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November 2006
Our headline? ‘Perdue put in place at RGA convention’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re grateful to a reader for passing on this item from the New York Times blog, The Caucus.
It seems that at a forum on the internet during the Republican Governor’s Association, Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke of how the internet is causing big revenue and circulation problems for the nation’s newspapers.
“You know, if some of them went out of business, it wouldn’t all bad,” said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
“That’s what some of us were just thinking,” added Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Memo to the governor: When one of them disses the Dawgs, see what kind of reaction you get when you sit down and fire off a letter to a blog.
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Immigration as an ‘08 issue: Tancredo for president?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just chatted an hour or so ago with Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Christian Alliance. He said he’s come across feelers that U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, the Colorado Republican, has put out for a presidential run.
A Tancredo candidacy could test the continued strength of immigration as a key to the Republican base. The Colorado congressman has made a cottage industry of criticizing U.S. immigration policy. Most recently, he ticked off Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president’s brother, for referring to Miami as “a Third World country.”
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Of irony, Curt Thompson, and notorious ‘notarios’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As long as irony is the topic of the day, we might as well make mention of state Sen. Curt Thompson (D-Norcross), whose Colombian-born wife has been hit with a deportation order.
Thompson told agents that his wife is the victim of bad paperwork by a “notario,” who caused his wife to miss an important immigration hearing on her status.
According to some Latin American countries, a “notario” is a lawyer. In the U.S., it’s more often a simple notary public. Some U.S. “notarios” misrepresent themselves as lawyers and often file incomplete and improper immigration applications for unsuspecting clients.
Thompson is an outspoken advocate for immigrants’ rights, and this year voted against S.B. 529, the Republican-sponsored legislation to crack down on illegal immigrants’ access to state services.
We talked to state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), the chief sponsor of the bill. He said he feels for Thompson — but wanted to point out that the new legislation addresses Thompson’s exact situation.
“With the help of [Democratic senator] Sam Zamarripa of Atlanta, we outlawed them in S.B. 529. The only person who can claim to be a ‘notario’ would have to be an actual lawyer who works in immigration related matters,” Rogers said.
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Frozen in time: The group that hauled down the ‘56 flag
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We had to dig through the files, but we finally found it.
One late night in January 2001, a group of prominent men gathered at the Governor’s Mansion on West Paces Ferry Road to put the final touches on Gov. Roy Barnes’ lightning-like strike to bring down the 1956 state flag and its Confederate battle emblem.
The businessmen and politicians who were behind the move to dump the symbol of an out-dated South seated themselves in a wide circle. An official state photographer froze them all with a flash and a fish-eyed lens.
So far as we know, the photo has never been published before.
In the far left-hand corner is Ed Holcombe, a longtime lobbyist for Georgia Power Co., named this month as chief of staff for Gov. Sonny Perdue. It was his job to build support among Capitol lobbyists for the flag change.
The entire group, from Bobby Kahn, chief of staff to Barnes, clockwise: Allen Franklin, president and COO of the Southern Co. who also was the chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; state Rep. Charlie Smith (D-St. Marys); Holcombe; Jim Bostic, a senior vice president for Atlanta-based Georgia Pacific; state Rep. Austin Scott (R-Tifton); former state representative Denmark Groover of Macon; Barnes; state Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta); Charles Hood, then in charge of governmental affairs for Georgia Pacific; state Rep. Larry Walker (D-Perry); and state Rep. Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus).
This is a photo rich in historical irony. The hauling down the Confederate battle emblem was one of the issues that Perdue used to topple Barnes in 2002.
Confederate enthusiasts may look at Holcombe, and his business fellows, and see a conspiracy here. But it is, in fact, simple photographic proof of the constancy of Georgia politics. Under Democratic rule, business interests had a strong hand in setting the agenda. Remember that Georgia was under the threat of economic boycott at the time.
Republicans have likewise sought to tie themselves to the state’s business community. In large part, this was the motivation for the state GOP’s unsuccessful support of Mike Wiggins, the chamber-of-commerce backed candidate for the state Supreme Court.
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A just-defunct campaign ad
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ve already told you that U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston of Savannah lost his bid this month to become House Republican conference chairman, an influential leadership post even if the party is now in the minority.
But we’ve neglected to point you to his campaign ad for the race, a video e-mailed to GOP members of Congress. Kingston is ever the new media guru.
“I do this because so many of you haven’t been returning my phone calls anyhow, and it saves all of us a little time,” Kingston begins in the video. The planks of his platform: the return to a unified message for House Republicans, harkening back to 1994’s Contract with America, and a shift in financial strategy.
“Let’s be realistic. the K Street money is going to drift away from us. We’ve got to get back to grassroots fund-raising,” he said.
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The Bushies swing to Mitt Romney
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s Mitt Romney week, at least in the South.
A day after a key South Carolina operative, Warren Tompkins, joined his team, Romney’s Commonwealth PAC announced that Eric Tanenblatt, senior managing director at McKenna, Long & Aldridge and Gov. Sonny Perdue’s former chief of staff, will head up Romney’s finance team in Georgia.
And quite a team: Nancy Coverdell, wife of the late Sen. Paul Coverdell; Fred Cooper, the general chairman for Bush ’08; James Edenfield, CEO of American Software and Joe Rogers Jr., CEO of Waffle House.
That list leaves out a ton of party positions this group has held. The bottom line is that this is a big chunk of the core Bush crowd in Georgia, going back to before the elder Bush became Bush 41.
It’s not a total sweep. We have it on good authority that state GOP chairman Alex Pointevint will eventually pledge his personal allegiance to Sen. John McCain. But Romney has put down a big footprint.
We’re told it’s only coincidence these announcements are coming just as Sen. Bill Frist takes his cards off the table. But it’s not irrelevant. Frist is a Southerner closely allied to Bush, and at one time he was thought to have an inside track on the Southern Bushies. Romney’s moving fast to put himself in the same position.
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Thank you, voters. May I have another?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Casey Cagle, the Republican lieutenant governor-elect, just announced a two-day, 11-city tour to thank voters for their support this year. Or at least, that’s the reason he offers.
A cynical observer drained of all humanity might think that this victory lap could also be a kick-off for the ‘10 race for governor.
The tour begins Dec. 13 in Augusta, and will conclude the following evening in Forsyth County.
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Cathy Cox goes to Washington, and still doesn’t like paper ballots
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
She went to talk about the mechanics of November’s elections. Nothing to do with an ‘08 race for the U.S. Senate.
With only a few weeks left as Georgia’s secretary of state, Cathy Cox was part of a panel discussion with other election experts at the Pew Research Trust offices in D.C.
She cautioned against making paper voting receipts the “official” ballot in recounts.
To do so would be “an incredibly bad decision,” Cox said, according to our colleague Scott Shepard up in Washington.
Some experts have advocated paper receipts as a backup to new electronic voting machines. But Cox said paper ballots are not always reliable, as witnessed in Florida during the 2000 presidential vote recount.
In the Nov. 7 election, Georgia experimented with a paper back-up on voting machines in three precincts across the state. Cox said machines were slow and experienced snafus like paper jams.
Cox, a Democrat, also was critical of Republican measures passed in Georgia to require voters to present a photo ID. Cox said the legislation was “a solution for a problem that there was no evidence existed.”
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What’s good for King & Spalding
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
King & Spalding brought a high-powered panel from its Washington office together for an interesting breakfast session Wednesday on what to expect from the new, Democratic-majority Congress. The future for either party is still murky, but from the firm’s point of view, things are looking up.
There’s likely to be a whole range of congressional investigations, and that should be “a great benefit from the standpoint of the firm,” said former Sen. Daniel Coats (R-Ind.). In other words, if a corporation, an agency or a government official gets hauled up before a committee, they’ll need good lawyers. He’s not the only lawyer thinking this way, as you can see here
“We believe our abilities with respect to Congressional investigations are second to none,” Coats said.
Joining Coats was former Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), Thomas Spulak, who has held a number of top Democratic staff positions on the hill, and George Crawford, until last year Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s chief of staff, who “might prove to be the very best hire anybody’s made in Washington,” said Ted Hester, a senior partner in the Washington office.
Spulak warned that for a time, anyway, Washington lobbyists face a different climate in which they won’t be able to provide so much as a cup of coffee to a House member or staffer (the Senate, more jealous of its prerogatives, isn’t expected to be nearly as stringent in its rules), with a good chance they will be required to disclose much more about their business connections and campaign contributions than before.
“We’ll probably see some prosecutions,” Spulak, who has been general counsel to the House, said.
Mack’s 1988 Senate race was, as he said, a kind of eerie forerunner of the ballot issues that came up again in the 2000 presidential election in Florida. So it was interesting to hear him say he thinks the controversy over Florida’s 13th Congressional District could come down to a vote on the House floor.
That’s the race for Rep. Katherine Harris’s old district, where Democrat Christine Jennings is challenging the 364-vote election margin of Republican Vern Buchanan, claiming that some 18,000 votes cast in other races from predominantly Democratic precincts didn’t show up in the hotly-fought Congressional race.
Spulak, who was chief of staff to legendary Florida Democrat Claude Pepper, said the memory of the 1985 fight over the Indiana 8th District, in which the House voted on party lines to seat a Democrat who had not been certified as the winner by the state. Many in Washington date the rise of a more activist GOP, and the decline of congressional Democrats, to that vote.
