Blogging for Max

From the Savannah Morning News:

12th District Race
Return Burns to House

WHO ARE the two candidates running for Georgia’s 12th Congressional House seat? Judging from the advertising, one is a loony liberal and the other is a twisted conservative.

Fortunately for voters in this district, which includes portions of Savannah and southeast and eastern Georgia, that’s not the case. These ads are mostly caricatures. John Barrow, the Democratic incumbent, and Max Burns, the Republican who wants to regain his old seat, are thoughtful men who bear only passing resemblances to the negative images on TV and radio and in direct mail pieces.

However, differences do exist. Our recommendation in the Nov. 7 general election is Mr. Burns.

Voters sent the Screven County resident to Washington in 2002 to represent the 12th District, which at the time was the most Democratic district in the nation with a Republican congressman. In 2004, the Democratic National Committee made Mr. Burns’ defeat a top priority. It succeeded, despite the fact that Mr. Burns was an effective lawmaker who supported President Bush’s tax cuts and the president’s war on terror and who diligently tended his Georgia roots, especially in farm country. (Example: He supported the buyout of the state’s tobacco growers).

We believe Mr. Burns deserves a return trip to Washington, and give him the edge over the incumbent for one major reason: tax reform, likely to be a major issue in the next Congress.

While both candidates rightly support the end of the “death” tax, Mr. Burns goes one additional step and wants to abolish the convoluted income tax and Internal Revenue Service. Instead, the revenue that the federal government needs to operate would be collected through a national sales tax.

Georgia Rep. John Linder has championed this proposal, which would slash the costs of complying with the existing tax code, boost real wages, give workers more control over their money and create more opportunities for business and job growth.

Mr. Barrow opposes it. Although the incumbent says he favors tax reform, we believe Mr. Burns would be a better advocate for the changes that would do the most good for the most working Georgians.

Mr. Burns’ advocacy of lower taxes is just one way to foster economic growth and investment. Another is his support for improving transportation, education and agriculture. He supports changes that would help move truck traffic into and out of the mammoth Georgia Ports Authority facility in Garden City and connect this vital resource with other areas of Georgia and the Southeast, largely through the construction of the proposed Interstate 3 that would run north from Savannah to Augusta.

The next Congress will reauthorize the farm bill, and Mr. Burns has a solid record supporting farmers. Pairing him with Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, would give Georgians a one-two punch in Congress on issues important to the state’s agricultural industry.

Mr. Burns had a solid record on supporting the military and supported the Bush Doctrine of pre-emption - engaging terrorists overseas. He supported the Patriot Act to give anti-terror agencies needed tools to better protect Americans.

Mr. Barrow, an attorney who relocated to Savannah from Athens, has a voting record of a Southern Democrat - not as hard left as the national party. For example, the ACLU graded him at 36 percent during the last session, compared to a perfect 100 percent for Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and soon-to-be former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Atlanta.

We also have supported some of his initiatives, such as hiking the mileage reimbursements to veterans who drive long distances for medical treatment from veterans’ health-care facilities.

However, we disagreed with him on the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which we supported and he opposed. We also disagree with him on raising the minimum wage, which will eliminate jobs.

He also voted for an unneeded “hate crimes” bill. He voted against the fiscal 2006 budget resolution to limit spending and impose tax cuts, and he voted against a bill that would help the United States become more energy independent by opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas exploration.

Mr. Barrow is no knee-jerk Democrat. He broke ranks with the party and voted to protect gun manufacturers from frivolous lawsuits, for instance.

However, we believe Mr. Burns would be a more effective representative. We support his candidacy.