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Thursday, July 27, 2006
When friendship and politics cross
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last year, when the Republican lieutenant governor’s campaign was just getting kicked off, we got a call from Republican National Chairman Ken Mehlman about Ralph Reed, with whom he had worked closely during the two George W. Bush presidential campaigns and in other Republican activities over the years.
Last week, Mehlman put out a press release congratulating Casey Cagle – something you’ll very seldom see a national chairman do for the winner of a primary campaign for lieutenant governor.
The GOP leader, who was in town Thursday to speak to the National Urban League Convention before heading to Macon for a Mac Collins fundraiser, said he didn’t remember the call last year. He put the release out last week, he said, “because I look forward to working to make sure Casey is the next lieutenant governor, and I strongly support his candidacy.
“Ralph’s a good friend of mine but as party chairman my job is to support the eventual nominee, which is what I’m going to do,� Mehlman said.
McCain & Cagle: Together again, for the first time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now that Ralph Reed is out of the picture, Georgia is open territory for Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, the Arizona senator.
We’re hearing that he’ll come to Atlanta on Oct. 9. We’re pretty sure it will be McCain’s first visit to the state since the Senate Indian Affairs Committee began looking into the doings of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff — and by extension, Reed.
McCain, of course, is chairman of that committee. The visit is a three-fer:
There’s a fund-raiser for Casey Cagle, the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, who used much of the material dug up by the McCain committee in his TV campaign against Reed.
McCain will also be a speaker at a luncheon for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. And U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson has roped McCain into some sort of golf tournament. We’re not clear on the details of that last event.
