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July 2008
‘Two-for-one’ says Jones, as he pairs himself — again — with Obama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite what Joe Lowery may say, DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones hasn’t given up on selling himself and Barack Obama as a pair in Tuesday’s Democratic run-off for the U.S. Senate race.
In what looks like to be Jones’ final mailer to voters, there’s no funny stuff with photos. But Jones does put himself in a line of African-American senators that include Edward Brooke, Carol Moseley Braun and — of course — Obama.
“Let’s make it a 2-for-1!” shouts the latest Jones mailer, with a check by his name and the fellow from Chicago.
Click here for a larger version of the Jones flyer.
Jones’ rival, Atlanta attorney Jim Martin, is attempting to put out the contrary message — that Jones’ presence on the ballot would harm Obama in November.
But the Insider has caught hold of none of Martin’s literature. If you have anything, send it in.
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On the Republican topic of public schools and vouchers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you put your finger to the wind, you can sense a looming fight within the Georgia Republican party over the issue of school vouchers, involving the top two leaders of the state Senate.
There’s this article in today’s AJC, of course, about the entrance of pro-voucher groups into statehouse races.
But also consider the following, fresh report from the Gainesville Times, offered up by Harris Blackwood. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who is expected to announce a 2010 bid for governor shortly, was up in his home county today, speaking to a group of newly hired, public school teachers.
Wrote the Times:
While he hasn’t announced his candidacy, Casey Cagle told Hall County educators on Thursday that if he was living at the governor’s mansion, his children would still go to school here.
“People ask me, ‘Casey, if you’re at the mansion, are your kids still going to be in the Hall County school system?’” Cagle said. “I want you to know right now, absolutely yes. Even if we have to bring a helicopter.”
He might reconsider jokes about using state helicopters — the topic has been a dicey one in many administrations. But his pledge of support to public schools was pretty clear.
On this same day, Senate President pro tem Eric Johnson of Savannah, who may or may not be running to replace Cagle as lieutenant governor, delivered a talk to the Georgia public Policy foundation, a local and conservative think tank.
Johnson’s topic was school vouchers, and two polls that he said show overwhelming public support. A statewide poll from late June, of 400 voters, showed that 68 percent believe that all children “should be able to obtain scholarships to attend the public or private school of their parents choice.”
A separate, metro Atlanta poll showed that 69 percent of voters want vouchers accessible to children in failing schools. “Vouchers are no longer something to run from in Georgia politics,” Johnson announced.
And yet.
The questions contained in one of those polls — the statewide poll — always contained the phrase “if there were no new costs to taxpayers.”
The caveat should serve as a warning to Republicans. If they’re to tackle this topic, the money issue will be paramount, especially in these times. Legislation to offer vouchers to students in failing Clayton County sparked a near-panic in neighboring Fayette County this spring — as many lawmakers, and their secretaries, well remember.
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InsiderAdvantage poll: Georgia remains within Obama’s reach
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Matt Towery’s InsiderAdvantage has put up some paragraphs on another poll of Georgia voters, this one taken July 29, that puts the presidential race thusly:
— Republican John McCain, 45 percent;
— Democrat Barack Obama, 41 percent;
— Libertarian Bob Barr, 5 percent;
— And undecided, 18 percent.
The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent.
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Chambliss grills a sugar official, and is grilled in return
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss is getting some blowback for his harsh questioning of a whistle-blowing Imperial Sugar official who said, during a Senate subcommittee hearing, he warned the company of the hazardous situation at the plant — two weeks before it was ripped by an explosion.
In today’s Savannah Morning News, Larry Peterson reports this:
Near the end of the Tuesday session in Washington, the Georgia Republican lit into Graham H. Graham, Imperial’s vice president of operations.
“I believe Chambliss was espousing the company line in an effort to discredit and blunt Mr. Graham’s testimony,” the attorney, Philip Hilder, said Wednesday.
Chambliss denied that, saying he spoke on behalf of the families of the 13 people killed as a result of the Feb. 7 explosions and fire at the Port Wentworth refinery……
Hilder said he thinks Imperial suggested questions for Chambliss to ask Graham and accused the senator of a “cheap shot” against his client.
“He’s more interested in discrediting Mr. Graham than discovering the facts, and I think he’s the one who’s being insincere,” Hilder said.
Chambliss rejected Hilder’s claims.
“I ask my own questions,” the senator said. “That’s what lawyers are paid to say.”
….Imperial spokesman Steve Behm said the company suggested questions to subcommittee members, but none to Chambliss for Graham.
Tom Barton, editorial page editor of the local paper, weighed in with this criticism of Georgia’s senior senator.
We understand Chambliss has taken issue with portions of the column — including a reference to a $1,000 campaign donation to Chambliss made by Imperial Sugar last year, months before the explosion. The company has given $2,000 to Democrat John Barrow — half in 2007 and another grand in 2008. The list of Imperial contributions can be found here.
You can go here to see the video of the testimony. The exchange between the Scotland-born Graham and Chambliss begins almost exactly at the 2:00 mark.
Or you can click here for a rough, five-minute sound clip.
A partial transcript of the exchange appears on the jump.
And you can click here for Graham’s entire testimony.
Saxby Chambliss: You had this meeting with employees at the Port Wentworth plant in which you, Mr. Graham, had gone into this facility, and identified a shocking and dangerous facility in Port Wentworth. You made recommendations to the company which they followed.
