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SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) Republican Karen Handel came out swinging at John Oxendine at the Georgia GOP convention Friday as she aired a slick, stinging campaign video that compared her gubernatorial rival to a lumbering beast.
A number of convention delegates whooped and applauded during the three-minute video's opening shots of a shaggy ox straining and tugging against a taught rope threaded through a ring in the animal's nose.
``It weighs tons. Is loud. Moves not with grace, but with a lumbering gait. It is the ox,'' a narrator says. ``Who could be stronger than an ox?''
Handel, Georgia's secretary of state, hopes die-hard Republicans at the convention in Savannah will decide she's the stronger candidate in the crowed 2010 race for the GOP nomination to succeed term-limited Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Though she's served only a single term as the state's elections chief, Handel sought Friday to persuade delegates she has the tenacity and the campaign organization much of it culled from Perdue's former political team to match a more seasoned statewide campaigner such as Oxendine, Georgia's insurance commissioner since 1995.
``I've taken on some of the toughest challenges that life, a career and politics have to offer,'' Handel told delegates. ``Yet with every new challenge, I've said, `Bring it on!'''
Six Republicans have entered the 2010 race, with the primary still more than a year away. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, widely considered the favorite GOP candidate to replace Perdue, bowed out of the race last month to undergo surgery for a degenerative spine condition. He'll seek re-election as lieutenant governor instead.
Oxendine, who announced his candidacy more than a year ago, took Handel's barbs in stride. He acknowledged them when he took the stage Friday, but refrained from attacking in kind.
``First off, I'm a little puzzled,'' Oxendine told the crowd. ``I'm not sure what I'm supposed to `bring on.' As far as I'm concerned, good conservative values for Georgia that's what we need to bring on.''
Oxendine won raucous applause for his pledge to end the state income tax, saying he would scrap Georgia's tax code and ``find a big Dipsty Dumpster and I'll throw it in there.''
Oxendine and Handel are the only Republican gubernatorial contenders who have previously won statewide office. But none of the remaining four GOP candidates are novices.
U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal has represented northern Georgia in Congress since he first won election in 1992. Deal's campaign announced Friday his endorsement by five of the state's GOP congressmen Reps. Phil Gingrey, Tom Price, Lynn Westmoreland, John Linder and Paul Broun.
``If you want a governor who does his own thinking, writes his own speeches and delivers them without a TelePrompTer ... then this Deal's for you,'' Deal said in a crowd-pleasing jab at President Barack Obama.
State Sen. Eric Johnson of Savannah, the Georgia Senate's former GOP leader, also took aim at a prominent Democrat former Gov. Roy Barnes, who's considering a comeback attempt after losing to Perdue in 2002, but hasn't committed.
Johnson noted his role as one of the Republican leaders who battled Barnes and Democrats in court over district lines for the state House, a GOP victory that helped the party win control of the legislative chamber in 2004.
``I'm the only candidate for governor who's gone toe-to-toe with Roy Barnes and won,'' Johnson said.
State Rep. Austin Scott of Tifton told delegates he opposed ``rebranding'' the Republican Party and shifting from core conservative principles in an effort to broaden the party's base. Activist Ray McBerry, who unsuccessfully challenged Perdue's re-election in 2006, said he was the best candidate to stand for states' rights against the federal government.
The convention Friday was the gubernatorial candidates' first chance to pitch their campaigns to some of the Georgia GOP's most active supporters. Still, there's plenty of time before the primary on July 20, 2010.
Delegate Kathy Statham, a 58-year-old customer service rep from Grayson, said she has been leaning toward supporting Oxendine. But after Handel's fiesty appearance, she said, ``I'll take a second look.''
Statham said her biggest concern is ensuring Republicans hold onto the governor's office after Perdue, Georgia's first GOP governor since Reconstruction.
``I need to back the person who is strong enough to win against a Democratic contender,'' Statham said. ``I want to back a winner.''
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(WSB Radio) -- WSB consumer expert Clark Howard will not run for Mayor of Atlanta next year.
In an interview with Scott Slade on "Atlanta's Morning News," Howard said the reason he's not running is his kids.
