Fresh Loaf

As the July 15 primaries approach, we at CL wanted to give our readers a recap of some of the most important races. Let’s call it our Ad-hoc, Incremental, Online Voter Guide!

Let’s start with the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate. They’re fighting for the honor to take on first-term Republican (and Bush hand-maiden) Saxby Chambliss.

Polls taken at different points in the race have shown a close race, generally with Vernon Jones ahead, followed by Dale Cardwell, Jim Martin and Rand Knight. But a recent Rasmussen poll showed Martin (a late entry, but the best-funded candidate) on an upward trajectory. None of the polls has shown candidate Josh Lanier gaining much traction with voters.

But, apart from their poll numbers, what do we know about these guys? (more…)

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Ouch. It was painful yesterday watching Barrack Obama’s rather public straight-arming of a too clingy Vernon Jones, who had circulated a campaign flier with a photoshopped image making it appear – if you overlook lighting, shadows and the sheer absurdity of the premise – as if the presidential front-runner and the DeKalb CEO were standing side-by-side, speaking to a large audience.

But Obama conceded, at an appearance Tuesday at a Cherokee County high school, that the two might have met:

“The reason I think I may have met him is I know somebody told me as I was shaking his hand that he had taken pride in voting for George Bush twice.”

Oh, snap! But the most excruciating thing about the whole episode is that Vernon’s dissing went on the AP wire and was picked up by media outlets as far away as New York.

Here was BET.com’s merciless headline: “Obama Says, ‘No He Can’t!’ The Democratic presidential candidate slams a Black lawmaker for latching on.”

(For the record, the CEO’s job is administrative, not legislative, so he’s not a lawmaker.)

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Last month, John McCain gave a speech in Louisiana so dull that Comedy Central’s faux-right-wing pundit Stephen Colbert invited viewers to place the Republican presidential candidate in more exciting surroundings.

YouTube screenshot

The entries are in and they range from mildly diverting to solidly amusing. We haven’t watched them all, so there might be one that’s pee-your-pants funny. We’ll offer our favorite, a Pulp Fiction homage.

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Want the power to nominate a candidate for higher office? Have a strong opinion about what’s truly the best of the best in Atlanta? Become an officially endorsed CL Super Delegate and give us your opinions.

In fact, CL is throwing a raging election party Wed., July 9, at the Star Bar. Your $10 admission gets you free food from The Real Chow Baby, live music and there’s a rumor we’ll be offering free beer while supplies last.

For this year’s Best of Atlanta Raging Election edition, we are looking for independent voters to act as special CL critics. If your nominations are picked, YOU will be considered a CL critic and given the power to bestow a Critics Pick Best of Atlanta award for 2008. We are looking for picks in all categories, so send us a blurb about what you consider to be the Best of Atlanta and why. Send them to bestofatlanta@creativeloafing.com.

If you haven’t voted, what are you waiting for? And don’t forget to take our exit poll once you do!

We look forward to your nominations!

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The Augusta Chronicle has published an endorsement of 10th District Congressional candidate Barry Fleming that, in its breathless admiration and over-the-top prose, is nothing short of an editorial blowjob:

Fleming, a former assistant district attorney, has led an exemplary personal and professional life. Besides his unassailable credentials, Fleming flashes the eloquence of a prosecutor and the moral persuasion that made Charlie Norwood a legend here and in Congress.
It shows in the accolades Fleming has earned in just a few years in the halls of power – awards from Georgia’s cities, hospitals, district attorneys, family advocates and more.
And if anyone in Athens is wondering about his loyalties, he has two degrees from the University of Georgia.

Urp. I think I’m going to be ill.

Fleming became majority whip in the state House when the Republicans took over because Majority Leader Jerry Keen wanted a reliable henchman to help him carry out dirty work, such as Keen’s draconian – and unconstitutional – sex-offender bill.

The Chronicle cites Fleming’s support from the Medical Association of Georgia as a sign of his leadership. Well, of course MAG endorses Fleming – it’s payback for his role in the “tort reform” legislation that’s helping the insurance giant line its pockets.

And the paper touts Fleming for trying to “empower prosecutors.” That’s a nice way to describe one of the most shameful and irresponsible bills of the last few years. Here’s how we described it when we gave him a Golden Sleaze Award last year:

The Kill ‘Em All, Let God Sort ‘Em Out Award
To Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem
At a time when other red states are announcing moratoria on executions and DNA evidence is being used left and right to spring people from death row, Barry “Widowmaker” Fleming wants to grease the path to Georgia’s electric chair.
The majority whip offered a bill to scrap one of the fundamental tenants of American criminal justice – unanimous juries – in order to allow folks to be put to death even if not one, not two, but three jurors were opposed. The Headsman of Harlem made it obvious that his bill was tailored to soothe his discontent with the recent case of convicted murderer Wesley Harris, who received a life sentence instead of a date with Old Sparky because of two holdout jurors.

