State Senate Majority Leader Race - Who Dunnit?
Pop Quiz!
Who was the BIGGEST loser in Tuesday's election for Senate Majority Leader?
a) The democrats
b) Casey Cagle
c) The 12 or so senators who voted for Casey instead of Bill Stephens
d) All of the above
e) None of the above
f) Robert S. Kahn
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....have you made your selection?.......
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....okay, time's up! And, we will open the envelope now...wait.wait...(sound of rustling paper)...
And, the answer is: ROBERT S. KAHN (AKA "BOBBY KAHN")!!!!
That's right, Ladies and Gentlemen, the biggest loser in Bill Stephens winning yesterday was little Bobby Kahn, former Chief of Staff for King Roy, now-turned secret journalist behind the oft-mentioned "Democrat-leaning" Website known as the "Georgia Reporter." (NOTE: we will not provide the link to the Website because that would give Bobby too much exposure.)
PV Provides Background: In 1990, Bobby ran Roy Barnes' first bid for Governor and lost to Zell Miller in the primary. Bill Stephens, then a democrat, was Miller's press secretary and continued on when Miller took office.
In interviews we've read between Kahn and other publications over the years, there are two oft-repeated themes about Bobby: 1) he never forgets an enemy, and 2) he still carries the bane of losing in 1990.
How Does PV Know It's Kahn Behind The Green Door?: Well, ummm...we'd rather not directly say. Our evidence is a combination of both circumstantial evidence and facts that would a) take a little while to explain, and 2) would reveal our methods of research to others that we don't wish to reveal.
But, let's look at the evidence that everyone in our arena has seen:
1) The stated name associated with The Georgia Reporter is "Jon Paul Lupo." Lupo is a real person who graduated from Emory University in the year 2000. But, really now, who believes that someone like Lupo would be able to write in such knowledgeable detail about Georgia government, especially some of the "hit pieces" on Stephens dating back to the early 1990s? No, the writer has too much intimate knowledge of events from 10 years ago to not have been a personal witness in some way.
2) "Da plane! Da plane!"...recall those planes flying banners around any activity of the Governor? The ones that say "GOP is DOA" and others? It takes a) financing to accomplish the rental of those planes, and b) a devious little rat's mind like Bobby Kahn's to orchestrate and implement the plan.
Also, recall that there are amazing pictures of the planes taken at the same altitude of the banner-towing planes. These are not photos from the ground; they are photos taken by another plane, which costs another chunk of money. Again, Bobby would have no trouble financing such an activity. It would be the perfect scheme for someone like Bobby...a man who, along with Roy Barnes, had his head handed to him on Election Night 2002.
3) The return of George Anderson...a lot has been written over the years about Rome used bookstore owner George Anderson in the AJC and Creative Loafing. Yes, Anderson is such an altruistic individual, always fighting for the little people who cannot take the time to pore through disclosure statements to discover the occupation of a contributor that is missing and flood the Ethics Commission with complaints of that sort.
But, recall, if you will, the 1998 election season. Anderson made himself well-known by filing ethics complaints in 1997 and 1998 against Republicans Guy Millner, Mike Bowers, Mitch Skandalakis...and Democrat contender Lewis Massey. No complaint was ever filed against Roy Barnes, though his disclosures had amazingly similar violations of law. Why would Barnes be missed by such a neutral, altruistic complainant?
It's quite simple, actually. Because Anderson was hired by Bobby Kahn to put a stake in every contender and potential contender to Barnes and Taylor, and, since everyone knew that a direct financial connection between Barnes and Anderson would spell trouble for Barnes, Kahn quite likely paid Anderson "off-the-campaign-books" for his time to file all these complaints.
It was actually quite brilliant a plan because the complaints occupied the time and resources of all of Barnes' opponents, and gave them lots of negative media.
To get us back to recent events, it was the Georgia Reporter who gleefully announced on its' Website Monday that Anderson had filed an ethics complaint against Stephens. Again, the coincidences just keep piling-up in favor of the validity of our theory.
Oh, by the way, we know from personal experience that there is a solid connection between Anderson and Kahn. Several years back we initiated an e-mail conversation with Anderson using Kahn's name as the introductory subject, and Anderson responded in quite the positive fashion...until he discovered our Republican background. Then Anderson's conversation skills degenerated into a sputtering and spitting dialogue.
Rountree To Challenge Dean
No, no, it's not "Mark Rountree," ace political consultant, but his brother, Mason Rountree who has decided to run against Senator Nathan Dean (D) in Senate 31 (comprised of parts of Paulding, Polk, Haralson, Bartow, Carroll, Douglas Counties). The last candidate spent no real money, did not have deep roots to the district, and still got 49%. A stronger candidate will win against Dean, no problem.
Rountree is an attorney who runs a firm on the Square in Dallas, GA, Rountree Law Firm. Five years ago, he started the firm after working for Senator Chuck Clay for a few years. He's practiced in every county in the district.
He's the former President of the Bar Association in Paulding County. He is the Chief Judge for the City of Dallas, appointed by the Mayor. He is also Judge Pro Tempore for the county. He's been a Superior Court law clerk in Polk and Paulding and Haralson.
Mason served on Congressman John Linder's Finance Committee, and Linder is openly and actively supporting him. Senator David Shafer has also endorsed him.
Mason is married with three kids, and the family owns a 20-acre horse farm in Dallas.
Kudos To Melvin!
Melvin Everson, Mayor Pro-Tem of Snellville, Georgia, will be the guest of President and Mrs. Bush on June 24th 03 at 4:30pm
in the East Room of the White House.
Melvin quoted to the Vine: "I received the call last Wednesday from the White House. It is an honor for me to go as the President and Mrs. Bush leads the nation in the Celebration of "Black Music Month."
Eighth District Rumors
State Senator Mike Crotts has officially announced his candidacy for replacing Congressman Mac Collins (who is "supposed" to be running for U.S. Senate). You can checkout Mike's candidate Website here.
Rumors have it that Fayette County Commissioner Greg Dunn, after receiving a significant number of financial committments (and other signs of support) is seriously considering entering the race.
Rumors further have it that Lynn Westmoreland is having a conniption fit over Dunn's possible entry, noting to close advisors that "Dunn has better name recognition than I do in a significant portion of the District. He better not run!"
But, the most important rumor about the Eighth is that Mac Collins has yet to display any genuine enthusiasm about his upcoming primary battle for U.S. Senate and may be backing out. Speculation is that Collins needs a lot of daily positive reinforcement to get him motivated to face the prospect of the lonnnnnnng campaign road and many late nights of fundraising events ahead.
Collins is a pretty laid-back kind of guy and the thought of the tiring campaign trail is giving him second thoughts about running. Maybe Tom Perdue needs to record wake-up calls from Paige to send to Mac to get him going every day...
WELCOME HOME HEROES!!!
A DAY OF CELEBRATION TO WELCOME HOME OUR TROOPS FROM OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM
Date: Saturday, June 28, 2003
Time: 11 AM
Place: Snellville City Hall
Master of Ceremonies:
Snellville Mayor Pro Tem Melvin Everson
Special Guest Speaker: Congressman Johnny Isakson
Decorated Guest Speaker: Major Jim Freeman
· Inspirational and Patriotic Musical Performances
· Bring flags, family, and friends
· Barbeque sandwiches, chips, and drinks available
Contact: Ken Spencer at 770-972-2428
or Julianne Thompson at 404-798-4663