"As I got closer and closer to getting involved and got more involved in the political world and met with more and more people, it was clear that my life as I knew it with my children was over," Howard said.
Howard added, "there was no way I could serve the people of Atlanta as I should, if I were to run for Mayor, and still be a good father to my kids. Just couldn't happen."
Howard told Slade, "I know it's selfish, but I could not do that to my kids."
Clark Howard can be heard daily on News Talk 750 WSB from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ATLANTA (AP) _ Republican Lauren "Bubba" McDonald has reclaimed a seat on the Public Service Commission.
He fended off a spirited challenge from Jim Powell in today's runoff -- striking a blow to Democrats seeking a foothold on the five-member panel.
With most precincts reporting, McDonald held a comfortable lead over Powell with about 56 percent of the vote.
It was a second helping of bad news for Democrats searching for a key statewide victory on a day when Democrat Jim Martin's effort to unseat Republican U.S. Saxby Chambliss fell short. The party had thrown its support behind the "two Jims," parading the candidates across the state.
McDonald's victory thwarted the Democratic Party's bid to muscle its way onto the commission, which regulates Georgia utilities and is firmly in GOP hands. All five members of the panel, along with outgoing commissioner Angela Speir, are Republicans.
Sara Doyle also claimed a victory over Mike Sheffield in her bid for an open seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals. Doyle carved out a narrow lead over Sheffield, grabbing about 52 percent of the vote.
___
On the Net:
Georgia Secretary of State: http://sos.georgia.gov/
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
ATLANTA (AP) _ Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss handed the GOP a firewall against Democrats eager to flex their newfound political muscle in Washington, winning a bruising runoff battle Tuesday night that had captured the national limelight. Chambliss' victory thwarted Democrats' hopes of winning a 60 seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. It came after a bitter month long runoff against Democrat Jim Martin that drew political luminaries from both parties to the state and flooded the airwaves with fresh attack ads weeks after campaigns elsewhere had ended.
Minnesota -- where a recount is under way -- now remains the only unresolved Senate contest in the country. But the stakes there are significantly lower now that Georgia has put a 60-seat Democratic supermajority out of reach.
With 70 percent of the precincts reporting, Chambliss captured 60 percent to Martin's 40 percent. Chambliss' win is a rare bright spot for Republicans in a year where they lost the White House as well as seats in the House and the Senate.
"It's been a hard and tough four weeks," Chambliss said at a victory party in Cobb County. "We had a hardcore campaign on both sides and while things look good right now, we're going to continue to follow the returns as they come in."
Chambliss' mantra on the runoff campaign trail was simple: His re-election was critical to prevent Democrats in Washington from having a blank check. Chambliss, 65, had angered some conservatives with his vote for the $700 billion bailout of the financial services industry and his early support in 2007 for the guest worker provision in President Bush's immigration bill. But fearful of unchecked Democratic dominance, some came back into the GOP fold Tuesday
Martin made the economy the centerpiece of his bid, casting himself as a champion for the neglected middle class. He also linked himself at every opportunity to Barack Obama and his message of change. The Democratic president elect was a no show on the campaign trail in Georgia but did record a radio ad and automated phone calls for Martin.
In the end, Martin, a 63-year-old former state lawmaker from Atlanta, wasn't able to get Obama voters back to the polls in large enough numbers to overcome the Republican advantage in Georgia, which has become an increasingly a reliable red state since 2002.
Turnout was light throughout the state Tuesday. A spokesman for Secretary of State Karen Handel predicted between 18 and 20 percent of the state's 5.75 million registered voters would cast ballots -- far less than the 65 percent who voted in last month's general election.
The runoff between the former University of Georgia fraternity brothers was necessary after a three-way general election prevented any of the candidates from getting the necessary 50 percent.
Chambliss came to the Senate in 2002 after defeating Democratic Sen. Max Cleland in a campaign that infuriated Democrats. Chambliss ran a TV ad that questioned Cleland's commitment to national security and flashed a photo of Osama bin Laden. Cleland is a triple amputee wounded in the Vietnam War.
He was a loyal supporter of President Bush and, as a freshman, rose to become chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. the former agriculture lawyer from Moultrie has been the ranking Republican on the panel since Democrats won control of the Senate.
