Home > Political Insider > Archives > 2007 > March > 02
Friday, March 2, 2007
Richardson’s in town Sunday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination last month, will be in town Sunday for an afternoon fundraiser at the home of Rutherford and Laura Seydel.
That’s a sign of the cred Richardson, who served as Secretary of Energy in the Clinton administration, has with environmentalists. The Seydels are co-founders of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund and sit on scads of boards of environmental organizations.
Others on the host community include former U.S. Rep. Buddy Darden, Atlanta attorney and politico Kevin Ross, and corporate attorney Gene Watkins.
Look for more Democratic presidential candidates to come to town in search of money later this month.
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Democrats say Legislature’s hiatus unnecessary, and a waste of money
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The bipartisan effort over salvaging PeachCare in the Legislature is fraying a bit around the edges.
Senate and House Democrats on Friday afternoon issued a joint statement expressing their “profound disappointment” with the Republican decision to recess the General Assembly for two weeks, to see if Congress can come up with cash to plug a $131 million hole in the state insurance program for the kids of the working poor.
While some committees grind on, the Legislature won’t reassemble until March 19, and won’t finish until the latter part of April.
“Such a work stoppage will halt momentum in both chambers and frustrate the ability of legislators to carry out issues of importance to the people of Georgia,” the e-mail said. Democrats say they’ve already introduced legislation to put a temporary patch over PeachCare financing, but that Republicans have ignored the bills.
They also noted that, when the Legislature was under Democratic control, Republicans often criticized lengthy legislative sessions as a waste of taxpayer money.
This is the first partisan breach in a two-month truce between Republicans and Democrats, created in an effort to present a united front in Washington on PeachCare funding.
On the other hand, that breach may be relatively small. When it comes to the necessity of the two-week sabbatical, Democrats are only saying publicly what many Republicans are saying privately.
Red-light cameras: There’s another fight in the wings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You know that H.B. 77, a bill to prohibit red-light cameras, was substantially changed in a House committee this week.
In a compromise largely supervised by Speaker Glenn Richardson, the bill now would permit the cameras, but cap the amount of revenue a city or county could earn from them.
But if you think that’s the end of the effort to shut down red-light cameras in Georgia, you’d be wrong.
The sponsors of the anti-camera campaign have another card up their sleeves, H.B. 590, which would reduce the maximum fine for a red-light violation from $70 to $35.
The second bill has its first committee hearing next week. We’re told that, should it pass, the slashed fines would make new red-light cameras uneconomical for local governments — and would likely to put a halt to new installations.
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The National Journal’s ‘who’s conservative and who’s liberal’ list
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The National Journal is out today with its conservative/liberal rankings of the 2006 members of Congress.
Among Georgia’s congressional delegation, U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Sharpsburg) was judged the most conservative, and U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta) the most liberal.
But Westmoreland is more conservative than Lewis is liberal. Among 435 members of the U.S. House, Westmoreland was judge the sixth most conservative. Lewis was the 35th most liberal.
U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Macon) is one of three House members who scored dead-center.
In the U.S. Senate, Johnny Isakson was ranked sixth most conservative. Saxby Chambliss followed close behind, at ninth. The two Georgia senators are like peas in a pod. Only Maryland’s senators voted together more times.
The rankings are based on 103 House votes and 84 Senate votes in 2006, on economic, social and foreign policy.
Among Georgia’s House members, the most moderate Republican was more conservative than the most conservative Democrat.
Here’s how they lined up, from conservative to liberal: Westmoreland; John Linder; Jack Kingston; Charlie Norwood; Nathan Deal; Phil Gingrey; Tom Price; Jim Marshall; John Barrow; Sanford Bishop; David Scott; Cynthia McKinney; and John Lewis.
More on the weirdness of slavery and politics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First we find out that one of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s ancestors was owned by an ancestor of Strom Thurmond. Strange enough.
But now we find that one of Barack Obama’s ancestors — on his white mother’s side — may have owned slaves.
Here is the Baltimore Sun piece on the topic, just out this morning.
You’ve got to wonder how this might play in the South, where Obama is surging.
