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April 2008
The e-mail that one state employee would like back
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Every now and again, the Jack Abramoff saga — already forgotten by many — jumps up in the most unexpected of places.
Abramoff is the high-powered Republican lobbyist whose connections with Indian tribes and their gaming operations proved such a problem for Ralph Reed in his ’06 bid for lieutenant governor.
In Washington, low-grade prosecutions continue. Robert Coughlin, a former member of the Justice Department, pleaded guilty last week to accepting thousands of dollars in meals and tickets from Abramoff.
An article posted on the web site of the ABA Journal says that prosecutors aren’t through.
Make sure you get to the third paragraph in this excerpt:
One e-mail from Kevin Ring, a member of Abramoff’s lobbying team at Greenberg Traurig, touted his success at securing a $16.3 million Justice Department grant for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the story says. Initially a deputy assistant attorney general had approved only $9 million for the tribe, but someone in Justice approved the higher amount.
Ring, a former staffer in the Justice Department under Attorney General John Ashcroft, had tickets for the Dave Matthews Band that he was giving to the lawyers who helped his clients. Coughlin, who at one time worked with Ring at DOJ, had helped his friend make contacts with Justice Department staffers. “I have the suite filling up with DOJ staffers that just got our clients $16 million,” Ring said in an e-mail to a fellow lobbyist, Padgett Wilson.
Wilson’s e-mail reply asserted that Dave Matthews tickets weren’t enough of a reward. “As for those DOJ staffers, those guys should get anything they want for the rest of the time they are in office—opening day tickets, Skins v. Giants, oriental massages, hookers, whatever.” Wilson is now director of governmental affairs for Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.
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A city slips out from under a ‘gun rights’ senator
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Tuesday, the mayor of Woodstock, Ga., sent Gov. Sonny Perdue a letter begging him to veto H.B. 89, the measure to expand the public places a concealed weapon can be carried by permit holders.
Mayor Donnie Henriques wrote “to express the collective concern of city council.”
Quoth the mayor:
While a paramount objective of any elected body is safety of the public they serve, we are inclined to believe the proposed amendments will not only fall seriously short of enhancing public safety but more than likely will escalate the frequency of armed confrontation between police and persons traveling armed, entering public property armed, consuming alcoholic beverages while armed or reacting overtly to what they perceive as a threat to another.
You can read the rest on the jump.
The significance of this letter is that Woodstock is home to state Sen. Chip Rogers, a Republican who was key to the bill’s passage by the Legislature.
We caught Rogers in the hallway today. He said he was surprised by his city’s action. And not pleasantly.
In the meantime, GeorgiaCarry.Org has written a rebuttal to a letter sent to Perdue from the Georgia Restaurant Association, warning that H.B. 89 would lead to serious legal and insurance liabilities for its members.
Read the GeorgiaCarry letter here.
It comes to this rather esoteric conclusion:
H.B. 89 is the most important bill to restore gun rights to citizens in Georgia’s history. As you know, the public gathering law was a Jim Crow law passed in response to a Republican protest against blacks being ejected from the General Assembly after Reconstruction. This is an opportunity for you to help heal Georgia’s racist past.
And, as promised earlier, the Woodstock letter can be found below.
April 29, 2008
The Honorable Sonny Perdue
Governor of the Great State of Georgia
203 State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Dear Governor,
In this legislative session our elected delegates addressed many issues with typical spirit and competency and I am again honored to be associated with the men and women who dedicate their lives to public office.
I write however to express the collective concern of City Council regarding HB 89 that amends Part 1 of Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 OCGA entitled the Business Security and Employee Privacy Act. While a paramount objective of any elected body is safety of the public they serve, we are inclined to believe the proposed amendments will not only fall seriously short of enhancing public safety but more than likely will escalate the frequency of armed confrontation between police and persons traveling armed, entering public property armed, consuming alcoholic beverages while armed or reacting overtly to what they perceive as a threat to another.
Notwithstanding the licensing requirements for those carrying guns there is a stark reality of the relationship between gun access and violent crime. The United States is the most highly armed country in the world with 90 guns for every 100 citizens according to the 2007 Small Arms Survey. In the rest of the world, the rate is ten firearms for every 100 citizens. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the 1990’s found the U.S. firearm homicide rate for children at 16 times that of other developed countries and on average 30,000 Americans killed each year because of firearms. In fact, since 1963 more Americans died by gunfire than perished in combat during the entire 20th century.
Contrary to popular belief, gun violence is not an urban, gang or a criminal problem. More than 16,000 suicides, accidental deaths of children and domestic violence related homicides by use of a firearm in the home occur each year and more than $2.3 billion is spent annually on medical costs attributed directly to gun violence. When coupled with lost productivity of those killed and wounded, the economic impact in communities and the devastation to the fabric of a presumably civil society the need to limit the number of weapons on our streets not increase them is apparent.
Last year firearms related violence prompted the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Joyce Foundation to partner with civic leaders to develop a comprehensive strategy. That summit produced a series of recommendations that included law enforcement leaders needing the support of elected officials at every level of the legislative process with emphasis on the need to act in the public interest and stop catering to special interests to reduce the terrible, and escalating, risk of gun violence in America.
Undoubtedly some have presented the Bill as an extension of the 2nd Amendment. We find this to be a gross exaggeration of our Constitution, ignorant of the ramifications when relatively untrained and inexperienced persons are allowed to possess guns in public places for discretionary use. To assert accessibility of a firearm to an average citizen will intimidate or thwart the violent criminal is merit less. Ironically research summarized in Private Guns, Public Health, demonstrates gun owners to be disproportionately at risk for gun injuries and suicide and a 2003 Brookings Institution study by economists at Duke and Georgetown Universities effectively disputes the argument that gun ownership deters crime.
Governor, we live in a civilized society and if we as elected representatives believe the safety of our constituency to be so threatened by those with criminal intent then we should commit the resources necessary to strengthen our law enforcement components, not relax restrictions of legitimate legislation.
We strongly believe as the senior leader of our great State you have little alternative but to delay passage of House Bill 89 in order to allow for more constructive discourse and determination to truly provide a safe and secure environment for all Georgians.
With due respect,
Donnie Henriques, Mayor
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Cardwell joins Senate race. And not quietly.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dale Cardwell became the third wheel in the Democratic race for the U.S. Senate this morning.
The former TV journalist immediately laid into the two men who signed up before him: Jim Martin, the Atlanta attorney and former state lawmaker; and DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones.
Cardwell entered the race last June, but has found himself sidelined by Martin’s access to campaign cash and Jones’ presumed appeal among African-American voters.
Which means Cardwell must attack both if he’s to have any chance in the July 15 primary.
Much of what the former WSB-TV reporter said Wednesday about Martin, who was recruited by top Democrats into the race, is contained in the YouTube video that he posted this week. “Convenientcrat” and such.
But Cardwell used two harsh words to describe his other rival. One was “crook.” The other was “Republican.”
This is going to be a very caustic race.
“Vernon wants to maintain that every accusation that’s ever been leveled against him is categorically, undeniably false. And that’s simply not true,” Cardwell said in a phone interview after he signed his paperwork.
“People in the media are tip-toeing around Vernon Jones. And it’s time for somebody to stand up and tell the record as it is. Vernon Jones the Pete Rose of politics. He’s a man who’s completely destroyed his credibility both on and off the field. And it’s time for somebody to say it out loud.”
We’ve got a call into the Jones campaign for a response. In the meantime, here’s the post from Jones’ appearance at the state Capitol yesterday.
You’ll see that Jones and Cardwell have at least one thing in common. They’re both ticked off that party heavyweights lured Martin into the race.
But Cardwell doesn’t think Jones should be in the contest, either. Not on the Democratic side. He pointed to Jones’ admission that he twice voted for George W. Bush.
“It’s shame that there’s not been a leader in the party that has stepped forward and pronounced the fact that we can have a very broad tent, but we shouldn’t have to accept a Republican in sheep’s clothing,” Cardwell said.
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Sam Olens: ‘Top leaders’ stonewalled transportation measure
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sam Olens, chairman of both the Cobb County Commission and the Atlanta Regional Commission, has an op-ed piece on traffic congestion in today’s AJC.
Olens gives kudos to House Speaker Glenn Richardson, and to Vance Smith and Jeff Mullis, who respectively chair the House and Senate transportation committees.
But then Olens writes this:
“However, other state leaders elected to craft solutions for Georgia’s greatest challenges were not on board. These top leaders either stonewalled or actively opposed legislation to provide new funding for greater mobility in our state.”
But he doesn’t name names.
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Vernon Jones: ‘Obviously, the Democratic party loves to recruit losers’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones jumped into the Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate in unique fashion on Tuesday, by loudly announcing that his party — which recruited one of his opponents — has a taste for defeat.
“Obviously, the Democratic party loves to recruit losers,” Jones said. “In the past we lost both United States senate seats, we’ve lost the governor’s race, the lieutenant governor’s race, the secretary of state’s race, the last Democratic public service commission race. The Democratic party has constantly put up liberal candidates and they’ve lost election after election after election. And Vernon Jones and the people of Georgia want a winner.”
Jones is the second Democrat to qualify for the chance to unseat Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss. Jim Martin, backed by Democratic recruiters in Washington and Georgia, paid his qualifying fee a day earlier.
Though last to enter the race, Martin has already outpaced other candidates in contributions. But Jones pointed out that he, too, has raised significant cash. “I’ve been able to raise a lot of money without the endorsements from the losers in the Democratic party,” he said.
Facing a scrum of reporters and cameras, with prominent Republicans as spectators, Jones declared Martin to be “a nice guy.”
“But you know what? He’s a veteran of the Vietnam war of the past. The war right now is at the gas pump,” Jones said. The DeKalb executive emphasized his fiscal conservatism, and the economic problems facing the country. Jones declined to take a position on Iraq until he studied the issue.
Jones mentioned how humbling it was, to think that a North Carolina farm boy could run for the U.S. Senate. He mentioned Sam Nunn and Richard Russell as his models. His comments of the day may have brought Zell Miller more to mind — but Zell did not rate a mention.
Dale Cardwell, a former TV journalist, is to qualify Wednesday and has repeatedly pointed out that Jones has admitted that he twice voted for George W. Bush.
Asked to respond on Tuesday, Jones said, “This is not about Dale Cardwell. This is about people losing their homes. It’s about high gasoline prices. People can hardly pay for their food now.”
But Jones did go on to explain his votes for Bush.
“[Neither Democratic presidential candidates] John Kerry nor Al Gore came to Georgia,” Jones said. “They never invested in Georgia. They never wanted to ask us for our vote. They didn’t care about Georgians. They turned their back on Georgia. And anybody who turns their backs on Georgia, turns their back on me and others.”
Reporters, being impolite slobs, of course mentioned the certain controversies that Jones has endured as head of DeKalb County government. The Senate candidate said his success in DeKalb had silenced any criticism.
“That’s why the voters turn a deaf ear to the news media, who create baseless controversies. They’ve responded by not only electing me twice, but at the same time passing four bond initiatives. DeKalb County is better run than the federal government,” Jones said.
“Every one of those so-called controversies that you guys have reported have turned out to be baseless and reckless and erroneous and just false.”
Jones declined to say whether he supports Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the race for president, but said he had friends on both sides of the fight. “And I support my friends,” he added.
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A North Carolina ad that’s likely to keep Jim Marshall on the fence
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You know about the TV ad that Republicans in North Carolina are running, which links two white Democratic candidates for governor with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, through the person of Barack Obama.
In essence, the North Carolina ad is intended to force Democrats to drive a wedge between the African-American surge generated by Obama and the white swing voters who are just as necessary for Democratic victories in the South.
Think about the implications for Georgia.
Skip the U.S. Senate race for now — that contest has yet to prove itself close enough to matter. But at least one of two white Democratic congressmen could be vulnerable to a similar ad in November.
U.S. Rep. John Barrow of Savannah has endorsed Obama, though — fortunately for him — Republicans in the 12th District have yet to rally behind a single, financially viable candidate.
On the other hand, now you begin to understand why U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall has been so reluctant to make a public choice between Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Marshall is the only elected Georgia Democrat with superdelegate status who hasn’t picked a side in the presidential contest. The North Carolina ad is likely to reinforce his indecision — as a tactic that deprives Republicans of a clear target.
If you haven’t seen the North Carolina spot, here’s the YouTube version.
“For 20 years Barack Obama sat in his pew listening to his pastor,” begins the ad, paid for by the North Carolina Republican party.
Then comes the familiar clip of Wright saying, “No, no, no. Not God bless America.” Et cetera, et cetera.
Republican John McCain has asked the state party to yank it. Ben Fry, spokesman for the Georgia Republican party, said, “We’ve been asked by the McCain campaign not to go down that road. Behind the scenes, it’s been reiterated, do not do this. It’s not a wink-wink, nod-nod.”
But in this day of 527s, it’s hard to guarantee that Wright won’t make a local appearance.
On the other hand, North Carolina has a history of racially edgy TV spots. The “hands” ad used by U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms to beat back a 1990 challenge by Harvey Gantt, remains one of the most controversial in American political history.
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DeKalb lawmakers may fight creation of Dunwoody
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State lawmakers in DeKalb County are dropping very large hints that they’ll file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice to stop the creation of the city of Dunwoody.
State Rep. Stan Watson, who is now running for DeKalb County CEO, said this to CrossRoadsNews, a south DeKalb weekly:
“We have eight attorneys who are actually legislators in the House and they are working on it as we speak. We should have a statement that we can send to the press in the next five to 10 days.”
Dunwoody legislation passed the General Assembly this spring and was immediately signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue. But before a July 15 referendum can occur, the process must pass Justice Department scrutiny.
This sounds like the gist of the complaint:
Watson said that the vote on the bill should have been taken only by the 26-member DeKalb delegation — not all 236 members of the General Assembly. The bill passed the House 106 to 60.
“The legislators understand that home rule was violated,” Watson said. “They took a local piece of legislation and made it a general bill that allowed the people from all over the state of Georgia from Valdosta to Rome to Columbus to vote on DeKalb County, and they don’t pay property takes here.”
In other words, a General Assembly controlled by white Republicans thwarted the will of African-American legislators who dominate the DeKalb delegation.
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Mac Collins says he’s out of the 8th District congressional race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Georgia congressman Mac Collins has decided to give the July primary a pass.
He’s told the Macon Telegraph that he won’t run fight Republican Rick Goddard, the favorite of the party establishment, for the right to go after U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, the Macon Democrat.
“I’m just going to sit this one out,” Collins said in a succinct voice-mail left with the newspaper.
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Because we need someone to supervise that group session with Sonny, Casey and Glenn
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You can’t help noticing that the first Democrat to sign up for House District 93, the corrupted Ron Sailor’s former kingdom, has an occupation that might be peculiarly useful to the Legislature.
Jim Sendelbach is a board-certified psychotherapist.
If memory serves, Sendelbach was also a congressional candidate in last year’s 10th District race. But he was a Libertarian then. Sanity comes in many forms — some of them unrecognizable to the layman.
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A position that still has possibilities, as any high school senior knows
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In 1995, Time magazine put Christian political strategist Ralph Reed on its cover, a salute to his impact on the national political stage. This week, the publication’s blog quotes Reed on his first novel, “Dark Horse,” due out June 4:
It has sex in it, he said, “but not explicit… it’s like the literary equivalent of both of them having one foot on the floor.”
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Chambliss on Carter: ‘He’s undermining Bush policy’; And Martin on Chambliss: ‘I went to ‘Nam. He didn’t’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin were clearly the stars of the first day of qualifying for the July primary ballot.
Both played to different sides of the state Capitol. Chambliss, 64, the only Republican in the race, signed his paperwork in the state Senate. Martin, 62, the top fund-raiser of five Democratic candidates, filed his forms in the House.
Chambliss followed with a formal press conference. He called himself a “true champion for our wounded warriors,” noting funding that he had been able to slip into the latest defense bill. Georgia’s senior senator also noted his role, as a former chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
“Hopefully, we’ll plug the last few remaining holes in the next farm bill that’s going to set policy for the next five year,” Chambliss said. “Obviously, I’m in the room when there’s the smallest number of people making decisions about that policy.”
Chambliss had an interesting comment on the economy. Like most Republicans, he refused to use the word ‘recession.’ But he said the economic stimulus package was important in more ways than one.
“We had a problem, we addressed it, and we did it in a bipartisan way. And we did it quickly. I’m in hopes that that’s going to give the American people some confidence about what is going on in Washington, and hopefully make them feel better about themselves,” the senator said.
