History in the Making

I am breaking out the blog in honor of the pending passage of historic health care legislation. When I wrote to John Barrow last night, I asked him to be on the right side of history today. While he did not agree to change his vote, he does get credit for a prompt and personal response. This evening, when the House votes, he will not, I suspect, be on the right side of history, but his Party will be. This is not a perfect bill, but it is a toe in the door, and it will make it possible for more Americans to purchase health care and makes it more likely that one day, all Americans will have access to the health care that they need.

Passage is good policy and good politics. Just ask David Frum who sees this vote as the Republican party's Waterloo.

Update: Just heard Rep. Deal take the well to vow to keep Georgians from being subjected to the "unconstitutional" mandates in the bill. Sound to me a lot like what some said about the Civil Rights Act.

Update at 7:50: John Lewis is in the well. "We cannot wait, we cannot be patient. The American people need health care and they need it now." Dynamic, historic, vintage John Lewis.

Update at 9:30: Watching my sister's Rep, John Spratt run the debate for dems. At least her rep is voting for this. I am struck by all the references to back room deals, especially given that I have now been watching this debate for five hours. What secrets could possibly be left? Did someone make the Republicans swear a blood oath not to tell about the nasty secrets tonight on teevee?

Update at 10:15: Watching as the first female speaker of the house brings it home for health care. Go, Nancy! Your stock just jumped.

Update at 10:47: 219 to 212, Health care reform, the Senate bill, passes the U.S. House of Reps. with NO Republican support. Please, please, let them keep calling this the Democratic Bill. We will be calling it that for decades, and we will have a generation of "Health Care Democrats" just like my daddy was a "FDR Democrat."

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Show Some Love for Saxon

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SCHIP Could Come Down to Marshall's Vote

I know you're probably sick of hearing about SCHIP, Jim Marshall and the vote to override next week, but you're just going to have to bear with me for a few more days. The vote to override is expected to be on October 18th-this Thursday. In the senate, we have the necessary votes to override Bush's veto, and in the House the margin is expected to be razor thin-maybe just one vote. Marshall's vote.

So, if you haven't, and even if you have, please, sign the petition, send him an email, call him and toss in some coins to help BlogPAC run the ad.

As Flack has said:

People from all across the country will be focused on Rep. Marshall and the choice he makes. We need to be focused on changing his mind. There are many ways you can choose to be heard.

1) You can throw a few dollars to Blue America, who will be running a powerful ad in the Telegraph next week.
2) Sign the petition
3) Write him an email - jim.marshall@mail.house.gov
4) Call his office, and tell him to vote to override the veto.
Phone: (202) 225-6531Fax: (202) 225-3013Phone: (478) 464-0255Fax: (478) 464-0277

The final call will rest with Jim, but next week is your chance to make one too.

I'm not sure this vote is what Marshall wanted to become famous for, but, so be it. I can't remember the last time so many different 'forces' have acted in concert in an effort to convince members of Congress to do the right thing. I don't know what will happen, but I bet if there were a national ballot on this legislation it would win the overwhelming support of the American people. I know Jim Marshall believes that providing access to health care to the children of the working poor is the right thing to do, a fact that makes his vote harder to stomach. I'm hoping that Marshall will ignore his consultants and listen to his head, his heart, his constituents-and do the right thing.

Marshall's failure to support this bipartisan legislation designed to continue and expand access to health care for children of the working poor (how controversial can that really be?) has drawn attention from Georgia and national blogs as well as the msm. Nationally, democrats now see Marshall as the guy who failed to support children's health care, but he has an opportunity to be the hero instead of the goat. A vote to override from Marshall would undoubtedly take the cover from others who would then follow his lead.

This can so be his moment. Come on, Jim. Do the right thing.

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For Those of You Who Want to Win....

I encourage you to read the article "Regaining the Rural Vote" in the National Review about what it's going to take to win, not just the Presidency, but seats in Congress in rural America.