But Mack said aggressive coverage of the ballot issues in the Florida race may force the issue, leading to what could be a moment of high drama in the new Congress.
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Another switcher in the House may be in the works
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t want to be too mysterious, but there was a particular fellow at the state Capitol today who suggested that Republicans may gather up one more switcher, maybe two, to their ranks before the Legislature convenes in January.
He seemed to be familiar with the topic, and so we pass it on.
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Pelosi’s intelligence problem: Is Sanford Bishop the solution?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi has decided against naming Alcee Hastings of Florida to the chairmanship of the powerful House intelligence committee. He’s been handicapped by the 1988 impeachment that drove him from a federal judgeship.
But neither will she name Jane Harman of California, the senior Democrat on the committee.
The Washington Post has named three alternatives.
First is Silvestre Reyes of Texas. Next comes Norm Dicks of Washington state. But third is “Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), a conservative African American with Intelligence Committee experience.”
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The clam chowder-she crab soup connection
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Mitt Romney has scored a significant coup in South Carolina. Warren Tompkins, one of the key Republican strategists in the South, has signed on as Southeastern senior advisor to the ’08 GOP presidential hopeful’s Commonwealth PAC.
Tompkins grew up with Lee Atwater, was former Gov. Carroll Campbell’s chief of staff and played a big role in both the elder and younger Bush’s presidential campaigns.
He hasn’t been so chummy with Gov. Mark Sanford, who supported Sen. John McCain in the tumultuous 2000 South Carolina Republican primary. McCain has made strides in consolidating his position in South Carolina since that defeat, but this announcement signals that this key ’08 contest is far from a done deal.
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If at first you don’t succeed, try again. After that, pack the court.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Having failed twice to oust incumbent justices on the seven-member Georgia Supreme Court, Republicans are apparently ready to try a Roosevelt-era tactic — expanding the court by two more seats.
And possibly to require candidates, currently non-partisan, to pick a Democratic or Republican label.
Morris News Service has the story today.
The article has Shannon Goessling, executive director of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, confirming that the conservative group has been asked by unnamed members of the “legislative leadership” and by national organizations — again unnamed — to look into ways of reorganizing the court.
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Mitt Romney, and whether a Mormon can win the hearts of Southern Baptists, Methodists
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Time magazine has a piece this week on the ‘08 presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney, the Massachusetts governor who is tailor-made to fit the Southern, evangelical base of the Republican party.
Except for the fact that he’s a Mormon. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, if you will.
“Because Mormons acknowledge works of Scripture that are not in the Bible, believe that their prophets have received revelations directly from God and teach that God has a physical body, Evangelicals consider them heretics. The Southern Baptist Convention lists the LDS church under Cults and Sects, along with Scientology,” the Times article says.
That said, a prominent figure in Atlanta area church circles has stepped up to help bridge the gap between Romney and the GOP’s evangelical base.
Mark DeMoss is a Duluth-based public relations consultant who specializes in Christian ministries. Clients include both Billy Graham and his son, Franklin.
DeMoss recently set up a three-hour meeting at Romney’s home with make-or-break figures of the Religious Right. “I invited about 45 or so, and about 15 chose to attend,” he said.
Who showed? Here’s a partial list:
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission - perhaps the most influential religious lobbyist in the country;
Franklin Graham;
Jerry Falwell, once leader of the now-defunct Moral Majority;
Gary Bauer, the former GOP presidential candidate and leader of the group, American Values;
Jay Sekulow of Alpharetta, leader of the American Center for Law and Justice;
Richard Lee, pastor of First Redeemer Baptist Church of Cumming, Ga.;
Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America;
Paula White, co-pastor of the massive Church Without Walls in Tampa, Fla.;
and Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition.
No, Ralph Reed was not there.
DeMoss is acting in an unpaid capacity, and plans to keep it that way. He first met Romney in September. The group meeting in Boston followed on Oct. 26.
Following are excerpts from a telephone conversation we had with DeMoss, who was in Orlando on Monday:
— “The response was pretty interesting, because I knew there were some very strong feelings doctrinally about Mormonism. As it turned out, it appeared not to be a big issue.”
— “There were only two sets of questions specifically about faith. One person asked [Romney] his personal believe about Jesus and who Jesus was, whether he died and rose again.
“And then somebody else asked [Romney] about salvation - basically how he believed somebody would go to heaven.
“Other than those two questions, the entire discussion for nearly three hours focused on the issues of today, like abortion and stem cell research and the federal marriage amendment and what kind of judges he would appoint. Like you would ask any other candidate.”
— “The question everybody wants to ask is,‘Could I support a Mormon.’ To draw a conclusion about anybody, candidate or otherwise, solely based on their religion, isn’t fair to the person or the religion. It’s an incomplete analysis. We ought to take into consideration the whole of somebody’s life.
“It’s not whether I could vote for a Mormon, it’s whether I could vote for this Mormon.”
— On the fact that a Romney candidacy would require Southern pastors to distinguish between theology and politics: “Almost any evangelical pastor would have a difficult time letting Mitt Romney speak in their pulpit. But on the other hand, on issues evangelicals care a whole lot about, Romney’s been somewhat of a standard bearer,” DeMoss said.
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The consequences of straying from the herd
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Given the feasting season, there’s a temptation to speak of next month’s run-off election for the state Public Service Commission in terms of leftovers.
The only statewide race on the Dec. 5 ballot, between Democratic incumbent David Burgess and Republican challenger Chuck Eaton, could be described as a bit of undigested turkey, a blot of reheated dressing, or a dab of twice-cooked sweet potato.
But that conjures the wrong mental image.
The proper metaphor is that of a stray cut from the herd, with a well-funded and hungry Republican pack circling, circling, circling.
When the votes were counted three weeks ago, the results in Georgia were bloodless. In every legislative, congressional or statewide race, whether Democrat or Republican, the incumbent made it back to the barn safely.
All except for Burgess. With a third candidate — a Libertarian — roiling the vote, the Democrat reached 48.8 percent, about 23,500 ballots shy of re-election.
The orphaned contest is rife with symbolism. Burgess, a 1999 appointee by Gov. Roy Barnes, is the only Democrat remaining on the five-member PSC. He’s also the only African-American.
While subject to a statewide vote, the Burgess seat requires residency in Fulton, DeKalb or Clayton — counties that supply a large chunk of the black vote in Georgia.
“They’ve got their sights set on me,” said Burgess. “But I’m not going to be a standing target. I’m moving.”
This is also a fight over the balance of power on the utility commission.
Burgess, 48, is a native Atlantan, a Grady Homes escapee who went from Georgia Tech straight to a PSC staff position. Eaton, 37, is a Buckhead real estate man with an accounting degree.
Burgess often serves as the swing vote on a commission divided between utilities and consumers — pro-business commissioners Stan Wise and Doug Everett on one side, Bobby Baker and Angela Speir on the other.
The Democrat says he’s struck a balance. The Republican says Burgess has favored business at the expense of consumers — pointing to the price of natural gas.
If history is any guide, turnout is likely to be 5 percent or less. The man who drives 150,000 of his closest friends to the polls will be the winner. Finding those friends is the key.
Until Nov. 7, as the incumbent, Burgess had the advantage, out-raising Eaton by nearly 5-to-1. That’s likely to have changed.
Both state parties are somewhat restricted in how much they can help. By law, they can spend unlimited funds behind slates of candidates — but can only spend a maximum $2,000 on specific individuals.
Yet the treasuries of individual Republican office-holders are well-stocked, and Eaton has tapped them.
Said Eaton: “I’ve gotten a great deal of support from both [state legislative] caucuses and the governor. The governor’s maxed out. Many of the senators have maxed out, [U.S. Rep.] Lynn Westmoreland’s maxed out.”
For the next week, both candidates will be targeting the hardest of hard-core voters in Georgia. Not that we want to scare anyone away from the polls, but strategists in both camps will be taking names.
Vote on Dec. 5, and you’ll earn your stripes as a die-hard voter, guaranteed to receive every political flyer and every robo-call generated in 2008.
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Perdue’s chief of staff gone, but not out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
John Watson, a longtime Republican activist and Gov. Sonny Perdue’s chief of staff for three years, announced Wednesday he’s leaving to “pursue opportunities in the private sector.”
Don’t look for him to disappear.
Consistent rumblings say he’s the governor’s choice to become the next chairman of the state Republican party, the position held since 2003 by Alec Poitevint.
That could depend on actions next month by the state GOP’s ruling hierarchy, which we hear is to consider rule changes that would give Perdue — and Republican governors who follow him — a bigger say in who runs the state GOP.
Right now, selection of the party chairman is a grass-roots affair.
The Republican sojourn into the wilderness
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chatting with a couple of plugged-in Georgia Republicans this week, November’s national spanking by voters was a natural topic of conversation — as well as the odds of a quick comeback. They’re not as good as one might think.
The situation in the U.S. House is less than clear — all members will be up for re-election in 2008. But the fact that we’ve had only two changes shifts of power in 50 years is a clue in and of itself.
In the Senate, only 33 seats are up for grabs in ‘08. Of those, 21 are now held by Republicans, 12 by Democrats. The greater exposure on the GOP side — and the fact that Democrats will have no problem raising money — makes it more likely that Republicans could drop a seat or two, solidifying Democratic rule.