You told these folks if they didn’t take some corrective action immediately, you told some of these folks they wouldn’t be back — they’d be in the morgue.
Why didn’t you, Mr. Graham, go to the management of Imperial Sugar Company and say, ‘By golly, if you don’t shut this plant down now and clean this up, you’re going to have a dangerous situation to occur — which did occur, two weeks after you said you made that statement.
Graham: I…
Chambliss: Why didn’t you do that?
Graham: I did do that. I told Mr. Sheptor that I was surprised we hadn’t killed anybody already, because the plants were so dangerous. I was told that my passion was extreme, and I had to temper it.
I was told to prepare a board presentation for the end of January, during which I was going to recommend asking for a significant change in the way were were operating the plant. And I was prevented from doing so.
Chambliss: Mr. Graham, here we are six months after the incident occurred and you’re still working for the same company that you say you gave that kind of mandate to. It gives me cause to question your sincerity and what you’ve had to say about this.
This has been a very emotional, tragic situation that occurred in south Georgia. And it’s one in which we want to get to the bottom of, obviously, from the standpoint of what happened. The ultimate result needs to be safety measures put in.
And I respect what you say about the fact that you made recommendations to them, but I really have reason to question your sincerity in that.
Because if you were, I can’t imagine — after what did happen and you said you made the statements you did — why are you still working for this company? Thank-you madam chairman.
(U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who chaired the subcommittee hearing, offered Graham an opportunity to reply to Chambliss.)
Graham: All of the conditions I described pre-existed my appointment. My objective today was to bring forth the facts laid out before me so that we can collectively decide what needs to be done to prevent this sort of tragedy from happening again. The employees of both refineries and indeed in the industry deserve a safe working environment.
And the reason I’m still there is that I believe I can continue to contribute to achieving this goal. And I will be taking OSHA’s findings and moving forward to continue fixing deficiencies so we can bring these people into an environment that is safe and clean….
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Don’t you hate it when they give you what you want before you even ask for it?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In a sign that the general election is nearly upon us, the state Democratic party this morning called on U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss to return $10,000 he’s received from his recently indicted Republican colleague Ted Stevens of Alaska.
“Senator Stevens’ indictment puts every penny he has raised or contributed under a cloud of suspicion,” pronounced chairman Jane Kidd.
In an even bigger sign that the general election is nearly upon us, the Chambliss campaign said the matter has already been taken care of.
Yesterday, 24 hours after charges were leveled against the longest-serving U.S. senator, the Chambliss campaign wrote two checks — $5,000 to Camp Sunshine, which offers a summer vacation to kids with cancer, and another $5,000 to the Georgia chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
“Always one step behind, aren’t they?” said Chambliss spokesman Michelle Grasso.
But Martin Matheny, spokesman for the Democratic party, was not to be denied his pound of flesh. “Sorry, I guess we’re so used to Senator Chambliss taking care of his friends on the Republican side that when he does the right thing for once, we’re all a little surprised,” he said.
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What Obama and McCain are spending in Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Politico.com is reporting that Democratic presidential presumptive Barack Obama has spent $1.6 million in advertising in Georgia.
The article was focused on Obama’s ability to use his surplus of cash to do battle in states that ought to belong to Republican John McCain:
A Politico analysis of the candidates’ spending in Georgia — not including advertising — since January 2007 found that overall, McCain has spent $441,895 to Obama’s $335,671.
But half of McCain’s cash, $220,613, has gone to three people, all of whom are fundraising consultants.
In the most recent financial disclosure reports released last week, McCain lists 13 Georgia-related expenses for June, which total $46,723.
Almost all of the payments were related to a Savannah campaign stop in May. McCain hasn’t hired any full-time field staff in Georgia and he’s not running any commercials on television there.
Obama listed 22 Georgia payments in his June financial disclosure form totaling $11,503. Of them, 13 were staff payroll costs. Since June 20, he’s aired $1.6 million in positive, biographical advertisements on Georgia stations, according to Evan Tracey, founder of the Campaign Media Analysis Group.
“They are treating the money they spent in the primaries as organizational investments and relying on them to form the foundation for the general election,” said Anthony Corrado, a nonpartisan campaign finance expert.
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Isakson on the housing bill and energy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Click here to see a CNBC interview of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson that’s been making the rounds. This was taped Tuesday — most of the discussion is on the just-signed housing bill. Isakson was a chief advocate.
But in the video, Isakson also pumps up this bipartisan, “Gang of Ten” effort at a compromise oil exploration bill. He and Georgia colleague Saxby Chambliss are two-fifths of the Republican side of the energy gang.
On Monday, Chambliss — the Republican driver — said he expects to have a first draft of a proposal by the end of this week. Don’t know if that statement is still operative.
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Joseph Lowery comes out for Martin, with a tongue honed to an edge
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At his West Peachtree Street headquarters, in a somewhat noisy basement, Jim Martin on Wednesday assembled the forces he hoped would push him across the finish line of the Democratic race for U.S. Senate.
Richard Ray, president of the AFL-CIO was one. The Rev. Tim McDonald, the former leader of Concerned Black Clergy, was another. And there was a relative newcomer, the Rev. J.A. Milner, pastor of Chapel of Christian Love Baptist Church in Atlanta.