Some 3.7 million people cast ballots in this year's general election, and both sides have since tried to keep voters' attention with a barrage of ads and visits by political heavy-hitters.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore both stumped for Martin. President-elect Barack Obama recorded a radio ad for Martin and sent 100 field operatives, but he didn't campaign in the state despite a request from Martin to do so.
Several ex-Republican presidential candidates made appearances for Chambliss, including GOP nominee John McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Chambliss brought in Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's vice presidential pick, as his closer. She headlined four rallies for Chambliss across the state Monday that drew thousands of party faithful.
Associated Press writers Greg Bluestein, Kate Brumback and Errin Haines contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
Saxby Chambliss: www.saxby.org
Jim Martin: www.martinforsenate.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
(WSB Radio/AP) -- Democrats and Republicans are hoping their voting bases will be motivated to head to the polls today for a U.S. Senate runoff in Georgia.
The Republicans brought in Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to drum up support for Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Palin told a crowd of 2,500 in the central Georgia town of Perry that they can help Republicans rebuild.
Democrat Jim Martin held rallies around the state and capped off the day in Atlanta with the help of hip-hop stars T.I., Young Jeezy and Ludacris.
In the general election, Chambliss fell short of crossing the 50 percent threshold in a three-way race against Martin and a Libertarian candidate.
All signs from early voting for the runoff pointed toward Chambliss holding the seat.
The contest has attracted almost 500,000 early voters and some 36 percent are white males, typically a solid Republican constituency in the state. In the weeks leading up to the general election, white males cast about 27 percent of the more than 2 million early votes.
Less than 23 percent of the early voters for the runoff are black a drop from the surge of black voters in the run-up to the general election. Black voters made up more than 34 percent of the 2 million early voters before the Nov. 4 contest when President-elect Barack Obama was on the ballot.
Poll are open until 7 p.m.
GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) Georgia's maverick Democrat Zell Miller threw his support behind Sen. Saxby Chambliss saying he "could well be the last man standing between a far, far left liberal agenda sailing through the Senate.''
A former Georgia senator and governor, Miller remains a Democrat but has lined up behind prominent Georgia Republicans in recent years. Chambliss is locked in a Dec. 2 U.S. Senate runoff with Democrat Jim Martin. The race could help decide whether Democrats win enough seats to block Republican filibusters.
Martin on Wednesday picked up a law enforcement endorsement and scolded Chambliss for attacking his crime record. He noted that his daughter, Becky, was briefly kidnapped when she 8 years old and that he has fought to keep children safe ever since.
``For Saxby Chambliss to accuse me of being weak on crime is not only wrong, but is offensive to both me and my family,'' Martin said at a news conference outside an Atlanta police station.
In the North Georgia foothills, Miller onwarned a gathering of Republicans that Senate Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has Martin ``warming up in the bullpen.''
``This is the big one,'' Miller said of the Georgia runoff.
Miller is used to speaking up for Republicans. He was the keynote speaker at the GOP convention in 2004, accusing his own party of being weak on terrorism and national security.
Miller backed Chambliss' then opponent, Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, in the 2002 race.
Georgia's runoff is hurtling into the homestretch with less than a week left. Both campaigns will take a break for Thanksgiving before their final campaign weekend.
Nationally, the Georgia race is pivotal to how much clout Democrats and President-elect Barack Obama will have in Washington. Democrats are two votes shy of the 60 needed for a filibuster-proof majority.
Georgia is one state, and Minnesota the other, where a recount is under way in the excruciatingly tight contest between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.
With the stakes high, a parade of political bigwigs has been traipsing through Georgia to rev up interest in the race.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, will swing through on Monday with Chambliss.
Her running mate, Arizona Sen. John McCain, stumped with Chambliss earlier this month. Other members of the Republican presidential field have also appeared with Chambliss, including Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Rudolph Giuliani.
Martin has had former President Bill Clinton and his Vice President Al Gore appear on his behalf.
Gov. Sonny Perdue on Wednesday urged Republicans to mobilize their friends and neighbors.
He said if they don't vote, ``shame on them and shame on you for not making sure they're there.''