Chambliss also accused former President Jimmy Carter of undermining the Bush administration by meeting in Syria 10 days ago with leaders of Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip.
“We don’t negotiate with terrorists, we don’t deal with terrorists. I think it was unfortunate for him to do that,” he said. Is Carter undermining Bush?
“Oh, I think he clearly is,” Chambliss said. “I think him exhibiting any sort of appearance of friendship as a former president certainly seeks to undermine the current policy of this administration.”
Asked if he was vulnerable for supporting Bush too much over the last six years, Chambliss said he disagreed with the president on immigration, on funding the war in Iraq, and on points in the current farm bill. He said he would welcome the president’s help in the campaign. But curiously, Chambliss said the greatest legacy of Bush, a war president, would be his appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“At the end of the day, my race is going to be a very close political race. We’re prepared for that. I know that Democrats in this state are energized. There are an awful lot of them that want to see me out of office,” Chambliss said.
Martin’s interchange with the press was less formal. The Atlanta attorney, a former state lawmaker and 2006 candidate for lieutenant governor, noted that Chambliss had voted with the Bush administration 92 percent of the time during his term.
When told that, an hour earlier, Chambliss had felt confident that he’d win in a military-minded state, Martin had this: “I served in Vietnam, he didn’t. I’m proud of the military history of the state.”
“I’m not a war hero. I served my country,” Martin said. “That’s a fact that people have to take into consideration.” The Demorat said his service gives him a better understanding of how the war in Iraq, and repeated tours of duty for men and women in the military, had placed strains on families.
It was clear Martin will attempt to tie Chambliss to Bush’s strategy in Iraq. “The point is the terrorist threat to the country is real, and we’re not being very smart about the threat,” he said.
Martin indicated that he would participate in debates with his fellow Democratic candidates. “None have been planned, but I’m sure there’ll be debates,” Martin said.
Martin acknowledged the overt support he’s been getting from national Democrats who think him the best candidate to tackle Chambliss. “If we can make the race competitive, there’s a lot of national interest,” he said.
Martin also said nice things about DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, a rival for the nomination. “We’ve been friends for a long time,” he said. But not a word about Dale Cardwell.
The Democrat seemed most enthused about presidential candidate Barack Obama and his potential impact on the state. “The more people that vote, the better off I am,” he said.
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Because chickens are just as attractive on car tags as gators
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just got word that fans of the University of South Carolina have become the latest out-of-state alumni group approved by the state Department of Motor Vehicles for prestige car tags.
Give that today is Confederate Memorial Day, and state offices are closed, there’s little chance of getting confirmation.
But the source was Michael Wilkie, police chief for the city of Acworth, who has been point man for the Gamecock tag effort. So consider the information pretty firm.
The Atlanta Gamecock Club is planning for a May 13 kickoff to sell the necessary 1,000 plates, starring Steve Spurrier, the coach that Bulldogs most love to hate.
H.B. 1165, a bill backed by state Rep. Barry Fleming and Senate President pro tem Eric Johnson, threatened to curtail out-of-state alumni tags.
The measure provoked a storm of criticism from alumni groups, particularly graduates of the University of Florida, and died a quiet death in the Legislature this spring.
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Broun: ‘That G-7 fund-raiser wasn’t an endorsement’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Earlier this month, Georgia’s Republican House members held a fund-raiser for U.S. Rep. Paul Broun of Athens, to help him pay down the debt from his 2007 campaign.
Two days later, Broun’s campaign trumpeted the fund-raiser as evidence that the congressmen were lining up behind his campaign. In the days since, at least a couple congressmen — Nathan Deal and John Linder — have taken issue with that characterization.
On Monday, after he qualified for his re-election, Broun said things might have gotten overstated.
“We never claimed it as an endorsement. They did this fund-raiser, and you can characterize it however you want to do it. It was not an official endorsement of my candidacy,” Broun said.
“I have a great working relationship with all the members of the Georgia delegation, both in the Senate as well as in the House. I look forward to serving with them, and they look forward to serving with me, too.”
Broun’s Republican rival, state Rep. Barry Fleming of Harlem, showed up shortly afterwards to make official his primary challenge to Broun.
Two Democratic members of Congress were also put on notice that they have primary challenges.
State Sen. Regina Thomas of Savannah will challenge incumbent John Barrow. And Donzella James of Atlanta will take another crack at incumbent David Scott.
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Cardwell’s video about Martin and the U.S. Senate race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Only a few minutes ago, Jim Martin became the first Democrat in the U.S. Senate race to officially put his name on the July primary ballot.
More details on that in a few minutes. But first, let me draw your attention to this video that Dale Cardwell, the former TV journalist and one of Martin’s Democratic rivals, has posted on YouTube.
Obviously, Cardwell is trying to triangulate his way into a run-off.
He doesn’t have much money — $17,892 in cash on hand, compared with $333,131 for Martin and $256,031 for DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones.
In the video, Cardwell refers to a meeting that he and Martin had last fall.
“Jim’s spokesman recently acknowledged that, yes, Jim did look Dale in the eye and say that he would not be running. Well, Jim’s changed his mind now, and that is his right,” Cardwell says.
Back then, Cardwell says he asked Martin for an endorsement and a check. Martin refused, saying he didn’t want to get involved.
Says Cardwell in the video:
“He said he didn’t want to work against his old friend, Vernon Jones. He said he and Vernon were in the Legislature together, and that they had known each other a long time. And he said, ‘Dale, I’m must going to stay neutral.’”
Continues Cardwell:
“Folks, if you can’t find the courage or the integrity to stand up for a good, honest Democrat against Vernon Jones — a man who will proudly tell you he voted for George Bush twice — then where’s Jim going to get the backbone to take on Saxby Chambliss?
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Notes from qualifying: Military medals and a PSC race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Qualifying started this morning. No surprises yet.
Click here for an up-to-date look at the list on Secretary of State Karen Handel’s web site.
The most interesting roll-outs of the day were four Democratic congressional candidates. All ex-military and all — here party chairman Jane Kidd crosses her fingers — unopposed in the primary.
Bill Gillespie of Chatham County, a retired lieutenant colonel, showed up in a business suit with a chestful of medals. He’s running against Republican incumbent Jack Kingston of Savannah.
On Gillespie’s chest: Airbone wings out of Fort Benning. A combat action badge. A Legion of Merit. A Bronze Star from combat in Iraq. A meritorious service medal. And an Iraqi campaign medal.
Bobby Saxon un-retired after 9/11, then did three tours in Afghanistan and 12 months in in Iraq. He’ll take on Paul Broun (a former Marine) — or whatever Republican emerges from the 10th District race. Saxon sported a lapel pin that marked him, too, as a recipient of the Bronze Star.
Bill Jones, a former Air Force pilot, signed up for the 6th District race against U.S. Rep. Tom Price. And Doug Heckman, a former Green Beret, put up his money to run against U.S. Rep. John Linder.
All are white, all pledged to run to the center. Heckman was the only one to call out his opponent by name, noting that Linder had voted against the fiscal stimulus package — the checks start going to taxpayers today — and an extension of the Voting Rights Act.
Kidd says Democrats will challenge Republican incumbents in six of the seven districts they hold. Who’s likely to get the free ride? Nathan Deal, up north Georgia way.
Republicans, too, are relying on a military name in a congressional race. Retired Air Force major general Rick Goddard was among the first to qualify Monday. He’s aiming at Democratic incumbent Jim Marshall of Macon — a former Army ranger.
As promised, Lauren “Bubba” McDonald showed up to reclaim his seat on the Public Service Commission, after a six-year absence.
We’re told Mark Musselwhite of Gainesville has decided to pass on the PSC race.
McDonald is a former Democrat, of course, but made his party switch in 2004, before his unsuccessful race against state Sen. Bill Stephens.
“I’m delighted to be here, because I’m a strong believer in John McCain,” McDonald said. “The interests of the Georgia GOP track mine.”
But he has another reason for running. “Really, you can just play so much golf,” he said.
State Rep. Ben Bridges (R-Cleveland) showed up, even though he’s bowing out of the Legislature. Bridge said he’s angling for the seat on the state transportation board vacated by Mike Evans.
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Democrats send out robo-calls, hunting for candidates
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite the prospect of a Barack Obama surge, Republicans in Georgia say they’ve got evidence that Democrats are scrambling for candidates to put on the November ballot.
On the weekend before qualifying begins, Republicans say they’ve discovered that Democrats are sending out robo-calls hunting for candidates.
And — surprise! — Democrats said late Sunday they indeed initiated a weekend hunt for candidates, in three specific House districts in rural Georgia. The Republican seats are occupied by Richard Royal of Camilla, Bill Hembree of Winston, and Jay Roberts of Ocilla.
Asked if such last-minute pleas are effective, Georgia Democratic Party spokesman Martin Matheny frankly said he didn’t know. They’ve never done it before. Matheny said Democrats are simply mimicking a Republican tactic.
“We figure if the GOP does it, we should do it, too,” he said.
Republicans didn’t provide my colleague Aaron Sheinin with the sound, but they gave him the script, which Matheny confirmed as authentic.
Here ‘tis:
“Good evening. I’m calling from the Democratic party of Georgia. With Georgia’s Legislature now adjourned, you should know that your Republican State Representative, XXXX, voted to cut death benefits for police officers in your county.
“He also supported creating over 175 new taxes, even the tax on the food you buy your family. XXXX and the Republicans in Atlanta have failed to fully fund our schools, save emergency rooms from bankruptcy, even provide tax relief to Georgia families.
“If you are tired of politics as usual or think you or someone you know can do a better job at representing your values, give us a call. You can reach us at 1-866-507-2008.
Said Sue Everhart, chairman of the Georgia Republican party:
“They’re claiming there is enthusiasm on the Democratic side in legislative races. The truth is they are forced to resort to paid robo-calls to recruit candidates in a frantic, last ditch effort just hours before qualifying. Shameful attacks delivered through paid robocalls isn’t hope or change; it’s the discredited style of politics that has caused Georgia voters to reject the Democratic Party.
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Documenting the media migration to separate corners
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Slowly but surely, you and your television are making your way back to the 18th century and those glorious, early days of the Republic, when wigs sat upon Whigs and political campaigns were little more than scorched-earth libel competitions.
Anyone with cable TV — virtually everyone, in other words — has sensed this for some time. Now someone’s come up with the numbers that show just how real the movement is.
Barry Hollander is an associate professor of journalism professor at the University of Georgia. He’s good at crunching numbers.
Hollander recently took five national surveys, conducted from 1998 to 2006 by the Pew Center for the People and the Press, and mushed them together to create an eight-year look at America’s political viewing habits.
What he documented was a quiet stampede.
In 1998, 27 percent of Republicans and 25 percent of Democrats tuned in regularly to Atlanta-based CNN. Eight years later, the number of Democrats had risen to 29 percent.
But the number of Republicans who tuned in to CNN had shrunk to 19 percent. Gosh, where do you think they went?
Over the same period, Fox News’ share of Republican viewers jumped from 14 to 36 percent.
Hollander documented a media shift among Democrats to friendly sources, too, but the most dramatic change has occurred among Republicans. And, possibly, among more casual consumers of news.
“Republicans have dramatically dropped news sources that they perceive as being biased against their position. They’ve completely fled into Fox and have left CNN, broadcast news and all the others,” Hollander said.
Outrage over alleged liberalism could explain this, except for one inconvenient fact. Republicans, Hollander said, have even dropped C-SPAN, which — because of its verbatim approach — is widely considered neutral in content.
Something larger is happening, the University of Georgia professor asserts. “People have always hung out with people like themselves,” Hollander said. The water-cooler world that most people live in is a huge echo chamber of attitudes and ideas.
“It was always thought that the media was the savior in this,” Hollander said.
In days gone by, before the Internet and before Ted Turner, three broadcast networks captured the attention of 90 percent of Americans. Our favorite uncle, CBS’ Walter Cronkite, spoke to us as a single group, sometimes telling some of us what we didn’t want to know.
Big Media would intrude and interrupt — like the high school cafeteria lady who heaped on the Brussels sprouts, whether they were wanted or not.
But no more. Cable TV and the Internet have set a world of choices before us, which permit us to avoid the unfamiliar, uncomfortable or objectionable. Facebook and MySpace allow us to build ever-larger empires of like-minded friends. On-line newspapers encourage you to customize the news that appears on your computer.
And no one is in the mood for Brussels sprouts.
Hollander said many of those not into politics — who once were forced to include some debate in their diet — have dropped news outlets altogether, preferring a world of 24-hour make-believe and entertainment.
Those most interested in political news, nearly all partisans by definition, are slowly gathering behind red and blue networks.
“I have no doubt that Fox and CNN know what’s going on, and are playing to it,” Hollander said. They’re marketing data is better than his, and more up-to-date — but they’re not sharing.
The media migration that Hollander documented explains CNN’s current resurgence against Fox. The Atlanta-based network has invested heavily in its coverage of the never-ending, Democratic soap opera that pits Hillary Clinton against Barack Obama.
“If [Republican John] McCain were still battling [Mitt] Romney, you would see Fox going up,” Hollander said.
But Hollander offers little hope for the future. “We’re slowly inching our way back to a partisan press,” he said.
We’ve been there before. Newspapers in the late 1700s and early 1800s were largely party mouthpieces that supplied the talking points of the day. Even the much-worshipped George Washington was damned as a traitor — by an outlet controlled by the equally venerated Tom Jefferson.
The penny press destroyed the party press, by proving that there was profit in a newspaper that could talk to everyone at once.
But history has a circular sense of humor, and now it’s the broadly appealing media — newspapers, radio, news magazines and broadcast TV — whose bottom lines are hurting.
Niche is the profitable future.
Speaking of which: On Monday and Tuesday, two Georgia ex’s — Jimmy Carter and Newt Gingrich — will make back-to-back appearances on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”
They’re the future. Enjoy.
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‘Bubba’ McDonald says he’s running for PSC
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Gainesville Times says Lauren “Bubba” McDonald declared on Saturday that he wants his seat on the Public Service Commission back.
McDonald is one of the first to announce plans to replace Angela Speir, the woman who beat him in 2002. Speir surprised many last week when she said she wouldn’t run for a second term.
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Richardson urges House workers to telecommute, and says state agencies, others should do the same
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Given that gasoline is topping $3.50 a gallon, Speaker Glenn Richardson just announced that he’ll allow House employees to work one day a week from home.
Said Richardson:
“If they are not already, I urge other state agencies, state government departments, and public and private companies to consider implementing a similar plan so that all Georgians can experience some relief at the pump.”
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Marshall stands up for a Republican’s right — to run against Rick Goddard
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rumors can make this job a lot of fun.
Last Saturday, Republicans in the 8th District on Saturday gave GOP congressional candidate Rick Goddard a virtual letter of endorsement — despite the fact that qualifying, much less a primary, has yet to occur.
You can read the entire document on the jump, but the resolution was justified almost wholly by this particular “whereas”:
WHEREAS, Rick Goddard is the only declared Republican candidate and the only candidate with any activity in their Federal Elections Commission (FEC) mandatory filing reports…
James Neal Harris is a Republican who has run for the seat before — against Mac Collins — and apparently intends to again. Harris wasn’t at the GOP gathering. But he got word of the action, though the details were a bit jumbled.
And what does a man do when his rights have been trampled on? Why, he writes his congressman. Even if it’s one he plans to run against. We don’t have Harris’ original e-mail. But we do have the reply from U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, who — for the record — is a Democrat.
No doubt the congressman was trying hard not to crack a smile throughout the awkward situation.
Wrote Marshall:
In your e-mail, you say, “An alleged proposal was made and passed that the only one Republican Candidate would be allowed to qualify to run for the 8th Congressional District post, this being Candidate Rick Goddard. I was told that should I show up in Atlanta between April 28th-May 2nd 2008 to qualify with the State of Georgia, the Republican Party would refuse to accept my qualifications check.”
Of course, I have no knowledge of what a body of the Republican Party might or might not have done regarding the 8th District race, but I know an attempt to prohibit an eligible citizen from running for office is wrong and I believe it to be illegal as well.
I am sending a copy of this letter to Mr. Randy Evans, the General Counsel of the Georgia Republican Party, with a request that he look into the matter and ensure that no attempt to disenfranchise an otherwise eligible candidate is being made, and further that he take affirmative steps to notify any and all officials involved in qualifying that no such attempts be honored.
Ben Fry, spokesman for the state GOP, said this:
“It’s ironic that Congressman Marshall had time to respond so quickly, let alone leak to reporters, the complaint of a constituent claiming to want to unseat him, but who has yet to file with the FEC or actively campaign.
