Here are some pictures of the damage in Macon.

I have been out of town this week on business and was not able to make the budget hearings. Now that I’ve returned, I want to write a few words on this.

Longtime Councilwoman Elaine Lucas was not there and has protested the scheduling of the review during a time she is at work as a deliberate attempt to exclude her. Lucas, a graduation coach at Hutchings Career Center, has threatened to resign her committee post. She said Wednesday she has not done so yet and is waiting to see if the council’s leadership will resolve the situation.

In the past, when Elaine and Henry Ficklin lorded over Appropriations, the committee typically blocked out two days after the school year ended and did the budget from sun up to sun down. It was exhausting and many members of Council with full time jobs couldn’t adequately participate.

So now the tables are turned and Elaine is crying foul.

Here’s the thing. We’re all part time city councilmen with full time jobs. If Elaine misses a day at work, she is an employee with vacation time and sick time. She can take it and not miss a pay check.

When Mike Cranford misses a day of work, he’s the boss. He makes no money. He takes a hit.

Likewise, with the other members of Council who work, it is much more convenient to spread this process out over several half days than to try to cram it all in in just two or three days.

The process works better like this and the process should work like this. Again, we’re part time employees.

If Elaine does not want to use a half day of vacation to deal with the budget, that’s her choice.

This is not about Elaine being intentionally excluded or about the schedule not meeting her needs at all. This is about a committee, for the first time in four years, actually being considerate of all the members who have full time jobs and don’t get the whole summer off.

And by all accounts save one, this year’s budget hearing process is much less tiresome and over all better and more informative.

I’m sorry Elaine can’t or does not want to take days off work for this. But that’s no one’s problem but hers.

Poor, poor Chris Matthews. He is so jealous of Rush Limbaugh he finally blew it the other day on Hardball. Matthews said

“I have to offer a Keith-style special comment on that. Anyone who voted to screw up the political system of this country with the purpose of mischief should carry that with them the rest their lives. What a ridiculous way to use the vote for which people fought and died, to use that vote to make mischief. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

There are a few things to take away from that.

Matthews and his pals at MSDNC have, for months, been shilling for Barack Obama like a Quiznos junior manager in a gorilla outfit in the right of way — obviously, obnoxiously, and with little impact on sales. For months and months we’ve heard Matthews describe how he nearly wets himself every time Obama sighs and has chills go down his spine and up his leg every time Obama speaks.

The whole network, save Joe Scarborough, has behaved like dogs in heat for Obama. Dan Abrams, just two weeks ago, begged and pleaded for Obama to avoid Fox News because they might actually ask the candidate substantive questions, unlike his network. Olbermann is all Obama all the time when he isn’t putting Limbaugh and RedState on his “worst person in the world” list — a list no one would be shocked to see all of the apostles except Judas show up on.

And then there is Limbaugh. After months of MSDNC shilling for Obama, begging people to vote for Obama, and slanting all their “news” coverage to favor Obama, Limbaugh just suggests that voters go vote for Hillary and they do. People went out in a coordinated effort to prolong the Democratic primary. What Matthews and all of MSDNC could not do after months of trying, Rush Limbaugh was able to do — get people to the polls in droves.

Hell, I’d be jealous too if I spent months preaching the gospel of Obama only to have some guy on freakin’ radio outdo me in one day.

Of course, there is more to it than that.

Anyone who voted to screw up the political system of this country with the purpose of mischief should carry that with them the rest their lives.

Chris, of course, is so blinded by his jealousy of Limbaugh that he totally forgets anything and everything about the super delegates. Remember them? They are the people the Democrats decided would decide the thing. And why? Because the Democrats had so little faith in *their own voters* they needed a safe guard to make sure *their own voters* didn’t screw up the primary by *exercising their right to vote* for the wrong candidate.

I think Matthews is firing in the wrong direction. He should be firing on his own side — the side that came up with the most screwed up system for determining a political nominee since democracy was first used in Greece a few thousand years ago.

What a ridiculous way to use the vote for which people fought and died, to use that vote to make mischief.

Chris, how would you have people use the vote? Again, you guys have a system where the vote is actually meaningless. Let’s forget about your willingness to write off the votes in Michigan and Florida — didn’t people die for those voters to have the right to vote? Let’s just focus on the super delegates, the people who can *totally ignore* the will of the voters and do whatever the hell they want.

Who died for their right, Chris? Oh, right, the hippie anti-American traitors in Chicago in 1968 — we can’t forget about them and the Kent State kids. And I guess the people who stroked out in 1968 when Nixon won (yeah, you all didn’t see that one coming).

I hope you’re proud of yourself.