Early voting in Georgia ends Wednesday. Turnout so far has been tepid, with 236,992 ballots cast at last count, according to the Secretary of State``s office. That's roughly 4 percent of the state's 5.8 million registered voters.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(WSB Radio) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will visit Atlanta next week to campaign for U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss on the eve of his runoff election against Jim Martin.
Palin, who drew large crowds while running for vice president with Republican presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain, is the latest in a parade of political a-listers to campaign for both candidates in recent weeks.
It is expected that Palin will appear at a rally late Monday afternoon, but details are still being worked out.
Palin will also appear at Chambliss rallies in Augusta, Savannah and Perry.
The McCain-Palin ticket carried Georgia on Nov. 4 by about 200,000 votes.
Even so, he conceded, ``The economy is likely to get worse before it gets better,'' a downbeat forecast, delivered 57 days before he takes the oath of office and as Americans headed into the year-end holiday season.
Barring swift action, ``most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year,'' he said, urging the newly elected Congress to act quickly on his plans after opening its session on Jan. 6.
At a news conference, Obama was critical of the Big Three automakers, saying he was surprised they did not have a better-thought-out plan for their future before asking Congress to approve $25 billion in emergency loans.
He said once he sees a plan, he expects ``we're going to be able to shape a rescue.''
Obama declined to say how large a stimulus package he wants from Congress. Democratic lawmakers speculated over the weekend that the price tag could reach $700 billion over two years as the nation struggles to emerge from a recession compounded by a credit crunch. ``It's going to be costly,'' the president-elect said.
The stock market had been climbing before Obama spoke but then slipped during his news conference, reducing its gain from 300 points to 200. It rose higher again later. Analysts said investors were looking for more specifics of an economic stimulus plan, and also wanted Obama to state that he would set aside a plan to raise taxes on the richest Americans.
Obama made his comments as he unveiled the top members of his economic team, beginning with New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner to be his treasury secretary. Geithner, 47, is a veteran of financial crises at home and overseas and has worked closely with the Bush administration in recent months.
Obama chose Lawrence Summers as director of his National Economic Council. Summers was treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton.
Obama said his newly minted economic team offered ``sound judgment and fresh thinking'' at a time of economic peril.
He expressed confidence the nation would weather the crisis ``because we've done it before.''
Obama also announced two other members of his economic team in the making. He named Christina Romer as chair of his Council of Economic Advisers, and Melody Barnes as director of his White House Domestic Policy Council.
Obama's principal theme was urgency.
``We do not have a minute to waste,'' he said, citing the turmoil in the financial markets as well as the deterioration of the broader economy.
He also said he would ``honor the commitments made by the current administration'' to deal with the problems, signaling approval of the Bush administration's latest effort to rescue Citigroup as well as the broader $700 billion bailout designed to shore up the financial markets.
Bush said earlier in the day that the government's dramatic rescue of Citigroup was necessary to ``safeguard the financial system'' and help the economy recover, and he said there could be more such moves if other institutions need help.
``We have made these kind of decisions in the past. We made one last night. And if need be we will make these kind of decisions to safeguard our financial system in the future,'' Bush said.
As a candidate, Obama was a supporter of the $700 billion bailout measure.
Any stimulus plan would greatly exceed the $175 billion price tag Obama had suggested as a candidate.
At the news conference, he said he wanted to create 2.5 million jobs by the end of 2010. He also said he wants the legislation to incorporate his campaign ideas for new jobs in environmentally friendly technologies the ``green economy.'' He added that deficit concerns would have to take a back seat to the goal of reinvigorating the economy.
As a candidate, Obama called for cutting taxes for the middle class and said he wanted to eliminate Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy. In his news conference, he reaffirmed support for reducing the burden on the middle class but was equivocal on how quickly he would act on taxes affecting those who are better off. Many economists caution that raising taxes can make a recession worse, and the president-elect said he would await a recommendation from his advisers on whether to follow through on his earlier pledge.
His call for quick congressional action was welcomed by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. ``With the cooperation of our Republican colleagues, we intend to send a plan to the White House as soon as possible following President-elect Obama's inauguration,'' Reid said.
Obama spoke one day after a senior adviser, David Axelrod said, ``We want to hit the ground running on Jan. 20.''