“I figured Marshall would be too busy voting to block renewal of the Protect America Act or ducking questions about which Democrat candidate for president he’s going to support. General Rick Goddard is the only Republican actively campaigning in the 8th Congressional District and would be a great Representative for the people of Middle Georgia.”
That said, Fry supplied the 8th District resolution that you can see on the jump. Also, he said that — should Harris show up with his check — the state GOP would put his name on the ballot.
WHEREAS, Rick Goddard spent nearly 34 years as an officer in the United States Air Force
WHEREAS, Rick Goddard flew 227 Combat Missions in Vietnam, received the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and twelve Air Medals
WHEREAS, Rick Goddard was the Commander of Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia’s largest industrial complex
WHEREAS, Rick Goddard is the only declared Republican candidate and the only candidate with any activity in their Federal Elections Commission (FEC) mandatory filing reports
WHEREAS, Rick Goddard has been endorsed by Governor Sonny Perdue, Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, and all members of the Georgia Republican Congressional Delegation
WHEREAS, Rick Goddard is a lifelong conservative Republican that has actively promoted our traditional family and Christian values through is local party and will bring those values to Washington, DC
WHEREAS, Rick Goddard is a member of the NRA, Chamber of Commerce, the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), and the Air Force Association
WHEREAS, top political analysts and both the National Republican and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees target the 8th Congressional District in Georgia as one of the top races in the country
WHEREAS, Democrat Jim Marshall won his 2006 reelection by only 1752 votes and Georgia’s 8th District is historically a Republican District with President Bush receiving 60.6% of the vote in 2004, Governor Sonny Purdue receiving 58.9% of the vote in 2006, Senator Saxby Chambliss received 58.1% of the vote in 2002 and Senator Johnny Isakson received 60.1% of the vote in 2004
NOW, THEREFORE, the County Republican Parties that make up Georgia’s 8th Congressional District endorse Rick Goddard for United States Congress and declare the 8th District a focused effort for all Republican and Conservative groups statewide and expresses the desire for all Georgia Republicans to aid in this effort
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Does Spier’s decision pave the way for Bubba McDonald’s return?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You’ve heard that Angela Speir has decided not to run for a second term on the Public Service Commission.
The consumer advocate, who spent hardly a dime in her 2002 victory over Democrat incumbent Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, served Georgia political analysts well — as a kind of baseline measure for Republican support in Georgia.
With Speir headed out, there’s now word that McDonald, a 1990 candidate for governor, has been making calls this morning, contemplating a comeback — as a Republican.
McDonald made his party switch back in 2004, with an unsuccessful challenge to state Sen. Bill Stephens.
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A letter on the gun bill, a worry about parents with more than bats in their hands, and thoughts on an override
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Not surprisingly, some of the most fiery debate over H.B. 89, which would permit permit-holders to carry concealed on public transportation, in parks, and in restaurants that serve alcohol, is being conducted behind-the-scenes, among lawyers.
This is a letter from the Georgia Restaurant Association to Gov. Sonny Perdue, laying out a business and legal case for vetoing the measure.
The restaurant group said the bill would frighten both employees and patrons — affecting owners’ ability to hire help, and undermining public confidence at a time when, due to the economic downturn, fewer and fewer people choose to eat out.
There is the private property issue, of course. But the big question is one of liability. Says the letter, written by the GRA’s attorney:
“For example, how would a business operator or manager enforce the provision in H.B. 89 that prohibits any patron who is carrying a weapon from ordering and consuming an alcoholic beverage?
“Will servers need to question whether a patron is carrying a gun and request to see [his] gun permit in the same fashion that they card customers to avoid underage drinking?
“How can a server determine if a gun permit is valid or counterfeit? How should a server be expected to handle an ensuing confrontation that arises when an unruly customer takes exception to being questioned about carrying a gun onto the premises?
“Or is this simply to be enforced through ‘the honor system’? You can be assured that enterprising plaintiff’s attorneys will sue restaurant owners and their employees for the aftermath of tragic gunplay resulting from the fatal mix of alcohol and guns.”
One group opposing H.B. 89, not mentioned in today’s story, is the Georgia Recreation and Park Association. The group is worried about the provision that would permit concealed weapons in state parks.
Jimmy Gisi, executive director, is picturing heated arguments at kids’ sporting events. He wrote this morning:
Youth sports is very passionate in our state and unfortunately, I have witnessed many parents getting way out of control. It is much easier to corral an angry parent or to disarm him/her of a bat or stick than a firearm with multiple shots. We are definitely putting our children at a considerable risk if this law is signed into effect.”
In his letter to Perdue, Gisi was even stronger, saying his group watched “with horror” the passage of the bill in the Legislature this spring.
But one big argument in favor of Perdue signing the gun bill is political.
For two years, the issue has tied the Legislature — particularly the Senate — into knots by pitting gun rights advocates against the business community.
A veto would guarantee a third round. We’ve covered this issue, and we’d rather not cover it again,” said state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), who supports H.B. 89.
Several lawmakers — Rogers not among them — have pointed out that H.B. 89 passed the Senate with a veto-proof majority. The margin was a little less in the House, but that particular chamber has not shied away from confrontations with the governor.
No doubt someone has pointed all this out to Perdue.
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Ralph Reed’s novel: A first review
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This from Publishers Weekly is the first review I’ve seen on Ralph Reed’s upcoming novel, “Dark Horse,” set to hit bookstores in June:
For Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition, politics is a man’s world to its very core — especially when it comes to the race for president, which is at the center of this first novel. Women characters are either wives with drinking problems, tarts who use sex to get ahead professionally (but not that far) or VP candidates chosen purely for show, who are belittled behind the scenes for lack of experience and “lightweight” intelligence.
Democrats are drunks who play dirty and bloody each other’s noses. Cue the white knight — Gov. Bob Long, newly come to Christ, a true independent candidate — to save the day, rock both parties’ worlds and remind the country about good values and the meaning of patriotism. Long is God’s candidate, and with Christian leaders taking his side, he just might trump Republicans and Democrats alike.
Reed’s prose is average for a pot-boiling political thriller, and the crisis-laden plot keeps the pages turning, but the novel’s specifically Christian agenda will satisfy some readers and alienate others.
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Oxendine’s message to Perdue, Cagle and Isakson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You have to admit that state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, now a 2010 candidate for governor, has talent.
It’s difficult to politely skewer three fellow Republicans in a single interview. But Oxendine did it this morning, while talking with Tim Bryant on WGAU (1340AM) in Athens.
Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson all should have felt their ears burning.
Listen to the six-minute sound clip here.
On Perdue, and his own management style, Oxendine had this:
”I think we really need a different type of governor in the future. I think the current governor is doing a good job, but I think we need someone with different skills and with a different background.
“One advantage I have is, I have never served in the House, never served in the Senate. So I can actually be neutral, and maybe hope to bring the House and Senate together.”
When asked about his withdrawal from the 2006 race for lieutenant governor, Oxendine had an answer that was aimed at Cagle:
“I was considering running for lieutenant governor. Anticipated I’d probably turn around and run for governor later, and — I love this state so much, and I love the people.
“To me, it was dishonest to the people of Georgia to say, ‘Give me this new job, make me your lieutenant governor. That’s what I really want to do,’ and then turn around two or three years later, before I even finish one term, and start running for governor.
“If you seek a new job, and ask people to trust you with that job, you should keep it until you have done everything in that job you should and could. You shouldn’t be opportunistic, jumping from one job to another.”
Asked about Isakson, and the possibility that the junior senator could enter the race for governor, Oxendine — still polite — raised the prospect of an ideological primary contest.
“I am a clear conservative that I think the party would prefer,” the insurance commissioner said. Oxendine did note that Isakson has some executive experience, serving as chairman of the state school board.
“But considering the situation with education in Georgia, I’m not sure that’s something to brag about,” he said. Other subliminal messages were delivered as well. “I am pro life, I am pro-family in the state of Georgia, I believe that we’ve got to crack down on immigration. We cannot have law-breakers coming to this state.”
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TiVo alert: Carter, Gingrich back-to-back on ‘The Daily Show’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two Georgia ex’s — both would dispute the term “has-been” — make back-to-back appearances on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” next week, guaranteeing a workout for your outrage meter regardless of your ideology.
Former President Jimmy Carter makes his Comedy Central appearance on Monday, and should be able to tell the latest jokes making the rounds in Hamas circles.
Former Georgia congressman and House speaker Newt Gingrich follows on Tuesday, where he’ll be able to address — oh, good Lord, what won’t he talk about?
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Franklin, MARTA head: Gun bill would promote violence, vigilantism
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin this morning led a group of two dozen public officials, business leaders and workers in a plea directed at Sonny Perdue, asking the governor to veto a gun bill that would permit licensed concealed weapons to be carried on public transportation, in restaurants that serve alcohol, and in parks.
Prospects of vigilantism were raised by MARTA head Beverly Scott. And MARTA workers said they’re already passing around a petition to demand bullet-proof partitions for bus drivers and train operators should Perdue sign the bun bill into law.
H.B. 89, backed by the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups, was passed by the Legislature on the final day of the 2008 session. Most of the debate had concerned a provision to permit employees to keep guns parked on corporate parking lots.
But in the final hours, language expanding the places where holders of concealed weapons permits was added — with little or now debate.
Perdue, who has until mid-May to sign or veto the legislation, has given little hint of what he’ll do. Although an advocate of gun rights, the governor has picked the occasional fight with the NRA.
Franklin said the bill radically changes the situation that police officers and other city workers face when engaging large crowds — at the annual Dogwood Festival or the Peachtree Road Race.
“The presumption has to be, if this bill passes, that there are concealed weapons by people who just might get mad with them,” Franklin said. “The presumption needs to be, in order to have a safe city, that there are no concealed weapons. And only those who are acting criminally might have them.”
Ben DeCosta, general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, said the legislation would put his facility under a “cloud.”
Firearms are banned from the facility, but the airport incorporates a MARTA station within its grounds. “So it opens a question as to whether or not police officers, law enforcement at the airport, can be assured that they’re the only ones with guns,” DeCosta said.
Beverly Scott, head of MARTA, declared her transit system to be safe. But even for those who question their personal security, Scott said arming individual passengers is not the answer.
“The method in which I would chose to wind up handling security and safety on the MARTA system is not by vigilantism,” Scott said. “And if that’s what we’re going to wind up deteriorating to, then that I would submit to you is just an incorrect way to go. That’s insanity.”
Also attending the press conference, behind the press and TV cameras, was state Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica), author of H.B. 89. With him were several members of GeorgiaCarry.Org, which backed the bill.
“All this stuff we hear about people are going to start dropping their chicken wings and shooting is enough to make your head explode,” Bearden said. “We’re talking about law-abiding citizens going through background checks.”
“They cannot protect you in Atlanta. They never have,” said Bearden, a former police officer. “I was in law enforcement 15 years. I never rode up on a shooting in progress. I don’t like the idea of the police telling you, ‘Get mugged, get raped, get murdered. We’ll come by, take the report, and send flowers. That’s the wrong message.”
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‘The Ox’ files his paperwork for a 2010 run for governor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine filed his paperwork Wednesday to begin raising money to run for governor in 2010. The Republican made clear he plans to campaign on tax cuts.
“As a Georgia taxpayer, I am disappointed the tax breaks we were all promised were not passed by the General Assembly,” Oxendine said in a press release. “On April 30, I, as so many of my fellow Georgians do year after year, will be paying the annual birthday ad-valorem tax on my automobile.
“I would hope the governor and the Legislature could also help the taxpayer by agreeing on the tax breaks which have been proposed.”
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As if you needed more evidence, financial and otherwise, that Martin’s the handpicked Democrat in the Senate race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m waiting for all the financial disclosure reports for the U.S. Senate report to be posted before taking them apart.
The March 31 disclosures from Democrats Vernon Jones and Rand Knight have yet to appear. No conspiracy theories, please. Senate reports always lag behind, due to the chamber’s failure to digitalize.
Meanwhile, Jon Flack at Tondee’s Tavern has poked through Democrat Jim Martin’s return, and found unimpeachable evidence that the Atlanta attorney has become the pick of national party regulars.
On the last day of the quarter, Flack reports, Martin took in $25,000 from political action committees run by members of the Democratic Senate leadership, including Majority Leader Harry Reid.
One tidbit that Flack didn’t have: Shortly after he announced for the U.S. Senate, Martin summoned his core of supporters to the law offices of Kilpatrick Stockton in downtown Atlanta.
One of the speakers was Martha McKenna, political director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington — which oversees the recruitment of candidates.
We’ve heard that not all five Democrats left in the race will qualify next week. Don’t look for Jones, the DeKalb County CEO, to be a drop-out. He’s just scheduled a rally for next week at this Peachtree Road headquarters.
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Rising oil prices are one thing — food shortages are another
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The political impact of rising gasoline prices is well known. But rising food prices — and shortages — are a new experience for most Americans, and probably more frightening.
Set your stopwatches to see how quickly this report from Reuters becomes an issue in the presidential race:
Sam’s Club warehouse division said on Wednesday it is limiting sales of Jasmine, Basmati and long grain white rice “due to recent supply and demand trends.” The news came as rice prices surged, with U.S. rice futures hitting an all-time high Wednesday on worries about supply shortages
Hoarding has become an issue, Reuters reports:
Sam’s Club, the No. 2 U.S. warehouse club operator, is limiting sales of rice to four bags per customer per visit, and is working with suppliers to ensure the products remain in stock.
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A list of who’s going to Denver
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The state party has published the list of delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Colorado this summer. Most were elected over the weekend. See it here.
Republicans are to put out their list of delegates who were elected on Saturday later this week.
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Or, to quote Woody Allen, ‘The heart wants what the heart wants’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just in case any bond underwriters up north had missed the debacle, the New York Times today weighs in with its take on the sexual drama now associated with the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Not much new, except for a comment from department spokesman David Spear, who has a future in romance novels.
Said Spear:
“It’s a little surreal, obviously. But I’ve been around for a long time, and affairs of the heart have their own agenda.”
Meanwhile, in a meeting of the House Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee on Tuesday, Abraham told lawmakers that there’s no evidence of wrongdoing associated with a $1 billion overextension of transportation projects.
Writes Brandon Larabee of Morris News Service:
Abraham told lawmakers that the decision to call in outside auditors to look at the agency’s books was meant only to add more manpower to an effort to uncover the department’s true financial standing — not to suggest that the shortfall was caused by criminal acts.
“That’s not what this is about,” she said. “I’m trying to get numbers that I can count on and that stay the same. … There’s no malfeasance whatsoever, and I’ve never mentioned that.”
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Marshall helps a Republican accused of revealing troop positions in Iraq
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, a Democrat, has come to the defense of a fellow congressman.
Specifically, Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina.
The pair were members of a delegation that made a trip to Iraq over Easter weekend. Shortly thereafter, McHenry briefly posted a video on his campaign web site that showed McHenry standing in the Green Zone, pointing to a building behind him.
The North Carolina congressman, the youngest member of Congress and one of the most conservative, said one of 11 rockets “hit just over my head.”
That has led McHenry’s primary opponent, Larry Sigmon, to launch a TV ad with the following script noted by the Charlotte Observer:
Announcer: “McHenry then put a video on the Internet revealing troop positions, and just two days later two Americans died. McHenry could face 10 years in prison but he won’t resign.”
McHenry has threatened a lawsuit. But he’s also been helped by Marshall, who was contacted by the Hickory, N.C., Daily Record.
Marshall, a former decorated Army Ranger, described any relationship between the video and the deaths to be “utterly implausible.”
“What’s the likelihood that insurgents would see this video? Virtually nil,” the Macon Democrat told the paper. “These guys are sort of crude thugs using weaponry that is crude.”
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Vivian Bishop: ‘I lost a delegate spot because they didn’t believe I supported Clinton’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sometime this week, the state Democratic party will release the list of delegates headed for the national convention in Denver this summer.
But already, we know the names of some of those defeated in a weekend round of voting. For instance, Vivian Creighton Bishop, wife of U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, was rejected as a Hillary Clinton delegate.
Her husband is co-chair of the Barack Obama campaign in Georgia.
The Albany Herald quotes Vivian Bishop as saying she lost because her fellow Clinton supporters doubted her sincerity, and because the Saturday selection convention in the 2nd Congressional District was abruptly moved from Columbus to Americus.
She can’t win, it seems. Earlier this year, the congressman’s wife said she was accosted because she wasn’t supporting the black fellow in the presidential primary.
Here’s what the Herald reported from the weekend vote:
“There were some comments from those in my opponent’s camp, that they didn’t believe I was truly a supporter,” she said.
