Sit down and take a deep breath. The defibrillator is charged. The paddles are greased and ready.
U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, the Washington contrarian, has endorsed a Georgia Democrat.
For U.S. Capitol duty.
Miller's office in Washington confirmed Wednesday that the senator has written a $1,000 check to the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall of Macon. We couldn't get him on the phone, but Miller released the following sentence:
"I'm not involved in any campaign except President Bush's, but I do believe Jim Marshall is the kind of Democrat we need to keep in Washington. He supports our troops, is a tax cutter and has the guts to stand up to the party leadership when he thinks they're wrong."
We suspect Marshall, a former mayor and decorated Vietnam vet, is thrilled. He's facing a tough GOP challenge.
This is a sign that the world is climbing back on its proper axis, after Zell set it wobbling last year with his endorsement of President Bush. The Republican campaign of Calder Clay, who's trying to chase down Marshall, actually responded by accusing Miller of Democratic tendencies. A wave of nostalgia rolled over us.
"He's a Democrat and Jim Marshall is a Democrat. So the earth doesn't stop when he endorses Jim Marshall," said Clay spokesman Rufus Montgomery.
Besides, Montgomery said, Clay has been endorsed by Bush. And whose endorsement would a Georgia candidate rather have?
It's an interesting question. We know that a statewide GOP poll that came in last week said 64 percent of Georgia voters rated Miller favorably, indicating he'd recovered — mostly — from the dip that followed his appearance before the Republican National Convention.
George W. Bush's favorables were significantly lower. Not seriously lower. But significantly.
We have met those uncontrollable, off-the-wall political advertisers. And they are us
After reporting the other day on the biggest Georgia contributors to the 527 organization that funds the swift boat ads, we were curious just how much money has flowed from the state into 527s, currently the angels of the advertising industry. With the able assistance of Aron Pilhofer, database editor for the Center for Public Integrity, we turned up some interesting numbers.
It turns out that James Stephenson, one of the biggest Georgia contributors to the Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth, is also the biggest 527 donor overall. He gave $500,000 to the Progress for America Voter Fund, which was formed back in May. Their best known ad is the "surfer dude" spot, which shows John Kerry windsurfing in different directions while recounting his positions on Iraq.
J. Ronald Terwilliger, CEO of Trammell Crow Residential, is another big Progress for America contributor. He gave $200,000.
In third place, Sea Island residents James and Jeanne Manning have given $100,225 to the EMILY's List 527, which funds female candidates — most of them Democrats. Ms. Manning is president of the Azalea Foundation, and the couple also contributed to former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland's campaign.
Bernard Marcus is the fourth-largest contributor, with a $25,000 contribution to the Republican Governor's Association 527.
But that's not the whole story, because his company, Home Depot, is also a heavy hitter in the 527 department. We'll cover that and other corporate contributions tomorrow.
Those are the latest numbers. But with a disclosure deadline coming up at the end of the week, they could grow considerably.
When Max heads for the ice floes, we know that the Vietnam past is truly past
This season, the most reliable barometer for John Kerry's fixation on his Vietnam past has been Max Cleland, the former Georgia senator. Cleland was front and center during the hot swift boat days of August — remember his postal trip to Crawford, Texas? The surest way to tell that the focus has shifted to Iraq and the economy: Cleland was in faraway Juneau, Alaska, this week, campaigning for Democratic senate candidate Tony Knowles, the former governor.
Cleland spoke of Iraq and a "back-door" draft, according to the Juneau Empire newspaper. But his biggest line might have been pharmaceutical rather than historical: "I come from a state, Georgia, where we manufacture Celebrex, which sells for $76 in America and $26 in Canada — same bottle, same box. It's obvious that the people of America, especially those on Medicare, are not pocketing those profits. We are not seeing a reduction in prescription drugs. We are seeing a continued increase in them, and that is driving up medical care costs."
On the other hand, something like this could bring Max back to Georgia
Speaking of swift boats, John O'Neill, the head of the Swift Boat Veteran's group and author of "Unfit for Command," will be the featured speaker at a "Veterans Celebration Brunch," sponsored by the Cobb County Republican Women's Club at the Marietta Conference Center. It's on Saturday, Oct. 30, just before Election Day. Tickets are $20 a pop.
