Fresh Loaf

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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MAYDAY: Smog season starts today.

ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPETBAG: Niagara County, New York, assuming companies in the South are too lethargic from dehydration to move elsewhere, considers venturing down here to liberate them to the Great Wet North.

FLEXING ITS MUSSELS: Florida pulls the marine-life card again in response to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ recent water-sharing proposal.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Mission to sugarcoat and obfuscate Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” banner snafu accomplished.

BOSTON MASSACRE: Home teams keep winning as the Celtics handily take Game 5 from the Hawks. Game 6 is here tomorrow night.

DEMOCRATIC SENATE RACE: Getting melodramatic.

LIAISONS LEAVING: State liaisons assigned to help Clayton County save its accreditation ask Gov. Perdue to excuse them from what they call an impossible task, saying the school board has only gotten more dysfunctional since the SACS report was released in February.

OH REALLY? Unhelpful headlines today:

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It’s hard to imagine a bigger ho-hum of a press release than when DeKalb Commissioner Burrell Ellis announced, the week before Christmas, that he wouldn’t seek re-election as the board’s presiding officer in 2008.

Anyone not boning up for Local Government Team Trivia could be excused for failing to care. After all, the sole responsibility of presiding officer is taking over the Commission gavel after CEO Vernon Jones wanders away from a long, boring meeting.

But to Ellis’ potential rivals, the announcement served notice that he is serious about running in 2008 to replace Jones as CEO. Although he has filed paperwork to seek campaign contributions, and has told interviewers he would run for CEO, the two-term commissioner has yet to publicly announce his candidacy.

When he does throw his hat into the ring, Ellis will join what is essentially a two-man race against state Rep. Stan Watson. Other serious candidates have been rumored – Sheriff Tom Brown, Commissioner Connie Stokes and state Rep. Steen Miles, for starters – but with the Democratic primary scheduled for July 15, time is running out for anyone else to come forward.

Watson and Ellis represent the old guard vs. the new guard. An 11-year veteran of the Statehouse, Watson has been careful to cultivate Jones’ south DeKalb base, but he also commands enough respect from his north DeKalb peers to win support as a leader of the county House delegation.

“The maturity factor will help me” in getting votes, predicts Watson, 53, in what could be an oblique reference to the exasperation many DeKalbites feel with their impulsive, hard-partying current CEO.

But at a youthful 50, Ellis is no babe in the wood. And his clean-cut, well-tailored appearance and job with a top law firm will undoubtedly give him crossover appeal in the cul-de-sacs of north DeKalb. He’s already worked to cement a bond with the northern end of the county by splitting with Jones on several recent issues, voting in favor of earlier bar hours and against TAD financing around a proposed Sembler development.

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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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By an interesting coincidence, Fulton and DeKalb counties could both see their forms of government tweaked somewhat in the upcoming General Assembly – but in radically different directions.

In Fulton’s case, the push is to expand the authority of the commission chairman, who has no more real power than a district commissioner. And there’s talk of shrinking the governing board from seven commissioners, including the chairman, to a leaner five members to reflect that most of the county is now contained within cities.

In DeKalb, it’s just the reverse. The elected CEO has so much power that the board of commissioners can sometimes seem irrelevant. And so there are competing bills from both parties to shift some of the CEO’s power back to the commission. There’s also an initiative to expand the commission from seven members to nine to provide more attentive representation to the largely unincorporated county.

But the two efforts do have one thing in common: They could live or die on the personalities and political baggage of the affected office-holders.

(more…)

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Maybe Nader just needs one big group hug to validate his role in American politics. After the hug, maybe someone should also slap him on the back of the head and ask “WTF??”

– Bernita on Blog for Democracy, reacting to a Washington Post article stating that Ralphie Boy is suing the Democratic National Committee for challenging his ballot status in 2004. Oh, and apparently Nader hasn’t ruled out a 2008 run.

Yep…today is Halloween; the day where kids dress up in costumes and beg their neighbors for candy. Today also marks the day when actors John Candy & Michael Landon, DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Lowe, CBS reporter Dan Rather, and myself were born.

– Andre, the true blue (dog) Democrat at Georgia Politics Unfiltered, who, upon realizing he has something in common with Mr. CEO, asks, “Are you scared yet?”

Wilson and Craig, both have a new-found appreciation for the power of sex crime laws to reach out and touch you in ways you never imagined (no pun intended). Both have an understanding of how important judges and their discretion are in dispensing justice. Both wanted a second chance. One won. One lost–or at least so far.

– OK, so What is Goin’ On actually posted this earlier this week, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spotlight a post titled “What Do Larry Craig and Genarlow Wilson Have in Common?”

