And talking about candidates for Lt. Gov., Part II. - The Dean writes about Republican Ralph Reed & the Dean says Democrat DuBose Porter may jump in.
In his column this week, the Dean writes about Ralph Reed and also informs his readers that House Minority Leader DuBose Porter might jump in the lieutenant governor's race.
Bill Shipp writes:
John Savage, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor three decades ago, delivered such an appealing campaign promise that even Democratic Gov. Jimmy Carter endorsed the notion.
Savage pledged that, if elected, he would seek to abolish the lieutenant governor's office because it served no useful purpose.
Although Savage's vow to eliminate the job he sought received wide attention, he was doomed to lose the election. Democrat Zell Miller emerged the 2-to-1 victor and immediately converted the lieutenant governor's office into a center of power politics. Among Lt. Gov. Miller's early office interns was University of Georgia student Ralph Reed, to whom we shall return shortly.
You won't hear many Republicans say these days the lieutenant governor's office is an empty and impotent position - though GOP senators have stripped incumbent Democrat Mark Taylor of most significant duties.
The 2006 election for lieutenant governor is already receiving as much attention as next year's governor's contest.
At least two Republicans are ready to go for lieutenant governor. State Sen. Casey Cagle of Gainesville and Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine have announced for the office. Among Democrats, former state Sen. Greg Hecht says he expects to run, and House Democratic Leader DuBose Porter is considering.
No matter who's in the race now, every would-be candidate is holding his breath, waiting to see what Ralph Reed will do.
Reed, former Georgia GOP chairman and President Bush's Southeast campaign coordinator, is considering a bid for lieutenant governor as his maiden venture as candidate, instead of candidate adviser. Washington Times columnist Ralph Z. Hallow recently wrote that Reed's bid would signal "what friends say is the former Christian Coalition executive director's ultimate ambition - 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
Let's not get carried away here, brother pundit, but your point may be well taken. Once Reed gains a foothold in elective office, stopping him from moving up may prove very difficult.
Reed, elected Georgia GOP chairman in 2001, deserves much of the credit for the Republicans' blitzkrieg election victories in Georgia in 2002. His organizational talents and boundless energy in get-out-the-vote drives among Christian conservatives shocked and awed the state's Democratic brain trust. If it weren't for Reed's bold tactics, Democrats might have held power for another election cycle or two.
Before Reed took the helm of the Georgia Republican Party in one of the bitterest intra-party fights in memory, he served (1989-1997) as executive director of Pat Robertson's powerful Christian Coalition.
In 2004, the 43-year-old Reed was President George W. Bush's chief Southern campaign strategist. In the hot-stove league of national politics, Reed is rated among the best campaign consultants, alongside James Carville, Karl Rove, Hamilton Jordan and the late Lee Atwater.
Whether Reed can translate his ability as coach to successful player remains to be seen. A great Georgia political figure, ex-Gov. Carl Sanders, once opined: "A political consultant who runs for office is sometimes like a brain surgeon who tries to operate on himself."
Reed is not without serious obstacles as he prepares to dive into the candidates' pool. For reasons not entirely fathomable, Reed is resented and even despised in some Georgia GOP circles.
Some old-timers say he has never paid his dues. He was not present in the early days of the often disappointing long march of the Georgia Republican Party to eventual triumph. Other critics contend Reed is mainly an opportunistic strategist who views the Christian conservative movement simply as a vehicle to satisfy his lofty ambitions.
Still others cringe at Reed's sometimes take-no-prisoners approach to campaigns: "I want to be invisible. I do guerrilla warfare. I paint my face at night. You don't know it's over until you're in a body bag. You don't know until it's election night," United Press International once quoted Reed regarding his tactics. Some of his former opponents can attest to the truth of the declaration. Former Sen. Max Cleland's and ex-Gov. Roy Barnes' strategists never detected Reed's tsunami of voters until it was too late.
Whatever the truth about Reed's methods and motives, Georgians are likely to witness shortly a dazzling display of campaign fireworks for a second-tier elective job that could lead Reed to more important posts - or dispatch him back to the coach's box.
In any event, candidates now lining up for lieutenant governor may already understand they are in for the political fight of their lives. Remember what Saxby Chambliss' organization inflicted on Max Cleland in 2002 or what George W. Bush's Christian soldiers did to John Kerry in 2004. It wasn't pretty in either case, and Reed played a big behind-the-scenes role in planning both attacks.
