Archive for the ‘Michael Thurmond’ Category

Two attorneys, one from Decatur, on Thursday reported coming home to find the following unlikely robo-call on their answering machines:

“Georgia progressives have a chance to protect the rights of workers by voting yes on Amendment 1. Amendment 1 will give workers protection from being forced to sign unfair employment agreements at the workplace.

“Please take the time to vote yes on Amendment 1 at the end of your ballot. This message has been provided by the working Georgians at Jobs of Tomorrow. And we urge you to vote yes on Amendment 1.”

What’s unusual is that Amendment 1, despite its vague language, is designed to help strengthen the reach of employment contracts. To a degree that some say is unfair – especially in the current economy.

Jobs of Tomorrow is sponsored by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and its website says the measure is needed because current judicial rulings have:

….. resulted in cases of employees or franchisees being able to ignore signed …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Georgia Chamber makes an unlikely plea to liberals for Amendment 1 »

We will get to the quarrel over the Hawaiian shirt soon enough.

The three candidates for U.S. Senate had their one and only debate Sunday night. Given the current political climate, exchanges between Republican incumbent Johnny Isakson and Democrat Michael Thurmond were remarkably civil.

The only harsh notes of discord in the Atlanta Press Club debate were struck by Chuck Donovan, the Libertarian who steadfastly attacked Isakson as something other than conservative.

The Insider was on the panel of questioners, which curtailed note-taking. But there was actual news in the statewide, 60-minute session on Georgia Public Broadcasting:

– Chances are that Republicans will take control of the U.S. House next week – which is certain to set up a confrontation over federal spending with President Barack Obama. But Isakson said that – with troops still in harm’s way in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in need of civilian government support – he didn’t expect GOP leaders to pursue a …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: In debate, Johnny Isakson says GOP won’t shut down government »

Pull out that copy of Foreign Affairs that’s on the coffee table. I could use an hours’ worth of questions for U.S. Senate candidates Johnny Isakson, Michael Thurmond and Chuck Donovan.

The recession, job growth, and the mortgage crisis are all hot topics. So are earmarks and the federal budget. But don’t forget foreign policy. We’ve got two wars, a possible trade war with China, and that little border problem with Mexico.

Here’s the entire Georgia Public Broadcasting/Atlanta Press Club line-up for Sunday:

Insurance Commissioner

– Sunday, Oct. 24, 6-6:30 p.m.

– Invited Candidates: Shane Bruce, Ralph Hudgens, Mary Squires

– Moderator: Brenda Wood, WXIA-TV

– Panelists: Walter Jones, Morris News Service; Veronica Waters, WSB Radio; Andy Peters, Daily Report

Attorney General

Sunday, Oct. 24, 6:30-7 p.m.

Invited Candidates: Ken Hodges, Sam Olens, Don Smart

Moderator: Brenda Wood, WXIA-TV

Panelists: Walter Jones, Morris News Service; Veronica Waters, WSB Radio; Andy …

Continue reading Brain fried, again. U.S. Senate debate looms. Send questions. Quick. »

Georgia is considered by political strategists to have three Democratic congressional districts vulnerable to Republican attack this year.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, will visit the 8th District (Jim Marshal of Macon vs. GOP challenger Austin Scott) today, and the 2nd District (Sanford Bishop of Albany vs. GOP challenger Mike Keown) on Wednesday.

But this explains why we haven’t seen any sign of a Boehner visit to the 12th District. From the Savannah Morning News:

U.S. Rep. John Barrow had nearly nine times as much campaign cash as his Republican opponent going into the final stretch of the race.

As of Sept. 30, the Savannah Democrat reported to the Federal Election Commission he had banked $655,422.

That was after he’d spent $587,820 over the previous three months and nearly $1.4 million during his campaign.

Republican Ray McKinney, a nuclear power project manager, had only $73,235 on hand.

That left the Lyons resident ill-equipped to respond to Barrow’s …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Why John Boehner will skip Savannah »

Bad news arrives on U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop’s doorstep this morning, courtesy of Politico.com:

Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) awarded three scholarships from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to his stepdaughter and wife’s niece between 2003 and 2005, according to records from the non-profit group.

U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga. Associated Press

Bishop is the second Democrat found to have funneled Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scholarship funds to relatives, threatening to turn the program into a larger political problem for the party. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) recently paid back $31,000 to the foundation for scholarships that she improperly awarded to various relatives and children of a top staffer.

Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.), chairman of the CBC Foundation, has promised an “extensive audit of the scholarship program” run by the organization.

Bishop, though, also appears to have favored family members with CBC scholarships.

In 2003, Emmaundia …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Sanford Bishop steered Black Caucus scholarships to relatives »

Cock an ear toward downtown Atlanta and listen closely.