In addition to media attention, her decision to support Clinton has garnered criticism from members of the black community and occasional harassment, she said.
“I think that’s silly, very immature and very misinformed. I certainly would not support (Obama) just because he’s black,” she said. “Just as I would not support Hillary Clinton because she’s a woman.
“I think it’s unfair for them to have to use that race card, like, ‘she’s not really for Hillary; she just wants to get there and support Barack.’ Hillary knows that and my husband knows that that is not true.”
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Eric Johnson on defeat of transportation bill: ‘I wasn’t doing the governor any favors’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Nearly three weeks after the end of the 2008 session of the General Assembly, lawmakers are still dealing with the repercussions.
Eric Johnson, the ranking Republican in the state Senate, just sent out an e-mail defending his vote against S.R. 845, which would have permitted regions to levy one-cent sales taxes for transportation.
Wrote Johnson:
Recent reports have hinted that “Senate leadership” may have voted against T-SPLOST (SR 845) because the Governor opposed it. That is incorrect. And there are reports of political revenge by “business interests” against those who voted against higher taxes for roads. I hope that this is incorrect, too.
The Senate president pro tem’s full explanation can be found below.
What’s Johnson reacting to? There’s been plenty of criticism. Tom Barton, who runs the editorial page of the Savannah Morning News, which circulates in Johnson’s district, had this blistering column on Saturday.
And there was this last week on InsiderAdvantage:
The business community is on the verge of declaring war on legislators who failed to support transportation and other pro-business issues during the 2008 legislative session.

While their actions, for the moment, are expected to remain well hidden, there is a strong likelihood that numerous incumbents - particularly in the Senate - will find themselves facing well-financed challengers.
Already, two Republican senators from Cobb County have silent but strong competition lining up for their seats. Other senators who are viewed as having “talked one way and voted another” are expected to get opposition in the days leading up to qualifying.
Read the Johnson’s entire statement on the jump.
Tuesday statement from Senate President pro tem Eric Johnson of Savannah:
Recent reports have hinted that “Senate leadership” may have voted against T-SPLOST (SR 845) because the Governor opposed it. That is incorrect. And there are reports of political revenge by “business interests” against those who voted against higher taxes for roads. I hope that this is incorrect, too.
While I cannot speak for other Senators, I believe that they were opposed for the same reason I was - it amounted to ‘taxation without representation’. That issue started a revolution 232 years ago and I believe it would have started another one if it had passed.
When SR 845 left the Senate on February 20, it passed 51-4. It would have allowed any county to add an additional one penny sales tax for transportation needs. Like other Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes (SPLOST), it would be for specific projects for a limited time and require voter approval. I voted “YES”.
On April 4, with literally 4 minutes left on the last day of the session, the Senate was presented with a new version that allowed a large group of counties to decide on regional road projects and then voted on by every county in the region. If a county voted against it, but it passed regionally, that county’s taxes were raised anyway. That was obviously unacceptable to many Senators, including me.
As a proposed Constitutional amendment, it required a 2/3 vote. It passed comfortably in the House, but failed in the Senate by 3 votes. 14 of 34 Republican Senators, including their 4 top leaders, and 4 Democrat Senators, including the Minority Leader, voted against the final version of the bill. The bill was reconsidered and failed again by the same vote.
I represent a portion of a large county (Chatham) and two smaller counties (Bryan and Liberty). Under the provisions of SR 845, Chatham County voters could outnumber the two smaller counties and force their taxes to increase. That is political suicide. It also isn’t fair. I make no apologies.
I want to help with traffic relief. I voted for T-SPLOST. But I couldn’t support what we were faced with at the last minute. I also believe that, if SR 845 had passed and been on the ballot for voter confirmation, it would have been defeated. We can come back and give local communities the ability to raise their own taxes if they want, but we should never allow someone to raise it against their will.
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Regina Thomas on her challenge to John Barrow: It’s all about geography
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State Sen. Regina Thomas of Savannah says she’s jumping into the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. John Barrow to thwart an Athens Mafia that controls three of the state’s 13 congressional districts.
Thomas was on Tim Bryant’s talk show on WGAU (1340 AM) in Athens this morning, declaring that she hadn’t given the slightest thought to the possibility that she might be weakening Barrow to the point that Republicans might actually have a shot at the 12th District congressional seat in November.
Listen to a three-minute sound clip here.
“It is time for a change. It is time for equal representation. And we feel that we don’t have that at this time,” Thomas said.
Explain, please, Bryant implored.
“You have three congressmen from the Athens area,” Thomas said.
Indeed, Paul Broun is from Athens, though fellow Republican Barry Fleming of Augusta — in another instance of geographic chauvinism — would like to rip that prize away from him.
Jack Kingston, now of Savannah, spent his youth in Athens. And Barrow was an Athens/Clarke County commissioner — who was drawn out of his seat by a Republican state Legislature, and so shifted his headquarters to Savannah.
We just hope that Markel Hutchins doesn’t find out that U.S. Rep. John Lewis is originally from Alabama.
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Lawmaker suggests relationship between Evans and Abraham began much earlier
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State Rep. Carl Rogers (R-Gainesville), is strongly hinting that the relationship between state transportation board chairman Mike Evans and his commissioner, Gena Abraham, began much earlier than the two are saying.
This is in today’s Gainesville Times:
State Rep. Carl Rogers began hearing it in November.
The rumors were flying about a relationship between then-transportation board Chairman Mike Evans and Gena Abraham, the commissioner of the state Department of Transportation.
“I was told about some things going on, and I knew they would surface. I just didn’t know when,” Rogers said. “They had been seen together, and I couldn’t give you any particulars.”
Rogers has expressed interest in replacing Evans on the transportation board.
Evans and Abraham said their relationship began after Evans’ re-election to the board in early February. She was reprimanded Monday for not informing the board of the romance until last week.
State Sen. Chip Pearson (R-Dawsonville) has also been mentioned as a candidate to replace Evans on the 13-member DOT board, but the same article says that he — like Rogers — intends to qualify next week for another term in the Legislature.
Ben Bridges, the ex-state patrol officer who is retiring from the House this year, has expressed interest in the job.
More interesting, and perhaps more appropriate — given the current circumstances in that lovenest we call the Department of Transportation — there’s word that Gov. Sonny Perdue may be pushing Steve Farrow, a Dalton attorney.
Farrow is the former chairman of the State Ethics Commission.
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It’s the spot where Obama supporters are least likely to gather
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The debate among Republicans is about how to match an Obama-inspired surge of Democratic voter registration in Georgia.
Which has led the DeKalb County GOP to slip in a clip and rack the chamber.
Members will spend Saturday hunting new voters at the Eastman Gun Show at the North Avenue Trade Center, according to Jamie Sibold, chairman of the DeKalb Republican party.
It’ll be the first of many attempt to put more gun owners on the voter rolls, Sibold said.
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Ex-Fox figure Tony Snow heads to CNN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you want evidence of CNN’s use of the 2008 primary season to chart its resurgence in the cable TV news wars, look no further than today’s announcement that the Atlanta-based network has hired former White House spokesman Tony Snow as a “political contributor.”
Prior to his stint in the Bush administration, which ended last September, Snow was a dominant personality for Fox News. We could tell you about Snow’s background, but it’d be more fun for you to get it from the Fox web site. The info is not likely to be there long.
The official word from CNN/U.S. includes a comment from president Jon Klein:
“In the White House, Tony brought a remarkably human touch to the discussion of public policy, which he will continue to do as part of the….”
Wait for it. You know it’s coming.
“Best Political Team on Television.”
This has nothing to do with Tony Snow, but at some point you have to wonder if the Best Political Team on Television has also become America’s favorite college drinking game.
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Would an African-American surge be enough for Obama to take Georgia? Probably not
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Josh Goodman at Governing magazine has taken those February presidential primary numbers I tossed at you last week, and crunched them with the November vote in mind.
Even working in the impact of a Libertarian candidacy by Bob Barr, Goodman can’t see Barack Obama taking Georgia from John McCain:
”As a relatively uneducated guess, let’s say that the white vote goes McCain 65%, Obama 20%, Barr 15%, Obama still gets 90% of the black vote with Barr getting 1% and the new breakdown for the others is 45-45%, with Barr getting 10%. The result: McCain, 47.6%, Obama, 41.8%, Barr, 10.7%. That’s closer, but not close enough to truly be in play.
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Suddenly, a Democratic primary fight for John Barrow
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Savannah was buzzing this weekend with the news that state Sen. Regina Thomas, a Democrat, would forego her place in the Legislature in order to take a July primary crack at U.S. Rep. John Barrow.
Here’s the Savannah Morning News article.
“This is not about John Barrow,” she said, “but about what I can do for the people of the 12th Congressional District. I like John, but I think I can do a better job.”
Heretofore, Barrow had been having an easier time than U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, the other white Georgia Democrat perennially challenged by Republicans.
But an internal Democratic challenge will make Barrow spend at least some of the $1.3 million he’s got stored up for a general election fight — a boon to the Republican who faces him November.
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Of bicycles, tight pants and the distance between Savannah and the Capitol
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Savannah, Ga. — What comes to be called fearlessness — or, when the gamble fails, willful recklessness — varies from profession to profession.
For Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, a politician whose Gainesville roots scream NASCAR, the moment of truth came early Sunday morning.
Seconds before the lieutenant governor climbed onto a titanium bicycle that cost more than many of the stock cars his neighbors worship, Cagle dropped his baggy gym shorts to reveal a pair of Lance Armstrong-style black tights.
Then the novice cyclist, a duffer by inclination, led a Spandex-clad mixture of rank amateurs and world-class professionals on a spin through the coastal Georgia countryside — a fund-raiser for cancer research.
The weeklong Tour de Georgia begins Monday morning with a 70-mile sprint from Tybee Island to Savannah.
But for the first time in the tour’s six-year history, a politician is calling the shots. Last fall, Cagle was named chairman of the state board that owns the nationally ranked but financially troubled road race.
Cagle at the end of his ride, ignoring Michael Dukakis. He pedaled 17 miles in an hour and a half.
Risk permeates the enterprise for Cagle, personal and otherwise. There is the sartorial issue, of course. Ever since Democratic presidential failure Michael Dukakis climbed into that tank and popped up in a dorky helmet, politicians with any ambition have been wary of new uniforms.
But Cagle is trim, certainly not overweight, and carried off the Sunday change of clothing with only a smattering of self-consciousness. Besides, he’s got nice legs.
Cagle, on the right in his Discovery shirt, with world-class cyclist Mari Holden on his left.
For the lieutenant governor, the larger peril comes with putting himself in charge of a multi-million dollar sporting event that has a thousand moving parts — never mind the competing athletic egos.
“Some people have called me crazy,” Cagle admitted as he pedaled. He’d added some extra padding to his narrow bicycle seat — in cycling circles, the equivalent of hanging fuzzy dice on a Formula One car.
Mari Holden, the women’s 2000 world time trial champion, who grabbed a silver medal in the Sydney Olympics, rode beside Cagle much of the way, offering advice on when and how to shift gears. (Things have changed since Cagle’s last bike, a Schwinn ten-speed.)
“People like me have to be careful about what we get involved in,” Cagle said. Earlier this year, the lieutenant governor’s participation in a charity for children from broken homes devolved into an ugly fight over control of the non-profit.
The Tour de Georgia is a larger enterprise, with terrific promotional potential for the state in the long-term — if it can be rescued. The race was nearly canceled last year for lack of corporate sponsorship.
“It’s too important to the state to let it go. But honestly, I’ve assumed an enormous amount of risk. I had to raise $3 million in a very difficult [legislative] session,” the lieutenant governor said. “And all the things that could go wrong….”
Things like the weather or injuries. Or doping scandals.
So why take that risk? “Public service always about giving back. And this is a great way to give back for a good cause” - Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is a major beneficiary — “and also promote the state. It’s just the right thing to do,” Cagle said.
And it may be the politic thing to do for a man of ambition.
Sonny Perdue has remade the way a governor of Georgia climbs into office and stays there. The first Republican governor of modern times has established a populist persona for himself outside the state Capitol — which Cagle may be attempting to emulate.
Apparently immune to the Dukakis virus, Perdue has worn funny hats, even a bulbous, red clown nose. He’s driven race cars, UPS trucks — nearly anything that moves.
When 236 lawmakers gather in the Capitol each January, other governors have slept on a couch in the office to monitor dozens of hatching conspiracies. Perdue keeps himself at arm’s length.
His trip to China this year was different only in the actual mileage the governor put between himself and the Legislature.
This has led Perdue’s critics to call him disengaged. But the insulation is calculated. Despite several recent sessions of the Legislature that have been less than glorious, the governor has escaped blame — and remains the most popular political figure in the state.
On the other hand, Cagle — for the first time in his two years as lieutenant governor — felt the sting of criticism when the Legislature collapsed this month in a heap over transportation, tax cuts and the creation of a statewide trauma network.
If it takes a bicycle to put some distance between himself and squabbling at the Capitol, a tight pair of pants may be worth the risk.
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A push poll targeting Glenn Richardson?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just got a phone call from Darrell Galloway, chairman of the Paulding County GOP, who said he spent 30 minutes on the phone Thursday night with a push-poller whose apparent target was House Speaker Glenn Richardson.
The phone number was blocked, but the woman said the firm she worked for was in Texas. Galloway (who is no relation, at least on this side of the water) said the poll was designed to appear as if it were testing reaction to a short list of Paulding County political figures who might run against Richardson in a July primary.
Except that none of the names mentioned lives in the speaker’s House district.
When asked who he would support, Galloway replied that he’d vote for Richardson. The poller then asked if his opinion would change if he knew about the speaker’s alleged relationship with a gas company lobbyist, or about his speedy divorce this winter.
The local chairman said it was pretty clear that the calls are targeting Paulding County. A handful of other residents have contacted him as well, reporting similar scripts.
After a stormy legislative session, somebody is putting some money into cutting Richardson’s legs out from under him. Democrats? They probably don’t have the cash to waste.
Let’s hear from you if you’ve received one of these calls — or if you know who might be paying the bill.
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On the dinner theater circuit: Of DOT policy and romance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Helen, Ga. — It was only appropriate that, one day after playing in Atlanta, Georgia’s most riveting political soap opera moved to the dinner theater circuit on Friday night.
The locale was the Black Bear Dinner Theater, and the occasion was the 9th Congressional District Republican Banquet. These were the people who fought tooth and nail in January to keep Mike Evans on the powerful, 13-member state transportation board, where he served as chairman.
Evans resigned on Thursday, because of a budding romance with the employee he supervised, Department of Transportation Commissioner Gena Abraham — the woman Gov. Sonny Perdue had designated to oversee reform of the massively dysfunctional, billion-dollar agency.
This evening, the north Georgia mountains became the setting for Evans’ apology — and a romantic declaration of a sort. The room was packed when the couple walked in together. Evans in a blazer and his outstanding gray-to-black wavy hair, squiring Abraham in a print dress and high heels.
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss and state School Superintendent Kathy Cox filled the time between the main course and desert. But it was the DOT lovebirds who provided the conversation. Evans’ father, who lives in Helen, was in the balcony watching.
Evans took the microphone to address the crowd. You can listen to his entire, five-minute speech here.
Was there levity? Yeah, there was some humor. Said Evans:
“[Abraham has] done a lot of great things at DOT, and one of the things she’s done is have the web site revamped. You can go there to GDOTmatchmaker.com, if you’re looking for a date.”
But the former DOT board chairman began on a necessarily serious note.
For in the audience was state Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ranger), one of five House members punished for voting to return Evans to his DOT seat in January, against the wishes of Speaker Glenn Richardson.
Yet this is what makes this romantic tryst serious public business: Evans cast the tie-breaking vote that put Abraham in office, and set in motion the remaking of the DOT.
Mathematically, Abraham’s support on the DOT board now must be considered precarious. Only hours before, at the state Capitol, Gov. Sonny Perdue and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle expressed their support for Abraham, and said they would be contacting DOT board members to argue her case.
This is how Evans approached the topic:
“I owe you an apology. I’ve done that to some of you. And y’all spent a lot of effort getting me re-elected two or three months ago, and me not filling out — finishing out my term, I know is disappointing to some. And I apologize.
“I want to tell you a little bit about what’s going on. No doubt you’ve seen it on TV. And I’ve assured Tom [Graves] and other folks this: Had I known on the day I was re-elected, that I would develop more than a professional relationship with a certain person, I would not have run for re-election…
“The policy at DOT is you can’t date folks in the same chain of command. So one of us had to go. And as most of you know, I resigned my board seat and my chairmanship yesterday. And as I told somebody earlier today, one of us had to go, and I said, ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, I said it’s about a million times more important that she stay over me…’
Evans then introduced his date, who oversees more federal and state money than you or I will ever see in a hundred lifetimes.
