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August 2006
By faith alone do we cut corporations their slack
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It is gospel in the Church of the Fiscally Faithful that corporate tax credits are a good thing. They encourage business, they create jobs, they encourage growth. Don’t they?
Turns out, we don’t know for sure. We’ve been operating on faith alone. That’s “we” as in both Democrats and Republicans.
State Auditor Russell Hinton this month issued a report entitled “Internal Controls Over Corporate Income Tax Credits” within the state Department of Revenue.
Hinton’s staff took a look at 13 different kinds of tax credits the state has awarded businesses — for research, workforce education, to encourage the relocation of headquarters to Georgia, even for sending cigarettes abroad.
Here’s the key paragraph in the audit, which is available online:
“Georgia has forgone at least $284.5 million in potential income tax revenue due to tax credit use from 1999 through 2004 with little indication of any economic development benefits resulting from these tax expenditures.”
State law doesn’t require that the impact of these credits be collected and analyzed, “despite their having the same fiscal impact as direct program expenditures,” the report notes.
It’s something to keep in mind when we go after the next auto plant.
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Still suffering from the hangover, Democrats forswear the bottle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Four weeks ago, the GOP leadership of the Legislature told a task force appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue that — since the right people were now in control — all this talk of an independent commission to draw the state’s political boundaries was just plain silly.
On Wednesday, a team of out-of-power Democratic legislators faced the same panel. And with the air of repentant sinners, they declared that the time had come to make redistricting — if not apolitical — then less political.
“The temptation is just too strong, in my opinion,” said Doug Stoner of Smyrna, speaking for Senate Democrats. “I don’t exclude myself from that, in the sense of that temptation.”
State Rep. Jane Kidd of Athens, in the midst of a bid to replace Republican Brian Kemp in the Senate, offered evidence that Republicans are proving themselves just as talented at manipulating district lines as Democrats ever were. She faces Republican Bill Cowsert, Kemp’s brother-in-law, in November.
Last spring, to help assure that the seat would stay Republican, the GOP-controlled Legislature altered the boundaries for Senate District 46, splitting Athens and Clarke County in two — and increasing the number of Republican-leaning voters from 51 percent to 58 percent. “The public does not like to be jerked around like that,” Kidd said.
That particular Republican effort, in fact, prompted Perdue to appoint the task force — even as the governor signed the bill.
If elected, Kidd promised her first piece of legislation would be a constitutional amendment to put redistricting in the hands of an independent commission.
Judging by the questions with which Democrats were peppered, the panel appears headed toward recommending some form of non-partisan — or less partisan — buffer when it comes to redistricting.
Panelists, headed by former state Supreme Court chief justice Harold Clarke, focused on whether it was in fact possible to build a line-drawing commission that wasn’t subject to political pressure — in other words, who would appoint the line-drawers?
The panel has until the end of this year to decide.
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It’s all about the sheriffs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Over at Hotline on Call there’s an interesting analysis of party politics in Georgia and Arkansas. It makes an argument that a lot of old-timers would say amen to: That sheriff’s races, or in this case sheriffs’ endorsements, are the truest measure of where party politics is at the grassroots level.
There’s also a list of the 15 best down-ticket races in the country. We’d argue about Georgia: our choice would have been the ag commissioner’s race between Tommy Irvin, the state’s longest-serving Democrat, and a well-funded Republican opponent, Gary Black. But that’s what fun about lists.
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Putting Georgia politics on the couch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rarely in journalism is one allowed to roll Tom Cruise, Scientology, modern psychiatry and Georgia politics into a single ball of twine.
Such opportunities are meant to be savored. So pardon us if we unwind this knot an inch at a time.
You’ll remember that last year, the couch-jumping actor, who maintains a pew in the Church of Scientology, got into it with NBC anchor Matt Lauer over the topic of psychiatry. Something about Brooke Shields and the use of anti-depressants by women who’ve given birth.
Cruise declared this entire field of medicine to be an out-and-out fraud. “You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do,” the actor said. His remarks were forgotten before most of us could complain to our shrinks.