Anyway, the most interesting part of the Chronicle piece is the reader commentary that follows the editorial. A number of folks have been turned off by Fleming’s slime campaign against incumbent Paul Broun’s distant personal past, as typified by his debate attacks. Just judging from the online debate, it seems increasingly as if this race is up for grabs.

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The DeKalb Commission is dealing this morning with a resolution to use legal action to block the proposed city of Dunwoody. I pointed out in a blog yesterday that, because of recent legal precedents, such an effort would be doomed to failure. But that depends on what you’re trying to achieve.

Reader John Heneghan has pointed out that the legislation, put forward by Commissioner Lee May, is likely not intended to affect the Dunwoody referendum, but rather the primary election for CEO, which takes place the same day, July 15.
As he explains on the Dunwoody North Civic Association blog:

This matter is politically charged and was probably placed on the agenda not because (Vernon) Jones wants to take expensive legal action against the State of Georgia for the City of Dunwoody’s creation, but because it could be used as a wedge issue dividing the County in half. If that is the case, it will probably be played as North DeKalb vs. South DeKalb, and sadly probably also along racial lines too.

Although Heneghan doesn’t say it explicitly, I’ll extrapolate that the measure was perhaps intended to force Commissioner Burrell Ellis, a CEO candidate who’s been no friend to Jones, to take a public stand on the controversial issue of Dunwoody cityhood. If he votes for the resolution, he loses Dunwoody votes. If he votes against it – the more likely scenario – he may lose South DeKalb votes. Or so the thinking goes.

Anyway, TotH to Heneghan for sharing his analysis. (That’s blogspeak for Tip of the Hat – I just learned that!)

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The Spanish-born philosopher Santayana is best known for coining the aphorism, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” It’s a maxim unlikely to go out of style because there’s always an example to give it currency. Which brings us to DeKalb.

At tomorrow morning’s county board meeting, Commissioner Lee May will introduce a resolution calling for DeKalb to initiate legal action to block the formation of a city of Dunwoody.

Now, to anyone who’s been paying attention over the last three years, this action will spur a sense of deja vu. The Fulton County Commission did the exact same thing in May 2005, a little more than a month before a scheduled referendum for the city of Sandy Springs. It took less than 10 days for the U.S Department of Justice to summarily reject the county’s argument as so much sour-grapes whining.

In DeKalb’s case, there’s only a week left before the July 15 referendum. Not only does May seem ignorant of recent legal precedent regarding local incorporation votes, but he also appears to lack a calendar. Here’s the official description of his measure:

The Governing Authority supports a legal challenge to the Incorporation of the City of Dunwoody by the County Attorney given Senate Bill 82 inclusion of the Perimeter Community Improvement District (CID). Senate Bill 82 (Incorporating the City of Dunwoody) would not be in the best interest of the citizens of the County, including those of the area of Dunwoody. Furthermore, the legislation would exclude from the referendum many citizens of unincorporated DeKalb County.

(more…)

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Today’s Washington Post reports on the fate of the dogs found at ex-Falcon Michael Vick’s notorious Bad Newz Kennels compound in Virgina. Apparently, animals rescued from similar – if less publicized – circumstances are typically considered poor candidates for rehabilitation and are typically put down.

But because of the intense public outcry over the treatment of the dogs in Vick’s operation, the judge provided for each of the 49 rescued pit bulls to be evaluated and considered for placement in shelters or even private homes.

Of the 47 surviving dogs, 25 were placed directly in foster homes, and a handful have been or are being adopted. Twenty-two were deemed potentially aggressive toward other dogs and were sent to an animal sanctuary in Utah. Some, after intensive retraining, are expected to move on to foster care and eventual adoption.

As editor Scott Freeman recently reported, one of those dogs, Lucky 7, had been fostered by Smyrna tattoo artist Brandon Bond, but was hit by a car and killed last week near its new home in Florida.

The Post piece concludes:

As with any celebrity case, the legacy of the Vick bust has been far-reaching. Dogfighting raids across the country have tripled in the past year. Hundreds of law enforcement officers have been trained to detect the signs of underground rings. And, in some cases, officials have asked pit bull behavior experts to evaluate seized fighting dogs rather than automatically euthanizing them. But most dogfighters don’t have the kind of money that Vick did. So even those deemed worthy of a second chance don’t always get one.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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If you still don’t know which of the nine(!) Democratic candidates for Fulton sheriff to vote for, you’re not alone. Few county residents could ID any of the challengers to incumbent Myron Freeman out of a police line-up.

Farmer- Hulk smash recidivism rate!

