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Monday, May 19, 2008
The argument from Bob Barr’s campaign manager
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No doubt you saw today’s AJC story on Bob Barr’s use of campaign contributions. A few minutes ago, the Libertarian campaign of Bob Barr sent out the following fund-raising memo from Russ Verney, who was part of the 1992 Ross Perot campaign. Grammatical errors are his:
MEMORANDUM
FROM: Russ Verney
Campaign Manager, Bob Barr ‘08
TO: Friends and Associates
RE: Political Assessment
DATE: May 19, 2008
These days, politics seems to revolve around polling and predictions. I’m not convinced it’s the best use of anyone’s time — especially for someone like me who’s spent his whole life in full-time campaign activities — but consider this outline :
— early October: 7% in national surveys
— Mid October: wins televised Presidential debate
— late October: 12% in national surveys
— election day: captures 19% of national vote
That’s what happened in a previous election I was involved with: Ross Perot in 1992. That could have been the case with Ron Paul if he had opted to run on a third party ticket.
I believe former Congressman Bob Barr has the same potential. Maybe better. Don’t be mislead, however: I am no cheerleader by nature. But I do agree with our Senior Policy Advisor, Doug Bandow, in an e-mail I received from him yesterday:
“I’ve just read the early polling data and your election game plan — phenomenal. Congressman Barr is poised to have a huge impact on the public policy debates and political history. His will be no ordinary presidential campaign.”
That’s not going to happen without your involvement, but at this point I’m asking you to just to think about participating and to mull over the following … November 4th is light years away. In terms of laying the foundation for a dynamic and influencial campaign, the pieces for Barr 2008 are already in place. Consider …
America is swamped in Libertarian information:
— Congressman Ron Paul’s new book is the number one best-seller in the nation according to the New York Times
— Neal Boortz has 4,000,000 radio listeners daily
— On TV, John Stossel broadcasts such opinions as: “I am a libertarian in that I believe in limited government and as much individual freedom as possible.”
Finally, you may not have heard this from many media pundits, but nearly 130,000 people — 16% of the Republican primaary turnout in Pennsylvania — got out of their easy chairs and voted for Ron Paul and against John McCain … that was after John McCain had won the nomination.
Politically and ideologically, Bob Barr is plowing fertile ground.
It will take an articulate candidate and a powerful message to build the meaning of the Libertarian messages voters are receiving. We have both in the Barr 2008 campaign.
That’s why we need your participation: your investment of time, talent, and financial resources is vital as the campaign builds, from the ground floor, the alternative to politics-as-usual.
Will you take a moment to go to our website and contribute $25, $50, $100 or even $500 today?
I’d also like you to consider a pledge of support so we may plot out our post-convention strategy. Consider making a $25 contribution today — and a further investment of $25 or $50 on June 1st. Your gift of $50 or even $100 right away, with a pledge of another $25, $50 or perhaps $250 on June 1st, will allow us to set some ambitious campaign plans in place now.
If you cannot donate today or tomorrow, please do make a pledge payable on June 1st. Our budget process is the first responsibility I have to deal with.
With just a few days before what I believe will be great news coming out of the Libertarian Party convention, please be sure to act on this memo today so we can further our momentum.
While you are at the web site, look around (there are lots more news and information posted) and take time to volunteer. I’d like to count on your support of just one hour a week in June, two hours a week in July, three in August.
Will you help?
Please let me hear from you right away. Your investment in this campaign of $50, $25, $500, or $100 will really be of help right now. We will put the contributions into good use immediately, and if you can volunteer just an hour a week I assure you will be productively busy. Two more things …
Bob Schoen, in his book cited above, also stated, “I have a clear and unambiguous sense that the most important person in the 1996 election was Ross Perot, who in 1995 shaped and prefaced the outcome of the election the next year.” That’s regrdless of Perot earning some 9% of the vote in comparison to 19% in 1992.
There are more than 430 elected Libertarian Party officials in the U.S. How many more do you think a successful Bob Barr campaign will hep elect? I am convinced Bob Barr can match or beat the Perot votes of ‘92 and ‘96. Please be generous with a contribution, a pledge of further support, and your time.
Our fitting legacy of success — yours and Bob’s — would be the impact of a vibrant, effective Libertarian Party. You can make that happen, my friend.
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Now Georgia Democrats can argue over who’s going to Denver
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You’ve been reading about how Ron Paul supporters were shut out of the list of delegates to the Republican National Convention, approved over the weekend.
Now it’s the Democrats’ turn to scream. On Saturday, members of the state committee were to meet to elect many of those who would be heading to Denver in August. Given the enthusiasm among party activists, competition was to be stiff.
But Georgia Democratic Party chairman Jane Kidd has just sent out an e-mail letting members of the state committee know that the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have employed their “right of refusal” and removed any competition from the slate.
Read the message from Kidd and the entire list of delegates who will be headed to the Democratic National Convention on the jump. The real question is, who’s been struck off? Right now, I don’t know. It’s time for bloggers to do their work.
Dear XXXXX
Today, we received the list of candidates for At-Large Delegates as approved by the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns. The lists of approved candidates are below.
As outlined in the Democratic Party of Georgia Delegate Selection Plan, the Presidential campaigns have a “right of refusal” of any person applying to be a pledged delegate for that campaign. The campaigns may reject a potential delegate candidate for any reason, and they do not tell the Democratic Party the reasons for any rejections after their review.
Please make arrangements to attend the meeting of the State Committee in Atlanta this Saturday, May 24th, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. Your attendance at this meeting is crucial, as we will elect our At-Large Delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
The meeting will be held at the Loudermilk Center, 40 Courtland St SE, Atlanta, GA 30303 (www.loudermilkcenter.com). The full 2008 Georgia Democratic National Convention Delegation will meet for the first time immediately following the State Committee meeting. It is very important that all Delegates attend.