But on Monday, an exhibit at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta opened. It details exactly where Cruise got his history. The multi-media presentation is entitled “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death.”
Far from confining itself to your relationship with your mother, psychiatry, the exhibit claims, has engaged in a post-World War II conspiracy to establish a one-world government. Previous, though failed attempts at global domination include American slavery, Adolph Hitler’s program of eugenics, and Soviet gulags.
It is not endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association.
The exhibit is sponsored by the Atlanta chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a California-based organization backed by the Church of Scientology. That’s no surprise.
The ribbon-cutter at the exhibit’s opening was state Sen. Nancy Schaefer (R-Turnerville), a Christian fundamentalist who’s in a tight race to keep her north Georgia seat.
That was the surprise. Mostly for GOP strategists paid to worry about Democrats regaining control of the state Senate in November.
Schaefer said her presence could be explained by her long-time opposition to federal efforts to expand mental health care.
“I have legislation having to do with the mental health screening of children, and they have an exhibit that certainly talks about the mental health screening of children, and ADHD and children on Ritalin and many mind-altering drugs. And so that’s why I was there,” Schaefer said Tuesday.
A non-binding, 2005 resolution sponsored by Schaefer, which damned government probes into the minds of our little devils, declared that “it is important to understand that the powerful pharmaceutical lobby is behind this idea because of its eagerness to sell psychotropic drugs to millions of new customers, and federal bureaucrats are just as eager to control our lives.”
The measure went nowhere, but signers included Casey Cagle, now the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor.
Yes, Schaefer knew about the Scientology angle of her Monday gig. “My ideology is entirely different. But their research on this issue is excellent, and their exhibit is very good. I would urge people to go see the exhibit,” she said. “I have great concerns about the fact that 10 million children in America are on all of these drugs.”
The north Georgia senator’s relationship with the group goes beyond a single exhibit.
In an undated speech posted on a CCHR web site, Schaefer attacked the American Psychiatric Association “and its claim to a totalitarian stronghold on all mental health issues of our day that psychiatrists claim are mental health diseases but which in reality merely supports their leftist ideology.”
In fact, the CCHR lists Schaefer as a member of its board of advisors. Schaefer said she was told about this honor on Monday. “I said, well, I need for you to remove my name because I’m not a part of this organization in any way. I’m just a senator from Georgia,” Schaefer declared.
Meanwhile, Schaefer’s opponent, Democrat Carol Jackson, has begun follow-up radiation treatments following the removal of a small breast tumor three weeks ago.
Jackson, a former state senator, said some cancers cells were found, but the tumor was classed as stage one, non-agressive — “about the size of an English pea.”
It’s not going to interrupt her campaign, she said.
“We got it very early,” said Jackson, who discovered the tumor in a routine self-examination.
In response, Schaefer said she would suspend all campaign events through the Labor Day weekend, “while Jackson makes sure her health is sound.”
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Thank God for Hawaii. Georgia’s SAT scores rise from the bottom.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s celebration in the re-elect headquarters of Gov. Sonny Perdue over in Buckhead this morning.
Georgia is no longer mired at the bottom of the nation in SAT scores. Our glorious state has blown its ballast tanks, and is now only 46 fathoms below the surface. Last year we tied South Carolina for last place.
This year, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Hawaii all scored below Georgia. The bad news is that we have risen on the back of our improvement in language skills. Georgia students still suck at math, more so than any state in the nation.
Even so, today’s news means Perdue — not to mention state School Superintendent Kathy Cox — has dodged an embarrassing bullet. You’ll remember that the Republican’s campaign began to catch on four years ago, when 2002 scores put Georgia in last place.
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And we’re back. Just in time for the Georgia Litter Summit.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Honest. That may have been the hottest press release that crossed the desk on Monday.
So we’re not out of the doldrums of August yet. That said, serious intrigue of a political nature is afoot. Or could be.
For instance, we’ve been directed to the fact that a group calling itself Hawks for Georgia, with a working address of a Sandy Springs apartment complex, has reserved the following domain name on the Internet: www.glenninten.com.
