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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

She’ll protect you

By Ken Herman | Tuesday, October 30, 2007, 08:12 PM

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An Irmo, S.C., town council member seeking re-election opts to highlight her first name in her campaign materials.

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House Judiciary goes ballistic on Tanner

By Rebecca Carr | Tuesday, October 30, 2007, 02:35 PM

House Judiciary Committee Democrats criticized the head of the Justice Department’s voting rights section today for saying that “our society is such that minorities don’t become elderly the way white people do-they die first.”

John Tanner, the head of the section that was created after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, tried to apologize for the remarks.

“My explanation of the data came across in a hurtful way, which I deeply regret,” Tanner said.

But Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., said that was no excuse. He accused him of using faulty statistics to support a faulty stereotype.

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the civil rights leader who helped press for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, said he was “appalled” by what Tanner has done to voting rights section at the Justice Department.

Since 2001, the Justice Department has brought two cases alleging voter discrimination against African Americans. Neither case was in the South, according to Julie Fernandes, senior policy analyst at the Leadership Conference for Civil Rights.

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Allbaugh signs on with Rudy

By Ken Herman | Tuesday, October 30, 2007, 09:29 AM

Joe Allbaugh, one-third of the fabled Texas “Iron Triangle” (with Karl Rove and Karen Hughes) that helped get George W. Bush to the White House signed on today with Rudy Giuliani’s campaign.

Allbaugh, a former FEMA director and now a consultant, will be “senior adviser,” advising on “general strategy and homeland security.” Allbaugh was chief of staff for then-Gov. Bush in Austin and served as national campaign manager for the 2000 presidential race.

Here, from the official announcement, are the nice things Giuliani and Allbaugh said about each other:

“Rudy Giuliani is the only candidate who will keep America on offense in the Terrorists’ War on Us,” said Allbaugh. “The leadership he showed after 9/11 was an inspiration not only to New Yorkers but to the country. He knows what it takes to keep America safe, and as president, he will ensure that our country never goes back on defense in this war.”

“Joe and I worked closely together in the aftermath of 9/11 to ensure that everything possible was being done to help victims and their families,” Giuliani said. “He has significant experience in emergency management and I will look to him for sound advice and expertise.”

Allbaugh now runs Allbaugh Company LLC, which, the company says, “is uniquely able to create new opportunities and expand competitive advantage.”

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