Ajc endorses Jim Marshall, Bob Ellis and John Barrow; passes on Rich Crawford over trade issues -- Some solid choices for spirited races.

The 10-13-04 ajc announced its endorsements in some contested races as follows:

3rd District -- In this Middle Georgia district, incumbent Jim Marshall faces a strong challenge from Republican Calder Clay. Marshall, who volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam and was a popular Macon mayor, has been an effective, hardworking congressman who understands his district's needs and reflects its largely conservative values. That has made it hard for Clay's campaign to get traction, and unfortunately he has tried to get attention with shrill and ungrounded attacks on Marshall. Clay is also championing a national sales tax to replace the federal income tax, a proposal that the U.S. Treasury Department and most economists have concluded would shift the federal tax burden away from the wealthy and onto the middle class. Marshall is the clear choice.

9th District -- The choice here is between a five-term incumbent, Rep. Charlie Norwood, a Republican, and Bob Ellis, a Democrat and a newcomer to politics.

Norwood's re-election campaign has been hampered by a bout with a serious illness, but his stands on issues are well-known: He has consistently been opposed to gun control and abortion and in favor of a national sales tax to replace the income tax system. Again, economists have said that such a tax would favor the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

Ellis is an entrepreneur with a strong interest in a better educational system and national energy independence, but he has no track record as a legislator. Nonetheless, he deserves the chance to make one. Not only did Norwood threaten the interests of most of his constituents with his tax proposal, but he also let them down by failing to disclose earlier his precarious health.

11th District -- Incumbent Phil Gingrey, a Republican, has earned re-election over political newcomer Rick Crawford, a Cedartown attorney. Gingrey works hard to represent his district, but he has yet to show much independent judgment in Congress, generally following orders from his party's leadership rather than thinking for himself. He's capable of better. Crawford, however, preaches an aggressively naive anti-trade approach to the district's economic challenges that is unrealistic politically as well as economically.

12th District -- In this closely watched race, voters ought to support Democrat John Barrow, an Athens attorney and an Athens-Clarke County commissioner since 1990.

Barrow is focused on the serious economic, educational and health care troubles facing the district, while incumbent Max Burns has been politically posturing on gay marriage. Whether gays can marry seems irrelevant in light of the high percentages of uninsured families, poverty and unemployment in corners of the 12th District.

Burns seems out of step with the struggles of his real-life constituents, especially when he votes against their best interests, as he did when he opposed the importation of cheaper U.S. drugs from Canada.

Here's what Barrow said on the issue: "If we can ship our jobs to Canada, we ought to be able to ship our own American-made drugs back from Canada."

Barrow's consumer-oriented politics also extend to international trade agreements, which he said are stacked against the American worker. "Trade ain't free if it ain't fair," he said.

The 12th District stretches more than 200 miles across east Georgia, including parts of Athens, Augusta and Savannah, and is home to both the University of Georgia and Georgia Southern. The National Republican Congressional Committee regards this Georgia race as a must-win for the GOP, but the residents of the district would be far better served if Barrow won.
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Other ajc endorsements include:

2nd District -- Sanford Bishop; 4th District -- Cynthia McKinney; and 8th District -- Lynn Westmoreland.