The implication, of course, is that someone’s thinking that House Speaker Glenn Richardson might be a willing Republican candidate for governor in 2010.
Richardson says he knows nothing about the web site — which remains inactive. “It could be a joke, or wishful thinking,” said Michelle Hitt Grasso, his spokeswoman.
“Hawks,” you’ll remember, are those roving House members — a Richardson innovation — who can swoop down at a moment’s notice to cast deciding votes in committee meetings.
Then there was last week’s overlooked announcement by the leader of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, that his group would disassociate itself with the fading national organization once led by the Rev. Pat Robertson and his young protégé, Ralph Reed.
The Alabama chapter is the third to split from the Christian Coalition of America this year. This could matter to Georgia politics. John Giles, leader of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, is close to his Georgia counterpart, Sadie Fields.
Which raises the question of whether Fields might also take the Christian Coalition of Georgia independent. If she does, how might that affect the Georgia GOP’s get-out-the-vote efforts in November?
We’ve got a call into her, and will let you know.
Finally, there is the news that Republicans have selected Georgia’s 12th Congressional District as a battleground to maintain control of the U.S. House.
President Bush will host a Savannah area fund-raiser for Max Burns, the one-time incumbent trying to grab his seat back from Democrat John Barrow.
Burns is a good candidate — knowledgeable and well-spoken. And Barrow’s rookie status alone makes him vulnerable.
But the 12th is 40 percent African-American. That’s a black population 7 percent higher than any congressional district now held by Republicans. If the 12th is fertile ground, worth the plowing by a sitting president, one fears to contemplate the rocky acreage the GOP faces elsewhere.
Let’s hear from you on any or all of the above.
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Time for the August break
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Family matters are going to keep both your loyal insiders out of action for the next week. By the time we’re back, the general election campaign should be off and running, and there will be plenty to ruminate about.
Until then, discuss among yourselves. And Debbie, behave yourself.
Enough run-off talk. On to November.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Casey Cagle, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, began his general election campaign first thing Wednesday morning, by confirming that U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) be “the special guest” at a fund-raising luncheon on Oct. 9.
Cagle also announced that he’s lined up Gov. Sonny Perdue and every Republican congressman in the Georgia delegation to host fund-raisers for him this fall.
The devils they didn’t get
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One more bounce on the “moderate” topic. Think of all the strategies spun by Democrats this year that revolved around demonizing Ralph Reed, and all those spun by Republicans that depended on Cynthia McKinney being there to associate other Democrats with.
So now what are they going to talk about? Issues?
Jim Martin accepted his party’s nomination Tuesday night by describing himself as a church elder and a grandfather. Casey Cagle’s campaign responded to his win by promising to avoid personal attacks. Whoever thought that was going to be the race for lieutenant governor?
And since no one else has asked the question: Has secretary of state become the “woman’s race” in Georgia politics?
Triumph of the mods
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Not that every race in the country this year bears this out. But sitting here at the Hank Johnson victory party, with the sound of “Celebrate” filling the air, we can’t help but be struck by the success this year of candidates who’ve been called the ugliest name in modern politics: moderates.
The Johnson-McKinney race, the Jim Martin-Greg Hecht race, the Karen Handel-Bill Stephens race — all these were different, but we’d argue that in all of them voters chose the candidates they perceived as the less extreme choice within their parties. Litmus tests, it would seem, are out this year. You can even find evidence in the GOP ag commissioner’s race, where Gary Black, branded as a “liberal” by his opponents, was coasting with a 60 percent majority over Brian Kemp.
You saw the same pattern with Bob Corker’s victory last week in the GOP U.S. primary in Tennessee, and of course in the Ralph Reed-Casey Cagle race.
Tuesday’s marquee race, Ned Lamont’s victory over Joe Lieberman in Connecticut, could be read the other way. But that race was about something other than the traditional political labels. The big swing we see, in races in both parties’ primaries, is toward the middle.
The waiting game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At a little past 9:30, Hank Johnson came downstairs to his victory party at the Decatur Holiday Inn and announced to his supporters that “we’re in for somewhat of a long night.”
