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Monday, May 5, 2008
It’s probably the water. Possibly the barbecue.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My D.C. colleague Julia Malone points out a few lines that appeared Sunday in a Washington Post op-ed written by Stephen Carter, the Yale law professor and novelist.
Carter analyzes the ’08 presidential race as a high-powered thriller. And wonders out loud whether the plot could turn on either of two bit players in the drama:
“What about former Georgia congressman Robert Barr, who, perhaps unsatisfied with the many signs pointing to the Republican Party’s defeat in the fall, is considering adding to the mess by running himself?
“Or former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who evidently has similar feelings about the Democrats? (What is it about Georgia, anyway?)”
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House speaker’s chief of staff makes a move to Athens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This one’s no shocker, but House Speaker Glenn Richardson just announced that Chris Cummiskey, his chief of staff, is leaving to become the University of Georgia’s liaison with the state Capitol.
Cummisky will have served 18 months — and two very rough sessions — as Richardson’s top aide. That’s close to two decades in political years. Prior to that, he served as U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson’s state director.
No mention of a replacement yet.
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Roy Barnes on an unappealing presidential field, and — of course — the Rev. Jeremiah Wright
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For some Democrats, the enthusiasm isn’t contagious.
Former governor Roy Barnes laments the state of the presidential field in today’s Marietta Daily Journal.
“Out of a nation of 304 million, is this the best we have?” Barnes said. “I’m not excited about any of them.” It seems as if he still pines for John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator.
Barnes says he’s not going to Denver this summer. Probably a wise move for anyone who doesn’t want to be caught up in the crossfire between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
More interestingly, here’s what the former governor said to MDJ columnist Don McKee about Obama’s former pastor in Chicago:
“Jeremiah Wright has done more in a week to damage Barack Obama’s campaign than Hillary Clinton has in the entire campaign,” Barnes said.
“He frightens me. I’ve been to a lot of black churches over the years and I’ve never heard anything like that. It gives Americans the wrong impression of what goes on in African-American churches. I have found them to be very patriotic. As Condoleezza Rice said: ‘African-Americans loved America when America didn’t love African-Americans.’”
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A not-so-GREAT parting gift from Richard Royal to Glenn Richardson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Friday, as qualifying ended, long-time state Rep. Richard Royal, a Republican from Camilla, announced he wouldn’t be running again.
“In my 25 years of service, I have witnessed far too many competent individuals who sadly do not know when to step down. I prefer not to follow in their steps,” Royal, 69, wrote in a statement on the topic.
Royal’s plans were closely held. As a result, only one candidate qualified for the vacant south Georgia seat — and now has won it without an election.
You might be tempted to think that some high-up GOP machinations were at work here. Quite the contrary. If you look closely, this episode appears more like a rude but well-orchestrated gesture aimed at Speaker Glenn Richardson by a parting member of the House.
Under Democratic rule, Royal was for years the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and was still considered a leading expert on taxation in the state Capitol.
Royal switched parties when Republicans seized control, but never regained his former clout.
So far as I can tell, Royal kept his mouth shut during the debate over Richardson’s plan to shift the state and local governments away from property taxes — and toward an expanded sales tax.
But Royal let his thoughts be known on Friday, in the form of the fellow who replaces him — former Camilla mayor Jay Powell.
Powell was president of the Georgia Municipal Association last year, when the GMA threw itself forward as the lead opponent to Richardson’s “GREAT Plan” in all of its many forms.
Powell toured the state, stirring up opposition to the speaker’s effort. And now he’ll be a proper member of the speaker’s House.
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