Monday, July 12, 2004
Senate rivals aim at Oxford
Jobs plan, record decried in debate
By JIM THARPE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/12/04
The good news for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cliff Oxford is that political opponents don't go on the attack unless they think you can win.
The bad news, at least Sunday, is that the thought occurred to four of Oxford's six challengers who shared the stage with him for an hourlong WSB-TV debate.
Just nine days before the July 20 party primaries, the three Republican candidates also debated on television Sunday.
Congressmen Johnny Isakson, considered the front-runner, and Mac Collins touted their governmental experience, while businessman Herman Cain, who has never held public office, called for "a new voice" to confront the nation's problems.
In the Democratic debate held before the GOP event, Oxford faced a searing attack by Democratic challengers Leigh Baier and Sid Cottingham.
"A lot of this is a bunch of scorched-earth politics," Oxford said. "I think I'm sitting here with Republicans. Republicans told me they were going to do this, but I'm surprised some of my Democrats are doing this."
Oxford, a Waycross native who made millions when he sold the computer services company STI Knowledge Inc., is the only Democratic candidate with the money to run a comprehensive television ad campaign touting his plan to create and preserve jobs in Georgia.
On Sunday, he tried to stick to that theme in the debate with his Democratic opponents for the party nomination to succeed Democratic Sen. Zell Miller.
"This is exactly how we can beat the Republican Party in November," Oxford said about his jobs-creation program. As head of STI, he said, he kept 150 jobs in rural Georgia that he could have "outsourced" to cheaper, foreign labor.
"It's not right," he said about outsourcing. "It's not patriotic. And we don't have to do it."
State Sen. Mary Squires (D-Norcross), who has been running a meagerly funded campaign, accused Oxford of "plagiarism" for taking some of the ideas in his jobs program from "think tanks" and Democratic presidential candidates.
And U.S. Rep. Denise Majette of DeKalb County blasted him for not voting in five elections since 1996.
The most pointed attack was a tag-team assault from Baier and Cottingham, a Douglas lawyer who often compares his candidacy to that of former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn.
Baier noted allegations of "serial spousal abuse" in one of Oxford's two divorces. Oxford has denied the charges, and the ex-wife who leveled the charges said she supports Oxford's Senate bid.
"I'd like to know if that would disqualify him from getting your support should he be the nomination of the Democratic Party?" Baier asked Cottingham during a segment of the debate.
Cottingham praised past Democratic senators and then returned to Baier's question.
"You ask me if I would support Cliff Oxford? The answer is no," Cottingham said.
He noted that one political commentator called Oxford a "flake." Cottingham said, "I think he's a fraud."
Oxford shot back that Baier and Cottingham were "taking a cheap shot." He then took aim at Cottingham's voting record.
"Mr. Cottingham, I don't think you would vote for me, since you voted for Mr. Bush in the last election," Oxford said. "Obviously, you didn't judge character then, and I don't expect you to judge it now."
The attacks show that Oxford's fellow Democrats are taking his candidacy seriously after the airing of wall-to-wall television ads that feature the 41-year-old talking about jobs and referring to his small-town roots.
The Democratic candidates all called for an exit strategy from Iraq, but Albany lawyer James Finkelstein said he is the only candidate with a plan to get the troops out in six months.
Finkelstein, whose U.S. Marine son served in Iraq, accused Majette of taking half a million dollars in campaign contributions from "special interest groups" including defense contractors. And he got in two plugs for Michael Moore's Bush-bashing movie "Fahrenheit 9/11."
The seven Democrats participating in the debate, including Govind Patel of Lilburn, were unanimous in opposing any constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Such a referendum will be on the general election ballot Nov. 2. The eighth candidate in the race, Jim Boyd, did not attend Sunday's event.
Republicans, who debated after the Democrats, agreed that President Bush's tax cuts should be made permanent and concurred that the United States must stay the course in Iraq.
However, Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO, split with Collins and Isakson over extending the federal Voting Rights Act, which comes up for review in three years.
Cain, the only African-American in the July 20 GOP primary, said the provisions, which apply only to 16 Southern states, should be extended. However, Isakson and Collins said they would support an extension only if the Voting Rights Act is extended to all 50 states.
None of the Republicans favored returning to a military draft. Isakson said a draft could be counterproductive, given the high-tech demands of the modern armed forces.
"We are in a different world today," he said. "A voluntary military is critical."
Jobs plan, record decried in debate
By JIM THARPE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/12/04
The good news for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cliff Oxford is that political opponents don't go on the attack unless they think you can win.
The bad news, at least Sunday, is that the thought occurred to four of Oxford's six challengers who shared the stage with him for an hourlong WSB-TV debate.
