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Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Towery: If this were World War II, Perdue would be Britain, and the Legislature would be Dresden
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A legislative session book-ended by scandal, with noisy but obscure power plays by House and Senate leaders in between, has given Gov. Sonny Perdue a heavy advantage when lawmakers reassemble for an encore this month.
Voters didn’t like the way lawmakers conducted themselves. Republican voters were especially displeased.
So says a statewide poll about to be released by Matt Towery of Insider Advantage. We’ve been given an early look at it.
The survey underscores the political benefit of Perdue’s decision to disappear during most of the spring, while the General Assembly produced little of note — then reappear just in time to veto a $700 million spending bill that included a $142 million property tax rebate.
The veto is the reason for the upcoming, but still unscheduled, special session.
Perdue’s approval rating stands at 53 percent — 83 percent among Republicans voters. But House Speaker Glenn Richardson and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle can hardly say the same thing.
Asked if they approve of the job performance of the state House of Representatives, 53 percent of voters said no. The judgment was even harsher among Republicans — 77 percent of GOP voters disapproved.
Statistically, but not politically, the Senate faired better. Overall, 54 percent disapproved. The number jumped to 63 percent among Republican voters.
Lumped together, “the leadership of the state Legislature” was well thought of by only 17 percent of voters. Voters were not asked what they thought of Richardson and Cagle individually.
“The Legislature has made the governor look good. By staying in his hole, sort of like the groundhog, the governor has remained much more popular, particularly with Republicans,” Towery said.
The poll of 500 registered voters was conducted April 30 and May 1, and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. Cross-tabs can be downloaded here.
For 236 lawmakers in the House and Senate, the problem with public perception lies in the details. Policy is a complicated thing. Tax policy is doubly so.
The $700 million spending bill for 2007 began with a demand by Cagle, the leader of the Senate, that pork-barrel spending be stripped away. He was trumped by House leaders, Richardson included, who wanted the money be given back to homeowners.
Perdue questioned the wisdom of the rebate in his veto — which the House quickly voted to override. Cagle sided with Perdue and refused to entertain a veto vote. Whether a second attempt at overriding the veto will be made is open to question.
Here’s the point: the InsiderAdvantage poll says voters don’t know enough about the dead budget package to care about this. Only 24 percent said they were aware of any benefits contained in the budget proposals made by the House, the Senate — or the governor.
“Republicans in the House say we can’t possibly go back on a tax cut. Well, the public doesn’t even know there’s a tax cut,” Towery said.
Towery did say it was significant that the January start of the Legislature was overshadowed by ethics charges (later dismissed) alleging that the House speaker engaged in an improper relationship with an AGL lobbyist. And that the coda for the session was a bloody, 2 a.m. brawl between two lobbyists at a Sine Die party in downtown Atlanta.
“All [voters] know is that everything they’re reading and hearing is negative,” Towery said. “If things were to stay as they are, Republican senators and representatives would be in severe danger of being defeated in primaries.”
Based on these same numbers, we’ll offer two predictions of our own. First, this special session of the Georgia General Assembly will be over long before voters even know lawmakers are in town.
And secondly, nothing but lemonade and cookies will be served at the Sine Die party.
Such a lovely day for a protest, then say a prayer on Thursday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MoveOn.org and Georgians Against Escalation in Iraq have scheduled a protest against President Bush’s veto — just in time for today’s six o’clock news. It’s to be at Freedom Park at Moreland Avenue and Freedom Parkway in Atlanta. Bring your Frisbees.
No presumptions, but the other side of the ideological spectrum might be more interested in National Day of Prayer ceremonies at the state Capitol at 1 p.m. Thursday.
Sadie Fields, chairman of the Georgia Christian Alliance, is distributing invitations on behalf of Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Giuliani cancels in Savannah
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Republicans and business types from here to the coast have been quietly touting a Saturday, invitation-only appearance in Savannah by Rudy Giuliani, the front-running Republican in the ‘08 presidential race.
But this morning, Larry Peterson with the Savannah Morning News reports that Rudy has pulled the plug, citing a scheduling conflict.
The occasion was an opening gala for the $800 million Savannah River Landing project.
Blogwatch: Illegal immigration, terrorism, and the Al Qaeda voting bloc in Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The language used in the debate over illegal immigration is getting pretty rough out there.
Tom Crawford of capitolimpact.com has a piece, available at Atlanta Magazine, in which 10th District congressional candidate Jim Whitehead of Evans, a Republican, explains why he’s leaning on illegal immigration as an issue, rather than the war in the Middle East.
Writes Crawford:
“Iraq has not been a big thing in our district,” said Whitehead, a former University of Georgia offensive lineman. “Immigration is the No. 1 issue, pure and simple.” Whitehead contends that “left-wing political activists [are] intentionally registering illegal aliens to vote, including known Al Qaeda terrorists…. This is a pivotal issue for the future of America. We have to have the intestinal fortitude to protect all Americans.”
Don’t dismiss this as a stray stab of hyperbole. D.A. King, the illegal immigration activist who supports Whitehead, allegedly said much the same thing at an April 28 meeting of the Newton County Republican party.
“They’re not here to mow your lawn - they’re here to blow up your buildings and kill your children, and you, and me,” King was quoted as saying.
Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, has been berating GOP officials in attendance, urging them to put distance between themselves and King’s remarks. Without much luck.
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