Poll finds Perdue, Cox dead even in race for governor

[jefferson_dem]

:woohoo:

Poll finds Perdue, Cox dead even in race for governor

As fund-raising begins in earnest for the 2006 governor's race, a new poll suggests Secretary of State Cathy Cox starts with a stronger chance of ousting Gov. Sonny Perdue than does her Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor.

In a Zogby International poll for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cox was dead even with Perdue, Georgia's first Republican governor since Reconstruction. Perdue, meanwhile, was 13 percentage points ahead of Taylor in a head-to-head matchup.

The poll gave Cox a lead over Taylor among respondents who identified themselves as Democrats. Those two are expected to face off in the Democratic primary. Perdue so far has no announced Republican opposition. The poll of 501 likely voters was conducted Thursday and Friday.

The poll gives Perdue reason to pause, as well as to crow.

Just under half of respondents think the state is headed in the right direction. Political experts usually say incumbents need that figure to be above 50 percent — or at least heading up — to ensure re-election. In addition, about 48 percent think Perdue is doing a good or excellent job. Again, campaign strategists like to see that number over 50 percent.

<SNIP>

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0405/27govpoll.html

[RebelOne]

1. That's really encouraging news.

I would so like to see Perdue gone and Cox would be my first choice for governor.

[wyldwolf]

2. Mixed feelings

I love Cathy Cox. I've met her a few times and she is genuine.

Most believe that she would be a lock to win the Lt. Governor's seat.

As it is now, that seat will probably go Republican - and Ralph Reed at that!

However, Cox has an advantage way beyond Mark Taylor for the Dem nomination for Governor.

Name recognition. Cox is the only Dem of late to win rural GA counties in large numbers. She got more votes than any GA politician in history.

If the election is fair, I predict she wins.

[jefferson_dem]

3. Have we no viable Lt. Gov. candidate? I shudder at the thought of having

that cherubic scumbag Ralphie-boy as second in line.

[wyldwolf]

4. not really. I've met one candidate but he is virtually unknown

I think the only way he wins is if Reed shoots himself with his scandals or if the Dems make a run all around in '06 because of the GOP's ethics problems.

[MsTryska]

5. hmm.....i had lunch with Sonny jsut the other day....

totally by accident - he was slumming through my favorite bbq joint.


I'll vote for Cathy in a heartbeat.

[No Michael Savage]

6. Great news!

Good news is StuPerdue will most likely lose against Cathy Cox. No doubt the flag freaks and the state employees who got stiffed by Perdue's budget cuts will all jump on the Cox bandwagon. As for Mark Taylor, I doubt he can beat Cox in the primary.

As it stands now, Ralph "roll them dice" Reed will win the Lt. Governor's race, but we still have over a year to see to that.

[Casper]

7. Democrats will need help!

I too, think Cathy Cox is a good candidate. All Democrats will need our help for the 2006 elections. If you aren't already involved, please consider joining your local Democratic party and getting involved, or find a local Georgia Young Democrats or Georgia for Democracy group. Get involved. Everyone's help is needed from now on!

[southpaw]

8. Have you seen the "Punt Perdue" bumper stickers?

I live in Alabama, but my ex-wife and my children live in Georgia, and I drive into Ga. every couple of weeks to pick up the kids for visitation.

At the exit I take (in Douglasville) there are "Punt Perdue" stickers on the back sides of several road signs. They feature the old Georgia/Confederate flag.

While I personally despise the confederate rag and look with a jaundiced eye upon any who display it, I am really glad the whole flag-change debacle has become an albatross for Sonny Boy.

Get those stickers posted far and wide to remind the good ole boys that it was Perdue who stripped the state flag of its prominent 'rebel' leanings.

[RubyDuby in GA]

9. I have seen a few, but I live outside the metro Atlanta area

I simply despise that flag, but I agree that it needs to be used to take ol' SonnyBubba down.

