Our AJC colleague Aaron Gould Sheinin, traveling with Michelle Nunn, passes this along:
There was no finger wagging Thursday morning when Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Michelle Nunn joined former NBA great Dikembe Mutombo as he voted early in Fulton County.
The 7-foot-2 Mutombo was famous in his playing days for swatting away opponents shots and wagging his finger at them afterward. Mutombo did not wag that big digit at Republican David Perdue on Thursday and, in fact, was all business.
“I’m here with my friend Michelle Nunn, who will be our next senator,” Mutombo said to a few dozen supporters outside the Georgia Hills Neighborhood Facility in Grant Park. “I’m asking all my friends and their families, those who have not voted yet, please get this thing ready before Nov. 4 when it will be too late.”
Mutombo has made public service a focus of his post-playing days and he and Nunn worked together often over the past two decades.
“I’ve seen this extraordinary commitment to get things done,” Nunn said. “Dikembe shares with me a deep commitment to working across party lines.”
Afterward, Nunn spoke with reporters. Because of her commitment to working across party lines, does she understand voters’ frustration with the how the Affordable Care Act passed Congress without a single Republican vote? she was asked.
“Sure,” she said. “I think people have a lot of frustration with Washington. I spent the last 26 years outside Washington and doing something completely different, transcending party lines and focusing on problem solving.”
The fact Obamacare “had no bipartisan support is indicative of the fact that Washington isn’t working together.”
She reiterated her plan to “fix what’s broken with ACA” and called it a “perfect example of the paralysis in Washington.”
She wants to: “Add a more affordable tier of insurance for families and individuals. That’s been a problem. Also, make sure we’re sending tax credits to small businesses. We should repeal the cuts that are happening by our failure to expand Medicaid. If were focused on improving the lives of Georgians we would be focused on getting that done. “
On Perdue’s consistent labeling her as a would-be “rubber stamp” for President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Nunn tried to turn the tables.
“There is absolutely no evidence, except that I have said I have experience working across party lines and have committed to working across party lines,” she said. “What David represents is a rubber stamp for continued gridlock in Washington.”
Proving that even liberal haven Grant Park is not a Republican-free zone, a man walking his dog past the outside rally hollered in Nunn’s direction as she gave that last answer.
“Democrats are ruining this country,” the man bellowed from down below. “Get your hands out of my pockets!”
Nunn’s supporters laughed. One of them had her own dog with her, a golden retriever, that, as if on cue, barked in the heckler’s direction.
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