Charles Shiflett Column October 23, 2005

Who's In The Hot Seat?

The voters are restless and the Democrat and Republican Parties are each having trouble keeping their
foot soldiers on the team. A number of prominent politicians now find themselves under fire by their
own party stalwarts.

So what's driving the unrest? Gasoline prices. The public understands the primary causes are
increased demand for oil worldwide, along with the damage U.S. oil production and refining suffered
from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The electorate also understands that there is only so much that can be done short term to alleviate the
situation. All that understanding still doesn't alleviate the real pain felt at the pump. Thus, folks tend to
cast a more critical eye upon their elected officials about everything.

Issues that have been simmering are suddenly boiling to the surface. Politicians making even the
slightest misstep soon feel the heat. So who is in the hot seat?

• Cathy Cox: Various polls have shown that seventy-five to eighty percent of Georgians favor the new
state voter ID law. Even though the U.S. Justice Department approved the plan, some folks on the left
successfully filed a suit seeking an injunction to delay implementation of the law.

This was politically bad news for Democrat Cathy Cox with a "C", who is running for governor. As
Secretary of State, Cox was required to testify under oath and is now on record as opposing the voter
ID measure. Look for Republicans to hang this one on her next year.

• Sonny Perdue: I wrote in a column several months ago that illegal immigration reform would be the
golden issue for any candidate in the coming election season. This topic polls enormously high among
voters across the political spectrum.

Governor Sonny Perdue is fully aware of these poll numbers, but certain interests are pressuring him
to make illegal immigration reform a low key issue and they hope he will work to water down various
state legislative measures that will be introduced in January.

The GOP base is furious and Republican activists are already badgering Perdue with signs that read,
"Pick a side Sonny - We have!" Democrat gubernatorial wannabes Cathy Cox and Mark Taylor are
skirting around the issue by taking the position that the federal government should deal with it… not
Georgia. Voters want more than lip service.

• Saxby Chambliss: Republican U.S. Senator Chambliss is also catching heck over illegal
immigration. South Georgia farming interests that depend on migrants for low cost harvest labor are
putting the squeeze on Saxby. Also, his wife and daughter are educators, which may explain his
recent reluctance to endorse proposed legislation that would deny admittance of illegals to state
colleges and universities.

To add fuel to the fire, Chambliss is also opposing reforms to the nation's food stamp program.
National GOP leaders have pledged to clean up the much-abused program, but are having to apply a
heavy hand to Chambliss in an attempt to get him on board.

• Phil Gingrey: Throw in a couple of budget busting hurricanes and suddenly citizens have
rediscovered the issue of balancing the federal budget through cuts in spending. The timing couldn't be
worse for Gingrey, who was a chief proponent of the new Medicare prescription drug plan.

As this new government entitlement is implemented, cost estimates for funding the program are
skyrocketing. Conservatives warned Gingrey and others in congress that this would happen, but were
met with deaf ears.

• George W. Bush: President Bush had the potential to be another Ronald Reagan, however he is
quickly blowing that opportunity. His response to the terror attacks of 9-11 was excellent. Additionally,
his tax cuts probably saved the nation from a severe recession or worse.

So what's the problem? Bush never met a spending bill he didn't like. The man has vetoed nothing.
Couple that with his absolute failure at addressing illegal immigration, and you can understand why the
conservative base is hopping mad.

His attempts at bi-partisanship have only emboldened Democrats on the hill to roll him over. Now
many Republicans in Congress are trying to reclaim the conservative agenda at Bush's expense. The
latest Gallop poll numbers have his approval rating at 39%.

• Congress: That same Gallop poll has the approval rating for Congress at 29%… see above.

• Democrat Party: They should be able to capitalize on the GOP missteps, but their sharp drift to the
left puts their poll numbers in the tank too.

• Atlanta: Finally, the folks in Atlanta are in the process of wasting millions to promote their new
logo/slogan. Yeah, like some guy in Nebraska is going to rush to Atlanta after seeing an ad that says
"Come to the ATL… home of opportunity, optimism, and openness". For some reason they left out
the part about panhandlers.