It needs to be spread far and wide in SOUTH GEORGIA. I'm all up for a field trip to spread the message :)

[Cookie wookie]

10. A few questions for Cathy Cox:

1) You and staff from the Elections’ Division stated on February 26, 2004 to the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee (SLOGO) where Senate Bill 500 was being considered, which would have required voter verified paper records for Georgia’s Diebold Election System, that there was no NASED certified technology that could produce those records. Later, on March 4 and March 11, you admitted to the committee that you DID know of such technology, the TruVote and Avante systems, but that they weren’t certified to 2002 Voting System Standards. You failed to inform the committee that Georgia’s Diebold voting system was also NOT certified to 2002 Voting System Standards at that time. Could you explain why you and your staff made those statements when the information in the first assertion was false and on the second was misleading?

2) On February 27, March 4, and March 11, 2004 at the SLOGO committee public meetings on Senate Bill 500, in your efforts to prevent voter verified paper records from being added to our paperless Diebold Voting System, your office and Elections Division staff and a poll worker they brought to one of the hearings, represented that having voter verified paper records added to Georgia’s Diebold voting stations would disenfranchise disabled voters. You personally distributed copies to the committee members of a letter dated March 3, 2004 from US Congressmen Ney, Hoyer, McConnell and Dodd that said in part, “Most importantly, the proposals requiring a voter-verified paper record would force voters with disabilities to go back to using ballots that provide neither privacy nor independence, thereby subverting a hallmark of the HAVA legislation.” That statement is false. Can you tell Georgia voters why you would knowingly give false information to committee members and the public?

3) Your photograph and testimonial endorsing Georgia’s Diebold Election System has been used in marketing literature distributed by Diebold. Your testimonial is on the front page of the Diebold Election Systems website, where until recently the Georgia State seal was also posted. What is your position on the ethics of elected state officials who help to market a product for a for-profit corporation, particularly in light of the contractual relationship of Diebold with the State of Georgia?

4) California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley banned the use of the Diebold TSX touchscreen system in April 2004, stating, “We will not tolerate the deceitful conduct of Diebold, and we must send a clear message to the rest of the industry: Don’t try to pull a fast one on the voters of California.” He went on to state that he was decertifying the system because of “fraudulent actions by Diebold.” Georgia’s touchscreen system, the TR6, is essentially the same technology as the TSX. Can you tell voters why you did not undertake similar action to protect Georgia’s votes for the 2004 Presidential election? Could you also explain why you effectively killed moves by Georgia voters to get voter verified paper records last spring, particularly in light of the information from former Diebold technician Rob Behler, which was published in Vanity Fair in April 2004, that brought into question whether Diebold technicians had installed uncertified patches, which if true is illegal, to the Georgia system in August 2002?

5) In April 14, 2004, Preston Futrell, of Internet Security Systems, made a presentation at an Information Security Conference at Emory University. Futrell said that he had met the day before with the Georgia Technology Authority as a consultant on securing the Diebold Election System in Georgia. Futrell said that the system could not be secured in time for the 2004 Presidential election in November. Were you aware at that time that the system was not secure and if so, why was the public not informed and a system implemented that would have allowed citizens to vote in a secure manner?

[Cookie wookie]

11. The Dems better find another candidate, not COX

Looks like they've taken her endorsement off the Diebold Elections System website, which was there for at least the past year, updated after the 2004 election. Instead they have links to her praising the system:

http://www.diebold.com/dieboldes/top_stories.htm

Will Diebold come through for her, after all she's done for them in Georgia?

I do have a digital copy of one of their brochures, but don't know how to post it here.

Her picture and quote: "The success of this pioneering feat is due to the overall preparedness of election officials, poll workers and voters, as well as Diebold going above and beyond the call of duty to help the state implement this enormous endeavor."

For anyone with questions, send an open records request to the SOS office for the Diebold Contract plus amendments, then read it.

[RubyDuby in GA]

12. Everybody can bitch and moan about Cathy Cox all they want, but

if anyone thinks that Mark Taylor has a snowball's chance in hell of beating Perdue (or any other Republican), you're living in lala land.

