Fresh Loaf

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-IrrationalFearVille, spends his time drafting bills about the country’s pressing issues.

Via the AJC:

- U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, a conservative Republican from Athens, filed a bill that would cut public funding of schools that allow children to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in any language except English. Another Broun bill would designate 2010 as the National Year of the Bible. Yet another would prohibit honor guards at veterans’ funerals unless they’re allowed to offer the option of a religious-based recitation during the folding of the American flag.

Broun called in to Glenn Beck’s radio show this morning. The congressman said he “praises God” for the host’s service and his efforts to warn Americans about “steamrollin’ socialism.”

This is why Georgians can’t have nice things.

Bookmark It

Rep. Paul "Nutter" Broun

By all accounts, last night’s town hall meeting on health care reform in Clarkston, hosted by U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-DeKalb, proceeded very amiably. (Presumably, young Tom Wheatley will be posting his account soon.)

According to the AJC:

Johnson set the tone for the evening when, from the stage, he said, “We are here to have an open and respectful dialogue.”

In the main auditorium that held 500 people, applause for health care reform clearly outweighed any boos or jeers. Some people attributed that to the demographic of this area.

Some people said there are numerous people in this area who live on the margins and need universal health care.

But among the 1,000 people in a nearby gymnasium where there was a close-circuit feed and among the more than 500 people milling outside, there were active, respectful debates.

Respectful. Civil. And clearly weighted in favor of health care reform. Keep in mind this was in suburban DeKalb.

Over in suburban Augusta, however, with U.S. Rep Paul Broun, R-Fruitloop, setting the tone, it was a different scene, according to the Augusta Chronicle:

Dr. Broun called the pending Democratic legislation an “abomination” and “a stinking rotten fish” and said Democratic efforts are the “steamroll of socialism.” He did offer up his own idea for reform, including a Medicare health savings account that would follow the beneficiaries, allowing them to spend what Medicare would have spent on them in their own way.

“America is mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore,” said Joyce Jamison of Evans.

The crowds at the Columbia County Board of Education building — organizers had to add a second event to accommodate the hundreds of people initially turned away — egged him on.

(more…)

Bookmark It

1. Congress debates, votes on cap-and-trade energy bill (Good news: The House passed the monumental energy-conversation bill. Bad news: Georgia Congressman Paul Broun has embarrassed the entire state.)

2. Clermont foreclosure is tip of the iceberg (The plot thickens.)

3. Michael Jackson tributes in Atlanta (Atlanta celebrates the King of Pop. Twitter crashes. And Perez Hilton weeps.)

4. Coolest contest ever: Redesign the Clermont Hotel (The contest would have been a lot cooler if the seedy hotel wasn’t in danger of foreclosure. See No. 2.)

5. Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter told to vacate building (In the end, surprisingly, the homeless prevailed.)

Bookmark It

Are you a U.S. Congressman who’s careless with your spending? Gov. Sonny Perdue understands and he wants to help. But if you’re a city or county, well, in that case, you were reckless and had it coming.

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun recently made the news thanks to a congressional report that says the Republican congressman’s office had blown more than 80 percent of its annual budget, mostly on mailings to his constituents. (Broun blamed the spree on a former chief of staff.) Enter normally fiscal-minded Perdue, who’s agreed to attend an fundraiser tomorrow for the cash-strapped representative.

But Perdue’s not so forgiving when it comes to local governments. The governor raised the ire of many — Decatur in particular was aflame on the webz last week — when he criticized them for overspending in light of the state’s estimated $1.6 billion shortfall.

While the state is making spending cuts, Perdue said local governments “have never approached it from the standpoint that they have to tighten their belts.”

Congressman overspending = rest your head on my shoulder. Local governments “overspending” = you should know better.

Does Perdue have time on his schedule to host a bake sale for the estimated 661 county and city governments in Georgia?

(Hat tip to Peach Pundit and Decatur Metro for links, inspiration)

Bookmark It

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.

Bookmark It

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.

Bookmark It

State Sen. Nancy Schaefer, R-Turnerville, a far-right evangelical Christian whose twin passions are restricting abortion rights and Scientology, recently announced that she will not be running in the 10th District Congressional race after all.

Less than two weeks ago, Schaefer mailed out an unintentionally amusing fundraising letter bashing Republican incumbent Paul Broun and fellow challenger, state Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem. In the letter, she alleged that “Broun has a sordid past,” but offered no details. Given her mile-wide self-righteous streak, however, that could mean he once lusted in his heart.

She dismisses Fleming – a guy whose most recent achievement was a bill to allow folks to be sentenced to death by non-unanimous juries – as a “liberal Republican trial lawyer.” On the other hand, compared to Schaefer, Jesse Helms is a liberal.

Why is Nancy not running? Her stated reason, according to an article in the Athens Banner-Herald, is that she is focused on helping her husband through upcoming major surgery. It’s also possible that she hasn’t raised enough money to challenge Broun, but Schaefer has never been troubled by such earthly concerns. This is the woman, after all, who, in the early ’90s, ran for Atlanta mayor and governor when she didn’t have a cold chance in hell of winning.

Apparently, she’s not planning to run for reelection to her Senate seat, either. I wish we could say we’ll miss her in the same way that the House wouldn’t be nearly as fun to cover without the antics of Christian nutcase Bobby Franklin. But frankly, Nancy the lawmaker has always been disappointingly subdued.

It will be interesting, however, to see what effect Fleming’s departure has on the delicate balance of power among the House leadership. As Majority Whip, Fleming often served as chief enforcer and all-around henchman to Majority Leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons. With Fleming gone, Keen could lose some of his influence – which would be the best outcome any of us could hope for.

Bookmark It