Foes in 7th don’t cross paths

The Democrat trying to unseat one of Georgia’s longest-serving Republican congressmen says he’s spent much of 2008 shadowboxing a largely absent opponent.

Democrat Doug Heckman released two television commercials accusing Rep. John Linder of being AWOL during campaign events.

But Linder’s not worried. He says he’s been out on the campaign trail and he hasn’t seen Heckman, either.

“I haven’t seen him anywhere, Linder said. “I’ve been giving speeches and meeting people and he’s never shown up.”

Despite having a resume that many voters might find attractive —- Heckman is an Iraq combat veteran —- and despite predictions of a banner election year for Democrats, political experts give Heckman little chance of beating Linder.

The Gwinnett County-based 7th District is no longer the monolithic GOP enclave it once was. It is growing more ethnically diverse, but it hasn’t changed enough to flip the seat to the Democrats, said University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock.

“Democrats are getting very excited and they are broadening the range of their targets,” Bullock said, “but I don’t think the 7th District is one of those where the Democrats are going to strike gold.”

Linder appears confident of his own re-election. The Republican legislator has more than a 10-to-1 cash advantage over Heckman in the campaign’s final stretch. But Linder hasn’t spent any money on campaign commercials.

Campaign finance reports released last week show Heckman actually outraised Linder in the third quarter of 2008. Heckman raised more than $20,000. Linder raised $16,470.

But Linder didn’t need to raise more money. He had nearly $700,000 going into the quarter. Heckman, on the other hand, has raised $169,635 since he launched his campaign.

Asked if he had been ignoring his opponent, Linder replied, “I am doing what I think I need to do.”

Heckman said he doesn’t mind the lack of attention from his opponent.

“If he’s going to play the game of ‘this guy’s not a threat so I’m going to ignore him,’ that’s good for me,” Heckman said. “We’re going to pull an upset.”

One commercial released by Heckman on Monday shows the Democrat standing next to an empty lectern. The footage was taken from an Atlanta Press Club debate that Linder did not attend. Linder said he turned down the debate invitation to meet with lawyers regarding a lawsuit in which he is involved. Linder refused to divulge the subject of the suit, which has not been filed.

Heckman’s second commercial includes footage of Linder at a 2007 town hall meeting. In the video clip, Linder says, “I don’t come here to reflect your views or anyone else’s views. I reflect my own views.”

In the same commercial Heckman states, “John Linder doesn’t care about your views, only his own.”

Linder accused Heckman of taking his comments out of context.

Linder said he’d been heckled by Iraq war opponents who had attended the meeting. “They were pretty rowdy,” Linder said. “One lady stood up and said, ‘You have an obligation to represent our views and we want out of Iraq.”

“I’ve been in this business for 34 years and for 34 years I’ve told constituents I have an obligation to tell you where I stand,” Linder said. “And you have a choice whether to throw me out.”