He can release as many press releases as he wants claiming he's got all the money in the world and that people just love him, but the facts contradict his claims. Poll after poll consistently show Cox beating him (pretty handily too) and doing quite well against Perdue. Or just ask any of the party faithful, like I did this past Saturday at the State Committee Meeting and they'll tell you, he doesn't have nearly as much support as he'd like you to believe.

Bubba Taylor's backhanded slaps at Cathy Cox will backfire badly and he'll end up looking like a fool if he continues down the path he seems to be enjoying taking right now (mud slinging). 52% of the Dems in this state are women (and the overwhelming majority of those are pro-choice). When you issue derogatory statements about Cathy Cox on the day she declares her candidacy (for her talking with Emily's List), you get a good indication of how his campaign is going to go. Straight into the crapper.

[Cookie wookie]

13. I don't subscribe to the belief that a bad Democrat

is better than no Democrat (read Zell) or that someone who would sign away to a corporation tied to the Republican party Georgian's right to a transparent verifiable voting system (in other words, their right to know their vote was counted as they wanted it to be rather than just having them parade before DREs, push buttons and think that maybe or maybe not their vote was counted); who would aggressively mislead the public about the security of the voting system; who would look the other way when it came to investigating flaws in the system, because a) to admit flaws (and deal with any possible fraudulent behavior by Diebold) would make them look bad personally (how they look is more important than democracy, more important than the voting rights of every other Georgian) or b) because they are just plain corrupt (on the dole? expecting favors?, getting favors?), take your pick. Certainly stupid or ignorant she is not. So that can be ruled out as an excuse.

Here's a candidate who puts personal ambition ahead of citizens constitutional rights and that is the best person we can get to run and win in Georgia? Or Mark Taylor?

Reminds me of that old skit on Saturday Night Live: "Lower expectations!"

Have subscribers to this theory become so jaded and disillusioned they think all people are majorly, morally corrupt, sociopaths or losers? Where did that come from? Did I wake up one day in hell? Sure, Georgia Democrats are world unto themselves, except for the members of the Congressional Black Caucus who actually exhibit some character, but are the rest so far gone they can't even imagine finding Georgia a great progressive leader of good character to run and win the governorship?

She's a "woman," she's a "Democrat," she's "pro-choice." Condy Rice is a woman. Lucretia Borgia was a woman. Cox is someone who worked with a vengeance to defeat verified voting, even going to the extreme by giving disinformation to the public and legislators; someone who looked the other way and actually aided or sided with Diebold instead of holding them accountable when there have been serious questions; this someone is the only person in Georgia who can beat Perdue?

Please. No. We need to get some positive thinking going here, have some faith in people, demand what's right and best, we don't have to settle for the seriously morally impaired.

Why not persuade someone like Shirley Franklin to run? Beg, plead, cajole. She'd be one hell of a candidate for governor and would beat the hell out of Purdue at the polls. Start making a list. Someone with the right spark could set off a firestorm, inspire us, stand up for us, represent us in the best possible way, and most of all, would defend with their life our Constitution and our right to vote and have our vote count. Millions have died for that right.

[tenshi816]

14. I've not lived in Georgia for so many years

and am totally out of touch with politics there (although I'm aware of that slimy toad Ralph Reed running for Lt. Gov. and hope that little bastard gets destroyed big time - oh, and apologies to toads everywhere for the comparison).

Can somebody fill me in on Cathy Cox? What's she like? What's her background? Has she been kicking around in politics for awhile? Is she well thought of? Is she a "real" Dem or a DINO? I'm sure she has a website and I'll look for it, but I'd like to hear opinions from DU people too.

I don't think I even get to vote in the Governor's race anymore, but I'm fast discovering that politics can become a real obsession and the more I know, the more I want to know.

Many thanks in advance for any info. I promise to pay attention from now on instead of sitting at the back of the class writing bad poetry and painting my fingernails.