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Thursday, October 19, 2006
Sonny gets a gentleman’s ‘C,’ with the possibility of probation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, has never been easy on Sonny Perdue. Cato gave Roy Barnes high marks for his management of tax matters, and it jumped on Perdue hard when he proposed cigarette and alcohol tax increases in his first legislative session as governor.
Cato is out with its latest report card on the fiscal responsibility of the nation’s governors, and Perdue scores an unremarkable-looking C.
Don’t call the graduation coach just yet, however. Cato grades on a hard curve. When you look at the scores, Perdue’s in a four-way tie for 8th place, with Democrats Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Brad Henry of Oklahoma and Tom Vilsack of Iowa.
“If Perdue wins a second term,” says the study, “he could improve his grade by finally cutting taxes for a change.”
Cagle goes up on TV, urges Martin to play nice
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Casey Cagle, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, has gone up on TV with a pair of softball 30-second spots essentially re-introducing himself to voters after this summer’s knock-down-drag-out with Ralph Reed.
More interestingly, the Gainesville state senator has put out a plea to his Democratic opponent, attorney and ex-lawmaker Jim Martin of Atlanta.
Cagle notes that Martin has reserved two weeks of TV air time, and claims that he “has received received several credible reports from individuals with specific knowledge of the Martin campaign’s strategy that Martin’s media advisors are pushing him to use that time to air attack ads. Reportedly, those ads — if aired — will attempt to distort Cagle’s legislative record as well as attacking him personally.”
One wonders if this is an attempt at inoculation. Gov. Sonny Perdue put out a similar plea for peace before sending out those mailers on Mark Taylor, his Democratic rival.
The response from the Martin campaign was bloodless and unrevealing: “We’ve been running a campaign for more than a year now based on Jim’s record, and we’re going to continue to do that,” said spokesman Will Martin.
You can see what Martin has in mind on Tuesday, Oct. 24. That’s when his ads hit.
The Miller-on-Marshall mailer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You’ve read the story about U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall’s use of a two-year-old quote from Zell Miller. Now see the mailer that started it.
Kind of reminds us of those kind words — “but don’t call it an endorsement” — that Newt Gingrich expressed for Ralph Reed this summer.
Letters from the editors: Not good publicity for Republicans
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Republicans are taking heat from two major down-state newspapers this morning, over the State Election Board’s decision to send out letters implying that a law requiring photo IDs at the poll was still in force. A judge had put a hold on enforcement.
Democrats had called the move a voter-suppression effort aimed at the elderly and African-American voters.
Editorials in both the Augusta Chronicle and the Macon Telegraph used harsh language, particularly taking aim at board member Tex McIver, who was in charge of the project.
Said the Chronicle:
“The letter confused the heck out of us - because we know what the law is. And that letter clearly misstates the law.
“Amazingly, McIver said he’d do it all again because the ‘rest’ of the letter had educational value. What educational value is there in grossly misleading the public?
“We don’t blame our Democratic friends for sniffing a dirty trick. It smells like one.”
Said the Telegraph:
“The Republican-controlled state government wants Georgia voters to be required to use an official photo ID at the polls, so the Republican-controlled State Election Board sent out a letter saying this is the case in an effort to confuse voters and cut back voting by minorities and the elderly.
“These are the groups who are more likely to vote for Democrats, and they are the ones least likely to have a driver’s license, the most common form of photo identification. If that was the intention, then the board accomplished what it set out to do.
“Even if correction letters are mailed, this outrageous deception will still result in many people not voting because they will be thoroughly confused over the photo ID issue. It goes without saying that taxpayer money in the amount of $254,000 was also wasted.
“For those reasons a head should roll. We nominate Tex McIver for that honor.”
