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Monday, August 4, 2008
A plea for Martin — from the fellow who wanted to protect sweet tea
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now, many people have talked about DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones’ double approach to racial politics.
On one hand, the U.S. Senate candidate has slammed the media for raising the topic of race. On the other, Jones has got this “two-for-one” flyer intended to link the only African-American in the Senate race to the candidacy of Democratic presidential presumptive Barack Obama.
But in the last hours, the flip side of humanity may be showing itself.
Two highly reliable informants tipped us to a robo-call by former state lawmaker John Noel — who invokes the names of Billy McKinney (whom he defeated) and the father’s more famous daughter, Cynthia, on behalf of Jones’ rival, Jim Martin.
Noel quickly gave the Insider a call, accepting responsibility for the automated phone call. The Martin campaign, he said, was not involved. “I put out the call because I’m a fervent supporter of Jim Martin,” Noel said. “I did call the campaign initially, but they never approved it. I just went ahead because I considered it completely innocuous. it was really a get-out-the-vote call for a good guy.”
No racial intent was involved, the former lawmaker said — he was merely invoking the accomplishment that many voters would remember him by, Noel said. “It was simply because that’s who I beat, and that’s the year that I beat them.”
Noel said the call went to thousands of residents of the northwest portion of Fulton County that he once represented. He intends to report the expenditure as a $750 in-kind contribution to the Martin campaign.
Here’s the script that Noel dictated to the Insider:
“Hello, this is former Democratic state representative John Noel. You may remember that I defeated Billy McKinney in 2002, the same year his daughter Cynthia McKinney lost her congressional seat.
“I’m calling to ask for your support for my friend Jim Martin in Tuesday’s runoff for the U.S. Senate. Jim Martin’s opponent, the controversial Vernon Jones, has broken promises to not raise taxes in DeKalb, and has had personal antics that make him a poor choice for Democrats in the fall election.
“Remember, please, Jim Martin in the only runoff election this Tuesday, the Democratic primary runoff. This call was paid for by John Noel.”
Ellery Gould, campaign manager for Martin, was quick to insist that the campaign had nothing to do with the automated phone calls.
The Insider has captured this authorized robo-call from Martin, but it’s kind of dull.
By the way — yes, your memory is correct. John Noel, who is white, is the member of the House of Representatives who sponsored a bill Tuesday to make it a misdemeanor “of a high and aggravated nature” not to offer sweet tea in any restaurant that serves iced tea. It failed.
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One last tea leaf: Martin has raised (more than) $214K since the primary
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If Jim Martin comes out on top over Vernon in the Democratic run-off for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, look for analysts to point to money as a difference-maker.
According to reports filed to the Federal Election Commission since the July 15 primary, Martin has reported raising $214,149.79 in contributions over $1,000 since the last vote.
In fact, campaign manager Ellery Gould said the total amount raised is much larger — 1,186 donations over the period were under $1,000, and so were not required to be immediately reported to the FEC.
Gould wouldn’t say more. But if the unreported donations averaged even $100, that’s a significant amount of last-minute cash.
Martin began the run-off with $56,237 in the bank.
Jones’ money situation remains a mystery. The DeKalb County CEO reported $150,366 in the bank as of June 30, with more than two weeks of campaigning to go in the first round of voting.
But the FEC’s file for Jones doesn’t show the required pre-runoff report from the candidate. And on July 25, the federal agency sent Jones notice that he had four days to comply.
There are no records of contributions to Jones since the July 15 primary, but remember that he did have enough to send out his “two-for-one” flyer of last week.
Much — but not all — of Martin’s money can be read as the state Democratic’s hierarchy making its choice.
Contributors include attorney Steve Leeds ($2,300); A.D. Frazier and wife ($2,000); state Rep. Kathy Ashe ($1,000); attorney Emmet Bondurant ($2,300); former party chairman David Worley ($2,300); developer John Wieland ($1,000); former Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor ($1,000); Michael Coles ($1,000); Keith Mason ($2,300); Buddy Darden ($2,000); Greg Hecht, who ran against Martin in the ’06 race for lieutenant governor ($1,000); and Columbus attorney Jim Butler ($2,300). National offices of several unions also contributed several thousands.
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Atlanta actuarial firm: McCain has 8.4 “healthy” years left, and Obama has 21.9
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An Atlanta actuarial firm says both presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama “can reasonably be expected to serve two full terms in good health.”
But just barely.
The 30-year-old Bragg actuarial company, which specializes in morbidity and mortality calculations, gives 71-year-old McCain a “healthy expectancy” of 8.4 years, taking into account his four bouts with melanoma of the skin.
Barack Obama, who turned 47 today, can expect 21.9 years of good health — a forecast shortened by 10 percent or so by his history of cigarette smoking.
“Either candidate can be expected to serve two full terms, without age or health being an issue,” said John M. Bragg, the firm chairman.
