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Thursday, November 9, 2006
Quacking up: The first to call Perdue a lame duck is…..
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Radio voice Tim Bryant, with WGAU in Athens, has challenged our statement that Senate President pro tem Eric Johnson was the first to refer to re-elected Gov. Sonny Perdue as a lame duck.
Bryant says state Rep. Bob Smith (R-Watkinsville) beat the Senate president to the phrase by hours, and that he has the sound. This is what Smith said:
“The governor got reelected here — he’s now a lame duck governor, and quite frankly, I think Speaker [Glenn] Richardson, Speaker pro tem [Mark] Burkhalter, and Majority Leader [Jerry] Keen, they’re going to work very hard to see that the House does command the budget this time.”
This election has turned Republicans feisty.
Johnson agrees: Cagle’s the boss
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Senate President pro tem Eric Johnson, who for the next two months will remain the No. 2 ranking Republican in the Senate, said today he won’t engage in a power struggle with Casey Cagle, the lieutenant governor-elect.
That corresponds with what Cagle told us yesterday.
Said Johnson in a Thursday morning press conference:
“You’ll see more of a traditional structure in the Senate than you have previous to the last four years. I have always said privately and publicly that there should be a strong presiding officer. And I will support the lieutenant governor 100 percent as president pro tem of the Senate.”
One senses some strong currents moving beneath the surface of this discussion. This is from David Shafer (R-Duluth), one of Cagle’s closest allies:
“It was the Senate Republican caucus that asked Casey to run. We put our necks on the line asking the people of Georgia to nominate and elect him. The traditional authority of the lieutenant governor will be restored to him and restored completely. There should be absolutely no doubt about that.”
In his press conference, Johnson also predicted a light agenda when the Legislature convenes in January. But he did it in a very interesting way:
“This first session will be a little bit more gentle. The lieutenant governor will be learning to preside, the governor will be beginning to deal with what it’s like in a lame-duck status.” Johnson said.
And so, two days after Election Day, Johnson becomes the first publicly apply the Q-word to Gov. Sonny Perdue. Quack, quack.
Here’s the entire audio file.
The next lieutenant governor says he’ll hold the reins
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Wednesday afternoon, a slightly groggy, sleep-deprived Casey Cagle, Georgia’s next lieutenant governor, called back.
First, things first. Yes, Democrat Jim Martin had called in the morning, and left a gracious concession on his cell phone, Cagle said. They had yet to speak in person.
Cagle met in the morning with Republican leaders of the Senate, to map out the transition. But Cagle made it clear that when the Legislature convenes in January, the era of a hollowed-out lieutenant governorship will be over. He’ll be in charge of the Senate.
When Republicans took over the Senate in 2002, they stripped Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, a Democrat, of his powers. As president pro tem, Eric Johnson emerged as the chamber’s leader.
That will no longer be the case. But apparently there’ll be no internal struggle over the issue. Power plays with the Republican-controlled House require a strong-leader system, Cagle said.
“The state senators want a lieutenant governor that’s in a strong position, to negotiate for the Senate. We’ve been somewhat at a disadvantage not having that. Each of the senators are very excited about the opportunity,” Cagle said.