Just nine days before the July 20 party primaries, the three Republican candidates also debated on television Sunday.
Congressmen Johnny Isakson, considered the front-runner, and Mac Collins touted their governmental experience, while businessman Herman Cain, who has never held public office, called for "a new voice" to confront the nation's problems.
In the Democratic debate held before the GOP event, Oxford faced a searing attack by Democratic challengers Leigh Baier and Sid Cottingham.
"A lot of this is a bunch of scorched-earth politics," Oxford said. "I think I'm sitting here with Republicans. Republicans told me they were going to do this, but I'm surprised some of my Democrats are doing this."
Oxford, a Waycross native who made millions when he sold the computer services company STI Knowledge Inc., is the only Democratic candidate with the money to run a comprehensive television ad campaign touting his plan to create and preserve jobs in Georgia.
On Sunday, he tried to stick to that theme in the debate with his Democratic opponents for the party nomination to succeed Democratic Sen. Zell Miller.
"This is exactly how we can beat the Republican Party in November," Oxford said about his jobs-creation program. As head of STI, he said, he kept 150 jobs in rural Georgia that he could have "outsourced" to cheaper, foreign labor.
"It's not right," he said about outsourcing. "It's not patriotic. And we don't have to do it."
State Sen. Mary Squires (D-Norcross), who has been running a meagerly funded campaign, accused Oxford of "plagiarism" for taking some of the ideas in his jobs program from "think tanks" and Democratic presidential candidates.
And U.S. Rep. Denise Majette of DeKalb County blasted him for not voting in five elections since 1996.
The most pointed attack was a tag-team assault from Baier and Cottingham, a Douglas lawyer who often compares his candidacy to that of former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn.
Baier noted allegations of "serial spousal abuse" in one of Oxford's two divorces. Oxford has denied the charges, and the ex-wife who leveled the charges said she supports Oxford's Senate bid.
"I'd like to know if that would disqualify him from getting your support should he be the nomination of the Democratic Party?" Baier asked Cottingham during a segment of the debate.
Cottingham praised past Democratic senators and then returned to Baier's question.
"You ask me if I would support Cliff Oxford? The answer is no," Cottingham said.
He noted that one political commentator called Oxford a "flake." Cottingham said, "I think he's a fraud."
Oxford shot back that Baier and Cottingham were "taking a cheap shot." He then took aim at Cottingham's voting record.
"Mr. Cottingham, I don't think you would vote for me, since you voted for Mr. Bush in the last election," Oxford said. "Obviously, you didn't judge character then, and I don't expect you to judge it now."
The attacks show that Oxford's fellow Democrats are taking his candidacy seriously after the airing of wall-to-wall television ads that feature the 41-year-old talking about jobs and referring to his small-town roots.
The Democratic candidates all called for an exit strategy from Iraq, but Albany lawyer James Finkelstein said he is the only candidate with a plan to get the troops out in six months.
Finkelstein, whose U.S. Marine son served in Iraq, accused Majette of taking half a million dollars in campaign contributions from "special interest groups" including defense contractors. And he got in two plugs for Michael Moore's Bush-bashing movie "Fahrenheit 9/11."
The seven Democrats participating in the debate, including Govind Patel of Lilburn, were unanimous in opposing any constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Such a referendum will be on the general election ballot Nov. 2. The eighth candidate in the race, Jim Boyd, did not attend Sunday's event.
Republicans, who debated after the Democrats, agreed that President Bush's tax cuts should be made permanent and concurred that the United States must stay the course in Iraq.
However, Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO, split with Collins and Isakson over extending the federal Voting Rights Act, which comes up for review in three years.
Cain, the only African-American in the July 20 GOP primary, said the provisions, which apply only to 16 Southern states, should be extended. However, Isakson and Collins said they would support an extension only if the Voting Rights Act is extended to all 50 states.
None of the Republicans favored returning to a military draft. Isakson said a draft could be counterproductive, given the high-tech demands of the modern armed forces.
"We are in a different world today," he said. "A voluntary military is critical."
Meet Tom Rawlings - Georgia Court of Appeals
Johnny Grant: I know Tom and his family, and support his candidacy for Court of Appeals.
Rawlings - Good Decisions For Georgia's Future.
Kay Rawlings: Election time is here! Remember that you can begin "early voting" at your local voter registrar's office beginning tomorrow, July 12.
Please encourage your friends and family to vote between now and the regular primary date, July 20. And please help us by contacting your friends and family Statewide and ask them to vote for Thomas C Rawlings in the nonpartisan Court of Appeals race.
Tom is the ONLY candidate in this race who:
....Already has experience as a full-time Judge....
He serves full-time in juvenile court and has done work in other courts across the state, including presiding over jury trials and hearings in Superior Court.