Bill Shipp writes:
John Savage, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor three decades ago, delivered such an appealing campaign promise that even Democratic Gov. Jimmy Carter endorsed the notion.
Savage pledged that, if elected, he would seek to abolish the lieutenant governor's office because it served no useful purpose.
Although Savage's vow to eliminate the job he sought received wide attention, he was doomed to lose the election. Democrat Zell Miller emerged the 2-to-1 victor and immediately converted the lieutenant governor's office into a center of power politics. Among Lt. Gov. Miller's early office interns was University of Georgia student Ralph Reed, to whom we shall return shortly.
You won't hear many Republicans say these days the lieutenant governor's office is an empty and impotent position - though GOP senators have stripped incumbent Democrat Mark Taylor of most significant duties.
The 2006 election for lieutenant governor is already receiving as much attention as next year's governor's contest.
At least two Republicans are ready to go for lieutenant governor. State Sen. Casey Cagle of Gainesville and Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine have announced for the office. Among Democrats, former state Sen. Greg Hecht says he expects to run, and House Democratic Leader DuBose Porter is considering.
No matter who's in the race now, every would-be candidate is holding his breath, waiting to see what Ralph Reed will do.
Reed, former Georgia GOP chairman and President Bush's Southeast campaign coordinator, is considering a bid for lieutenant governor as his maiden venture as candidate, instead of candidate adviser. Washington Times columnist Ralph Z. Hallow recently wrote that Reed's bid would signal "what friends say is the former Christian Coalition executive director's ultimate ambition - 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
Let's not get carried away here, brother pundit, but your point may be well taken. Once Reed gains a foothold in elective office, stopping him from moving up may prove very difficult.
Reed, elected Georgia GOP chairman in 2001, deserves much of the credit for the Republicans' blitzkrieg election victories in Georgia in 2002. His organizational talents and boundless energy in get-out-the-vote drives among Christian conservatives shocked and awed the state's Democratic brain trust. If it weren't for Reed's bold tactics, Democrats might have held power for another election cycle or two.
Before Reed took the helm of the Georgia Republican Party in one of the bitterest intra-party fights in memory, he served (1989-1997) as executive director of Pat Robertson's powerful Christian Coalition.
In 2004, the 43-year-old Reed was President George W. Bush's chief Southern campaign strategist. In the hot-stove league of national politics, Reed is rated among the best campaign consultants, alongside James Carville, Karl Rove, Hamilton Jordan and the late Lee Atwater.
Whether Reed can translate his ability as coach to successful player remains to be seen. A great Georgia political figure, ex-Gov. Carl Sanders, once opined: "A political consultant who runs for office is sometimes like a brain surgeon who tries to operate on himself."
Reed is not without serious obstacles as he prepares to dive into the candidates' pool. For reasons not entirely fathomable, Reed is resented and even despised in some Georgia GOP circles.
Some old-timers say he has never paid his dues. He was not present in the early days of the often disappointing long march of the Georgia Republican Party to eventual triumph. Other critics contend Reed is mainly an opportunistic strategist who views the Christian conservative movement simply as a vehicle to satisfy his lofty ambitions.
Still others cringe at Reed's sometimes take-no-prisoners approach to campaigns: "I want to be invisible. I do guerrilla warfare. I paint my face at night. You don't know it's over until you're in a body bag. You don't know until it's election night," United Press International once quoted Reed regarding his tactics. Some of his former opponents can attest to the truth of the declaration. Former Sen. Max Cleland's and ex-Gov. Roy Barnes' strategists never detected Reed's tsunami of voters until it was too late.
Whatever the truth about Reed's methods and motives, Georgians are likely to witness shortly a dazzling display of campaign fireworks for a second-tier elective job that could lead Reed to more important posts - or dispatch him back to the coach's box.
In any event, candidates now lining up for lieutenant governor may already understand they are in for the political fight of their lives. Remember what Saxby Chambliss' organization inflicted on Max Cleland in 2002 or what George W. Bush's Christian soldiers did to John Kerry in 2004. It wasn't pretty in either case, and Reed played a big behind-the-scenes role in planning both attacks.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 9:44 AM
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