Worthy caution. Johnson was holding to a strong lead in the early returns, but DeKalb is still a blank in the early returns.
This is when the house band reverts from energizing funk to elongated lounge. There’s time to kill.
Greetings from the land beyond deadlines
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ve covered a lot of election night bashes, but tonight for the first time we’re doing it digitally.
We’ve set up at the bloggers’ table at the Hank Johnson celebration — so far anyway — in Decatur, with bloggers Will Hinton, Andre Walker and Jeff Emanuel. And not having a hard deadline feels…. nice.
Let us know what you’re hearing.
The 45 percent solution to run-offs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Monday, House Majority Leader Jerry Keen raised the possibility of tweaking Georgia’s election law to reduce the number of run-offs, by declaring a winner when the leading candidate passes the 45 percent mark.
It’s a matter of cost, the St. Simons lawmaker said. “In my county, we’ve had early voting for a week and had to open up all the polling places for two votes,” Keen said. (Think of it as the only thing that he and Cynthia McKinney might agree on.)
While he was jawing with reporters, Keen said he thought he’d read somewhere that, in a multi-candidate field, the candidate who reaches 45 percent or more wins 95 percent of the time.
That seemed like something that could be instantly vetted. Chuck Bullock, the University of Georgia political scientist, went home early to run the numbers on 30 years’ worth of run-offs. Few other people carry that kind of information on a hard drive.
As it turns out, the 45 percent bar is far from magic. Bullock’s research has found that, in Georgia over the past 30 years, the lead vote-getter in a contest wins the run-off 70 percent of the time. That’s without considering the lead vote-getter’s share of the initial vote.
If you just consider those cases in which the lead vote-getter wins 45 percent or more in the first balloting, chances of victory are only mildly greater — 74 percent.
On the other hand, Jim Dobson might object
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This week’s issue of U.S. News & World Report speculates on the topic of succession among evangelical leaders who came to power in the 1980s — think Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson — but are now getting long in the tooth.
Says the news weekly: “One idea percolating in conservative circles: Make Ralph Reed, the former top Robertson aide who lost his bid to be Georgia’s lieutenant governor, the movement’s new leader.”
The 4th District race and “Arab-baiting”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Arab American Institute has chided Hank Johnson, challenger to Cynthia McKinney in Tuesday’s Democratic run-off for the 4th District, for alleged use of an ethnic slur in this weekend’s debate on WSB-TV.
The Washington-based organization has asked Johnson to retract certain statements. No doubt Johnson will consider this request, some time after the last poll closes.
Here are excerpts:
Dear Mr. Johnson,
Your comments in a recent debate with Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney are disturbing.
We recently viewed a tape of the debate, including a portion in which you commented that an “abundant number of contributors to Ms. McKinney’s campaign have Palestinian and Arab surnames. Now I could accuse her of being under the control of terrorists.”
It is especially in the course of a heated debate during a tight race that it is important that candidates not fall back on ethnic slurs, regardless of whether those smears are targeted at Arab Americans or African Americans.
Your use of Arab-baiting as a means by which to score political points do not reflect well on you.
Accordingly, I would request that you recognize the inappropriateness of your comments and publicly retract that statement.
As an elected official operating in a deeply divided political environment such as the one we have, you owe your constituents more. You should be providing leadership and examples of civil discourse. Unfortunately, in this instance, you chose to disrespect an entire segment of the electorate.
Sincerely,
Nidal M. Ibrahim
Executive Director
Another three-exception target in the abortion fight
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Postcards from Georgia Right to Life hit Hall County on Monday, declaring that Lee Hawkins is “the only pro-life” candidate in the Republican run-off for the Senate District 49 seat.
This will be news to the congregation of the First Baptist Church of Gainesville, where Mark Musselwhite — Hawkins’ rival — is a deacon.
The postcard also declares Bill Stephens to be the only pro-life candidate in the Republican run-off for secretary of state, which also includes Karen Handel. So once again the narrow fight over when to permit abortions has become a last-minute issue in Republican ranks.