So Republicans may be looking at an exile that lasts at least four years. Maybe forty.
‘We’re back,’ says the Georgia Christian Coalition
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the more awkward encounters of next year’s legislative session has been set in motion.
The exact day isn’t marked on the calendar. But it will occur the moment that Sadie Fields and Jim Beck greet each other on the marble floor of the state Capitol.
Until last October, Fields was the long-time chairman of the Georgia Christian Coalition. She split with the national organization back in September, as did several other state Coalition chapters, to form the Georgia Christian Alliance.
On Tuesday, Beck was named as her replacement.
“We want word to go out and let people know that the Christian Coalition is alive and well in Georgia,” Beck said.
Just in time for the Legislature’s winter session, lawmakers have been presented with an abundance of networks claiming to represent the interests of conservative Christian voters.
Although they won’t say so publicly, many politicians wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ll explain in a bit. But first, a word or two about Beck.
He first came to the Capitol with Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard, a Democrat. Afterwards, he served for a time under state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, a Republican. Right now, Beck, a resident of Carrollton, does public affairs and government relations for Nationwide Insurance Co. Beck has also worked with the Georgia Family Council, a group affiliated with James Dobson’s Focus on the Family in Colorado.
(A fourth group, Georgia Right to Life, also maintains a high-profile at the state Capitol.)
Beck’s chairmanship of the Georgia Christian Coalition will be unpaid. “I’ve worked for Democrats and Republicans, and I believe in the power of the idea. Party affiliations to me really don’t mean a lot.
“My faith walk is a journey. I didn’t come up from my knees as a born-again Christian knowing all the answers. Therefore, I’m willing to listen to people who maybe have a differing point of view.”
Pay attention to the paragraphs above. Certain biblical admonitions prevent leaders of Christian groups from talking smack about each other. That’s the closest they come.
As the Thanksgiving holiday approached, Fields couldn’t be reached for comment. She’s widely considered Georgia’s most influential figure in evangelical politics. Fields was the force behind the 2004 referendum to add a ban on gay marriage to the state constitution.
Fields has described herself as a middle-aged grandmother who sits in front of a computer, trying to start a revolution. She can be fiery, uncompromising, even confrontational. In other words, the typical Southern steel magnolia.
When she split with the Christian Coalition, Fields criticized the national organization for drifting into liberalism — delving into such issues as the minimum wage, and control of the Internet.
But recently, Fields has also placed herself opposite some of Georgia’s most powerful Republicans. She personally sided with Ralph Reed in the GOP primary for lieutenant governor, though she backed Casey Cagle in the general election.
In south Georgia, Fields involved herself in a Republican state House race, against the hand-picked candidate of Speaker Glenn Richardson.
Here’s a crass, Machiavellian prediction. Beck and the revived Georgia Christian Coalition will need money to survive, and — at least for a time — certain people will make sure he finds it.
As much as Republicans need conservative Christians to maintain power in Georgia, GOP powerbrokers are also unwilling to see their access to these essential evangelical voters determined by one or two or even three gatekeepers.
In their mind, it’s a matter of the more, the merrier.
Reed, Armey, and whither the GOP
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
GOP strategist Ralph Reed and former House majority leader Dick Armey swapped views on the future of the Republican on National Public Radio on Monday. You can listen to the entire exchange here, including an interjection by author Andrew Sullivan.
Armey, you’ll recall, has become a critic of what he sees as Republican pandering to social conservatives. Here’s a bit of what he and Reed said.
NPR: Is Dick Armey right, though, that perhaps the party pandered too much to what he calls extreme social conservatives?
REED: I don’t think so. I think if you - if you look at, actually, the way that the other party conducted themselves, they apparently didn’t think that those issues were a liability. They deliberately went out and recruited more socially conservative pro-life candidates like Bob Casey in Pennsylvania after losing that seat in the two last elections with pro-choice candidates.
Yet people like Heath Shuler, who was pro-life, pro-gun, socially conservative, win a tough race in North Carolina.
I think what the Republicans have to recognize is that social - look, a political party is not a church. It’s a political institution. And so you shouldn’t let any one constituency dominate to the exclusion of others.
But you want to hang a welcome side outside your party and let voters of faith and conservative values know that they’re welcome, that you want them to participate and that you view them as an asset and not a liability.
NPR: Dick Armey, I’m sure you would agree with that.
ARMEY: Well, that’s exactly right. It’s the big tent philosophy. But the fact of the matter is, if you look at election losses by Republicans during the last 20 years, George Herbert Walker Bush lost his reelection for president because the economic conservatives were disillusioned with him.
I believe the economic conservatives were largely disillusioned with our people in parties now overspending excesses, earmarked excesses and so forth.
One of the things that I would argue is if you’re going to have a big tent, there must be a balance in there. But there’s another thing: people from - of every political persuasions, every demographic classification - expect people that hold these privileged and highly responsible positions in revered institutions such as House and Senate of the United States to do serious work there.
One of the things that they saw the Republicans doing very late in this election cycle and very dramatically was entertaining what was nothing other than political discourse with no serious legislative intent on the floor of these two bodies. That’s an affront to most American voters.
Gingrich: ‘If I don’t seek it, it will come’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fortune magazine has a piece out on Newt Gingrich and his non-effort for the U.S. presidency.
It’s got Gingrich sounding downright Daoist:
“The radical realist who defied conventional wisdom 12 years ago by stealing the House out from under the noses of entrenched Democrats now plans a surprise attack for the presidency.
“‘I’m going to tell you something, and whether or not it’s plausible given the world you come out of is your problem,’ he tells Fortune. ‘I am not “running” for president. I am seeking to create a movement to win the future by offering a series of solutions so compelling that if the American people say I have to be president, it will happen.’”
Of brainwashed voters and an uncertain economy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While you’re waiting for the turkey to thaw, we offer you some mood-altering reading material.
First is the closest thing to a concession speech that we’re likely to get from Mac Collins, the Republican who was narrowly defeated on Nov. 7 by U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall of Macon, the incumbent Democrat.
It’s a volatile, fergit-hell article penned by Bill Hagan, Collins’ spokesman during the campaign.
A snippet:
“The media and innumerable individuals such as Cindy Sheehan, Nancy Pelosi, John Conyers, John Kerry, Jack Murtha, and the remaining propagandists of the left, successfully painted a distorted picture of our nation’s mission in the Middle East.
“The result was the brainwashing of the American electorate and a Democratic victory in both houses of Congress. Incredibly, the Democrats have succeeded in convincing the public that our soldiers are fighting a war without purpose that the United States can never win.”
This is an out-of-the-ordinary bit of writing. In politics, it’s often considered bad form to imply that voters are malleable stooges capable of being hoodwinked by sharp-dealing politicians.
Next, if you want to stay ahead of the curve, take a look at this Nov. 6 speech by Janet Yellen, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. It’s been making the rounds on the Internet and elsewhere, and — while somewhat thick — it’s very much worth your time.
Since the election, you’ve seen a sharp shift in emphasis among both Republicans and Democrats toward kitchen-table issues and away from ideological hot-buttons.
Despite indicators that paint the U.S. economy as relatively rosy, exit polls turned up evidence of unrest among many Americans. The results of Nov. 7 in particular showed that Republicans are in danger of losing the lower-ranking, working-class voter who has been a mainstay of their success since the Reagan years.
Yellen pinpoints the reason why.
She shows that the real wages of those with high school educations increased only 5 to 10 percent over the last 30 years. But it’s the volatility of family income that’s the eye-opener, the force that could be driving this uneasiness even among the well-employed.
“The chances that an American family will see at least a 50 percent drop in its yearly income has more than doubled since the early 1970s, rising to about one in six families in recent years,” she said.
Kingston loses a squeaker
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The hardest-fought of the elections for the new U.S. House Republican leaders Friday – really, the only one that was even close – was one in which Rep. Jack Kingston came just a few votes short.
After three ballots, Rep. Adam H. Putnam of Florida was elected Republican conference chairman, edging out Kingston by a vote of 100-91. In earlier voting, Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Rep. Dan Lungren of California were eliminated, we learn from Rep. Tom Price.
What this means, for one thing, is that the Republican establishment won, just as the Democratic establishment in the person of Rep. Steny Hoyer won out earlier this week. Kingston was identified by some with Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, who lost the race for minority leader to Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, and Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona, who lost the race for whip to Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri.
But Pence and Shadegg lost by landslides, while Kingston gained votes in each ballot and lost by only nine. In the unsettled days ahead, that may not be a bad position to be in.
Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Max Burns’ decision not to seek a recount in the 12th District congressional race saves the taxpayers’ money, and therefore speaks well of him. After looking at every possible ballot that might have gone another way, the Republican former congressman decided there was no point in prolonging the outcome.
Personal circumstances may also have come into play – Burns’ father-in-law suffered a heart attack the day after the election and died Tuesday. A recount would be a bothersome distraction under those circumstances.
His decision not to challenge the results that certified Rep. John Barrow the winner also says something about the impact of those much-maligned computer voting machines. For all the questions that swirl around them, the new machines have dramatically speeded up the process of tallying votes and rendered recounts pointless in most cases. There were no hanging chads or butterfly ballots to confuse the issue in the 12th District race. A recount would simply have been a process of running the machines again, and would have taken only a day longer.
