Posted on 08/27/2005 9:09:38 PM PDT by WJHII
Hecht running against Reed
By William John Hagan
Houston Home Journal 08/27/2005
A potential Democratic nominee in the upcoming Lieutenant Governor’s race, Greg Hecht, visited Warner Robins as part of his campaign to challenge the likely Republican nominee Ralph Reed, the former executive director of the Christian Coalition. Hecht, a former State Senator, Representative, and Assistant District Attorney was in Warner Robins to speak with the members of the Houston County Democratic Committee.
Prior to his campaign stop at Ted Wright Park in Warner Robins, Hecht granted an exclusive interview to the Houston Home Journal regarding two issues which he does not normally discuss on the campaign trail: the Max Cleland factor and Roe v. Wade.
Some Georgia Democrats and political pundits such as Bill Shipp have speculated that to beat Ralph Reed in 2006, the Democratic Party needs a candidate who can rival Reed’s level of name recognition. Reed, who has never held public office and retired as executive director of the Christian Coalition in 1997 and was, by 2002, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. Reed’s website claims that he “helped elect U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss [and] Sonny Perdue as the first GOP Governor in 130 years, and gained control of state Senate for first time since Reconstruction.” His successes in 2002 resulted in his appointment to Chairman of the Southeast Region for Bush-Cheney '04 and campaign manager in Georgia.
This track record has made Reed the darling of the right wing of the Republican Party. Marshall Wittmann, who worked with Reed at the Christian Coalition but now works for the Democratic Leadership Council, has been quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Reed wants to be President. Having never held public office, this has led to widespread speculation that Reed is using the Georgia’s Lt. Governor’s race as a launching pad for higher office, possibly even a future Presidential run.
Hecht, in his interview with the HHJ, adressed the question pubically for the first time as to whether some Democratic leaders have been pushing for nationally known former Georgia Senator, Max Cleland, to run against him in the primary. This would increase the chances that Reed will not succeed in becoming the first Republican Lieutenant Governor in Georgia history. When asked if he would step aside if Cleland chose to run, Hetch firmly declared that “Max is a friend and I don’t think he’ll run. However, if he did I would stay in the race.” Hecht also expressed his belief that he could defeat Reed in the General Election, claiming that he currently holds a 5% lead over the potential Republican candidate in independent polls; he then described Reed, “as the worst type of extremist.”
The HHJ also asked Hecht to share his views on the abortion issue. The potential of a new balance of power on the United States Supreme Court has increased the chance that Roe v. Wade could be overturned in the future, returning the decision of whether to legalize abortion to the states. Considering that Reed is a well-known opponent of abortion, this will likely be a central issue in this campaign. Hecht’s campaign speeches and literature do not address the abortion issue.
When asked his opinion on abortion Hecht stated that, “I don’t believe anyone supports abortion. I would like to see a reduction in the number of abortions.” He then explained that he believed the increase in abortions in the United States could be directly linked to his belief that the Bush administration has reduced access to prenatal care Hecht also noted that he opposes “partial birth abortions”. When pressed further on the issue, Hecht acknowledged that he does “not believe that Roe v. Wade was unconstitutional and did not believe it should be overturned.”
Later in the evening when Hecht spoke to the Houston County Democratic Committee, he addressed the issues that are core to his campaign message: children’s heath care, education and business development. Elayne Greenberg, chairperson of the committee, introduced Hecht to a receptive audience after Scott Taylor, candidate for State Representative (Seat 146), had declared that the Democrats, “have an excellent line up in 2006.”
When Hecht took the floor he got right to the heart of the matter, “We’re going to beat Ralph Reed with your help. I’ve learned a lot of things during this campaign that people who have never held office, like Ralph Reed, haven’t learned.” He stated that while he was in the Senate authoring legislation that protected children and the elderly, “Reed was lobbying on behalf of Enron for higher energy prices in Pennsylvania. When it comes time to debate Reed on credentials, I’m looking forward to it.”
His attention then turned to Governor Perdue and the Republicans in Atlanta. “The people that are in charge of the government are leading people in the wrong direction.” Hecht claimed that 48000 children in Georgia have been terminated from the “Peach Care” health insurance program by recent bureaucratic decisions. Hecht stated that if elected he would fight to restore the “Peach Care” program to its prior level of funding. It is his belief that the program, “is an investment in family values not just rhetoric. Cuts in the program have resulted in children not getting proper health care and ending up in hospitals. Now a former insured event is an uninsured one.” He went onto describe the negative impact on a society that results from the destruction of the uninsured family’s credit ratings and hospitals that have to absorb the resulting uncollectible debts.
Hecht then tied together the issues of education and business development in Georgia. He is proposing a Constitutional Amendment that would reduce class room sizes at a cost of $300 to $400 million a year. Hecht then asked how can one attract business to Georgia when we’re, “49th in SAT scores in the nation and it takes 15 to 19 years to complete a DOT project?”
Hecht closed the evening by stating that his campaign offers the only solutions to these problems. “You think times are hard now? If Ralph Reed wins you haven’t seen hard times. This guy is shrewd. Just follow the money and you’ll see who he has his alliances to.”
Letters to the editor of The Houston Home Journal may be e-mail to: mailto: rgambill@evansnewspapers.com (Please Include Your Name and Location)
William John Hagan can be contacted directly by e-mail at: William_Hagan@excite.com
or visited on the web at:
http://williamjohnhagan.blogspot.com
Of course, one trip to PP should be a good indication that they support abortion. It's their cash cow.
too many tens
Leni
Well, well, he's revived this lie, and of course the reporter lets him get away with it.
Fact Check's Rebuttal: http://www.factcheck.org/article330.html
"He then explained that he believed the increase in abortions in the United States could be directly linked to his belief that the Bush administration has reduced access to prenatal care"
You will noted I stated that "he believed". This would be a good time to learn to read.
I'll probably get flamed for this, but Ralph Reed is the worse thing that could happen to the Republicans. He's a user. He is a fake Christian and he's a manipulator.
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