Rome - It's an argument that's frustrated Gov. Nathan Deal's campaign for months: Every time he touts an influx of education funding, his Democratic challenger, Jason Carter, argues that the K-12 budget should be increased even more.
The governor said he came up with the right answer last night, one that he should have rolled out in the debates. He told a crowd of 150 or so at his first stop Tuesday in Rome about his revelation.
"When I say I've added money for education, he says I cut. That's Washington math. I was in Congress. I know they only understand addition," he said of Democrats. "The only way they understand subtraction is the funding of the military."
We've tread this ground before, of course, and you can read the primer here.
The cheat sheet: Georgia's school funding formula calls for as much as $1 billion more in funding a year than state leaders have devoted. Deal says it needs to be updated and trumpets a more than $300 million K-12 influx in this year's budget. Carter says the education budget is a "shell game" that's dangerously underfunded.
Carter spokesman Bryan Thomas said Deal "spent 20 years in Washington, so I guess he's the expert."
"Sen. Carter knows that Georgia's students and families are feeling the brunt of Gov. Deal's billion dollar cuts to our schools," said Thomas. "Gov. Deal just can't stop playing Washington politics, and middle-class Georgians are worse off for it."
Deal says he'll press his "Washington math" argument the closing days of the campaign, a grueling stretch that crisscrosses the state. His schedule Tuesday begins in Rome and ends in rural southwest Georgia, with stops in Columbus, Macon, Albany and the tiny town of Blakely in between.
"Only in Washington math can you add money and still say you cut," Deal said. "The reality is that we at the state level have to balance the budget. You appropriate what you have. We don't print money. We can't run deficits. But in Washington you can print money. His argument makes no sense."
The governor's new close:
"If you want a governor who only understands Washington math, you should vote for Jason Carter," said Deal. "But if you want a governor who only deals with Georgia math - which deals with real money - than I hope you vote for me."
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