Prior judicial experience is essential to an appellate court judgeship... it's not an entry-level position!
....Has actual work experience at the Court of Appeals....
Tom served as an attorney-advisor to the Judges of the Court of Appeals and helped decide over 200 appellate cases. His experience gives him a working knowledge of the Court, its policies, and its people.
He already knows how to do the job and do it well!
....Has extensive business experience....
Tom helped run a manufacturing company in Columbus and understands the needs and concerns of the business community.
He has received support from many business and medical associations who respect him not only for his legal ability but also for his understanding of the way the Court of Appeals can impact this state's business climate.
Additionally, Tom is from Rural Georgia and will bring a voice for rural Georgia values to the Court.
Thomas C Rawlings - Good Decisions For Georgia's Future.
For Tom Rawlings Website: Rawlings-Court Of Appeals (Click Here)
Read more on this subject in Related Hot Topics:
Download a campaign brochure (Click Here)
Tom Rawlings - Juvenile Court Work
Tom Rawlings - Law Giving Us Limits And Direction
Meet Tom Rawlings - Background
For Pictures Of Tom Rawlings Great Family (Click Here)
Johnny Grant: I know Tom and his family, and support his candidacy for Court of Appeals.
Rawlings - Good Decisions For Georgia's Future.
Kay Rawlings: Election time is here! Remember that you can begin "early voting" at your local voter registrar's office beginning tomorrow, July 12.
Please encourage your friends and family to vote between now and the regular primary date, July 20. And please help us by contacting your friends and family Statewide and ask them to vote for Thomas C Rawlings in the nonpartisan Court of Appeals race.
Tom is the ONLY candidate in this race who:
....Already has experience as a full-time Judge....
He serves full-time in juvenile court and has done work in other courts across the state, including presiding over jury trials and hearings in Superior Court.
Prior judicial experience is essential to an appellate court judgeship... it's not an entry-level position!
....Has actual work experience at the Court of Appeals....
Tom served as an attorney-advisor to the Judges of the Court of Appeals and helped decide over 200 appellate cases. His experience gives him a working knowledge of the Court, its policies, and its people.
He already knows how to do the job and do it well!
....Has extensive business experience....
Tom helped run a manufacturing company in Columbus and understands the needs and concerns of the business community.
He has received support from many business and medical associations who respect him not only for his legal ability but also for his understanding of the way the Court of Appeals can impact this state's business climate.
Additionally, Tom is from Rural Georgia and will bring a voice for rural Georgia values to the Court.
Thomas C Rawlings - Good Decisions For Georgia's Future.
For Tom Rawlings Website: Rawlings-Court Of Appeals (Click Here)
Read more on this subject in Related Hot Topics:
Download a campaign brochure (Click Here)
Tom Rawlings - Juvenile Court Work
Tom Rawlings - Law Giving Us Limits And Direction
Meet Tom Rawlings - Background
For Pictures Of Tom Rawlings Great Family (Click Here)
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Jul 07 2004
"Three GOP candidates duke it out for party nomination, edge in U.S. Senate"- Brandon Larrabee
Stories by Brandon Larrabee
Savannah Morning News
Morris News Service
While U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., begins packing up his Washington office, three Republicans are scrambling for their party's nomination - and the seat.
To be sure, Miller's open seat has attracted a field of candidates, including eight Democratic contenders and three Republicans in the July 20 primary.
Half of the candidates have no elected experience or widespread name recognition.
Among the crowded field: three Republicans have mounted campaigns with enough appeal that an Aug. 10 runoff could be possible. A similar fate is expected in the Democratic primary.
To avoid that, a candidate must win more than half the party's vote. Otherwise, the top two vote recipients face a second match-up to determine the party's final nominee.
The Republican field includes: U.S. Reps. Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins and pizza magnate Herman Cain.
Most political observers believe the Republicans will have an edge in the Nov. 2 general election, especially given Georgia's GOP-friendly voting record in recent years.
Cain looks to 'rock the boat'
DECATUR, Ga. - Herman Cain is having fun.
The former head of Godfather's Pizza, who had drawn national attention as a black Republican running for a Southern U.S. Senate seat, seems amused and amazed as he sits at a restaurant and discusses his sudden popularity.
Even as he pauses to grab a bowl of soup at Atlanta Bread Co. - an effort to make up for a meal he missed while speaking at a Kiwanis meeting - people show their support.
"Go get 'em, baby!" remarks one supporter.
For Cain, seeking elected office for the first time, the experience is new and uplifting. "You have to see it to believe it!" he proclaims.
Shaking things up.
Cain faces U.S. Reps. Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins for the GOP nomination to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga. The reason he's running is simple: to shake up the status quo.