All were dwarfed by 86-year-old Joseph Lowery, a founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. But on this day, the good reverend’s credentials from the Civil Rights era didn’t matter nearly as much as his standing as Barack Obama’s No. 1 cheerleader in Georgia.
In the delicate, biracial atmosphere of a Democratic race in Georgia, Martin has had to be extremely careful of how he draws a distinction between himself and the DeKalb County CEO. Even in the run-off, references to Jones’ colorful and controversial personal life have been off-limits.
Instead, Martin has repeatedly referenced the two votes that Jones has confessed to casting for George W. Bush, in 2000 and 2004.
But that may not be enough to defeat a relatively popular black politician in a primary dominated by African-Americans.
The key argument that Martin is likely to press over the weekend is that having Jones at the top of a Georgia ballot would whittle Barack Obama’s already-dicey chances of winning Georgia’s 15 electoral votes down to nothing.
In other words, Martin will try to force Democrats in Georgia to choose between Obama and Jones.
Lowery was the beginning of that argument. Click here to listen to a four-minute sound bite of what he said.
Lowery never mentioned Jones by name, but the language was still brutal:
”As we anticipate the election of a visionary president of these United States in November, we must be keenly aware of the need to send to the Congress men and women who share the vision of the president and the platform from which attempts will be made to enact laws and establish policies.
“We believe Jim Martin, candidate for the U.S. Senate, and consistent Democrat, meets that standard, and shares that vision. We cannot afford to send to the Senate a zig-zag, so-called conservative Bush supporter who by his own admission, not only voted for Bush one time, but after having an opportunity to review his leadership for a quadrennium, voted for him a second time.
“If I sit in my swing in my backyard under the old oak tree in an electrical storm, and lightning strikes me one time, lightning can be blamed. But if the storm comes back, and I return to that same swing under that same tree, I have to assume responsibility for lightning striking me.”
When asked point-blank whether he thought Jones as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate would harm Obama, Lowery added this.
He said:
”Irrespective of that, I think Jim Martin’s presence will enhance the possibilities of victory for the Democratic ticket. And that’s our concern.
“We believe that Jim Martin brings a consistency. He readily pledged to support whoever the party nominates for Senate, while his opponent was hesitant. Reticent. Which is characteristic of his zig-zag, inconsistent, so-called conservative, Bush look-alike, be-alike, wannabe position and posture.
“Hello? Does that answer your question?”
And if that wasn’t enough, Lowery took umbrage at that mailer that Jones sent out, which inserted his image into an Obama moment. “I think those who play tricks and act slick, that’s the politics of the past,” Lowery said.
No matter how sharp the cuts, Jones can’t be seen tangling with an elderly hero like Lowery. The DeKalb CEO issued a short but classy statement:
“I respect Joseph Lowery - I stand on his shoulders and I wish him well,” he said.
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Suspecting that Mother Nature might be Libertarian, Barr folds on Wiccan issue
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s a certain amount of humiliation that comes with running as a third-party candidate for president.
The federal deficit, loose nukes, angry Muslims, the economy — these are topics that the major party candidates are asked to address.
But if you’re Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate, there are times when your campaign must seem like a never-ending Star Trek convention, with no Scotty to beam him up.
This is a recent blog entry on Dispatches from the Culture Wars:
I got to ask Barr a question I’ve wanted to ask him for quite some time. He’s repudiated and apologized for many of his previous positions and I asked him if he would repudiate his absurd anti-Wiccan crusade of 1999, when he wanted all Wiccans banned from the military. He said yes, with a bit of hemming and hawing.
He said that he had reports from several military leaders that Wiccans doing rituals on military bases were causing problems and that’s why he did what he did, but that since that time it’s become clear that there are no problems with allowing Wiccans to serve and to practice their religion on military bases like any other religion.
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Wanted: Congressional chief of staff with lower-than-usual salary requirements
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Athens) has resigned — two weeks after his boss’ impressive win in the GOP primary, and one week after news broke that the same boss has already spent most of his yearly budget allowance.
This comes from The Hill in Washington, a newspaper that covers Congress:
J. Aloysius Hogan, Broun’s chief of staff, was in charge of the Member’s Representational Allowance (MRA), which was depleted because of franked mail, according to sources. The franked mail, which was sent to constituents, may have helped Broun in his recent primary win.
Earlier this month, sources said that Broun’s MRA was so low that the lawmaker would have to cut staff. At the time, Broun’s office said it was unaware of any possible cuts…..
Jeff Ventura, a spokesman for the House Chief Administrative Officer, said, “Although we have seen MRAs dip this low before, what makes this situation unique is that it went so low so early in the calendar year.”
It was unclear at press time what the office planned to do in order to pay staffers, who could be furloughed if the problem is not resolved quickly. l
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Joe Lowery set to endorse in U.S. Senate race, and he’s not backing Vernon Jones
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Democrat Jim Martin is on the verge of receiving the biggest endorsement of his U.S. Senate race — a primary contest that has seen many African-American leaders shy away from standing against DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones.
The Rev. Joseph Lowery, the grand old man of the Civil Rights movement, has scheduled an 11 a.m. Wednesday press conference to make an endorsement in Tuesday’s Democratic run-off.
Now, when the Insider caught him at home, Lowery, 86, wouldn’t say who he’s going to endorse. But he dropped two big hints.
