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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Talking points emerge: Newt Gingrich takes John McCain’s side on halting debate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Newt Gingrich, the former U.S. House speaker who’s been arguing against the Bush Administration’s bail-out plan, just came out hard in support of Republican John McCain’s call for postponing Friday’s presidential debate.
“He put everything on the line to try to put together a bipartisan sizable economic package to replace the failed Paulson bailout package,” Gingrich said in a statement just issued by his people. “This is the greatest single act of responsibility ever taken by a presidential candidate and rivals President Eisenhower saying, ‘I will go to Korea.’”
About Democrat Barack Obama’s contention that the debate should go on, Gingrich said:
“It is surprisingly irresponsible and politically dangerous for the Obama campaign to try and insist on a debate Friday night….
“The American people, in this kind of economic situation, want to see their elected leaders working to solve this crisis, not debating…I’m not sure Senator Obama has ever participated in a crisis of this magnitude at this level, but he should set aside politicking and commit to working with Senator McCain to find a solution to this problem.”
Read the entire Gingrich statement on the jump.
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Newt on Senator McCain’s Decision to Suspend His Campaign to Forge an Agreement on the Financial Crisis:
The McCain Leadership Factor
Today John McCain showed what it meant to put country first.
He put everything on the line to try to put together a bipartisan sizable economic package to replace the failed Paulson bailout package.
This is the greatest single act of responsibility ever taken by a presidential candidate and rivals President Eisenhower saying, ‘I will go to Korea.’
Every House and Senate Republican should join him in seeking the best ideas and the best solutions from across the country.
This is the day the McCain-reform Republican Party began to truly emerge as a movement which puts country first, solutions first, and big change first.
If House and Senate Republicans can help McCain put together a three part economic package history could be made.
We need:
— An economic growth component;
— An energy solution; and
— A work-out (not a bail-out) for the financial sector.
If McCain can develop this plan, bring enough Democrats to support it to get passage, and then convince President Bush to sign it, this will be one of the most amazing achievements in the history of presidential campaigns.
It will also be a great service to the country and proof of what putting country first really means.
Newt on Senator Obama Refusing to Suspend His Campaign:
As Speaker of the House, I know what being in deep negotiations is and what it takes to get members in Congress to get something done. We were able to work through welfare reform and a balanced budget. Let me just tell you first hand, what Senator McCain is proposing will take extraordinary hard work and it is going to take many long hours.
It is surprisingly irresponsible and politically dangerous for the Obama campaign to try and insist on a debate Friday night.
While both of these men are candidates for president, they are still both currently serving as United States Senators. The American people, in this kind of economic situation, want to see their elected leaders working to solve this crisis, not debating. They want this problem fixed and that will mean getting real bipartisan agreement. .All members on both sides in both houses including Senators McCain and Obama are going to have to roll up their sleeves, sit down, listen to each-other, and work very hard to get it done.
I’m not sure Senator Obama has ever participated in a crisis of this magnitude at this level, but he should set aside politicking and commit to working with Senator McCain to find a solution to this problem.
The economy can’t wait, postpone the debate. We can get back to talking later. For the moment, let’s produce a real solution for America.
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Ousted Jekyll board member alleges corruption, wants a grand jury investigation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Monday, Ed Boshears of Brunswick got a call from the office of Gov. Sonny Perdue, informing the attorney that he would not be reappointed to the Jekyll Island Authority.
Instead, Perdue had decided to name retiring state Rep. Richard Royal (R-Camilla) to the board.
Boshears has been a vocal critic — not of the idea of redeveloping state-owned Jekyll Island — but the manner in which it is being done.
He tapped out a letter. A long letter. One that accused the Perdue administration of engineering a sweetheart deal with a big Republican donor with strong connections to George W. Bush and, now, John McCain.
Boshears calls for a grand jury investigation and demands that Perdue “cease any involvement at all in the management and control of Jekyll Island.” He wants two of his colleagues removed for unethical activity.
A spokesman for the governor said Boshears’ allegations are untrue. “None of these things are based in reality,” said Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley.
Brantley also said Boshears was not removed for any particular reason. “This appointment is about Representative Royal and the good work that he’s going to bring to the authority,” Brantley said.
Royal was unavailable for comment — he underwent heart bypass surgery this morning.
Click here to download a copy of the entire letter. The governor has been sent a copy. Attorney General Thurbert Baker has received one, too, we’re told. But in part, Boshears said this:
“This was intended to be a massive give-away of State property to Mercer Reynolds, Finance Chairman for John McCain’s presidential campaign. This would have amounted to the greatest theft of State property since the Yazoo land frauds 200 years ago.
“Now, when Reynolds and his group are preparing to offer a new plan, the Governor has decided to remove me from the Jekyll Board. The reasons for that are obvious.”
Boshears accused the governor of accepting “presumably” free vacations from a potential investor. The attorney said his colleagues on the authority secretly negotiated a deal with the owners of land once occupied by the Buccaneer Hotel.
