A medical emergency Nov. 24 kept Republican gubernatorial candidate Ray McBerry from attending a Fayette-Coweta 912 Project event in Peachtree City. But it was his campaign director and stay-at-home mom, Cobb County resident Jenny Hodges, who lit a fuse with the 125 attending and culminated in a spontaneous standing ovation.
Taking the stage in place of her candidate, Hodges gave the initial appearance of being quiet, unassuming and studious. Her husband and their small children sat a few booths away as she began to speak to the packed house at J Christoper’s Restaurant.
Though she only became involved in things political in 2007, Hodges’ opening remarks quickly transformed her unassuming demeanor into a feisty and articulate proponent of McBerry’s stand on issues such as states’ rights, abortion, gun control, immigration, individual privacy and state sovereignty.
“We are at war for the future of our children. And we get rebuked by the establishment Republicans for calling politicians on the carpet,” Hodges said. “Our focus is on life and liberty. To (have that focus) you need to be empowered and equipped. That’s what we’re here to do.”
With those remarks Hodges jumped off into much deeper political waters.
“The Constitution presupposes that our rights are from God. The states came together and made a compact limiting the scope of government,” she said, insisting that the individual states have the prerogative to determine significant aspects of their own destiny and questioning what amounted to the interventionist tactics of the federal government. “How dare they enslave us? The solution to the problems with the federal government and federal tyranny is states’ rights and state sovereignty.”
Hitting on numerous points in her brief presentation, Hodges included McBerry’s stand on the Second Amendment.
“We ‘are’ homeland security and we need an armed populace,” she said to a roar from the audience.
Turning the focus to next year’s governor’s race, Hodges said voters have a window of opportunity to elect McBerry and take their freedom back, noting that even a moderate groundswell of public sentiment could reverse a decades-long slide into the erosion of freedom. Noting that some in elected office easily bend with the blowing wind of a committed populace, Hodges said a small beginning can lead to a large victory if people are willing to take a stand and have their voice heard and their vote counted.
“We are not playing. Liberty is precious,” Hodges said. “We need in a governor someone that will stand up to Washington.”
It was near the end of her comments that Hodges turned the topic to abortion. It is a topic that first got her studying Georgia law and led later to her being asked by McBerry to direct his campaign. Hodges said she is undaunted by the fact that people have left the McBerry campaign over his stand on abortion.
“Individual life and liberty begins at the moment of conception. We’re for aggressively combatting pre-natal murder,” Hodges said. “Our abortion clinics in Georgia operate on waivers and are the most liberal in the U.S. Ray will revoke those waivers the day he takes office and will criminalize pre-natal murder.”
Hodges spoke for a few more minutes. As she ended her remarks nearly all the 125 people in the restaurant rose quickly and applauded the stay-at-home mom whose passion for her beliefs could not have been more clear.