If you have questions about the process or the campaigns’ rationale for approving delegates, please contact the campaigns directly. The campaign contacts are: Paul Elliot, Hillary Clinton Delegate Selection Director, 703-469-2008 ext.1275. Khalil Johnson, Barack Obama Southern Political Director, 312-819-2790.
I look forward to seeing you this Saturday.
Sincerely, Jane Kidd Chair, Democratic Party of Georgia
List of approved candidates for at-large, pledged PLEO, and standing committee positions for Senator Hillary Clinton
PLEO
Thomas I. Irvin
Calvin Smyre
Vivian Bishop
Sally Rosser
At-Large
Keith Mason
Billy Mitchell
Bernita Smith
Andrea Young
Cheryl Williams
Nikema Williams
At-Large Alternates
Jeffery Meeks
Nikki Randall
Standing Committee Members
Platform
Michael Thurmond
Credentials
Gordon Giffin
Rules
Patty Payne and Rachel Rosenblatt
List of approved candidates for at-large, pledged PLEO, and standing committee positions for Senator Barack Obama:
PLEO
Shirley Franklin
Horencea Tate
Karla Drenner
Mary Osbourne
Ed Tarver
Roger Bruce
Randall Mangum
At-Large
Cheryl Jewell
Lori Gregory Jara Butler
Lewana Heard
Julie Borders
Kathy Nicholas
Jane Bradshaw
Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery
Chad Brock
Aaron Steele
Jerry Riley
R.J. Hadley
Steve Deak
At-Large Alternates
Emily Schunior
Miguel Camacho
Rev. Dr. Durley
Standing Committee Members
Platform - Margaret Kaiser, Gina Bennett and Joe Taylor
Credentials - Karol Mason, David Adelman and Kirk Dornbush
Rules - Evelyn Hall and Brian Wertheim
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Perdue’s relationship with Columbus heads downstream
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Sonny Perdue’s on-again, off-again relationship with the city of Columbus appears to be hung up on the shoals. Again.
In his brief visit Saturday for the state Republican convention, local reporters questioned the governor’s line item veto last week of $3 million for the National Infantry Center museum.
Wrote the Ledger-Enquirer over the weekend:
Perdue reiterated that the state had met its obligation with a $5 million gift last year and anyone who said the budget cut shows a lack of military support is wrong. “For people to suggest a lack of support of the troops is absolutely disgusting to me,” Perdue said….
The $5 million approved last year was a “capstone gift,” and the governor made that clear to local leaders, Perdue said. But that’s not what the Columbus people pushing the project say they heard.
“My clear impression — my understanding — is the $5 million was a capstone gift,” Perdue said. “I am sorry for any misunderstanding that occurred.”
[Retired Maj. Gen. Jerry White, president of the National Infantry Foundation,] said Saturday the governor is mistaken.
“He’s remembering it all wrong,” White said. “I sat in his office and asked him for $15 million. We needed the $5 million to guarantee the loan.”
Construction on the $91 million facility started 16 months ago, and it is scheduled to be completed in March of next year. The foundation got a $42 million construction loan to begin the project. The loss of the $3 million will not stop or delay the project, White said.
Columbus wasn’t an area that showed strong support for Perdue during his 2002 election bid. Ever since, he and local leaders have tried to patch things up — with only occasional success.
The consolidated government of Columbus/Muscogee County got into a tiff with the governor last summer, when the city chose to pursue separate negotiations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the flow of water in the Chattahoochee River — in essence rejecting Perdue’s leadership on the issue.
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Speaker to recruits: Be careful what you put your name to
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House Speaker Glenn Richardson has sent out a memo to new Republican candidates to the House, warning them away from surveys by special interest groups that may lock the new recruits into positions they — or the speaker — may later regret.
Richardson doesn’t mention any names, but at least two organizations come to mind.
The speaker has feuded with Georgia Right to Life over its push for a state constitutional amendment to declare that human life begins at fertilization. And, as an advocate of remaking Georgia’s tax system, Richardson has occasionally found himself at odds with Grover Norquist and his Washington-based group, Americans for tax reform.
Read the memo here. But these are the paragraphs that matter:
Now that you have qualified for office, you will no doubt be receiving many pieces of advice and counsel. In addition, you will be receiving requests from many various and sundry organizations to fill out questionnaires, signed commitments and pledges.
I highly recommend you not respond to any questionnaires and definitely do not sign any pledges or commitments until you have sought counsel from your consultant, other elected representatives and me. Too many times I have seen people who sign pledges and commitments, not fully understanding what they are signing, only to have the action used against them later.
Some of the groups distributing surveys are very good and reputable, but many are not. Many that participate in this process are somehow, some way getting money to advance their cause. Their only goal is to use these documents to advance such a cause, not help you.
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Who’s going to Minneapolis?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ron Paul supporters are livid about being shut out of the Georgia delegation to the Republican National Convention in September. That’s old news.
But there was some additional score-settling that hasn’t been mentioned. Take a look at this list of delegates and alternates, approved Saturday in Columbus. Supporters of this candidate and that candidate are on the list.
Even Secretary of State Karen Handel, who scrupulously avoided any endorsement, is going to Minnesota. So is the irascible House Speaker Glenn Richardson, a Rudy Giuliani man.
But another Giuliani supporter is not. That would be state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who has lit into the triumvirate of leadership at the state Capitol in his early bid for governor. He did it again in his Saturday convention speech.
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