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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Gingrey — not that other M.D. — defends House GOP leadership. Against Rush. And Newt.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Reps. Tom Price of Roswell and Phil Gingrey of Marietta have much in common. Both are physicians. Both are from suburban Atlanta. Both recently lost their moustaches.
The similarities are so uncanny that, this afternoon, Politico.com threw Price into Rush Limbaugh’s line of fire. Instead of Gingrey.
You know that, last week, President Barack Obama warned congressional Republicans that bipartisan cooperation didn’t included constant repetition of Limbaugh’s talking points.
The syndicated radio talk show host had his say yesterday. Obama, Limbaugh said, is “obviously more frightened of me than he is [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell. He’s more frightened of me, than he is of, say, [House Minority Leader] John Boehner, which doesn’t say much about our party.”
This afternoon, Obama made a trip to Capitol Hill to press congressional Republicans for his economic stimulus package. Gingrey told our own Bob Keefe that he didn’t agree with Obama, but was still personally impressed by the man.
Somewhere in the Capitol Hill scrum, a Politico reporter also spoke to Gingrey, and asked him about Limbaugh’s characterization of Republican leaders in Congress. Gingrey took umbrage. But the reporter confused him with Price. An apology and retraction followed.
The following quotes are now attributed by Politico to Gingrey the Obstetrician rather than Price the Surgeon:
“I think that our leadership, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, are taking the right approach,” Gingrey said. “I mean, it’s easy if you’re Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks. You don’t have to try to do what’s best for your people and your party. You know you’re just on these talk shows and you’re living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of that thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn’t be or wouldn’t be good leaders, they’re not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell.”
The article continues:
Asked to respond to Gingrey, Limbaugh, in an email to Politico, wrote: “I’m sure he is doing his best but it does not appear to be good enough. He may not have noticed that the number of Republican colleagues he has in the House has dwindled….
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Gingrey on Obama: Impressive, and no teleprompter
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Phil Gingrey was among those House Republicans who on Tuesday received President Barack Obama’s Capitol Hill pitch on an economic stimulus package.
According to my AJC colleague Bob Keefe, our new Washington reporter, Gingrey said he had a brief exchange with the president as they were exiting, specifically about the Marietta congressman’s concerns about the second round of TARP funding, and whether any of the billions would go toward community banks — who are hurting, but don’t have the clout of a Bank of America.
Obama indicated that he’s on it. “He looked me right in the eye and he said, ‘We are working on that,’” the congressman said.
This was Gingrey’s first encounter with the new president. The congressman said he might not agree with Obama, but he was still impressed.
“I used to think he could not speak without a teleprompter, but I have to take that back now,” Gingrey said. “The president was very good. He knew he’d have some tough questions … and it was a very [respectful] dialogue.”
Associated Press photo: President Barack Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, center, arrive for meetings with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, escorted by House Sergeant of Arms Bill Livingood.
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House GOP tries to box Democrats on property tax hike
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House Republican leadership are trying to put Democrats in a box with some admirably cagey legislation that could end the homeowner’s grant next year and result in increased property taxes across the state.
According to my AJC colleague James Salzer, H.B. 143 would requiring the funding of the grants this fiscal year, which would save homeowners between $200 and $300.
Next year, the grants might be continued — and but they probably wouldn’t. It would depend on revenue, and it likely wouldn’t be funded until early 2010 even — if the money is available, which is unlikely. Without the grants, counties say they will have to pass the $428 million in lost revenue on to homeowners.
Many Republicans, Sonny Perdue among them, have long condemned the tax breaks, begun by Gov. Roy Barnes, as poor policy. But with every attempt to kill it, Democrats have cried tax hike. And have broadcast their intention to do so again during the 2010 elections.
The key to this legislation is the fact that the grant debate has always been confined to the budget. With this separate piece of legislation, sponsored by Larry O’Neal of Bonaire, chairman of House Ways and Means, Republicans intend to turn the tables on Democrats.
Should Democrats vote against it, the GOP would be able to accuse them of killing a tax break. Vote for it, and Democrats have endorsed the tax hike that Republicans are all but admitting will take place next year.
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Austin Scott confirms he’ll join 2010 race for governor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At a meeting of the House Republican caucus this morning, state Rep. Austin Scott of Tifton confirmed that he is indeed jumping into the 2010 race for governor.
The south Georgia lawmaker’s entrance is something of a surprise, though word had leaked out over the last few days as the legislator had shopped for advice and a staff.
He becomes the fourth Republican in the contest, and increases the likelihood of a costly runoff. Estimates are already floating around that a candidate will be required to raise between $3 million and $5 million to stay competitive.
Scott, 39, has charted his own course in the Legislature. He was one of the first to come to the defense of Glenn Richardson last year when the House speaker was challenged by David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge).
But you’ll remember that Scott was also the lone Republican in the small circle constructed by Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat, to orchestrate the hauling down of the ’56 state flag and its Confederate battle emblem.
Scott won a seventh term just last November, beating Democrat John Tibbetts by 53.5 to 46.5 percent.
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From elsewhere: The DOT puts the skids on Atlanta’s Beltline, and Franklin is — well, upset
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thomas Wheatley at Creative Loafing reports that the Georgia Department of Transportation and AMTRAK have, at least for now, derailed the city of Atlanta’s 22-mile Beltline:
Late last year, the city asked Norfolk-Southern, the rail and shipping company who had still had control of the rail line, to formally abandon the property. The process was supposed to be complete on Jan. 22.
But according to a source with close knowledge of the abandonment process and a helluva letter Mayor Shirley Franklin wrote to U.S. Congressman John Lewis seeking his assistance, GDOT filed an out-of-the-blue motion with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to halt the abandonment process.
According to the mayor’s letter, GDOT “enlisted the help of AMTRAK, which on January 21st took the brazen action of using its federal status to initiate condemnation proceedings on the corridor.”
In other words, GDOT and AMTRAK have put the brakes on a vital piece of the Beltline — and for the time being, put the project’s future in limbo.
The Loaf includes this angry letter from Franklin to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, reporting on GDOT’s alleged perfidy:
“For a state agency to now flip-flop and at the last minute attempt to derail a well thought out and partially implemented plan is truly appalling. Sadly, from what I have witnessed over the years, GDOT’s actions are consistent with its past behavior, and it is this behavior that has caused Georgia and Atlanta to lose out on millions in federal funding.”
Here’s a stray thought: Kasim Reed, who wants to be the next mayor of Atlanta and is Shirley Franklin’s good friend, sits on the Senate Transportation Committee that could decide whether DOT will become the dried husk of a bureaucracy that certain top Republicans would like to see.
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An update from House and Senate budget writers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You have to wade through seven minutes of other stuff to get there, but GPB’s “The Lawmakers” last night had an interview with Ben Harbin (R-Evans) and Jack Hill (R-Reidsville), chairmen of the House and Senate appropriation committees, respectively.
Both dropped some hints about their budget strategies.
Topics include property tax breaks and funding a statewide trauma service. Hill says Gov. Sonny Perdue’s proposed hospital tax could jeopardize the survival of some hospitals.
Harbin notes that the $10 car fee proposed by House Speaker Glenn Richardson last year to fund a trauma network “is still being looked at.”
