Home > Political Insider > Archives > 2006 > September > 13
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
How to get a $100,000 tax break? Says Sonny: “Well, you get elected governor, Brian.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Listen to the audio clips: Democrats’ sound clip | Perdue’s sound clip
Four years ago, with his race on the edge and a TV camera pointed square at his face, Gov. Roy Barnes sought to deflect criticism arising from the deaths of several foster children in state custody.
Look, he said, “Out of 20,000 children, you’re going to have children die every day.”
It was a massive blunder. Upstart Republican Sonny Perdue took what little money he had, and blanketed the state with Barnes’ voice on a TV ad, echoing, “Children die every day…every day….every day.”
The shoe may have slipped onto the other foot during Tuesday’s afternoon rush-hour.
The program was “The Right Side with Shelley Wynter” on WAOK (1380 AM). The guest was Governor Perdue from Houston County, and the caller was Brian from parts unknown.
Brian: “Hello, Governor, I’m a big fan of yours.”
Sonny Perdue: “Thanks, Brian.”
Brian: “I’d like to think I’m a lot like you. I just graduated from UGA and recently married my high school sweetheart.”
Sonny Perdue: “All right. I hope you make it 34 years like we have.”
Brian: “Well, that’s my goal, Governor. The one thing I haven’t been able to do is find a way to have a friend of mine write me a bill that saves me a $100,000 on my taxes. I was wondering how I might be able to get that done.”
Sonny Perdue: “Well, you get elected governor, Brian. I appreciate your question. That was really nice. I appreciate you being a fan, and i wish you well on your honeymoon.”
As you can hear on the sound clip, peddled by Democrats first thing this morning, the question caught Perdue by surprise. His reply is partly flip, partly testy.
“Clearly this was an orchestrated call, and the governor was being dismissive of a ridiculous question,” said Derrick Dickey, spokesman for the Perdue re-election campaign.
But the gaffe was also Perdue’s first public comment about a serious situation: Legislation passed in 2005, proposed by his business attorney, state Rep. Larry O’Neal (R-Perry), which allowed the governor to defer taxes with the purchase of some Florida acreage.
The Perdue side provided its own, additional sound clip in which Wynter, the WAOK radio host, apologizes to the governor for Brian — who apparently didn’t ask what he said he’d ask.
“You and I both know what’s going on, Shelley,” Perdue replies. (The next caller pretends he’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, and asks why Perdue’s TV ads look so much like his.)
Orchestrated or not, the governor said what he said. If you’re a Republican, you have to wince.
Democratic spokesman Emil Runge swears he doesn’t know who “Brian” is, or whether he was a party plant. Nor is Runge likely to inquire.
One thing’s for sure: Expect Brian on WAOK to become something of a star. If Democrats have their way, and can scrape up enough money to put it on TV, “Well, you get elected governor, Brian” could be their catch phrase for the ‘06 season.
By the by, we checked with WAOK. The Democratic sound clip is true and accurate, a spokeswoman said. The click you hear on the MP3 file is the sound of Brian — a sandbagger extraodinaire — hanging up his phone.