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Jim???

I could not possibly be more disappointed in my congressman than I am right now. Jim Marshall voted "no" on SCHIP. Flack has said it better than I can. I would like to say that I'm in shock, but I'm not. Marshall voted "no" on the last SCHIP bill that moved through the House.

Congressional Democrats are in real trouble. Bush has promised to veto this bill. If we do not come up with the margin needed to over ride the veto, then we are about to look as impotent on health care as we do in Iraq.

There are those who live in a fantasy land where the majority in an incompetent Congress with an approval rating of barely over 10% expands its margin at the next election and manages to get one of it's own members elected President. I don't live there. We are in real trouble not just in terms of whether or not we can win, but more importantly, in terms of whether or not we can lead.

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Cleaning Up Before the General

The exits of Rove and Gonzoles may have Democrats cheering, but this is nothing more than a little Fall cleaning, designed to gussy up the White House in time for next year's elections. And it's working. While Bush and the War in Iraq are still hugely unpopular, both are out-done by a Congress displaying a favorability rating of 18%. We need to remember that the GOP knows how to win elections. They know about the short attention span of voters and that how things appear is-when it comes to elections-more important than how things are. They're cleaning house. What are we going to do to get out own house in order before 2008?

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A Shoe-In for Peace

To the degree that fashion is a reflection of the public mood, peace is now officially cool, even among higher income Americans. I know this because yesterday when Daryl and I were shopping in Atlanta, I came across several pairs of Donald J. Pliner shoes decorated with jeweled peace signs. For those not familiar, Pliner is an American designer of high-end shoes, belts and handbags. His shoes are pricey, at least for my budget, with many pairs ringing up in excess of $250.00. Note to Congress and the President: when peace signs show up on $250 sandals, it's a signal that you're out of step.

Actually, I was for peace before it was cool. My favorite piece of jewelry is a specially made peace sign pendant with tiny diamonds my husband gave me for an anniversary gift three years ago. I get more comments on that quarter-sized pendent than anything else I wear. Trust me, those comments have changed some over the last three years. The polls reflect it, too. Public sentiment is no longer with this war.

Some in Congress are fond of saying that this is "George Bush's War." That's true, but with every day that passes with Democrats in Congress failing to act to do what they can do to force the President's hand to bring our troops home, the war belongs more and more to them as well. It seems as though all this administration has to do to keep Democrats in check is to call them names. As long as this war goes on, why do we think that anyone who is now in Congress can be elected President?

And, no. I did not buy the sandals.

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Strange Bedfellows

Macon's Rev. Ronald Terry, pastor of New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, could be described as one of a handful of people in Middle Georgia with whom a political candidate would want to have an "early conversation." That's why his choice of guest speaker at the groundbreaking of his new $1.5 million expansion was interesting. It was none other than Sen. Saxby Chambliss, and you can read the story and view the video, courtesy of 13WMAZ, by clicking here.

Look, folks. This is one of the largest traditionally African-American churches in Macon. The message? Among other things, Vernon Jones cannot beat Saxby, and if Democrats want to take that seat, now is the time to recruit a viable candidate. Perhaps no one can stop Jones from running, but read the handwriting on the wall. He is not electable. Moving on.

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Roverian Dirty Trick in the 10th?

Did Jim Whitehead deliberately send an email that advertised an incorrect special election date to Democratic voters? Was I just being naive yesterday with my assumption that Jim Whitehead errantly sent an email announcement about his campaign to a lifelong Democrat? Mrs. Righteous Jackass thinks so, and she goes on to point out that the date of the election is incorrect, listed as June 17th not June 19th ,in the email. Here's her take on the Whitehead email:

Mrs. Righteous Jackass said...
Amy, I'm sure he sent that out knowingly to Georgia Democrats in an attempt to confuse them. The primary is June 19th, not 17th. This sounds like the rightwing talk radio asshats who were telling people in 2004 that the Dems voted on one day and the Reps voted on the actual election day.Republicans couldn't tell the truth if their very lives depended on it!
12:18 PM

Having seen Roverian tricks up close and personal, I have no doubt that the GOP machine is capable of deliberate deception, but is that what happened here? Here's the excerpt in question:

And I hope that I can count on your vote and support in the special election on June 17th. With your support, I will go to our nation’s capital and protect the things that matter most to the people of the 10th Congressional District.