First, as John Lewis knows, Lowery is a big supporter of Barack Obama in the presidential contest. And he said the Obama campaign should be about inclusion. It should be multi-racial.
Then there was the other hint. “I’m not supporting Vernon Jones,” Lowery said.
All this week, word has been going out through the back channels of the state Democratic party — that Obama would rather not appear on the same platform with Jones. Lowery’s endorsement of Martin would be a major piece of evidence of this talk.
Ellery Gould of the Martin campaign would only say this:
“I can only confirm on the record that we are planning a press conference tomorrow and that Jim believes Rev. Lowery to be a leader of tremendous vision and accomplishment, and one of the great American voices for equality and justice.”
Jones was also busy Tuesday, displaying the support he’s pinned down in the state’s African-American community. He, too, produced a Civil Rights veteran to endorse his candidacy.
The DeKalb County CEO appeared on the steps of the old DeKalb County courthouse with about a dozen elected officials.
But my AJC colleague Jim Tharpe, who was there, said it was the Rev. Willie M. Bolden, a Cedartown Baptist minister who participated in the historic Selma-to-Montgomery march in the mid-1960s, who gave Jones his most ringing endorsement.
Bolden said he never dreamed in the ’60s that Georgia might one day have a black U.S. senator. “But we’re going to have one,” he said.
Jones thanked Bolden for his efforts to pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which Jones said has made his run for office possible.
Among the elected officials named by Jones as supporters:
— State Reps. Roger Bruce of Atlanta; Michele Henson of Stone Mountain; Keith Heard of Athens; Carolyn Hugley of Columbus; Lester Jackson of Savannah; Lynmore James of Montezuma; David Lucas of Macon; Randal Mangham of Decatur; Billy Mitchell of Stone Mountain; Howard Mosby of Atlanta; Quincy Murphy of Augusta; Robbin Shipp of Atlanta; Pam Stephenson of Atlanta; Able Mable Thomas of Atlanta; Al Williams of Midway; and Earnest “Coach” Williams of Avondale Estates.
— State Sens. Steve Henson of Tucker; Gail Davenport, who represents Clayton County; and Ed Harbison of Columbus.
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The man behind the Bridge to Nowhere gets himself indicted
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Read more here, but this is the gist of the first Associated Press report:
Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, has been indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home.
Stevens, 84, has been dogged by a federal investigation into whether he pushed for fishing legislation that also benefited his son, an Alaska lobbyist.
Consider this one more reason why U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss is running like a man possessed, against a Democrat who — regardless of next Tuesday’s outcome — will have no money.
Democratic chances of getting to a 60-member majority in the Senate just got a little better.
Photo credit: Associated Press
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Today’s must-read: McCain’s hate affair with ‘ultimate’ fighting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The New Republic has a revealing piece on Republican presidential presumptive John McCain’s love affair with the gentleman’s art of boxing, and his moral outrage over today’s no-holds-barred — and highly televised — substitute.
Here’s a taste:
John McCain has made plenty of political enemies in his day, but among the most surprising is Eddie Goldman. The New York resident doesn’t fixate on McCain’s position on campaign finance, or his religious views, or his support for the Iraq war.
What upsets Goldman is the way John McCain treated ultimate fighting.
Yes, ultimate fighting—that no-holds-barred hybrid of boxing, wrestling, and martial arts immortalized in the hit movie Fight Club. Ultimate fighting sprang up in the early 1990s with a flurry of neck chops, spleen blows, and roundhouses to the face.
Goldman, a longtime sports commentator, was an early fan and evangelist; McCain was an early and vociferous critic. He condemned the sport as “human cockfighting,” leaned on cable companies not to televise it, and sought to ban it nationwide. “It’s an abuse of power story!” fumes Goldman. “The vehemence of McCain’s position had no rational explanation.”
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Is Bob Barr running short of cash?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Wall Street Journal blog is reporting that the campaign of Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr has sent out “the most desperate sounding e-mail solicitation yet this election cycle,” requesting $15,000 a day — “or else.”
The message comes from Barr’s campaign manager.
Says the Journal:
Under the subject line, “Have I said or done something to offend you?” Russ Verney writes, “You see, I have to report that unless we receive and immediate cash infusion of $85,000, our progress will stop dead in its tracks. To be very blunt, I am presently faced with bills equaling our bank account balance, and I know there are many more expenses on the horizon.”
According to the latest report with the Federal Election Commission, Barr’s campaign had just $69,000 cash on hand at the end of June, and he raised just under $200,000 last month.
Verney, who managed Ross Perot’s 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, wrote that Barr’s candidacy also presents a unique opportunity.
“I’ve heard it said that we are wasting our time and that we haven’t a chance of winning. That depends on how you define winning. If winning means balancing the budget, reducing government’s size, and advancing your privacy and civil rights then it isn’t required that Bob Barr win in November. What IS required is a strong showing - just like Ross Perot,” he wrote.
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Saxby Chambliss and Orrin Hatch: On the housing bill, earmarks and Mitt Romney
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who is still a week away from knowing who he’ll face in the general election, squired Republican colleague Orrin Hatch of Utah to three fund-raisers in Atlanta on Monday.
They raised close to $70,000 for Chambliss, already the $4 million man.
