Georgia First began officially with Ray McBerry's campaign for governor in the 2006 Republican primary against incumbent Sonny Perdue, a neo-conservative with ties to both the Georgia Democratic leadership and the Bush administration in Washington.
The Georgia First campaign theme in 2006 was... "NOT Atlanta, NOT Washington... but GEORGIA FIRST!" The theme embodies a strong States' Rights position, as well as opposition to the downtown Atlanta establishment over the rest of Georgia. In essence, it states support for doing what is best for Georgia and Georgians over the special interests of the federal government and the downtown Atlanta establishment.
During the campaign of 2006, the Georgia First message was overwhelmingly well-received everywhere that Ray McBerry spoke in candidate forums or radio interviews. It seemed that the people of Georgia were enthusiastic about a political candidate who did not care about "political correctness" and was actually willing to say the things that they, the people of Georgia, believe, themselves.
Frankness on such subjects as abortion, the Second Amendment, illegal immigration, the Ten Commandments, and the Georgia state flag was a true "breath of fresh air" to virtually all Georgians who heard the message... so much so that the grassroots campaign for Georgia First took off literally overnight. Within the first week of the campaign, www.GeorgiaFirst.org became the # 1 ranked political candidate website in the state of Georgia and remained so well after the primary election had passed, four months later. During the whirlwind campaign of only 90 days during the Republican primary, Ray McBerry was asked to participate in over 30 radio interviews, and as many newspaper interviews. Each time, public support for Georgia First and its message grew larger.
On 18 July 2006, Ray McBerry, a previous political unknown, garnered nearly 50,000 votes in the Republican primary for governor against an incumbent within his own party -- the lowest voter-turnout primary in memory. It was the first time in a generation that any candidate ran for governor of any Southern state and frankly dared to tell the federal government to "get the hell" out of his state's affairs. The success of Georgia First in 2006 was a wake-up call to all true conservatives and constitutionalists, in Georgia and beyond, that the principle of States' Rights is still alive and well in the hearts and minds of the people of Dixie, despite the best-laid plans of Washington and its petty minions in our Southern capitols... and is also a message of hope for restoring our heritage of liberty!