Sincerely,

Jim Whitehead

I have no doubt that Whitehead 'regrets the error.'

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10th: What Whitehead Said

Today, a very Democratic friend got an email, addressed to "Fellow Republican" from Jim Whitehead announcing his candidacy for the 10th Congressional District. Let's see. This person does not live in the district and has never voted in a Republican primary. Perhaps Whitehead needs to have a conversation with his email vendor. The text of the announcement is below, and raises some interesting issues.

First of all, Whitehead begins with a football analogy and talks about protecting the quarterback. Presumably, that would be President Bush. Yet, Whitehead talks about Reagan and never mentions President Bush. Is Bush polling that poorly in Georgia? Whitehead says that he is running to "protect and continue Charlie's legacy of conservative leadership." That's not quite the same thing as representing the people of Georgia, is it? And, I think that it is important to remember that while everyone thinks Norwood was a nice person, part of that "legacy" is his opposition to the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. Here's the text of Whitehead's email:

When I played football at the University of Georgia, my coach told me I had one job – protect the quarterback. It was an awesome responsibility. The team needed a big, strong leader to put aside the glory and the spotlight and protect what mattered most. That experience stuck with me the rest of my life.

When I got married 42 years ago, I made a very solemn vow to protect my wife and my family. When I ran for County Commission in 1994, I ran to protect the great quality of life in my hometown for my friends and neighbors. When I ran for the State Senate a few years ago, I promised to protect every family in this state and the values that we hold so dear.

Now, unfortunately, I am running to be our next US Congressman. I say “unfortunately” because we had to lose a great leader, and I had to lose a great friend, to be here asking for your vote.

I cannot be Charlie Norwood. But I can be Jim Whitehead. And I am running to protect and continue Charlie’s legacy of conservative leadership.

I believe in President Ronald Reagan’s wisdom that government’s most important responsibility is to protect its citizens. As our next Congressman, I will work everyday to protect our people from the threat of terrorism, to protect our children’s future, and to protect our hard earned tax dollars. And sometimes, our citizens may even need a little protection from their government – and I’ll be there for you every single time.

Today we launch our new campaign website, www.whiteheadforcongress.com. Please check it out to learn more about who I am, what I believe, and how you can get involved.

And I hope that I can count on your vote and support in the special election on June 17th. With your support, I will go to our nation’s capital and protect the things that matter most to the people of the 10th Congressional District.

Sincerely,


Jim Whitehead

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Atlanta, You Don't Know Jack

Ellis that is. It is amazing how different someone can look from eighty miles up the road. This morning I when read "Macon Mayor is the Talk of the Town" in my news digest, I initially assumed the story was in the Telegraph and began to read the story aloud to my husband who remarked, "that's an incredibly soft story." Turns out the story by Bill Torpy is in the AJC. Those of us who have lived the pain of the Ellis years might not've been as kind.

How do you write an entire profile about Jack Ellis and never mention the city's issues with financial mismanagement so severe it impacted our bond rating? How do you ignore the superior court grand jury investigation, the federal investigation, or the recent fifteen million dollar "error" in the city audit?

One of the most glaring examples of the under-reporting in this article is the discussion of Jack's passion for revitalizing the inner city and public housing in particular. Torpy says,

"One of Ellis' widely viewed successes has been his drive to revitalize Macon's inner city. Public housing has been torn down and federal grants have transformed block after block of the historic neighborhood near Mercer University..." (AJC)

What??? Did Torpy not know or did he ignore the sheer hell Ellis has given one of Macon's true public servants, Housing Authority Director, John Hiscox? How about the issues with the match for our HOPE VI funds? And so, so much more. There's a good bit in the article about Ellis' conversion to Islam, but to us down here, it's just a "there he goes again" sort of thing, Our real concern has been about the management or mismanagement of City government.

