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Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Letting Democrats off the hook: The resurrection of the GOP plan to kill the car tax
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last week, when Democrats blocked what was left of Speaker Glenn Richardson’s tax reform plan, Republicans in charge of the House chortled that they had the minority party right where they wanted them — voting against the elimination of property taxes on automobiles.
On Tuesday, crossover day, House Republicans changed course.
They put up H.R. 1246, which — if fully implemented — would save drivers $672 million. Democrats voted for it in droves.
Why let Democrats off the hook? Other than good government, we mean.
Because:
— It’s an election year, Republicans liked the idea of eliminating the tax, and they recognized that you can’t win by losing. Minutes after the Tuesday vote, state Rep. Barry Fleming of Harlem, a 10th District congressional candidate, put out a press release touting “the largest tax cut in Georgia history.”
— Truthfully, there aren’t that many contested House races in the offing this November, where last week’s vote against a tax cut could be used to topple Democrats. Benefits to Republican candidates outweighed the first vote’s value as a propaganda tool.
— House Republicans recognized that a $10 fee to help Grady Memorial Hospital — and establish a statewide trauma network — was important. But they were unwilling to approve the fee without the elimination of the ad valorem tax on vehicles.
— Outside the Speaker’s office, we heard talk that the reversal was the result of spite. Gov. Sonny Perdue, one day earlier, pointed to reduced tax collections and reduced the amount of money available for spending over the next 18 months by $310 million.
According to this theory, House Republicans took the news personally — for it threw six weeks of budget work into a cocked hat, and guarantees the session will extend well into April. Plus, the governor’s announcement was viewed as unstated opposition to the elimination of the car tax.
We asked about this — and were reliably informed that a mass thumbing of noses at the governor was a bonus, but not a motivation for the House action.
A tale of two Forts and the no-knock warrant bill
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just before the Senate ended its crucial crossover day, the chamber passed S.B. 259 by a lopsided vote of 44-8.
This is a Democratic bill to virtually eliminate no-knock warrants — hardly on any Republican priority list.
Particularly when the sponsor is state Sen. Vincent Fort, a known opponent of most things GOP. The bill would put tough limitations on the kind of police activity that resulted in the shooting death of Kathryn Johnston in her Vine City home, by three undercover Atlanta cops.
So how did the bill come up for a vote? The answer is Fort McPherson, and it may have been the biggest deal of the day.
After 125 years, the U.S. Army is giving up 488-acre Fort McPherson on Atlanta’s southern side. Gov. Sonny Perdue tried last year to pass legislation establishing a state authority that would oversee redevelopment of the prime real estate.
Do not fool yourself. Much, much money is involved.
H.B. 817 made it through the House in 2007. But in the Senate, Fort and his allies blocked it. Fort Mac is contained entirely within his senate district, and Fort was worried about the impact of “gentrification within a sea of unemployment.”
Negotiations began this summer. Fort won a provision in the legislation for a jobs program, and another program for housing rehabilitation in the area — to help residents keep up with increased land values and the taxes that come with them.
The governor preferred to keep the Fort Mac bill as local legislation, which allowed it to move faster — and, incidentally, without recorded votes — so long as the Fulton County delegation agreed on it. A general bill, held in reserve in case the deal went sour, was placed on the Tuesday calendar for a floor vote.
Republicans also placed S.B. 259, Fort’s no-knock bill, at the end of the calendar as a sweetener. And, perhaps, a guarantee of good behavior.
The Fort Mac bill was passed without a hitch, with Fort’s changes. The House quickly agreed to the improvements, and the deal was done. The state now has a firm hand on the base’s redevelopment.
And the Atlanta senator got his ban on no-knock warrants through the Senate. “It was a good day for the home team,” Fort said.