"Either one of my opponents would show up, vote, but they won't rock the boat," Cain tells supporters. "I will show up, vote, rock the boat and then drive the boat."
Cain has certainly made a splash, running TV advertisements early and setting off a war of words between his camp and Isakson's about negative TV and radio spots. He has battled with Collins over which is the true conservative to the allegedly moderate Isakson.
But what has gotten most of the attention is not so much Cain's stance on the issues or even his sometimes unconventional campaigning. It's the fact that he's a black man running in a party that often draws a tiny share of the black vote.
Cain tries to defuse the issue, such as when he's asked about differences between himself and his opponents. He responds with: "The color of our eyes."
Cain said he doesn't alter his message when he's speaking to black voters. But he does add something: statistics showing how the problems he describes, like a Social Security system that needs to be restructured, are worse for blacks than for whites.
"When you look at the life expectancy of a black male, it is 68," he tells a biracial audience at the Rex World Outreach Center. "Well, I was informed by Social Security a few years ago that I could apply for benefits at 66...I mean, if God is good to me, I get to draw benefits for two years."
His party has erred by not giving black voters a "compelling reason" to vote Republican, he says. Instead, the party seems to want to get minorities to vote for Republicans simply because they are the party's nominee.
"What does that mean?" Cain said. "...Talk about the issues so they can connect with the issues."
The boldness in his message appeals to both black and white voters, Cain added.
"People rally around real solutions, real passion and real optimism, not the fake stuff. 'When I become your United States senator, I will fight for the mortgage interest deduction.' Whooptee-doo!" Cain said, laughing. "People don't get excited about mediocrity."
If Sandra Vincent, a Democrat running for the chair of the Henry County Commission, is any indication, Cain's strategy might be making progress. Vincent said she's known Cain for a while and plans to support him.
"I think that he is a candidate for all people, and that is what we need," she said.
Solutions in business.
Cain touts his business credentials as an example of how he can get things done in Washington. He points to the Pillsbury World Headquarters project, an effort to build a new base of operations for the food giant.
"When I took over the project, it was behind schedule and over budget," he said.
By the time Cain was done, the project was finished "ahead of schedule and under budget."
Business experiences have also informed his politics.
Cain is the only Republicans running for Miller's seat who supports postponing the Base Realignment and Closure process, which could close up to a quarter of the nation's domestic military installations.
The candidate brushes off Collins' and Isakson's contention that BRAC should go forward because other states might use the extra time to catch up on preparations.
"They have tried to position it as, our bases are ready for BRAC," he said. "They're gonna survive. They probably will. That's not the point. The point is focus."
But Collins, a businessman himself, says that Cain's rhetoric masks a flaw in his logic.
"There's a difference in operating a business and serving in a legislative body," the six-term congressman said.
Cain dismisses the notion that his lack of time in Congress puts him at a disadvantage.
"They like to call that experience," Cain says. "Well, just because you've been somewhere 12 years or six years does not necessarily mean you've got 12 or six years of experience. For some people, it's one year experience six times."
Collins looks to win, one vote at a time.
DALLAS, Ga. - If it weren't for the business shirt and tie, Mac Collins would look just like one of the guys at Martin's Restaurant.
Collins, a U.S. congressman from Butts County and candidate for the GOP nomination to replace U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, is seated at a table with 10 mostly retired men who gather regularly to talk over coffee and breakfast. Collins discusses everything from national and local politics to shopping at Sears.
It's an approach that has worked for the six-term representative before. And it's one he hopes will work when it comes to the July 20 Republican primary.
"If you get out like this, you get a feel for folks," Collins said, not that he necessarily has a problem with giving speeches. "But I like to also spend days just stopping in places and talking to folks."
Staking the campaign on his experience and conservative voting record, Collins appears determined to win the election - one vote at a time, if necessary. And there are signs, at least in Dallas, that such perseverance can help.
Stanley Ingram, seated at another table at Martin's, hadn't had a politician personally ask him for a vote in 20 years.
"I'll vote for (Collins) just for that," Ingram said.
Not high on scheduling.
Collins spends about four hours in and around Dallas. Then, after a stop in his Marietta office to hone a statement on Saddam Hussein's court appearance, Collins heads to a press conference he decided to call just hours before.
After that comes lunch and another stop at the office. Collins has a one-on-one meeting before speaking to a Veterans of Foreign Wars gathering. At 6:45 p.m., Collins decides to try to make a 7 p.m. forum (he was supposed to register at 6:15).
He arrives as one of the hosts is giving an introductory talk about the upcoming primary. Collins walks around the audience then takes a seat between his rivals, U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson and pizza magnate Herman Cain.
