Infighting Grounds Georgia GOP

Gov. Perdue, Lt. Gov. Cagle and Speaker Richardson planned a "fly around" last week as a show of unity prior to the session opening next week, only the plane never got off the ground. No, there were no mechanical problems with the plane-just an inability of Georgia's top leadership to agree on a agenda. Here's what the AJC had to say:

Things are so dicey that when state officials tried to organize a fly-around with Perdue, Cagle and Richardson this week, they were unsure if they'd be able to get together on an agenda.

Can't get together on an agenda? Are you kidding me? Drought plagued North Georgia and metro-Atlanta were on a day-to-day water watch, gridlock keeps Georgians in cars for hours, our schools struggle not to be last in the nation, tens of thousands of Georgians lack access to health care and our three top leaders can't agree on an agenda? These "leaders" are focused more on their own political futures than on the needs of Georgians.

Maybe we do need that prayer meeting.

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Brown to Stay in Senate

Travis Fain reports that Sen. Robert Brown will remain in the Georgia Senate and will not run for Mayor of Macon. I'm not happy about the reason (he is recovering from surgery), but I am glad that he is staying in the Senate. His shoes would've been hard to fill.

The rumor mill-and that's all it is-says that Brown and Reichert have struck some sort of deal. If that's the case, and Brown ends up supporting Reichert, that could do more to heal the racial divide in this community than any other single act I can imagine.

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Perdue Vetoes Mental Health Commission

Just days after a patient at West Central Georgia Regional Hospital died from a severe beating, and even as the federal regulators pronounced that patients in that facility were in "immediate jeopardy," Gov. Sonny Perdue vetoed Senate Resolution 363, a measure that would have established a commission to probe and make recommendations about how to improve Georgia's cash-strapped mental health service system. I can't imagine what his rationale was, except that such a commission might end up pointing a finger at a Governor who thinks fish are more important than funding critical mental health services. What a shame.

When the State fails to fund community mental health and addiction treatment, patients do not magically get well. Many end up untreated, unmedicated, jailed or homeless. Too often, when we do provide treatment, it is at the most expensive and least effective point in the process. This is a policy that makes our communities less safe and ultimately costs more money. If you don't believe me, spend a morning down at the courthouse listening to criminal calendar call. Count the number of cases where drugs are involved. Currently, in Bibb County, the largest provider of mental health services our Sheriff's Department. What sort of sense does that make?

I have worked as a mental health professional for many years, and what angers and frustrates me the most about the constant bleed on mental health resources is that more than ever, we have the ability to effectively treat mental illness. The medicines, though prohibitively expensive in many cases, are more effective and less dangerous. Even for addiction, new treatment methods and medicines offer hope. We can treat mental illness and addiction, but we choose not to. As of yesterday, we choose not to even take a good hard look at a system that is failing.

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Another Embarrassment for Georgia GOP

Though it was hardly needed, our Georgia Republican legislators have offered up yet another fine example of their arrogance and sheer lack of professionalism. What did they do this time? When Chambliss and Isakson scheduled a private conference call with GOP legislators to discuss the immigration bill, one of them, or perhaps more than one of them served up the call-in number and pass code to none other than certified extremist, D.A. King. According to the guys at Political Insider, Saxby and Johnny were furious. I guess so. It's not clear from the article exactly when the two U.S. Senators learned that Mr. King was on the call. What a bunch of children.

No one should be surprised by this. As I pointed out in this piece in December of 2006, King is mighty chummy with some Georgia Republican lawmakers. I suggested then that he would certainly be in the room when immigration issues were discussed in Georgia. Who knew he would also be on the phone during what was supposed to be a private call?

This incident is more significant than just the fact that King was on the call and was not supposed to be. This breech, this disrespect of two sitting U.S. Senators, is symptomatic of the void of leadership with in the GOP and the utter arrogance of Republicans in the Georgia General Assembly. They are increasingly controlled by the extremists within their own Party, and they are more and more out of touch with the Georgians they are supposed to represent. This incident is emblematic of the fact that the GOP continues to fracture at its base.

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AJC: Brown to Run for Mayor

Political Insider is reporting that Sen. Robert Brown will indeed leave the senate to run for Mayor of Macon. Here's the story.

