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Thursday, February 7, 2008
Joe Lowery gloating? Not him. Never.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In one of its post-primary stories, the Associated Press quoted John Lewis and Andrew Young as saying they had no regrets about supporting Hillary Clinton — but that they were also happy to see that Barack Obama did so well.
But the 86-year-old Rev. Joseph Lowery, an Obama supporter, was less kind.
“He quipped that older black leaders who have chosen Clinton are simply ill,” the AP reported.
Said Lowery:
“They are infected with a disease called establishmentarianism. That is a succor to the folks who they think either have the power, or are about to get the power. They’re just stuck in the past and they can’t move forward. But the people have gone and left them. They’re like the drum major who couldn’t find the band.”
Catching up: In the brewing 10th District race, the GOP challenger has an unusual advantage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This presidential primary has caused us to neglect some of the nuts-and-bolts of the Georgia political scene.
That includes the brewing internal Republican fight between incumbent U.S. Rep. Paul Broun of Athens and his primary challenger, Barry Fleming of Harlem, who is now the House minority whip.
Both have filed their reports to the Federal Election Commission. Broun’s can be found here, and Fleming’s report is here.
Bottom line, the challenger in the 10th District congressional race has an unusual financial advantage. Fleming is reporting $488,129.88 in cash on hand, as of Jan. 30, compared to Broun’s $125,290.
For the math-challenged, that’s nearly a four-to-one advantage.
Moreover, Broun is still carrying a debt from his special election campaign of $272,079.
But Broun is still the incumbent, and that means a lot in Washington, especially to political action committees. Broun lists $387,390 contributions from individuals, and $84,366 from PACs.
Among the latter: $1,000 from a group called Government Is Not God; $1,000 from the Committee for the Advancement of Cotton; nearly $6,000 from the NRA Political Victory Fund; and $5,000 from the Realtors PAC.
Individual contributions to Broun reflect the fact that the struggle for this district is largely geographic — a fight for dominance between Athens (Broun’s home) and Augusta (Fleming’s neighborhood).
But donors also include former congressman Bob Bar, who gave $5,000. Broun, like Barr before him, has been a different kind of Republican.
And it’s clear that Broun’s Republican colleagues from Georgia are steering clear of the contest. U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston of Savannah is the only Georgia congressman contributing to Broun — and that’s an in-kind contribution.
Fleming’s contribution list, on the other hand, reads like a directory for the state House of Representatives. Fleming reports 55 donations from current and former Republican members of the Georgia House, totaling $50,500.
Donors include House Speaker Glenn Richardson. Most House members gave $1,000.
Romney suspends, but may be angling as the voice of the GOP’s culture wing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The instant analysis of Mitt Romney’s suspension of his Republican campaign for president is focusing on Romney’s citation of the war in Iraq as his reason for quitting.
Emphasizing the primary platform plank of John McCain — now the presumptive Republican nominee — is an implicit endorsement, pundits quickly said.
And some of that’s true.
“If I fight on in my campaign all the way to the convention, I’d forestall the launch of a national campaign. And frankly I’d be making it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win,” Romney said.
But something else might be happening, too.
We may be seeing the start of a second campaign — a fight between Romney and Mike Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist preacher now the undisputed No. 2 Republican remaining in the race, to become the guardian of social conservative values within the GOP.
In a 22-minute speech in Washington this afternoon, Romney just may have been pitching himself as the liaison between McCain and the GOP’s most conservative elements.
Romney spent the first two-thirds of his address emphasizing very non-McCain-like topics. And didn’t mention McCain’s until the last three minutes.
“I’m convinced that unless America changes course, we could become the France of the 21st century,” Romney said.
He spoke of a “culture-killing” dependence on welfare, attacks on faith and religion, the “celebration of pornography, and repeated his support for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage.
“Europe is facing a demographic disaster. that’s the inevitable product of weakened faith in the Creator, failed families, disrespect for the sanctity of human life, and eroded morality,” Romney said.
This was his money line:
“Some reason that culture is merely an accessory to American vitality. We know that it’s the source of our strength.
“And we will not be dissuaded by the snickers and knowing glances while we stand up for family values and morality and culture.”
Presenting John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For those who claimed Super Tuesday wouldn’t - and didn’t - produce a presidential nominee, we give you John McCain.
Mitt Romney, who was touted as the electable alternative to long-shot conservative contender Mike Huckabee, suspended his campaign today - all but guaranteeing that McCain will be the 2008 Republican presidential nominee.
Romney’s announcement came two days after Super Tuesday results boosted McCain’s already considerable advantage.
It’s a two-man race now, and things don’t look good for Huckabee, who won Georgia’s GOP primary Tuesday despite GOP party pressure to vote for the more electable Romney. McCain came in third in Georgia’s three-man race and the question now is whether McCain can win over Georgia Republicans in time for the general election
At the moment, McCain has a wide lead over Huckabee in the number of delegates won (707 to 195) and money raised ($41 million to $9 million).
And while it ain’t over ‘til it’s over, it would take a political miracle to see Huckabee accepting the nomination at this summer’s GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.
ICYMI: Anti-abortion measure, DOT vote were briefly on the same table
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just wanted to bring your attention to this story today by our AJC colleague Ben Smith:
A Georgia lawmaker demoted over an election for the state Department of Transportation board had talked beforehand with Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) about a deal to trade his vote for the House leader’s backing on anti-abortion legislation.
A Richardson aide on Wednesday confirmed that state Rep. Martin Scott (R-Rossville) and the speaker had discussed —- and dismissed —- the idea briefly a few hours before Scott and other lawmakers re-elected Mike Evans chairman of the state DOT board….
Clelia Davis, the speaker’s communications director, said Richardson never proposed such a deal, either in person or through a go-between.
“A House member … came to the speaker and suggested that some DOT board votes may be for sale if the speaker agreed to a floor vote on the Human Life Amendment,” Davis said in a prepared statement. “Speaker Richardson said absolutely not.”
How cloning might help House Speaker Glenn Richardson pass his GREAT plan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Honest to Darwin, this is the press release that rolled across our desk:
HOUSTON — (Feb. 6, 2008) — As reported in this week’s issue of “New Scientist” magazine, research by Rice University professor of political science John Alford indicates that what is on one’s mind about politics may be influenced by how people are wired genetically.
Alford, who has researched this topic for a number of years, and his team analyzed data from political opinions of more than 12,000 twins in the United States and supplemented it with findings from twins in Australia. Alford found that identical twins were more likely to agree on political issues than were fraternal twins. On the issue of property taxes, for example, an astounding four-fifths of identical twins shared the same opinion, while only two-thirds of fraternal twins agreed.
The article didn’t say what impact shared DNA might have on attitudes toward a replacement sales tax.
Good morning. All hell will now break loose
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House Republicans this morning will try to force a vote on an earmark moratorium, a strategy in which Georgia Republicans have played a crucial role developing.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Jack Kingston, a Savannah Republican, and co-sponsored by the six other GOP members of the Georgia delegation, would establish a 16-member study commission to review all aspects of often-secretive earmark process, which allows lawmakers to slip funding for pet projects into massive spending bills with little or no public review.
Under the bill, no earmarks could be introduced while the commission is conducting its study.
The bill calls for greater transparency in the process and would require all earmarks to be categorized as national, military, or as a local project, making pet projects easier to identify and oppose.
The Georgia delegation sought more than $200 million in earmarks in the 2008 federal budget, but at least three Republicans have since vowed to stop using them.
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