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Monday, March 20, 2006
Help from Mississippi, the land of stiff-lipped Katrina survivors and those halls where the little ball drops into that spinning wheel
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The invitation to Monday’s event says, in big bold letters: “Ralph Reed election year kickoff.”
But it’s really a $100-a-head fund-raiser in Buckhead — and thus closed to the press. Which means we had to do some footwork and catch hold of Reed’s headliner, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, when he was in town last week.
“Ralph’s an old friend of mine. When I was chairman of the [national GOP] and he was executive director of the Christian Coalition, he was a great ally,” said Barbour, in town to hawk the rebirth of his state to developers.
“Ralph’s word was always good. One of the things I always admired about Ralph — if Ralph agreed to do something, and then found out later he couldn’t do it, he’d pick up the phone and call you,” the Mississippi governor said. “He’d say, ‘My people won’t go along with what I thought we could get done.’ “
Barbour is Reed’s best-case scenario: A successful Washington insider and lobbyist — his clients were Delta, Lockheed, Big Tobacco and more — who kept clear of the sleaze and transmogrified himself into a successful politician.
Barbour’s congressional and White House contacts proved essential in the months following Katrina — a point that Reed is likely to emphasize today.
In this particular visit to Georgia, Barbour may be threading an interesting needle. Ten days ago, at the Southern Republican Leadership Council in Memphis, Barbour singled out for praise Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — he of presidential ambition.
“He really helped us on the Katrina aid package, which I’m grateful for,” Barbour said.
McCain’s Indian Affairs committee, of course, has unearthed some of the most damaging evidence linking Reed to that fallen Washington angel, Jack Abramoff.
More than that, when it comes to economic development, Barbour is an unabashed supporter of Mississippi’s gambling industry. Still, in Memphis recently, the governor also heaped praise on evangelicals.
“Faith-based groups have been the backbone of our recovery,” Barbour said.
Crosstabs at high noon: On the count of three, gentlemen. And please don?t let your shots wander outside the margin of error
A serious skirmish may be breaking out between two Republican pollsters in Georgia. In a posting on his Insider Advantage Web site, former GOP lawmaker Matt Towery wrote the following:
“To the pollster who seems to release polls on virtually everything … we’ve figured out you have neither the resources nor the finances to poll so many races in the South.”
Towery refused to say who he was talking about, but the description only fits Strategic Vision, a firm that issues regular thermometer readings in Georgia and elsewhere.
“If it’s directed at us, it’s very humorous,” said David Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision. Johnson said he thought the comments could be traced to the fact that the two pollsters are bumping heads in Florida.
Johnson also said he’d be happy to share cross tabs and his methodology with us.
Popeyes just put the boxes back under the lamp, and went about its business.
Last week, Republicans kindly scheduled “Crossover Day” for the same day as the Democrats’ annual Jefferson-Jackson Day fund-raiser. State Democratic Party chairman Bobby Kahn said Republicans may have done the loyal opposition a favor.
“We saved about $10,000 on chicken dinners,” he said. For the curious, the cheapest dinners at these banquets — all that Democrats can afford these days — run to $35 a plate.
Why U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Roswell) is struggling for campaign contributions: It’s well known that rich people make the worst tippers
In Washington, The Hill newspaper recently reported that Georgia’s 6th congressional district — north DeKalb, east Cobb, north Fulton and Cherokee counties — is one of the 10 wealthiest in the nation.
It ranks No. 4.
Another tidbit: Last week, business in the U.S. House ground to a halt when it was discovered that a blown fuse had trapped 11 members of Congress in a single elevator. Among them were U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Sharpsburg, who is being called a hero for his faithful application of stick deodorant.
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