Fresh Loaf

Much like its subsidiary Georgia Power did under the Gold Dome with its controversial Plant Vogtle bill earlier this year, Atlanta-based Southern Co. has cranked up production in its lobbyist factory and ordered more than 60 well-dressed foot soldiers to march through the halls of Congress.

Their mission: Twist lawmakers’ arms about the global warming bill that last week narrowly passed the House and is on its way to the Senate.

From the Center for Public Integrity:

Southern Company, the nation’s largest electric power generator, also had the largest force of lobbyists among the hundreds of businesses and interest groups that were seeking to influence the landmark climate change legislation that just passed the House.

With 63 lobbyists, the Atlanta-based energy giant had nearly twice as many climate lobbyists as any other company or organization, according to registration statements filed with the Senate Office of Public Records for the first quarter of 2009. (The second quarter filings won’t be available for a few weeks.) Eleven of Southern’s climate representatives were in-house, while the rest came from a dozen different lobbying shops.

It’s for good reason, too. The center reports that “more than 80 percent of the 200 million megawatt hours of electricity [Southern Co.'s] plants generate annually is fired by fossil fuel — the main source of greenhouse gases.” Should the bill pass, it could greatly impact Southern Co.’s — and in the process, your — bottom line.

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Republican Rep. Lynn “Uppity” Westmoreland of Newnan is standing in a nearly empty U.S. House and addressing his fellow lawmakers as I write this. About 12 guys — two of whom I think are really just cardboard cutouts — have stuck around to listen to each other talk about President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan. (The House passed a bill 244-188 earlier today.)

Westmoreland kicks off his speech with:

“When I watch Scooby-Doo with my grandchildren and he runs into some unexpected trouble, he says ‘ruh roh.’ Well, there’s been some ‘ruh roh’s’ lately.”

He goes on to say “ruh roh” about five more times. This isn’t politics, this is poetry, brah.

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MARTA CEO and General Manager Beverly Scott, who was recently appointed chair of the American Public Transportation Association, testified before a U.S. House committee today and urged Congress to pass legislation that would inject sorely-needed funds into transit projects across the country.

APTA, Scott says, recently identified 559 “ready-to-go” projects in the United States worth $8 billion that would help create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She also asked the government step in and examine financial agreements — which  I’ll warn you are rather complex but good to wrap your head around — transit agencies made with companies such as AIG that are in danger of unraveling because of Wall Street’s meltdown.

To read her full testimony, click here. Read about how Georgia specifically could benefit from increased transit investment after the jump.

(more…)

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A lot of Fulton County residents may want to throw the bums out of Congress. Just not their bums.
Eighty-three percent of Americans say the country’s headed in the wrong direction, and Congress regularly gets lower approval ratings than President Bush.

But Georgia’s districts are so well gerrymandered to protect incumbents from one party or the other that our congressmen only face the risk of losing in their party’s primary. And in July each of the state’s 13 incumbent U.S. House members won their nomination.

That’s why — barring a strike of lightning between now and January — Republican Tom Price, who represents North Fulton; Democrat John Lewis, who represents the county’s midsection, including Atlanta; and Democrat David Scott, who represents South Fulton, are certain to return to Congress. (more…)

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U.S. Rep. David Scott’s Republican opponent is getting embarrassing attention for her campaign’s involvement in what smells like a fund-raising scam.

Deborah Honeycutt, a Clayton County physician, was clobbered in 2006 by Scott, 69 to 31 percent. But she’s cruising for another bruising anyway this year in the state’s most Democratic district. And Talking Points Memo reports that she’s raised an astounding $1.7 million. (more…)

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Deciding between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama won’t be Rep. John Lewis’ only challenge this spring.

The Rev. Markel Hutchins, the 30-year-old minister and activist best known for being the public spokesman for the family of 92-year-old police shooting victim Kathryn Johnston, on Wednesday will announce his bid to unseat the 11-term congressman.

In a letter to friends and supporters, Hutchins calls Lewis a mentor, but pointedly refers to him as an icon of “yesteryears.” Hutchins faults Lewis in his letter for failing to bring federal dollars to the 5th Congressional District, as well as for formally endorsing Sen. Clinton’s run for president.

Hutchins will announce his candidacy at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday from the run-down bridge portion of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, adjacent to the Russell Federal Building. The location’s bridge/crumbling infrastructure/MLK symbolism is intentional.

