted against President Barack Obama's "peace in our time" appeasement deal with Iran.
In Georgia, he has fought to ensure that Georgia's ports are growing. And he has protected Georgia's access to water, pushing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to update the manuals governing water use in Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
On the education front, Isakson added provisions to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act signed into law in late 2015 that repealed the Common Core provisions of the federal law and left those decisions up to the states. And he reinforced parental decision making and parental opt-out provisions on testing.
On the transportation front, he made sure Georgia was getting back more of the dollars it puts into federal transportation funding, and reauthorized the highway trust fund for five years to ensure a predictable flow of highway money for federal interstates and federal projects in the state.
Isakson has authored legislation to move to a two-year budget system that would force elected officials to become more accountable to the taxpayers, reduce spending and increase oversight.
On immigration, he opposes Obama's plan to expand Syrian refugee resettlement without adequate security safeguards. And he opposed the "gang of eight" immigration bill and Obama's executive amnesty.
A defender of the Second Amendment, the NRA gives him an "A" rating, while the National Right to Life has given him a 100 percent for his pro-life stance.
The senator has opposed Obama's liberal appointments to the Supreme Court and voted to repeal Obamacare.
Last year, Isakson announced he was in the early stages of Parkinson's disease. He said the diagnosis has not impacted his ability to represent Georgia. Isakson has a long record of sound judgment, which is why we are confident he wouldn't seek the job if he thought he couldn't get the job done.
Marietta's Harris Hines, presiding justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, who has known Isakson since high school, believes it's important to cross the boundaries of political parties to find solutions given the problems facing this nation. Isakson has a record of doing so.
"I think (Isakson's) conservative in his lifestyle, conservative in his political philosophy, I truly do. But I do think he's a person who will try to work with anybody to try to solve a problem."
Governance is a good thing, said another Isakson admirer, Attorney General Sam Olens of east Cobb.
"The fact of the matter is throwing flames doesn't pass legislation. Johnny gets things done. And that's important," Olens said.
Isakson began his business career in 1967 when he opened the first Cobb County office of a small, family-owned real estate business, Northside Realty. During his 20 years as president of Northside, the company grew into the largest independent residential real estate brokerage company in the Southeast.
He became active in Georgia's Republican Party in the early 1970s when Democrats ruled the roost and Republicans were rarer than hen's teeth.
Isakson served for 17 years in the Georgia Legislature in both the House and Senate. In 1997, then-Gov. Zell Miller appointed him chairman of the Georgia Board of Education. He was elected in 1999 to the U.S. House for the first of three terms and was elected in 2004 and 2010 to the U.S. Senate.
He and his wife Dianne have been married since 1968 and they have nine grandchildren.
With his calm, steady hand and business-minded approach, Isakson's example is in stark contrast to the showboating politicians who dominate the headlines with their flamboyant, demagogic pandering.
Washington needs more senators like Isakson. For the good of our county, for the good of our state, for the good of our nation, he should continue to serve.
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