Collins, who started his own trucking company at the age of 18 and later served in the Georgia National Guard, isn't much for being scheduled.
His political career hasn't been easily charted either.
The son of a Flovilla city councilwoman and a father who talked about running for the Butts County Commission but never did, Collins hankered to run for office at a young age. It began when he ran for the position his father always discussed in their home county, 45 miles south of Atlanta.
"I ran in two special elections and lost each of them," Collins remembered.
He later won a term as chairman of the Butts County Commission in 1976. Eventually, Collins turned his attention to the state Senate. Again, the third time was the charm, and he began serving his two terms under the Gold Dome in 1988.
"My home county told me if I'd have run as a Democrat, I'd have won the first time," said Collins, who lost the initial race by two votes. "And they were right."
In 1992, Collins opted to run for Congress, a decision he announced before redistricting was complete. Democrats abruptly drew Butts County out of the district Collins had been eyeing. It created a matchup between Collins and a 10-year incumbent.
Collins won anyway.
Feeling underestimated once again, Collins dismisses speculation he's looking for a second-place showing in the primary and a chance to take Isakson on in a face-to-face runoff Aug. 10.
"The goal for me is to win on July 20," he said.
Not a moderate or a new face
At a forum sponsored by the Cobb County Republican Women's Club, Collins clearly lays out why he should be chosen over his opponents: With the country continuing its war on terror and slowly economic recovery, "it's no time to send a moderate and it's no time to send someone with no experience to the United States Senate."
As for the issues, Collins says he's focused on "national security and personal security."
He points to his seat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence and his travels abroad - he hopes to return to Iraq for a third time after the primary to meet the new interim government - as signs of his experience on national security.
And he speaks passionately about the need to help Americans cope with a worldwide economy changed by the advent of free trade.
"We're slow to change when it comes to dealing with (the) free-trade market," Collins said. The three barriers holding back U.S. businesses are high tax rates, too much regulation and excessive lawsuits, he said.
While Isakson and Cain have drawn attention for arguments over radio and television ads, Collins said it's too soon for voters to start focusing on the race. He plans to begin running his TV ads closer to the primary.
But Collins is also relying on his one-on-one campaigning.
"It's picking up momentum every day," he said. "We're looking to reach our peak July 20."
Ahead of the pack, Isakson looks to avoid runoff.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. - As Rep. Johnny Isakson leaves a Sweet Tomatoes restaurant one Saturday morning, a female supporter calls out a hope that Isakson himself had voiced just a few minutes earlier.
"Without a runoff," she says.
Isakson, the front-runner for the GOP nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Zell Miller, would certainly like to avoid a runoff by taking more than 50 percent of the votes on July 20.
"It saves money; it saves time; it saves effort," he told supporters who gathered at the restaurant after a breakfast held by North Fulton County Republicans.
But to skip a second round of voting Aug. 10, Isakson has to dispose of two opponents who are committed to forcing a showdown with the three-term Cobb County congressman.
Fellow Rep. Mac Collins is an experienced legislator with ties to conservative groups. Herman Cain, a charismatic pizza magnate, has excited crowds with his oratory while drawing media attention as a high-profile black GOP candidate.
The irony is that Isakson, who likes to boast that he and the late Sen. Paul Coverdell helped build the Georgia GOP in the 1980s, now faces some of the loudest questions from those who form the core of the party. They question his fidelity to conservative values on issues ranging from gun control to abortion, criticism that Isakson says is off-base.
Sounding the right notes
On this particular Saturday, Isakson heads from the Alpharetta breakfast to a barbecue in Lumpkin County before flying to Augusta for a debate.
At each event, he sounds the right Republican notes: a shot at Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.; criticism of a judiciary willing to overstep its constitutional bounds; supporting the policies of President Bush.
Isakson points out that he was a Georgia Republican when Democrats had a stranglehold on state government.
Isakson won a seat in the General Assembly in 1976 and became House minority leader seven years later. During his time in that post, the number of House Republicans swelled by 85 percent. Coverdell, then a state senator, held the same position in the upper chamber.
Isakson made two unsuccessful shots at statewide office - a 1990 gubernatorial bid and an unsuccessful run for the GOP's nomination for Senate in 1996. Miller, governor at the time, tapped Isakson to head the state school board later that year.
In 1998, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., resigned after the GOP lost five seats in that year's midterm election. Isakson ran in the 1999 special election and beat several other candidates without a runoff.
Trying to do it again
Which is, of course, exactly what Isakson would like to do this time around.
"I've been in runoffs before. ... I think our chances are great either way," he says.
Isakson has run on a three-pronged campaign: "stay the course on the war in Iraq and the war on terror;" support tax reform; and back Bush's nominees for the federal bench.
