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Thursday, June 5, 2008
Barr wants to add a third wheel to any Obama-McCain debates
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
About those 10 debates that Republican presidential nominee John McCain has pitched to Democratic rival Barack Obama.
Bob Barr wants a piece of the action.
In an announcement posted on Third Party Watch — Richard Viguerie, publisher of the web site, is a Barr ally — the Libertarian presidential candidate says he should be a part of staged confrontations between the Democrat and the Republican.
“It is time for the American people to see a clash of ideas as well as of candidates,” Barr is quoted as saying.
The Barr campaign said:
Rock-the-Debates has called for “free, open and inclusive debates” that include all candidates with a mathematical chance of being elected. Barr says he would be pleased to begin at New York’s Federal Hall next week, as Sen. McCain suggested, or at a later time, if preferred by Sen. Obama.
This raises an interesting question. McCain would probably oppose Barr’s participation. A higher Barr profile hurts the Republican.
Does Obama insist on Barr’s participation — as Bill Clinton insisted on making Ross Perot part of the ’92 debates with George W. Bush?
I talked with one strategist earlier today, before this topic came up. He said the Democratic campaign is quickly coming to realize that Bob Barr is Barack Obama’s best friend.
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So Obama and the DNC say no more money from lobbyists or PACs — what does this do to downticket Democrats?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Barack Obama campaign announced today that the Democratic National Committee will no longer accept donations from lobbyists and political action committees, to comply with Obama’s campaign policy.
Think about this one — it could have an impact on downticket Democrats who may or may not fall in line with their party’s nominee on the topic. Not just in Georgia, but across the U.S.
Josh Lanier of Statesboro, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, was quick to spot the potential. He doesn’t accept anything but small donations, and refuses PAC money. Dale Cardwell, another Democrat in the race, has also eschewed PAC money.
Lanier fired off a quick e-mail that made reference to the polling memo released this morning by primary rival Jim Martin, the topic of this post below:
“On the very day that our party’s presidential nominee forbids contributions from PACs and lobbyists to the Democratic National Committee and pledges that the American people’s priorities, not those of special interests, will set the agenda, Jim Martin takes a moment from his frantic fundraising schedule to release a haughty posturing memo by high-priced consultants paid for by contributions from PACs, wealthy donors and special interests.
“It is a caricature of how out of sync the monied insiders are with the feelings of average Georgians and the movement toward change that Senator Obama leads. I’m sure we’ll have a chance to discuss this at Sunday’s debate.”
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Jim Martin says he’s likeable and has the lead; Jones will join Sunday forum
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The U.S. Senate campaign of Jim Martin has made public a polling memo that gives him the lead in the Democratic primary race.
Also, DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones has committed to appearing Sunday in the first forum for Senate candidates, according to Elizabeth Scott of the League of Women Voters of Georgia. The League is sponsoring the event, which will be available via the Internet.
Jones had been the only hold-out among the five Democrats.
In his memo, Martin claims he’s leading Jones by 5 points, and would even beat him in a run-off.
You can catch the memo on Martin’s web site, or read it here.
The survey was conducted by the Mellman Group, and was conducted May 29 to June 1. It boasts a 4 percent margin of error.
The memo, of course, requires a caveat. As it would be with any candidate, the primary purpose of such literature is to reassure the people to whom Martin is now approaching for campaign funds — especially after the candidate’s failure last week to win the important endorsement of the Georgia AFL-CIO.
But while skepticism is required, the memo is a worthwhile read, because it establishes the presumptions under which Martin is operating:
— First, Martin has assumed a run-off strategy.
The memo puts Martin at 21 percent; Jones at 16 percent; Cardwell at 7 percent; Josh Lanier at 3 percent; and Rand Knight — who won that AFL-CIO endorsement — at 2 percent. Says the memo: “The initial vote suggests that this may end in a run-off, which Martin also leads. In a head-to-head with Jones, Martin leads 31 percent to 25 percent, making him well-positioned for that race as well.”
— Martin will also be relying on his status as a nice guy — the likeability factor. Martin, the memo states, “is the only one equally well liked inside and outside the Atlanta media market, and among both white voters and the African-American voters who have accounted for nearly half the vote in the 2004 and 2006 primaries.
“While Jones is better known, he has the highest unfavorables in the field, and a net unfavorable image even in his DeKalb County base.” The Martin poll claims that 40 percent have a favorable opinion of Jones in DeKalb, while 51 percent have an unfavorable opinion.
— Other candidates in the race are given short shrift. “Cardwell, Lanier and Knight are not particularly well-regarded, or nearly as popular as Jim Martin is within his base,” the memo said.
Photos of Democratic Senate candidates Jim Martin (upper) and Vernon Jones by Rich Addicks/AJC, Jessica McGowan/Special
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Another Georgia superdelegate comes out for Obama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s down to a single Democratic superdelegate who hasn’t declared himself.
Richard Ray, president of the Georgia AFL-CIO, just called to say that — with Hillary Clinton about to bow out — he’s no longer on the fence.
“I will be supporting Mr. Barack Obama,” Ray said. “He’s going to be the nominee. He’s something that the American people are looking for. He’s certainly capable and has shown leadership in the last trying weeks of this campaign.”
Only yesterday, even after national Democratic leaders pressed remaining uncommitted superdelegates to remove any question of Obama’s nomination, Ray had hinted he wouldn’t make a choice until next week.
But late Wednesday afternoon, the Hillary Clinton campaign let it be known that she would concede the race before a rally of supporters on Saturday.
“That leaves one candidate, and it freed me up,” Ray said.
Ray was one of three uncommitted superdelegates from Georgia. Former President Jimmy Carter cast his lot with Obama on Tuesday, after the last two primary votes.
Only U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall of Macon remains uncommitted.
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Barr on ‘Colbert’: Patriot Act, war on drugs, and ‘yada, yada, yada’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr on Wednesday took his campaign to one of the most dangerous venues in American politics — Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.”
Read the report from the AJC’s man at the scene here.
We offer you the eight-minute video below.
Colbert, who once flustered U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland to the point that the Georgia congressman forgot seven of the Ten Commandments, focused on Barr’s reversals on several points, including the Patriot Act.
Said Barr:
“Certainly I’ve come to realize, as have many members of Congress who voted for it based on a number of promises that were given to us by the Bush Administration at the highest levels, shall we say — we realized very quickly that those promises meant nothing.
“They went back on everything they told us they would do with the Patriot Act. They used it for cases that nothing to do with terrorism. They sought to expand it, and yada, yada, yada.”
Yes, Barr did say “yada, yada, yada.” Even so, the conversion conversation continued.
Colbert: “Did someone slip you a hash brownie? What’s happened to you?”
Barr: “I do like brownies. I don’t know whether it had hash in it or not.”
Colbert: “There’s an easy way to tell. Did you eat all of them?”
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