Sevah here, back with a field report on the miraculous GA-06 Sinton campaign. I'll continue to report here on the Steve Sinton climb to unseat Tom Price in GA-06 until Steve wins in November or at least until Kossacks kick in enough scratch to pay for some yard signs. To do so, click here:
Steve's Campaign Website, click "Contribute" and make a transaction. You'll feel glad that you did, promise!
To turn GA-06 into a Shining Blue Star in this Southern Sea of Red, we MUST have the moral and financial assistance of the Netroots. Also please check out Steve's DFA-Link profile page.
See my prior diaries here: People Powered Politics! and here: Crashing the Gate, and puhlease's diary about the how Price dodged a debate with Steve, hiding behind a fake dinner with a VFW chapter, (CLASSIC!) here: Tom Price is a LIAR!. Also see Dengre's tour de force diary on how to defeat the Ralph Reed Republicans like Price, and why it's increasingly important to do so now, here: Forced Abortions = Trouble for the GOP.
Down to the business of the day. The Blogosphere is awash with good news for the Sinton campaign. Starting at
MyDD, in a debrief on the Georgia primary CCLGADEM offers this nugget:
The only GOP congressional primary was in GA-6, where incumbent Tom Price defeated John Konop by a lopsided margin. Price now must defend his sorry record against a hard-charging Democrat, Steve Sinton. Watch GA-6, people. It's way, way uphill, but Sinton's race could signal the way to go in suburban areas.
But the real news from MyDD comes from the comments to the diary:
georgia tarheel said:
Keep an eye on Sinton! There were promising signs in Georgia's 6th Congressional District in that the incumbent lost over 17% of the vote to a Republican Challenger! Even Republicans don't like Tom Price up here!
EastCobbGOPVoter provided the most encouraging comments of the thread:
I am a Republican who jumps on this site for entertainment from time to time. I hate to admit it but Sinton is primed to charge hard against Price. The guy knows his stuff, and connects with the voters up here. He is not a career politician - a BIG plus. I understand there is a "Republicans for Sinton" group forming in Cherokee. I heard the guy speak at the Cagle Dairy event in Canton. He got the only standing ovation of the night from a few voters. I like his positions, and may vote for him myself.
EastCobbGOPVoter couldn't stop effusing praise on Sinton. "Republicans for Sinton", indeed:
One last thing - between the Konop votes, Sinton's votes, the Democrats who crossed to vote against Ralph Reed, AND the fact my own party supports Price but doesn't really like the guy - I think Sinton will pull enough of the middle to be the topic of discussion on CNN November 9. This is going to be an interesting race. I understand the best leaders from campaigns in Georgia that don't have a general or who did not win in the primary are all courting Sinton to jump on the bandwagon. Could be interesting......worth watching, at the least.
EastCobbGOPVoter's sentiments are widespread among GA-06 Republicans. It seems that, in GOP circles, Price has become a bit like the weird uncle who's invited to your kid's birthday party but whom you hope just sits in the corner and doesn't smash his face in the birthday cake. This phenomenon may explain his party line voting record.
Over at The American Politic, Joe Magyer, a GA-06 constituent, had this to say about Price (prior to the primary):
Tom Price, an M.D. who practices (or did, anyway) orthopedic surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, was swept into the sixth district seat in 2004 following a runoff victory over Robert LaMutt after now Senator Johnny Isakson's (R-GA) choice to pursue the Senate seat that Zell Miller was vacating. As you can tell from his Washington Post Voting Profile, Price tends to toe the GOP line rather consistently.
After the primary in 2004, Price ran unopposed by any Dem. Sinton's stepped up to the plate in true 50-state strategy style, and the payoffs are becoming evident. It seems that Price is wilting, slightly, under the pressure of an actual race. From the American Politic:
Since the primary race began to heat up, Price has wisely avoided (but to the detriment of those of us seeking to learn more about our candidates) nearly every potential situation where he would be forced to comment on an issue, which he should darn well be doing, since only a fool in his position would do otherwise. Price has played it smart by minimizing his chances of screwing something up and hoping that his incumbent status within the state's stronghold party should be able to shield him from any primary attacks. The Georgia GOP has certainly been willing to oblige, as they refused to provide a link or mention of Price's challenger on their website. I'm not quite sure if that is out of loyalty to Tom or just general pettiness, but I have a feeling it is a mix of somewhere in between.
Fortunately for us voters, though, we finally got to see a true debate between the candidates recently on Georgia Public Broadcasting (Note: you can actually view and download the debate from GPB right here). The debate was a feisty one, with Konop firing away at Price right at the start by charging Price with being a friend of Big Oil. Price's first question was a bit of a softball where the panelist asked Price what he thought of Konop's attacks on Price for his ties to the disgraced Tom DeLay (R-TX). I'm not sure what question Price was answering, but it wasn't the one he was asked. I won't retrace the entire debate, but I thought that Konop, who, again, is a first time candidate, did rather well by charging hard against Price's well-honed skill of rarely answering a direct question. Frankly, I thought Konop took it to Price with his direct, frank answers. I was particularly entertained when Konop pointed out that Price, who voted for the No Child Left Behind (NCLB), sends his kids to "a nice private school", with Price then left to respond by talking about how great NCLB has been for schools. While I certainly believe Price has every right to send his children to whatever schools he chooses, one can't help but one wonder just how wonderful Price thinks NCLB must be if he isn't willing to send his own children to the outstanding public schools in the Roswell area.
Price: A "Mover and Shaker" (Right). More from The American Politic:
Switching gears, the quote of the night came from Price when he said "I'm not a status quo person, I'm a shake `em up person." Judging by his voting record and his performance in the debate, I don't think anyone actually views Price as a mover and a shaker. Tom Price makes George Bush look like a mover and a shaker, and we're talking about a recovering alcoholic Christian fundamentalist who goes to bed every night before E.R. comes on.
The conservative author concludes:
While I wouldn't call him a seasoned Washington insider, there is no question that Price is a part of the Big Red Machine. Despite his laughable efforts to make himself out as a "shake `em up person," Price toes the party line on just about every issue.
Rank and File GA-06 Republicans staged a minor revolt, with challenger Konop receiving just under 18% of the primary vote.
Well, that's all for today. The good news keeps on coming - go out there and get out the vote!