The pair offered themselves up for a presser, and the first topic — of course — was Saturday’s vote on a package to rescue the U.S. housing industry.
Chambliss and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson voted for it. Hatch voted against it, because — he said — of the open-ended nature of the taxpayer-guaranteed help offered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
On the other hand, the Senate vote was lopsided. And if the package had needed his vote, Hatch said he might have switched.
In Georgia, the housing package was opposed by the state’s House Republicans. The split roughly — though not exactly — tracks the differences over the issue of earmarks.
Said Chambliss:
“If we had gone home in August without providing liquidity in the [housing] market, as my good friend Johnny Isakson — who has been in the real estate business for 40 years and is somebody I’ve got great confidence in — says, the mortgage industry could be in bankruptcy by the time we got back in September….
“All you have to do is just fly into Atlanta, and you see subdivision after subdivision that’s undeveloped or partially developed.
“I’ve heard from not just contractors, but from carpenters and plumbers and air-conditioning people. They’re just out of work. They’re just sitting and waiting for this market to turn. And I just think that we as policy-makers have an obligation to try and do what we can do to help make the market turn.
“It’s not a perfect bill. I’m not sure what all the reasons were on the house side for those guys to vote against it. But I have the whole state as my constituency.
Both Chambliss and Hatch defended the use, within reason, of earmarks — not just for local projects, but to get past the budgetary game-playing that often happens in a federal bureaucracy.
Both pointed to the F-22 manufactured in Marietta as an example. That bioterrorism facility that Athens is trying to win is another Chambliss priority.
The Insider asked if the lack of cooperation by House Republicans made the task more difficult. Said Chambliss:
”It doesn’t help. Let me say that. I don’t know necessarily that it hurts. But it certainly doesn’t help.”
On the topic of vice presidential politics, both senators spoke of Mitt Romney as the fellow likely to be at the top of most Republican lists these days.
Said Hatch:
”There’s no use kidding — he’s a whiz on the economy. Plus he’s young enough, smart enough and charismatic enough that everybody knows he could succede and be president.
“[Tim] Pawlenty in Minnesota is highly thought of, very articulate, very smart guy. Romney could bring Michigan, Pawlenty would not cause any difficulties.”
Hatch isn’t buying talk that Republican presidential presumptive John McCain will make his selection soon. He’ll announce his choice just before Republicans gather — despite the overlap of the Beijing Olympics, but also because of the Olympic overlap, Hatch said.
McCain will need something substantial to break through the China buzz.
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The Kudzu debate between Jones and Martin, sound chunk by sound chunk
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A first impression of Sunday evening’s U.S. Senate debate on Kudzu Vine:
When candidates are linked only by a telephone line, and don’t see each other face to face, the attacks are a little sharper.
The entire, Internet-only engagement between Democratic run-off rivals Vernon Jones and Jim Martin lasted an hour. Go here to listen to the entire broadcast.
But the Insider spent much of the morning chopping and dicing the debate into more digestible chunks.
On policy, there was not that much that Martin and Jones disagreed on.
Neither would commit to foregoing fund-raising during their first six months in office, should one of them knock off Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss.
Both mentioned the possibility of going into debt by November, and said the bills would have to be paid.
Both verbalized Barack Obama’s contention that troops should be shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan.
Jones’ favorite phrase was “I have a record.” Martin’s was “I never voted for Bush.”
Martin made mention of the Bush issue in his introduction, when explaining why he could make a stronger case against Chambliss, but didn’t mention Jones by name. Click here for the evidence.
Jones was more forthright in his introduction, and made a direct attack on Martin. Click here to listen.
The first clash on issues occurred on the generally boring topic of the state’s water war with Florida and Alabama. Martin chided Jones for a parochial answer on regional water availability that focused on DeKalb County.
It generated this response from Jones. “It shows Mr. Martin’s lack of experience,’ Jones said. “You can’t just wait on the state or the federal government.”
In this clip, Martin explains his vote for John Edwards, and is pressed by Jones on the issue.
And here, Jones explains his bipartisan approach to politics — and says he would not vote for President Bush a third time, if he had the chance.
Jones found himself on the defensive on two particular issues.
In this sound bite, the DeKalb County CEO explains that a $1232 check he wrote to the Georgia Republican party in early 2001 was for inaugural tickets necessary to bipartisan politicking.
And toward the very end of the debate, Jones was asked if Georgia were ready for a U.S. senator who had openly engaged in a ménage a trois. Click here to listen.
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Jimmy Carter: President, home-builder, carpenter, novelist — and, now, harmonica player
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Woke up to a well-connected reader’s report from the B.B. King/Willie Nelson concert last night at Chastain Park. Former President Jimmy Carter was in attendance, as was Ted Turner.
Here are the details:
“B.B King apologized to Carter for telling a story about Viagra, but the coolest moment was during Willie’s portion of the show. He’s playing “Georgia On My Mind,” and Carter takes the stage to play harmonica, and does it really well. The crowd went nuts, as you might imagine. For what it’s worth, Carter’s a better harmonica player than Clinton is a sax player.”
If anybody’s got a photo of the Nelson/Carter moment, the Insider promises a repost.
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On the challenge to House Speaker Glenn Richardson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Blue Ridge, Ga. — David Ralston is a 54-year-old attorney and state representative, a beefy guy with a deep and reassuring voice.
