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Friday, May 2, 2008
Warming up the leftovers: Jane Kidd on Vernon Jones, and Max Cleland says he’s staying out of presidential politics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With qualifying over this afternoon, state Democratic party chairman Jane Kidd had this to say about Vernon Jones, who — after formally joining the U.S. Senate race — dismissed party activists as “losers.”
To put Jones’ words in context, the DeKalb County CEO was asked by reporters about the efforts made to lure Atlanta attorney Jim Martin into the race.
Still, Kidd had this to say:
“Vernon admits that he has voted for President Bush for the last two times, so I do question his loyalty to the Democratic party. But he did qualify on the Democratic ticket, and we’ll just see how he does.”
On another topic, there’s a blog out there predicting that former U.S. senator Max Cleland is about to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
I just got off the phone with Cleland, who is in San Diego, campaigning for a pair of vets running for Congress. Cleland said it ain’t so — he’s staying out of presidential politics this year.
However, he did get a chuckle out of Josh Lanier’s YouTube clip.
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Lanier shows up with a certain, studied anger over Iraq
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Josh Lanier signed up for the Democratic race for U.S. Senate on Friday.
The question is what he brings to the table that the others don’t.
Jim Martin has the party’s leftward wing, and its regulars, too. Vernon Jones offers a certain personal charisma, and the potential for channeling the African-American vote.
Dale Cardwell’s specialty is a kind of evangelical honesty. Rand Knight’s emphasis is youth and passion.
Lanier, 55, of Statesboro, is a leisurely mannered fellow who recently came home after a 35-year career in Washington, first as a staffer for U.S. Sen. Herman Talmadge, then as the representative of a bevy of interests from cable TV to shellfish. He describes himself as a writer now.
Lanier wears a lapel pin indicating his Vietnam service. And despite his low-key manner, his contribution to this race will be a certain amount of anger about what Republicans — and the war in Iraq — have allegedly done to the U.S. military.
Lanier is one of those who believe that conservative Democrats like Sam Nunn — hawks, they were called, back in the day — were the ones who built up the military in the 1980s and ‘90s. Not Ronald Reagan. And the U.S. adventure in Iraq, they believe, has undone all that was accomplished.
As posted earlier today, Lanier’s campaign this morning offered up a YouTube parody of the TV ad that Republican Saxby Chambliss used to beat Max Cleland in 2002.
Chances are it won’t make it to TV anytime soon. Lanier isn’t accepting any contributions over $100.
Nonetheless, Lanier isn’t shy about tearing into Chambliss for his vote against a measure pitched by U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), to require that overseas troops be guaranteed a day at home for every day abroad.
“Republicans fought it tooth-and-nail. It would have slowed down the president’s plan for a surge. You can draw your own conclusions on that. One of which is that there were individuals who consciously traded off the health and the strength and the welfare of our military to support a political decision,” Lanier said. “That burns my ass. I’d just as soon throw that out on the table, and let’s chat about it.”
He continued:
“Here’s the fact. Our military right now, we don’t have once single brigade at full readiness. Not one….The Army is just stretched out. Marines and the Army are just at max exhaustion. If you don’t have a rotation — we’re not just talking about time off, we’re talking about the ability of those units restock and retrain and have full readiness to do their jobs.
“Right now, we’re moving ships into the Gulf as a show of force to Iran, and the only reason we need a show of force on Iran is because we’re in Iraq. And meanwhile, there’s an attempted assassination of the president of Afghanistan, and we have not secured it from the terrorists who attacked us.
“That’s a helluva fine investment for $2 to $3 trillion.”
Oh, and the part about being a writer. Lanier says he’s got a screenplay wandering around Los Angeles. It’s called “Statesboro Blues,” and is about “what happens to the mind when you think you’re about to die.”
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Judge rejects a dusty resign-to-run law in Henry County
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Henry County Superior Court Judge Wade Crumbley has struck down a local resign-to-run law that could have implications for similar measures around Georgia.
Read the entire judgment here.
Twenty-one years ago, as a matter of local legislation that applied only to Henry County, the state Legislature passed a statute that demanded the immediate resignation of any local official who sought another office.
You have to assume the measure was intended to discourage electoral challenges to the county commission chairman — as well as other incumbents.
But here’s the kicker: The law was never enforced. In part because it was never been submitted to the U.S. Justice Department for approval.
Until this year. On April 9. Ah, shenanigans.
Last week, the Henry County Board of Elections rejected Commissioner Elizabeth Mathis’ attempt to qualify for the chairmanship race in the Republican primary this July. The two terms don’t overlap, but even so, the local statute demanded her immediate resignation.
Former congressman Buddy Darden, of McKenna, Long and Aldridge argued the speedy case for Mathis. Republican insider Robert Highsmith represented the board of elections and the local GOP.
The strategic nut of the case was the request for Department of Justice approval. Pre-clearance by the feds usually takes a minimum of two months, which put Mathis in a kind of limbo.
“We made the DOJ aware of our dilemma, and they made their decision on the local act the next day. Securing a DOJ decision prior to the end of qualifying allowed us to play offense rather than defense,” said Amol Naik of the McKenna firm.
In other words, Justice Department approval permitted the local judge to disapprove the law. The fast footwork mattered.
Crumbley found that the local legislation contradicts the resign-to-run requirement embedded in the state constitution. The constitutional rule requires candidates seeking another office to resign only if the two terms overlap by more than 30 days.
“The act is inconsistent with the Constitution in that it imposes a disqualification to hold office which is more restrictive than the disqualification contained in the Constitution,” Crumbley ruled.
The order was handed down last night. The presumption here is that Mathis qualified for the Henry County chairmanship race before noon today.
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Lanier to make five, with a Saxby-Osama kick-off
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Josh Lanier, a former congressional staff member and Vietnam veteran from Statesboro, rounds out the Democratic Five in the U.S. Senate race this morning.
He’s kicked off his campaign with an ironic video that harkens back to the Max Cleland-Saxby Chambliss race of 2002, but this time placing Osama bin Laden and Republican incumbent Chambliss in the same spot.
“The original smear has bothered me for years. Return to sender,” Lanier said in a fax this morning.
