Archive for the ‘Lynn Westmoreland’ Category

Former Gov. Sonny Perdue has declared himself out of a 2014 contest to replace U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, but placed himself on the side of Republicans who believe the party has become too rigid in its approach.

In a statement e-mailed this morning, the governor declared himself “flattered” by the support that has been offered, but cited his reasons for avoiding the contest: A dozen grandchildren, business obligations and “a loving and devoted wife who has absolutely no interest in living in Washington.” From his statement:

Gov. Sonny Perdue has removed himself from the long list of Republicans considering a 2014 run for the U.S. Senate. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

“Our country deserves more than the current dysfunction in Washington D.C. and our party needs to return to problem-solving conservatism. We have an opportunity, led by the examples of Republican Governors across the nation, to prove to the country that we are the party that can rise above the dogma and …

Continue reading Sonny Perdue takes himself out of 2014 race for Senate »

WASHINGTON – Astute reader Jacob Hawkins of Cartersville already got an automated phone poll on the newly open Senate seat, designed to target Republicans — and seemingly to test a crossover candidate.

The poll starts by asking for preference among the following GOP names: U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, Herman Cain, former Secretary of State Karen Handel, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, U.S. Rep. Tom Price and U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland.

The poll then asks if the caller would “be willing to contribute financially to your candidate.” Then: “If your candidate does not win the primary election, for which of the following potential Democratic candidates would you most consider voting for in the general election?”

The Dems listed are state Rep. Stacey Abrams, former Attorney General Thurbert Baker, U.S. Rep. John Barrow, state Sen. Jason Carter, former Commissioner of Labor Michael Thurmond, former state Rep. DuBose Porter and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

Our friends …

Continue reading Let the Senate race polling begin »

Crisis averted. Let the countdown to the next crisis begin.

After a day of remarkable swings, House Republican leaders folded and brought to the floor a bill they knew they needed Democrats to pass. The final tally was 257-167, with 172 Democrats joining 85 Republicans in favor. This broke House Speaker John Boehner’s practice (named for ex-Speaker Denny Hastert) that bills must pass with “the majority of the majority.” It will be interesting to see whether conservative members’ ire remains focused on the Senate or whether it will shift to Boehner with the Speaker’s re-election coming up on Thursday.

Georgia Republicans lined up unanimously against the American Taxpayer Relief Act: Reps. Tom Price of Roswell, Lynn Westmoreland of Coweta County, Phil Gingrey of Marietta, Rob Woodall of Lawrenceville, Jack Kingston of Savannah, Paul Broun of Athens, Austin Scott of Tifton and Tom Graves of Ranger all voted no.

That’s a major break from the state’s Republican senators — Johnny …

Continue reading Fiscal cliff deal passes House; Ga. GOP’ers vote no »

U.S. House Republicans emerged from a lengthy caucus meeting this afternoon declaring their opposition to the “fiscal cliff” deal that hastily passed the Senate overnight with an 89-8 vote. After hearing a festivus-style airing of grievances against the deal — struck by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — House leaders are still trying to figure out what to do with it. Many Republicans want to amend it to include more spending cuts.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said: “The lack of spending cuts in the Senate bill was a universal concern amongst members in today’s meeting. Conversations with members will continue throughout the afternoon on the path forward.”

Lawrenceville Republican Rep. Rob Woodall was walking the halls clutching a report from the Congressional Budget Office that illustrated members’ concerns. According to the nonpartisan CBO, the deal would add $3.97 trillion to budget deficits in the next …

Continue reading House Republicans balk at cliff deal »

As Georgia Republican Reps. Phil Gingrey, Jack Kingston and Paul Broun sat together on the House floor during a vote this evening, House Speaker John Boehner plopped down in the row behind them and gave them an earful. Boehner, viewed by this reporter through a door a few yards away, appeared pretty intense.

John Boehner in June (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Gingrey said the Speaker was making “strong arguments” in favor of his “Plan B” on the fiscal cliff negotiations — a floor vote tentatively scheduled for Thursday to maintain the marginal income tax rates for earnings $1 million and less, as well as the estate tax rates.

“The Speaker feels very, very confident if we don’t do this it’s going to end up at the 250 mark [raising taxes on income above $250,000]. … He said that’s what his great fear is,” Gingrey said.

