U.S. Rep. David Scott, by accident or design, has become the leading African-American/Democratic critic of President Barack Obama in recent weeks.
First, the Atlanta congressman took on the White House (and Georgia colleague John Lewis) over the appointment of state Court of Appeals Judge Michael Boggs to the federal bench. That fight isn't yet over.
Now, Scott has become a harsh critic of the White House reaction to the latest scandal involving the Veterans Administration.
that aired on Tuesday:
"Secondly, there must be a justice department and FBI going into these hospitals and holding these people accountable. When you have our soldiers who are laying in wait for service, and they die, and then you have people in the VA covering it up and cooking the books – that is criminal action."
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is back up, spending gobs of money on the TV airwaves for Jack Kingston in the U.S. Senate race with an ad starring former University of Georgia star Herschel Walker -- a Kingston endorser whom the Savannah congressman mentions frequently on the stump.
The ad doesn't mention it, but Kingston is a Dawg, while David Perdue went to Georgia Tech.
The Chamber spent $920,000 on Kingston in the primary and the business lobby's runoff tab could be higher. A filing with the Federal Communications Commission shows that the Chamber is spending $519,450 on Atlanta broadcast television alone through June 17.
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U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Roswell, who declined a Senate run, is continuing to raise his profile in the U.S. House. Price is in line to be Budget Committee chairman next year -- after Paul Ryan leaves the post -- and is planning a "major fiscal policy address" at the conservative Heritage Foundation June 11 to talk about the lessons from Europe's recent austerity plans.
The Washington wonk crowd will be watching closely.
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Longtime GOP political operative Dan McLagan is known for his cutting zingers.
His latest came this week, after former congressman Bob Barr challenged former state Sen. Barry Loudermilk to a series of four "Lincoln-Douglas style" debates in their Republican primary runoff for the 11th District. McLagan, who serves as Loudermilk's spokesman, sent this email to our AJC colleague Jeremy Redmon:
"Allow me to translate. That's Bob saying 'I'm losing,' or maybe 'I surrender.' My French is a bit rusty. Winning campaigns campaign, losers mope and call for a debate every day because they are out of money and support. We debated (and won) eight times in the primary, have already confirmed three more in the runoff and there will doubtless be media-sponsored debates as well. Bob, stop while you still have a scrap of dignity. Oh, and au revoir and adieu."
Barr outlined his challenge in a news release Tuesday, saying he and Loudermilk should agree on a venue and date with one debate per county in the 11th District. The debates, Barr said, would be without "artificial time limits."
“Policy and issues are very complex, including topics such as Obamacare, the federal budget, and the Constitution, and they deserve more debate and discussion than short, one- or two-minute responses in a structured format,” said Derek Barr, Barr’s son and campaign manager.
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Gov. Nathan Deal uttered scarcely a word - kind or otherwise - about his two GOP primary challengers in the months leading up to last week's primary.
In fact, when asked by a Georgia Public Broadcasting reporter to explain his refusal to debate his rivals, the governor said the criticism from the opposition wasn't worth his time. “I haven’t heard anything that I think would be of any merit," Deal said.
But the stature of Deal's opposition has grown mightily since the incumbent Republican steamrolled state Superintendent John Barge and former Dalton Mayor David Pennington, running up more than 70 percent of the vote.
Said Deal:
"I thought the victory in the primary was a rather overwhelming margin, and those were two credible candidates. And I don't think anybody should take them for granted as not being someone that could have mounted a good campaign. I am very pleased with the response I'm getting as I go around the state of Georgia, and we're going to work harder between now and November."
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Former Dalton mayor David Pennington, meanwhile, may not be retreating into private life as quietly as he once suggested. He told the Dalton Daily Citizen that he hopes to expand a literacy program he helped introduce in his hometown and that he will publish a monthly economic newsletter focused on Georgia.
From the story:
"One thing we found out (during the campaign) is how surprised people are when we gave them some of the numbers on how poorly Georgia is doing. The third-highest teenage unemployment rate in America. The fourth-highest long-term unemployment rate in America. The fifth highest-poverty rate," Pennington said. "We are well on our way to becoming the poorest state in the nation."
One last thing to note: As he said on the campaign trail, the former Dalton mayor doesn't plan to endorse Deal or any other candidates for higher office.
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And so, on the ironic heels of Memorial Day, an era comes to a quiet end. From the Washington Post:
Hall lost to John Ratcliffe, a former U.S. attorney and small-town mayor who spent more than $500,000 of his own fortune to defeat the 18-term incumbent, especially on television ads that raised questions about whether 91-year old Hall was still fit to hold elective office….
Hall's defeat means that there will be no World War II veterans serving in Congress beginning next year. The only other remaining veteran of the war, Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), is planning to retire.
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