That sound you don’t hear is the pitter-patter of Democratic footsteps running away from Bill Clinton.

Former President Bill Clinton/Associated Press

The former president arrives Thursday evening as the star of a fundraiser for Mike Thurmond, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. The base price of entry is a solid grand —$2,400 if you want a photo with the great man.

Thurmond is running against Republican incumbent Johnny Isakson, the best-funded candidate on the November ballot, and could use the cash.

Clinton’s visit comes a neat month after a similar foray South by President Barack Obama — which prompted weeks of debate over who could afford to be seen with him, and who couldn’t.

Democratic nominee for governor Roy Barnes decided he ought to be seen elsewhere.

Clinton has set off no similar talk of a stampede.

Polling hints at, but does not fully explain the difference between the two men.

Earlier this …

Continue reading Why it might be safe — or at least, safer — to be seen with Bill Clinton »

The U.S. Senate race in Georgia is finally heating up – first with news that former President Bill Clinton will host an Atlanta fundraiser for Democrat Mike Thurmond on Thursday.

Then Republican incumbent Johnny Isakson this afternoon pushed out an eye-catching 30-second TV spot, shot from the sidelines of a Cobb County high school football game:

Isakson continues to pitch himself as a Washington player not content to sit on the sidelines. In the ad, the GOP incumbent emphasizes his role as a defender of conservatism.

But as with his previous ads, there’s a more subtle message here – underlining Isakson’s preference for involving himself in the mix of give-and-take of the Senate, a message aimed at independents. And as anyone who plays football knows, scrimmages involve an element of risk.

As if to emphasize Isakson’s willingness to take a chance now and then, the Associated Press reported the following about an hour ago:

With weeks to go before the midterm elections, …

Continue reading Johnny Isakson and his Friday night lights »

A notice just showed up on the web site of Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Thurmond, announcing that former President Bill Clinton will be in Atlanta for a $1,000-a-head fundraiser.

The 5 p.m. Thursday  event will be at the Sheraton Atlanta.

The fundraiser will provide an excellent occasion for Thurmond – notice that he is “Mike” now, rather than “Michael” – to emphasize his connections to the Clinton wing of the Democratic party rather than the less popular wing dominated by President Barack Obama.

Former President Bill Clinton/Associated Press

Thurmond was a 2008 supporter of Hillary Clinton for president, and his connections to Bill Clinton go back to the welfare reform days of the early ‘90s, when Gov. Zell Miller assigned Thurmond the task of working with the White House on the issue.

Thurmond was allegedly offered a federal post by the president/husband. But Hillary Clinton suggested instead a statewide run for labor commissioner.

Thurmond could …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Bill Clinton comes to ATL for a Mike Thurmond fundraiser »

The original Galloway homestead in metro Atlanta was built in 1962 on the blue-collar frontiers of suburbia, in the midst of a housing-led recession.

The modest split-level was the work of Scott Hudgens, a relative newcomer to the business. The builder had bet that a resulting glut in housing stock didn’t apply to lower-income homes.

Mechanics and baggage handlers at the expanding Hartsfield International Airport needed a place to park their families, so Hudgens won that particular gamble. He would go on to bigger and better things, including the Mall of Georgia in Gwinnett County.

The old homestead did not. The Galloways moved out in the late 1970s. A few years ago, the house was declared the headquarters of a flamboyantly named church — a convenient and not uncommon tax dodge.

Which didn’t work, apparently. Not too long ago, the house showed up on the long list of foreclosed properties in south Fulton County.

That the American Dream of home ownership is struggling is …

Continue reading Foreclosing on the American Dream of home ownership »

Republican incumbent Johnny Isakson, who has more acorns stored up in his treasury than any other candidate in Georgia, went up with the first TV ad of the U.S. Senate campaign this morning.

A portion of his message — declaring that his unnamed Democratic opponent, Michael Thurmond, “supports President Obama” – is just a little taste of what Roy Barnes can expect to see in the race for governor.

But most telling in the ad is the phrase he allows suporters to use in describing his work: “He doesn’t stand on the sidelines.”

Isakson is, at bottom, a negotiator willing to attempt compromises. That involves risk. His work – with Georgia colleague Saxby Chambliss – on an immigration bill in 2007 rankled the hard-liners in the Georgia GOP. (Both ultimately denounced the effort.)

Consider this ad an attempt by Isakson to explain himself — particularly to independents.

The script:

Actor One: Some in Washington stand on the sidelines.

Actor Two: Not Johnny Isakson.

Actor Three: …

Continue reading Johnny Isakson up with first TV ad, and Michael Thurmond talks about race »