GOP trying to handcuff Barnes to Obama
I’m not a campaign strategist, but the approach taken by the Republican Governors Association to try to handcuff Roy Barnes to Barack Obama nonetheless strikes me as pretty crude.
I mean, “Roybama”? What would it have been if Thurbert Baker had been the Democratic nominee? “Thurbama?”
Would DuBose Porter have doomed us to “DuBama”?
Because whoever the nominee, the strategy would have been the same. The GOP has decided not to base its gubernatorial campaign on the Republican record of accomplishment in Georgia — I guess they remember the parable about building your house on a foundation of sand. Instead, they want to make the race a referendum on events and politicians in far-off Washington, which polls suggest offer firmer ground.
But I’m not sure that such an approach was necessary, given what GOP nominee Nathan Deal brings to the table.
For example, tax cuts are popular. GOP strategists could package Deal as someone who has proven ability to reduce taxes dramatically. According to tax forms released just before Labor Day, Deal himself managed to pay just $5,575 in federal taxes in 2006, on adjusted gross income of $188,904, an effective tax rate of just 2.9 percent.
In 2007 the then-congressman did even better, paying just $2,068 in federal taxes on income of $205,433, an effective rate of just 1 percent. I don’t know how he did it — he has refused to release his tax schedules, which is apparently where the magic happened. But if he could do for the rest of us what he did for himself, he could get elected for life.
Republicans could also present Deal as someone who knows how to run government like a business. After all, that’s how he ran his congressional office, as if the line between government and private business didn’t exist. When Deal learned that state officials were proposing changes that threatened his sweetheart arrangement in the north Georgia auto-salvage business, he used his chief of staff — paid with federal dollars — to pressure state employees into preserving the setup, congressional investigators reported.
For some reason, though, Deal’s campaign doesn’t want to talk about those things. They want to keep the focus on “Roybama,” just as Barnes has his reasons for trying to keep the race local.
It hasn’t been easy, though. Barnes ducked Obama on the president’s recent trip to Atlanta, and as Barnes aides note, he also didn’t back the Illinois senator in the Democratic primaries. (Barnes can only push that argument so far, given that his favored candidate was his fellow Southern Democrat and trial lawyer, John Edwards.)
In recent weeks, Barnes has also come out strongly against construction of an Islamic center two blocks from Ground Zero. As a matter of principle, Barnes was wrong and maybe even knows it, but he also knows that a pragmatic politician picks his fights. He wasn’t going to let an issue in far-off New York drive a wedge between him and Georgia voters.
Barnes has also been harshly critical of Obama’s health-care reform plan, focusing on its requirement that states offer Medicaid coverage to all legal residents with incomes of 133 percent or less of the poverty level. According to the former governor, that requirement could cost Georgia several billion dollars and be “very financially devastating.”
But that too is a position driven more by political strategy than policy. The health-care reform law requires the federal government to pay 100 percent of Georgia’s additional Medicaid costs in 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2017, the feds will cover 95 percent of the costs, a rate that gradually falls to 90 percent in 2020 and remains there every year thereafter.
Barnes’ strategy, like that of Deal, is being driven by harsh numbers and experience in divvying the state into demographic groups. If we assume that Barnes gets 95 percent of the black vote in Georgia — timely reminders of Deal’s “ghetto grandmothers” remark will help hit that target — he would still need at least 35 percent of the white vote, based on 2006 turnout. And since GOP turnout is likely to be higher than normal this year, the more accurate target may be a lot closer to 40 percent.
Obama’s dismal standing among white Georgians, a large majority of them conservatives, make that a tough but not impossible goal.
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354 comments Add your comment
Pennsylvanian
September 10th, 2010
7:39 am
Deal vs. Barnes. What a choice; a jerk and a jackass.
Guy Incognito
September 10th, 2010
7:40 am
It’s depressing when the 2 parties, that have handcuffed all of us, trot out these 2 goobers.
Vote Monds!
