Posted on 07/20/2004 2:37:30 AM PDT by pookie18
Conservative Democrat Zell Miller sides against his own party more often than most; he's endorsed President Bush for re-election and will speak at the GOP convention. (He's also a friend of TAS, having delivered the keynote address at a dinner last fall where financial benefactors mingled with those of us whom they benefact.) There are some who say that Miller's seat in the Senate is really filled by a Republican. When he retires next year, it will become official.
The Democrat expected to win today's primary, freshman congresswoman Denise Majette, is far too liberal to be elected in Georgia, where the Democratic Party took its hardest hits in 2002. That makes the Republican primary doubly important.
The candidate that makes conservatives swoon is Herman Cain. A one-time Burger King executive who sold Godfather's Pizza in December after owning it for 15 years, Cain has called for abolition of the IRS and repeal of the income tax, replacing it with a national sales tax, one of the two competing high-growth dreams of supply-siders. (The other, of course, is the flat income tax; not coincidentally, Cain backed Steve Forbes in the 2000 primary.) The author of several business books, the charismatic Cain makes $25,000 per appearance as a motivational speaker. Oh yes: He's black. If elected, Cain would be the first black senator from the Deep South since Reconstruction.
The race has focused mostly on abortion; though all three candidates -- Cain and Representatives Mac Collins and Johnny Isakson -- are pro-life, questions of purity are magnified in a state where, according to Georgia Right to Life, six percent of voters vote solely on abortion; the percentage is no doubt larger in a Republican primary.
As the front-runner, Isakson has taken hits from the right from both Cain and Collins, who oppose abortion except when the health of the mother is threatened; Isakson also favors exceptions in cases of rape and incest. Isakson has been hammered for various compromises on the issue, including voting to allow privately funded abortions on U.S. military bases abroad.
The focus on abortion makes strategic sense for Cain and Collins: Isakson lost his last bid for a nomination for Senate in 1996 when, in what many consider a fatal political error, he ran an ad touting his opposition to a Human Life Amendment.
The latest polling by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows Isakson with 46%, Cain with 16%, and Collins with 8%. There is word from Georgia that candidates' internal polling shows the race much closer. If Cain holds Isakson below 50%, it will force a two-way run-off. If that happens, despite a significant fundraising gap, Cain may have a fighting shot at grabbing the nomination.
Here's hoping.
Thanks for voting for Herman, I know, being in the district you are in, as you explained to me earlier, why you wanted to vote against McKinney, so I relly appreciate you voting for Mr. Cain!
voted for Herman!
I'm a believer!
This phrase always makes me wonder about its accusatory tone when there have only been two black senators from anywhere outside the "Deep South" EVER?
A live Republican, a dead Democrat--what does it matter? Their votes count the same unless the Republican is a service member voting by absentee ballot.
you know, the infuriating thing about Georgia Primaries is that you HAVE to vote either straight Republican or straight Democrat.
Since MOST of local political power is Democrat, this made it a real pain in the ass to try to convince people to vote Republican in order to vote for Mr. Cain.
It ain't right - you cannot vote as you choose for the best person for the job.
It ain't right.
Be that as it may - Mr. Cain has my vote as of ten minutes ago.
Not in the service no mo. Got out in 1976 ater 4 years in USAF. Did I tell you that I'm a Cold War/Viet Nam Era Vet? I did not throw my National Defense ribbon away either.
Thank you for your service.
It's aggravating. In order to vote for Herman Cain, I had to forego voting for my candidates in our local sheriff and district attorney races. </p>
However, I felt the Herman Cain vote was more important, so I went with that one.
Bottom line, I came to realize that the Republican primary is just too important this time to waste my vote trying to foil McKinney's return. Two years ago she *needed* to be unseated and we were successful. This time, if the voters are that stupid, oh well. There are something like 12 other dims waiting in the wings.
Sure will be an interesting night here in Hotlanta!
:-)
You're Welcome. I was proud to serve, I would go back now but they don't want any cranky old coots. But I was acting like John Kerry by bringing up my military service in a place that made little or no sense.
Just finished voting for Cain.
Go Herman!
My m-i-l just called me to ask me who to vote for in the senate race.....so, put another one in the Cain column.
Voted for Cain about an hour ago. Upon exiting my polling place near downtown Atlanta, I was polled about the gay marriage amendment. Apparently, the intown gays are seeing if they have any chance of stopping the amendment. No way they can stop it.
same here - I figured he was more critical than my tenuous relations with Golden, or the votes for the local ed. board, etc...
but it REALLY made shilling for Cain on the phone and in person over the last couple of months pure living hell.
"Since MOST of local political power is Democrat..."
Where do you live?
I live in Newton County, and I don't have that problem. Newton is a Repub county - all the local contested races are "R"
At my polling place, the R vs D stacks looked to be about 20:1 but we are a heavily conservative area (just south of Savannah).
Does, anyone know of any exit polls being conducted on the Senate race?
Go Cain.
I will check back in after I vote.
Same here.
just voted for Cain
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