Damn proud Chris. We exposed the arrogance of the system you want to defend — the system that is perfectly willing to ignore democratic votes of citizens if those citizens choose the wrong guy.

It also let us drag it out enough so people get a flavor of who you are willing to support: a man who Hamas is comfortable with, a man FARC is comfortable with, a man who spends twenty years under a preacher of hate who won’t take action until the media points it out, a man who got his political start in the living room of a terrorist, and a man who surrounds himself on a daily basis with people who actively hate this country.

Are you proud of yourself, Chris?

Evelyn consistently says some of the funniest things. She calls the interstate the “interstay-ch” and calls mosquitos “skeeter bugs.” The other day, knowing full well what it was, pointed to the lawn mower and asked, “Daddy, what’s that?” I told her, “that’s the lawn mower. That’s what I cut the grass with.” She replied, “Yes, uh-huh. You need to go do that.”

Two days ago she ran in, after hearing the next door neighbor mowing her lawn, and said, “Daddy, that Tracy lady is cutting her grass. You need to go do that too.”

The grass ain’t that bad.

Christy is suffering terrible morning sickness. A lot of our friends keep saying we must be having a boy because morning sickness with Evelyn was not nearly so bad. On the way out the door this morning Evelyn asked where Christy was.

“Mommy isn’t feeling good this morning. She is under the weather,” I said.

“Is she under the rain?” Evie asked. “No.”

“Is she under the snow?” Evie asked. “No.”

“Is she under the thunder?” Evie asked. “No,” I chuckled.

“That’s just what we call it when someone is not feeling very well,” I explained.

“Daddy, that is so silly,” she laughed.

Does she have to grow up?

I’ll be on Hannity & Colmes tonight. Nevermind, it’s cancelled.

Consider this your must read article of the day.

Barack now wants a press conference to condemn Reverend Wright. And so he does.

“I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday . . . .The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago,” Obama said of the man who married him.

When, Barack, when did Reverend Wright no longer act like the guy you knew? When? Was it after or before you named him as your spiritual advisor? At some point in the twenty years of your relationship he apparently changed. Do you really expect us to believe you didn’t see the change.

Barack Obama was, in fact, still a member of Trinity when Reverend Wright first said the U.S. being behind 9/11.

Barack Obama was, in fact, still a member of Trinity when Reverend Wright first said the U.S. invented AIDS to kill black men.

Obama says he never heard those sermons. We’re now left with only one of two conclusions:
(A) Either Barack Obama knew about Rev. Wright’s positions, did nothing, and is now lying to cover it up; or

(B) Barack Obama never really attended Trinity enough to pick up on Wright’s views, in which case Obama was using the church just for show and has been lying about his faith the whole time.

“I gave him the benefit of the doubt in my speech in Philadelphia explaining that he’s done enormous good. … But when he states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS. … There are no excuses. They offended me. They rightly offend all Americans and they should be denounced.”

Um . . . Wright states that view a long time ago.

Folks, what’s really going on here is simple. Obama and Wright are friends. Obama tried to distance himself from Wright, but it didn’t work. Now, Obama needs to throw Wright under the bus to help himself out. Wright was happy to mouth off irrationally to give Obama another chance to repudiate and disavow his relationship with Wright. And with fresh rhetoric from Wright it wouldn’t just appear politically expedient — especially when Obama is still trying to use his relationship with Wright in the black community.

I consider Charlie Bishop a friend. I managed his election four years ago to the top spot in the county. Under his leadership, Bibb County has seen an increase in jobs and a stabilized financial picture. As a political strategist however, I think this is going to be a very difficult year for him to get re-elected.

Full disclosure as well: I’m sitting this race out. I’ve known Sam Hart longer than any other person I know in this city. He’s been a good friend for fifteen years and, for my seven years in this city was both an advisor and mentor while I attended Mercer undergrad and law school.

Now, back to the topic.

Four years ago Charlie Bishop was elected under these circumstances:

• His opponent was not trusted by the business community and had serious character issues.

• Voters wanted less linkage between the Mayor of Macon and the County Commission.

• The black turnout was diminished due to John Kerry’s failure to energize the black voter base.

• The GOP and independent voter turnout was energized due to a stellar local Republican party and national GOP ground game for President Bush.

• The business community was fairly united behind Charlie as was the white community.

In 2008, none of those factors exists.
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The Joe Allen show is cancelled in Macon. Though not really the Joe Allen Show, the Fox Files that comes on Thursday night in Macon was Joe’s show.

A few months ago I had mentioned to Joe that I expected his challenger to file a complaint over the equal time rule. Joe sounded very confident that it would not be an issue and I was not going to argue with him. Being well versed in the intricacies of the equal time rule, however, I knew it was only a matter of time before this happened.

