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Friday, May 4, 2007
A general thinks about a general election race against Marshall
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re late on this, but Roll Call, the newspaper that concentrates on Capitol Hill in Washington, has reported that another Republican from middle Georgia is weighing a challenge to U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Macon) for his seat in ’08.
The newspaper said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Rick Goddard conferred with Republicans in D.C. on Wednesday.
Goddard, who Republicans have attempted to recruit before, met with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who is chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.).
Marshall has fended off, just barely, past GOP attempts to oust him. To conservatives, his military service is a large part of his appeal. A Vietnam veteran, Marshall can boast that he’s the son and grandson of army generals, and a member of the U.S. Army Ranger hall of fame.
Some Republicans are clearly thinking that Goddard might be able to undercut that. He served as commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins Air Force Base. “The center, which is in Marshall’s 8th District, is the largest industrial complex in the state,” the newspaper reported.
“He is considering running,” said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain. “He would make an incredibly strong candidate.”
Goddard isn’t the only Republican with an eye on the seat. State Sen. Ross Tolleson (R-Perry) made a similar trip up to Washington in March, for the same purpose.
And don’t ignore our post below, about Democrats eager to see Marshall in the ’08 race against U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss.
An attempt to make a vetoed property tax cut more visible
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Earlier this week, we told you about a poll that showed Gov. Sonny Perdue largely undamaged by, and the Legislature taking a beating for, the budget squabble that has forced a special session.
While House Republicans have raised hell about Perdue’s veto of a $700 million budget bill, and the $142 million property tax rebate contained within, the issue hasn’t drifted much beyond the confines of the state Capitol. The public doesn’t know about it.
Jared Thomas and the Georgia chapter of Americans for Prosperity are out to change that. The anti-tax group has dropped a mailer that urges voters, in selected Republican-dominated districts across the state, to demand that their senators join House Speaker Glenn Richardson in attempting to override the governor’s veto.
The lead headline on the mailer: “When Georgia takes in more money than it needs, send it back to the taxpayers.”
How many flyers are being sent out, and their targets, are facts that Thomas, the AFP executive director, wants to keep secret through the weekend. To give nervous fits to as many Republican senators as possible.
This move could be important. At least one reason why the governor has been hesitant to name the date for the special session is that he’s been unable to extract a promise from Richardson, leader of the House, that his body won’t attempt another override vote.
But the Senate may not be a sure thing, either. Last week, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said he didn’t think two-thirds of his Senate were willing to rebuff Perdue’s veto.
And yet — only a day or so earlier, the governor called five conservative Republican senators into his office to find out what they were thinking. We hear that two told the Perdue they’d support the override. The remaining three made no commitment.
We’ll soon see if the AFP mailer stirs the pot.
So far, Mitt Romney the only presidential candidate* to take advantage of state GOP convention
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just got off the phone with Eric Tanenblatt, the Republican political operative who has become Mitt Romney’s lead guy in Georgia.
As of now, Romney will be the only GOP presidential candidate with a presence at the state convention on May 18 and 19. But that statement carries a large asterix.
State Republican officials have confirmed that no presidential candidates will be given an opportunity to address the thousands of delegates who gather in Gwinnett County. They want the attention inside the hall on local and state candidates and office-holders.
Why, yes. You’re correct. Newt Gingrich is addressing the kick-off dinner on May 18. But he’s the leading non-candidate on the Republican side of the ’08 race for the White House. So it’s different.
Any how, says Tanenblatt, the no-presidents policy has caused Romney to schedule three events around — but not in — the Republican convention, all on Friday, May 18.
House Speaker pro tem Mark Burkhalter (R-Alpharetta) is spear-heading a fund-raising lunch at the 1818 Club in Gwinnett. An evening fund-raising event is scheduled for a private home in Cumming.
In the mid-afternoon, Romney has scheduled a larger meet-and-greet for convention delegates — a rich vein of potential soldiers for any statewide campaign organization. But the where and when of the event hasn’t quite been worked out.