GLEN BECK
September 10th, 2010
7:43 am
AP
updated 9/9/2010 3:43:22 PM ET
WASHINGTON — The Democrats are going to lose this fall if voters render judgment on the nation’s sputtering economy. That’s not the forecast of some political analyst or the wishful thinking of a Republican leader. It’s the blunt acknowledgment from President Barack Obama himself
Mick
September 10th, 2010
7:49 am
**Obama’s dismal standing among white Georgians, a large majority of them conservatives**
Anyone who doubts that just needs to scan this blog for immediate confirmation.
USinUK
September 10th, 2010
7:56 am
… it reminds me of Zell Miller’s re-election bid when Georgians were BOMBARDED with the photo of him in his barcolounger sitting next to Bill Clinton in his and the voice-over of “Bill Clinton is the only one who can feeeel our paaayyyynnne” …
didn’t work then. we’ll see if it works this time …
barking frog
September 10th, 2010
7:57 am
Barnes can run on his record. Deal can’t.
USinUK
September 10th, 2010
7:57 am
Glenn Beck – Chairman of the Department of Redundancy Department.
Doggone/GA
September 10th, 2010
7:57 am
GB – we heard you the first time
USinUK
September 10th, 2010
7:58 am
Guy – 7:40 – for a split-second, I thought you said Vote Mondale.
Pennsylvanian
September 10th, 2010
7:59 am
RoyBama? I’m for NoBama in 2012.
Iseedumbpeople
September 10th, 2010
8:00 am
Apology tour was fun. Screwing over teachers was fun.
Barnes was terrible the first time around – I don’t want seconds.
Iseedumbpeople
September 10th, 2010
8:01 am
Barnes’ record = crap
sure, he can run on that.
Pennsylvanian
September 10th, 2010
8:01 am
It’s about time for the ‘King Rat’ ads to reappear.
WillieBee
September 10th, 2010
8:04 am
Maybe Barnes would be more comfortable running as an John Edwards democrat.
On the other hand, the connection to Obama reminds me of the disastrous attempt by Roy Barnes to gerrymander our congressional seats beyond all possible recongnition. Remember. He sacrificed black voting strength so seriously that a federal court threw his ridiculous partisanship into the trash bin.
If Roy is governor again, he will be gerrymandering for the national democrats again.
I wonder who Roy’s bag man for collecting “contributions” will be if he is elected again. I hear Bobby Khan moved out of state.
TaxPayer
September 10th, 2010
8:04 am
I guess things could have been worse. We could have had Bush Chicken. No. Wait. Wrong Perdue. We got saddled with the salmonella laced ones. Look boss. It’s de regulations and their fantasy of an island.
stands for decibels
September 10th, 2010
8:07 am
I like how the web ads managed to get Roy and Barack’s skin tones to be the exact same shade of alien blue.
TaxPayer
September 10th, 2010
8:07 am
Just be careful not to say anything really bad about your sponsor, Jay. We wouldn’t want them to pull their ad.
jt
September 10th, 2010
8:08 am
“GOP strategists could package Deal as someone who has proven ability to reduce taxes dramatically. ”
The political parties could package maggot-infested rotten chicken livers, stamp an R or a D upon it, and the respective sheep would vote for them.
Vote Monds or vote for rotten chicken livers.
USinUK
September 10th, 2010
8:08 am
“If Roy is governor again, he will be gerrymandering for the national democrats again. ”
um. no. that’s not how apportionment works.
there are apportionment committees in the state house and senate – they draw the maps. given that they’re Republican, do you honestly think a DEM governor is going to have much say?
jt
September 10th, 2010
8:09 am
Happens on the Federal level too.
bubba bob
September 10th, 2010
8:10 am
Luckily the dems never stooped so low as to tie repubs to Bush…..oh wait.
Pot meet kettle.
USinUK
September 10th, 2010
8:11 am
hey jt – what’s the boilerplate on Monds-not-Mondale?
stands for decibels
September 10th, 2010
8:13 am
hey jt – what’s the boilerplate on Monds-not-Mondale?
Rule One: Don’t call him “Pubis” because it’s Not Funny, ok?