Here’s the deal: Anti-abortion groups long conceded that abortion could be allowed in three cases — rape, incest and when the life of the mother was at stake. Four years ago, Georgia Right to Life adopted a policy which recognized only one exception — the life of the mother. The separate, National Right to Life organization maintains its three-exceptions policy.
In Georgia, the argument has become a matter of who gets to decide what “pro-life.” means.
Musselwhite, like Handel, is a three-exception candidate. “Musselwhite is deeply opposed to — and would ban — 99 percent of all abortions,” said his campaign consultant, Clint Austin. “It’s unfair to say that a candidate who meets National Right to Life standards, who has the same position as George W. Bush, can be cast out as not pro-life.”
Sonny to join the fight over National Guard
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re told Sonny Perdue, along with other governors, will put his signature to a bipartisan letter protesting a quiet move in Congress to shift control of the National Guard to the president in times of crisis.
The provision was tucked into the House version of a defense bill without any notice to the governors. The measure will be hashed out next month by House and Senate conferees.
Opposition among governors is being led by Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckaby, who said the move “violates 200 years of American history” and is symptomatic of a larger federal effort to make states no more than “satellites of the national government.”
Here’s a link to the Washington Post article on the topic that ran over the weekend.
The latest word in campaign finance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The latest campaign disclosure filing from Bill Stephens, one of two GOP candidates in a run-off for secretary of state Tuesday, is on-line now.
Campaign manager Katie Grove cited technical problems after the form failed to appear on the state web site over the weekend.
Stephens has raised $131,120 in the last few weeks, almost exactly as much as rival Karen Handel.
About $19,000 came from a pool of current and former state lawmakers, plus two congressmen — Nathan Deal and Lynn Westmoreland.
Big-name contributors include Bernie Marcus ($1,000), Zell Miller ($1,000) and Virgil Williams ($6,000 from two entities).
Lobbyist Bruce Bowers gave $2,000, which takes the sting out of the $2,000 that his dad gave to Handel.
Of money, politics and snipe-hunting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite what you’ve heard — and read, and seen — Tuesday isn’t just about Cynthia McKinney, Hank Johnson, and the 4th Congressional District.
Four statewide races will be determined by that rarest of creatures, the run-off voter. Two contests are Democrat, two Republican.
Low interest in the races makes polling the political equivalent of a snipe hunt — either useless, or mythical, or both. But we do have the final campaign finance disclosures that most of these eight candidates filed over the weekend.
Money doesn’t tell you which way the wind is blowing. But it does tell you which way certain people — especially those in tax brackets we all dream of — think the wind is blowing. Here’s a run-down:
Democratic lieutenant governor:
In reports filed this weekend, Jim Martin of Atlanta for the first time can say that he’s raised more cash than Greg Hecht of Jonesboro.
Martin has raised $1,578,858. Hecht claims $1,568,356 — a piddling difference that isn’t the story. What’s important is that, in the last few weeks, Martin has raised $426,930 to Hecht’s $132,341.
Hecht continues to pay for an inflammatory flyer he mailed out just before the July 18 primary, which twisted the words his opponent used to describe a bill to reform Georgia’s rape laws. Hecht has apologized, but private and public sanctions continue.
On Sunday, the Macon Telegraph withdrew its endorsement of Hecht. “In a sea of dirty tricks, it’s important to draw the line somewhere,” the editorial said.
Creative Loafing, an alternative newspaper in Atlanta, did the same last week. But the Telegraph’s blow strikes at Hecht’s strategy of rallying Democrats outside Atlanta to his cause.
Republican agriculture commissioner:
State Sen. Brian Kemp of Athens has raised $156,670 to get himself through the run-off, compared to $138,139 raised by agri-business lobbyist Gary Black of Commerce. But Kemp’s total includes a $50,000 personal loan.
In this race to become the champion of Georgia farmers, the amounts are less important than the source of the cash.
For the run-off, Black was able to line up cash from Michael Bowers ($1,000), a confidant of Gov. Sonny Perdue; U.S. Rep. John Linder ($3,000), dean of the Georgia congressional delegation; and the Loose Group ($3,000), a collection of wealthy and very conservative Republicans.
