Reed Out, McKinney Faces Runoff In Georgia Primary

In the primary elections in Georgia this past Tuesday, Ralph Reed was told by GOP voters that no matter how nice a guy he may be, he was not the one they wanted for Lt. Governor. Pundits are pointing to the Abramoff ties, which were certainly an instrumental factor. But if I were a GOP voter in Georgia, my reasoning for voting against him would have been deeper than just that, alone.

From the AP comes this article.

Reed was making his first bid for elective office after working for years as a behind-the-scenes campaign strategist and leading the Christian Coalition and the state Republican Party.

He vied with Cagle for the GOP nomination in a primary race that appeared closer than expected in recent months because of Reed's work with Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to fraud and corruption earlier this year.

In attack ads and televised debates, Cagle hammered away at Reed's connections to Abramoff, and asked whether Reed could face criminal charges for accepting more than $5.3 million from two Indian tribes. Reed has not been charged with a crime and has said repeatedly that he regrets the work he did with Abramoff. Reed said he was vindicated by a two-year Senate probe.

"If good decent people offer themselves in this state for public office, we can make this state a better place," Cagle said as he declared victory.

From where I sit, I get a little nervous when someone merges religious beliefs of any kind with a political lobby and tries to openly influence government to pass laws that promote one religion over another (no matter what religion it may be). That is not to say that an elected official cannot practice his faith and vote his conscience. But, one only needs to look at how organized religion has played an integral role in abuses, throughout the history of the world, to understand why I feel this way.

Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have a right to express their opinions, but I do not want them or others like them, making policy. Ralph Reed led an organization that was their mouth piece. That pretty much sums it up for me.

As for Ms. McKinney, she has commanded a lot of attention in her career and seems to be having some difficulty, at present.

From the AJC:

U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney is headed to a runoff against a relatively unknown challenger in a Democratic primary she was expected to win with ease.

The controversial 4th District incumbent, accused of striking a Capitol Hill police officer last March, narrowly led former DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson.

Alpharetta businessman John F. Coyne III came in a distant third but with enough votes to play the spoiler in his first election, keeping McKinney from topping 50 percent of the vote.

Few political analysts expected McKinney to have much trouble in her re-election bid even though her longheld status as a political lightning rod reached new heights over her very public confrontation with the Capitol guard.

Using a strategy that has been effective before, McKinney ran a low-key campaign — even refusing to appear at major debates against her challengers. She concentrated on her base in south DeKalb, meeting with constituents in the area.

Many pundits point to her slugging a cop, but to me there's a larger issue here, too. What many may not know is, her "low key" campaign is financed by a lot of people with Arab names. And almost all of them are from outside Georgia. Which leads me to wonder, does anyone from Hezbollah, Hamas, or other potentially dangerous terror organizations drop a little cash in her till?

As for the election analysis, more voted against her than voted for her. She's in serious trouble, because she will not gain much support from the number three candidate. His supporters will likely rally behind Mr. Johnson. Maybe the nation will finally be rid of Cynthia McKinney. She is, at very least, a huge embarassment to herself and her district.