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Wednesday, April 19, 2006
McCain and Falwell, Giuliani and Reed
Each trying to build a majority for '08 — kind of like the Iraqi parliament
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ralph Reed, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, is getting a bigger-than-expected ride out of his announcement that he’s landed former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani for a second fund-raiser in May.
In essence, the Giuliani-Reed alliance provided a mental bookend for many national political analysts who have been baffled by the rapprochement between John McCain, currently the GOP leader in the ‘08 race, and the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
The Giuliani-Reed embrace was fodder for the last news cycle on half a dozen political variety shows and many, many web sites. On Tuesday night, it made MSNBC’s “Hardball” with Chris Matthews, though not in a particularly good way.
Matthews was interviewing Susan Schmidt, the Washington Post writer who just won a Pulitzer for her investigation of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Matthews: “Are you amazed that Rudy Giuliani is out there campaigning for Ralph Reed?”
Schmidt: “I am amazed.”
Matthews: “Hasn`t Ralph Reed got problems down there?”
Schmidt: “Well, he`s certainly heavily implicated in the whole Abramoff scandal. He got loads of money from Abramoff, which Abramoff got from gambling casinos running his Indian tribes, and gave it to Reed who was running around as an anti-gambling advocate. So the hypocrisy factor is stunningly high.”
On Wednesday morning, on CNN, Amy Walter, a senior editor with the Cook Political Report, said Giuliani could help Reed.
“If you are going to bring in a Republican heavyweight, he fits the bill on so many levels. He is popular, there is still a star quality around him and he does not bring with him any baggage,” she said.
Giuliani’s first fund-raiser for Reed was last June, a lifetime ago. The ‘08 presidential race hadn’t yet raised its head. Reed’s contest was different, too. The Abramoff scandal had yet to prove it had legs.
This time, the meeting can’t be ignored. The Reed campaign tells us that, unlike with other fund-raisers, the press will be allowed in to witness whatever Giuliani has to say about Reed.
There is the sense that we’re witnessing the development of a rift among Christian conservatives.
McCain, the power behind the Abramoff investigation in Washington and thus Reed’s nemesis, will speak at Falwell’s Liberty University next month.
Much of this story has been driven by an appearance Falwell made Sunday on CNN, in which he dismissed Giuliani - who has been courting evangelicals - as a presidential candidate.
Giuliani supports abortion rights, gay rights, and gun control.
“Everybody admires him. And I’ll never forget the great things he did on 9/11 and following,” Falwell said. “But, of course, we have, as conservative Christians who take the Bible seriously, we have probably irreconcilable differences on life and family and that kind of thing.
“I’ll never speak an ill word about him because he means so much to America. But, yes, you’re right. I couldn’t support him for president,” he said.
On the other hand, the Rev. Pat Robertson - Reed’s mentor in evangelical politics - had very nice things to say about Giuliani last year.
“Although he doesn’t share all of my particular points of view on social issues, he’s a very dedicated Catholic,” Robertson said.
Reed’s people were reading from the same hymn book on Wednesday.
“Rudy Giuliani helped rally America after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and he was a leading surrogate for President Bush in his re-election campaign,” said campaign manager Jared Thomas.
“We are honored to have him in Georgia to support Ralph’s candidacy for lieutenant governor. They don’t agree on every single issue, but we welcome his support,” said campaign manager Jared Thomas.
More fallout from Georgians for Truth
Peace among Democrats could all depend on what the meaning of 'fired' is
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The back-and-forth over Georgians for Truth continues among Democratic ranks. It’s poor entertainment. We shall let each side have its say, then drop it like a hot rock.
To recap: The Georgia Democratic Party says it sacked fund-raiser Kristin Oblander, a party contract employee, for her association with Georgians for Truth, which launched an independent attack on Gov. Sonny Perdue for his past failure to pay his taxes on time.
We obtained the following fax on Wednesday from House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin), via Oblander:
“There appears to be a misunderstanding on the relationship between Kristin Oblander and the House Democratic Caucus. She is still being retained to do fund-raising activities for the caucus.
“Apparently Bobby Kahn and the Democratic Party of Georgia believe there is a conflict between her work for the caucus and the independent committee, Georgians for Truth. If this turns out to be true, details relating to the working relationship will have to be worked out.
“To say that she was fired is a misstatement.”
And so we presented the above to Kahn, who sent us this reply:
“The Democratic Party of Georgia operates a non-federal account called the Georgia Leaders Campaign that supports the campaigns of state House candidates. House members raise and spend the funds in this account to support House campaigns, subject to the limitations of state law.
“Effective [Tuesday], as a result of her management role with Georgians for Truth, Inc., Kristin Oblander’s contractual relationship with the Democratic Party of Georgia to raise funds for this account was terminated.
“The two roles present a potential conflict under state law. Individual members of the state House Caucus may choose to retain Ms. Oblander through a means other than a contract with the [Democratic Party of Georgia].”
For the curious, Georgians for Truth is a “527� group, according to its treasurer, Jeff Bramlett. It’s subject to know contribution caps. The group received most of its seed money five months ago, from Atlanta attorneys Ralph and Marjorie Knowles, who gave $25,000 each.
Ralph Knowles is listed as chairman of Georgians for Truth.
The info on the money is according to disclosure forms filed in early January. Hardly any cash was raised in the next three months. Bramlett says much money has been donated since March 31, but those sources won’t be disclosed until this summer.
Taylor’s new ad
The unanswered question of 2002 rises again: What mother would let her baby crawl around on the state Capitol floor, amongst all those lobbying germs?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, one of two Democratic candidates for governor, is sticking with what has served him well. His first, introductory ad of the 2006 campaign is a reprise of the “Big Guy-Little Guy” theme from four years ago.
The chief difference is the presence of the narrator — former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young, who has a history of appealing well to both white and black voters.
Click here to see it.