USinUK
September 10th, 2010
8:14 am
dB – noted.
JohnnyReb
September 10th, 2010
8:17 am
Don’t you think, considering who he is, that if something was illegal with Deal’s returns it would have come out? I don’t know what the IRS has setup as triggers to review returns, but that big a difference between income verus taxes due is sure to be one of them.
As to disgust with what the Dems and Repubs have offered for candidates, please be reminded we had primary elections.
NowReally
September 10th, 2010
8:17 am
“But if he could do for the rest of us what he did for himself, he could get elected for life.”
And these NUTJOBS like Nathan Deal complain about paying too much in federal and state taxes. He’s paying less with the way things are today, I believe he would be paying more with FAIR TAX.
NowReally
September 10th, 2010
8:18 am
“He’s paying less with the way things are today, I believe he would be paying more with FAIR TAX.”
Didn’t finish my sentence.
But, I’m sure he will find away to cheat (again) when it comes to the so called FAIR TAX.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel
September 10th, 2010
8:19 am
Jay, the GOP or the Deal campaign?
Carlosgvv
September 10th, 2010
8:19 am
America has dumbed down to the point where rude and crude political campains are the norm. Instead of picking the best candidate we are reduced to picking the lesser of the evils. While Roy is no bargain he clearly trumps Deal which is why the best the Republicans can do is trash him and ignore the huge faults of their guy.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel
September 10th, 2010
8:19 am
Hey, didn’t I see pictures and coverage of muslims burning an American Flag yesterday?
AP WON’T DISTRIBUTE IMAGES, AUDIO…
FOXNEWS WON’T COVER..
Church website shut down…
Obama says call it off…
Sends ‘best wishes’ to Muslims…
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel
September 10th, 2010
8:21 am
Pennsylvanian
September 10th, 2010
7:39 am
Agree, but which is which?
Paul
September 10th, 2010
8:21 am
Jay
Heh heh.
Heh heh heh.
Heh heh lolololol!
Nice, friendly, sarcastic tone. Especially the part about ‘maybe Deal will do your your taxes what he did for his.’ Someone’s just gotta run with that theme.
Heh heh heh.
BTW – we’ve a governor here who’s running his reelection campaign against Pres Obama. Sad part is, it just might work for him.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel
September 10th, 2010
8:22 am
“Thousands of Afghans protest Quran-burning plan… ”
I wonder if some of these same people attended the American Flag burning?
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel
September 10th, 2010
8:23 am
“NYPD posting ‘cop army’ near Ground Zero for tomorrow’s protests, 9/11 anniversary… ”
Who’s more likely to send someone into the crowd with a bomb attached to them and detonate it, Chritians or Moozlums?
Bubba Bob
September 10th, 2010
8:23 am
Paul,
“BTW – we’ve a governor here who’s running his reelection campaign against Pres Obama. Sad part is, it just might work for him.”
Sad part for America is that we have a president who is still running against Bush instead of taking responsibility for his own office.
Pot meet kettle.
USinUK
September 10th, 2010
8:24 am
leg lamp – um – google is your friend on the whole flag-burning thing – I’m seeing stories all over the place.
Normal
September 10th, 2010
8:24 am
Pennsylvanian
September 10th, 2010
7:39 am
You just called Barnes a democrat!
Deal is still under investagation for ethics violations, so he’s beyond jerk. I hope he becomes the prison inmate president of Friday nights.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel
September 10th, 2010
8:24 am
I didn’t realize the Keystone Cops moved to Switzerland.
“100 Swiss police can’t catch retiree with gun… “
USinUK
September 10th, 2010
8:26 am
Paul – 8:21 – wasn’t Ann Richards your last Dem? (man, I miss her almost as much as I miss Molly Ivins)
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel
September 10th, 2010
8:27 am
USinUK
September 10th, 2010
8:24 am
Um, I know that. Tongue in cheek. Guess that one went over your head.
