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DEL.ICIO.USSomething 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.
Comments
By Tom Pitts
July 10, 2006 08:42 AM | Link to this
Who watched the debates last night? I though Steen Miles was the more articulate Democrat candidate for Lt. Gov.
But the Republican debate was the most shocking. Who could believe how horrible Mr. Cagle came off. He squirmed and looked silly most of the debate, especially when he kept returning to the Abramoff thing so many times. When will we reject the politics of personal distruction?
I believe Mr. Reed has accomplished some remarkable things in his career and he will have my vote. Mr. Cagle deserve to go back to his bank and make some more money. I don’t want him in Atlanta if his campaign plan is simply attack my opponent without offering a discussion of more substantive issues.
By Tony
July 10, 2006 08:56 AM | Link to this
Tom Pitts the socialist. God forbid you turn into Debbie and attack anyone who grew up in a poorer, single-mother raised household who lived the American dream. Debbie is a class act.
As far as the debate went, honestly all Ralph did was climb so high up Perdue’s rear end all you saw were shoe laces. Great pandering and name dropping. Great way to wear your faith on your sleeve as well. I thought Cagle actually sounded articulate on the issues. He actually stated some knowledge of bills, the Senate, and the entire process. All Ralph did was fluff some statements carefully crafted by focus groups to appeal to certain buzz phrases.
On knowing how to push the right buttons with fluff sound bites, Ralph wins. Competency and knowledge of the position to get the job done, Cagle wins.
Cute how Ralph is still lying about where he grew up. Cute also how he’s against gambling but says that GA’s gambling is a settled issue. Way to pander to HOPE supporters and compromise your principles Ralph.
By Debbie
July 10, 2006 09:06 AM | Link to this
Tony, lived the American Dream? Cagle made his fortune while serving as a State Senator on the Senate Banking Committee. Cagle served himself when he was supposed to be serving the taxpayers.
By Tony
July 10, 2006 09:19 AM | Link to this
Debbie,
You keep making this claim but from the lack of evidence on anything all I see is a coincidence that happens all the time in the private sector.
You and Reed minions keep making this out to be some evil. I fail to see any ethics violations or laws being broken. You see you come out screaming about proof, etc. when someone brings up a charge against Reed. But you don’t even practice your own standard, just like Reed, when it comes to proof. All this is is nothing more than an attempt to fluff something up and hope it sticks to Cagle.
Go ask your boss Ralphie why he continues to lie about where he grew up. Ask him if nothing was wrong or illegal about his casino deal, why would he turn it down in hindsight? I mean if it was on the up and up like he said, why would he turn millions down? What NOW makes him feel that it needed to be turned down? Ask him why he attacked Cagle for failing to pay payroll taxes on capaign employees but didn’t do that himself. Ask him why in the debate last night he avoided answering the question on why he had to launder the money through ATR. Ask him why he does not feel the need to keep the Open Records Law intact where Georgians can see what their government is doing. Ask him why he supports the loophole in third parties and defends loopholes by saying “the Atlanta Constitution did it!”. Ask him why he flipped on immigration. Shall I keep going? You see the media failed to ask the tough questions. But others have asked Ralph directly and he just cannot answer these questions. His response is to divert this to Cagle’s actions. If Reed wants Georgians to vote for him, he better well answer questions about HIM.
And Debbie, making attacks about Cagle’s upbringing and his single mother on another board is sleazy. Just because he lived the American dream doesn’t mean socialist wealth distributors like you can insult ones upbringing and family. Typical crap from people espousing to be ‘those of the faith’.
By Debbie
July 10, 2006 09:27 AM | Link to this
Tony, you said, “You keep making this claim but from the lack of evidence on anything all I see is a coincidence that happens all the time in the private sector.”
Lack of evidence has not prevented you or Cagle from accusing Reed of wrong doing now has it? Cagle lies to suit his purpose.
An Associated Press Report on the Debate clearly says , “A Senate investigating committee last month found that two Indian tribes, which were both Abramoff clients, sent $5.3 million to Reed to battle gambling initiatives that would have hurt their business. Reed has not been charged with a crime and said the Senate probe confirms he has done nothing wrong.”