The company drew a distinction “health expectancy” and the more usual term “life expectancy.”
“In this analysis, ‘healthy’ means the person does not require the care provided by an assisted living facility and is free of Alzheimer’s disease,” Bragg said.
Age may be second only to race as a volatile issue in this presidential campaign. McCain, who has another birthday on Aug. 29, has taken pains to portray himself as a man of both vigor and good genes — sometimes bringing along his 96-year-old mother to campaign events.
James C. Brooks, a senior Bragg actuary, said the firm ran the numbers on Obama and McCain out of the same curiosity that most voters have.
Brooks said McCain’s health expectancy because of the candidate’s experience with skin cancer. “Less so than the cigarette smoking of Barack, but more so because he’s older,” he said.
The years assigned to each candidates are averages based on demographically similar pools of people, Brooks said. “They’re not predictors,” he said. Either candidate could beat his expectancy numbers, or fall short.
Accuracy could also depend on whether the health details publicly revealed by the candidates have been accurate, Brooks added.
The Bragg actuarial study is to appear next month in a newsletter published by the Society of Actuaries.
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Another part of the deal sealed: Rogers says he’ll run for majority leader
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) has made official his part of an internal state Senate bargain.
He has rejected a run for lieutenant governor in 2010, and instead has lowered his sights to the post of majority leader in the chamber.
Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) thus remains the only Republican state senator in the race to replace Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who is expected to run for governor.
Rogers wrote in a e-mail distribruted this morning:
Ultimately, the issue weighing heaviest on my mind is my four young children and the impact a race of this magnitude would have on them. After considerable prayer and reflection, I have concluded that running a two year statewide campaign, and if successful serving as Lt. Governor, is not in the best interest of my family at this time in our lives.
Political opportunity is indeed rare, but my responsibility as a father must come first….
It is with this commitment that I officially announce my intention to serve our State Senate as a candidate for the position of Majority Leader. After consultation with the Lt. Governor and many of my Senate colleagues, I am confident of their support and honored to be a voice for our shared conservative principles.
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Of energy and sugar: For Chambliss, a boost from Obama and more questions from Savannah
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss caught a big break over the weekend on his compromise energy package. And from the strangest source — Barack Obama.
On the other hand, the Republican senator, in the beginnings of a re-election bid, continued his tussle with the Savannah Morning News.
The newspaper has criticized the senator for harsh comments aimed at a whistle-blowing executive for Imperial Sugar, who says he warned the company of safety hazards at a local sugar refinery that exploded only weeks later. Thirteen died.
First the oil news:
The Democratic presidential candidate didn’t endorse Chambliss, who finds out tomorrow who is opponent in November will be.
Nor did Obama officially sign onto Chambliss’ signature issue of the general election — a bipartisan, “Gang of Ten” compromise on energy exploration and conservation.
But Obama did have kind words for the approach, which could be enough to give the package, pitched late last week, some legs when Congress reconvenes. And that might give Chambliss a significant platform well into the fall season.
From Dow Jones/CNN:
The campaign office for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., posted a statement that stopped short of an endorsement but praised the proposal as “a good faith effort” and “an important step in the process of reducing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.
Although Obama said he remained ” skeptical” that new offshore drilling will bring down gas prices in the short term, his comments opened the door toward working with the group, saying he welcomed “the establishment of a process that will allow us to make future drilling decisions based on science and fact.”
And here’s the word from Marinelog, an electronic newsletter for the oil platform industry:
A sign that the proposal might just overcome the partisan split on the issue is that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama has said that he welcomes the bipartisan effort as “an important step in the process of reducing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.”
Now, on to Savannah. In the Sunday editions of the Morning News, Larry Peterson highlighted Chambliss’ donations from the sugar industry:
Since January 2005, the industry has spooned the Georgia Republican $58,000 in campaign funds - more than any other U.S. senator except for New York Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.
And during the 2005-2006 election cycle, when Chambliss chaired the Agriculture Committee, he received $36,500 - tops in the Senate - according to the online political database OpenSecrets.org.
Observers say such rankings - plus his demeanor Tuesday at a Senate subcommittee hearing - suggest Chambliss is fronting for Imperial Sugar Co.
An op-ed piece by Chambliss appears today in the Savannah paper. In part, Chambliss says:
During the hearing, I believed it was necessary to ask the witness, who held himself out to be in charge of safety at the plant and had described the conditions as “shocking, dirty, dangerous, and combustible,” why he didn’t recommend the plant be shut down and cleaned up. The company had adhered to every one of his recommendations to that point, so I wanted to know why he had not proposed to management to shut down the facility and make it safe.
Because of that question, some accused me of taking a “cheap shot,” but the unfortunate reality here is people were seriously hurt and lives were lost when this situation clearly could have been prevented.
It is disappointing that members of the media chose to come down on the side of political cynicism. That is not what Georgians want, but unfortunately in this case, that is what they got.
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