Just find it interesting that news media from around the world will ignore some bumpkin preacher burning a Quran but it splashes front an center images of American flag burnings and moronic moozlums jumping up and down protesting the burning plan.
stands for decibels
September 10th, 2010
8:27 am
if something was illegal with Deal’s returns it would have come out
Are you really this tone-deaf?
This isn’t about whether someone is technically within compliance of the law; the issue with any politician, in any race, is always about likeability and comfort levels. Deal is obviously trying to get a majority of potential voters to think about his Democratic challenger’s connections to the Democratic establishment, which is fine–if that’s a winning hand, play it.
But Deal has to contend with people who don’t manage to rig their income tax returns in order to pay an effective rate of between 1 and 3 percent, and who might wonder why it is that the specifics on his deductions aren’t being made public. It’s a somewhat esoteric issue, to be sure, but one that Barnes has a shot at leveraging.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel
September 10th, 2010
8:28 am
“Scientists teach robots how to trick humans… ”
The humans must have been libs.
Paul
September 10th, 2010
8:29 am
Bubba Bob
I think it’s more applicable that Congressional Democrats laid out a strategy a little while ago of invoking Pres Bush in their reelection campaigns. It’s a fine line for Pres Obama – to point out the historically-different, cascading events he was handed, the result of several previous administrations’ policies and electorate gluttony (but one can’t tell the voters that and have them get angry) and the other side of the line, which is to sound like a whiner making excuses.
But for the Congressmen or my governor – it’s more of an effort to divert attention from actions affecting local issues and to capitalize on the unhappiness with the chief executive. It’s politics. It may be intellectually insulting, but a lot of times, it works.
Nathan's Deal
September 10th, 2010
8:30 am
“Elect Me and get a Real Deal on your taxes too.”
It’s a lot of words for my constituency. It won’t even fit on a standard bumper sticker in a font size that would be visible by the North Georgia people that love me so much. But the idea is Great. I like it. Send it over to Newt and see what he can do to make it true bumper sticker material. And don’t forget to use just the right proportions of red, white and blue on there too. The appearance of patriotism really sucks ‘em in.
A private sector employee
September 10th, 2010
8:31 am
Cry me a river.
That’s politics. Just like, during the 2008 elections, everyone tried to tie every Republican to Georgia Bush. I don’t remember you writing an article about that…
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel
September 10th, 2010
8:31 am
Paul
September 10th, 2010
8:29 am
You said “politics” and “intellectually insulting” in the same paragraph.
Bubba Bob
September 10th, 2010
8:33 am
Paul,
I don’t like it myself. When the Repubs. do it or the Dems. I guess my point to Jay and the others that agree with him is that both sides do this all the time. It’s dishonest to paint Deal as unique in this.
Where was Jay and his column when the Liberals do this?
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel
September 10th, 2010
8:33 am
A private sector employee
September 10th, 2010
8:31 am
A private sector employee? Welcome to the diminishing club.
Paul
September 10th, 2010
8:33 am
USinUK
Yeah, I think so. Wasn’t here then, but I understand she was one tough, entertaining governor. Guy we have now has been in ten years. Been charging the state $10,000 a month rent for a mansion while the governor’s digs are getting renovated. But it’s Obama spending the $$$. And he’s grandstanding to ’stand up to Washington’ but when Congress tells him ‘no more taking funds for schools and using it to mask your deficit spending’ he launches another anti-Obama blast. Then goes into Washington’s back door. and asks “can I have the $832 million anyhow?”
Leaves me utterly astounded that people would vote for this….. dang…. I’m about to go off on personal invective…. sigh….
paleo-neo-Carlinist
September 10th, 2010
8:34 am
politics as usual, JB. let’s use a trite word association excercise to influence (dimi-witted lemming) voters . who is at fault here; the political operatives behind the ruse or the individuals who rely on mindless herd behavior instead of open-minded, critical thinking? it’s funny, every so often some blogger will lament the fact that Americans voted for “Obama because he’s black”. how is voting against Barnes because he is a Democrat (or voting for Deal because he is a Republican) any different? face it folks, you got no skin in the game. Pennsyvania nailed it in the first post; pick your poison.