A very, very bidnesslike approach
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lt. Gov.-elect Casey Cagle has appointed a transition committee to set policy and procedures for his office. It’s what’s traditionally called a “blue-ribbon committee,” and in this case decidedly so.
Beginning with the appointed chairman, Tom Gilliland – who once was Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard’s law partner and finance chairman – this is a group that leans very decidedly toward the traditional Georgia business establishment. The lone exception is attorney Anne Lewis, whose legal specialty – redistricting – is of obvious interest to Cagle.
Here’s the list, from Cagle’s press release:
Tom Gilliland, the committee chairman, is Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel for United Community Banks, Inc, the third largest bank holding company in Georgia. He is on the board of directors for several banks and serves as Chairman of the Board of United Community Bank, North Georgia. In addition, Mr. Gilliland serves on the boards of many local civic organizations as well as the Georgia Affordable Housing Corporation, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Stone Mountain Authority, where he serves as Chairman of the Development Committee.
Philip Wilheit is the President and Managing Partner of Wilheit Packaging in Gainesville. He has been active in civic organizations across the state during his 40 year career in the packaging industry, currently serving on the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Commission for a New Georgia. Mr. Wilheit served as Chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in 2001 and has been Chairman of the Gainesville/Hall Development Authority for the past 30 years.
Richard Tucker is Principal and Managing Partner of Arlington Capital LLC, a mezzanine lending fund. He is a past President and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and was appointed by the Governor to sit on the Board of Regents. He has been on the board of many civic organizations, including the Council for Quality Growth, the Gwinnett Foundation and the Brand Banking Company and is a former member of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the Governor’s Development Council.
Anne Lewis is a partner in the Atlanta law firm of Strickland Brockington Lewis LLP. Her practice includes general litigation as well as election-related litigation including redistricting, Voting Rights Act cases, election contests and candidate qualifying challenges. Ms. Lewis serves as a member of the Georgia State University Leadership Council, the St. Thomas More Catholic School Board of Education and is the former President of the St. Thomas More Parent Teacher Organization. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Bar Association, the Republican National Lawyers Association, the Lawyers Club of Atlanta and the St. Thomas More Society.
Charles Tarbutton is Assistant Vice President of the Sandersville Railroad Company, a short-line freight railroad primarily serving the kaolin, forest products, and plastics industries in Central Georgia. Mr. Tarbutton currently serves as a Trustee and current Treasurer of Brentwood School in Sandersville and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Sandersville United Methodist Church. He is a past Chairman of the Board of Leadership Georgia, Sandersville Technical College, and the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, and is 2008 Chair-Elect of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. He was appointed by Governor Perdue to the Board of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
The blueprint of a campaign
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The race for the ’08 presidential nominations — a front-loaded affair likely to be played out in a number of innovative forums over the next year – had already begun before the glow on the touch-screen voting machines went dark last week. For an early taste of it, we’ll have former Sen. John Edwards in town Friday to promote his new book, “Home, the Blueprint of Our Lives.”
The book is described by Publisher’s Weekly as a “poignant coffeetable meditation” on the meaning of family, somewhat marred by an over-political introduction, with contributions from some 60 Americans ranging from architect Maya Lin to quarterback Joe Montana. Edwards has a 2 p.m. signing at Georgia Tech, and a 7:30 signing at the Carter Center.
Edwards will also have a digital camera for those who want a photo with the ’04 Democratic vice-presidential candidate that they can download off his website. If you think the former North Carolina senator has a shot, you might want to get that shot now. The going rate for presidential fundraisers these days is about $5,000 a photo.
An ad that’s lingering past the election
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At least one Democrat is distancing himself publicly from the “dogs and waterhoses” ad for John Eaves, the incoming Fulton County Commission chair, which featured voiceovers from Mayor Shirley Franklin, Rep. John Lewis and Ambassador Andrew Young.
“People who hold public office should be willing to call the ad featuring Franklin, Lewis and Young what it is: Wrong. I was appalled when I first listened to this transparently cynical attempt to polarize and inflame the electorate. I still am,” Rep. Mike Jacobs (D-DeKalb) said in a statement.
“Those involved in the creation of the ad should unequivocally apologize for it. I hope elected officials in both parties will join me in denouncing it. The ad didn’t just cross the line. When the ad was done playing, the line was nowhere in sight,” Jacobs said.
Kingston gets a blog nod
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
RedState, the Republican blog, has endorsed Rep. Jack Kingston’s bid for House Republican Conference chairman, the No. 3 position in the GOP House leadership.
Kingston got the nod over Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from suburban Nashville. RedState is backing Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana for minority leader and Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona for GOP House whip.
History Corner: Welcome back, Old Hickory
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the peculiar characteristics of a big national election is that in their aftermath, the standings in the past presidential seniors tour get rearranged.
Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980 did wonders for Calvin Coolidge, whose reputation had languished for a good 50 years. William McKinley’s popular historical status increased considerably after the 2000 election, thanks largely to Bush strategist Karl Rove, a self-described “McKinley enthusiast.”
This year some Democrat is sure to move up. Speaking of John Tester, Montana’s newly elected Democratic senator who operates a family farm, a friend told the New York Times last week that he “brings an old-fashioned, Jeffersonian ideal about being tied to the land.” Tester himself mentioned FDR as an inspiration.
But those guys are already way up on the charts. For the big move up in historical standing, our money’s on another Democratic friend of the small farmer and wage earner (and oppressor of Cherokees), Andrew Jackson.
You can find the definitive chapter on this subject in “Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America,” by the newly elected Democratic senator from Virginia, James Webb.
Jackson, our first president of Scots-Irish descent, has gotten short shrift, Webb writes, because there were no wars or big leaps forward, like the Louisiana Purchase, while he was president. But the former secretary of the Navy and prolific author argues that Jackson actually presided over a pivotal time in the nation’s history, and “rewrote the book on American political leadership just as surely as Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway remade the narrative form of the novel.”
Jackson would have gotten on well with the Blue Dog Democrats whom Newt Gingrich last week said were the new center of political gravity in Congress. So if you want to stay current, brush up on the Second National Bank veto.
There’s more than one Bubba Republican possibility
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Before we get too excited about that chatroom boomlet we reported on last promoting Gov. Sonny Perdue as a possible ’08 Republican presidential candidate, check out the buzz from the state next door.
According to the Associated Press, supporters of Gov. Bob Riley held up signs that said “2008” and “President” at the incumbent Republican’s victory celebration last week.
One possible hurdle to a Riley presidential bid, according to Alabama Republican chair Twinkle Andress Cavenaugh, is Democrat Jim Folsom’s victory in the Alabama lieutenant governor’s race. That means Riley wouldn’t be able to pass the governor’s office on to a Republican if he stepped down.
‘I thought we were friends,’ says Handel
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This radio ad for John Eaves, the Democrat who won the race for the Fulton County commission chairman on Tuesday, continues to cook.
Karen Handel, the current Fulton commission chairman and future Republican secretary of state, was on “Hannity & Colmes” on the Fox network tonight.
This is the sound. Here’s a snippet of what she said:
Handel: “Look, the ad was very much blatant, to be so incendiary as to inflame and bring voters out, and it was targeted to the African-American community.
“And it was over the top, and frankly despicable, and for me, having served on the commission for the past three years, knowing the kind of partnership that I have personally struck with the city of Atlanta and Mayor Franklin, I can tell you right now the three Republicans on the board of commissioners were Shirley Franklin’s best allies when it came to doing some important initiatives for the city of Atlanta.”
Lame duck? Heck, no. ’08 presidential fodder.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In two years, remember that the tsunami started here. Or rather, here.
The chatroom at freerepublic.com has nominated Gov. Sonny Perdue as presidential timber, to replace faltering Republican planks like George Allen.
It’d be nice if they could learn to spell his name before the convention in Minneapolis, but it’s the thought that counts.
Cagle meets with Taylor, brings swatches for drapes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Republican Casey Cagle met with Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor on Friday, to work out details on assuming the job come January. No details to report.
Over the last few days, and in the next weeks ahead, Cagle is all about consolidation of power. We let you down Thursday, and did not tell you that Cagle issued news of a five-senator transition team.
This is the committee working out the details about how much power should be restored to the lieutenant governor’s office. And the answer is — all of it.
The five are Republicans Eric Johnson of Savannah, Tommie Williams of Lyons, Chip Pearson of Dawsonville, Chip Rogers of Woodstock, and David Shafer of Duluth.
That’s five as in three plus two. And the two are Johnson, the president pro tem, and Williams, the majority leader. The two current leaders of the Senate are on a committee in which they don’t control the majority.
This makes the press conference Johnson held Thursday more interesting, not less. Though perhaps less definitive.
Overall, Johnson predicted a minimalist agenda for the upcoming session of the Legislature:
“The public wants you to keep moving forward at a marginal pace. I don’t know that the citizens of the state want radical change and radical solutions, whether they are on the right or the left,” the Senate president pro tem said.
“It’s not like we have a lot of money, either. Even with 6 percent growth, between mid-term adjustments on education, and some sort of inflationary pay raise for employees, and continuing to rebuild reserve accounts, there’s not money out there for large tax cuts or big new spending programs.
“That’s the reality that the governor and the leadership understand,” he said.
This part is interesting. The question was about how much red meat would be tossed to the base. Johnson said:
“I think were just about at the margins as to what is constitutional on abortion legislation.