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"We Failed Our Constituents"

"We failed our constituents," said Governor Perdue. Yes, you did, Governor, and Richardson has apologized to you for referencing your rear, but who's going to apologize to the everyday Georgians who paid the price for this year's study in how not to govern?

Georgia Republicans, in word and deed, have made a good and public case for why voters ought to bounce them all out of office. Don't take my word for it. For a blistering critique of the Georgia GOP, just glance to your right:

First, Perdue called the proposed property tax rebate,"the wrong choice, reached in panic, in the dark of night, in a secret room."

Ouch.

Then, on April 21, Speaker Richardson accused Perdue of showing lawmakers his “backside” and “acting like a child.”

Could've done without the visual.

Not to be outdone, Perdue, acknowledging the futility of trying to work with Glenn Richardson's House, rescinded the veto of the supplemental budget and said, "There is obviously no spirit of compromise with the House leadership. Leaders in my opinion don't act in such a way," Perdue said.

Amen.

Other GOP lawmakers got into the spirit of ripping their own. Rep. Mills responded with a "bounces off me sticks to you" approach noting,"Someone could say the same thing about his response to what the House and Senate agreed upon," said Mills. "That knife cuts both ways."

Okay, so the Governor is a poor leader as well.

Yet another Republican lawmaker, Sen. Lee Hawkins worried aloud that taxpayers might pay the price for the GOP infighting. He said, "I would hope that retaliation is not taken out on the taxpayers of the state."

Too late.

I've got news for the Senator, we are already paying the price. Even Perdue acknowledged that the midyear budget is still flawed. Among the causalities? Prosecutors who may have to be furloughed before the June 30 end of the fiscal year. I guess Georgia Republicans just ceded the "law and order" issue.

To sum up the damage from the session, look to that entirely objective voice from the AJC, Jim Wooten who today wrote," This is a party adrift, a big tent where an assortment of moderates and conservatives mill about, without unifying principle, aim or agenda."

Nope, he's not talking about Democrats.

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Say Something Already!

During this legislative session, the DPG was strangely silent as Republicans committed hara-kiri. It's arguable that the GOP was doing such a fine job of filleting themselves in the press, that they did not need our help; however, our silence has Doug Monroe pining away for Bobby Kahn and Bill Shipp predicting that Georgia Democrats will not be able to take advantage of the Republican train wreck.

I understand that sometimes our elected Democrats took the heat for Bobby Kahn's press statements. The most recent example was Kahn going on record about Richardson's alleged inappropriate relationship with a female lobbyist. Let's just say that not all Democratic legislators were pleased, but taking that kind of heat is part of the price of being in office. That story needed to be told. It provided a frame for what was arguably the worst, least productive, most contentious legislative session in recent memory. Some would say that the Georgia GOP never recovered. Was Kahn too negative, too aggressive? Probably, yes, but, we must find a middle ground. On some issues, politically, the Party is in a better position to speak than the caucus whose members must stand for election in two years. We simply must tell voters what the problems are and offer them an alternative. It is not enough to be silent.

To be fair, I know Kidd and crew have been busy raising money, traveling the state, meeting with local Democrats, and, they have communicated, just not enough, especially in the wake of this horrid session. But, I think that the DPG is gun-shy because of the feelings of the elected Democrats. We need to get over that. The Republicans have handed us a gift. Less than 20% of those responding to a recent poll approve of the Republican legislative leadership. Their standard bearer in the 10th, Whitehead, can't open his mouth without saying something appallingly stupid. We have a rare opportunity. The question is, what are we going to do with it?

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The Three Stooges Running Georgia Government

Faced with spending a quarter of a million dollars on a special session that Tom Crawford reports will being either May 7 or May 14, Georgia's Republican senators and representatives need to be concerned about their job security. According to an Insider Advantage poll released yesterday, only 16.9% of Georgians polled have a favorable opinion of the job performance of the leadership of their state legislature. After the last session, no one should be shocked.

While state's the three top Republicans, Perdue, Cagle and Richardson, spent the session auditioning for a remake of The Three Stooges, the Rome News Tribune called the proposed property tax rebate "political fraud."

