Gov. Spitzer Needs to Resign

If this is true, it's not even a close call. It is so very sad when bright, promising leaders make headlines like this one.

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I Hate Math

But I bet Sen. Clinton hates it more right about now. I know there's this narrative out there about Clinton's comeback last Tuesday-you know, how she now has the wind in her sails. I thought so, too. At first. Now, I think, not so much.

Her three victories were impressive, but it turns out not to have helped her much in the all-important delegate count, where Obama still leads by more than 100 delegates. She didn't cut much into Obama's lead (about 20 delegates), and the ground she did make up is looking more like quicksand and could disappear entirely by the time the votes are counted in the Texas caucus and the Mississippi primary. And, remember, there were no surprises on Tuesday-two weeks out she was polling well ahead of her final numbers in all three contests.

Based on the CNN totals, Clinton seems to have netted a total of 20 delegates on Tuesday. Then, in Wyoming, Obama netted 5. That leaves Clinton netting 15 delegates total in the last week, and that's if you don't count the two super delegates who declared for Obama last week, plus the brand new congressman and brand new Illinois super delegate who was elected last week. That drops her net gain to 12.

Add to that the fact that Texas caucuses are still being counted, and Obama is ahead. When that counting is done, he may well have erased her seven delegate lead in Texas, or even passed her. But let's say he only cuts her lead in Texas by three. That reduces her net gain for last week to 9 delegates, and leaves me saying, "So, what's the big deal?"

The Mississippi primary is Tuesday, and Obama is favored. If he wins, he may completely erase any delegate ground she gained last Tuesday. As I watched the Sunday shows today, I heard Clinton surrogates argue: 1) that Florida and Michigan should be allowed to seat their delegations; 2) that big states are more important than other states; 3) that swing states and blue states are more significant than "red" states; 4) that it is the role of super delegates to supersede the will of the voters if in their super-wisdom they think it's the super-right thing to do; 5) "Caucuses are undemocratic." Funny, I don't remember her talking about undemocratic caucuses in Iowa. In fact, this was her campaign's statement when she signed the four state pledge in September of 2007:

Sep 1, 2007 4:02 PM Clinton Campaign Statement

The following is a statement by Clinton Campaign Manager Patti Solis Doyle.
"We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process. And we believe the DNC’s rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role.
Thus, we will be signing the pledge to adhere to the DNC approved nominating calendar."

Changed our mind, have we?

But, it's really not about math, is it? It's about the integrity of the process and the will of the voters. The integrity of the process means following the rules and making sure the will of the voters is reflected in the choice of nominee. There may be a way to give voters in Florida and Michigan a chance to vote again, but as Howard Dean said today, the measure of success will be whether the loser feels the process was fair. That, my friends, is going to be a tough row to hoe.

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Vic Jones is Going to Love This

We can rely Georgia Republicans to take care of big insurance companies who pour dollars into their campaign accounts. The rest of us are just out of luck. According to an op-ed in today's Telegraph, on Thursday, thanks to Rep. Tom Knox and a quick legislative slight of hand, both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly passed a bill including a provision that makes it unnecessary for insurance companies to get approval from the Insurance Commissioner before passing certain rate increases on to consumers. Here's a portion of Charles Richardson's piece:

So what did the industry buy? The Judiciary Committee added language in Section 4 that will change the way insurance companies raise rates in Georgia. For all the other legal mumbo-jumbo, it comes down to a single sentence: "For all such private passenger motor vehicle insurance (rates) shall be effective upon filing and shall be implemented without approval of the Commissioner."Though insurance companies still have to go through the filing process with the insurance commissioner's office, policy holders will get a bill and be expected to pay it before the commissioner signs off on the increase. There is a smoke and mirrors caveat. Proponents of this sleight-of-hand point to the provision that requires companies to seek the insurance commissioner approval before raising rates on policies that carry mandated minimum coverages. According to Oxendine, 90 percent of policy holders carry insurance above the minimum.

Good to know you're looking out for us, there, Tom. Actually, it looks like Tom is serving those who have contributed rather richly to his campaign. A check of just his December, 2007 disclosure shows a rather tidy sum from insurance companies and their lobbyists. By the way, I noted on the disclosure that in that reporting period, Rep. Knox did not have a single contribution from an individual donor-all special interest pacs and businesses.

If any question remains about whether the insurance industry had a "special" investment in this piece of legislation, all you have to do is check the website of one of Rep. Knox's contributors, American Insurance Association. The headline, Georgia General Assembly Passes Key Auto Reform Measure is at the top of their "news releases."

On another note, when is Civil Justice PAC (trial lawyers) going to stop feeding the hand that bites it?