His kids are well-adjusted and success-bound. He’s healthy, happily married, and has a home in the mountains. Politically, he’s doing well — no opposition in November.
In other words, Ralston exhibits no predilection for suicide. No sign of depression that might cause him to slip a noose around his neck and ask a passer-by to kick the stool from underneath.
But there are those who say the north Georgia Republican has done just that. A few days ago, Ralston announced he would challenge House Speaker Glenn Richardson, the mercurial man from Hiram, for the leadership of the 180-member chamber. Five GOP colleagues have signed onto the coup.
Modern Georgia political history has witnessed only two similar uprisings, the last in 1993. Both failed, and were followed by harsh punishment for the conspirators.
“Everybody has asked the question, ‘Do you know what the price will be if you’re not successful in November?’ I’ve said, ‘How can you not know that?’” Ralston said last week.
Presumably, the lawmaker has already sacrificed his chairmanship of the powerful House committee that oversees criminal law.
Friends of Richardson say the speaker already has commitments from more than enough Republican members to guarantee a third term.
They argue that Ralston would be a flawed replacement — pointing to the lawmaker’s problems with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. (Which Ralston says stem from an embezzling bookkeeper.)
But some of the bravado expressed by Richardson stalwarts might also be read as concern.
Last week, Rules Chairman Earl Ehrhart of Powder Springs, Richardson’s closest ally, suggested that the House Republican caucus shift from its tradition of secret ballots and conduct the election for speaker in public — which would have the advantage of exposing any dissidents.
Ask Ralston why he thinks he has a chance, and the north Georgia lawmaker will tell you that the last two attempts to dethrone a House speaker (both aimed at the venerable Tom Murphy) were the result of intra-party squabbles about which voters neither knew nor cared.
But Richardson’s feuds with Gov. Sonny Perdue and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle have been very public. The broken relationships — unlikely to be repaired, says Ralston — have thwarted action on important issues ranging from transportation to tax relief.
The north Georgia lawmaker also gave voice to frustration privately expressed by many House Republicans — that they had little input into Richardson’s failed campaign to eliminate property taxes in Georgia, which pitted state lawmakers against county, city and school board officials across the state.
That courthouse crowd is his targeted constituency, Ralston implied. Over the next three months, he’ll attempt to stir bottom-up sentiment for regime change in the Capitol that — he hopes — will equal pressure that Richardson will place on 100 or so House Republicans from above.
And about that noose. It’s more like a loose necktie. “There is a life beyond this. We’ll all live, and there will be another day,” Ralston said.
Photo credit: Ben Gray/AJC
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Seabaugh’s running for No. 2 job in the Senate, which raises certain questions about Eric Johnson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Got a call on Saturday night from Mitch Seabaugh, the Republican state senator from Sharpsburg.
He was mixing politics and what some people would define as pleasure. Seabaugh was attending his 30th high school reunion in Cape Girardeau, Mo., which also has served as hometown to Rush Limbaugh.
But earlier that day, Seabaugh had also sent an e-mail to his GOP colleagues in the Senate, informing them that — come November — he planned to run for president pro tem of the Senate.
He promised to keep things low-key until after the election, so as not to distract Republican senators with Democratic opposition.
The president pro tem is the No. 2 position in the chamber, under the lieutenant governor. And it’s currently held by Eric Johnson, a Republican from Savannah.
So what about Johnson? Seabaugh says Johnson is running for lieutenant governor in 2010. “He’s contacting people, asking them to be a part of his steering committee,” Seabaugh said. (The Insider hasn’t heard this from Johnson himself.)
And according to the Sharpsburg senator, Republican caucus rules say you can’t hold the position of president pro tem while running for another office.
The Insider will try to snag some of the e-mail traffic that’s going around on this.
Seabaugh, who serves as majority whip, had been looking at the lieutenant governor’s race himself. “But somebody’s got to fight the battle of Bedford Falls,” he said. That’s a reference to “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Look it up.
Seabaugh isn’t the only one in the pro tem contest. Word is that Majority Leader Tommie Williams of Lyons may also be seeking a promotion.
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Pro-Martin blog: Jones wrote a check to the state GOP
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amy Morton, the Democratic activist, blogger and Jim Martin supporter, has linked to Federal Election Commission entries documenting a check that Vernon Jones wrote to the Georgia Republican party in early 2001.
The FEC links put the amount at $1,232.34. Jones listed his occupation as CEO of DeKalb County. Here’s one.
A pro-Jones response on Morton’s blog included this: “This money was payment for tickets to the President’s Inaugural Ball. As CEO/Mayor Mr. Jones is expected to attend these events.”
Look for the topic to come up at 7 p.m. tonight during the Internet-only debate between Martin and Jones, the two remaining Democratic candidates in the U.S. Senate race, on the Kudzu Vine.
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Nader: Speaking about a ‘white-talking’ Obama to a virtual generation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just finished with a Ralph Nader rally in Athens, and the third-time presidential candidate was his usual, provocative self.
A bonus will come later, but here’s a portion of what I just filed for the mainsheet:
Athens — Three-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader continued to attack rival Barack Obama on Friday for “talking white,” and called him a “corporate Democrat” who has surrendered his principles.
In a speech to 150 on the University of Georgia campus, Nader accused Obama, poised to be the first black presidential nominee of a major party, binding himself with ties to major U.S. corporations.