In November of 2006, nationally, Democrats took over both houses of Congress, in part because Republicans were perceived as corrupt, incompetent spendthrifts who had bungled the war and were out of touch with everyday people. Georgia Republicans have proven that they are no different than their Washington counterparts. In Georgia, where people change their political party more often than their underwear, the GOP has opened the door for Democrats in 2008.


Consider the Three Stooges who run State Government in Georgia.

• "Moe" Richardson, Speaker of the House who began the session under the cloud of scandal because of his alleged relationship with a lobbyist, continued to entertain with his efforts to bounce children off the PeachCare rolls. Like Moe, Richardson's arrogance leads him to believe that he is a lot smarter than he really is. His tirades, like Moe's, are legendary.
  


• "Larry" Cagle, Lt. Governor who seems like a nice guy but is just not all that competent, padded the budget for his office by 58% while failing to replenish the state's savings account and imposing about $100 million in 'austerity cuts' for public schools. I wonder who he thinks his new $150,000 a year job czar is going to recruit if we can't manage to get our kids through high school?
  


• "Curly" Perdue, Governor who used 'Sonny Math' to overstate revenue projections and then was 'Gone Fishin' for most of the session, showed up just in time to veto the supplemental budget. By the way, the Governor seems to have plenty of time on his hands. Maybe Cagle can just hire him to be the Jobs Czar. Conflicts of interest have never mattered much to this crowd anyway.
  
  

All of these "leaders" have opted for pork and tax breaks for special interests while underfunding healthcare, education and public safety, the very things that impact the lives of everyday Georgians. As the Rome New Tribune says:

"Might one suggest that citizens really can't do without the state troopers, or the doctors in public emergency rooms, or the social workers guarding foster children or the teachers trying to stem the flow of dropouts. What they can do without is politicians of this caliber."

Amen.

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Fiscal Opportunists

If Alan Essig is correct, Richardson, Cagle and Perdue are like a family with inadequate savings that just learned that they're getting a 5% raise. The family makes plans to spend all of it without replenishing their savings or taking into consideration the new baby that's on the way. What sense does that make? None, but it makes you feel good while you're spending it.

Essig just posted this article over at Georgia Political and Policy Digest. He makes a compelling argument that the $142 million the legislature wants to return to taxpayers really doesn't exist as a surplus, but instead is a product of fiscally irresponsible revenue projections of the part of the Governor. (Okay, Essig is far to polite to call the Governor irresponsible, but it's a reasonable interpretation.)

If you follow Essig's argument, it appears that the Governor sort of backed himself into a corner by over-estimating available revenue and failing to take into account the increased cost of public education due to population growth and the need to fully fund our surplus. Why would the Governor do such a thing? Perhaps to make room in the budget for his promised tax cut for high income seniors? Whatever his reason, Sonny's funny math has now bitten him in the political posterior.

Here's what happened. In January, the Governor raised the revenue estimates for 2007 from 1.8% over 2006 to 5.1%. In reality, revenues have only increased 4.7% in the first nine months of the fiscal year. Regardless, in the Supplemental Budget, the legislature proceeded to spend the projected revenues and did so without regard for the fact that those projections failed to take into account the needs in terms of the public schools and the State's savings account. Essig suggests that about $380 million ($180 mm for education and $200 mm for the surplus) should be hands off in terms of spending. But, as Essig points out, politics has once again trumped good policy.

I agree. I thought that fiscal conservatives were, well, fiscally conservative. Turns out they are just fiscal opportunists.

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"They Owned Slaves"

"They owned slaves." When my mother died in 2002, I inherited her compilation of family history and the unwelcome knowledge that my ancestors owned slaves. The story below, and a copy of a Last Will and Testament that in the same paragraph directed the dividing of the slaves and horses among the heirs was ample evidence that, for me, the question of whether there should be an apology for slavery is not esoteric but instead, quite personal.