For what it’s worth, Black also was the beneficiary of a $1,500 in-kind contribution from Critter magazine.
Kemp, meanwhile, has relied on his Senate colleagues for much of his support. They’ve kicked in just under $15,000 for the run-off. That includes $3,000 each from Senate president pro tem Eric Johnson of Savannah, and state Sen. Bill Heath of Bremen.
The Senate’s collective effort was largely responsible for pushing colleague Casey Cagle past Ralph Reed in last month’s GOP race for lieutenant governor. The question is whether the chamber can do it again.
Republican secretary of state:
We haven’t been able to find state Sen. Bill Stephens’ disclosure report on the state web site. But the report from his rival, Karen Handel, is available and drips with big-name Republican contributors.
Handel, currently chairman of the Fulton County Commission, raised $131,046 to get her through the run-off. Donors include Bob Barr ($1,000); the aforementioned Bowers ($2,000); Fred Cooper ($3,000), the long-time GOP leader; and state Sen. David Shafer of Norcross ($3,000).
Democratic secretary of state:
Gail Buckner of Jonesboro, a member of the state House, has raised $160,675 for the run-off. But that includes a $150,000 personal loan.
Darryl Hicks of Fayetteville, most recently a lobbyist for AGL Resources, has raised $24,311 in the latest period. That includes a $100 check from the famed gospel group, Blind Boys of Alabama.
A compendium of TV and radio ads in the 4th
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You’ve read the reviews elsewhere on ajc.com. Now see the movie. Or movies.
Below is a collection of links to the TV and radio ads that Hank Johnson and incumbent Cynthia McKinney are fussing over in the final weekend before the Democratic run-off in the 4th District congressional race.
Johnson is betting the farm on a final TV ad that focuses on McKinney’s effectiveness rating by congress.org. On black radio stations, he accuses McKinney of missing a vote on the Voting Rights Act.
McKinney is doing the same on a 30-second spot that takes aim at Johnson’s alleged association with landfill interests. The radio spots that we’ve found on her web site take aim at Johnson’s receipt of Republican money. We’re not quite sure what she’s got on air.
Click here for:
Hank Johnson’s TV ad attacking Cynthia McKinney on her effectiveness in Congress.
Johnson’s radio ad accusing McKinney of missing a Voting Rights Act vote.
McKinney’s TV ad that accuses Johnson of landfill ties.
McKinney radio spot that targets Johnson’s Republican money
McKinney’s audio clip featuring Andrew Young’s endorsement.
McKinney’s “glass house” radio spot accusing Johnson of accepting landfill money.
And now a bit of McKinney’s mail
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You’ve already seen some of Hank Johnson’s fund-raising efforts below. It’s only fair that we give you a peek at what Cynthia McKinney is putting out to liberal groups. Below are the contents of an Aug. 1 plea to various political action committees:
To: PAC Coordinator/Government Relations Director
RE: Request for maximum PAC contributions and 10 volunteers for one weekend
I am working hard to return to Washington to continue to support your issues. I have turned up the heat in my “Refuse to [Lose] Campaign.” As the Peace and Justice Democrat, I would like to thank you so much for your support. I need your help once again. As you know, I’m in a run-off on Aug. 8, a new election cycle. Therefore, I’m asking for a maximum PAC contribution from you as soon as possible. We also need volunteers.
Your support is urgent and needed immediately. Please overnight express mail to:
Cynthia McKinney for Congress P.O. Box 371125 Decatur, Ga. 30037
I am also requesting that 10 volunteers come to us as soon as possible to spend two or more days with us. Your consideration is greatly appreciated in advance.
Please visit our campaign website at www.cynthiaforcongress.com
Again, thank you for your support,
Cynthia McKinney
The newest, old front in the Arab-Israeli war
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hank Johnson is making a bid for Jewish money and support in his run-off contest against Democratic incumbent Cynthia McKinney in the 4th District race.
Here’s the text of a letter that’s circulating via e-mail, aimed at local supporters of Israel. Very reminiscent of the fight between McKinney and Denise Majette in 2002. But note that Johnson promises to stay put.
