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Sunday, July 9, 2006
Something for the Muggles in next week’s primaries
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cynical hacks have condemned Georgia’s summer primaries as mammoth political decisions made by a small pool of people too stupid, too poor, too old, or too stubborn to escape on vacation.
Perhaps that goes too far. But it’s true that primaries are exclusive affairs. Just above one-fourth of the state’s registered voters participated in the 2004 contests — about 15 percent of the population.
The angel on your shoulder — your good-government angel — condemns this as a mass shirking of civic responsibility. They won’t say so, but many candidates are quite satisfied with the situation.
In a shrunken pond, the fish are easier to drive into the net. Bait is less expensive, too.
But it also means that the final days of campaigning before the July 18 vote will be conducted mostly out of sight, aimed at the small pool. Niche marketing rules, and TV ads don’t tell half the story.
If you don’t listen to black radio, chances are you won’t know what’s happening in the Democratic race for governor between Mark Taylor and Cathy Cox.
If you’re not a proven Republican voter, who hasn’t missed a run-off in four years, your mailbox is unlikely to sizzle with dastardly (or depending on your point of view, saintly) deeds of Ralph Reed and Casey Cagle, the two candidates for lieutenant governor.
If you’re the average Georgian, the statistics say you are a mere Muggle in a Harry Potter world. A vicious war between good and evil is being waged. Spells fly back and forth. Curses melt faces. Broomsticks plunge to earth and rise again.
It’s just that none of this is happening in the dimension that you live in.
So here’s a quick run-down for the next week, for those who feel left out:
— Cox will continue to attack Taylor for his alleged hostility to issues dear to black voters. She can’t afford not to. African-Americans now rule the Democratic primary.
We’ve seen a memo drawn up by her supporters that focuses on Lee Parks, the lawyer for the Taylor campaign.
Parks “has made legal history by successfully challenging the constitutionality of federal school desegregation orders as well as racial weighting in school admission policies� and affirmative action.
— At last word, Taylor has enlisted Brooke Jackson, daughter of late Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson, to participate in a radio ad that reminds voters of a tussle between Cox and Alpha Phi Alpha, a black fraternity conducting a voter registration drive.
As secretary of state, Cox had rejected a bundled packet of registration forms submitted by the fraternity, saying that they had to be submitted individually. A lawsuit resulted.
— Just in time for church, a flyer from Cagle, the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, hit the mailboxes of Republican voters on Saturday.
“Ralph Reed sold out Christians for millions from casinos� was the headline on a devilishly red brochure. You can tell things are getting serious when the name of the candidate responsible for the mailing appears only in fine print.
— Only a day before, it was a Karen Handel piece on Bill Stephens, a rival in the GOP race for secretary of state.
The flyer spokes of fines levied against Stephens by the State Ethics Commission.
But more importantly, the hit piece took Stephens to task for his (partial) sponsorship of the infamous S.B. 5 in 2005, which was withdrawn after critics damned it as a measure to let slip the dogs of eminent domain.
Stephens is the second Republican candidate to be bitten by that legislation. Remember that, in the race for lieutenant governor, Reed took a chunk out of Cagle on the same issue a week or so ago on TV.
A history lesson on immigration
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Peachpundit.com has broken some ground on the 1996 attempt by Congress to restrict immigration, both legal and illegal, and Ralph Reed’s involvement. Check it out here.
Just in time for church
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two Republican campaign pieces scorched the mailboxes this weekend, both as personal as you can get. You can tell things are serious when direct mail includes the name of the candidate sending it — but only in the fine print.
On Friday, it was a Karen Handel piece on Bill Stephens, her rival in the GOP race for secretary of state.
“He fails the character test,” was the headline. It included info about fines levied against Stephens by the State Ethics Commission, and some info about defaulted loans.
But the flyer also took Stephens to task for his sponsorship of the infamous S.B. 5 in 2005, which critics damned as a measure to loose the dogs of eminent domain. Stephens is the second Republican candidate to be bitten by that legislation. Remember that Ralph Reed took a chunk out of Casey Cagle for it a week or so ago on TV.
The second mail piece is return fire from Cagle. This is bottom-line stuff, aimed at core evangelical Republican voters. It’s Abramoff-based. “Ralph Reed sold out Christians for millions from casinos,” is the headline. On the back: “Oppose hypocrisy. Vote no to Ralph Reed for lieutenant governor.”
You don’t get more brutal than that.