"I was ten years old when Granddaddy died. He told me a Civil War story which I remember quite well. His father, Watson P. Abrams, lived in the above house. They owned slaves. When the Civil War was being fought, Granddaddy's father sent the slaves to the canebrake with the horses. One slave was unfaithful and gave information to the Union troops. The one horse which his mother, Mary Miller Abrams, could ride (she was crippled) was taken by the Union soldiers." (Mary Olga Watson Hamrick)

As I read these words, I was shocked to learn that my Great Great Grandfather owned slaves and stunned that my mother's focus in her account was on the "unfaithfulness" of one of the slaves and the hardship created for her Great Grandmother when the Union soldiers took the one horse she could ride. Suddenly, the evil of slavery was not something that belonged to someone else's family. Here it was, squarely in my lap. Like it or not, and I did not, my family, and therefore I, benefited from the labor of slaves, and for that I feel profound regret.

My mother's family were farmers in rural North Carolina, and she told detailed stories about how hard she and her five brothers and sisters worked in the cotton fields. They survived the Great Depression better than people who lived in the city because they were able to grow their own food. Still, it was hard, and she told my sisters and I about going to school barefoot because there were no shoes and about getting corn husk dolls at Christmas because there was no money. She talked about playing with the children of the sharecroppers who lived on their land. She was quick to point out how "good" her father was to the sharecroppers-sharecroppers who were undoubtedly the descendants of the slaves the family once owned.

I have thought about telling this story for several years. I am telling it now because we continue to debate whether or not Georgia should apologize for slavery, and I want to suggest that for me, in fact for many of us, that need for apology and reconciliation may be more personal. Sen. Robert Brown has said that such an apology would be demeaning, but the NAACP has chastised him for not supporting the measure.

At the end of the day, talk is cheap. Reconciliation is about doing right, not taking right. It is ironic that in the same speech where the leader of the NAACP criticised Sen. Brown, he praised the efforts of Sen. Eric Johnson despite the fact that Sen. Johnson supported a number of pieces of legislation this year that would tend to hurt poor and minority families. For instance, he blocked the consideration of a bill that would have allowed a judge to revisit the sentence of Genarlow Wilson, and he helped sponsor legislation that will channel needed dollars away from our public schools. I think that Brown's point, that an apology for slavery can never be sufficient, is on point. Instead, Brown is busy, engaged in supporting legislation, like preserving PeachCare, that will make a substantive difference right now.

Personally and as a State, an apology for slavery just doesn't seem like enough. Words do matter but our actions are so much more important. How can we act in ways that will bring about reconciliation for the wrong that was done? We can support programs that help lift people out of poverty and afford everyone an opportunity for success. We can support candidates for office who will carry those principles forward. We can live as if reconciliation is our personal responsibility, not some far removed duty of the State.

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Georgia Republicans Are Eating Their Young

Georgia Democrats may have perfected the art of the circular firing squad, but we have nothing on the Republicans. Over at Peach Pundit, they are bashing the Governor and one another with vigor.

Right now, on the heels of a legislative session that redefined the words "intra-party battle," they are working as hard to lose as they once did to win. There was a time when the Georgia GOP was masterful at having their fights behind closed doors and then presenting a united front. No more. And who gets to pay the price for their fight? The Governor and the taxpayers. The taxpayers get to pick to the quarter of a million dollar tab for the special session, and the Governor has officially assumed the position of the Georgia GOP whipping boy. Well, sometimes love affairs do end badly.

But, are they being more calculating than we suspect? What do they have to lose by making Gov. Perdue their punching bag? The answer is other than looking like hypocritical idiots, not a whole lot. Perdue doesn't ever have to worry about getting elected again in Georgia, and whoever thinks that Sonny will get the VP nod from the Republicans is reading my personal wish list. I mean, does the GOP really want to bring Sonny and his Oakey Woods baggage to the Presidential race? I doubt it. Besides, the South is not the place the Republicans need help. At least not yet.

No, it makes a world of sense that party insiders are beating up the Governor, and in the process hope to save the reputations of their future gubernatorial candidates, Richardson and Cagle. Sounds like vintage Rove/Reed to me.

The question is, what will Democrats do in response? We have taken some positive steps. This session, with a few exceptions, we did a good job of holding our caucus together. We managed to look positively sane as Richardson, Cagle and Perdue engaged in their threesome. Now, Georgia Democrats need to seize the moment, plan the strategy and walk through the giant fissure the GOP has created. Nationally, in the November elections, the Republicans did a good job of beating themselves. The same thing can happen in Georgia if we are willing to work together, raise money and allow them to implode.