She stood, and the crowd politely applauded. Abraham was named DOT commissioner last year — months, according to Evans, before the pair began their relationship.
Continued Evans:
“I said it when I voted for her, in 15 years of public service, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I believe that she’s the best thing that’s come through the doors at DOT. And I believe she’s the last best hope of changing that department.
“And you need to demand that that department change. Through your legislators and through your DOT board member….Because she’s trying to change something that’s been wrong for a long time. There’s a lot of power, and a lot of money in that department, and the industry that it represents. And sometimes those people don’t change very easily.”
When Evans finished, a dozen people in the audience stood. The rest applauded politely, but not enthusiastically. Also in the front row was state Rep. Carl Rogers (R-Gainesville), who earlier in the day had called for both Evans and Abraham to resign their posts. Rogers is considering a run to replace Evans on the DOT board.
Throughout all of this, the most silent figure in this involuntary opera has been Abraham. But with the governor, lieutenant governor, and transportation enthusiasts calling for her continued employment, the question was obvious.
Will you quit?
This is what Abraham said Friday night: “I’m not working tonight. But I will say this. I’m going in Monday. I’m going back to work, just as I have for the last five months.”
And, Abraham said, she intends to sound out the DOT board to figure out how much support she in fact has. They’ll be gathering Monday, too.
And as for her date getting up in front of north Georgia — the Republican portion, anyway — Abraham said: “I told him I’m really proud of you doing that. That was a courageous thing to do.”
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Sam Nunn lines up behind Barack Obama as best equipped to stop political ‘demonizing, dumbing down’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Georgia senator Sam Nunn, who toyed with the concept of a non-partisan run for president last year, has come down on the side of Barack Obama in the Democratic race for president.
The former senator, considered one of the nation’s preeminent experts on U.S. defense, met with Obama’s foreign policy team this morning.
In a just released statement, Nunn said Obama “will have the sound judgment to put together an outstanding governing team, bringing people together across old boundaries.”
“My own role in this campaign will be as an advisor - particularly in the field of national security and foreign policy,” Nunn said.
Though not a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, Nunn carries a good deal of gravitas from which Obama could benefit. As one of their numbers, Nunn could also help reassure conservative Democrats still suspicious of Obama’s position on the left-right political spectrum.
That could matter in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Last year, Nunn was a leader in a bipartisan effort that assembled at the University of Oklahoma and decried decades of political clashes that had reduced serious debate to near-cartoonish arguments. Another organizer of the event, former Oklahoma senator David Boren, also endorsed Obama today.
In today’s statement, Nunn struck many of the same themes the pair tackled in Oklahoma:
Based on my conversations with Senator Obama, reading his book and his speeches and seeing the kind of campaign he has run, I believe that he is our best choice to lead our nation. Senator Obama, as evidenced by his words and his deeds, recognizes that:
— We have developed a habit of avoiding the tough decisions and seemingly lost our ability to build consensus to tackle head-on our biggest challenges.
— Demonizing the opposition, oversimplifying the issues, and dumbing down the political debate prevent our country from coming together to make tough decisions and tackle our biggest challenges.
— Solving America’s problems will require difficult choices and sacrifices and leaders capable of considering new ideas from both political parties.
— On foreign policy and security policy, we must recognize that we are not limited to a choice between belligerency and isolation and that we must listen to lead successfully on the key issues facing America and the world.
— Our next president must also recognize that the battle against violent terrorists, while requiring a prudent use of military power, is also a long-term contest of psychology and ideas.
Said Obama on Nunn, in a prepared statement: “Few public servants have done more than Sam Nunn to keep America safe, and I look forward to drawing on his counsel as we work to combat nuclear proliferation and other threats to America’s national security.”
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Love is an open road. Or, in Atlanta, whatever passes for one.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Those snarky — but sometimes very funny — people at Creative Loafing have this take on the romantic atmosphere at the state Department of Transportation.
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Buckle up: Another DOT board race is on the way
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yes, the state Capitol will have to go through the process of another election to replace Mike Evans, chairman of the state transportation board, who resigned in the name of love on Thursday.
The object of his affection is Gena Abraham, the Department of Transportation commissioner.
The contest to replace Evans must be jointly called by House Speaker Glenn Richardson and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle — which means the two top leaders of the Legislature have an immediate reason to move past the harsh words thrown during the just-ended session. House and Senate members in the 9th Congressional District wouldl cast the deciding vote.
The last fight over board membership — two seats were involved in the February votes — resulted in the punishment of several House members for their failure to support Richardson’s candidates.
Why not leave the seat open until January? Because there’s a distinct possibility that Abraham won’t be sticking around in her DOT job— meaning another huge battle over who would control the massive, and massively dysfunctional, agency.
Here’s what InsiderAdvantage has, raising questions of Abraham’s future:
The board quickly scheduled a special meeting for April 21st without saying what it was about. Vice Chairman Garland Pinholster, who moves up to the chairmanship position until board officer elections are held in June, said the meeting would be about what Abraham would do.
“The ball is in her court,” he said.
Abraham’s candidacy as commissioner last year was sponsored by Sonny Perdue, whose office has just put out word that the governor, out of town today, won’t make any statement on the situation until Friday. Presumably, he’ll use the time to consult with his DOT commissioner.
But back to the coming DOT board race to replace Evans. The Gainesville Times is reporting, and we’ve confirmed, that two names are already being floated.
Says the Times:
Those being mentioned as possible successors to Evans include Chris Riley, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Gainesville, and state Sen. Eugene “Chip” Pearson of Dawsonville. Pearson has reportedly told legislative leaders that he would not seek re-election to his Senate seat this year.
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Evans and Abraham: ‘The possibility of something more than friendship’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Below is the statement just released by Mike Evans, chairman of the state transportation board, on his resignation Thursday, forced by a romantic relationship with state DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham:
In the past five months, I have worked closely with Commissioner Abraham to work towards change within the Department. Over the course of those five months, I have grown to admire her and respect her more and more every day.
Her sense of integrity and work ethic is well known throughout state government and I can see why.
Over the last month or so we have grown to care for each other more than on a professional level, she became my friend. As our friendship developed, we realized that there was the possibility of something more than friendship.
At this point we met with the Vice-Chairman, Garland Pinholster, to discuss and determine the best direction and concluded that it was best to also inform the Board, which was done in Executive Session yesterday.
DOT Policy does not permit relationships other than professional or friendship within the direct chain of command. As Chairman of this Board, I strongly believe that I should be the model for respect and adherence to policy that I wish to see in all GDOT employees, especially with the challenges that we face.
In doing so, I must therefore tender my resignation today as Chairman and a member of the Georgia Department of Transportation Board.
I have served as a member of this Board for five years and it has been my honor and privilege to do so as a representative for District 9. My heart is heavy today because I know that in tendering my resignation, I am also disappointing a great number of people who have supported me throughout the years, in particular, during my re-election to the Board this year.
There are those who suffered great losses in support of me. I will be eternally grateful for their support. I will spend the rest of my days trying to restore their trust and in gaining their forgiveness for having stepped down at this point in my term.
I want to thank my colleagues on the Board who have been a support to me as well. As I leave my seat and return to my daily routine, I will still remain an advocate for systemic reform for Transportation in Georgia. It is still a worthwhile and noble cause that I will always believe in.
To the employees of the department, I have said how great they are and what dedicated public servants they are. I hope the board and senior staff will honor their service by doing everything they can to give them the department they deserve.
To the board, I hope you will continue the momentum and change that I have been pushing for the last five years, and that has accelerated over the last five months. To the cities, counties and individuals whose dedicated support helped me win re-election I apologize for my untimely departure and will never forget their loyal support.
As always, I am honored to serve the people of the 9th District and the state of Georgia.
Again, I thank everyone for the opportunity to serve.
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Scott on the romantic exit for DOT chairman: ‘Disappointment, bordering on anger’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just got off the phone with state Rep. Martin Scott (R-Rossville), who put his legislative career on the line this winter when he bucked House Speaker Glenn Richardson and voted to keep Mike Evans on the state transportation board.
Scott was stripped of his leadership positions on the House Ways and Means Committee — he was chairman of the income tax subcommittee.
And now Evans, the candidate of choice for Gov. Sonny Perdue, has resigned — citing a romance with DOT commissioner Gena Abraham, which he said has blossomed in the last month.
Richardson’s candidate, former House member Stacey Reece, was flawed — he left the Legislature after he encouraged lobbyists to throw him a wedding shower.
But now it turns out that Evans had his own problems. Scott said Evans called him today to offer an apology for his behavior.
Scott described his current state of mind as one of “extreme disappointment, bordering on anger — to say the least.”
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Georgia’s Republican delegation lines up behind Broun
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You may be witnessing the first repercussion of the folly that was the 2008 session of the General Assembly.
This morning, the campaign for U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Athens) put out a note announcing that Georgia’s six other Republican congressmen have endorsed Broun over his primary challenger, state Rep. Barry Fleming of Harlem.
Those U.S. House members would be Nathan Deal, Phil Gingrey, Jack Kingston, John Linder, Tom Price, and Lynn Westmoreland.
The Georgia half-dozen named themselves as hosts of a Tuesday fund-raising event for Broun in Washington. Some of them even showed up.
This is a second piece of good news for Broun, whose political career hangs on the thread of his surprise victory last summer in the special election to replace the late Charlie Norwood of Augusta.
Last week, state Sen. Nancy Schaefer (R-Turnerville) withdrew from the 10th District primary, citing her husband’s health.
But the endorsement of Broun by Georgia’s congressional delegation is far more significant.
Tim Echols, a spokesman for Broun, attempted to characterize the support as a case of the GOP establishment lining up against Glenn Richardson, who is quickly becoming known as the Wild Man From Paulding County. Fleming is the House majority whip, and a part of Richardson’s leadership team.
“In the run-up this campaign, Mr. Fleming has relied on his mentor, the very controversial speaker of the Georgia House, who is known for stinging attacks on fellow Republicans - particularly Governor [Sonny] Perdue and Lt. Gov. [Casey] Cagle,” Echols said. “So it is a contrast to see how Congressman Broun works so closely with his fellow Georgia Republicans and enjoys their trust.”
The Fleming campaign noted that, last year, Broun was running against Georgia’s Republican hierarchy, which had endorsed Jim Whitehead of Augusta.
“Paul Broun has worked very hard to become part of the establishment of Washington D.C., and Tuesday he was enshrined at the Capitol Hill Club,” said campaign manager Cam Kirbo. He accused Broun of “seeking cover behind the backs of his colleagues.”
To say that the congressional endorsement of Broun is a slap at Richardson probably goes too far. For one thing, the six can lean on Washington comraderie as an excuse. To support someone you work with is no crime.
A spokesman for Kingston noted that his boss is originally from Athens, and knows Broun well. “There’s definitely a relationship there,” said Chris Crawford.
But the fact that the congressmen are lending their support without apparent regard for Richardson’s clout remains significant. The House speaker — if he survives until 2011 — will have a large say in redrawing new congressional district lines after the next census.
Nor is it unimportant that Broun’s supporters now include Westmoreland. The Coweta County congressman is the former state House minority leader. He and Richardson — not to mention Fleming — share the same political base.
The other thought to keep in mind is the precarious position that Republicans in the U.S. House could find themselves in this November.
One Democrat, Bobby Saxon, has already announced for the east Georgia seat.
The backing of Broun by his Georgia colleagues could be a byproduct of GOP strategery in Washington — the belief that the (i) next to Broun’s name may be a safer bet than sweeping the deck clean and starting fresh.
Broun’s chief problem remains financial. According to just-released campaign finance disclosures, the Republican incumbent has $116,396 in cash on hand, but a debt of $198,579 left from his 2007 race. He’s loaned himself a total of $209,000.
Tuesday’s fund-raiser was aimed at tamping down Broun’s debt.
Fleming, despite his status as a challenger, is in a far better position, reporting $595,513 in cash on hand, and no debt.
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Investigated judge says he intends to retire
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WALB-TV in Albany is reporting that Brooks Blitch, the chief judge of the Alapaha Judicial Circuit, has handed in his resignation.
Blitch, 73, one of Clinch County’s most powerful political figures, is at the center of a federal investigation — the judge’s South Georgia chambers were bugged for a time, the FBI admitted recently.
The Judicial Qualifications Commission has charged him with 12 instances of misconduct.
Blitch says his retirement has been planned for some time, and will take effect June 30.
In a press release, according to WALB, Blitch’s counsel, former Gov. Roy Barnes, says that he’s informed the judicial board that Blitch does not plan to seek appointment as a senior judge — as retired judges often do — “because of his desire to return to the private practice of law on a limited basis.”
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Marshall with 3-to-1 edge over Goddard in ready cash
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, the constantly embattled Macon Democrat, should be breathing a bit easier today, knowing that — as of March 31 — he had a nearly 3-to-1 cash advantage over Republican challenger Rick Goddard.
According to the Federal Election Commission, Goddard is reporting net contributions of $573, 224, with $403,826 in cash on hand.
Marshall reports just over $1 million raised this cycle, with $1.19 million in cash on hand.
The two candidates are roughly equal in contributions from individuals, but Marshall has a substantial advantage when it comes to party support, and money from political action committees. He is, after all, the incumbent.
But the bet here is that Marshall, a superdelegate to the convention, is still not comfortable enough yet to declare whether he’ll support Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama
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Voter stats from February primary show a Democratic surge of black and young voters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two months after the Feb. 5 presidential primary, we now have the first hard-and-fast statistical take on what a Barack Obama surge in Georgia might mean this November.
The answer is six percentage points. Maybe more. Which is why many Republicans you know are developing worry lines — and praying for Hillary Clinton.
This week, the office of Secretary of State Karen Handel quietly released the race, age and gender breakdowns for the February contest.
Some of these figures you certainly know. Others are new:
— Democrats cast nearly 53 percent of the 2,007,544 ballots counted on Feb. 5.
— Within the Democratic primary, African-Americans cast 55 percent of the vote. This is the first time that’s happened. White voters made up just a tad less than 40 percent of the Democratic vote.
— White voters made up 96 percent of the Republican presidential primary vote.
— African-Americans cast 30 percent of all votes on Feb. 5. In November 2006, with gubernatorial candidate Mark Taylor at the top of the Democratic ticket, black voters cast only 24 percent of all ballots. This is the number causing Republicans to lose sleep.
— In addition to juicing turnout among black voters, the Feb. 5 primary showed signs of a shift in party preference among the state’s youngest voters. You read above that Democratic voters accounted for 53 percent of all ballots.
But 61 percent of voters 24 and under picked up a Democratic ballot.
— Young voters are notoriously unreliable, but young African-American voters — 24 and under — had a voter turnout rate of 26 percent. That’s remarkably strong. Turnout among young white voters was 22 percent — again, not too shabby.
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Ties to an indicted company make local politicians uncomfortable
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Suddenly, the biggest worry in local politics has become fallout from the federal indictment of the Facility Group, a Smyrna architectural and engineering firm that’s ram-rodding some of the biggest building projects undertaken by local governments in Atlanta.
The company’s three top executives, as well as the firm itself, have been accused of funneling excessive campaign contributions to a public official in Mississippi to win a contract to manage the completion of a beef processing plant, which ultimately failed.
Last week, the Cobb County Board of Education approved an audit of its relationship with the Facility Group.
The firm has managed the district’s publicly tax-funded $1.16 billion school building program for the past 10 years. A vote to renew the penny sales tax that funds the construction comes up in September — and Cobb has a fickle history when it comes to approval of sales taxes.
This morning, the Marietta Daily Journal reports that the Facility Group “has been performing free work on the school system’s proposed SPLOST III since last summer.”
“Do I receive help from people who want to help me? Sure,” said John Crooks, vice-chairman of the school board.
In Cherokee County, the Ledger-News reports that Sheriff Roger Garrison has returned $3,000 in campaign contributions he received last summer from executives of The Facility Group, which expanded the county jail.
Says the Cherokee newspaper:
Garrison also recently listed in a campaign finance disclosure document a $1,000 contribution returned to Neighbors of Earl Ehrhart, the campaign of state Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs), who is a Facility Group executive, and a returned $1,000 contribution from company executive Robert “Bob” Moultrie Jr. and his wife Kelley Moultrie. Garrison received the contributions last July at a golf tournament in the gated Hawks Ridge community.
Ehrhart, a vice president for the Facility Group, is also chairman of the House Rules Committee.