And in a state where the military is a major economic engine, Isakson supports pushing ahead with the Base Realignment and Closure process, or BRAC. He opposes a recent effort to delay the process by two years, a stance shared by some involved in protecting the state's bases.
"Wherever you go, they all say, 'We're ready.' It's better for Georgia to go now than to give two years for some of these other states that maybe didn't get their act together," he said.
He also rebuffs suggestions that he's not conservative enough. Several groups have taken aim at Isakson's position on abortion. In addition to supporting legalized abortion for women in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother, Isakson has voted for legislation that would allow military hospitals overseas to perform abortions though the government won't pay for them. He says it's an issue of fairness: service members and their dependents should have the same rights other Americans have, whether he agrees or not.
Lately, Isakson's opponents have joined in the debate. Cain recently ran a blistering TV ad saying Isakson had voted for "pro-abortion" legislation 14 times, taken campaign donations from trial lawyers and wasn't committed to doing away with the current tax code.
Isakson's points to his relatively good ratings from anti-abortion groups and that he was chosen to preside over the debate on legislation banning a form of late-term abortion that opponents call "partial-birth abortion."
"I just tell everybody look at the record," Isakson said. "I'm running for something, not against anybody"
The attacks on Isakson don't seem to have phased supporters.
Mike Young, a Lumpkin County Commission candidate and one of Isakson's supporters at the barbecue, said Isakson has "the same values as I have."
"I'm just a good conservative, and I believe Johnny is," he said.
"Three GOP candidates duke it out for party nomination, edge in U.S. Senate"- Brandon Larrabee
Stories by Brandon Larrabee
Savannah Morning News
Morris News Service
While U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., begins packing up his Washington office, three Republicans are scrambling for their party's nomination - and the seat.
To be sure, Miller's open seat has attracted a field of candidates, including eight Democratic contenders and three Republicans in the July 20 primary.
Half of the candidates have no elected experience or widespread name recognition.
Among the crowded field: three Republicans have mounted campaigns with enough appeal that an Aug. 10 runoff could be possible. A similar fate is expected in the Democratic primary.
To avoid that, a candidate must win more than half the party's vote. Otherwise, the top two vote recipients face a second match-up to determine the party's final nominee.
The Republican field includes: U.S. Reps. Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins and pizza magnate Herman Cain.
Most political observers believe the Republicans will have an edge in the Nov. 2 general election, especially given Georgia's GOP-friendly voting record in recent years.
Cain looks to 'rock the boat'
DECATUR, Ga. - Herman Cain is having fun.
The former head of Godfather's Pizza, who had drawn national attention as a black Republican running for a Southern U.S. Senate seat, seems amused and amazed as he sits at a restaurant and discusses his sudden popularity.
Even as he pauses to grab a bowl of soup at Atlanta Bread Co. - an effort to make up for a meal he missed while speaking at a Kiwanis meeting - people show their support.
"Go get 'em, baby!" remarks one supporter.
For Cain, seeking elected office for the first time, the experience is new and uplifting. "You have to see it to believe it!" he proclaims.
Shaking things up.
Cain faces U.S. Reps. Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins for the GOP nomination to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga. The reason he's running is simple: to shake up the status quo.
"Either one of my opponents would show up, vote, but they won't rock the boat," Cain tells supporters. "I will show up, vote, rock the boat and then drive the boat."
Cain has certainly made a splash, running TV advertisements early and setting off a war of words between his camp and Isakson's about negative TV and radio spots. He has battled with Collins over which is the true conservative to the allegedly moderate Isakson.
But what has gotten most of the attention is not so much Cain's stance on the issues or even his sometimes unconventional campaigning. It's the fact that he's a black man running in a party that often draws a tiny share of the black vote.
Cain tries to defuse the issue, such as when he's asked about differences between himself and his opponents. He responds with: "The color of our eyes."
Cain said he doesn't alter his message when he's speaking to black voters. But he does add something: statistics showing how the problems he describes, like a Social Security system that needs to be restructured, are worse for blacks than for whites.
"When you look at the life expectancy of a black male, it is 68," he tells a biracial audience at the Rex World Outreach Center. "Well, I was informed by Social Security a few years ago that I could apply for benefits at 66...I mean, if God is good to me, I get to draw benefits for two years."
His party has erred by not giving black voters a "compelling reason" to vote Republican, he says. Instead, the party seems to want to get minorities to vote for Republicans simply because they are the party's nominee.
"What does that mean?" Cain said. "...Talk about the issues so they can connect with the issues."
The boldness in his message appeals to both black and white voters, Cain added.
