One day later, it’s become clear that U.S. Rep. John Barrow of Augusta won’t be penalized by fellow Democrats for skipping the national convention in Charlotte this September.
The Democrat in charge of congressional campaigns has given him a pass. From Reuters:
“If they want to win an election, they need to be in their districts,” New York congressman Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, [said] Tuesday.
Israel emphasized that Democratic President Barack Obama’s poll ratings – which have hovered around 50 percent – have little to do with his stance.
“I don’t care if the president was at 122 percent favorability right now,” he said. “I think (candidates) should be in their districts,” rather than spend time at the convention, which will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 3-6.
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A few miles south of Charlotte, Gov. Nikki Haley’s choice for Congress, Tom Rice, crushed Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in the South Carolina Republican primary, with 56 percent of the vote. From the Associated Press:
The Horry County Council Chairman leapfrogged primary first-place finisher and former Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in Tuesday’s runoff in the district that stretches from Florence to Myrtle Beach.
Rice is a retired lawyer and accountant who got into politics two years ago after his wife told him if he didn’t like what government was doing, he should run for office.
Rice called Bauer a political opportunist who only moved to the district when lawmakers created it last year. Bauer called Rice a “moderate” who will raise taxes.
It’s another bitter loss for Bauer, who was lieutenant governor for eight years before finishing last in the four-way Republican primary for governor in 2010.
And here’s a familiar name for many in Atlanta:
In the district’s Democratic race, Coastal Carolina University professor Gloria Bromell Tinubu won the nomination for a second time, trouncing her opponent in a runoff that was hastily called after a judge’s ruling.
A former Atlanta city councilwoman, the 59-year-old Bromell Tinubu resigned her seat in the Georgia Legislature in December after moving back to her family home in Georgetown County, S.C.
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At the same time President Barack Obama was collecting checks in Atlanta, an email from his campaign went out to supporters, explaining his frenzy of fundraising. From Politico:
“I will be the first president in modern history to be outspent in his re-election campaign, if things continue as they have so far,” Obama wrote to supporters. “I’m not just talking about the super PACs and anonymous outside groups — I’m talking about the Romney campaign itself. Those outside groups just add even more to the underlying problem.”
“We can be outspent and still win — but we can’t be outspent 10 to 1 and still win,” Obama said.
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In an interview with Denis O’Hayer of WABE (90.1FM), Sally Bethea, executive director of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, said this week’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to let stand a lower court ruling giving metro Atlanta access to the waters of Lake Lanier for drinking should stop talk of creating more reservoirs in north Georgia. Said Bethea:
“With this recent ruling that Lanier is legally available for water supply, I think those reservoirs should go out the window. They’re too expensive. We can’t afford them. They would impound water and evaporate water upstream of Lake Lanier. They don’t make sense fiscally or environmentally.”
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These may be the most worrisome two paragraphs you’ll find on ajc.com today, from my AJC colleague Johnny Edwards:
Fulton County may have more than 1,200 registered voters with empty lots for addresses, but that hasn’t impacted any recent elections, a key county official told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“It appears that none of those people voted,” Registration and Elections Board Vice Chair Stan Matarazzo said, “so that’s a good sign.”
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The state’s new Immigration Enforcement Review Board will meet at 1 p.m. Friday in Room 606 at the Coverdell Legislative Office Building near the state Capitol. The board is in charge of taking up complaints aimed at local government use of illegal immigrant labor. This entry on the official agenda indicates the board is still getting its act together:
Initial Review of Complaints 2012-01 and 2012-02 based on correspondence. (The purpose of this review is to ensure that the official complaints include all elements and contain sufficient facts as required by the Board’s Rules and Regulations. The Board will not hold an initial hearing on complaints at this meeting).
By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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