Echoing that, the second-ranking House Democrat, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, said, ``We expect to have during the first couple of weeks of January a package for the president's consideration when he takes office.''
While Obama and his team are focused on the work of the new Congress, they also weighed in on work pending before the current one.
Axelrod warned automakers seeking billions in government help to devise a plan to retool and restructure that they can present to Congress next month. Otherwise, he said, ``there is very little taxpayers can do to help them.''
The emphasis on the economy began Saturday when Obama outlined the framework to save or create 2.5 million jobs by the end of 2010.
But there were no plans to balance the tax cuts with an immediate tax increase on the wealthy. During the campaign, Obama said he would pay for increased tax relief by raising taxes on people making more than $250,000.
``There won't be any tax increases in the January package,'' said one Obama aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details of the Obama package have not been fleshed out.
Obama could delay any tax increase to 2011, when current Bush administration tax cuts expire.
House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio urged Obama to make that explicit. ``Why wouldn't we have the president-elect say, `I am not going to raise taxes on any American in my first two years in office?'''
Some economists have endorsed spending up to $600 billion to revive the economy. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and former labor Secretary Robert Reich, a member of Obama's economic advisory board, both suggested $500 billion to $700 billion.
Axelrod and Schumer appeared on ABC's ``This Week''; Hoyer and Boehner appeared on ``Fox News Sunday,'' and Reich appeared on CNN's ``Late Edition.''
Associated Press writer Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this story from Washington.
On the Net:
Obama transition: www.change.gov
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
ATLANTA (AP) Former Vice President Al Gore Sunday night called on Georgians to seize the mantle of change in the state's nationally watched U.S. Senate runoff, arguing that a vote for Democrat Jim Martin would put ``government on the side of the people again.''
``You realize that the eyes of the nation are on this race in Georgia,'' Gore told several hundred cheering Democrats at a $125-a-person Martin fundraiser at an Atlanta art gallery.
Martin is locked in a Dec. 2 runoff with first-term Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. The Georgia race will help determine how much clout Democrats have in the Washington.
Democrats are within two seats of a 60-vote majority that would give President-elect Barack Obama a stronger hand when he is sworn in next year. Georgia is one of two unresolved Senate races. The other is in Minnesota where a recount is under way in the excruciatingly tight contest between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.
Gore cast Chambliss as the heir to the failed policies of the Bush administration. Gore memorably lost to Bush in 2000 in a bitter race that was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
``The Bush-Cheney-Chambliss philosophy has been tried and not only found out to be wanting, it has been found out to be a catastrophe,'' Gore said.
``It's time for him to go,'' Gore said of Chambliss.
Gore ended his 10-minute speech with a cry of ``change is coming to Georgia.'' He was drowned out by the enthusiastic crowd.
Martin praised Gore, who served for years as a senator for Tennessee, as ``an inspiration to Southerners.''
The two men hoisted their arms aloft at the end of Gore's speech.
A Nobel Peace Prize winner for his work on global warming, Gore is the latest in a parade of political luminaries to beat a path to Georgia for what is nation's biggest remaining election.
Last week, former President Bill Clinton headlined a rally for Martin.
A number of Republican presidential candidates have stumped for Chambliss including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, ex Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the GOP's eventual nominee Arizona Sen. John McCain. Another Republican presidential wannabe, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is scheduled to appear with Chambliss Tuesday.
Georgia's last Senate runoff was in 1992 when Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler earned more votes on the general election but went on to lose to Republican Paul Coverdell in a runoff.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(WSB Radio) -- The New York Times reports two souces close to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton confirm that she will leave the Senate to join the Obama Administration as Secretary of State.
The Times reports that Clinton's decision came after additional conversations with the President-elect.
There is also late word about Obama's Secretary of Commerce.The Associated Press reported late Friday that a senior Democratic official says New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has emerged as a serious contender for Commerce Secretary in President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet.
Richardson had been in the running for secretary of state, but is under consideration for Commerce now that Obama plans to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving.
The official with knowledge of the private Cabinet discussions spoke on background because the deliberations are not final.
Richardson is a prominent Hispanic leader who endorsed Obama after dropping his own presidential bid this year.
November 21, 2008
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