Home > Political Insider > Archives > 2007 > June > 22
Friday, June 22, 2007
Another Yankee, another surprise attack: Cheney makes a secretive visit to Kennesaw Mountain
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So there we were — one of us, anyway, the one who’s not retiring to a life of leisure — making the evening slog up I-75 through heavier-than-usual rush-hour traffic.
The radio was on. Vice President Dick Cheney had declared himself part of the legislative branch, and thus immune to some law about the handling of classified info.
And there was news about efforts to shut down the detention camp in Guantanamo Bay. Cheney was part of that story, too.
Cops lined every overpass on the interstate, which was strange. And all entrances to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park were blocked. We commuters were a bit ticked.
It was the guy on the radio. The vice president had made a surprise visit to a reunion of descendants of the 21st Ohio, who fought in the run-up to the Battle of Atlanta. No press, no photos, no word put out to anyone.
Not to us. Not to his troops on the ground.
“I find it a bit embarrassing that I didn’t know anything about it,” said Scott Johnson, chairman of the Cobb County Republican Party.
Then he called Sue Everhart, a Cobb resident and chairman of the state GOP. She didn’t know anything either.
“That made me feel better,” Johnson said.
Everhart called about 10 p.m. tonight. She said the lack of a heads up had her ready to make a bit of a fuss to her contact at the White House.
Don’t get nervous, but that Yankee with a gun could be the vice president
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cobb commuters and civil war reenactors alike were surprised Friday afternoon by an visit to Kennesaw National Park by Vice President Dick Cheney.
Cheney’s great-grandfather, Samuel Fletcher Cheney, was a captain in the 21st Ohio Infantry Regiment, whose descendants are holding a reunionat Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
Cheney’s Friday afternoon drop-in was unannounced, and we don’t have many details yet. We think he dropped in for a quick afternoon stop, because his schedule lists him as spending the night in Vail, Colo.
The 21st Ohio Re-enactors Unit, which is based in the Atlanta area, marched in the 2004 presidential inauguration.
The GOP in nine counties line up behind Whitehead
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Establishment Republicans began lining up behind Jim Whitehead of Columbia County in the 10th District congressional run-off on Friday.
GOP organizations in nine of the 21 counties within the district endorsed Whitehead over Paul Broun of Athens, who came in second in the June 19 vote.
They were Richmond, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, Putnam, Elbert, Stephens, Madison, and Towns.
This is more important than it sounds. With some exceptions, the nine counties generally run up the eastern-most side of the district, from Augusta north. On Tuesday, they produced 53 percent of the 54,229 votes counted to date.
More significantly, the nine counties produced nearly three-quarters of the 23,572 votes that went to Whitehead, a former state senator.
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Revenue figures bounced in other states, too, the governor’s top guy tells lawmakers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ed Holcombe, Gov. Sonny Perdue’s chief of staff, sent an e-mail to state lawmakers this week in an effort to disabuse them of any notion that Perdue juggled state revenue figures in order to justify his opposition to a cut in property taxes.
In rejecting the tax cut, Perdue cited a 24 percent decrease in tax collections during April. But in May, after the governor levied his line-item veto, income tax collections jumped 45 percent.
Lawmakers have expressed great suspicion.
Wrote Holcomb:
“Please allow me to assure you that the governor, nor any representative of his office, asked DOR to delay the processing of tax checks.
“Governor Perdue has made it clear that under his administration, DOR will set month-end and year-end dates in advance - no manipulating the dates to come up with some desired result.
“A request has been made of the state auditor to look at the reporting of April and May revenues. We look forward to complying fully with this request.”
Attached to Holcombe’s e-mail was some research committed by the state Department of Revenue, which stated that 13 of the 24 states with personal income tax experienced similar jumps in revenue in May. You can read the entire DOR note on the jump.
To: Bart L. Graham, Commissioner
From: Tax Law & Policy
Date: June 18, 2007
Re: Other States’ 2007 Tax Collections - 28 States Responding
Personal Income Tax Collections
— 13 of the 24 states with personal income taxes (54%) mirrored Georgia with a May revenue increase that was much higher than their April figures, which were generally flat or decreased from the prior year;
— 5 of the 13 states joined Georgia and had an actual decrease in April revenues, ranging from (-2.3%) to (-16.9%), compared to Georgia’s (-24%) drop;
— 12 of the 13 states had double-digit increases in May, ranging from +18.5% to +58.5%, compared to Georgia’s +45.4% May increase.