“And we’ve pushed as far as we can with stuff like the Ten Commandments and some of the social issues.
“I still think the message of this election is to focus on kitchen-table issues, and work hard. You don’t have to have all the answers. People understand that we’re not geniuses. There’s not a magic wand out there, there’s not a barrel of money.
“So long as we’re moving forward on mainstream issues, it doesn’t matter if there are some members on the right who want to do this, or on the left with minimum wage. The broad agenda for the General Assembly is going to be education and jobs and health care.”
Other notes: Johnson said he thought it might take the Legislature two years to hammer out legislation to allow developers to build “private cities,” with the power to levy taxes and issue bonds.
And Johnson declared a revival of H.B. 218 all but a waste of time. The bill, backed by the governor and the House speaker, would permit state and local development authorities to increase the secrecy surrounding industrial recruitment. Said Johnson:
“Anybody can introduce a bill, but if it were to come out of the House, it would die. I don’t see the support for it in the Senate.
“I don’t think the lieutenant governor-elect supports it. I continue to question the justification so far for that.
“I don’t think it’s as bad as [the press] seem to make it out. It’s a misrepresentation to say that a landfill’s just appear next door if H.B. 218 passes.
“But I have not the sense that the Senate sees there’s a critical need for it.”
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.
Deja vu in the Legislature; Porter says he’ll stand again
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A weird, weird election. Democrat Sonny Perdue tickles 60 percent in the race for governor. Then Democrat Tommy Irvin delivers a similar stomping in the race for agriculture commissioner.
And not a single, solitary member of the Legislature loses a seat. Republican or Democrat. Though Republicans clearly had the edge when it came to open positions — at just about every ballot level.
The Republican-dominated state Senate will operate with the same 34-22 split it had last year.
It appears as though Republicans will have 106 seats in the state House when the Legislature convenes in January. Depending on who you talk to, that’s a two-seat pick-up, or a six-seat pick-up.
Republicans were at 100 seats when the Legislature adjourned, but four Democrats quickly switched in May. So Republicans had 104 going into Election Day.
House Minority Leader DuBose Porter on Wednesday said that — considering the cash Republicans had to throw against his members — he was happy to come out of Tuesday night with 74 members.
One measure of satisfaction: He’ll stand again for minority leader next week, when a slightly pared-down Democratic caucus gathers.
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No champagne for these Democrats
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Forget about the confetti and the booze and “Happy Days Are Here Again.” To the extent that Georgia’s two beleaguered Democratic congressional candidates were doing any celebrating Wednesday, they did so very quietly. And carefully.
“We’re getting the numbers and dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s,” said Doug Moore, spokesman for 8th District Rep. Jim Marshall Wednesday morning.
It appeared Marshall had a lead of more than 1 percent, and that votes from a few outstanding precincts wouldn’t be enough to bring Republican Mac Collins within range of a recount, Moore said. But the campaign was watching the process down to the final vote, and Marshall planned no victory announcement Wednesday. Or perhaps, at all.
“It is what it is,” Moore said of the incumbent’s modest lead.
For Rep. John Barrow in the adjoining 12th District, closure was even more elusive. At about 2 a.m., after Effingham County officials had handcounted totals to produce an unofficial result, he claimed a lead of about 1,100 votes overall. That’s not enough to get past the 1 percent mark, and this race appears headed for a recount. Barrow called a late-morning press conference, at which there wasn’t likely to be any high-fiving.
If they hold on to their hair-thin leads and walk away quietly while Democrats party elsewhere, however, no one should underestimate what the two Democrats here were up against.
Consider this stat from National Journal’s Hotline: Across the country, Republicans won 14 of the 23 congressional races decided by two percentage points or less and 13 of the 19 races decided by 5000 votes or less. The two Georgia races fit both categories. And while the blue tide favored Democrats in other states, Marshall and Barrow swam against a red wave.
A victory in either of these races would have given George W. Bush some comfort that he had a positive impact somewhere on the political map. Interestingly, what we hear from both Democratic and Republican sources in the 8th District race is that Sonny Perdue was a much bigger drag on Marshall than George W. Bush, who came to the district twice to campaign against him.
And even if it’s just a hair over 1 percent, doesn’t Tuesday’s outcome position Marshall as someone to be reckoned with in the severely shaken Georgia Democratic Party?
Well past midnight, some thoughts for the morning:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Among them:
— Republicans Sonny Perdue and Casey Cagle rolled over Democrats Mark Taylor and Jim Martin, respectively, in similar fashion. But with 88 percent of the vote in, Martin had outpolled Taylor by nearly 60,000 votes.
Which might be the closest we ever come to a count of ticked-off Democratic women in Georgia.
— A quick, thumbnail assessment of the Taylor campaign: It operated as if Democrats were still the establishment party, when it should have operated as a populist insurgency. Like Perdue in 2002.
In the 1980s, the members of the state House rose up and put one of their own, Joe Frank Harris, in the Governor’s Mansion. Taylor never had that relationship with the Democratic senators he ruled over for eight years. Or at least, it never showed.
This was the cruelest criticism of Taylor wielded by a prominent disappointed Democrat, mid-campaign: “He’s just Roy Barnes, but without the $20 million.”
— In terms of Republican votes gathered up, Perdue was finishing behind State School Superintendent Kathy Cox, who now needs no “with a ‘K’” to set her apart from the departing secretary of state. John Oxendine looked to be the top GOP vote-getter.
— On the Democratic side, State Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin was jousting with Attorney General Thurbert Baker for top honors. You have to think that Baker was helped by the strong campaign run by state Supreme Court Justice Carol Hunstein.
Fulton ad stirs the pot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ve not heard it, but we’re told the John Eaves ad we wrote about Monday has been running on local radio all day.
A furious Mike Dvorscak, chairman of the Fulton County Republican Party, called on Rep. John Lewis, Mayor Shirley Franklin and former Mayor Andrew Young to apologize for the ad, which he termed the most blatant playing of the race card by anyone this year.
“It’s pathetic. It’s absolutely pathethic. There are those who look up to these people, and they have let them down,” Dvorscak said.
This is becoming a talk radio topic, too. We may be hearing more about this after Election Day.
When Election Day produces some walking-around cash
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today is Election Day. For most people here, anyway.
But to a select few, this is also payday. When you see them cheering on TV tonight, know that their sentiments run truly deep, right down to their wallets.
Most campaign contracts these days — for fund-raisers, media specialists, strategists — guarantee an extra dose of cash if their candidate wins.
The size of the bonus depends on many things, including how poorly funded the campaign was at the outset and the odds of winning. So far as we know, the personality of the candidate — with whom campaign workers are forced to live for months on end — isn’t usually a factor.
Quick example: After his upset win for governor in 2002, Sonny Perdue handed out $142,711 in bonuses and retainer contracts to his loyalists, according to his later filings. That includes $1,211 for “Staff Appreciation Day? at Dante’s Down-the-Hatch.
Among the recipients: Nick Ayers, this year’s campaign manager for Perdue, $8,000; John Watson, now the governor’s chief of staff, $15,000; and Dan McLagan, the governor’s current spokesman, $24,000 — including $16,000 in retainer fees.
The largest bonus went to Fred Davis, the Hollywood creator of Perdue’s “rat video,? who received a $35,000 bonus. Davis was again Perdue’s media guy this year.
Franklin, Lewis, Young on Fulton County chairman race: ‘You think fighting off dogs and water hoses in the ‘60s was bad?’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Republicans are crying foul over a last-minute radio ad on behalf of John Eaves, the Democratic candidate for Fulton County Commission chairman.
The ad features Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, and former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young, who compare the prospect of a county run by Republicans to the days of Bull Connor.
“You think fighting off dogs and water hoses in the ‘60s was bad?” Lewis intones. Young declares Republican rule would “turn back the clock on equal rights.” Franklin says the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights heroes would be lost.
It’s not clear where the ad is being broadcast, or how frequently — if at all. It was found on Eaves’ campaign web site here. Clearly, the object of the ad is to increase turnout among African-American voters.
In a year when most everything else has fallen the Democrats’ way, there’s some anxiety about African-American turnout — not just in Fulton County but across the country — and the tone of this ad seems to reflect that.
Eaves faces Republican Lee Morris of Buckhead, former member of the Atlanta City Council.
Here’s a rough transcript:
(Sound of kettle drums, followed by pulsing strings)
LEWIS: This is Congressman John Lewis.
FRANKLIN: And I’m Mayor Shirley Franklin.
YOUNG: And I am Andy Young.
LEWIS: On Nov. 7, we face the most dangerous situation we ever have. You think fighting off dogs and water hoses in the ‘60s was bad. [Now we] sit idly by, and let the right-wing Republicans take control of the Fulton County County Commission.
FRANKLIN: The efforts of Martin and Coretta King, Hosea Williams, Maynard Jackson and many others will be lost. That’s why we must stand up, and we must turn out the vote for the Democrats on Election Day.
YOUNG: And especially for John Eaves for Fulton County Commission chairman. Unless you want them to turn back the clock on equal rights, and human rights and economic opportunity for all of us, vote for John Eaves as Fulton County chairman.
LEWIS: Your very life may depend on it.
Can a robo-call keep you at home Tuesday?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Democratic blogs have been buzzing today about hundreds of thousands of robo-calls sent into congressional districts across the nation by Republicans. Dems say the calls are intended to seriously tick off voters — and keep them at home.