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It didn’t take long for the issue of race to arrive front and center in the discussion over earlier bar hours in DeKalb.

Recall that late last month, Commissioner Jeff Rader complained that a spate of new nightclubs were coming to DeKalb to escape the 2:30 a.m. last call imposed by the city of Atlanta. Rader introduced an ordinance — which could be voted on as early as tomorrow’s commission meeting — to roll bar hours back from 3:55 a.m. to 2 a.m. weeknights, and until 12:30 a.m. Saturday nights.

So, last week, a half-page ad appeared in the pages of CL (page 15 in most areas, to be exact) featuring a photo of Rader next to the claim: “This commissioner does not want African American night clubs in DeKalb County.”

Well, of course, Rader never said anything like that, but it is true that most of the newer, larger nightclubs in DeKalb — such as the Velvet Room and Jermaine Dupri’s Studio 72 — are black-owned or target a black clientele.
The ad pours fuel on the fire by suggesting that closing bars earlier will result in a county deficit that will require raising property taxes. It ends by urging opponents to attend Tuesday’s commission meeting.

But wait. The late-drinkers aren’t the only folks likely to show up at the Manuel Maloof Auditorium. Rader is trying to stir supporters of earlier bar hours to come out in force. And newly Republicanized state Rep. Mike Jacobs has sent out an e-newsletter headlined: “Take action to curb nightclub influx.” He warns that DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones has threatened a veto of Rader’s bill. And, indeed, just last week, Jones told CL he thought the proposed rollback was an ill-considered attack on the county’s efforts to expand its tax base. He didn’t, however, say he believed it was racially motivated.

Tomorrow’s meeting begins at 9 a.m. But if you plan to mix it up, keep in mind you have to pass through a metal detector.

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7:41 I love it when Joe Biden gets riled up. I really think there’s a serious psychological component to my support for his candidacy; he sounds just like my dad sometimes.

— Blogger and Biden fan Shelbinator was in the blogger room at last night’s CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate.

I caught about half of the debate and found myself in agreement with Sen. Biden on one of the campaign’s key issues — Elizabeth Kucinich is also my favorite thing about Dennis Kucinich.

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The debate would have been a lot better had it just been between Edwards, Clinton and Obama. I really like Kucinich and Richardson, but their chances at getting the nomination are only slightly above Gravel’s.

— Jim V. at JimV.com on last night’s CNN/YouTube debate

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He was damn proud of voting for George W. Bush over John Kerry.

— Nita at Tondee’s Tavern, on an interview with DeKalb County CEO and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Georgia Vernon Jones

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Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle beige?

– Doug Monroe’s Peachtree Screed on Neal Boortz’s column calling shock jocks Opie and Anthony “immature and sick.” Boortz berated the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting for not ganging up on their attacker.

Gas prices are on the rise and drivers are feeling the pinch.

What do you think we should do short term and long term to provide solutions?

– Vernon Jones on his new Senate campaign blog, Jonesin’ For Georgia

I was kind of disappointed his website didn’t have an NC-17 rating.

– Erick at Peach Pundit on Jones’ blog. Erick’s post includes a delightful illustration.

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Chambliss is laughing somewhere.

– Jason Pye at Peach Pundit on a report that Vernon Jones’ Senate campaign has raised just $8,000. Incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ campaign has more than $2.8 million available.

I do love how self-described “fiscal conservatives” roll over like newborn kittens when the DOT comes strokin’. No amount of spending is too shocking.

– GriftDrift mocks AJC’s columnist Jim Wooten’s support for the proposed $4 billion re-jiggering of the I-75/I-575 interchange.

If you ever get the chance I definitely recommend going on a Gay Cruise for a vacation (if you are gay of course).

– B.J. at SodomyCreek.net on his recent Hawaiian vacation. I don’t recommend reading the entire post, but do yourself a favor and look at the souvenir photos he posted.

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In my column this week, I opine that Vernon Jones doesn’t have a chance in semi-announced semi-candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by Saxby Chambliss.

A poll released today by the Republican-aligned Strategic Vision, one of the better Georgia political groups, reiterates my point. It shows Chambliss shellacking Jones 57 percent to 29 percent. That’s the sort of lead that falls into the “live boy/dead girl” category — former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards once boasted that the only way he could lose an election was to be found in bed with a live boy or a dead girl.

In other results, the Strategic Vision poll has some surprises for the religious zealots in the Georgia GOP. Those nasty secularists tended to dominate Georgia Republicans’ favorites for the 2008 presidential nomination.

(more…)

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