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I'm Not So Sure About This

Soon, Georgia children who have ADHD may carry an additional stigma. If the Georgia Senate follows the lead of the House, then children whose doctors prescribe many of the common medications for the treatment of ADHD would have their names and detailed personal and prescription records added to a list accessible by law enforcement without court order. In fact, all Georgians, including those who are suspected of no criminal activities, who fill a prescription for a Schedule II, III or IV drug would be added to a permanent data base-a database to be created and maintained by a third party, private sector contractor. So, if you have the flu, and your doctor gives you a prescription for a cough medicine with codeine, then on the list you go.

Late in February, HB 455, The Georgia Prescription Monitoring Program Act passed the Georgia House with strong bi-partisan support. The purpose of the act-to curb the drug abuse and associated illegal activities-is certainly compelling, but medical privacy is also important. I suppose opposing such a bill carries the political consequence of facing mail or ads calling the member "soft on drug dealers," but I think this bill goes way to far and offers few protections to patients.

The bill requires that on at least a weekly basis, pharmacists must submit, electronically, the following information about patients who fill prescriptions for Schedule II, III and IV drugs:

(1) United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) permit number or approved dispenser facility identification number;
(2) Date prescription filled;
(3) Prescription number;
(4) Whether prescription is new or a refill;
(5) National Drug Code (NDC) for drug dispensed;
(6) Quantity dispensed;
(7) Number of days´ supply of the drug;
(8) Patient´s name;
(9) Patient´s address;
(10) Patient´s date of birth;
(11) Approved prescriber identification number;
(12) Date prescription issued by prescriber; and
(13) Other data elements consistent with standards established by the American Society for Automation in Pharmacy, if designated by regulations of the board

And, under the law, that information is specifically made available to various people including, "Local, state, and federal law enforcement or prosecutorial officials engaged in the administration, investigation, or enforcement of the laws governing licit drugs." It appears that they would not need a subpoena, search warrant or court order to obtain these records.

I don't know about you, but this is a little bit too much Big Brother for me.

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Legislature Scared of the Florida Gators

For once, the Georgia Republican-led legislature is on top of a real threat to our security and quality of life. They are not about to turn those gators loose on our highways-not unless our bulldogs are allowed to roam free in Florida. Never mind whether there's a trauma center available to treat the victims of either the dogs or the gators. Out legislators are focused on a critically important issue: tag reciprocity.

Yesterday a friend received an email from the Atlanta Seminole Club asking her to immediately lobby her State Senator and members of the Senate Public Safety Committee about HB 1165 which will ban or deny renewal of out of state school vanity plates if their states to not show Georgia "tag reciprocity." It seems this uproar began because the State of Florida has different and more burdensome requirements for the creation of a vanity plate than we do here in Georgia, and our legislators are fired up about the Florida Gator tags that have been popping up all over the state.

As I have made clear in previous posts, I bleed baby blue, but my husband went to law school at UGA and is a bulldog fan. I might even be willing to purchase a Tar Heel tag if it became available, but it boggles my mind that our legislators have wasted valuable time during the session when they should have been dealing with issues that truly impact the lives of us in Georgia over this issue. The school plates (I believe we also allow plates from Auburn and Clemson) are a VOLUNTARY TAX that people - let me say it again - pay VOLUNTARILY.

I feel certain that our beloved DAWGS will not loose a single football game just because we allow a little orange and blue gator on license plates. It might even inspire a few more Bulldog fans to pony up the extra for a UGA tag, just to make sure the 'Noles don't take over the roadway. But, regardless, why aren't we happy that these Gators, War Eagles, Tigers - and 'Noles - are lining up to PAY MORE TAXES?

Instead, our legislators look like sore losers who have returned one too many times from Jacksonville on the loosing end of the stick. At the least the Seminoles have a sense of humor because they noted in their lobbying request, "we are fighting this battle with Gators!"

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Double Standard

So, let me get this straight. Howard Wolfson, the paid spokesman for Hillary Clinton, makes a purposeful statement to the press comparing Obama to Ken Starr, and that's supposed to be okay, but Obama's volunteer economic advisor compares Clinton to a monster, and that's out of bounds. I don't know about you, but I thought Ken Starr was a monster. The truth is that both comments were out of line and offered absolutely nothing that elevated the debate in this very important election. If Obama's advisor has been on staff, she should have been fired, but she was a volunteer and has resigned. Where's Howard Wolfson's resignation?

Don't get me wrong, I'd like nothing more than for Obama and Clinton to put the gloves back on and refuse to attack each other-that's what would be in the best interest of the Party and the Country, but spare me the double standard.

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Live Blogging Hart Announcement

I am in the Bibb Commission Board Room waiting for Sam Hart's announcement. The room is filled to over-flowing with a diverse crowd of 75+. Councilmembers Benedict, Schlesinger, Watkins and school board members Hudson and Abrams are here.

Hart says we are now at a point where we must value statesmanship over partisanship.

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McCain Supporter Endorsed "Slave Sale"?