Georgia apparently has received its share of the automated calls. A constituent handed U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall’s campaign this recording off her answering machine.
A bit of the transcript: “I’m calling with information about Jim Marshall. As congressman, Jim Marshall voted against $550 billion in tax cuts for families and businesses. And Jim Marshall voted to keep the death tax, and voted against health savings accounts that can help reduce the high cost of health care…..?
At the end of the message, credit for the message is claimed by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
It’s not the content that upsets, necessarily. But if you figure that most people hang up on these messages before they finish, recipients might think that Marshall’s the originator, says the congressman’s spokesman, Doug Moore.
“It’s not us. We are not doing phone calls,? Moore said.
People hate robo-calls. Perhaps that’s why, Moore said, Federal Communications Commission regulations require the sponsor of automated messages to give its name first. And promise heavy fines for violators.
One last poll before the real one happens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Strategic Vision is out with one last poll before tomorrow’s election.
The essentials: 800 likely Georgia voters, contacted Nov. 2-4, and margin of error of 3 percent.
The races:
— Governor: Sonny Perdue (R) (i), 51 percent; Mark Taylor (D), 38 percent; Garrett Hayes (L), 6 percent, and 5 percent undecided. Perdue down slightly, Taylor up slightly from previous SV poll.
— Lieutenant governor: Casey Cagle (R), 49 percent; Jim Martin (D), 39 percent; Allen Buckley (L), 6 percent; and 6 percent undecided. All three candidates up slightly from previous SV poll.
— Secretary of State: Karen Handel (R), 45 percent; Gail Buckner (D), 33 percent; Kevin Madsen (L), 4 percent; and 18 percent undecided. Handel up seven points from previous SV poll, Buckner up three points.
— Attorney General: Thurbert Baker (D)(i), 48 percent; Perry McGuire (R), 36 percent; and 16 percent undecided. Baker up one point, McGuire up three points from previous SV poll.
— School Superintendent: Kathy Cox (R)(i), 49 percent; Denise Majette (D), 35 percent; David Chastain (L), 3 percent; and 13 percent undecided. Two top candidates up slightly from previous SV poll.
— Agriculture Commissioner: Tommy Irvin (D)(i), 48 percent; Gary Black (R), 39 percent; Jack Cashin (L), 2 percent; and 11 percent undecided. Both candidates up slightly from previous SV poll.
— Insurance Commissioner: John Oxendine (R)(i), 55 percent; Guy Drexinger, 30 percent; and 15 percent undecided. Both candidates up slightly from previous SV poll.
— Labor Commissioner: Michael Thurmond (D)(i), 47 percent; Brent Brown (R), 38 percent; and 15 percent undecided. Both candidates up slightly from previous SV poll.
— State Supreme Court Justice: Carol Hunstein (i), 53 percent; Mike Wiggins, 36 percent; with 11 percent undecided. Hunstein up slightly, Wiggins up six points from previous SV poll.
Insider Advantage, Matt Towery’s outfit, today put the Supreme Court race significantly tighter, with Hunstein at 43 percent, Wiggins at 34 percent, and 23 percent undecided.
These two burglars are sitting in a car, see…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The state Republican party has put up a great ad for Mike Wiggins, the candidate for state Supreme Court justice.
It’s a friendly, very entertaining spot with two burglars in a car, deciding to pull one more job before the election. It might have helped Wiggins more three or four weeks ago.
Strategic Vision, the Republican polling firm, has him down by 17 points in the non-partisan race this morning. Insider Advantage, Matt Towery’s outfit, has the race significantly tighter, with incumbent Justice Carol Hustein leading Wiggins, 43 to 34 percent, with 23 percent undecided.
Meanwhile, the Hustein campaign this morning is bragging that she’s obtained endorsements from 19 newspapers in Georgia. Oh, and her election night party venue. It’s to be at the Atlanta address of Balch & Bingham, where the guy with the biggest office is named Michael Bowers.
Franklin goes up on radio — not TV — for Taylor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While Republicans have worried whether conservative Christians will show up tomorrow, Democrats have quietly expressed concern about their own base.
During the primary, Mark Taylor, the candidate for governor, brought out former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young in a 30-second TV spot to carry the turnout message to black voters.
If there’s an equal effort in the general election, we haven’t seen it. Last week, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin cut a radio ad for Taylor that’s getting significant air time across the state, on stations geared to African-American listeners.
“He’ll work to raise the minimum wage. He has a plan to provide health insurance for every child. And Mark Taylor will never, ever cut education funding,? Franklin says.
We’re assuming that the decision to put Franklin on the radio rather than television was strategic, or economic. Taylor may have felt obligated to keep up his TV attacks on Gov. Sonny Perdue until the last moment.
But it must be said that something was left on the table by not putting Franklin on the tube. The Atlanta mayor has tremendous appeal among all women, white as well as black.
Moses wondered the same thing for 40 years
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Which leads us to this: If you want to play political nerd on Tuesday night, watch the Democratic races for governor and lieutenant governor.
From the moment they were cast from power in the state Capitol, Democrats have been arguing over the best path back — whether to cater to hard-core loyalists, and rely on enthusiasm to drive up their numbers, or to reach out to the middle. Steal voters from Republicans, in other words.
Jim Martin, the candidate for lieutenant governor, has chosen the base strategy. Mark Taylor, the candidate for governor, is reaching for the middle.
The result has been a genuine field experiment.
Watch for which candidate out-polls the other. It could determine the direction of the state Democratic party for years to come.
What’s new about ‘06? It’s the money
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By and large, the ballot you see on Tuesday will have the standard allotment of saints, scamps and scoundrels.
That said, one aspect of the ’06 elections differs mightily from any ever seen in Georgia. It involves two large gifts of cash.
In Georgia, individual campaign contributions to candidates are limited by law to $5,000 per election cycle.
But last month, two lawsuit-hating business groups sent $2.3 million down South, to boost the fortunes of Mike Wiggins in the race for state Supreme Court justice — and to defeat Carol Hunstein, the incumbent.
American Justice Partnership sent $1.3 million to a Georgia-registered group called the Safety & Prosperity Coalition — which spent the money on TV and radio ads, and direct mail.
Then there is the $1 million from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The check went to the state Republican party. We’re told that the amount will coincide almost precisely with the party’s expenditures on Wiggins’ behalf in the non-partisan race.
How is the $5,000 limit on contributions avoided?
First, it doesn’t apply to independent groups that campaign on specific issues, such as Safety and Prosperity. They can accept and spend as much as they want — but they’re not allowed to coordinate with a candidate.
Political parties also don’t have to pay attention to limits, if their TV ads are aimed at multiple candidates. Bundling, if you will.
But often, those the names of those other candidates only appear for seconds, in small type, in a 30-second ad. Democrats pioneered the loophole. Republicans have perfected it.
Gov. Sonny Perdue’s unabashed backing of Wiggins, a former legal advisor to the Department of Homeland Security, has little downside politically. Win or lose, the state GOP has cemented relationships with major donors.
But in this fight voters have lost something — the opportunity to see the money, and thus the motives, behind candidates who offer themselves for high office.
Wiggins, too, is bothered by the influence of money in this statewide fight between business interests and lawyers.
Late Friday, he proposed creating an independent commission to examine whether lawyers should be allowed to contribute to a judge’s campaign. Hunstein, he noted, raised $900,000 from lawyers who are subject to Supreme Court rulings.
They’re getting a bit punchy up in north Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you know Georgia, you know two things about the people who inhabit the hills in the northeast corner.
First, they’re hard-core Bible believers. Second, they’re about as stubborn and contrarian as they come. Occasionally, the two characteristics clash.
For the last month or so, Republicans have concentrated on turning out the evangelical base for state Sen. Nancy Schaefer, and for the two Republican challengers to state Reps. Jeanette Jamieson of Toccoa and Alan Powell of Hartwell, both Democrats.
(See the blog entry below)
The constant base-energizing got to be a bit much for Spooner Phillips and Charlie Shell, who run a financial services business in Hartwell.
They shelled out $800 for 100 or so signs they’ve put out around town: “Wake up. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid?
“I’m Republican, and a church-goer, too,? Phillips said Friday. “Personally, Charlie and I feel that the Republican party is leading people astray. We thought [the signs] would be funny.?
Not everybody thinks so. We caught Powell, the Democratic state representative from Hartwell, on his cell phone. He said that as he’s been driving around the district, he’s been moving any Kool-Aid signs he sees far away from his own.
How Georgia’s GOP might survive the blue wave
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We may have the first clues telling us how well Georgia Republicans have insulated themselves against the anti-GOP wave washing against the rest of the country.
The GOP here has put its faith in a boatload of cash and a massive GOTV effort in which absentee and early voting plays an important role.
Secretary of State Cathy Cox’s office just released the first statewide numbers on absentee balloting: 352,723 votes, about 8 percent, have already been cast.
Of those, 45 percent are from advance voting. About a quarter are no-reason absentees.
Now for the test of GOP strategy: In the Legislature, no race has soaked up Republican resources like the Senate District 50 seat, now occupied by Nancy Schaefer of Turnerville.
She’s big among Christian conservatives, and so Republican strategists have been keen to rev up the evangelical base in that area. As an added measure, they’ve entered pastors against Democratic incumbents in two House District races contained within Schaefer’s district.