“I don’t want him to talk black. I want him to talk justice,” the 74-year-old independent presidential candidate said. “What’s the point of this country being on the verge of electing an African-American president , after all these years — and then have it mean nothing?
“[Obama is] always talking about his past as a community organizer. But again and again, day after day, he’s back-tracking, surrendering, flip-flopping — and appointing the worst corporatist advisors you can imagine,” Nader said.
Nader is a driven, unwilling-to-please character who’s hard to explain. He was late on Friday for a promised press conference. He drove from Columbia, S.C. — this is not a campaign that can afford a hired plane.
Only two reporters attended, but Nader insisted on standing behind the crystaline plastic podium, then bowing his head to read his remarks, in a shiny, well-worn gray suit. Age is beginning to show, in more ways than one.
Midway through his speech, Nader wandered down a tangent that amounted to an attack on modernity that made you remember his puritan roots — and how much, in a way, he still has in common with conservative Christians.
But you have to wonder how it went down with an audience that was dominated by plugged-in twenty-somethings.
Said Nader:
”Childhood is now commercialized. These corporations have dared to enter territory they never dared enter. Fifty years ago, when I was a kid, about the only thing they would sell directly to kids was bubble gum.
“Now they’re bypassing, undermining parental authority in the most insidious ways, selling junk food, junk drink — huge expansion of childhood obesity, diabetes, hypertension — and junk programming. Violent, vicious, sadistic programming that they’re now involving youngsters [in] through interactive video.
“The most vicious type of exploitation of children, for profit, by these corporations, whose heads get invited to the White House, for White House dinners. These are electronic child molestors.
“And we let them get away with it? Undermining parental authority, turning these kids into nags? That’s what advertising does….
“Where’s their shame? What have they done to us? We’ve become Pavlovian specimens, starting at age 3, 6, 10, 12. Looking at screens. It’s now 60 hours a week, pre-teens and teenagers are looking at screens. Television, Internet, inter — you know, computer screens — and the video games.
“What does that do to attention spans? Socialization?
“You don’t see kids playing in the streets anymore, hardly. That may not be a bad idea, in some cities. But you know what I mean.”
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Stuff that requires your attention
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today’s necessary reading:
— The AJC editorial board and Secretary of State Karen Handel go at it over the Public Service Commission candidacy of Democrat Jim Powel.
Here’s their take. Here’s hers.
— Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Garden City) suggests that a hike in the cigarette tax would shore up the state budget and save lives.
— And the decision by five U.S. House members from Georgia, all Republican, to swear off earmarks is forcing the state’s two U.S. senators to do some extra lifting. Click here to read.
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Perdue declares himself neutral in a GOP state Senate run-off
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the July 15 Republican primary, state Sen. Nancy Schaefer of Turnerville finished second to Jim Butterworth in the District 50 race — not a good sign for any incumbent.
Looking toward the Aug. 5 run-off, Schaefer — who registers strongly among conservative Christians — put out a flyer that tied her to Sonny Perdue, who remains a strong, popular figure among Republicans, with a quote from the governor: “Nancy Schaefer is a strong voice in the Senate for northeast Georgia and I count on her integrity and commitment in the state Senate.”
That sounds like an endorsement. But on Thursday, on Martha Zoller’s WDUN radio show, Perdue denied choosing sides. He didn’t deny the statement — just the endorsement.
For a closer look at a portion of the flyer in question, click here.
Dick Pettys of InsiderAdvantage did the transcribing of Perdue’s statement:
“I trust the people of that Senate district to make their decisions. I don’t think they need a governor sitting in Atlanta from middle Georgia trying to tell them how to make those decisions. I know I had a few calls over a mail-out that was done.
“It was unfortunate. I had not had any conversation with either of the candidates - either of the three candidates - in there regarding any kind of endorsements, and some people felt I had chosen sides and it was not the case and it’s not the case today,” he said.
The question was raised a few minutes later in the program by a caller, and Perdue reiterated that he had “absolutely not” endorsed anyone in the race. “If I were up there, I could be a little offended if the governor was trying to tell me how to elect my legislative representative.”
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Saxon on Broun: ‘We’re all disgusted by the amount of mail’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Democrat Bobby Saxon, who’s running against U.S. Rep. Paul Broun in the 10th District congressional race, was quick to jump on news that the Republican incumbent has busted much of his annual congressional budget — on communications with constituents in the run-up to the July primary.
Tim Bryant, radio host of WGAU (1340 AM) in Athens, was kind enough to send a sound clip of his interview with Saxon today. Listen to it here.
Said Saxon:
”We were all disgusted by the amount of mail and phone calls that we received back in the spring. Everyone questioned the validity of those mailings and those phone calls, and the actual reason behind them.
“Mr. Broun continued to bash the Democrats the whole time — in practically every one of his pieces back there….
“He has continuously voted against programs or funding for things that would benefit people in this district, such as the SCHIP, the PeachCare program, funding for the Phil Campbell Ag Center, and funding for veterans.
“Yet he has no problem in maximizing or, possibly, over-maxing his congressional budget to help himself get re-elected.”
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Golden says he, too, is looking at the 2010 governor’s race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As tepid as the Democratic race for U.S. Senate has been this year — low interest and little money — the number of Democrats lining up for the 2010 race for governor is a little surprising.
