One of the biggest Conservative wingnuts in Congress, Bob Barr, was defeated in a primary election there.
Barr lost to Rep. John Linder, a soft-spoken fellow conservative who is expected to win a sixth term this fall. With 91% of precincts reporting, Linder had 52,229 votes, or 66%. Barr had 26,735 votes, or 34%.
The nasty race ended with Barr appearing at Linder's celebration.
"We're just here this evening to congratulate John Linder for having run a very good race," he said. "We go into the fall race very much a united party."
Perhaps Barr, a take-no-prisoners, compromise-is-for-losers politician who led the drive to impeach President Clinton, failed to recognize that you can only burn so many bridges. Good riddance; he will not long be missed.
In another Georgia primary, Rep. Denise McKinney was also soundly defeated. Perhaps if she had paid more attention to her district than to supporting Palestinian causes she would have defeated Denise Majette, an opponent who two months ago was barely a blip on the radar screen.
McKinney offered only tepid support for Majette in the general election, saying she "will need our prayers to face the coming storm." She also blamed her loss on "massive Republican crossover" voting, which is allowed under Georgia's open primary system.
"It looks like the Republicans wanted to beat me more than the Democrats wanted to keep me," said McKinney, who was seeking a sixth term.
Yes, McKinney was a good Liberal, but she lost sight of the reason she was elected in the first place. She was elected to represent Georgia's 4th Congressional District, not the West Bank and Gaza. In the end, McKinney will not long be missed, either.
Those of you who might be surprised to find me dissing a fellow Liberal should remember that clueless self-interest is not something that Conservatives have a monopoly on. They may be more prone to it, but there are more than a few Liberals in Congress sorely in need of a reality check (Sheila Jackson Lee, hmm???)
