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Kinder. Gentler.

Friday August 23, 2002

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From Orlando, Florida
Florida Association of Realtors

NOTE: The fourth installment of the Mullings Dog Days Tour Travelogue> - "WD-40 or Fight" - will be available over the weekend here.

• Politics seems to be finding its center.

• In Georgia on Tuesday, two of the most radical members of Congress - one on the left and the other on the right - lost in their primaries.

• On the Republican side, Democratic gerrymandering forced, Rep. Bob Barr and Rep. John Linder into the same district. Actually, Barr could have run somewhere else, but whether through hubris or misreading of the electorate or both, he insisted upon running against Linder and got hammered 65-35.

• Full disclosure alert: I worked for John Linder in one of my stints as communications director of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).

• Linder, in my estimation, has never gotten nearly enough credit for holding onto the majority in 1996 and 1998 when Big Labor spent tens - maybe hundreds - of millions of dollars in their failed attempts to win back the House for Democrats.

• Barr, is best known for his outspoken support of the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Barr is remembered as the GOP prosecutor who most personalized the attacks on Clinton. In so doing, he damaged the case providing fodder for the pro-Clinton types who pointed to Barr as the poster boy for House Republicans.

• On the Democratic side, Rep. Cynthia McKinney - who made news several months ago when she charged that President Bush knew about the September 11 attacks in advance and did nothing to stop them - got hammered by former judge Denise Majette, 58-42.

• Both women are African-American.

• McKinney's father - a State Representative -when he was asked in a television interview shortly before the election, why his daughter was in such political hot water responded "J-E-W-S."

• Can you imagine the outcry if a White candidate's father had said that? Or a White candidate's DONOR?

• Not only has there been no outcry, not only have there been no demands that other leaders denounce those sentiments as having no place in American politics, but Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), head of the Congressional Black Caucus was quoted in a Washington Post piece by Tom Edsall as saying, "Jewish people are attempting to pick our leaders ..."

• And Democratic leaders wonder why Jewish voters are moving toward the GOP, weakening the already depleted Democratic base vote.

• In any event, Barr and McKinney are now lame ducks. Leaving the U.S. House of Representatives a potentially more civil place.

• Here's a good idea: One of the cable networks should sign them up to do a cable show. They can hire that bald guy from the Jerry Springer show to sit between them to break up the fights. Hey! It will make great TV.

• How can this be? US Airways announced it was dropping another 200 flights over the next few months. Analysts tell us that as U.S. carriers reduce the number of flights, fares will inevitably go up.

• On the very same day, this from the BBC:

• The war on discount air fares has continued this week with British Airways announcing further price cuts and [a discount carrier is] seeking a third UK base ... The company said it had seen a significant rise in passengers flying on discounted off-peak flights, and an "encouraging" response to new offers.

• Memo to United States airline execs: The country code for England is: 44. Call them. NOW!

• On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A link to the BBC story about airlines, and the Washington Post piece on McKinney.
  --END --
  Copyright © 2002 Richard A. Galen

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