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Monday, July 17, 2006
The late, late entry into the lieutenant governor’s race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The answering machine had this robo-call message from “Mary Ann” on Monday night:
“You’ve probably heard that Ralph Reed worked for casinos and gambling interests. Reed even used Christian groups as a front to do that.
“But did you see that Ralph Reed was paid to lobby against protecting women in the Northern Marianas Islands from employers who pushed them into prostitution and even forced them to have abortions? Is that what you believe in?
“And to this day, Ralph Reed remains unrepentant and refuses to admit he was wrong. Paid for by Campaign Money Watch.â€?
This is the Washington group we told you about last week. They introduced a similar TV ad into the campaign on Friday.
One robocall away from a corker
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Who is Orlando Jones? In a few hours that could become a burning question.
All the heat and light in the lieutenant governor’s race has been on the Republican primary, which will be decided one way or another very shortly. But with five candidates in the race, the Democratic primary appears headed for a runoff, just when it’s getting hot.
Orlando Jones is the name used in a robocall, purportedly from Jim Martin’s campaign, which asked voters to touch the screen for Martin because of his support for gay and lesbian rights. You can hear it in this recording from the Blog for Democracy site.
Dan Browning, a reader in Decatur who emailed us after he got the call Sunday night, said he became suspicious this was a “stealth� call when “Orlando Jones� spoke of Martin’s efforts to “legalize sodomy.�
“That’s just not the way it’s presented from that side,� Browning said.
Billy Horton, Greg Hecht’s campaign manager, has taken full responsibility for two mailers sent out last week (see the Aug. 13 archives), over which the Martin campaign cried foul, and said Monday they were “absolutely true.� But he denied any connection with the Orlando Jones call.
“It’s just a little bit funny to me they knew about it as soon as the call went out,� Horton said.
Will Martin, Martin’s communications director, said the campaign became aware so quickly because dozens of supporters from around the state called in to ask whether the call was for real. He said Rep. Jim Marshall has taped a robocall for Martin, who’s also enlisted former Mayor Andrew Young as a telephone voice.
If Hecht and Martin are the two contenders left standing Wednesday morning, we’ll be hearing a lot more about this.
Reed and Cagle: It’s time for a dose of Valium
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Right up to the last moment, Georgia’s race for lieutenant governor is living up to its reputation as a local, down-ticket contest with national import.
Last week, Marvin Olasky, the editor of World magazine, wrote a column for Human Events, the national conservative weekly, critical of Ralph Reed’s campaign and his relationship with Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Olasky is a Texas religious thinker considered the father of the “compassionate conservatism” that carried George W. Bush to the White House.
“Reed could have been open and honest, especially since conservatives can legitimately differ on gambling issues. Battles about gambling expansion often feature anti-gambling groups (small in size and dollars) in temporary alliances-of-sorts with existing casinos. Some anti-gambling groups accept that reality as the cost of keeping gambling from expanding. Others refuse to use gambling money. Reed could have given folks who trusted him the choice, but instead he used the reputation he then had for integrity to fool those who were too easily led.”
On Monday, Human Events published a response from Sadie Fields, chairman of the Georgia Christian Coalition, who has personally endorsed Reed:
“Marvin Olasky’s overwrought attempt at guilt by association is unfair and mean-spirited. He seems to argue that because Reed had a friend who did something wrong, he is disqualified from serving. That may sell magazines, but it does not reflect the redemptive love of Christ….
“I have been fighting for pro-family values for over 15 years in Georgia, and I do not appreciate outsiders telling us who we should choose to lead our state.”
Beyond that, both candidates executed multi-city fly-arounds on Monday, nearly bumping into each other in Macon. Each had scheduled a press conference at the city’s small airport at just after noon.
Also, Georgia Right to Life slapped Casey Cagle on the wrist for a radio ad which says “Georgia Right to Life endorsed Casey Cagle because they know he won’t sell out Georgia’s values.”
The anti-abortion group has endorsed both candidates, with no caveats aimed at Reed. “We object, basically, to [Cagle] putting words in our mouths,” said GRTL spokesman Dan Becker. “To imply that we have questions about one candidate was just inappropriate.”
Becker did tell us that GRTL is not withdrawing its endorsement of Cagle. Cagle’s campaign, by the way, blames Reed for pressuring GRTL to put out a press release on the matter.