Your opportunities for getting acquainted with any of these guys are limited, but it can be done if you’re willing to go out of your way. Your next chance is Tuesday evening at a debate in College Park. So far, seven candidates have confirmed they’ll be there, including Democrats Ronald Brandy, Frank Brown, Curtis Farmer, Theodore Jackson, Patrick Labat and Charles Rambo, as well as the lone Republican, Michael Rary. So far unconfirmed are Aubrey Osteen, Charles Shelton and, of course, Freeman himself, who has not taken part in any candidate gatherings.

Sponsored by an online media outlet called Exceptional Radio, the event begins at 7 p.m. at the city auditorium, 3631 Main Street. We’re guessing you’ll want to get there on the early side because it looks as if the sheriff debate will precede one for Fulton Clerk of Superior Court.

If you can’t make that event, your next chance is Thursday. The Atlanta Press Club is sponsoring an hour-long debate, from 10:30-11:30 a.m., in the Georgia Public Broadcasting studio at 260 14th St. The public is invited to sit in the audience, but all questions will be asked by an onstage panel of journalists. The debate won’t be televised until the evening of July 13, a mere two days before the primary.
(more…)

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The conventional wisdom is that 10th District Congressional candidate Barry Fleming of Harlem has truckloads more campaign funding than GOP incumbent Paul Broun of Athens, he has the support of all the heavy-hitting Republicans in the state House and his views on, well, most issues are more in line with conservative primary voters.

But judging simply from the pair’s performance in last night’s Webcast debate, Fleming looks like a man in trouble. After less than one term in Washington, Broun is still not the most practiced speaker, but Fleming, sporting heavy bags under his eyes, consistently looked and sounded tired, sullen and shifty.

By all accounts, Fleming has waged a particularly nasty, mean-spirited campaign, dredging up a 25-year-old contempt of court charge against Broun for falling behind in his alimony. Fleming tried to defend his approach by saying the way Broun handled his personal affairs back then somehow reflects on how he deals with legislation now, but that explanation didn’t sound any more convincing than it reads.

Fleming accused Broun of supporting child Internet pornography, marijuana use and other vices because he broke with the GOP pack in voting against some nanny-state legislation. But Broun seemed to deflect the criticism effectively by claiming he was standing up for personal privacy, states’ rights and other conservative ideals – all without mentioning that he is a screaming libertarian.

Finally, Fleming, who’s served as majority whip in the Georgia House for the past two years, tried to argue that his record as a legislative leader qualifies him for Congress – that is, until the AP’s Shannon McCaffrey pointed out that the most recent General Assembly was a “dismal failure.” Doh!

I’d never seen Broun in action before and while I wouldn’t want him as my congressman, I’d certainly say he came across better in all respects than the sourpussed Fleming. But please let us know if you had a different take on the debate or the race.

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Two years ago, when Otis Marks II of Lithonia was running for a DeKalb Commission seat, we described him as “a flaky motivational speaker and self-described ‘father of Psychoneurokinesthetics,’” pointing out that, “no, we don’t know what that is, either.”

Actually, we have to admit we were being a little disingenuous. Marks’ own website, www.otisspeak.org, explains quite concisely what Psychoneurokinesthetics – or PNK, as it is better(?) known – is:

Psychoneurokinesthetics (PNK) is the most advanced and recent, cutting edge tool available to maximize the quality of human existence and to optimize personal performance. PNK takes a philosophical, psychological, and scientific approach in providing a clear connection of the “Trinity of Existence”, Infinite Energy, the Human, and the Being.

O-Kay, then. What we didn’t learn until he joined the Democratic race for state House District 91 this year is that Marks is also an accomplished music producer. You’ve got to hear his campaign theme song, suggestively titled “You Come First.”

We’re totally serious – you abso-fucking-lutely need to hear this! But we warn you – don’t listen to this with a full bladder or with food in your mouth. It’s that hilarious. And it probably only sounds as if it were recorded and mixed in a bathroom.

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In Georgia politics, it’s generally accepted that an effective media buy for a statewide race costs upwards of $250,000 a week. That’s a lot of wampum. What do you do if you can’t afford to get your ads on TV?

You put them on your website, of course. That’s just what the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate have done, some posting multiple videos. A few of them are short, TV-ready campaign ads. Others are long-form videos offering details about a certain issue or the candidate’s background.

Here’s what’s available for viewing:

Veteran TV reporter Dale Cardwell has a bit of an advantage in this area, since he can deliver his message on-camera rather than relying on voice-over talent. Right up front on his website is a short introductory video telling us that Dale is: A. honest, B. a truth-teller, and C. not controlled by special-interest PACs.

Cardwell archives his longer pieces on a different site with the less-than-catchy name, www.dalethetruth.com. There you’ll find videos that have something of the feel of the investigative reports Cardwell used to do in his old job. In two of them, he explains how the incumbent, Saxby Chambliss, is beholden to special-interest PACs. Another attacks Democratic rival Jim Martin for: 1. changing his mind about running, 2. counting Vernon Jones among his friends, and 3. you guessed it – being beholden to special-interest PACs.