Gays may be check-writing machines, but that money isn't flowing to Atlanta
In his speech at a Georgia Christian Coalition fund-raiser Monday, Zell Miller referred to those opposing the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions as "highly organized and well-financed special interest groups in Atlanta, San Francisco and Boston that can write big checks."
But if you check the most recent campaign disclosure form of Georgians Against Discrimination, you'll see nothing but a poorly funded organization kept alive by many small checks and only a couple of big ones.
One might even suspect that Democrats have starved the organization in order to ensure that its profile stays low. Regular Democratic and corporate givers are conspicuous in their absence. To date, the organization has raised $76,933 — a pitiful amount for a statewide campaign. As of Sept. 30, its cash-on-hand was $48,194. Unopposed county commissioners raise more than that.
Verbatim: Why the League of Women Voters says no to the amendment to ban gay marriage
The lack of cash available to Georgians Against Discrimination adds importance to Wednesday's announcement by the League of Women Voters of Georgia — that the group opposed the proposed amendment as "misleading." Apparently, it's been in the wings since mid-summer. Following is a verbatim explanation, published in the League's most recent newsletter:
At its July board meeting, members of the League of Women Voters of Georgia board of directors considered and voted to oppose the proposed "same-sex marriage ban" amendment to the Georgia Constitution. The proposed language of the amendment passed out of the Georgia House and Senate in this year's legislative session and will come before voters across the state this November.
Please note that neither the League of Women Voters of Georgia nor the National League of Women Voters has a position for or against same-sex marriages, same-sex civil unions, or same-sex domestic partnerships. The League has no position on marriage.
The National League has taken a public stand against the proposed "Federal Gay Marriage Amendment." National joined with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights in opposing the Federal Amendment commenting that it "runs afoul of basic principles of fairness", and is "divisive and discriminatory."
Specifically, National opposed the Federal Amendment based on its consensus position in favor of "equality of opportunity for education, employment and housing for all persons in the United States regardless of their race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability." The full text of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights' letter to Congress is available online (http://interactive.lwv.org/News/News.cfm?ID=1082&c=7).
After careful consideration of the issues and established League positions, the board of directors of the League of Women Voters of Georgia has decided as follows:
The League of Women Voters of Georgia opposes the ballot question proposing an amendment to Georgia's Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The language on the ballot is deceptive and misleading as the language on the ballot in no way reflects the full extent to which the constitution will be amended. To that end, Georgia voters with no knowledge of the legislation proposing the Constitutional Amendment or the Amendment's language will have an incomplete picture of what they are voting on. We will work to educate voters on the full impact of the ballot question as posed.
The ballot question simply states as follows: "Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that this state shall recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman? [ ] YES OR [ ] NO."
This question does not inform the voters that the constitutional amendment forbids recognition by this state of civil unions between persons of the same sex and denies such unions entitlement to any benefits of marriage. The constitutional amendment also denies individuals in lawfully recognized same-sex civil union or other forms of relationships formed and recognized in other states access to Georgia courts in the event of a dissolution occurring here in Georgia.
Voters who are opposed to same sex marriages but indifferent to or in favor of civil unions are being misinformed. The League strongly opposes government measures that deceptively fail to inform individual voters.
Keeping in mind that neither Georgia nor National has a position on same-sex marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships, the Georgia board unanimously decided that the language of the proposed constitutional amendment is on its face discriminatory against individuals based upon their sexual orientation. The League supports equal protection for all citizens under the law.
Passage of this amendment would use the Georgia's Constitution as a tool of exclusion, restricting the rights of a group of our state's citizens. The language of the constitutional amendment is so far-reaching that it may deprive some citizens and their families of fundamental protections such as hospital visitation, inheritance rights, and health care benefits, whether conveyed through marriage or other legally recognized relationships. Such a proposal runs afoul of basic principles of fairness and will do little but harm real children and real families in the process.
The Georgia League carefully evaluates all proposed constitutional amendments appearing on the statewide ballot and provides Georgians with a careful explanation of the proposed language in our voter guide. We also pride ourselves on presenting the "pros and cons" of each ballot question in our publication. This proposed amendment is no exception, and a full analysis of the ballot question is included in the 2004 Voter Guide for the general election. We encourage you to peruse our analysis of this issue and share our information with other voters before Nov. 2!
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