A station can’t take a chance given Joe’s position. Joe is on the ballot this November. The raison d’être for the show is Joe as County Commissioner. It’s a little hard to avoid the political — too hard for a television station facing an aggressive FCC.

Put it this way: television stations stopped running Days of Thunder and Hunt for Red October when Fred Thompson became a candidate for office. There’s no way Fox 24 could have left Joe on the air and been comfortable.

I suspect, like the Democrats, that Barack Obama at the top of the ticket will help the Democrats make some gains in the State House and State Senate — not enough to take back control, but enough to make gains.

At the end of the day, I think it could be balanced out a bit by Republican gains in some of the remaining North Georgia seats that are held by Democrats. But, I believe that urban Republicans in the metro Atlanta area will have a more difficult time getting re-elected with Obama at the top. I think an Obama candidacy will turn out a large contingent of urban white upper income voters who tend to be liberal, black voters, and gay voters. That will hurt the last remaining GOP legislators in the urban areas around the Perimeter.

At the same time, I think you’ll see increased white middle class voters come out in some North Georgia areas, along with military voters, who will help finally push the last few Democrat seats in the area to the GOP. While the GOP has been fairly fractured with John McCain at the top, by November I’d expect them to be energized.

If Hillary were the nominee, I think the 2006 playing field would be the rule for 2008 in the state house and senate races. At the same time, I think we could see some offset in South Georgia with the rural white male anti-Hillary vote and a suppressed black vote shift the few white Democrat holdouts to the GOP. A Hillary candidacy would also help Rick Goddard in Georgia 8 against Jim Marshall.

All in all, I expect it to be close to a wash this year with little turn over, but I think an Obama candidacy could see the turn over be more substantially in favor of the Democrats. Still, I have this nagging suspicion that Hillary will be the nominee.

If you can’t see the video, go here.

And again, that’s not me. Luckily, he put his contact info in there for those of you who are interested.

They are both unwanted gifts that keep on giving. As an uninvolved spectator, it’s a beautiful thing.

Can I just say thank you to the Democrats for wanting to make sure every part of the party has a voice in the selection process for the Presidential nominee as opposed to just picking a damn candidate already.

Thank you for making us Republicans smile.

Resuming the conversation, why exactly is it controversial to invite a prominent member of the United States Supreme Court to give a commencement address?

You know, Justice Thomas brought this up a while back at a dinner at the Heritage Foundation a few of us were at and he pointed out that overwhelmingly it was always the professors who protested and incited the students. Certainly there are always going to be a few disgruntled students who find a reason to be unhappy, but by and large it’s the professors.

You know, what’s funny is that I’d be quite happy to hear a Bill Clinton or a Janet Reno or a Justice Stevens or heck, even a George McGovern. It’d be an honor, I would think, to be able to hear them share their wisdom, even if I profoundly disagreed with them. These are people of history.

But then there are the idle minds of college campuses who feel the need to get worked up over stuff.

Pffffft.

Some group I’ve never heard of called the American Hunters and Shooters Association has endorsed Obama. Why would a pro-2nd amendment group endorse a man who would find the District of Columbia’s gun ban constitutional?

Well, they’d endorse him because they are not a pro-2nd amendment organization and neither is Obama. As we see repeatedly on the left, when they can’t compete on the same playing field, they try to mimic the right — sincerest form of flattery and all that.

Just who is this AHSA (pronounced “ass-hat” I believe)? Well, via Ace we go to S. Weasel who tells us that AHSA

was founded in 2005 by Ray Schoenke, a Kos diarist who, in fairness, really does shoot ducks, apparently. At least, most of his conversations seem to take place in a duck blind.

And

The AHSA domain was originally registered to DCS, a Democrat new media operation, but they must have realized that didn’t look good.

Also not looking so good? Having John Rosenthal, once Chairman of the Massachusetts gun-grabbers Stop Handgun Violence, on the board.

Then, of course, there is their endorsement record to stand on. In 2006, the AHSA endorsed Claire McCaskill in Missouri for “her strong support for public lands.” In both 2004 and 2006, the NRA gave McCaskill an “F” rating for her lack of support for gun owners. The major backers of AHSA also are donors to Handgun Control, Inc.

Putting this all in context: Obama opposes the 2nd amendment, until he ran for President he was always on record opposing the second amendment, but now to give him cover the left is using an anti-2nd amendment group that they are calling a hunters rights group to give Obama cover. Naturally, the media is treating this group as a legitimate organization.

Oh, and Schoenke, the Kossack founder of AHSA, is a regular contributor to Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, and Ted Kennedy. Do you really want to rely on them to support your 2nd amendment rights? And if they support Obama, can you trust him on gun rights?

No.