In Vernon Jones’ introductory video, the DeKalb CEO touts his support for renewable energy sources. The actors hired to play grocery shoppers horrified by rising prices are a bit cheesy, but Jones himself has – not surprisingly – a smooth, confident delivery.

Jones’ other videos are a mixed bag. There’s an entertaining 10-minute recap of his entire life, beginning with his upbringing in a large, poor family in small-town South Carolina, and following his political victories – accompanied by inter-titles and a soaring, inspirational musical score. Actually, he did leave out descriptions of his many personal scandals, but we guarantee there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

He also includes a seemingly endless video about DeKalb that looks to have been produced by the county’s economic development department. It’s the sort of thing that puts people to sleep at chamber of commerce breakfasts.

New to politics, Atlanta businessman Rand Knight offers a video that merely uses ad-libbed testimonials by supporters. It looks and sounds as if it was shot at a meet-the-candidate house party, but in cutting between the same three people, it gives the impression that he has only a handful of backers.

In his “media” section, Knight has no videos, only photographs. Hundreds and hundreds of photographs. From seemingly every public appearance the guy has made. There’s Rand visiting a construction site, Rand at a Houston County meet-and-greet, Rand posing with a donkey. He’s a young, good-looking fella, but photos with almost no context don’t tell us much about what kind of senator he’d make.

Josh Lanier, on the other hand, has few pictures of himself on his site. Most of his videos feature Chambliss speaking, with Stephen Colbert-style subtitles providing commentary – except they’re not funny. His introductory video is a four-minute slow-zoom of Lanier speaking directly into the camera. And speaking. And speaking. It has something to do with offering voters an alternative to politics as usual, but only a mother would watch the whole thing.

Jim Martin, the best-funded Democrat, has been able to buy airtime; his first ad has been on TV at least a week, but if you just can’t wait to see it, you can view it here. It’s a typically slick, professionally produced, 30-second campaign ad with a stentorian voice-over citing Martin’s service in Vietnam, his concern for women’s health care and his legislative efforts to protect homeowners from foreclosure. Well-known Atlanta community activist Hattie Dorsey delivers an endorsement for Martin. And, lastly, the smiling candidate says: “I’m Jim Martin and I approved this message because it’s time someone stood up for the middle class.” The ad is almost a textbook example of going after the liberal base in a primary election.

Seen any of the ads? Did any of them sway your vote? Tell us what you liked or didn’t like. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Last night’s Atlanta Press Club debate between U.S. Rep David Scott and former state Sen. Donzella James was fairly typical in that it unspooled like a boxing match in which the fighters spend most of their time in the clutch.

That’s not to say there’s no value in the APC debates. But, speaking as one who’s served as a panelist before, the time is so limited and the format so rigid that it’s rare for anyone – candidate or reporter – to land a punch.

Still, despite their shortcomings, the debates allow you to get a sense for the candidates’ rhetorical styles and they hint at campaign issues for further research.

Tuesday’s debate mainly saw Scott defending his record as a congressman, rather than James establishing why Democratic primary voters should choose her to represent the 13th District – a hideously Franken-mandered jurisdiction that wraps around the southern rim of Atlanta, including portions of six metro counties.

Scott has been under fire since being named one of the “22 most corrupt members of Congress” last year by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. He earned that distinction by falling a reported $167,000 behind in his taxes at the same time he was paying family members hundreds of thousands of dollars for working on his political campaigns.

But you wouldn’t have known any of that was a big deal from watching the debate, where time constraints allowed Scott to give the issue a quick brush-off.

More attention was paid to Scott’s conservative voting record, such as his recent support for the FISA bill that grants amnesty to telecom companies that helped the Bush administration illegally spy on Americans.

Other tidbits:

• Although James said she’s an environmentalist, she supports opening more areas up to oil exploration – leading one to wonder if she knows what “environmentalist” means.
• James mentioned several times that she lives in the district, but Scott doesn’t. Having seen his Inman Park mansion, I can’t say I blame him.
• Scott said one answer to high fuel prices is removing sugar tariffs so we can import Brazilian ethanol. He made it all sound so simple…
• Starting with a rambling statement about the War on Drugs, James invited Scott to join her in taking a drug test. He declined.

Finally, James brought up an incident in which Scott supposedly referred to their Republican opponent, Deborah Honeycutt, as a bitch – or, as James put it, the “B-word.” Having served several years with Scott in the state Senate, James said she gained insight into his character. “He disrespects women,” she said.

“It’s a complete lie,” Scott replied.

Sorry, but that’s all the time we have, folks. If you didn’t feel you gained adequate knowledge about the candidates from this blog post, you can watch the entire half-hour debate here.

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