Fresh Loaf

The Macon Telegraph’s Travis Fain, blogging at Lucid Idiocy and following up on what was first reported here at Georgia Premium, follows up and says that U.S. Senate candidate Jim Martin’s campaign may have pulled the trigger a little too soon on another endorsement. First there was the Josh Lanier gaffe, now it involves state Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin. Fain reports the Martin campaign is declining comment until it speaks with Irvin.

Fain raises two good points:

But, 1.) How do you run a race against Vernon Jones and end up looking shady?

And, 2.) Is this all a case of people truly remaining neutral, or of people just technically remaining neutral because Jones might win?

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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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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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Photo by Brian Z. Danin

Dale Cardwell, Rand Knight and Josh Lanier showed up last night for a debate at Emory Law School among Democrats fighting for the chance to take on Republican Saxby Chambliss.

The two guys who’ve actually won elected office before and who have got to be considered the favorites for the Democratic nomination, Vernon Jones and Jim Martin, weren’t there. The primary is slated for July 15.

Like a lot of underdogs this year, Cardwell and Knight evoked the experience-ain’t-such-a-big-deal insurgency of Barack Obama, while Lanier — a former congressional aide and lobbyist — talked a lot about restoring the Senate to its traditions of civility.

Although each was pretty good at articulating a populist message, I can’t help but wonder whether shooting for the Senate the first time you run for public office is a bit delusional. It’s like thinking you ought to do brain surgery while you’re still taking your first First Aid class.

I was on the panel, and I asked essentially that question (albeit more politely): Might it be better for people who want to see Chambliss defeated if you dropped out of the race, threw your support to a more experienced candidate, and proved yourself by running for lower office?

Lanier, who now lives in Statesboro, said my question in itself was an example of “what’s wrong with American politics.” I shouldn’t assume fund raising is the be-all-end-all, he said. He got a lot of applause for that — but unfortunately fund raising, experience and connections do matter. Nobody’s going to crank up a bandwagon for the nomination or against Chambliss without a couple of million dollars.

Cardwell, who quit his job as a WSB-TV reporter to run for the Senate, said he was irked that Martin came to his office in September and told him he wasn’t going to run for the Senate. (I’ve alerted Martin’s folks that I’m posting what Dale said and inviting Martin to comment below if he remembers the meeting differently.)

The most impressive one of the three on the issues was Knight. He’s an earnest 30-something with no political experience. But he’s well-versed in environmental issues and has made the environment central to his campaign. He’s spent a lot of time networking among Democratic organizations across the state, and he’s gotten some union backing.

Cardwell’s name recognition and publicity stunts (he’s the guy who spent part of January on a 320-foot chimney tower to draw attention to his campaign) may give him an edge among the second-tier candidates. The ex-TV guy also seems to have taken a page from Lou Dobbs, mixing economic populism talk with advocating harsh treatment of illegal immigrants. That last part could hold contrarian appeal among some, but anti-immigrant platforms usually don’t produce winners in Democratic primaries.

It’s important to remember that not all these guys are necessarily running. None will officially qualify for the contest until later this month. Qualifying ends May 2.

All three had announced their intention to jump into the race when it looked as if Jones — the controversial DeKalb County CEO might be the lone Democratic bigwig. But Martin’s March 19 announcement that he’s running foils the alternative-to-Jones strategy.

The former state rep from Atlanta and one-time state Human Resources commissioner ran a strong campaign for lieutenant governor in 2006 against Republican Casey Cagle, losing by a much smaller margin than did the Democrat for governor. Though Martin’s late entry into the Senate race will force him to convince people that he’s really committed to running hard against Chambliss, he was recruited by national Democrats, which should give him a nice jump in fund raising.

Chambliss could be vulnerable. Six years after getting swept into office on the 2002 post-9/11 tide, Georgia’s senior senator is most famous for: running a campaign ad that compared war hero Max Cleland to Osama bin Laden, being the most obsequious of Bush lackeys and nakedly flip-flopping on immigration reform. Plus, huge African-American turnout in the March 5 presidential primary has many local Democrats salivating at the thought that so many blacks could turn out in the General Election (especially if Obama’s nominated). Chambliss’ favorability ratings seems to hover around 50 percent — higher than sitting-duck territory but not great for an incumbent.

Still it’s a long shot. Chambliss has at least $4 million in the bank, and a Democrat caught in a tight nomination fight before the July 15 primary and an August runoff will be forced to spend time and money defending himself instead of redefining the Republican. Just ask Barack and Hillary how much fun that is.

Thanks to the Emory Law School Democrats for sponsoring the debate and for inviting me.

UPDATE Martin confirms Cardwell’s account, raises $346,000.

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EXCLUSIVE: In response to Dale Cardwell’s grab for media attention atop the Corey Tower downtown, fellow Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Josh Lanier tells CL he plans to row a small boat to the middle of Lake Lanier tomorrow.”I will not leave until Georgians hear my message of change, or until Lake Lanier is empty, whichever happens first,” Lanier said.

We will keep you updated.

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Why did we call GriftDrift Best Blogger in our 2007 Best of Atlanta issue?

Because he does stuff like drive to Cumming, Ga., for a public discussion forum featuring four Georgia Democratic candidates for Senate — a journey so daunting, apparently, the race’s leading candidate, DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, didn’t even bother to attend.

GriftDrift’s summary of the senatorial shindig can be found — you guessed it — on his blog.

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So a catchy, although lame, operation name plus a call ahead to the AJC, isn’t a media response to the “embarrassment” (to quote one DeKalb commissioner) revolving around rolling back serving hours in the county? Sure it isn’t. And M.C. Hammer isn’t a washed up has-been.

— Decatur Metro calls bullshit on the media spin accompanying Operation Hammer Time, a series of police raids on DeKalb County nightspots.

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If you view immigrants as “invaders” or bad for America, or you just resent others of different cultures, you need to search your soul and your patriotism.

— Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Josh Lanier answers questions at Tondee’s Tavern.

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Atlanta Fans Regret That The Blackout Was Lifted

— Scott at Bucstats gloats about Tampa’s 31-7 pummeling of the Falcons. The blackout comment is a reference to the NFL not allowing games that aren’t sold-out to be broadcast in the home team’s city. The game was very nearly blacked-out.

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