And in Paulding County, where the Facility Group oversees the construction of a $65 million county administrative complex, the company’s influence has become one of the more popular topics on Paulding.com, a community news web site.
According to the State Ethics Commission, the Facility Group political action committee alone has given $21,700 to political candidates in the last 15 months.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has received the largest portion — $10,700. Other contributions include: $2,000 to Jerry Shearin, chairman of the Paulding County Commission; $1,000 to Secretary of State Karen Handel; $500 to Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren; $1,500 to the Georgia Federation of Republican Women; $500 to Cobb County Chairman Sam Olens; and $500 to Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon.
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A brief hiatus
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Insider has been exhausted by the machinations of the 2008 General Assembly. A well-known but not terribly respected physician has ordered several days’ rest. In case of news, expect a speedy reactivation. Otherwise, let’s plan on touching base next week.
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Cagle on Richardson: ‘He tried to bully his way through the process’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle was silent in the hours after the Legislature melted down and dripped home last week.
But in the last few days, he’s been out and around, giving his side of the story, and responding to House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s Friday night taunts. (Gov. Sonny Perdue offers his first insights this afternoon.)
On Monday, Cagle wasn’t willing to address Richardson’s call for a new lieutenant governor. This morning, Cagle was on WGAU (1340AM) in Athens, where host Tim Bryant let Cagle, for the first time, hear exactly what Richardson said.
It loosened the lieutenant governor up a bit. Listen to it here.
Richardson, said Cagle, is a fellow “who began the session with not agreeing with the governor so he tried to bully his way through the process with 12 overrides.
“Then he didn’t get his way with the DOT race, and he tried to unseat incumbent board members. This is kind of the way he approaches things.”
And there’s more about Cagle’s side on tax cuts as well.
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Barr and Boortz on illegal immigration, and what to do with those already here
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Georgia congressman Bob Barr, now exploring a Libertarian bid for president, had an interesting exchange with Neal Boortz on WSB (750AM) this morning.
Listen to the sound clip here.
Apparently, among some conservatives, there’s been some dispute over where Libertarians stand on the issue of illegal immigration.
“The Libertarian Party has not exactly been strong on the issue of controlling the Mexican invasion into this country,” Boortz began.
“Actually, they have been,” Barr replied.
The two gentlemen moved to the matter of what to do with the paperless people who are already here.
Said Barr:
“You set a mechanism internally to determine who is here. And if you catch folks that are here unlawfully, and do not submit themselves to a background check that those coming into this country are going to be required to do, then you send them back to their country.”
Said Boortz:
“It sounds to me that you’re saying, if you find an illegal immigrant in this country, and they’re willing to submit to a background check, that that could open the door to them staying here.”
Said Barr:
“I think as a practical matter, that makes a lot of sense. I’m not sure how you would go about rounding up millions of people and trying to deport them. The key here is security….”
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Casey Cagle on the end of the 2008 session: Blame the House speaker
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Monday, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle made his first public appearance since the ugly finish of the 2008 Legislature.
According to Cagle, it was all House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s fault.
The lieutenant governor was at Atlanta City Hall with Mayor Shirley Franklin, to help unveil the final leg of the Tour de Georgia on April 27 — a six-circuit race through the streets of downtown.
Cagle is the chairman of the reconstituted, state-created board that owns the bicycle race. On display at the presser was the 20-speed, $2,500 titanium loaner that Cagle — a golfer by habit — will ride from time to time during the event.
For a politician on a bicycle, the only thing more distasteful than an ugly helmet is the prospect of an ungraceful dismount. But for Cagle and 236 state lawmakers, that’s already happened.
“There’s no question at all that the session ended on a very sour note. It began where it left off last year — this session — with a veto override. And the speaker was unwilling to negotiate,” Cagle said.
Below is a brief overview of what Cagle said Monday.
On Richardson declaring that Georgia needed a new lieutenant governor:
“I really don’t have a response to that. The speaker was obviously very frustrated that he spent the summer working on a tax reform proposal, and changed it numerous times to get support and ended up losing on the floor.
“I can understand his frustration. There’s no one more committed to tax reform than I am. We put a very good proposal on the table, late. Obviously he was not interested in that.
“We’re very disappointed that the constitutional amendment to freeze assessments was not done because of his actions. We were very disappointed we did not reach an agreement on trauma.
“The Senate put a proposal before him, he denied that. And so its very unfortunate. We did not get a T-SPLOST proposal because really, the lateness of their willingness to act as well.”
But the idea of regional sales taxes for transportation was killed by Senate Republicans. The House passed it.
“What I’m saying is that the speaker was going back and forth on language. We actually had to suspend the rules, if you’ll recall, in order to get the bill on the desk and read. So it really did catch some people by surprise because of the lateness of it.”
What do you say to those sitting in traffic?
It’s my hope that we’re going to stay at the table and find a [resolution] to the transportation issue… We’ve got to resolve this issue. We understand it. We’re very committed to it. And certainly the restructuring of the department is going to make a big, big difference. But we also have to look at other funding mechanisms.”
[Sorry to interrupt, but read that block of type above very carefully. Especially that last sentence. It could be a hint that next year, transportation enthusiasts may not be able to pick up exactly where they left off. Now, back to our program.]
On the House plan to cut the car tax, which would have required to the state to reimburse local governments for lost revenue:
“At the end of the day, I was not willing to allow a billion dollars of state revenue to go back to county governments in an effort to supplement their income. This does not make sound public policy sense. No economist would validate the proposal. We had the right proposal, which was an income tax reduction, that made sense. It would be immediate, there would be stimulus, and every economist believed that this would be the right thing….”
And on whether the absence of the governor at the close of the session had any impact:
“I don’t know that it had an impact. The details of all of this and the way it ended really had less to do with the governor and more to do with the speaker’s unwillingness to negotiate in good faith. But it is what it is, and we’re going to pick up and move on.”
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A conservative call for Bush to boycott the Olympics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Macon blogger Erick Erickson, editor and founder of the national conservative web site RedState.com as well as the local PeachPundit, wants President Bush to cancel is trip to Beijing for the Olympics.
In other words, Erickson has joined forces with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic president Hillary Clinton. And he’s passing around an electronic petition calling on Bush to boycott the event.
Says Erickson:
We know some on the right who tend to view the world mostly in economic terms will disagree with us. Yes, we recognize that China is a large trading partner. We recognize how much of our debt they hold.
We also recognize the arguments of some that if the President were to go, the media would be inclined to shed the spotlight on China’s abuses.
None of these arguments contradict the fact that our President, who has spent eight years liberating parts of the world from tyranny, should not give the seal of approval on China’s behavior — approval his presence at the Olympics would most certainly give to the Chinese people.
Other Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California, have called for a total boycott of the Games. Here’s his op-ed piece in today’s USA Today.
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Bush opposes Isakson’s tax credit for foreclosure purchases
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s been obvious that U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson has been taking heat from the right wing of his own party for pushing, as part of a means of easing the foreclosure crisis, a $7,000 tax credit to people who buy foreclosed homes — or homes on which foreclosure has been filed.
But it hadn’t been clear that opponents include President Bush. This was part of an Associated Press report filed late Monday:
The Bush administration opposes the foreclosure purchase tax credit, though it’s been circumspect in its public statements. In an unusual step, the White House did not issue an official policy statement as it does with most important legislation.
“Some of the proposals we’ve seen might have the potential to distort the market,” said Treasury Department spokesman Andrew DeSouza.
Isakson defends himself and his idea in the same AP piece.
“All these houses in foreclosure are doing a whole lot more damage to the [house] value of the homeowner who’s making their payments than having a $7,000 tax credit to induce people to absorb those foreclosures,” he countered. “It helps you to fix the bottom of the market so the market can turn around.”
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More sweepings from the session
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In a note that’s gone out to members, Joe Fleming of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce has this cogent wrap of departures from the General Assembly:
At least five representatives and two senators will not return to Atlanta for the 2009 legislative session: Reps. Ben Bridges, Bob Holmes, Jimmy Lord (all to retirement), Rep. Johnny Floyd, who becomes the newest member of the Department of Transportation board, and Rep. Barry Fleming, who is seeking the Republican nomination for Congress in Georgia’s 10th Congressional District.
Fleming will be joined in that race by state Sen. Nancy Schaefer. Sen. Michael Meyer von Bremen has announced he will run for the Georgia Court of Appeals seated being vacated by retiring Judge John Ruffin.
Dick Pettys of InsiderAdvantage writes today that state Rep. Bobby Franklin of Cobb County is likely to lose his position as chairman of the House Reapportionment Committee next year.
Last Friday, Franklin tried to attach a “fetal murder” amendment to a dog-collar bill. Franklin appealed to the chamber when House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s decision to rule the amendment out of order. He lost 152-2.
Franklin was joined in his martyrdom by state Rep. Martin Scott, a fellow Republican who — in Pettys’ words — is “beyond punishment.”
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Blogwatch: WGCL missed out on legislative finale
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Live Apartment Fire is the creation of Doug Richards, former reporter for WAGA-TV.
His blog keeps track of Atlanta television, and today he’s got this criticism of WGCL (CBS 46) and its state Capitol coverage:
If WGCL is really serious about becoming a big-time player in the Atlanta news market, you wouldn’t have known it from its 11pm newscast Friday. That was the final night of the 2008 legislative session. WGCL covered it with a thirty-second anchor reader. The other stations had live shots from reporters who’d been at the Capitol since the session opened that morning.
With its midnight deadline, its last-minute dealmaking and the “sine die!” paper-tossing climax, the final day of the session is always worth covering. This year, the issues were accessible to average Georgians. And the infighting among Republican leaders gave it a soap-opera quality that makes political reporters smile. That day, the other three stations showed footage of the always tightly-wound Speaker Glenn Richardson blaming Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle for inaction on tax cuts during a House-Senate conference. WGCL had zip.
For you innocents who don’t know what’s in the name, Richards explains:
“Live Apartment Fire” refers to the bane of the existence of the Atlanta TV reporter. When an apartment catches fire- especially close to news time- it doesn’t matter what good work a reporter has developed during the day. Nor does it matter if nobody is injured by the fire. The apartment fire will be treated like Armageddon, especially if the flames can be broadcast live during a newscast.
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NAACP: ‘Racial overtones’ seen in Barbie Bandit sentencing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The state NAACP will protest what it calls “racial overtones” in the sentencing handed down in the case of the Barbie Bandits bank theft case.
In a press release, the group notes that the two alleged bandits, “Heather Lyn Johnston and Ashley Nicole Miller, both Caucasian, were sentenced to 10 years’ probation and two years in prison, respectively. Michael Darrell Chastang, who is black and was not present at the [theft], was ordered to serve an unprecedented 10 years in prison followed by 15 years on probation.”
Says Edward Dubose, the group’s president: “Let me be clear, a crime was committed and all those involved should be punished. But these sentences so obviously represent a severe miscarriage of justice that’s filled with racial overtones.”
The group has scheduled a 6:30 p.m. press conference in Marietta.
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The end of the 216 Group, the withdrawal of Maggie Martinez, and the clout that fell just a little short
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Notes on a few neglected topics lost in the rush of last week:
— The four-year-old 216 Group, chaired by state Rep. Tom Graves, has disbanded. Named for the room in the state Capitol where members usually met, the 216 Group billed itself as a gathering of true-believing conservatives.
Graves, you’ll remember, is one of the House members punished by Speaker Glenn Richardson for not backing his choice in the contests for the state transportation board earlier this year.
But Richardson — and the rest of House GOP leadership — were also aggravated by the 216 Group’s habit of grading legislation according to its own definition of conservatism. Leadership bills did not always fair well.
The group’s constant advocacy of tighter and tighter anti-abortion legislation also was a chafing point.
In a letter posted on the group’s web site, Graves offered no reason for shutting the 216 Group down. He wrote: “The conservative values which we hold will never die, but the meetings will.”
— Rockdale County teacher Maggie Martinez has dropped out of the Democratic race for U.S. Senate. Her exit statement came shortly after Atlanta attorney Jim Martin, the newest Democrat in the race, announced that he’d raised nearly $350,000 in the last few weeks.
“Unfortunately, our current system carries a heavy burden on the ability to raise the funds to compete with an entrenched Republican incumbent senator.
“After evaluating the situation prior to qualifying, it is in the best interest of our party that we narrow the field and remember that our opponent is Saxby Chambliss and not one another,” Martinez wrote.
So far as we know, the Democratic field now stands at five.
— State Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta) corrects a report posted here a few minutes ago. Remember that curious piece of product liability language that the House GOP leadership tried to sneak into a seat belt bill? The original post about it is here.
Five times the House Motor Vehicle Committee rejected the legislation, after Powell Goldstein lobbyists, who wrote the 113-word paragraph, refused to say who their clients were.
The language ultimately made it through the Senate on Friday, tacked to S.B. 305, an emergency management bill sponsored by state Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth).
It passed the House, too. But according to Jacobs, “Mark Hatfield (a Republican from Waycross) “noticed the language, moved for reconsideration, and prevailed on that motion. The second vote on final passage of the SB 305 conference committee report failed. The bill died.”
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Traffic in metro Atlanta: Shifting the emphasis from whittled wallets to whittled lives
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Saturday morning, connected by cell phone and BlackBerry, those who worry most about metro Atlanta’s infamous traffic congestion sifted through the rubble.
Just before midnight Friday, a regional sales tax for transportation became one of the last, many things left undone by the 2008 Georgia General Assembly.
A $5 million campaign to persuade voters to endorse it on a November ballot was shelved immediately, of course. And supporters will be back in the state Capitol next January.
But first they’ll have to analyze what went wrong.
To say that the issue of transportation in metro Atlanta suffers from a lack of political leadership is to say nothing new.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has become famous for his disinterest in the plight of the poor slobs who can spend three hours of each working day sucking carbon monoxide. The entire concept of regional sales taxes, levied by local referendum, was an end-run around the governor’s unwillingness to tackle the problem.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle — although he was first to pitch the idea of a penny sales tax for traffic woes — in the end showed no willingness to risk any political capital on behalf of commuters.
But the real reason that traffic congestion lacks clout in the state Capitol may have less to do with leadership, and more to do with the two-dimensional manner in which the issue has been cast.
Business people of power communicate with political people of power in terms that both understand. They speak of the rise and falls of empires, of the need to keep the state’s economic machine churning, which maintains the flow of tax revenues — and gives lawmakers something to spend.
No doubt they make an excellent point. Atlanta’s fortune was made decades ago when it chose to construct a major airport, while its Alabama rival hesitated. Perhaps Friday was a Birmingham moment for us.
But a topic that is only about economic development is a topic small enough to be trifled with when the Legislature is in session. It risks being snagged by a number of smaller agendas.
“The Metro Atlanta Chamber should have spent more time lobbying for [the transportation sales tax] and less time lobbying against the Grady bill,” growled state Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) shortly after midnight on Friday.
Shafer, who voted against the transportation sales tax, was still smarting from the defeat that morning of his effort to apply strict standards of conduct to the new non-profit board governing Grady Memorial Hospital.
The sales tax legislation fell three shorts vote of the two-thirds majority needed for passage in the Senate. But the measure passed in the House.
The difference may have been House Speaker Glenn Richardson, who — when he’s not challenging the virility of his opponents — can be one of the most eloquent and compelling voices in the Legislature.
In an address from the well on the transportation sales tax last month, Richardson avoided the economics of traffic congestion almost entirely. Instead, he argued as a social conservative.
Government inaction on traffic congestion amounted to the theft of time from families, Richardson said, as he detailed his struggles to drive from downtown Atlanta into Cobb County to see the first pitch of his son’s ballgame.
“How many people are missing a part of their family’s lives? How many people could be home with their family or at the ball game with their son, that are sitting in traffic?” he asked.
Mike Huckabee, at the height of his Republican presidential efforts this winter, made the same point during a stop in Atlanta. He termed traffic congestion — and the missed recitals and suppers it forces — “a waste of social capital.”
Whittled-down wallets spark concern. Millions of whittled-down lives stir passion.
Get Georgia Moving, the coalition pushing the regional sales tax, is a disparate collection of business leaders, government officials, road contractors and environmentalists. They have surprised themselves by hanging together this far.
Next year, they may have another member. Sadie Fields, leader of the Georgia Christian Alliance, says she likes Richardson’s approach to traffic as a family matter. “I think that’s a very good argument,” she said.
When Christian conservatives and the business community form an alliance, they’re very hard to beat, she said. “That’s a marriage that probably should take place.”
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Video alert: Bob Barr announces his exploratory bid for president on YouTube
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Georgia congressman Bob Barr has put up a YouTube video announcing his formation of an exploratory committee to determine if he should run for president as a Libertarian.
