Home > Political Insider > Archives > 2008 > March > 13
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The sounds of Sonny: On Sunday beer sales, on killing car taxes — and maybe on a transportation tax, too.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Sonny Perdue cut loose on members of the House on Thursday, for raising the issue of retail sales of Sunday beer and wine — and for a hefty tax cut that he called “irresponsible.”
A House committee on Wednesday took a bill to permit the Sunday sales of beer at the new minor league Braves stadium in Gwinnett, and attached language to permit local referendums on the Sunday sale of beer and wine in grocery and convenience stores.
Here’s where the governor explains why Sunday sales are a bad thing.
Perdue said the House action “jeopardizes” what he called an economic development matter for Gwinnett.
But there’s more. Listen to this clip.
Says the governor:
“We live in a republic, and the people of Georgia send us here to make decisions. I’m very concerned about a lot of the efforts I hear this year, about ‘Well, we’ll just let people vote on it.’ I mean, do we want to let the people vote to choose to allow prostitution and those kinds of things? Where are we going to draw the line?”
If you’re a supporter of the Legislature’s effort to create a sales tax for transportation — through regional referendums — that kind of thinking from the governor must give you pause.
As for the ad valorem tax on vehicles, which the House voted to eliminate, Perdue said this:
“People love to vote for tax cuts. It’s much tougher to balance a budget, and talk about where those tax cuts come from. I think the people of Georgia get the joke. They want infrastructure, they want education. They want government to work for them,” the governor said. “I kind of liken it to the Wright brothers jumping off of Kitty Hawk and designing an airplane on the way down.”
For the record, we’ve been to Kitty Hawk. It’s not a cliff. You can’t jump off it. Unless the governor was talking about the aircraft carrier. In which case the entire metaphor collapses.
Many thanks to Dick Pettys of InsiderAdvantage for helping us out on the audio.
Chambliss, Martin may start U.S. Senate campaigns on the same day
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss announces his bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate on Monday. U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson will be at Chambliss’ side in Moultrie.
A statewide fly-around is to follow.
Atlanta attorney Jim Martin may be trying to steal some of Chambliss’ thunder — we’re hearing the Democrat has picked the same day for his entrance into the race.
Fight over Michigan, Florida delegates moves to Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Democratic fight over convention delegates from Michigan and Florida is moving to Atlanta on Monday.
Oral arguments for a lawsuit filed by Tampa political consultant Victor DiMaio against the Democratic National Committee will be heard before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The St. Pete Times quotes DiMaio’s attorney, Michael Steinberg, as saying this:
“This was not fair to ordinary average Florida citizens. They had no say-so over when the election was scheduled,” Steinberg said. “What the Democratic Party is saying is that the rights of citizens of four states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina) are paramount to the rights of the citizens of the state of Florida.”
Minor league baseball: Where the shameless offender can mingle with shameless promoters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s the humiliation of standing before a bank of national TV cameras, with your chagrined wife at your side. And then there’s the real stuff.
The middle Georgia minor league baseball team known as the Macon Music has announced that June 13 will be “Elliot Spitzer” night, in honor of the disgraced governor of New York who resigned on Wednesday after he was caught on a wiretap arranging for high-priced call girls.
According to the Macon Telegraph, Spitzer will be invited to throw out the first pitch. Other alleged inducements for fans:
- The Music will give away a trip to New York and a one-night stay at the Mayflower Hotel.
The ninth fan - or Client No. 9, as Spitzer was known in the prostitution ring - into the ballpark will receive a free Music prize pack.
Fans with the name Eliot, Spitzer or Kristen, along with any fan from New York, will receive $1 off admission. Any fan who has ever resigned a position will also receive $1 off admission.
From what we can tell, this is kind of like being awarded an honorary coat of tar and feathers.
Services »