— 7 of the 24 states (29%) experienced the opposite trend from Georgia, with April revenue increases of up to 17.3%, followed by smaller May gains and 5 states with actual revenue decreases of up to (-26.8%);
— Michigan, although trending opposite from Georgia, noted a processing change that accelerated about $60M of May revenues into April - this year payments attached to extension requests went straight to Michigan’s third party processor for faster deposit;
— Wisconsin also trended opposite from Georgia, but Wisconsin kept their April books open through the end of the first week in May, substantially increasing April revenues; and
— Of the 6 remaining states for which we had collection data, 2 showed similar revenue increases in both April and May, and 4 have no personal income tax.
Total Revenue Collections
— 12 of the 24 states that provided data on total collections (50%) mirrored Georgia with a May revenue increase that was significantly higher than their April gains;
— 5 of the 12 states joined Georgia and had an actual decrease in April total tax revenues, ranging from (-1.3%) to (-11.2%), compared to Georgia’s (-2.0%) drop;
— 11 of the 12 states had double-digit increases in May, ranging from +10.4% to +67.0%, compared to Georgia’s +27.9% May increase.
— 8 of the 24 states (33%) trended opposite to Georgia with April gains in total tax revenues that were greater than their May gains, or even May decreases from the prior year;
— Note again that although Michigan and Wisconsin trended opposite from Georgia, there were processing changes or booking methods that caused most of the difference; and
— Of the remaining 6 states that responded, 2 had generally similar increases in both their April and May total revenue collections from prior periods, and 4 have not yet provided their May total revenue figures, although personal income tax figures were available.
Sources
— Information was gathered through the web site of the Federation of Tax Administrators (“FTA”), as well as direct contacts with other states’ departments of revenue. All of the information used is publicly available.
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Blogwatch: A Sonny Perdue sighting in Paris
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Sonny Perdue has been spotted at the Paris Air Show. A blogger for the Weekly Standard snapped the governor while Perdue was trying on an F/A-18 Super Hornet.
No, we don’t think he bothered to ask if he could fly it. The blog was posted today.
The blogger noted that Perdue was followed into the cockpit by “a former Soviet MiG pilot and Moldovan minister of defense now serving as that country’s ambassador to NATO.”
And the French are worried about spied on via their BlackBerries.
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Isakson, Home Depot, and the NYT editorial page
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) takes a hit on the editorial page of today’s New York Times.
The NYT accuses Isakson of placing a “squalid little amendment” in the immigration reform bill on behalf of Atlanta-based Home Depot.
The amendment would prohibit states and cities from passing laws and ordinances to mandate that Home Depot — and stores like it — erect shelters for the day laborers they attract.
The city of Los Angeles is currently considering such an ordinance.
Contacted this morning, a spokeswoman for Isakson says the senator is trying to protect private businesses from unwarranted government mandates that leave owners exposed to costly lawsuits.
Says the editorial:
“Mr. Isakson pulled his support for the immigration bill on Wednesday, because he doubted it was ambitious enough to seal the Mexico border. Now he wants the Senate to minutely tweak the grand bargain to allow his friends at Home Depot — the country’s second-largest retailer, and a campaign contributor — to save some pocket change and to shuck off responsibility for the unruliness in its parking lots to its customers and neighbors.”
Joan Kirchner, speaking for Isakson, makes two points in a quick e-mail:
“No cities have passed a law yet, but there have been a number of localities (as many as a half dozen we’re told) that have told Home Depot they won’t issue a business license unless Home Depot builds a shelter on its property for day laborers. These obligations are costly and represent an unwarranted interference by the government with the rights of businesses to use and operate their property.”
“The liability issues are huge. If there is an incident between a day laborer and a Home Depot customer, for example, is Home Depot responsible then for the actions of that day laborer or that customer when the company was told by the municipality that they had to build a facility that is a magnet for these day laborers to congregate on their property? Home Depot is not guaranteed any protections against lawsuits.”
Not so fast on paper ballots, state Republicans say
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The State Election Board, including Secretary of State Karen Handel, wants Washington to slow down on its push toward mandatory paper-ballot back-ups on electronic voting machines, according to Dave Williams in today’s Henry Daily Herald.
The board, of which Handel is a member, on Thursday unanimously voted to give a thumbs-down to legislation now in the U.S. House that would demand that paper receipts be in place in time for next year’s presidential election.
“I support a voter-verified paper trail,” said Handel, a Republican who took office in January. “This bill, however, is untenable in the timeline.”
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