To wit:
“Friends and neighbors:
“I’m Hank Johnson, and I’m running for Congress against Cynthia McKinney in Georgia’s 4th Congressional District.
“I forced Cynthia into the August 8th runoff, and now I need your help to finish the job.
“It’s time for Cynthia to go.
“We will no longer tolerate those who apologize for doctrines of hateful violence and refuse to accept Israel’s right to exist, nor will we tolerate those who solicit the support of corrupt Arab regimes.
“Cynthia McKinney’s irrational understanding of international affairs and the Middle East is not just wrong, it’s dangerous. Her shrill, conspiracy-theorist politics alienate colleagues, misrepresent voters, and make us and our allies less secure.
“Your financial contributions in these final hours are essential to our success. If you are able to contribute, please do so using my online contribution form. Donations of any size — $50, $250, $500, $2,100 — can make the difference.
“I am interested in progress, not headlines. I will serve with humility, integrity, and conviction. I pledge to uphold and defend Israel’s right to exist, and I pledge that, if elected, I will not abandon you to seek higher office.
“Help me defeat Cynthia.
“We have the momentum, and I can win.
I need your votes and your help. Please tell your friends, family, neighbors and associates about this opportunity on Tuesday, Aug. 8, to return respect to the 4th and remove a menace from office.
“Please forward this e-mail to just five friends.
“I will be a leader you can be proud of.
“On Tuesday, August 8, elect a leader who is interested in solutions, not headlines.
“Elect a leader who will serve with integrity and conviction — leader who will stay true to his principles while never abandoning common sense. |
“On Tuesday, August 8, vote for a new direction and boot Cynthia once and for all.
“On Tuesday, August 8, vote for Hank Johnson.”
You can’t vote for Diana DeGarmo
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Rep. John Barrow and U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall are on the same team, running as targeted incumbent Democrats in the 12th and 8th Districts. But they’re rivals for the attention of former Sen. John Edwards.
On his One America Votes website, Edwards is holding a competition to determine which two of 48 Democratic congressional candidates he will headline fundraisers for this fall. In a year when their hopes are rising, most of the Democrats are challengers, but the list of 48 includes the incumbents, like Barrow and Marshall, who are on the top of the GOP’s hit list.
The deadline for voting is Friday.
Campaigning for your party’s candidates has always been something presidential aspirants do, by the way, but with the ’08 race shaping up so early, and with so much on the line for both parties this fall, we predict you’ll see more of this year than ever before.
Whither Big Chicken?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Back before the primary we noted the energy building in the Republican agriculture commissioner’s race, and the heavy response to yesterday’s item about a Brian Kemp flyer indicates how hot the runoff has become.
Here’s a cityslicker question. Chicken farmers comprise a huge portion of the state’s agriculture overall, but if there’s been an indication where they’re leaning in this race, we haven’t heard it. Anybody want to peck at that one?
For those who think politics and sex don’t mix
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We received a campaign e-mail Wednesday from Bill Stephens, who’s locked in a statewide run-off against Karen Handel in the Republican race for secretary of state.
It ended with a series of quotes, under the headline “What folks are saying about Bill.”
One of the paragraphs read thusly: “[Governor Perdue and I] have absolutely been supportive of Senator Stephens.” It was attributed to Nick Ayers, the governor’s youthful campaign manager.
At least among Republicans, Perdue is extremely popular. With President Bush’s coattails shrinking into his collar, it’s only natural for candidates to cling to the current Republican governor, whose approval numbers remain high.
One of Handel’s mailers, for instance, featured photographs of the candidate with virtually every member of the governor’s staff.
That said, the quote from Stephens rankled Perdue’s re-election campaign.
Partially because it seemed to violate the thin, neutral line the governor has tried to walk in the race. Partially because, Perdue’s people attest, the quote isn’t genuine.
But they objected mostly because the apparent endorsement could, shall we say, interfere with the entirely spiritual congress between Ayers and his new bride, Jamie.
Jamie Ayers, a cousin of the governor, is employed by the Handel campaign as a fund-raiser.