Fort McPherson and foreign affairs in the state Senate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This morning, the Senate quietly passed H.B. 817, which establishes an authority to oversee the remaking of historic Fort McPherson on Atlanta’s south side, which is being abandoned by the U.S. Army as part of a reorganization effort. Word we have is that Gov. Sonny Perdue was behind the final version.
But on the business day of the session so far, an hour was devoted to dabbling in foreign affairs — specifically S.B. 451, which would require public retirement funds to identify investments in companies that do business with Iran.
This has been a tough bill to get out of committee — without loading it with other causes such as Dafur or China or any other causes. “This case is very specific to a country that is killing our troops,” said the bill’s lead sponsor, state Sen. Don Balfour (R-Snellville).
The bill passed easily, 45 to 6. But the bill’s opponents are worth noting. They included one of the most conservative members of the Senate, Bill Heath (R-Bremen) and one of its most liberal, Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta).
“This is symbolism. It’s not going to have an impact,” Orrock said.
Said Heath: “I think foreign policy is a matter best left to the U.S. Congress.”
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Blogwatch: Lewis phones in a town hall meeting — literally
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Politics Unfiltered has U.S. Rep. John Lewis, publicly chastised for his endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, reaching out to his 5th Congressional District in a manner we haven’t seen before.
The blog says “40,000 randomly selected individuals will receive a call asking them to stay on the line. Then Lewis will come on, talk about his work in Washington and take questions about issues concerning the district. The telephone town hall meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.”
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s possible that we won’t be invited to listen to what the congressman has to say. If one of you 40,000 would be so kind as to record it — perfectly legal under Georgia law — and send us the MP3, we’d be much obliged.
Bob Barr and Jimmy Carter on the topic of torture
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Washington Monthly has put together a series of essays arguing against the use of torture — or “enhanced interrogation techniques” — by the United States.
Two of the contributors, coming from opposite sides of the political spectrum, are former Georgia congressman Bob Barr and former President Jimmy Carter.
Writes Barr, in part:
”While the extreme sophistry and word gamesmanship practiced to a fine art by this administration might make a high school debating coach proud, it does great disservice to the notion that we exist in a society in which there are rules and norms of behavior with clarity and definitiveness and in which government agents as well as the citizenry are held to standards of behavior.
“This is not something of which we as Americans should be proud, and the use of torture will come back to haunt us in ways this administration apparently either doesn’t realize or simply doesn’t care about.”
And Carter writes, in part:
”Many courageous human rights defenders who document and report human rights violations throughout the world say that these actions by the United States rob them of the tool that has been central to their success: the ability to name and shame human rights violations.
“Abusive governments now believe that the rules have changed, and they too easily make excuses that sound a lot like the U.S. government’s arguments to legitimize its own conduct.”
The (oil) spot where business and politics intersect
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A frustrated Richard Anderson, top dog at Delta Air Lines, may just have served up the quote of the day.
With oil oozing past the $108-a-barrel mark, Anderson on Monday condemned the Bush administration for its failure to restrain fuel costs.
“We don’t have an energy policy in this country, and we need one,” Anderson said. “Jawboning OPEC is not an energy policy.”
Another B-grade plot line: ‘He must join us. He can’t resist us. He must become one with us’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now that John Lewis has caved and joined their family, Barack Obama supporters are casting about for their next superdelegate victim from Georgia.
It looks like it might be state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, vice-chairman of the state Democratic party. Jane Kidd, chairman of the Democratic party, has already joined the Obama team.
But Thurmond is different. Like Lewis, Thurmond is African-American.
An e-mail making the rounds notes that Thurmond “continues to endorse [Hillary] Clinton even after the voters of this great state, who elected him, voted overwhelmingly for Obama on Super Tuesday. This e-mail campaign is to ask Commissioner Thurmond to change his support to Obama, and support the people of this state, who voted for him….
“We understand his loyalty to the Clinton’s, but we are sure his loyalty lies more with the voters … who elected him to office,” the letter says.
The message helpfully includes Thurmond’s office number and e-mail address.
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