DPG Chair Jane Kidd and Rev. Joseph Lowrey have called on Sen. John McCain to walk the talk and repudiate the statements of one of his Atlanta supporters. I think that the biggest challenge for McCain this cycle is figuring out who he is. Which John McCain is it that he would like us to elect. Read more below:

Kidd, Lowery call on McCain to repudiate divisive comments by key supporter
ATLANTA - Religious, community, and political leaders are calling for Republican Presidential candidate John McCain to denounce comments made by one of his most prominent supporters. McCain, who visits Atlanta this evening for a high-dollar fundraiser, has been endorsed by Pastor John Hagee.
While McCain was effusive in his excitement about the right-wing pastor's endorsement, he has been strangely silent when it comes to disavowing Hagee's extremist, hate-filled rhetoric. Hagee has endorsed a "slave sale" at his church, and advertised that, "Slavery in America is returning to Cornerstone [Church]."
Dr. Joseph Lowery, of the Coalition for the People's Agenda, said, "It's a shameful display of racism and bigotry, and I just can't imagine Senator McCain, who wants to be President of the people, not repudiating these comments."
"Atlanta is the city too busy to hate, and the cradle of the civil rights movement," said Jane Kidd, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. "With our history, there is no better place to denounce Mr. Hagee's hate speech than here in Atlanta. It's time for John McCain keep to his promise to run a 'respectful' campaign and tell America once and for all whether he endorses Mr. Hagee's divisive rhetoric."

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Sam Hart Set to Announce Bid for Bibb Commission Chair

Today at 4 pm, Sam Hart will announce today his intention to run for Chairman of the Bibb County Commission. The announcement will be made at the Bibb County Courthouse, in commission chambers. Everyone is welcome to attend, and I hope you will. Personally, I'm pleased to see someone with Sam's integrity and experience running for this important post. Some people say that Sam is the quiet voice on the commission. I suspect he learned a long time ago that you learn more from listening than from talking. It is time for Macon and Bibb County to have leaders at the helm who can bring people together to solve the tough problems facing this community. Good luck, Sam!

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Kidd Endorses Obama

Another Georgia Super Delegate made up her mind today. Jane Kidd has endorsed Barack Obama. Here's the article. She's right about the Obama-effect on down ballot races in Georgia.

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Down in Flames

Richardson's tax scheme failed. Dems hung together. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. He can kiss the governor's office good-bye.

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Another Georgia Super Delegate Endorses Obama

Today, Mary Long, DNC Representative and Super Delegate from Georgia, announced her endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama:

“This year, Democrats are graced with the opportunity to choose among excellent candidates for our nation’s highest office. After careful thought, it is my honor today to endorse Sen. Barack Obama who day by day and state by state is challenging politics as usual and engaging so many new, diverse, Democratic voters-voters who will propel Sen. Obama to victory in November and help elect great Democrats at the state and local level. As a delegate in August, I choose to be on the side of Georgians and on the side of history as I cast my vote for Barack Obama.” Mary Long

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What David Said

In case you've been under a rock, Kasim Reed has announced that he will run for Mayor of the City of Atlanta. Others contenders who have been mentioned include Lisa Borders. This is shaping up to be an Atlanta-sized rumble.

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Elizabeth Edwards' Father Dies at 87

My heart goes out to Elizabeth Edwards whose father, Vincent Jospeh Anania, died on Saturday at age 87. We love you, as always, Elizabeth.

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Should Progressive Bloggers Give Dems a Pass?

This should be a lively debate.

Should progressive bloggers refuse to speak ill of other Democrats? Yesterday, I spoke about blogging at the Georgia Federation of Democratic Women's Spring Meeting. (It was, by the way a very well put together, well planned event thanks to people like Tina Simms, Kathy Bird and others. Great work, ladies.) Catherine Smith from Blog for Democracy was also there and chimed in with some helpful information. Toward the end of my remarks, Gail Buckner who served in the Georgia House and then was the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State stood and, in summary, expressed her concern about some things that were written about her on blogs during the last cycle, observed that she does not see conservative bloggers bashing Republicans (must not have been reading Peach Pundit lately) and opined-I am paraphrasing-that perhaps we should not speak ill of our own, and if we do, we should be sure that what we say is true.

Well, I certainly agree with the last part of her statement-that we shouldn't write something unless we believe it's true, but what about the rest? I have taken, and will continue to take Democrats to task on issues important to me personally. I was critical of Jim Marshall for his vote on Children's Health Insurance, and I questioned John Barrow about his statements about children of illegal immigrants. I took a couple of Democrats in the Georgia General Assembly to task for co-sponsoring the "Personhood" legislation and fussed with Kevin Levitas about his position on reducing the number of jurors required to impose the death penalty. I have challenged campaign tactics and the lack there of. I could go on. But, on balance, I spend far more time challenging Republicans than Democrats.

My thought has always been that if we are unwilling to challenge our own, then how do we have any credibility when we challenge Republicans? But, my question to you is, should progressive bloggers back off other Democrats and instead adopt Regan's Rule? If there's a line, where is it?

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