"People rally around real solutions, real passion and real optimism, not the fake stuff. 'When I become your United States senator, I will fight for the mortgage interest deduction.' Whooptee-doo!" Cain said, laughing. "People don't get excited about mediocrity."
If Sandra Vincent, a Democrat running for the chair of the Henry County Commission, is any indication, Cain's strategy might be making progress. Vincent said she's known Cain for a while and plans to support him.
"I think that he is a candidate for all people, and that is what we need," she said.
Solutions in business.
Cain touts his business credentials as an example of how he can get things done in Washington. He points to the Pillsbury World Headquarters project, an effort to build a new base of operations for the food giant.
"When I took over the project, it was behind schedule and over budget," he said.
By the time Cain was done, the project was finished "ahead of schedule and under budget."
Business experiences have also informed his politics.
Cain is the only Republicans running for Miller's seat who supports postponing the Base Realignment and Closure process, which could close up to a quarter of the nation's domestic military installations.
The candidate brushes off Collins' and Isakson's contention that BRAC should go forward because other states might use the extra time to catch up on preparations.
"They have tried to position it as, our bases are ready for BRAC," he said. "They're gonna survive. They probably will. That's not the point. The point is focus."
But Collins, a businessman himself, says that Cain's rhetoric masks a flaw in his logic.
"There's a difference in operating a business and serving in a legislative body," the six-term congressman said.
Cain dismisses the notion that his lack of time in Congress puts him at a disadvantage.
"They like to call that experience," Cain says. "Well, just because you've been somewhere 12 years or six years does not necessarily mean you've got 12 or six years of experience. For some people, it's one year experience six times."
Collins looks to win, one vote at a time.
DALLAS, Ga. - If it weren't for the business shirt and tie, Mac Collins would look just like one of the guys at Martin's Restaurant.
Collins, a U.S. congressman from Butts County and candidate for the GOP nomination to replace U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, is seated at a table with 10 mostly retired men who gather regularly to talk over coffee and breakfast. Collins discusses everything from national and local politics to shopping at Sears.
It's an approach that has worked for the six-term representative before. And it's one he hopes will work when it comes to the July 20 Republican primary.
"If you get out like this, you get a feel for folks," Collins said, not that he necessarily has a problem with giving speeches. "But I like to also spend days just stopping in places and talking to folks."
Staking the campaign on his experience and conservative voting record, Collins appears determined to win the election - one vote at a time, if necessary. And there are signs, at least in Dallas, that such perseverance can help.
Stanley Ingram, seated at another table at Martin's, hadn't had a politician personally ask him for a vote in 20 years.
"I'll vote for (Collins) just for that," Ingram said.
Not high on scheduling.
Collins spends about four hours in and around Dallas. Then, after a stop in his Marietta office to hone a statement on Saddam Hussein's court appearance, Collins heads to a press conference he decided to call just hours before.
After that comes lunch and another stop at the office. Collins has a one-on-one meeting before speaking to a Veterans of Foreign Wars gathering. At 6:45 p.m., Collins decides to try to make a 7 p.m. forum (he was supposed to register at 6:15).
He arrives as one of the hosts is giving an introductory talk about the upcoming primary. Collins walks around the audience then takes a seat between his rivals, U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson and pizza magnate Herman Cain.
Collins, who started his own trucking company at the age of 18 and later served in the Georgia National Guard, isn't much for being scheduled.
His political career hasn't been easily charted either.
The son of a Flovilla city councilwoman and a father who talked about running for the Butts County Commission but never did, Collins hankered to run for office at a young age. It began when he ran for the position his father always discussed in their home county, 45 miles south of Atlanta.
"I ran in two special elections and lost each of them," Collins remembered.
He later won a term as chairman of the Butts County Commission in 1976. Eventually, Collins turned his attention to the state Senate. Again, the third time was the charm, and he began serving his two terms under the Gold Dome in 1988.
"My home county told me if I'd have run as a Democrat, I'd have won the first time," said Collins, who lost the initial race by two votes. "And they were right."
In 1992, Collins opted to run for Congress, a decision he announced before redistricting was complete. Democrats abruptly drew Butts County out of the district Collins had been eyeing. It created a matchup between Collins and a 10-year incumbent.
Collins won anyway.
Feeling underestimated once again, Collins dismisses speculation he's looking for a second-place showing in the primary and a chance to take Isakson on in a face-to-face runoff Aug. 10.
"The goal for me is to win on July 20," he said.
Not a moderate or a new face
At a forum sponsored by the Cobb County Republican Women's Club, Collins clearly lays out why he should be chosen over his opponents: With the country continuing its war on terror and slowly economic recovery, "it's no time to send a moderate and it's no time to send someone with no experience to the United States Senate."
