Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens, won’t be attended John McCain’s fundraiser in Atlanta today. He has a birthday party to go to.
As the AJC pointed out Sunday, Georgia’s Republican congressmen didn’t exactly save the date for the McCain event.
Only one, Tom Price of Marietta, confirmed he would attend. Ben Smith quotes Broun as saying he wasn’t sure if he’d be there.
I followed up with Broun’s spokeswoman, Jessica Morris, who said the congressman had a scheduling conflict. He had already agreed to attend the birthday party of a 100-year-old Habersham County woman in Gainesville. Sensing where I was going with this, Morris emphasized that Broun has endorsed McCain and appeared with him at several events in Washington.
I would raise the possibility that Broun, a born-again Christian and limited-government fanatic, might ditch the secular McCain and take up with Libertarian candidate Bob Barr. But Broun is rapidly developing the ability to get along with the status-quo Republicans he dissed as recently as six weeks ago. Right on the heels of a fundraiser with Gov. Sonny Perdue at an Eatonton hunting club, Broun and Perdue are at it again, this time at an Aug. 27 barbecue in Augusta.
And it might not even be McCain Georgia Republicans are distancing themselves from. Today’s fundraiser was cohosted by none other than former pariah Ralph Reed, who appears to be rehabilitating the reputation destroyed in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Any Republican who comes within a camera viewfinder’s length of Reed is likely to find themselves on the receiving end of a Democrat attack something along the lines of the one Barack Obama released today.
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Blake: Do you think that
Blake:
Do you think that "status-quo Republicans" might be looking to get along with Broun, now that his Hallelujah train has run over two of their hand-picked golden boys?
Yes
That too.
But the G7's been snuggling up to him for six months or so now. It's taken Sonny 'n' 'em a little longer to come around.
Ghost I don't think that's
Ghost I don't think that's it. I think it has more to do with Broun blowing through nearly all his budget and realizing that establishment GOP folks are going to have to potentially bail him out.
Sonny Perdue also has the mental capacity of your average 12 year old, so he and Paul see eye to eye on a lot of things. Plus they just like tuh shoot stuff.
McCain can't do anything for Broun
If Paul Broun thought McCain could help him raise money or add clout to his campaign he'd have gone. Paul Broun makes a habit of only fostering relationships only with those that can help him advance his career.
P.S.
2nd quarter statement of disbursements is now available -(202) 226-5200.
I don't exactly have months
I don't exactly have months to wait for the feds to drop it in the mailbox, but thanks. I got someone to e-mail it to me.
UPDATE
Tim Bryant had Price on his radio show this morning to talk about the McCain event. Price said he was representing all seven Georgia Republican congressmen; the others were busy with family, re-election campaigns or yammering on about domestic drilling in the dark up at the Capitol.