As I noted last week, my sources tell me that after his term, Ellis plans to move to DeKalb County, where he owns a home, and run for the 4th Congressional District seat. I hear that he has already formed a committee to explore this option and is discussing it openly. In fact, at the end of the Torpy article, he references this possibility:

Some sort of trade job might be in the works, Ellis said. Or there could be another run at politics. He mentions he still owns a home in DeKalb County and playfully points out that 4th District Congressman Hank Johnston is a Buddhist, so what's wrong with a Muslim challenger? (AJC)

Atlanta has always been good to Jack, and he likes doing business there. He has looked to the big city for his campaign cash, and as recently as last year, Tom Houck, Andrew Young and others threw a party to help Jack raise money for his legal defense fund. Just a suggestion: ya'll might want to check into why he needed cash for his legal defense before you send him to Congress.

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A Fly in the Ointment?

Last week, I posted about the forward thinking effort of the DPG to identify one (1) candidate for the 10th Congressional District. The day of the Big Meeting has come and gone, and there has been no announcement regarding who was anointed. Perhaps the process is ongoing, and we will hear something soon. I hope so. Lots of us would like to support that candidate.

What I fear is that one or more candidates have allowed an ego much greater than their chances in this race to spoil this attempt at Democratic Sanity. Participation in this exercise would've had to be more or less voluntary. Folks had to willingly come to meet with the group and willingly agree to support the candidate deemed to have the best shot in the race. Could it be that one or more candidates decided not to play ball?

If that's what happened, lots of us would like to know whose gigantic ego spoiled this rather brilliant plan.

Let's hope that I'm just being impatient.

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Nobody's Left Out in the Cold

God forbid that the DPG would do something logical and strategic like trying to unite party leadership behind one candidate in the 10th congressional district. We wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, now would we? It's about time that the DPG became much more deliberate and "less nice" about winning elections.

To this point, I have avoided much commentary on the meeting held yesterday with party leaders, electeds and those Democrats interested in running for the 10th Congressional district. It seemed to me that this was a strategic move and not something I wanted to advertise on this blog. But, now that this has been reported in the mainstream media, and now that Republicans are discussing our strategy on their blogs, it seems time for comment. (I know, Erick, Peach Pundit is bipartisan, just like Politics and Lunch.)

According to a post on Peach Pundit, Terry Holley was "left out in the cold" by the process and has been "running since November 8th." I can find no where in any news account where Holley has used the phrase, "left out in the cold." He did say that he has been running since Nov. 8th. Perhaps this is a case of a Republican trying to start a fight among Democrats. Of course, that would never happen. Personally, I think that Republicans are just jealous, and perhaps a little bit worried. Democrats are acting different-like winners. I bet they'd rather have one strong Republican candidate than a field of, what is it now, nine?

My understanding is that participating in this meeting at the Party was voluntary, but that those who came agreed that they would support the eventual recommendation of the group. I don't know whether or not Holley participated, but I do know this: as the minority party in this state, we must find a way to avoid nasty, expensive primaries, and this seems to be as good a method as any. If we want to win, we have to be willing to make tough, strategic decisions and worry less about whose feelings we hurt. Not that long ago, it would've been Republicans engaging in a much-less-transparent process, weeding out their field to ensure that the resources they had would be directed to the candidate who had the best chance of winning. This is part of the reason they are in power in Georgia now. Now, the shoe is one the other foot.