On Thursday, state Sen. Tim Golden of Valdosta became the third prominent Democrat to express interest in the race.
“It’s not something I’m thinking about lightly,” Golden said. The centrist Democrat — his political career goes back to an internship with U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn in the 1970s — has spent 10 years in the state Senate and eight years in the House.
He’s unopposed this year, but still expects to make a decision on 2010 sometime after November.
This spring, House Minority Leader DuBose Porter of Dublin, a newspaper publisher, began his public consideration of a run for governor.
Earlier this month, former adjutant general David Poythress, who headed the Georgia National Guard, said he would begin raising money soon for the Democratic contest.
Why this liveliness among Democrats, aimed at two years hence? The guess here is that some people are anticipating a win by Barack Obama in November — and that a friend like Obama in the White House could put a statewide victory in Georgia within reach.
Photo credit: Associated Press
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Something for those turned off by the conservatism of Barack Obama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader comes to Georgia on Friday, for a rally at the University of Georgia.
(It’s a 5 p.m. gig at Master’s Hall on South Lumpkin Street.)
In honor of the event, and to drum up much-needed attention, Nader gave a quick call on Wednesday — pointing out differences he has with both Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney and Democratic presidential presumptive Barack Obama.
Here’s a large portion of the exchange:
Insider: You’re not going to be on the ballot in Georgia.
Nader: No. Georgia’s one of the worst obstructive states in the country, as some litigation in Georgia has tried to point out from time to time.
Insider: If you’re not going to be on the ballot, what’s the purpose of the Athens meeting?
Nader: The write-in. It is a fund-raiser, actually. There are actually only two states that say write-ins are not counted at all. That’s Oklahoma and Oregon.
We’ll get a write-in in Georgia, and it’s important to go into a state and point out how undemocratic it is for independent and third-party candidates rights. It’s comparable to a Jim Crow law, it’s so obstructive…..
So it’s a very difficult state, and we’re not the only candidacy that’s pointed that out.
Insider: You’re walking into both Cynthia McKinney and Bob Barr’s territory.
Nader: Are they going to be on, do you think?
Insider: Barr will definitely be on. Cynthia will not be on. Libertarians met the threshold two years ago. What are the differences between you and Cynthia?
Nader: Our campaign goes into issues she doesn’t usually go into, like taxing security derivatives — basically, taxing first the things that our society likes the least, or dislikes the most, before you start taxing human labor and necessities.
I don’t think she gets in there at all. Then there are military budget issues that, I think, we go further than she does in specificity. Then there is consumer protection, which has been my bailiwick. So basically, if you put our issues over her issues, they would go beyond her issues.
There are more of them, and a different emphasis…I don’t know if she talks about corporate personhood much. Or has our record of trying to challenge the debate commission, which is a private company created by the two parties, and dominated by them.
She doesn’t talk about Taft-Hartley, I talk about Taft-Hartley. It’s not that she doesn’t cover these issues, but she has a different approach. If you listen to her speeches, they use different language than I use. But generally, both progressive agendas…..
Insider: If you are a liberal or progressive, and you see Barack Obama on a ticket, why in the world would someone vote for Ralph Nader?
Nader: Because he’s a corporate Democrat….Look at FISA, look at his back-tracking on Supreme Court decisions, his supporting the credit card industry. No one in Washington associates Barack Obama with a major, serious, energetic agenda to deal with the abuses and exploitations of the lower 100 million Americans on the income ladder.
Never mind going into the areas of exploitation in the ghettos — predatory lending and all that. He’s probably said some things on this, but look at Jim Webb. Jim Webb is a freshman senator [from Virginia]. He really did it seriously on veterans’ education. That’s what I mean, you know?
I’ve talked to thousands of Obama supporters, obviously, going around the country. Almost none of them associate any major policy initiative with him in Congress. And as a state senator, he even voted to cap pain and suffering damages of medical malpractice victims to $250,000. That’s pretty inexcusable.
He’s weak on the civil justice system, which is the principle way defrauded and wrongfully injured people challenge corporate power….
He’s never met a weapons system he didn’t like. He’s not challenged the military-industrial complex at all. And he gets a huge amount of money — more than [Republican John] McCain has got — from corporate interests and corporate attorneys….
For him, nuclear power is still on the table — which is very insensitive, given that some of his major backers are nuclear power executives in Chicago.
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The trials and tribulations of Clayton County
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thomas Wheatley of Creative Loafing has an extensive look at Clayton County’s troubled transition from majority-white rule to majority black.
Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell, the former Atlanta police chief, figures prominently into a piece that focuses on the problem posed by those seeking a quick route to power.
Here’s a tidbit:
“We came out of an era as separate but unequal, creating greed among ourselves,” Bell says. He references the fact that Africans once sold rival tribesmen into slavery. “Remember who sold who into slavery. We are no different now than we were then, just a bit more sophisticated. Isn’t it ironic amongst our own community, [people] came out and said, ‘They got theirs, and now I want mine.’ And they want it without the effort that goes with it.”
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‘Wall Street got drunk,’ says Bush — at a private fund-raiser, much like the one in Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last Friday, President Bush was at a private fund-raiser in Houston to benefit a Republican challenger against U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, a Democrat.
The circumstances were very much like Bush’s visit to Atlanta on Tuesday. The press was barred. Video cameras were ordered turned off.
But some