Gov. Sonny Perdue and House Speaker Glenn Richardson have made repeated trips to the area.
All this work appears to have made a difference. Of the seven counties in Senate District 50, five show absentee balloting well above the state average: Towns, 17.4 percent; Rabun, 14 percent; Habersham, 15.6 percent; Stephens, 19 percent; Banks, 6.7 percent; Franklin, 5.5 percent; and Hart, 11.3 percent.
In many key Democratic counties across the state, absentee balloting appears to be at or below the state average. That includes DeKalb County, the richest Democratic county, and Dougherty County, Mark Taylor’s home. Republican counties tend to be above the state average.
Here’s a sampling. Bibb, 9.5 percent; Chatham, 7.4 percent; Cherokee, 8.9 percent; Clayton, 5.6 percent; Cobb, 8.3 percent; Columbia, 10 percent; DeKalb, 7 percent; Dougherty, 6.8 percent; Fayette, 9.3 percent; Fulton, 5 percent; Gwinnett, 6.6 percent; Hancock, 8.5 percent; Henry, 10.6 percent; Muscogee, 7.3 percent; and Richmond, 13 percent.
Three DA’s and a sheriff, in bipartisan balance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State Supreme Court Justice Carol Hunstein, who’s in a tough fight against challenger Mike Wiggins, has got another TV ad out.
(See the item on Wiggins’ new radio ad a couple entries below.)
The Hunstein ad is built around four canny endorsements from law enforcement types. The purpose is to combat charges from Wiggins and allied 527s that Hunstein is soft on crime.
The first on the screen is Cobb County District Attorney Pat Head, a Republican. It’s hard for a candidate to win statewide without Cobb. Wiggins is campaigning openly as the Republican candidate in the non-partisan race — so Head’s endorsement of Hunstein in this ad could have impact.
Then comes Dougherty County DA Ken Hodges. Albany is the hometown of Mark Taylor, the Democratic candidate for governor. You can expect a heavy turnout.
Tom Brown, sheriff of DeKalb County, is next. DeKalb is Hunstein’s home turf, but also boasts the richest vein of Democratic votes in the state.
Finally, there’s Danny Craig, district attorney for Richmond County. With Augusta at its center, Richmond County may be the most ideologically conservative in the state. Chockful of Republican voters.
Of robo-calls, pink letters and door-knockers.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of our colleagues, the esteemed Jim Tharpe, is searching for Democrats, Republicans, even Libertarians who are getting socked by campaign messages — part of his effort to explain this year’s GOTV effort.
If you’re swamped with robo-calls, fliers and pink letters — and brave enough to converse with a working journalist — e-mail him at jtharpe@ajc.com.
We’d offer a free toaster to the 10th e-mailer, but that would require us to eat our bagels raw.
Another Beltway group jumps into Hunstein/Wiggins race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ve got another Washington D.C.-area group playing in Georgia’s state Supreme Court race between incumbent Justice Carol Hunstein and challenger Mike Wiggins.
Americans Tired of Lawsuit Abuse, which carries an Alexandria, Va., address, has paid for a round of robo-calls on Wiggins’ behalf.
The message is a plea to base GOP voters not to ignore the state’s top judicial race, which is at the bottom of the ballot.
“When you go to the polls, please remember to vote in every race,? the female narrator says.
Meanwhile, the Wiggins campaign is up with another radio ad. This one’s by Wiggins’ wife, who defends her husband for fighting “to keep his mother alive and stop a relative from stealing from her.?
But she also tries to shift the topic, by declaring that ?on a technicality [Hunstein] released a felon who murdered a grandmother. As soon as he hit the street, he paid a killer to murder the witness who put him in jail.?
One interesting note: The wife’s name is never mentioned. According to Wiggins’ web site, she is Erika Birg, partner in an Atlanta law firm.
There are many reasons for not identifying one’s wife. Professional sensibilities must be considered. Many law firms like to work quietly, out of the glare of any spotlight.
Another reason might be that — if one is directing one’s effort toward the conservative Christian base — a wife who doesn’t carry her husband’s name could raise some eyebrows.
Pants on fire: A pair of topics for discussion
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the race for state Senate District 33 out in west Cobb County, Republican challenger Mark Grant, a 47-year-old chiropractor, has accused Democratic incumbent Steve Thompson of voting in 2006 against the Republican bill to block illegal immigrants from receiving state services.
It’s on his web site here.
The problem is that Thompson didn’t vote that particular day. He was excused, so that he could attend the funeral for his father-in-law in another state. Oops.
Here’s another one that will perhaps prompt more debate.
The campaign of Bill Loughrey, the Republican candidate for Fulton County commission, has put out a flier on his Democratic opponent, incumbent Robb Pitts. “Why did Robb Pitts testify for one of Atlanta’s most violent rapists?” it asks. The question is the subject of a TV ad as well.
Ali Nejad, dubbed the “Pantyhose Rapist,” was convicted in December 2005 and sentenced to 35 years in prison without possibility of parole.
Pitts’s campaign says the Democrat was a long-time friend of the family. “After the defendant had already been tried, convicted, and sentenced,” the rapist’s mother asked Pitts to ask the judge to recommend putting the son in a prison close to her home.
Is that testifying for a rapist? The Pitts campaign is comparing this to past GOP attacks — in particular, 1994 race in which Mitch Skandalakis, then the chairman of the Fulton County Commission, tried to help a fellow Republican unseat Gordon Joyner, a black Democratic commissioner.
Skandalakis helped to finance a brochure that featured a doctored image of Joyner, with an Afro and an exaggerated lower lip.
We asked Loughrey. He said he point of his TV ad and flier was that, while Fulton County government was collapsing around his years, Pitts was in a courtroom giving aid and comfort to the perpetrator, rather than the victim.
You folks talk about it amongst yourselves, and tell us what you decide.
Oh, those Democrats and their bathroom humor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ve told you that Republicans are leaning on illegal immigration as an issue to preserve their margins in state House and Senate races.
And the Democrats? They’re using breast cancer and, well, poop.
One issue is aimed at women, and the other’s aimed at - oh, heck. Suffice it to say we’re not kidding. There is a flier going to mail boxes in Georgia accusing certain Republican legislators of “letting people poop in our water.”
Let’s deal with the pink ribbon issue first.
In 2005, state Sen. Cecil Staton (R-Macon) introduced a bill to create stripped-down, affordable health insurance coverage. Two important points about the legislation:
First, it was “engrossed” - no changes were permitted during debate on the Senate floor. It was either pass or fail. Secondly, the bill permitted insurance companies to offer consumers policies that excluded a host of ailments - many affecting women — for a lower price.
The bill passed the Senate, but most Democrats and all but one female member of the chamber - Nancy Schaefer of Turnerville - opposed it. Women lawmakers had fought for years to force insurance companies to address their health issues. “It’s a shame for Republican men to be in here doing this,” said state Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford) said at the time. She warned of retribution to come.
House Republicans repaired the damage, and the bill was returned to the Senate with much of the missing coverage restored. The Senate approved it, and everyone went home happy.
But that first vote is still out there.
Democrats are using it in two state Senate races. In one, Democrat Bruce Gilbert of Madison is challenging state Sen. Johnny Grant of Milledgeville. In the other, Democrat Carol Jackson is attempting to oust Schaefer and take her northeast Georgia seat.
It’s even made an appearance in the DeKalb County race for an open House seat that pits Democrat Kevin Levitas against Republican Steve Schultz.
In each case, Democrats say Republicans opposed “breast cancer screenings,” a phrase that has the GOP calling foul. Here’s the Gilbert flier.
Democrats defend the accuracy of the charge. Yes, they admit, mammograms were never struck from coverage. What was struck, then restored, was coverage for the biopsies of any lumps found by the X-rays.
Most people would interpret mammograms to be “breast cancer screening,” said Clelia Davis, spokeswoman for the state GOP. She referred us to Sam Choate, attorney for the House speaker’s office. Choate said that it was possible to interpret the definition of a mammogram in state law to include biopsies.
But the repairs that Republicans insisted on making to the bill argue against that thinking.
Now for the poop issue.
Introduced in 2006, Senate Bill 510 would have allowed developers and other landowners outside metro Atlanta to install septic tanks much closer to drinking-water reservoirs and the streams that feed them. It passed the Senate, but died in the House.
Democrats are being selective on this one, targeting districts where environmentalists are strong, or where water is scare and a defining issue.
A prime target is state Rep. Gene Maddox of Cairo, who holds Secretary of State Cathy Cox’s old seat in Georgia’s southwest corner. Here’s the flier. Print it out and read it on your next trip to the, uh, facility.
An ‘06 dance partner spins away from Perdue
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ray McBerry, the candidate that flaggers thrust into the Republican primary this summer against incumbent Gov. Sonny Perdue, has endorsed Casey Cagle for lieutenant governor.
McBerry’s platform included a statewide vote on the ’56 state flag — the one with the Confederate battle emblem. He received 48,500 primary votes — nearly 12 percent.
In his press release making the rounds today, McBerry made mention of a “personal telephone conversation? with Cagle, the Republican nominee for the No. 2 spot.
But that’s where McBerry stops. He refuses to extend his good wishes to the incumbent governor.