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The 140 Million Dollar Sham

Did you know that the $140 million that Richardson wants to return to taxpayers is roughly equivalent to the $140 million dollar austerity cut to public schools? Isn't it ironic that the cuts to public schools will be passed along to local districts who will have to fill the gap by either reducing services or, you guessed it, raising property taxes. This is the kind of political shell game that has become emblematic of the GOP reign in Georgia. Don't fall for this sham.

The Associated Press reports that neither Gov. Perdue nor Speaker Richardson show any signs of backing down on their respective 140 give-or-take-a-couple-of-million dollar tax cuts. While Richardson wants the 140 million to go back to property owners in the form of rebate checks, Perdue is miffed that the tax break for high income seniors, the one he campaigned on, was put on hold in the House budget. Here's what the AP had to say:

But Perdue was also displeased that the House put his own retirement tax cut on hold, then put forward its own at an identical $142 million price tag.
"It was a desperate solution for a compromise and it was not well thought out," Perdue said of the House tax cut, which he labeled "a late-night quick fix."

Expect fireworks when the session resumes. Richardson has staked his political future on the survival of the supplemental budget compromise that would return that sum to property owners in the form of rebate checks. Perdue doesn't want his tax break for seniors to be put on hold. Both of them are dead wrong on this issue. If they are really fiscal conservatives, then they should put the money in the reserves instead of spending it to purchase political capitol.

Oh, and by the way, just for some added drama, the $81 million dollar PeachCare 'fix' is, you guessed it, tied up in the supplemental budget- the same budget that will be the subject of this epic battle.

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The Elephant in the Statehouse

Before the Georgia legislature reconvenes in their quarter of a million dollar special session, they better send a cleaning crew over to the capitol. The elephant has pooped squarely in the middle of the floor, and without Democrats to blame, whatever the Georgia GOP does to try to clean up the mess, the stench is likely to follow them into the the 2008 elections and beyond. Engulfed by an air of incompetence, Georgia Republicans look quite vulnerable.

Speaker Richardson is claiming that the Governor bared his rear and made this mess, while Perdue suspects that a junior high prank is responsible for the odor. Casey Cagle is suspiciously quiet, allowing his likely opponent to act afool while aligning himself with a Governor who got about 60% of the vote. Cagle is a lot of things, but 'dumb' is not on the list.

As the legislative session devolved into pre-primary preening and posturing on the part of two likely gubernatorial candidates, Cagle and Richardson, the wheels came off, little was accomplished, and Governor Perdue vetoed the 2007 supplemental budget. He thought the compromise of sending money back to taxpayers was good politics, but not good public policy. Imagine that, Gov. Gift Card is now interested in good public policy. Richardson, who helped design House rules that kept members under the Governor's iron thumb, is incensed. Well, sometimes snake handlers do get bitten.

So, on the heels the most unproductive legislative session in recent memory, voters now must finance a special session so that the General Assembly can fulfill its singular constitutional duty. And this is the party that is supposed to support fiscal conservatism.

As public opinion of and identification with the GOP declines, and as they desperately scramble to field a Presidential candidate who causes the "values voters" to just hold their noses rather than walk away entirely, Georgia Democrats should make gains over the next four years provided we watch where we step. We should've learned by now, it's tough to get that stuff off your shoes.

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Oh. God, Please Let Midnight Come Quickly

We have public school vouchers, SB10, without a vote to spare. And we have the HB147, the ultrasound bill. There were, by the way too many votes to spare on the ultrasound bill. I have not seen the list yet, but there were only 47 opposing votes.

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The House is Debating SB10

The motion to call the previous question passed, and the minority report is now being presented. I think they will vote on SB10, and that it is going to pass the Georgia House. Yuck.

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Theme Song for the Session

This was not my idea, but a GREAT suggestion from someone who has been watching the session closely. Thanks, and here's the perfect theme song for the 2007 Session of the Georgia General Assembly. Burnin' Down the House- "Watch out, you might get what you're after..."