Barr calls Barack Obama an “empty suit.” As for Hillary Clinton, he’s “crossed swords” with her in the past. “She’s no leader,” Barr said.
And John McCain? “He’s on a first name basis with every lobbyist you run into,” Barr said. “He’s part of the problem, part of the status quo.”
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Blogwatch: Audio of Richardson on Cagle and the death of the tax cut deal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jason Pye, the inestimable Libertarian contributor to Peach Pundit, has isolated the sound of House Speaker Glenn Richardson calling out Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle on the collapse of the tax cut deal. Listen to it here.
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Sales tax for transportation dead. Trauma network dead. And tax cuts dead.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The sales tax for transportation package died in the last minutes of the 2008 session of the Legislature, near midnight on Friday — three votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority in the Senate.
With it died two other major efforts — a measure to fund a statewide trauma network, and dueling efforts to cut taxes.
The most prominent legislation passed Friday, other than the budget, may have been the measure to allow licensed concealed weapons in restaurants, on MARTA trains and in state parks.
The finish of the session was one of the most subdued in memory. No governor was at the Capitol to send legislators back home. Sonny Perdue is still time zones away.
Usually, the House and the Senate try to coordinate their cries of “Sine Die.” This time, House Speaker Glenn Richardson gaveled his chamber to a close five minutes before the Senate.
Senate President pro tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) captured a piece of the ennui in an e-mail:
“It is hard to call this session a resounding success. We reformed Georgia’s antiquated CON laws, but failed to provide long-term funding for trauma care.
“We passed a sweeping expansion of charter schools and tuition tax credits, but left children in chronically failing schools. We provided almost $500 million in property tax relief in the budget, yet failed to stop backdoor tax increases.
“We could have done better.”
The confetti of laws passed and dead are on the floor. There’s much to sweep up, literally and figuratively. Good night.
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Deal reached on transportation tax. But is it tied to a tax cut?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The House and Senate have an agreement on the sales tax for transportation.
At 10:50 p.m., Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Mullis huffed into Room 450 of the state Capitol and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached a deal.”
Copies of the two measures — one a proposed constitutional amendment and the other legislation to enact the results — are being printed.
But asked if this deal is dependent on a tax cut that looks ever more doubtful, Mullis replied, “That’s above my pay grade.”
A little more than an hour remains before the midnight deadline.
What about worries about a tax hike when a tax cut is on the verge of failure? The secret may be in the agreed-upon wording of the ballot question voters will see in November:
“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to allow that all revenue currently collected from moter fuel taxes be designated to fund transportation and to provide for communities and regions to solve their transportation problems through a referendum?”
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Young people drinking? Surely not.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This note was sent out this evening, after Senate President pro tem Eric Johnson ordered some young ladies and their drinks off the chamber floor:
From: Peery, Stacy
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 8:04 PM
To: Peery, Stacy; Senate Interns; Senate Aides
Cc: Wallace, Shannon; Stockwell, Melanie
Subject: VERY IMPORTANT
I just received word that some intoxicated interns were wandering the senate floor. I have to say that I am very disappointed after such a great year. I really don’t know what to say—I am stunned…..
Stacy Peery
Director of Senate Intern and Aide Program
330 State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
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Gun bill passes Senate in a hurry, and it was all over but the shouting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Senate just gave hurried passage to H.B. 89, the gun bill, and sparked a one-way shouting match between a Democratic and Republican senator.
State Sen. Chip Rogers gave the conference report, answered a few questions, and left the well. Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams (R-Lyons), on the front row, immediately moved for a vote, cutting off any chance for opponents to speak against the gun bill.
One possible motive: We were coming up on the 10 and 11 p.m. TV news slots, and the big stuff was still in limbo. Video of lawmakers railing against the proliferation of guns in restaurants and on MARTA trains would have been very tempting.
In any case, after the vote, state Sen. Steve Thompson — a Democrat from Powder Springs dressed in a traditional, last-day seersucker suit — marched to the front of the chamber, put himself in Williams’ grill, and gave the Republican leader a good 30-second slice of his mind.
Cutting debate off like that was never done in the Senate, Thompson said, after he’d cooled down only slightly. “It’s unprecedented, and the must disgusting thing I’ve ever seen,” he said.
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Sweeping the guns-in-parking-lots language clean
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The conference committee report on H.B. 89, the all-encompassing gun bill, is out — but hasn’t been voted on in either chamber.
Opponents will still have heartburn. It allows those with concealed permits to carry in restaurants and public transport.
But an important part of the bill — the part that started the row in the Senate — has been neatly gutted. This is the section that permits employees to keep firearms parked in company lots.
Here’s the new language:
Nothing in this Code section shall restrict the rights of private property owners or persons in legal control of property through a lease, rental agreement, a contract, or any other agreement to control access to such property. When a private property owner or person in legal control of property through a lease, a rental agreement, a contract, or any other agreement is also an employer, his or her rights as a private property owner or person in legal control of property shall govern.
Now, I approached a National Rifle Association lobbyist about this, and he said he wasn’t bothered by it in the least. The language means nothing, he assured me.
The official NRA spokesman in Washington said this: “The most significant thing about this legislation is that it gives permit holders the right to keep guns in cars parked on any publicly accessible parking lot.”
But to my mind, the bill now says that employers must let employees keep guns in their cars on company land — unless they don’t want to. Very much like the city of Kennesaw gun law, which states that all residents must own a gun — unless they object.
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A bill to weaken the CEO of DeKalb County on the verge of passage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Four and a half hours to go, and we’re still waiting on a tax cut deal that will, in turn, determine whether we have measures pass the Legislature addressing a statewide trauma network, a sales tax for transportation, and a host of other bills.
One big Gordian knot, and no governor in town to slice through it.
On the other hand, state Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) is dancing on air. His measure to reduce the power of the DeKalb County CEO, has been signed off on by the DeKalb House delegation and is headed back to the Senate for final approval.
S.B. 52 “is coming back and we’ll definitely agree,” Jones said. It would make the CEO an executive only, and would strip away any authority he has on the county commission.
A referendum on the matter must be held by November of this year — which means the legislation wouldn’t have much impact on the tenure of the current CEO, Vernon Jones, who is leaving that office to run for U.S. Senate.
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Fleming’s tamping down rumors in Augusta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This just came from the campaign of House Majority Whip Barry Fleming, one of two Republican challengers to U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Athens):
“Apparently due to some problems of my extended family members, a rumor was begun that I was withdrawing my name from the race for Congress. I have no intention of withdrawing from the race.
Today, I will finish my current business with the legislative session in Atlanta and then will continue my campaign for Congress.”
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The Republican House kills a Grady bill and a ban on abortions in a single stroke
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just before noon Friday, an impromptu coalition of pro-choice Republicans and Democrats in the House, aided by business types, jumped up and killed H.B. 1299, which would have applied a list of ethical restrictions to the new non-profit board that governs Grady.
The measure also would have slapped a near-total ban on abortions performed at public hospitals. In a Republican-controlled Legislature, this is news.
Here’s the version of events offered to us by the two protagonists — state Rep. Sharon Cooper of Cobb County, chairman of the House Health and Human Services committee, and state Rep. Mike Jacobs of Atlanta.
In the middle of the session, there were signs that the board governing Grady hospital was balking at turning operations over to a non-profit corporation.
Cooper she asked Jacobs to submit legislation to give the Grady board a nudge. Jacobs says it was his idea. (He has the first signature on the bill, and she has the second.) In its original version, H.B. 1299 denied state trauma care funding to public hospitals not governed by a non-profit corporation.
On all-important Day 30, when a bill must have the approval of one chamber or die, Cooper took the well to push for a vote.
If the Grady board agrees to shift control of the hospital to a non-profit corporation, she promised, H.B. 1299 would stop in its tracks.
“She said that on her own,” Jacobs said.
The bill was the last to pass the House that night.
But in the Senate, H.B. 1299 was loaded up with the ethics requirements. State Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) was the author. He also backed a provision that banned abortions in public hospitals unless they are funded by Medicaid.
Medicaid, Jacobs acknowledged, does not fund abortions except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at stake. So most abortions would have been barred.
The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce began lobbying against H.B. 1299 — not because of the abortion provision, but because the group interpreted the good-government sections as an unnecessary slap at the high-ranking business types who now make up much of the new, non-profit Grady board.
Cooper agreed, and wanted to keep her promise. Jacobs did not agree, and didn’t feel bound by Cooper’s words.
While he didn’t like the anti-abortion provision added in the Senate, Jacobs felt it could be stripped off — if he could get H.B. 1299 to a House-Senate conference committee.
Jacobs liked the parts that prohibit conflicts of interest among board members, and another section that prevented whistleblower lawsuits from being settled in secret. “I feel strongly about that,” he said, “since my DeKalb County constituents have been paying the freight for years.”
This morning, Cooper worked furiously against her own bill. The vote to push H.B. 1299 to conference failed, 48 to 103. Seeing the writing on the wall, even Jacobs voted against it.
As the seconds ticked by, state Rep. Jill Chambers (R-Atlanta), held her thumb downward as a signal to others. “I’m tired of men in the Capitol playing vaginal politics,” she said later.
Jacobs switched to the Republican party only last spring. Minutes after H.B. 1299 was sent down the tubes, Cooper said that Jacobs walked up to her desk, tossed her a brochure from his Democratic opponent and said, “You might as well have written him a check.”
Jacobs did not dispute the account.
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More on transportation: Sonny phoned home
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Several people have told us that Gov. Sonny Perdue, currently en route from China, had a conference call with House and Senate leaders this morning.
The legislation for a transportation sales tax was one of the topics discussed.
Two things of note: We’re told the governor was in favor of shifting the fourth penny sales tax on gasoline, which currently goes into the state’s general fund, toward road projects for rural Georgia. That’s considered the essential sweetener to get a two-thirds vote in the House.
The governor also indicated he was willing to be convinced to sign the enabling legislation. For more info, see this previous post.
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Something to read on your way back to your district
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You can love them or hate them, but you can’t not read them. Here’s the link to Creative Loafing’s annual Golden Sleaze awards.
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Transportation sales tax update
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The current hang-up, we’re told, is not over whether the governor will commit to signing the enabling legislation that will spell out the details not covered by the proposed constitutional amendment.
An indication of support by Sonny Perdue has been requested by House negotiators, but no one’s counting on the answer.
No, right now the sticking point is that fourth penny of sales tax on gasoline that goes into state’s general fund. House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) has insisted that it go toward transportation projects, and insisted it become part of the deal.
The Senate wants to see that placed in enabling legislation. Porter insists that the redirection of that penny be incorporated into the November ballot question — and state Rep. Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, is backing the Democratic demand.
“It doesn’t mean a thing unless it’s in the constitution,” Porter said just a few minutes ago. Future legislators, and governors, would be able to change the flow of the money with a majority vote of the Legislature.
Porter said that penny could become extremely important to cities and counties throughout Georgia — as the state Department of Transportation, trying match current commitments to available funds, begins cutting assistance to local governments.
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Martin alleged to have raised nearly $350,000
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tondee’s Tavern is apparently on Jim Martin’s exclusive e-mail list. Blogger Jon Flack has this, which he said was received from the Martin campaign:
Jim Martin, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, announced today that he raised nearly $350,000 in less than two weeks after entering the race for U.S. Senate last month.
Martin, who launched his campaign March 19, raised $346,675 through March 31, the end of the first quarterly filing period for the Federal Election Commission. Martin ended the month with more than $330,000 cash on hand.
If true, this is an amount that’s meant to send a signal. It’s more than the five other Democrats in the race, led by DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, raised in all of 2007.
More important, and still unknown, is who gave Martin his money — and whether any of it is puffery from personal loans. Candidates won’t be required to show all the details of their first-quarter fund-raising until the middle of this month.
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Bob Barr set to explore his presidential possibilities on Saturday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Peach Pundit has found this posting on the American Spectator blog, which says former Georgia congressman Bob Barr will launch his exploratory committee for the Libertarian presidential nomination on Saturday in Kanas City.
Says the AmSpec posting:
When former Rep. Bob Barr arrives in Kansas City on Saturday for the Heartland Libertarian Conference, organizers expect him to launch an exploratory committee for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. Barr is meeting with his political team on Friday to firm up plans. Right now, he’s expected to fly into the city at about noon Saturday and address the conference in the early afternoon.
The Barr launch is getting to be an open secret among conference-goers. Advocacy Ink, the firm that handles Barr’s public relations, is advertising the speech to local and national reporters. Mike Ferguson, the de jure organizer of the conference, is scrambling to deal with a crush of new media requests.
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The letter to Perdue, asking if he intends to step on the transportation sales tax
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House and Senate conferees on the transportation sales tax met again Thursday afternoon. Incremental changes were announced, and everyone agreed that the two sides were coming ever closer to agreement.
House Transportation Chairman Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain) said he still wanted to hear from Sonny Perdue, and whether the governor would sign enabling legislation that the Senate insists be stripped from the proposed constitutional amendment.
Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) said responses by Perdue staff members to his initial inquiries have been encouraging. The characterization was intentionally vague.
But here’s a copy of the letter that Mullis sent Perdue, inquiring whether the governor intended to block the deal.
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Richardson on Cagle: The lieutenant governor is the only man — currently in America — opposing his tax cut
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is late, but here’s a two-minute sound bite of House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s protest from the well on Wednesday, over the harsh treatment his tax-cut measure received at the hands of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.
Negotiations, of course, continue.
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Why you soon may be allowed to carry concealed at Kennesaw Mountain
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday is about to become a very big payday for gun rights advocates.
Here’s the deal:
Two bills will move, not one. H.B. 257, which now permits those with concealed weapons permits to carry in restaurants and on rail and bus systems, is but one chunk.
H.B. 89 will also move. This measure will carry the watered-down, guns-in-parking-lots language that the Senate, National Rifle Association and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce have wrestled with for two sessions, plus other goodies for the NRA.
Right now, chances of passage for both must be rated very good. Opposition is scarce. Joe Fleming, lobbyist for the Georgia chamber, says his group will be focused H.B. 89, to make sure the parking lots language doesn’t change.
Whether restaurant groups, MARTA and other transit systems raise objections — and raise them quickly enough — will determine whether H.B. 257 has tough sledding.
When it leaves a House-Senate conference committee tomorrow, H.B. 89 will be significantly changed. The parking-lot language, stripped out by the House, will be restored.
The language redefining “public gatherings” where firearms remain prohibited has been abandoned. You will not be permitted to carry a concealed weapon into church.
But the bill will:
— Require expedited treatment for concealed weapons permits by the probate court judges who issue them;
— Relax state restrictions on where firearms can be stored in vehicles;
— Make “straw” purchases of firearms illegal — a way of prohibiting lawsuits of the type filed by New York against gun dealers in Georgia, alleging they are sources for weapons that flow into states where buying a gun is much more difficult or time-consuming.
— And it will allow licensed concealed weapons to be carried in state parks and historical sites.
This last part is important, and here’s why:
U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has said his department would suggest new regulations by the end of this month that would amount to the biggest relaxation of gun-toting rules in federal parks in more than a century.
Basically, he said that concealed weapons would be permitted — if the U.S. parks are located in states that permit carrying in their parks. So passage of H.B. 89 would insure that, someday soon, visitors to Kennesaw National Battlefield Park and the federal Chattahoochee River park would also be able to carry concealed.
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A case of revenge that almost worked
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Wednesday, Democrats in the Senate very nearly pulled off an exquisite maneuver that would have killed the only gun bill Republicans have been able to pass this session.
State Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) successfully added an amendment that would have required universities to develop plans for dealing with shooting incidents, like the one at Virginia Tech last year.
The amendment doubled the length of the bill, and Senate rules required the bill be placed on the next day’s calendar. Had Republicans not awarded themselves a generous mulligan, the amendment would have put the bill out of reach for the session.
It’s helpful to remember who’s done what to whom at the state Capitol. One of the originators of the plan to load up H.B. 257 with gun-toting baubles was state Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica).
And it’s pretty widely known that Fort blames Bearden — and state Rep. David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) — for killing his bill to shut down no-knock warrants. The Fort measure passed the Senate, but is going nowhere in the House.
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Hank Johnson’s answer: The big rent checks were needed to catch up on the times he couldn’t pay
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Decatur) says a Republican web site is mischaracterizing rent payments by Johnson’s campaign to his own law firm.
As posted earlier today,, the web site Majority Accountability Project said it had found that Johnson “pays more in rent for his campaign office than any other member of Georgia’s Congressional delegation, including the Peach State’s two U.S. Senators — a distinction made more dubious by the fact Johnson’s landlord is the law firm that bears his name.”