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Of the 15 senators and representatives representing Georgia in Congress, number who are millionaires: 11

Percentage of Americans in 2005 whose net worth exceeded $1 million: 3

Median family income in Georgia in 2005: $53,744

Annual salary of U.S. senators and representatives: $165,000

Amount Rep. John Linder, worth $23.5 million, says he earned in royalties from the book The Fair Tax, co-authored with talk-show host Neal Boortz: $500,000

Approximate tax owed on $500,000 book income: $147,206

Tax Linder would owe on $500,000 book income if his Fair Tax proposal became law: $0

Combined self-reported net worth of Republican senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss: $12.7 million

Cost over five years of children’s health-care funding that Isakson and Chambliss voted against last week: $35 billion

Cost over next decade of extending Bush-proposed tax cuts, a proposal both senators support: $1 trillion

Sources: Macon Telegraph, U.S. Census Bureau, CNN Money.com, the Center for Responsive Politics, Washington Post, MoneyChimp.com, Congressional Budget Office

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On his very first morning as the newest member of Congress, Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens, managed to piss off a goodly number of his conservative constituents by being the only Georgia Republican to vote in favor of allowing medical marijuana use.

The Democrat-backed measure would have prevented the feds from busting pot clinics in California and 11 other states that have legalized doctor-prescribed spliffs. Broun joined home-state Dems Sanford Bishop, Hank Johnson, John Lewis and David Scott. Harshing the buzz were nay-voting GOPers Nathan Deal, Phil Gingrey, Jack Kingston, John Linder, Tom Price and Lynn Westmoreland, who were joined by Democrat John Barrow of Augusta.

Democrat Jim Marshall of Macon didn’t vote. Perhaps he was out back having a smoke.

At any rate, the measure failed 262-165. It’s worth noting that Broun is a medical doctor, but then so are Gingrey and Price.

Medical marijuana has been a controversial issue in Congress ever since 1981, when the very first federal legalization bill was introduced by — trivia alert! — another Georgia Republican. That’s right, it was a young Newt Gingrich who first proposed letting doctors make reefer-als. Just a reminder of how the political world has turned.

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This is fantastic news, though obviously not a final determination as to whether the execution will proceed but merely a little more time and hopefully a fresh look at the new evidence.

-Sara at Going Through The Motions, after hearing that the state Parole Board granted a 90-day stay of execution to Troy Anthony Davis. Several witnesses in the case have recanted testimony that helped convict Davis.

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He Needs to Die.

-Erick at Peach Pundit is seemingly undisturbed about the possible killing of an innocent man by the state of Georgia. Aren’t conservatives supposed to be for limited government?

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I’m picking Whitehead to win with at least 65%.

-Jason Pye, on today’s 10th Congressional District special election. The candidates are Paul “I endorse myself” Broun and Jim “Seal the Canadian border” Whitehead.

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I don’t think I’ve ever felt more embarrassed to be a Georgian than I was watching last night’s televised debate between 10th Congressional District candidates Jim Whitehead and Paul Broun.

Among the lowlights:

1) In an attempt to neutralize Whitehead’s pro-gun cred, Broun said that someone told him that Whitehead didn’t actually own a gun. Asinine.

2) Whitehead referred to the concentration of high-tech businesses in northern California as “Silicone” Valley.

The Atlanta Press Club will post video of the debate later today, at which point I’ll moan more extensively.

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Michael Vick can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to his commercial flights these days.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback was scheduled to speak at a Capitol Hill breakfast Tuesday morning, where he was to receive an award for his work with his foundation helping to improve after-school programs in Georgia and Virginia.

Vick was a no-show. And the whole thing has escalated into a bru-ha-ha between Vick and AirTran.

According to press reports, Vick was scheduled to arrive in Washington, D.C., Monday night on an 8:35 p.m. AirTran flight from Atlanta. He missed the flight because he arrived late in Atlanta on his connecting flight from Tampa, where he played in teammate Warrick Dunn’s charity golf tournament. AirTran confirms that Vick’s plane from Tampa landed in Atlanta at 8:38 p.m.

So what’s the issue? Well, Vick was rescheduled on a 10:50 p.m. flight that he also happened to miss — and therein lies the problem.

Vick claims that his “travel situation” did not allow him to make it D.C. on time to appear in front of Congress. It all seems a little fishy, though, since Tad Hutcheson, a spokesman for AirTran, said that Vick was confirmed and had been notified of his rebooking on the 10:50 p.m. flight.

Vick’s mother, Brenda Boddie, accepted the award on Vick’s behalf, as she was able to make it to the breakfast.

Vick makes more than enough money to charter a jet. With all of the trouble that commercial take-offs and security lines have given him this year, NetJets might be a good investment for the fellow.

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