The press release declared that McBerry’s endorsement of Cagle “should in no way be construed as an endorsement for Sonny Perdue.? Georgia First, McBerry’s base organization, declares that most of its supporters have adopted a policy of “anyone but Sonny.?
Auto-calls from Gingrich and Ashcroft
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two robo-calls were on the answering machine yesterday afternoon — Newt Gingrich for Sonny Perdue, and John Ashcroft for Mike Wiggins.
Both messages were aimed at hard-core Republican voters.
On Perdue’s behalf, Gingrich made some interesting claims we’ve never heard before, and which haven’t made their way into either TV or radio spots.
The former U.S. House speaker says Perdue reduced welfare rolls by 80 percent, and that Democratic rival Mark Taylor wants an $1,150 tax increase for every Georgian.
Here’s a bit of the transcript:
“I’m calling to encourage you to go out and vote early for Governor Perdue. Sonny Perdue has worked hard for Georgia. He’s cut taxes. With his leadership, we’ve reduced welfare by 80 percent. And as you know, Mark Taylor is proposing an $1,150 tax increase for every Georgian. That’s just wrong.?
Ashcroft, the former U.S. attorney general, served as a character witness for Wiggins. Two things to note about this robo-call: First, notice the increased emphasis on party in what’s supposed to be a non-partisan race; and secondly, note that Ashcroft never mentions the fact that Wiggins’ opponent is a woman.
Here’s the transcript:
“As attorney general of the United States, Mike Wiggins was one of my most trusted lieutenants. He helped protect us from terrorists and criminals. Now Mike is in the fight of his life against trial lawyers and a liberal activist incumbent judge, who will stop at nothing to win — including attacking Mike’s family. Whether you vote early or go to the polls, please cast your vote for the only conservative Republican running for Georgia Supreme Court, Mike Wiggins.?
You pays your money, and you picks your poison
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two more Georgia polls are out today. Here’s a brief summary:
— A poll by Strategic Vision, a Republican-oriented firm, puts the governor’s race as follows: Republican incumbent Sonny Perdue, 52 percent; Democrat Mark Taylor 36 percent; Libertarian Garrett Hayes at 5 percent; and 7 percent undecided. It was conducted over the weekend, Oct. 28-30.
— The findings of the SV poll are similar to those published recently by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, conducted Oct. 25-27. The AJC poll had the gubernatorial contest this way: Perdue, 53 percent; Taylor, 36 percent; Hayes, 3 percent; and 8 percent undecided.
— Also today, a new Zogby/Wall Street Journal tracking poll has the candidates as follows: Perdue, 48.3 percent; Taylor, 36.3 percent; Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes, 9.1 percent; and 6.3 percent undecided. It was conducted Oct. 23-27.
— Like the Zogby poll, the tracking survey by Insider Advantage also puts Perdue below the 50 percent mark. It was conducted Oct. 23-26. Here’s its line-up: Perdue, 49 percent; Taylor, 39 percent, Hayes, 7 percent, with 5 percent undecided.
But it’s Strategic Vision that has paid the most attention to down-ballot races. Here are the SV’s Wednesday numbers — keep in mind a 3 percent margin-of-error:
State Supreme Court Justice (non-partisan): Incumbent Carol Hunstein, 52 percent; Mike Wiggins, 30 percent; and 18 percent undecided.
Lieutenant Governor: Casey Cagle, 48 percent; Democrat Jim Martin, 37 percent; Libertarian Allen Buckley, 5 percent; and 10 percent undecided.
Secretary of State: Republican Karen Handel, 38 percent; Democrat Gail Buckner, 30 percent; Libertarian Kevin Madsen, 3 percent; and 29 percent undecided.
Attorney General: Democratic incumbent Thurbert Baker, 47 percent; Republican Perry McGuire, 33 percent; with 20 percent undecided.
School Superintendent: Republican incumbent Kathy Cox, 48 percent; Democrat Denise Majette, 33 percent; Libertarian David Chastain, 2 percent; and 17 percent undecided.
State Agriculture Commissioner: Democratic incumbent Tommy Irvin, 46 percent; Republican Gary Black, 38 percent; Libertarian Jack Cashin, 3 percent; and 13 percent undecided.
State Insurance Commissioner: Republican incumbent John Oxendine, 54 percent; Democrat Guy Drexinger, 29 percent; and 17 percent undecided.
State Labor Commissioner: Democratic incumbent Michael Thurmond, 46 percent; Republican Brent Brown, 36 percent; and 18 percent undecided.
Zell invades Pennsylvania, hunting for shoe factory
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
National Review Online has this below about Zell Miller’s foray into the North on behalf of Rick Santorum. Many thanks to newdonkey.com for pointing it out.
Here ‘tis:
Harrisburg - During a radio interview late yesterday in Harrisburg, former Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) formally kicked off Democrats for Santorum, a statewide coalition of Democrats dedicated to Senator Santorum’s reelection effort.
Over 7,000 members strong, Democrats for Santorum is a coalition of Pennsylvanians who share Senator Santorum’s commitment to national security, lower taxes, and less government regulation.
During the radio interview, Senator Miller said, “I am not involved in any other race in the country. I am only doing this for Rick Santorum. I believe in Rick Santorum’s leadership that much.
I believe in his leadership more than anyone else I served with in the US Senate…Rick Santorum was more than just a good friend to me, he was someone I looked up to for guidance.”
Your Hunstein/Wiggins fix: The soap opera continues
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The saga of Georgia’s race for the Supreme Court continues. In our last episode, the sister of Mike Wiggins permitted her attorney to speak for her. Details in separate blogs below.
Now comes Wiggins with a statement published by his campaign today, including some declaratives from his lawyers in the family squabble. Which we will follow with a further statement from incumbent Justice Carol Hunstein, also issued this morning.
To wit:
STATEMENT OF PAUL WOODALL AND EMILY BONDS
of WALSTON, WELLS & BIRCHALL, LLP
NOVEMBER 1, 2006
“Our firm has represented Mike Wiggins beginning in 1998 in the litigation that involved his sister. Throughout such time, Mike has conducted himself professionally and courteously in all of our dealings with him throughout a very difficult legal battle with his sister to keep his mom alive and to protect her assets.
Mike’s position in the case was ultimately vindicated:
The judge awarded Mike sole guardianship of their mother.
The judge ordered that Mike’s sister repay $12,500 to their mother’s estate.
The judge approved Mike’s request to transfer their mother to “any medical or health care facility that he may select in his sole discretion.”
The court then ordered that his sister “return any and all personal property that she removed” from their mother’s residence and turn over the keys of such residence to Mike.
The political attacks that attempt to distort the truth cannot change the fact that Mike finally achieved justice for himself and for his mother. It is hard to imagine that someone would attempt to politicize such a very difficult period in the private life of a family.?
STATEMENT OF MIKE WIGGINS
“At the time that my sister made these allegations, I denied them. I deny them again now. Of course, it is very disturbing that Carol Hunstein’s campaign would continue to drag my sister into this, instead of leaving her in peace to tend to her family.
“Carol Hunstein’s adamant refusal to move on to the issues — and continue to pull a family’s deep and private wounds into this election — only confirms for me that she will do absolutely anything to divert the public’s attention from her liberal, activist record on the Georgia Supreme Court.
Her record is replete with evidence of legislating from the bench and letting dangerous criminals go free. Moreover, she fails to explain how it is not a conflict of interest for her campaign to take money from trial lawyers one week and sit on their cases the next. Those are the issues she avoided in the debate and remains desperate to avoid. Georgians deserve better.?
And now from the other candidate:
WIGGINS’ FALSE ‘REBUTTAL’ TO HUNSTEIN AD DIGS EVEN DEEPER HOLE FOR SUPREME COURT CANDIDATE WITH NO EXPERIENCE
ATLANTA – Last week, in response to ads distorting her record in criminal cases, Justice Hunstein began airing a television commercial pointing out that Mike Wiggins has neither the experience nor values to be a Supreme Court Justice.
The commercial states that: (1) Mr. Wiggins has never tried a case: (2) he was sued by his mother for taking her money; (3) he sued his only sister; (4) his sister swore he threatened to kill her; and (5) the judge restrained Mr. Wiggins from ever contacting his sister again. The truth of these statements is supported by court records.
Without any supporting authority other than his own word, Mr. Wiggins claims the commercial is false. He claims to have tried cases, but gives no details.
He says his mother sued him so she could recover money she was allegedly owed by a “third party.? And he claims that he sued his sister to fulfill a promise to her mother, save her life and recover money that was stolen from her estate.
Today, the Hunstein campaign issued the following statement:
“Mike Wiggins can’t seem to tell the truth and won’t discuss his record.?
“Rather than admitting he has never tried a case, Wiggins says he has such experience but won’t say what it is.?
“Rather than simply admitting he was sued by his mother for taking her money, he has concocted an unbelievable scenario involving his agreement to be a defendant in an apparently bogus lawsuit seeking to recover money from him that he didn’t have and that was owed by someone else. It is not surprising that he refuses to provide any further details.?
“Rather than admitting he verbally abused and threatened his sister and that he was ordered by a judge to never contact her again, Mr. Wiggins says his sister – a respected member of the Sacred Heart Elementary School Board in Cullman, Ala. – committed perjury.
“And, in a blatant effort to confuse the voters, Mr. Wiggins claims that his mother is being attacked when the Hunstein ad does no such thing.?
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