Home > Political Insider > Archives > 2007 > January > 10
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Not asking for much
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mayor Shirley Franklin has been beating the drum of late for the state to lend more financial support to Georgia’s municipalities - including the ATL, of course. But when asked at her appearance at the Atlanta Press Club Wednesday what her wish list was for this year’s legislative session, the mayor was very modest in her expectations.
Getting the green light for the sales tax referendum for water and sewer improvements was No. 1 through 20 on her list of top 25 priorities, Franklin said, and there’s “hardly anything else out there of that magnitude” that the city wants at the Capitol this year.
Though the mayor didn’t mention it, this might not have been a good year to come calling at the big house down the street for any big favors, anyway. Republicans were outraged by Franklin’s participation in the ad for John Eaves in the Fulton County Commission race which suggested that a vote for Lee Morris amounted to a reversion to the bad old days of police dogs and hoses.
Go fish
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s the direct link to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s state of the state speech. Double check us. Do a word search, and see if you can come up with any mention of “transportation” or “roads.”
Lobbyist alert: House committee assignments
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Click here to see them. But beware: It’s a 53-page document.
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The man who won’t be in the picture
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Years ago, those who kept track of communist regimes put great stock in group photographs. To spot who stood closest to Stalin or Mao was to get a glimpse of who was in, and who was out.
Use that as a bit of background on Thursday morning, when you watch those pictures of President Bush and troops at Fort Benning.
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican up for re-election in ‘08, won’t be there, we’re told.
Here’s what Chambliss’ office put out on Wednesday night, concurrent with Bush’s speech:
“In my conversations with the White House over the holidays as well as with the President at the White House on Monday, I made it clear that my support of any increase in troops is conditional upon those troops having a specific mission, and upon the completion of that mission those troops should be redeployed.
“I firmly believe that a large increase in troops without having a specific mission will only increase insurgent opposition, and that a withdrawal of U.S. forces at this time would be detrimental to Iraqi security.
“Both of these approaches should be rejected. Failure in Iraq will result in expanded, intensified conflict in the Middle East, and I will continue to be committed to the success of our mission there. ”
The big question at the Capitol: What does Isakson do?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While they wait for the calm to subside, and the storm of legislation in the state Capitol to begin, people talk.
And it’s only natural that, with the inauguration of one governor complete, attention begins to focus on the next one.
If there’s a single person who holds the key to the 2010 race for governor, it’s Johnny Isakson. The end of his first term as U.S. senator coincides with the contest to replace Sonny Perdue.
The ambitions of several occupants of the state Capitol will hinge on what the one-term Republican decides: To stay put in Washington and gut out his new minority status, or try to cap his career with a stint on West Paces Ferry Road.
Right now, Democrats control the U.S. Senate on the strength of a single senator from South Dakota whose state of consciousness remains a closely guarded secret.
But Isakson also must be looking at 2008. Two-thirds of the U.S. senators up for re-election will be Republican, including Saxby Chambliss, and Iraq looms like an angry dog. Right now, odds are that Democrats will increase their margin in two years.
Isakson has become such a major force in state Republican circles that his entry could clear the GOP field, others contemplating the race tell us. Or rather, it would set off yet another contest, to replace him in Washington.
Who’s watching Isakson’s movements? Well, there’s Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle for one. But he’ll turn 41 this week, and has plenty of time.
Then there’s House Majority Leader Jerry Keen of St. Simons Island. He admits he’s looking at the ’10 race for governor, too.
You didn’t know about Keen? That’s your surprise for the day. Because if Keen is in, House Speaker Glenn Richardson is not.
A first meeting between once and future leaders of the Christian Coalition
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At Tuesday’s anti-abortion hearing run by state Rep. Bobby Franklin, most eyes were on the tearful women who testified of their remorse at having the procedure.
A quieter drama was playing out in the audience. Sadie Fields, for years the preeminent voice of the Christian right in Georgia, was among the men and women in the center rows.
To one side, in the wings, was Jim Beck, the new head of the Christian Coalition of Georgia, the group Fields left to form her own, independent organization known as the Christian Alliance.
At noon, Fields had to leave for another appointment. As she was in the hallway, putting on her overcoat, Beck rushed up to help, then gave her a bear hug and a quick smooch on the cheek.
It was their first meeting. And they agreed to do lunch.
Neither would describe themselves as rivals, but their agendas differ — and that may be much the same thing.
If the past is any guide, at some point during this session of the Legislature, House and Senate leaders will summon Beck, Fields, and a few other leaders of the GOP base into a closed-door meeting.
They will be told that only one or two of the items on their various wish-lists will make it through the Legislature this year. Any more could jeopardize GOP standing among the party’s centrists.
Religious conservatives will then be asked to make a choice. That’s when a rivalries are most likely to erupt — not just between Beck and Fields, but with the Catholic Archdiocese, the Georgia Family Research Council and several other groups as well.
Judging from a pair of conversations, Fields seems to want priority given to a bill that would require women to undergo a sonogram before an abortion.
Beck’s list is longer. But first, a quick history: Last fall, when she split with the Christian Coalition, Fields declared that the national organization had strayed its core concerns. And had at times allied itself with liberal organizations.
Beck’s legislative wish-list is, in fact, broader than what we’re used to seeing. It includes the standard bullet points familiar to most religious conservatives — among them a ban on embryonic stem cell research, the ultrasound bill, and support for a measure to award vouchers to disabled public school students.
But Beck has also declared his group to be an ally of AT&T, and will support a bill to ease the way for the phone company to become a major TV and Internet provider in Georgia.
“This is a decent example of the issues we’re going to get into,” Beck said.
Why? Home-schoolers, most of whom are conservative Christians, require cheap and easy access to the Internet, he said. (Cynics will also point out that many non-profit organization require contributions to thrive, even from corporations.)
In the agenda that Beck sent out last week, not a single item addressed homosexuality. Nothing about gay marriage or adoption by gay couples. That doesn’t signal a change in conviction — just tone, the new head of the Christian Coalition said.
“We’re trying to become a kinder, gentler organization,” Beck said.
Sin is sin, Beck said. There is no felony sin, no misdemeanor sin. An act of adultery, for instance, is just as sinful as an act of homosexuality, Beck said last week.
Obviously, the time stamp on that comment is important. The Richardson complaint had not surfaced.
“We’re learning as we go,” Beck said. “And we reserve the right to amend our agenda as we go.”
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