Political Notes

Political RoundUp

Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin was first elected to public office in the 1950s. He stresses his conservative values, but has some surprisingly progressive ideas.

Ticked off teachers, the Republicans' revolving door, more Reps for Georgia?

Ed Holcombe was once a Georgia Power lobbyist who helped then-governor Roy Barnes change the state flag; now he's Gov. Perdue's new chief of staff.

Now that the GOP has consolidated its control of state government, how far to the right is it willing to go?

When President George W. Bush finally signed a bill authorizing the construction of a fortified fence along 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexican border, several Georgia congressmen were cheering him on.

Do we want to put ourselves in the company of progressive Southern states like Virginia and North Carolina or are we satisfied to keep company with states like South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi?

A slender Reed: Ralph Reed was effectively banished from the state's political scene with his crushing defeat by Casey Cagle in the GOP primary for lieutenant governor, but his influence here will live on after he is gone. An anti-tax…

Does Governor Perdue's smashing re-election victory set the stage for a triumphant second term, or is it a high point from which he, like other second-termers, slides slowly into lame duck status?