Still, the Republican from Marietta is unsure about voting effectively to allow some taxes to rise. “My powder’s dry,” Gingrey said.

Several Republican members of …

Continue reading Boehner whipping Georgians on ‘Plan B’ »

Emory University political science professor Alan Abramowitz, a frequently cited scholar of presidential politics, has written a 31-page analysis of Barack Obama’s victory to be presented next month at the annual Southern Political Science Association meeting entitled: “The Emerging Democratic Presidential Majority.” According to an early copy provided to Jolt, Abramowitz concludes thusly:

The structural advantages that Republicans enjoy in House and Senate elections would appear to guarantee the party’s continued competitiveness in congressional elections for many more election cycles.  As a result, divided government will probably be a persistent feature of American politics for some time.  And at the state level, Republicans are likely to remain the dominant party in most of the South as well as a number of sparsely populated, predominantly rural states that are relatively insulated from the demographic and cultural trends affecting the rest of the country.  …

Continue reading Your Daily Jolt: A long-term Democratic majority? »

Augusta’s Blue Dog Democratic Rep. John Barrow found himself among like-minded folks this morning at a seminar sponsored by Center Forward, a group that works to promote the few remaining moderates in Congress. The point was to examine the role moderates play in the fiscal cliff negotiations and Congress going forward.

Barrow swung between lamenting the receding number of Blue Dogs and pronouncing himself hopeful for the future. The outlook for the forthcoming Congress is positive, he said, because “we have a somewhat smaller number of crazies than there is currently. … A few less crazy people is a good start.”

He was referring mostly to the conservative House Republicans who “created a crisis” over the debt limit vote last year and who, he said, are hemming in Speaker John Boehner now. Barrow said the biggest problem as we near the fiscal cliff is “the tyranny of the minority within the majority, their ability to dismiss their leader and their predisposition to do so.”

He …

Continue reading Your Daily Jolt: Barrow glad for “a few less crazy people” in House »

Click here for more AJC background, but this was just posted by Politico.com:

Five House Republicans — Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Trent Franks of Arizona, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Tom Rooney of Florida and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia – in June called for a State Department investigation into whether Abedin tried to improperly influence U.S. policy in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood. But the controversy exploded Wednesday, when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) delivered a floor speech in Abedin’s defense.

“I don’t know Huma, but from everything I do know of her, she has a sterling character,” [House Speaker John] Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters Thursday. “And I think accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous.”

Here’s a video clip of McCain’s two-minute blistering:

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

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Continue reading John Boehner: Lynn Westmoreland’s allegations ‘pretty dangerous’ »

One day after Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed ramped up his efforts on behalf of the transportation sales tax, DeKalb County Commissioner Lee May declared he’d do the same thing – on the opposite side. From Channel 2 Action News:

Methinks there may be personal and geographic rivalry here.

And politics, too. May has just sent out this flyer to the 15,000 households in his district who represent the largest concentration of Democratic votes in the state. “I’m tired of politicians ignoring us in favor of the Buckhead crowd,” May quotes himself as saying. “I will fight to bring MARTA rail here.”

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Brookhaven Patch has this prognostication on the July 31 TSPLOST vote from Charles Bulloch, the University of Georgia political scientist, who hones in on the split between Republicans and the state’s business leadership:

“We have the interesting phenomenon of disagreement between many GOP leaders and a group usually closely associated with the GOP.”

Bullock concluded: …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: TSPLOST pushback from south DeKalb »

Demography, like a glacier, is slow but relentless.

If you wonder why there’s been so much discussion of the Latino vote lately, take a look at these figures that Alan Abramowitz, the Emory University political scientist, drew from the Georgia Secretary of State’s monthly data:

In May of 2008, African-Americans made up 28 percent of active registered voters in Georgia while whites made up 65 percent and “other” race (a category that’s hard to interpret but presumably includes a lot of Hispanics and Asians since very few of them identify themselves as Hispanic or Asian) made up 7 percent.

In May of 2012, African-Americans made up 29.4 percent of active registered voters, whites made up 60.2 percent, and “other” race made up 10.4 percent.

So the downward trend in the white share of voters in Georgia has continued. There is certainly no evidence here that nonwhites have been disappearing from the rolls of registered voters. In all likelihood, the nonwhite share …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: White voter registration in Georgia down to 60 percent »