Archive for July, 2010

Democrats will approach the fall election with a new messagefor voters,  stressing the GOP and tea party are one and the same. The new strategy emphasizes Republican goals are inseparable from the tea party’s, from killing off Medicare to abolishing the departments of Education and Energy. In response, Republicans say the Democrats’  “arrogant agenda” has so frustrated voters that they want a new party in charge.  Read more

Continue reading New Democratic strategy: Paint GOP with tea party brush »

A state official who met with then-U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal about a lucrative contract the Republican politician had with state of Georgia was the target of  a recent  federal grand jury subpoena.

The grand jury wanted records and testimony from Georgia Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham in June, according to documents obtained  by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the Georgia Open Records Act.

Toward the end of his congressional career, Deal had been the target of an ethics investigation over his business dealings with the state. Deal, , now a gubernatorial candidate facing a runoff, has said he did nothing wrong and that he acted as a public servant and not in an attempt to protect his own interests.

Deal’s attorney, Randy Evans, said his client has not been subpoenaed and is not the subject of an investigation. Read more.

Continue reading State official subpoenaed over contacts with Nathan Deal »

Candidates are paying relatives and family businesses thousands of dollars for helping with their campaigns, and it’s legal, according to an AJC report by staffer Jeremy Redmon.  Watchdog groups say many candidates have resorted to the practice, which they say raises serious questions about nepotism. Read more.

Continue reading Campaigns paying relatives thousands of dollars – and it’s legal »

It’s another strike against Mary Norwood and her battle to get on the ballot in Fulton County as an independent. Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter has ruled Norwood’s failure to meet a qualifying deadline meant she would not be on the ballot this fall competing for the county chairmanship. The battle may be taking its toll. Norwood said she didn’t know whether she would appeal this decision. Read more of AJC staffer Steve Visser’s report.

Continue reading Judge rules against Mary Norwood’s quest for Fulton chairmanship »

U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) has a big name in his corner at a time when incumbents are looking for all the help they can muster to return to Congress.

Shirley Sherrod is now stumping for Bishop in the 2nd congressional district. She’s the now-celebrated champion of poor farmers since being ousted – many would say wrongly – as a USDA director of rural development in Georgia. Sherrod was forced from her job after a video clip made it appear the black administrator had made racist statements at an NAACP meeting. She received an apology from President Obama and  has been offered her job back after insisting her comments were taken out of context.

Bishop appears to be tapping into Sherrod’s newfound popularity. Here’s what she had to say about the incumbent, according to Larry Gierer’s report in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: “He has worked so hard for the people in the 2nd congressional district. You can’t just go out to vote for him — you have to go out and work for …

Continue reading Sherrod stumps for U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop »

Larry Peterson of the Savannah Morning News wonders out aloud (or in print) about “The Ox”, concluding John Oxendine’s failed  bid  for the GOP gubernatorial nomination shows that conventional wisdom, while conventional, isn’t always wise. Read more.

Continue reading Nothing conventional about ‘The Ox’ and the outcome »

It will be very difficult for Shane Coley to make up 18 percentage points on Frank Ginn in Senate District 47 and win the runoff, says Athens Banner-Herald political blogger Blake Aued.  Coley is going to have to either win over almost all of Kelley Gary and Doug Bower’s supporters or do twice as good a job bringing his own voters back to the polls as Ginn. Read more.

Continue reading Coley faces uphill battle in Senate District 47 race »

Republican gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel has unveiled an education platform heavy on GOP staples: more charter schools and performance pay for teachers. Read more.

Continue reading Handel’s education plan heavy on charter schools, performance pay »

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. The latest effort to recall Gwinnett  Board of Commissioners Chairman Charles Bannister hit another dead end, but that won’t stop his critics. A Superior Court judge ruled that Randolph De Vault, chairman of the Gwinnett Recall Committee, didn’t offer sufficient evidence of any Bannister wrongdoing to go forward with the effort to remove him from office. Vault says he’ll keep trying. We’re waiting for Bannister’s reaction. Read more.

Continue reading Bannister recall effort in Gwinnett falls flat »

This just in from Jim Galloway:  Political blogger Bill Simon has filed a complaint against Republican candidate for governor Karen Handel with the State Ethics Commission, alleging that she illegally paid $13,200 to advisors of her gubernatorial campaign with money raised as a candidate for secretary of state. Read more.

Continue reading Handel hit with ethics complaint filed by blogger »