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Friday, July 11, 2008
John Lewis won’t debate? Markel Hutchins says that problem is virtually solved
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Long-time Democratic incumbent John Lewis has refused to debate his primary rivals in the 5th District congressional race.
So one of his opponents, Markel Hutchins, has put together a 15-minute virtual YouTube debate, using vintage footage of Lewis weaved together with footage of Hutchins from a studio, and from the recent Atlanta Press Club debate that Lewis skipped.
Hutchins omits “Able” Mable Thomas, the third candidate in the Democratic race — his object is to draw Lewis into a two-man run-off.
“It’s likely that John Lewis doesn’t know what YouTube is,” said Hutchins, 31. “That’s part and parcel what this campaign is all about.”
(A spokesman pointed out that the Lewis campaign launched its own YouTube channel on July 4.)
The production values of Hutchins’ video are high. But the effort, divided into two segments below, is relatively long — and how many people will see it between now and Tuesday is open to question.
See the first take below.
And click here for the final, five-minute segment.
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Attention, citizen-journalists: We’re entering the weird weekend
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Warm up your scanners and keep your answering machines at the ready. The weekend before any vote is ripe for surprise attacks — via e-mail, snail mail, robo-call, or even targeted radio and TV ads.
Send in your sample of the nasty stuff that’s out there. PDFs or JPGs for visuals, WAVs or MP3s for audio. And thanks for participating.
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Rand Knight endorsed by 100 Black Women; Vernon Jones targets Obama voter registration rallies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Notes from the U.S. Senate race:
— Other Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate continue to leach DeKalb County support from Vernon Jones.
The campaign of Rand Knight has gotten the endorsement of the Stone Mountain and Lithonia chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Earlier this week, Jim Martin won endorsements from DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown and state Sen. Emanuel Jones of south DeKalb.
But the above endorsements might underline a problem for Jones in his own fortress. For two terms, Jones has served as DeKalb CEO — which by act of the Legislature one of the most powerful executive positions in Georgia local government.
Regardless of performance, over eight years, a strong, ambitious executive is bound to develop opposition. Look at it this way: In most of Georgia, Jones is a newcomer, a stranger. In DeKalb, he’s essentially running for a third term. That’s tough to do, even with a winning personality.
— Barack Obama may deny any endorsement of Vernon Jones, but Jones won’t deny Obama. The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate has invited his supporters to join him Saturday in supporting Obama-sponsored voter registration efforts at the Kensington and Doraville MARTA stations.
— You probably saw this morning’s post about an InsiderAdvantage poll that shows, for the first time, Jim Martin in the lead among Democratic candidates.
But a low turnout is likely on Tuesday, which makes such surveys a dicey matter. In strategic terms, the universe of voters becomes unpredictable — malleable to outside forces.
Rand Knight, the union-endorsed ecologist, is doing the best to shape Tuesday’s electorate.
I stopped by his barely air-conditioned headquarters on Peachtree Road last night, an old house that had been a flower shop. Knight had an old-fashioned boiler room going, with 25 paid staffers ($10 an hour) making phone calls to proven Democratic voters — who cast ballots in 2004, 2006, or the February presidential primary.
The crew has been reaching out to 5,000 voters a day for several weeks, I was told. Before 5 p.m., the emphasis is on voters over 65. After 5 p.m., they go after younger voters. All are using cell phones paid for by the campaign.
Worker reliability becomes a factor here. Those who spend five days with an ear glued to the cell are given a $25 gas card. On the 10th day, callers are given a $50 gas card, which goes up to $75 on the 15th day and $100 on the 20th.
— Just hung up with Dale Cardwell, who spent today at a funeral in Alabama. The former TV journalist said that, given today’s poll that shows a marked shift in the race, he’ll go up on TV with a limited buy in Macon and Atlanta over the weekend. But he won’t go into debt.
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Democratic attempt to oust party-switcher fizzles: Judge recommends removal of Gross from ballot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An administrative judge has recommended that Keith Gross, a 24-year-old Democrat challenging state Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta), be removed from the November ballot.
If ratified by Secretary of State Karen Handel, the decision would free Jacobs of major party opposition in his first contest as a Republican. Jacobs, who is seeking a third term, switched parties in 2007.
Update: Just before 6 p.m., Handel adopted the judge’s finding. “Prominent notices will be placed at each affected polling place advising voters of Mr. Gross’s disqualification, and all votes cast for Mr. Gross will be void and not counted,” announced the press release.
An independent candidate is attempting to win a position on the November ballot.
See the ruling here. Wrote Judge Michael Malihi:
”The preponderance of the credible evidence is that [Gross] did not establish the two-year residency requirement of the [Georgia Constitution.]
“…[Gross’s] testimony consisted of many questionable concerns, namely the following:
[Gross] was evasive and unable to specify the date he formed the intent to make Georgia his state of residence. [Gross] testified that he moved to Georgia in 2005 to live with his mother. He stated that he considered his home to be where his mother resided, but conceded that his mother moved back to Florida in 2005.
“Respondent testified that he may have obtained a Georgia driver’s license in 2005 when he actually maintained his Florida driver’s license throughout 2005 and 2006, renewed his Florida driver’s license in 2006, and maintained his Florida driver’s license until May 2007….”
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Judge turns down Democratic request to block voter ID law
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fulton County Superior Court Tom Campbell has denied the state Democratic party’s request to block the state’s Voter ID law.
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McKinney names her veep choice — a hip-hop artist
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Up in Chicago, former Georgia congresswoman and presumptive Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney named her running mate Thursday — hip-hop artist and activist Rosa Clemente.
My AJC colleague Jeffry Scott reports that McKinney’s got a 10-to-1 advantage in delegates over her nearest rival, so her nomination seems secure.
If nominated Saturday in Chicago, McKinney’s name will be on ballots in about 36 states — but not in Georgia, where the Green Party did not collect enough signatures, according to state law, to get on the November ballot.
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WSB, InsiderAdvantage: Martin takes lead in Democratic race for U.S. Senate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WSB-TV is touting an InsiderAdvantage poll that says Jim Martin’s TV campaign has given the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate a late and significant lead only days before Tuesday’s primary.
Martin, the only candidate who’s been able to afford a consistent TV campaign, is now preferred by 31 percent of those surveyed. DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones — rebuffed by Barack Obama over that flyer — drops to second place with 20 percent.
Margin of error is 5 percent.
The poll puts former WSB reporter Dale Cardwell at 11 percent; union-endorsed Rand Knight at 4 percent, and Statesboro businessman Josh Lanier at 1 percent.
A whopping 33 percent are undecided. At this point, you have to wonder whether they’ll even show up.
Meanwhile, new campaign reports show that Martin — despite those TV ads — remains the most financially liquid Democrat in the final days.
As of June 30, the former state lawmaker reported $329,954 in cash on hand — but he’s also got debts of $144,663, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Jones reported $150,366 in cash on hand, and no debt.
Rand Knight had $54,034 in the bank, but a debt of 66,828. Of the $227,893 that Knight has raised, $78,128 has come from personal loans.
Cardwell had $20,223 left — and no debt.
Lanier hasn’t raised more than $5,000, so he didn’t have to file a report, according to the Associated Press.
Oh, and that Chambliss fellow — Saxby, the Republican incumbent. He reported only $4,055,173 available for the general election race. No debt, no loans.
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