As for the issues, Collins says he's focused on "national security and personal security."
He points to his seat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence and his travels abroad - he hopes to return to Iraq for a third time after the primary to meet the new interim government - as signs of his experience on national security.
And he speaks passionately about the need to help Americans cope with a worldwide economy changed by the advent of free trade.
"We're slow to change when it comes to dealing with (the) free-trade market," Collins said. The three barriers holding back U.S. businesses are high tax rates, too much regulation and excessive lawsuits, he said.
While Isakson and Cain have drawn attention for arguments over radio and television ads, Collins said it's too soon for voters to start focusing on the race. He plans to begin running his TV ads closer to the primary.
But Collins is also relying on his one-on-one campaigning.
"It's picking up momentum every day," he said. "We're looking to reach our peak July 20."
Ahead of the pack, Isakson looks to avoid runoff.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. - As Rep. Johnny Isakson leaves a Sweet Tomatoes restaurant one Saturday morning, a female supporter calls out a hope that Isakson himself had voiced just a few minutes earlier.
"Without a runoff," she says.
Isakson, the front-runner for the GOP nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Zell Miller, would certainly like to avoid a runoff by taking more than 50 percent of the votes on July 20.
"It saves money; it saves time; it saves effort," he told supporters who gathered at the restaurant after a breakfast held by North Fulton County Republicans.
But to skip a second round of voting Aug. 10, Isakson has to dispose of two opponents who are committed to forcing a showdown with the three-term Cobb County congressman.
Fellow Rep. Mac Collins is an experienced legislator with ties to conservative groups. Herman Cain, a charismatic pizza magnate, has excited crowds with his oratory while drawing media attention as a high-profile black GOP candidate.
The irony is that Isakson, who likes to boast that he and the late Sen. Paul Coverdell helped build the Georgia GOP in the 1980s, now faces some of the loudest questions from those who form the core of the party. They question his fidelity to conservative values on issues ranging from gun control to abortion, criticism that Isakson says is off-base.
Sounding the right notes
On this particular Saturday, Isakson heads from the Alpharetta breakfast to a barbecue in Lumpkin County before flying to Augusta for a debate.
At each event, he sounds the right Republican notes: a shot at Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.; criticism of a judiciary willing to overstep its constitutional bounds; supporting the policies of President Bush.
Isakson points out that he was a Georgia Republican when Democrats had a stranglehold on state government.
Isakson won a seat in the General Assembly in 1976 and became House minority leader seven years later. During his time in that post, the number of House Republicans swelled by 85 percent. Coverdell, then a state senator, held the same position in the upper chamber.
Isakson made two unsuccessful shots at statewide office - a 1990 gubernatorial bid and an unsuccessful run for the GOP's nomination for Senate in 1996. Miller, governor at the time, tapped Isakson to head the state school board later that year.
In 1998, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., resigned after the GOP lost five seats in that year's midterm election. Isakson ran in the 1999 special election and beat several other candidates without a runoff.
Trying to do it again
Which is, of course, exactly what Isakson would like to do this time around.
"I've been in runoffs before. ... I think our chances are great either way," he says.
Isakson has run on a three-pronged campaign: "stay the course on the war in Iraq and the war on terror;" support tax reform; and back Bush's nominees for the federal bench.
And in a state where the military is a major economic engine, Isakson supports pushing ahead with the Base Realignment and Closure process, or BRAC. He opposes a recent effort to delay the process by two years, a stance shared by some involved in protecting the state's bases.
"Wherever you go, they all say, 'We're ready.' It's better for Georgia to go now than to give two years for some of these other states that maybe didn't get their act together," he said.
He also rebuffs suggestions that he's not conservative enough. Several groups have taken aim at Isakson's position on abortion. In addition to supporting legalized abortion for women in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother, Isakson has voted for legislation that would allow military hospitals overseas to perform abortions though the government won't pay for them. He says it's an issue of fairness: service members and their dependents should have the same rights other Americans have, whether he agrees or not.
Lately, Isakson's opponents have joined in the debate. Cain recently ran a blistering TV ad saying Isakson had voted for "pro-abortion" legislation 14 times, taken campaign donations from trial lawyers and wasn't committed to doing away with the current tax code.
Isakson's points to his relatively good ratings from anti-abortion groups and that he was chosen to preside over the debate on legislation banning a form of late-term abortion that opponents call "partial-birth abortion."
"I just tell everybody look at the record," Isakson said. "I'm running for something, not against anybody"
The attacks on Isakson don't seem to have phased supporters.
Mike Young, a Lumpkin County Commission candidate and one of Isakson's supporters at the barbecue, said Isakson has "the same values as I have."
"I'm just a good conservative, and I believe Johnny is," he said.
