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Tuesday, September 18, 2007
So many candidates, so few endorsements
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s congressional delegation has been slow to endorse any of the presidential primary contenders, Republican or Democrat.
The Hill newspaper reported here Tuesday that only six of the 15 Peach State pols - four Republicans and two Democrats - have made their preferences known. Nearly 230 members of the House and Senate - about half the total - have endorsed candidates, The Hill reported.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) had the most congressional endorsements (60) of the 17 candidates listed by the paper.
Two Georgia Democrats - Rep. Sanford Bishop of Albany and Rep. Hank Johnson of DeKalb County - are backing Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for their party’s nomination. Democratic campaign recruiting among Georgia’s African American officials has been intense and both Bishop and Johnson staved off overtures from the campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) - including calls from former President Bill Clinton.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, appears to be the most popular candidate among Georgia lawmakers. Three state Republicans - Rep. Phil Gingrey of Marietta, Rep. John Linder of Duluth and Rep. Tom Price of Roswell - are all backing him.
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, a Republican from Grantville, is backing former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee.
Chip Rogers to be voice, chief staffer for Thompson campaign in Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Fred Thompson presidential campaign is about to get its boots moving on the ground in Georgia.
The Thompson organization plans to announce tomorrow that state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) will serve as its executive director and spokesman for the Georgia campaign.
Rogers is the fellow who sponsored the big Republican effort in 2006 to crack down on illegal immigrants in Georgia.
Joel McElhannon, who did much of the strategy work for Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in his 2006 campaign, will serve as regional political director.
Steve Croy, a major developer from south Georgia, will serve as Thompson’s finance chair here. He did the same thing for the Cagle campaign in 2006. Funny how that works.
Rogers’ involvement is the personification of the crush that’s headed Georgia’s way in the weeks leading up to the Feb. 5 presidential primary.
The Legislature, with Rogers as one of its members, will begin its winter session on the second Monday in January.
Look for Thompson to make his first appearance in Georgia next month.
A Rasmussen/WAGA poll on the U.S. Senate race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dale Cardwell, one of three announced Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate, is bragging on a WAGA (Fox 5)/Rasmussen poll that shows him doing slightly better against Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss than fellow Democrat Vernon Jones.
See the poll here.
The Chambliss/Cardwell match-up comes out at 49 to 33 percent. The Chambliss/Jones race was measured at 53 to 28 percent. That shows him the better candidate, Cardwell is arguing this morning.
But more interesting is the favorable/unfavorable line on all three candidates. Chambliss’ ratio is a relatively healthy 58 percent to 30 percent. Jones has the near reverse — 29 percent view him favorably, while 54 percent view him unfavorably.
Yet Cardwell’s rating doesn’t exactly show him to be a muscle-bound candidate, either. Those polled were nearly even in their judgment. Thirty-four percent saw Cardwell favorably, while 39 percent viewed him unfavorably. Former journalists, like lawyers, may carry a heavier burden than most when it comes to public opinion.
Group: Rep. Scott one of “most corrupt”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rep. David Scott, an Atlanta Democrat, today was named one the 25 most “corrupt members of Congress” by a ethical watchdog group that cited, among other charges, Scott’s failure to pay taxes on time and the mingling of his personal business interests and his campaign finances.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) made the charge in a report Here CREW said “documents the egregious, unethical and possibly illegal activities of the most tainted members of Congress.”
Citing news reports and Scott’s campaign-finance records, CREW said Scott’s family advertising business, Dayn-Mark, failed to pay $154,000 in payroll taxes on time and $4,600 in local and state taxes since 1998. Scott also was late in paying $23,200 in property taxes on his home.
CREW questioned campaign payments to members of Scott’s family that the FEC records indicate were reimbursements for office supplies and other items. The group also cited a former Scott aide’s claim that Scott used House office staff for campaign work.
“It has become abundantly clear that many public officials believe that the rules don’t apply to them,” CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said in a statement.
Michael Andel, Scott’s spokesman, called the report “ridiculous” and “untruthful.”
“It’s unfortunate that they didn’t come in an talk to us before they did their little report, because there are a lot of inaccuracies here.” Andel said. Incidents cited in the report are either false or have already been addressed, including the full payment of Scott’s back taxes, Andel said.
The damaging information on which stories about Scott’s campaign finances were based was distributed by Republicans looking to weaken Scott in next year’s election, he said.
Scott has said the late payments were due to his wife’s failure to pay them on time. Alfredia Scott accepted that responsibility in an earlier interview.
In Augusta, ‘poorly worded’ e-mail forces resignation of GOP official from authority
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dave Barbee, chairman of the Republican party’s 10th District operation, has resigned from his post on the Augusta Housing Authority, two weeks after his controversial e-mail was made public, advocating an increase in white residency in the city’s downtown area.
Here’s the Augusta Chronicle take on the issue.
Barbee has repeatedly apologized for his “poorly worded” e-mail to developers, and submitted his resignation on Sunday to Mayor Deke Copenhaver.
On Monday, the mayor said: [Barbee] has expressed to me his sincere regret for the inappropriate wording of his recent e-mail. He apologizes to anyone in the Augusta community that he may have inadvertently offended. I have accepted his apology and with God’s help, may we forgive and move forward as a community of trust and hope.”
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