Did you see that last line? “confirms he has done nothing wrong”? You can Cagle don’t care aobut the truth. Reed blasts Cagle s bringing up lobby case
Monday, July 10, 2006 1:19 AM EDT E-mail this story to a friend | Printable version
By Greg Bluestein
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - Former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed challenged claims that he could face criminal charges before the November elections at a heated debate Sunday, calling the assertion from his GOP opponent a “low blow.”
“It’s a low blow to suggest that somebody’s committed a crime. As far as I’m concerned, you should be ashamed of yourself,” he said, admonishing state Sen. Casey Cagle, his Republican rival in the lieutenant governor race.
Cagle has questioned publicly whether Reed will be charged with a crime for the work his lobbying firms conducted with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in a move to lure disaffected GOP voters to his camp before the July 18 primary.
“It’s clear that the Abramoff scandal is a national scandal and it’s one that will continue to haunt my opponent,” Cagle said.
A Senate investigating committee last month found that two Indian tribes, which were both Abramoff clients, sent $5.3 million to Reed to battle gambling initiatives that would have hurt their business. Reed has not been charged with a crime and said the Senate probe confirms he has done nothing wrong.
“Clearly, in hindsight, that was business I should have turned down,” he said.
The debate comes days after both campaigns launched aggressive attack ads targeted at the other’s biggest political liability.
Cagle’s ad uses a deck of playing cards to highlight the ties between Reed and Abramoff. Reed responded with a 30-second spot that questions the pro-business votes cast by Cagle, whose banking and real estate businesses have made him a millionaire.
Cagle launched a new offensive on Sunday, claiming a Reed firm in 1999 sent mailers to conservative Alabama voters decrying legislation that would have made the Northern Mariana Islands subject to federal wage and worker safety laws.
A report by the U.S. Department of Interior warned that Chinese women on the islands - a U.S. territory - are subjected to forced abortions and prostitution in part because of lax labor laws.
Reed accused Cagle of trying to distort the record. “At no time have I, in any way, encouraged or approved those kinds of human rights abuses,” he said.
A frustrated Reed pointed out some 20 minutes into the hourlong Atlanta Press Club debate that the focus had become his past work, not the policy issues that he said should guide voters.
Voters, he said, are tired of “people with ability and talent and the desire to serve being driven out of politics with these kinds of attacks, this type of politics of personal destruction.”
The two Republicans are competing to succeed Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the governor’s seat.
A more crowded field is competing for the Democratic nomination, including former state Sen. Greg Hecht, former state Department of Human Resources Commissioner Jim Martin and state Sen. Steen Miles.
Hecht is trying to transform anger over high gas prices into votes by promising to “demand answers from the big oil companies” and support initiatives to develop alternative fuels. Martin contended he is the only Democrat who can defeat Reed in the November election.
By Tony
July 10, 2006 09:48 AM | Link to this
Did I ever say he did anything illegal? NO! I’ve said he’s lied numerous times which is true. The report, the evidence, and his own emails admit this. You see Debbie, you just created a standard here. You said Reed has not been found guilty of wrong doing. Well you know Cagle has not either. But yet you do not abide by your own standard for Ralph and THAT is the issue. Reed and his supporters cannot even hold up to the standard they’ve applied against Cagle. THAT makes them all hypocrites and liars.
Convenient how you keep reciting some newspaper article. Make use of your time and give me some answers to those questions Georgians are asking. Or do you want to be like your boss Ralphie and keep making this about Cagle? I mean if Ralphie is so wonderful and has done nothing wrong, why can’t he answer serious questions? Why avoid them? Something to hide?
By Debbie
July 10, 2006 12:51 PM | Link to this
Zell Miller sure thinks a lot of Ralph. Automated phone calls started going out from Zell asking voters to vote for Ralph Reed.
By Tony
July 10, 2006 01:12 PM | Link to this
Zell has zero credibility with me. Another confused politician with no principles endorsing Ralph. That’s enough to make me REMAIN against Ralph. And automated? Good use of money. Anyone still supporting Ralph at this point loses credibility in my eyes. The man lies about where he grew up, lies about where he gets his money, can’t practice what he preaches, flops on immigration, has no legislative experience, and cannot answer simple questions about his positions and issues.