In case you have recently been residing sub-granite, Zell Miller was a Democratic senator from Georgia, appointed to the position in July 2000 (after the death of Sen Coverdell) and re-elected in November of that year in a special election. Before that, he had been governor of the state through most of the 90s, and had previously held several other positions, all as a Democrat.

Although it’s not clear when the thought first hit Miller, he made it clear during his time as a senator that the Democratic party had left him (not the other way around, as many of the small-minded claim), abandoning the ideals that were in the party in his earlier political life, and becoming a far left-wing party, out of touch with America. Although he remained a Democrat (many would argue, in name only), his disdain for the direction of the party was made quite clear on a number of occasions, including his book, A National Party No More (from 2003) and — perhaps most famously — when he addressed the Republican National Convention in 2004 and ripped John Kerry to shreds. This latter action earned him a severe reprimand from Jimmy Carter, which in my book, makes the action unequivocably the right thing to have done.

So what’s this all about anyway?

Dems, liberals, and the MSM are incessantly telling lies about Republicans and other conservatives and their beliefs and/or policies. One of the most annoying things about being a conservative is the fact that (at least on a public platform), Republicans and conservatives never refute these statements (with the exception of talk radio and the like), even the ones that are laughably incorrect. This results in a large part of the public — those smart enough to think, but not smart enough to know that the way to tell that a Democrat is lying is to see if his/her lips are moving — believing most of the drivel.

Then along came Zell.

In addition to the above public actions, Miller made many other speeches, telling the truth about all sorts of things. One notable one was his level-headed, but angry, retort to (as he called them) the “HWA — Hand-Wringers of America” over their gross over-reaction to the Abu Gharib “torture”, especially in light of the fact that an American had just been beheaded by some of the detainees’ colleagues. The speech can be heard here, as delivered from the Senate floor in 2004.

So, in honor of Miller publicly telling the truth, instead of reciting off the Democratic talking points (or saying nothing at all), the Give ‘Em Zell Award will be given to those who follow Miller’s lead.

Sadly, this award will probably be given to “maverick” Democrats as often as it is to Republicans. But in order to at least start off with a Republican, the first award goes to Rep Jean Schmidt (R - OH) as she passed along the words of Marine Colonel Danny Bubp from the House floor:

He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: Cowards cut and run, Marines never do.

I blogged about this incident in more detail here. Congratulations to Rep Schmidt!