I see this as a test run for Democrats in Georgia- a way of checking out a new approach to candidate selection. In the past, the party has remained officially 'neutral' in primaries. (Frankly, if you believe that, then I have some swampland in Florida I'd like to discuss with you.) The difference is that this was an open, transparent and deliberate process. The appropriate role of the Party in primaries is something that should be a matter of lively debate. No doubt there will be divergent opinions. But, as far as I am concerned, if you want to run for Congress and you can't convince the officers of the DPG, representatives of the district and elected officials that you're the "guy" or "gal", you are probably also going to have a tough time convincing the voters.

By the way, I have nothing personal against Holley and respect most anyone willing to offer themselves for service, BUT, he lost badly to Norwood and there is no evidence that he can raise the cash to run a credible race. (His 12/31 disclosure showed that he had total receipts of $28, 453 against disbursements of $31,821 and debt of $10,000. That's not the picture of fiscal health I'm looking for in a candidate.)

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For the Record

Congressman Marshall's plan to vote no on the war resolution falls in the category of the 50% of his decisions I disagree with. I would like to tell you that I am surprised by his choice, but I am not. I don't agree with this, but in the past, I have heard him make the case that you don't criticize and analyze a war while you are in it because it is demoralizing to the troops. I don't know how you get the cart out of the ditch unless you acknowledge that it is, indeed, no longer on the road. I think that his resolve on this issue is related to his military service and background, not his political ambition. I think that he really believes that he is doing the right thing by not opposing the Commander in Cheif while we are at war. I could not disagree more.

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PeachCare's Future Now in President's Lap

It looks like PeachCare funding may well become entangled in the President's request for more money for the War in Iraq.

Democrats were, shall we say, less than pleased that their Republican predecessors in congressional leadership opted out of their responsibility to address the shortfall in Federal funds for PeachCare and similar programs in other states that provide access to health insurance to needy children. Recently, a bi-partisan legislative delegation led by Rep. Calvin Smyre went to D.C. to meet with Speaker Pelosi's staff, and last week, in what was dubbed a vice presidential audition, Gov. Perdue went to the Hill to plead with the new Democratic Majority to do something to fix this mess.

According to Political Insider, he was effective. Sort of. He got the attention of congressional leaders, but Perdue may not be pleased that Democrats are now using his words to challenge the President, who is set to request another 100 billion for the war in Iraq to also consider a separate spending request to address this domestic health care crisis. You can read the entire letter here, but this is the money quote:

“The governor of Georgia has written to us stating that ‘It is vitally important
to our most needy citizens that Congress act expeditiously.’
“At the end of the last Congress, we were successful in including a provision to avert a similar crisis, but unfortunately, we are again in need of another short-term
solution. While we plan to work in Congress later this year to reauthorize [the
insurance program] and address longer-term issues, it is essential that you work
with us to again provide a short-term fix. The cost of filling the funding
shortfall is minor in comparison to your other emergency requests."
http://speaker.house.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=0064

Ouch. Do you think this will net Perdue that V.P. spot?

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Mayor Ellis Becomes Muslim, May Run for Congress

Randall Savage with WMAZ is reporting that Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis, a lifelong Christian, is converting to the Islamic faith and is contemplating running for Jim Marshall's congressional seat. From this point forward, the Mayor should be called Hakim Mansour Ellis.

I don't even know what to say about this. Steve Allen, chair of the Bibb County Democratic Party, commented that a person's faith is personal, but that he thought that Mayor Ellis might have a more difficult time winning in the 8th. You think?

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I did watch some of the State of the Union, and it was the camera shot of the podium, not the words of the President, that meant the most to me. To see Speaker Pelosi sitting on the podium behind the President was an amazing, historic moment.

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Marshall Makes Sense on Iraq

Rep. Jim Marshall and I have seldom agreed on Iraq, but today he participated in a forum called "The Way Forward in Iraq" sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He offers firsthand information as well as a studied approach to the crisis in Iraq. Interestingly, he says that he does not think that we need more troops there now and does not think that we actually, as some have argued, needed more troops there initially. The whole forum is available at this link.

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