Said Derrick Dickey, mouthpiece for the Perdue campaign: “We have a great deal of respect for both candidates, but if Nick had said that, he’d be sleeping on the couch for weeks.”
LATE ADDITION: As it turns out, Ayers said exactly what he was quoted as saying. Katie Grove, campaign manager for Stephens, called Thursday morning and pointed to a July 17, 2004 newspaper article. The topic was Stephens’ state Senate race against Lauren “Bubba” McDonald.
Not exactly what people “are saying” about Stephens. More like, what they said in the last cycle.
So maybe he doesn’t deserve the couch. Just the spare room.
Herman Cain goes under the knife
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As we write this, Herman Cain, the former Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, is undergoing cancer-related surgery at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Cain entered the operating room at 8:30 a.m. EDT, and is expected to remain there until 6:30 p.m., according to his spokeswoman, Ericka Pertierra. Cain was diagnosed with colon cancer this spring, and has been undergoing chemotherapy in preparation for the surgery.
Pertierra said surgeons are removing tumors on the colon and the liver, and expect Cain to make a full recovery.
Even the ag commissioner race heats up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today’s mailbox included — from what we can tell — the first attack flyer in the Republican run-off for state agriculture commission.
It’s a piece issued by Brian Kemp, a state senator from Athens. He’s calling for a 10 percent cut in spending for the state Department of Agriculture. We haven’t gotten much into this contest, but apparently Kemp’s rival, Gary Black, a lobbyist for agri-business, has counseled caution in this area.
“Gary Black calls Kemp’s plan ‘irresponsible,’” thunders the mail piece.
Yet another 4th District poll
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Matt Towery and his Insider Advantage have a tracking poll in the 4th District congressional run-off between Democrats Hank Johnson and incumbent Cynthia McKinney.
The survey, released this afternoon, shows Johnson at 49 percent, but also has McKinney increasing her support to 34 percent. Seventeen percent remain undecided.
If the numbers are solid, it’s not good new for McKinney — and would not be good news for any incumbent.
The survey was conducted Monday evening, the night of the GPTV/Atlanta Press Club debate between the two candidates. Again, this is a tracking poll, the first day of a series of cumulative, rolling surveys.
It’s based on interviews with 300 likely voters, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.
View the entire survey here, but — fair warning — this is a subscription site.
McKinney vs. Johnson and a definition of clout
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
That was an intriguing punching match between Cynthia McKinney and Hank Johnson last night.
Consider it a contest between McKinney’s enthusiastic glibness and Johnson’s plodding - supporters would say relentless - attacks on the incumbent congresswoman’s fondness for excess.
One of the questions is whether anti-McKinney voters are at all bothered by Johnson’s financial troubles, which include a bankruptcy. His sonambulant nature shouldn’t hurt him - and could in fact help him with his work-horse-not-a-show-horse campaign. Think Casey Cagle versus Ralph Reed, Joe Frank Harris versus Bo Ginn.
While you’re kicking this around, here’s something to chew over: McKinney repeatedly said on Monday night, televised nationally on C-SPAN, that congress.org had rated her highest on legislation among the Democratic members of Georgia’s congressional delegation - even above U.S. Rep. John Lewis.
True enough. But not the whole truth. What she referred to was only a partial ranking by congress.org, a score based on the fact that she was the only Democratic member of the Georgia delegation to successfully introduce legislation in 2005. In that category, McKinney came in at No. 285 among 437 House members.
The McKinney legislation would lay the groundwork for the Arabia Mountain national park in DeKalb County. It passed the House on July 24, but still requires Senate approval. Ironically, Johnson criticized McKinney for missing a post-primary vote on the legislation.
But in In its comprehensive “power rankings,” - which includes such things as committee position and general influence - congress.org put McKinney, a 12-year veteran, second to last in the Georgia delegation, at No. 408. Just ahead of rookie U.S. Rep. John Barrow of Savannah.
In terms of total clout, Lewis ranked seventh in a 13-member Georgia delegation, ahead of Republicans Lynn Westmoreland and Phil Gingrey.