Wrote Boshears:
These developers, like Linger Longer, have close political connections to the Republican Party. Mr. [Ben] Porter and [board chairman Robert] Krueger sought to prevent me from finding out about the terms of this agreement.
Another new hotel being built will be paying 4% of gross revenue to the Authority as rent while these developers of the Buccaneer site will be paying 0% of revenue to the Authority. This “sweetheart” deal will cost the Authority $10,000,000.00 that we desperately need.
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First thoughts on McCain’s call to delay presidential debates
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Republican John McCain says he’s directed his staff to work with Barack Obama’s campaign and the presidential debate commission to delay Friday’s debate — because of the economic crisis.
“It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the administration’s proposal,” McCain said. “I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time,” McCain said.
Not to be too cynical, but here’s McCain’s dilemma:
Yes, the topic of Friday’s debate is national security, as many of you have pointed out. But given the attention that the Wall Street situation has earned, it would be unrealistic not to expect the two candidates to be questioned about it. At some point, the economy is a national security issue.
Opposition is building among conservative Republicans to a federal bailout. Newt Gingrich is among the leaders. See a previous post here.
Remember that Vice President Dick Cheney was given an earful by the House GOP caucus on Tuesday when he tried to sell the Bush package. Georgia GOP members are among the skeptical.
Presume that Democrats, because they control Congress, will get the protections they deem necessary to earn their approval. For instance, the New York Times is reporting that the Bush Administration is now willing to concede the issue of limits on executive pay.
But Republican qualms are ideologically based, and unlikely to be satisfied.
Should McCain endorse the package — as U.S. senators, both he and Obama will be asked to vote on it — then the Republican risks alienating a GOP base that was just won back by the nomination of Sarah Palin as vice president.
Vote against it, and McCain chances giving Obama the most important issue of the campaign.
CNN and ABC News is reporting that Obama is less than inclined to postpone the debate.
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Isakson, Price and Linder make ‘50 richest in Congress’ list
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson and U.S. Reps. Tom Price and John Linder have made Roll Call’s list of 50 richest members of Congress.
Isakson, worth $8.2 million, came in at No. 38, behind the likes of Teddy Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat. That state’s other senator, John Kerry, topped the list compiled by the D.C. newspaper.
According to Roll Call:
Isakson reports a stable fortune, increasing his net worth less than 2 percent over his 2006 values….
The lawmaker’s assets include a mix of real estate and stocks, including Synovus, a financial services company. Isakson lists an investment of $1 million to $5 million in the company.
Price, a resident of Roswell, came in at No. 42. He’s worth $6.99 million. Despite the downturn, and with much of his money invested in annuities, Price has had a good year.
“The Georgia lawmaker’s net worth increased nearly 15 percent, or about $1 million, in the past year,” the newspaper said.
Linder, who hails from Duluth, is worth $5.67 million. He had a capital gain of more than $5 million from his 2007 sale of holdings in Grayling Industries, Roll Call reported.
All that said, the newspaper’s piece opened with this warning:
Everything that you are about to read might be wrong.
Roll Call’s annual attempt to rank the riches of Members of Congress is hampered by one fundamental flaw: It is based on the lawmakers’ financial disclosure forms, which are extraordinarily unreliable sources of information.
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Petroleum chief: Perdue ignored early call for gas rationing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On the editorial pages of today’s AJC, Tex Pitfield, president and CEO of Saraguay Petroleum in Atlanta, has this barb for Gov. Sonny Perdue:
As we go to work today, the number of gas stations out of gas will have escalated and the situation won’t abate much over the coming weeks. This shortage, for the most part, was avoidable.
I advised Gov. Sonny Perdue of the impending crisis on Sept. 11, well before Hurricane Ike made landfall. I suggested that the state implement rationing of some form or, perhaps, limiting purchases at the pump. While he acknowledged my concerns, my suggestions fell on deaf ears.
Although Perdue’s office announced a waiver Friday night, allowing other gasoline into the Atlanta area, the intricacies woven into the waiver made it basically impossible for carriers or stores to benefit.
The state has now gotten approval for a broader waiver, but this should have been done weeks ago. During Katrina and Rita, this waiver was granted unconditionally and immediately, when shortages were not as apparent as they are today.
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Democrats may spank Chambliss for dumping on refinery whistleblower
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In a piece posted on InsiderAdvantage this morning, Hastings Wyman says that Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss is still the safe bet in Georgia’s race for the U.S. Senate.
But Wyman also points to “some factors that suggest Chambliss’ challenger, former legislator Jim Martin, may do better than expected.”
And he also has this tidbit:
There are unconfirmed reports that the Democrats plan to attack Chambliss for his role in a US Senate hearing on the sugar refinery explosion in Savannah in which 13 workers were killed.
Some observers felt that Chambliss stuck up for the Imperial Sugar Company, rather than a whistle-blower who had reportedly warned company officials early on of potential safety problems. So far, however, the attack has not materialized.
Here’s an original post on the topic, from back in July.
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