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Thursday, February 8, 2007
An Iraq resolution without the wiggle room
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coming as it does from a freshman, the Iraq resolution dropped by Rep. Hank Johnson Thursday may not get as much attention as the measures being proposed by Congressional leaders of both parties.
But Johnson’s resolution nevertheless is interesting in that it goes beyond broad directives and proposes something very specific. Johnson wants U.S. military forces to be taken off street patrol duty. The patrols have led to “an increasingly high rate of casualties” among U.S. personnel, the resolution says, and should be conducted by Iraqi personnel.
Under Johnson’s resolution, U.S. troops would be used to “fortify sensitive areas in Iraq, protect Iraqi government officials, entities and functions, and respond to destabilizing emergencies throughout Iraq.”
Johnson’s resolution, we’re told, was inspired by his frustration at the “pettiness” of the Senate’s maneuverings. He’s sure to be accused of attempting to micromanage, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the next round of resolution don’t move in a similar direction.
Not just a fish bowl, but a fishbowl with a soundtrack
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Other arms reach out to me, other eyes smile tenderly…”
The most crowded fish tank in downtown Atlanta wasn’t at the aquarium on Thursday. The third floor of the state Capitol teemed with different species - thick schools of do-gooders, floating down the hall amid shark-like lobbyists and darting bureaucrats.
Delegates for PTA Day were dressed in bright red. Then there were the Pink Ladies, and a host of guppie-like high school students.
The only one on dry ground was Chuck Leavell, keyboardist for the Rolling Stones and environmentalist, who made a musical appearance in the House chamber to receive an award for hugging trees.
He got us thinking in soundtrack terms. Click here to listen. It’s about eight minutes long, and worth it.
“Georgia, oh, Georgia, no peace I find …”
Leavell’s a great performer, had his audience in his hands as soon as he sat down at a keyboard and launched into “Georgia On My Mind.” When he followed this with “Statesboro Blues,” he even got a few of the women legislators - all Democrats, we note - up on their feet and boogeying.
“Going up to the country, baby, don’t you want to go?”
But the Legislature is a rock concert for workaholics. Even as the sideman found his groove, we spotted a couple of lawmakers in the back of the room using their laptops to check on bills.
Out in the hall, the tunes that blasted from the monitor made great background music for the public advocates, nervous as catfish about PeachCare, and the private interests, sharp as piranhas in a bathtub. But most of them were too busy to stop and listen.
The wake of a lifetime. But, then again, aren’t they all?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The bartender apologized for the limited range of his Scotch. He had only three, unassuming brands: Chivas Rigal, Johnny Walker Black, and 12-year-old Glenlivet. Guests were invited to drown their disappointment in the fare by drinking as much as they liked.
A sea of smoked salmon swamped huge silver trays, and shanks of lamb begged for the mint jelly nearby. Fried green tomatoes provided the necessary Southern flavor.
This, plus a few hundred friends at the Capital City Club on Wednesday evening, was Tom Watson Brown’s idea of an Irish wake, perhaps the largest Atlanta has ever seen. He’d promised friends $10,000 for the party. His will delivered $35,000.
Item 2 in his last testament called for an event to be fueled with victuals of “adequate quantity and quality.” His son said Brown wanted details of the wake covered in Item 1, but legal protocol apparently dictates that a proper first deal with disposal of the remains.
Brown died three weeks ago, of complications from diabetes. His family tree included Tom Watson, the Reconstruction-era firebrand whose statue stands at the front door of the state Capitol. His fortune came from a string of TV stations.
The Cobb County resident was a raconteur of the first order, and the quiet money behind many of Georgia’s political figures and causes, Republican and Democrat.
Those who attended the toasting session included a former U.S. senator, the chairman of the MARTA board, two historians, judges of all ranks and orders, one newspaper publisher, several ex-editors and columnists, and many more lawyers than was healthy.
Many stories were told, and very funny ones, too, but they didn’t get down to the nut. In all his advance planning, Brown — who was not Irish and thus may have lacked experience — may have made one miscalculation.
People of rank are reluctant to misbehave in public, especially in large groups. And Brown was all about boisterous misbehavior, or tales of the same.
The millionaire showed up at a smoky VFW hall in Marietta at 4 p.m. every weekday, usually in galluses and a plaid shirt, where he and his drinking companions — a phrase that’s dying quickly — did their best to keep Georgia’s political legends alive. Even the ones that were true.
A favorite was that distant time when state legislators, assembling from all of Georgia’s dusty, misshapen corners, stayed in the same hotel, entertained by a small circle of female advisors. Doxies, Brown called them.
Several hours after adjournment one session, after the lawmakers had headed home, it was discovered that one of the young ladies had been indiscreet with her social contacts. The governor — always unspecified in Brown’s telling — put the entire state patrol on the road, rural telephones of that day being riddled with party lines — and thus eavesdroppers.
Troopers were ordered to knock on the door of every member of the Legislature, and advise him — for all were hims in that day — to tell his wife he had a headache until the necessary penicillin arrived.
As it turned out, according to Brown, the young lady was the victim of a false positive. And troopers were dispatched again throughout the state to inform lawmakers that their headaches had been cured.
Smyre to have back surgery
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rep. Calvin Smyre will undergo surgery for back problems in Columbus Friday.
The influential Democrat will spend a couple of days at St. Francis Hospital and expects to be recuperating at home for about a week.
Smyre has had knee and back problems for some time, and recently began to experience numbness in his hands and feet. He sought several medical opinions, and decided to have the surgery done by Dr. Thomas Walsh, a spinal specialist at the Hughston Center.
For those who might want to drop him a line, Smyre’s email is calvinsmyre@synovus.com.
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Casey Cagle’s bipartisan adventures continue….
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If this happened under Democratic rule, but we can’t remember it. On Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, a Republican, invited the two leaders of House Democrats to a sit-down session.
PeachCare was one topic, but Cagle’s charter school system initiative was the primary object of discussion, we’re told.
Uneasy thoughts on Charlie Norwood and the 10th District
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Politics is full of crass moments, and this may be one of them.
No one wants to see U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood of Augusta leave the stage. This is a fellow who, back in 2000, we put money on as the first GOP governor of Georgia. But already several figures are said to be making contingency plans for the quick, a one-month, non-partisan campaign that would result if the seat becomes vacant.
We’re hearing that the House would line up very strongly behind state Rep. Barry Fleming of Harlem, who represents Norwood in the Legislature. Other names we’ve heard include state senators Ralph Hudgens and Jim Whitehead. Democrats tell us they’re certain to participate.
One thought dominates: A race for the very conservative 10th District in northeast Georgia could be one of the first federal elections in the post-’06 climate, a test of what the GOP base now thinks of Iraq and the remaining months of the Bush administration.
And it might become a guidepost for any Republican facing election in ’08.
We’ll leave it at that.
The ‘08 race may need a sedative and some restraints
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Larry Sabato at the University of Virginia has come up with a dandy description of the way the ’08 primary season is shaping up. “If the job of scheduling the presidential nominating contests were assigned to an insane asylum,” he said, “This is pretty much what the patients would come up with.”
The ’08 election could be the most front-loaded in American history, with nearly half the states likely to have had their presidential primary votes by Feb. 5, less than a year away.
That, of course, would lead to the longest general election contest in history.
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