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Duck, Anyone?

What a difference a term makes. Not too long ago, Georgia Republicans looked invulnerable. They controlled the House, Senate and the majority of the constitutional offices. If they disagreed with one another, the fights were behind closed doors, and the Governor had the legislature marching to his drum. Today, barely four months into his second term, Sonny Perdue is the lamest of ducks, and the fights between the House and Senate are daily fodder for the press. Republican bloggers are calling the Governor a "freaking loser" and wishing to have Mark Taylor back for just one day. Suddenly, the GOP looks more like a bunch of snotty-nosed brats than professional lawmakers concerned about their constituents. They still control both chambers and most of the constitutional offices, but let's just say that they have not worn power well.

Yesterday, Gov. Perdue, who has been strangely quiet for most of the session, vetoed the supplemental budget, and this morning, the Georgia House, with very few 'no' votes, overrode that veto. How embarrassing for the Governor. Can he not count votes? Will a special session be required? Probably, and you and I get to PAY FOR IT.

Now, it is approaching 6 pm. It takes four hours to print the budget, then it has to be in the hands of legislators for at least an hour before a final vote. So, will they be able to vote on the budget before midnight? Does the senate even want to vote? So much has been accomplished during regular session, I think that it is only fitting that taxpayer finance more time in Atlanta for this bunch of Keystone Cops.

This legislative session began with a scandal in the Speaker's office and progressed to daily verbal arm wrestling between Richardson and Cagle- two likely candidates for the GOP nomination for Governor in 2010. (Frankly, I think that we would've all been better off if we'd just let them duke it out.) In the meantime, as of just a few minutes ago, 264 bills had made it through both chambers and wait for the signature of the Governor. (There is actually a Senate resolution encouraging the effective teaching of social studies. I kid you not. Apparently, before, we were in favor of the ineffective teaching of social studies.)

Take a look at this list of bills and tell me, do you think that taxpayers got their money's worth this session?

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Jettison Jacobs

Creative Loafing's "18th Annual Golden Sleaze Awards" are a must read. It comes as no surprise that Rep. Mike Jacobs received the coveted DINO Award. Come on Democrats-we seriously need a candidate to run against this guy.

The Jacobs portion of the article is below, but, please, to find out who got the "Gone Fishin' Award", the "Taking Away Tiny Tim's Crutch Award", the "God's Fool Award and many, many more, just click here, and get ready to laugh. Or cry. Your choice.

The DINO Award

To Rep. Mike Jacobs, D-Atlanta

It's one thing when a rural Democrat swings right or switches parties to keep pace with changing political winds in his district. But Jacobs hails from mid-DeKalb, the most liberal county in Georgia. Did the folks who returned the onetime Democratic up-and-comer to the House by a 2-1 margin over his GOP opponent really intend for young Mike to cross the aisle to support kicking kids off PeachCare, reviving payday lending and relaxing legal standards for imposing the death penalty?

Lest you think Jacobs' votes simply reflected ideological differences with party mates, he also voted to return the tarnished Richardson to the speaker's seat and to reinstate the despotic House rules – clear tips he's kowtowing to GOP leaders.

Jacobs confirmed to CL that he is thinking about adding an "R" behind his name. With the way he's voted this session, however, that would be an unnecessary waste of letterhead.

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Executive Branch to Oversee Public Defenders

Oversight of the Georgia Public Defenders Standards Council will almost certainly move from the judicial branch to the executive branch of government. Without a much fanfare, today, SB 139 passed the Georgia House and awaits the Governor's signature.

Isn't it grand that a Governor who must be concerned about re-election is now charged with making sure indigent criminal defendants get adequate representation? Perhaps we should just streamline the process and let the Governor hear all the appeals based on ineffective assistance of council. Why bother with the courts at all? Gov's got it handled.

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Colonial Pipeline Bill Bites the Dust

Yes!!! SB 173, the bill that would've allowed companies like Colonial Pipeline to take your property without having to make the case that it was really necessary, just failed in committee. The vote was 7 - 4, and the motion to reconsider failed as well. I have it on good authority that Colonial was shocked. Chalk one up for Georgia property owners.

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