Here’s what Deb McGhee Speights, spokewoman for Johnson, sent us in an e-mail:
“The $1,500 paid by the campaign represented the fair market value of the leased space as required by law.
“Johnson and Johnson Law Group leased space from the property owner and subleased temporary space to the campaign. The campaign payment reflected in April 2007 was a good faith effort to catch up rent which was in arrears.
“As you will recall Hank’s campaign was a grassroots effort that was won with comparatively little money. As a challenger to a sitting member, it is unfair to compare Hank’s campaign expenses to those of incumbents - that’s like comparing apples to oranges.”
Speights said that while the check from the Johnson campaign was written to the Johnson law firm, that sum was then handed over to the property owner — who was not Johnson.
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Notes from a transportation conference committee meeting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House and Senate conferees pronounced themselves “close” to a deal on a transportation sales tax package Wednesday evening.
All that was wanted was a wink or a nod from a governor who is 7,033 miles away in Beijing. And, when last heard from, expressed hostility toward the idea.
Here’s the situation:
The Senate has come out strongly against writing into the state constitution regional taxation districts for transportation, for all sorts of reasons — but the bottom line is that senators are fearful that the tail that is metro Atlanta might some day be able to use such a tool to wag the Georgia dog. The issue of rail comes most immediately to mind.
So they’ve stripped down the November ballot question to a bare essential — which Senate negotiators argue would be easier to sell to the public in any case.
Enabling legislation would be passed with the proposed constitutional amendment on Friday, laying out the details of money distribution and such. The regional approach would be adopted, but under the auspices of the Legislature — and its control.
The House is inclined to go along with this, except for one thing. Gov. Sonny Perdue has lobbied against the sales tax for transportation, and has told some lawmakers that he’ll campaign against it in the fall.
What use is the constitutional amendment, asked House Transportation Chairman Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain), if the governor vetoes the enabling legislation?
“The last question we asked [upstairs] — and it’s still on our mind — is what kind of guarantee do we have that enabling legislation will continue to go through the process and at the end of the session will be signed?” Smith said.
Without the governor’s backing, he said, “What do we have left?”
Said Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga), chairman of the Senate transportation committee: “I can’t guarantee you what the governor will do. I just feel confident that we can convince him we need to pass this.”
Mullis and Smith agreed to send a letter to Perdue to sound him out.
But here’s the interesting point: Already, the topic of a veto override is being addressed, ever so gently. Imagine a scenario in which a) the governor vetoes the enabling legislation this spring, and b) voters approve the ballot proposal in November.
The picture was painted very carefully by Don Balfour (R-Snellville), the Senate Rules chairman and one of the conferees:
“You come back in January, and you have two or three alternatives. I think from your side, you’re wondering if maybe the Senate side would take up some of those alternatives — based on past history. And that’s a valid concern.
That, friends, was a slightly veiled reference to the 12 veto overrides passed by the House. The Senate agreed to only one of the overrides.
After the meeting, a Senate conferee wondered out loud whether House members were angling for a commitment from Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, saying that he would “consider” an override if necessary.
A House conferee replied that something stronger than “consider” would be needed.
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Senate to take up concealed weaponry on MARTA, but may draw the line at packing while imbibing in restaurants
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t you love it when you’re right?
The Senate is a bill or two away from debating H.B. 257.
Below is the amendment that will be offered to permit holders of concealed weapons permits to carry on MARTA, but would require those who pack heat in restaurants to avoid alcohol.
Here’s the wording:
“A person licensed or permitted to carry a firearm by this part shall be permitted to carry such firearm, subject to the limitations of this part, in public transportation…provided, however, that a person shall not carry a firearm into a place prohibited by federal law.
“A person licensed or permitted to carry a firearm by this part shall not consume alcoholic beverages in a restaurant or other eating establishment while carrying a firearm. Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
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Democrat in the Senate will try to bring back guns-in-parking-lots language
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State Sen. J.B. Powell, a conservative Democrat from Blythe, says he’ll try to tack the following language onto H.B. 257, a bill to permit constables to carry firearms in public buildings:
No private or public employer shall establish, maintain, or enforce any policy or rule that has the effect of prohibiting an employee for transporting or storing a firearm in a locked motor vehicle; provided, however, that this Code Section shall not apply to correctional facilities, federal property, or public or private employer owned vehicles.
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On the bright side, when the toilet clogs, you just call yourself to complain
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Republican web site called Majority Accountability Project says it has found that U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, a DeKalb County Democrat, “pays more in rent for his campaign office than any other member of Georgia’s Congressional delegation, including the Peach State’s two U.S. Senators — a distinction made more dubious by the fact Johnson’s landlord is the law firm that bears his name.”
Reviewing campaign reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission, the group found that “Johnson began paying Johnson and Johnson Law Group in Decatur, Ga., $1,500 a month in ‘rent for campaign headquarters’ in April, 2007. Johnson practiced civil and criminal law at Johnson and Johnson for more than 30 years, where he was a partner with his wife, Mereda Davis Johnson.”
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Linger Longer, Jekyll authority back off plans to replace parking lot with island condos, hotels
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The forces out to reduce the footprint of Jekyll Island’s redevelopment won a surprise victory Wednesday, as the authority that oversees the island announced that it was backing off plans to put condos or hotels on a huge parking lot with direct acess to the beach.
{On the right is a photo of much of the property in question.)
Instead, the parking lot will be converted to “a public park, improved public access and beach parking, and an environmental conservation center,” according to a letter from Ben Porter, chairman of the Jekyll Island Authority, to House Majority Leader Jerry Keen.
The letter was released this morning. Click here to read it.
“After conferring with our revitalization partner, Linger Longer Communities, we have made the decision to limit use of this area to those public purposes and not development of accommodations, such as hotels and condominiums,” the letter states.
The agreement, Porter said, should make moot legislation that Jekyll Island residents had pushed to restrict development plans.
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Giving gunowners the right to carry concealed on MARTA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today’s coming gunfight in the Senate could get interesting.
See this post for the topic’s origins this morning.
We’re hearing the deal that’s been cut on amendments to H.B. 257 would allow those with the proper permits to carry concealed in restaurants — even those that serve alcohol — and on MARTA.
One scenario theorizes that, once the bill is sent back to the House for its decision on whether to agree or disagree, the NRA-backed portion to allow employees to keep guns in cars parked on company lots will again be added.
But we’re hearing that one Senate Democrat, J.B. Powell of Blythe, will offer an amendment to that effect on the Senate floor, to ensure that the fireworks start that much earlier.
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Lawmaker gives up on Sunday sales of alcohol — this year
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State Rep. Roger Williams (R-Dalton) says he has pulled the plug on legislation to permit Sunday retail sales of alcohol, out of deference to fellow Republicans who might face tougher elections if forced to vote on the issue.
But Williams says he’s gotten assurances that the measure will be one of the first “out of the chute” next year.
Tim Bryant, talk show host for WGAU (1340AM) in Athens, sent us the sound from his conversation this morning with Williams. Listen to it here.
And so the issue that House Speaker Glenn Richardson promised to skewer Gov. Sonny Perdue with has officially faded away.
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Isakson joins Senate compromise on housing bill
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Johnny Isakson has put himself at the center of a deal now building in the U.S. Senate over a plan to stimulate home sales.
He’s got the first quote in today’s take on the topic in the Washington Post:
The Senate had been scheduled to vote again yesterday on the existing Democratic bill, and Republican leaders were prepared to block it again.
But senators returned from a two-week break marked by the government rescue of a major Wall Street investment bank and growing anxiety over the economy among their constituents, and some Republicans argued that it was time to start working together.
“Unless every member of the Senate was in a cave over the two-week recess, it’s pretty obvious that gas prices and housing crisis are the two most important issues to the American public,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), a former real estate broker who was among those urging Republican leaders to stop blocking the legislation.
“You can play that game when it doesn’t matter. But people’s lives, their fortunes, their largest single asset is at stake.”
The same article cites Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as saying Democrats “are eager” to look at Isakson’s proposal to offer a $15,000 tax credit to those buying certain houses — to stimulate the market.
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Another gunfight may be brewing in the Senate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Alice Johnson, the lobbyist representing Georgians for Gun Safety, smells a gunfight in the air.
She notes this morning that the Senate Rules Committee has put H.B. 257 on today’s calendar.
The bill adds constables to the list of law enforcement and judicial personnel permitted to pack heat in public buildings.
“The bill opens up the ‘public gathering’ section of the Georgia firearms code, and is a likely vehicle for language previously proposed by Rep. Tim Bearden in H.B. 89 and H.B. 915,” Johnson reports.
Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) asked for the bill last night, which makes it likely he would act as floor director for any amendments.
Parks have been the main target for those looking to lengthen the list of places where permitted owners can carry concealed.
The question is whether the National Rifle Association has any voice left in the Senate willing to re-start the fight over the right of employees to keep weapons in their cars parked on company lots.
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Hairpin turns on a sales tax for transportation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’re a captain of Georgia industry, you might be feeling a bit jerked around today.
Much earlier this session, the state’s top business leaders were herded into a photo op at the state Capitol as the chairmen of the House and Senate transportation committees swore eternal brotherhood.
They were this close, both lawmakers promised, to a compromise over a one-cent sales tax for transportation.
On Feb. 20, the Senate passed its version, S.R. 845, which would allow individual counties to levy an extra penny sales tax for transportation.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle expressed fulsome praise for the complicated legislation: “We have waited long enough to address our state’s transportation infrastructure needs and the solution we are putting before Georgia voters shows that we believe local control and flexibility is of the utmost importance.”
The House took its turn. Changes were made — counties would be grouped together into regions that could apply the sales tax to larger geographic areas. Metro Atlanta, for instance.
Speaker Glenn Richardson made a heckuva speech about the high social costs of ungodly commutes, and the House version sailed through with the necessary two-thirds support.
Negotiations began between three House members and three Senate members. In the usual course of things, one side declares its position to be one. The other stakes its claim at five. The deal is sealed somewhere in the neighborhood of three.
But on Monday, Senate negotiators picked none-of-the-above.
With two working days left in the session, the new Senate position takes transportation talks in another direction. It would simply ask November voters whether they would permit the General Assembly to “provide by general law for a local option sales and use tax for transportation.”
It is a philosophical question. Details would be worked out next year, by the Legislature.
“We must focus our efforts on transportation funding on presenting the voters with a straightforward and understandable ballot question. It does not matter whether the Legislature passes an amendment if it goes on to be rejected at the ballot box,” Cagle said in a statement afterwards. “Further, a failed attempt to address transportation funding this year will cripple future efforts to do so for years or decades. Georgia cannot afford a disaster of this magnitude.”
We’re told this unwieldy flow chart of how the tax might be applied persuaded Cagle to insist on a stripped-down version of the transportation package.
Even Senate leaders agree that it amounts to a rejection of their chamber’s own Feb. 20 position.
“If you get into all the details of this House version or the original Senate version — we’re both just as guilty — if you get into those details too much, first of all, I don’t think the average person’s going to understand,” said Senate Rules Chairman Don Balfour (R-Snellville).
But no one is saying why this decision was made on March 31 rather than Feb. 20.
Both Balfour and Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) say that Gov. Sonny Perdue — who opposes the sales tax for transportation — is pulling no long-distance strings. “I don’t believe we’re having any conversations with the governor on this right now,” Balfour said.
Both men also insist that negotiations over transportation aren’t tied to any other issues, such as the budget or tax cuts. And on this, barring evidence to the contrary, we must take their word.
If you’re looking for an unspoken reason for the Senate’s sudden shift on transportation, think on this:
On Monday, the Legislature was on the verge of asking Georgia voters to give constitutional approval to agencies of taxation larger than any city or county — which might rival state government when it comes to key policy decisions on transportation, such as rail.
On Tuesday, that question is much less likely to be presented to Georgia voters. And in the Senate version, sensitive questions that speak to the balance of real power in Georgia would remain with the Legislature.
The ultimate form of S.R. 845 is still up for grabs. “But it’s Tuesday,” Balfour explained.
In any case, lawmakers might want to wait before summoning any captains of industry to endorse their final product. A bad case of whiplash can take months to heal.
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Heckman on Linder: ‘He’s spent 15 years trying to pass a bad tax’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Doug Heckman, Iraq war veteran and Democratic candidate for Congress, isn’t hesitating.
He’s going straight at John Linder’s baby — the Fair Tax.
Heckman was on WGAU (1340AM) this morning. Here’s the sound clip sent in by host Tim Bryant.
Linder, you’ll recall, has written a pair of books with local radio gabber Neal Boortz on the shift to a consumption tax.
Said Heckman of the Republican incumbent:
”He’s kind of staked his last 15 years in Congress on the Fair Tax. In fact, I would defy any of his constituents to name something else that he’s kind of done in the last 15 years.
“So this Fair Tax, which is a national sales tax essentially — I believe that it’s very regressive and wrong for America.
“I believe in the assumption that the IRS is onerous and that we need to simplify the system greatly. There’s no question about that. The question is in how we do it.
“He introduced this in ’99. He’s got about the same amount of support now as he had in ’99. What else is he doing here to make America better? I don’t know.”
Heckman describes himself as a “moderate to conservative” Democrat. And he concedes that he’s running in Republican territory. “Yeah, the numbers are against me,” he said.
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Senate back-pedals from regional transportation tax
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New material added at 12:30 p.m.
The state Senate appears to be backing away from a ballot measure that would permit groups of counties — such as metro Atlanta — to levy a one-cent sales tax for transportation.
S.R. 845 is now in conference committee. Late Monday, negotiators for the Senate proposed a stripped-down version, which would ask voters whether the General Assembly should be authorized to levy a sales tax for transportation — a power it already has.
Mike Kenn, with Georgians for Better Transportation, in a circle of puzzled transportation lobbyists on Tuesday. Elissa Eubanks/AJC
See the new Senate proposal here.
A second meeting will be held at 2 p.m. today in Room 216 of the state Capitol.
Jeff Mullis of Chickamauga, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, called the new Senate position “T-SPLOST Lite” and said it would allow the General Assembly to address the details — such as regional taxation zones — next year.
In a non-election year.
But what has transportation enthusiasts concerned is that the new Senate version does less than the one passed by that chamber weeks ago. Which means someone has developed cold feet, or that Gov. Sonny Perdue has made his influence felt — even though he’s a dozen time zones away.
Proponents of S.R. 845 were worried enough to put us in touch with Joe Leonard, chairman and CEO of AirTran — chairman of the transportation committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
Leonard and other business leaders met with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle on Monday to discuss the shift. Leonard wouldn’t divulge what was said, but it’s clear that he’s worried.
“I don’t know who’s driving it over in the Senate, but the conference meeting did not go well from our perspective,” he said. “To lose that momentum at this point would be very, very sad for people who live in Georgia. There’s such an explosive growth in Georgia, and the funding is very, very inadequate, as I think is apparent — certainly if you sit in Atlanta traffic.”
Leonard spoke of an opportunity on the verge of being lost.
“We think it’s very fair to the voters to be specific about what their voting on, and not have a constitutional amendment that’s very much watered down and very vague as to what people are voting on,” he said. “And who knows what the next Legislature is going to look like? Who knows what their attitude’s going to be?”
Leonard supposes that some lawmakers are taking Perdue’s objections to heart. “The governor’s very much against this, and I presume that’s having some affect,” he said.
What about Cagle? “It’s interesting, because we wouldn’t be where we are if Casey hadn’t provided us with incredible leadership to get us to where we are. To see it kind of falling the way it is — what happened yesterday was a bit disappointing. Hopefully, we can get that turned around,” Leonard said.
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Isakson taking flak from the right for pitching a tax credit for home buyers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, who made his fortune in Atlanta real estate, is apparently taking heat from fellow conservatives for his effort to ease the impact of the national housing debacle.
This is in The Hill, a D.C. newspaper that covers Congress:
Senate Republicans have coalesced around a counter-proposal of their own sponsored by Sens. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). Among other things, it would offer a $15,000 tax credit for the purchase of homes in or near foreclosure.
Conservative policy experts have slammed the Republican proposal, however, leaning on GOP lawmakers to back away from striking a deal with Senate Democrats this week.
The Heritage Foundation has called the plan “bad tax policy” and said it would “benefit homeowners at any income level who either irresponsibly borrowed all of their home equity or who took out a loan they could not repay but hoped to profit from by reselling the property in a rising market.”
According to The Hills, Isakson “said the tax credit, which he crafted, would not bail out borrowers but merely give incentives for buyers to purchase homes that would otherwise soon stand empty. This would keep home values from sinking and help all homeowners.”
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