A friend of mine, an older women, here in Macon got an odd call yesterday. The female caller claimed that she was from the Martin campaign and wanted to be sure that my friend knew that "Martin is the pro-choice candidate" in this race, and then asked if she still planned to support him. My friend told her "yes" that she still planned to vote for Jim Martin. The caller seemed surprised and said, "you do?" and then hung up. Odd call, my friend thought, to be coming into Middle Georgia, and an odd way for the call to end.
Today, I checked with the Martin Campaign, and while they were doing some phone banking yesterday, they were not phonebanking this particular message. Shadows of Orlando Jones?
Another friend said that her voice mail was full of robocalls from Hecht. One was a Steen Miles call touting Hecht as "the little guy with the big heart." Where was his heart when he dropped the rape mailer?
The same friend said that her pastor said that the bishop had called asking that the pastors promote Hecht. Humm...seems a bit problematic to me, and perhaps a problem for Martin if this did happen.
And then there's the Hecht ad that aired last night on network here. The message is that Hecht is the candidate who best helps Taylor. I don't know about that! It seems to me that Hecht and Taylor bring the same players to the table. If Martin in the nominee, then he opens the door to a broader, more diverse group of supporters.
The Telegraph did pull their endorsement of Hecht, drawing a line in the sand. Here's part of what they had to say:
The race now comes down to Hecht and Jim Martin in the runoff. Jim Martin has an excellent record of public service as a legislator and as head of the state Department of Human Resources. However, we thought Hecht, also a former legislator, combined a unique blend of experience, new ideas and exuberance.
Before the July 18 primary, however, the race turned dark, and Hecht's campaign sent two mailings that discredit him and his effort to become lieutenant governor. The first was in poor taste, but the second was down right rotten. It took Martin's comments dealing with a bill he proposed as a means to increase rape convictions out of context and turned them around to attack him. It was a move that Hecht admits was "too harsh" and "over the top." We think so, too. Until this episode, voters could not have gone wrong with either candidate, but desperation brings out the best and worse in people. In a sea of dirty tricks, it's important to draw the line somewhere. We draw the line here. We endorse Jim Martin.
Sphere: Related Content
Posts
6 comments:
"I don't think an ITP lawyer will do *ANYTHING* for statewide Dems."
They're both lawyers and Jonesboro can hardly be considered the "Other" Georgia.
On the contrary, I think that Mark needs Jim because Jim will appeal to Cathy Cox supporters. Jim's presence would help bring those votes to Mark.
Yes, you found me out, I've gone over to the dark side....I need to take that adsense stuff off the blog. You have no conrol over the ads.
Update on the call, too. It came in at 9 PM, a bit later than most phonebanking. I don't know who did it. All I know is that it's a strange call and the Martin Campaign says they did not originate it. Could be a volunteer for one campaign or the other. I don't think that Greg would sanction his staff or volunteers representing that they were from the Martin campaign, but voter files are easy to come by. Still odd, though.
I think Jim Martin shares important qualities with Cathy including integrity, decency, and a sincere commitment to service. Having been a victim of "how not to woo" tactics, as have others I know, I have had several people tell me that they are simply not going to vote for Taylor. I think Jim's presence and approach would make supporting Mark more palatable.
We have to deal with reality. There is a difference in voting for someone and actively supporting them. Here's what people are telling me. (Don't shoot the messenger.) Most, but not all, say that they will vote for Taylor. Some say they will give him full support. Some say that they will sort of hold their nose and vote for him, and lots say that they will vote for him but will not actively support him. These are some of the same people who gave time and money to Cox. You and I might wish that they were more positive, but at this point, they're not. If Democrats dominated the landscape, then we could just say, "To hell with them." We don't have that option.
I think that Martin can bring some of these people along. He is potentially a sort of "bridge" to full support of the ticket. I stand by my statement that I think Hecht and Taylor pretty much bring the same players to the table.
I don't believe that the Lt. Gov. nominee will have much affect, if any, on Taylor. If there is to be an effect, then I do believe that it would help him to have Martin on the ballot. I don't think it's a comparison of records or positions that needs to be worried about. as much as how to bring out more of a variety of voters that will vote for Dems.
Martin has a lot of appeal to white liberals in metro Atlanta that, by the end of June, weren't thrilled with either Cox or Taylor. They aren't a big enough segment to make a huge difference. But having Martin on the ballot might bring out a few extras that otherwise might not make the effort to vote. I can't imagine that many Martin voters would cast a vote for Perdue. So it couldn't hurt.
Hecht's got a lot of good ideas in areas important to me like transportation and alternative fuels. But I don't see him as that appealing to many voters who aren't already going to vote for Taylor.
The Republicans made an early attempt to tie Cathy Cox to Cynthia McKinney. Ironic, considering that CM backed Taylor. So I wouldn't be surprised to see them try that tactic again. But Taylor has his own long record of service. I don't think this will be hard for him to sidestep.
Post a Comment