Copyright 2000 The Atlanta Constitution
The Atlanta
Journal and Constitution
October 8, 2000, Sunday, Home Edition
SECTION: Metro News; Pg. 4H
LENGTH: 1092 words
HEADLINE:
SEVENTH DISTRICT: Barr tries softer image as rival sharpens attack;
CAMPAIGN
2000: CONGRESSIONAL RACES
BYLINE: David Pendered, Staff
SOURCE: AJC
BODY:
A year
after Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Barr's supporters encouraged him to soften his
image, he appears to be following the advice in an effort to fend off his
Democratic opponent, businessman Roger Kahn.
In a campaign swing through
the 7th District last week, Barr bore little resemblance to the House prosecutor
who came off to some television viewers as mean-spirited during the 1998
impeachment proceedings against President Clinton.
This time Barr is
seen meeting with elementary school children, encouraging them to learn to read.
Barr also recently addressed the Cobb County Republican Women's Club a few days
after voting to provide $ 3.6 billion to combat violent crime against women.
A new TV ad that debuted this past week features Barr's wife, Jeri,
explaining to viewers that her husband doesn't have time to smile and act nice
all the time because he's too busy working hard for his constituents.
Barr's first television ad, which began airing a couple of weeks ago,
uses humor in questioning Kahn's length of residence in the 11-county district,
most of which borders Alabama and extends into Cobb County. Kahn said he bought
a farm in the district, near the town of White, about 18 months ago.
As
a Kahn lookalike stumbles around a farm, falling off a horse, a tractor and a
fence, the ad calls Kahn a "millionaire carpetbagger from Buckhead" and compares
Kahn to Hillary Clinton, a longtime Arkansas resident now running for the Senate
in New York. The ad says Barr is "really from the 7th District. He's really like
us."
Kahn characterized the bumbling farmer ad as "trite, tacky,
whimsical."
To Kahn, Barr's ad illustrates the reason Kahn first got
into the race and why he was willing to spend some $ 900,000 --- much of it his
own money --- to win the Democratic summer primary election, according to
campaign disclosures filed June 30 with the Federal Election Commission.
"Barr does not feel the citizens deserve a meaningful dialogue on the
issues," Kahn said.
Kahn said voters of the 7th District have been
cheated of the chance to discuss issues because Barr has not yet faced an
opponent who could afford to get a message out on television.
He said
that while Barr was consumed with Clinton's impeachment, he failed to be an
advocate for his constituents on issues including health care, education reform
and the environment. A major employer in the district, the Lockheed Martin plant
in Marietta, lost several thousand jobs while Barr was preoccupied with other
partisan issues, he said.
Two of Kahn's most recent television ads
contend Barr failed constituents in particular on two health care issues.
One ad notes that Barr voted against a bill to prevent nursing homes
from evicting poorer patients to make way for those who could pay more. The
second criticizes Barr for supporting the extension of patents
on certain prescription drugs. Kahn's campaign said the
extension will result in higher costs for the medicine.
Regarding the nursing home bill, Barr's campaign said such evictions
already were illegal, and the bill worsened the situation by forcing some
nursing homes to lower standards of care or file for bankruptcy. Barr did not
respond directly to the drug patent issue, but he criticized
Kahn for not disclosing in the ad that he owns stock in drug
companies, including one that benefited from Barr's support.
On other
issues, Kahn contends that Barr's opposition to any type of gun control has
precluded meaningful discussion of background checks of buyers at gun shows.
Kahn said he supports such checks, but otherwise would not infringe on the
Second Amendment right of citizens to bear arms.
In an effort to
broadcast his message, Kahn has lent his campaign $ 750,000, according to the
last financial report. Kahn had raised about $ 700,000 by June 30, a third of it
from outside Georgia, said Kahn spokesman Mike Mikus.
Kahn's campaign is
being embraced by core Democrats mainly for two reasons.
First, they
relish the chance to oust the Republican perhaps most closely identified with
the Clinton impeachment effort. Secondly, they recall Barr's narrow victory over
an unknown, underfunded challenger in 1998.
Jim Williams, Barr's
challenger two years ago, took 45 percent of the vote with a budget of about $
13,000.
But some observers suspect the Williams campaign may have been
the Democrats' best chance to beat Barr.
"If you're going to beat an
incumbent, you have to sneak up and do it," said Larry Sabato, a political
scientist at the University of Virginia. "If you only come close, they usually
work very hard the next time around and come back to win."
Barr said
last year that he realized he had had a close brush with political defeat. He
vowed to reconstruct his image and to campaign diligently.
The former
federal prosecutor reached out to conservatives for financial help, and they
have rewarded him with near-record support in this year's elections.
Barr ranked third in the House in terms of contributions from
individuals reported through June 30, according to the Federal Elections
Commission. He raised nearly $ 2 million, trailing only the two candidates
running in a California congressional campaign, the FEC reported.
The
incumbent's $ 2.3 million in receipts ranked seventh in the House for this
year's campaign, according to the FEC. Kahn's $ 1.4 million, including his
personal loan to the campaign, ranked 28th in the House.
Barr entered
the general election campaign with $ 1.2 million cash on hand, according to the
FEC. Kahn would have had about $ 540,000, according to calculations based on the
FEC reports.
"Barr got a wake-up call in '98 and worked harder preparing
for 2000," Sabato said. "He once was considered very threatened, and my
understanding is he is less so (now). The evaluations are that Barr will
probably lose only if there is a sizable Democratic victory in Georgia."
The campaign battle will continue to rage on the TV airways right
through October. At just one Atlanta station, Kahn paid about $ 562,000 for
political ads and Barr paid about $ 435,000.
While Barr may not bare his
teeth during the campaign, some supporters have shown theirs.
The
National Republican Congressional Committee is calling for an FEC investigation
into $ 14,500 Kahn received from contributors in New York. Don McGahn, the NRCC
counsel, said it appears the money was illegally directed to Kahn from an
unidentified source through employees of a day school.
Kahn said he has
returned the contributions.
GRAPHIC: Photo
U.S.
Rep. Bob Barr reads "House Mouse, Senate Mouse" to first- graders at Annette
Winn Elementary School in Lithia Springs. / CHARLOTTE B. TEAGLE / Staff
Graphic
THE CANDIDATES
ROGER KAHN (D)
Age: 54
Residence:
White, Ga.
Education: Bachelor's in business administration, University of
Georgia
Political Experience: Member, Georgia State Elections Board, 10
years
Professional: President and CEO of PGA Golf Radio Network of Atlanta;
retired chairman and CEO of Empire distributors
Personal: Wife, Elyn; three
adult children
BOB BARR (R)
Age: Age 51
Residence: Smyrna
Education: Bachelor's, University of Southern California; master's, George
Washington University; law degree, Georgetown University
Political
Experience: U.S. House member, 1994-present
Professional: Southeast Legal
Foundation, 1990-92; U.S. Attorney, North Georgia District, 1986-90; CIA
analyst, 1971-78
Personal: Wife, Jeri; 2 children
Photo
Roger Kahn
Photo
Roger Kahn congressional campaign ad, taken from television.
Graphic
AD WATCH
Bob Barr's "Horsy" ad
Video begins
with music and revised lyrics from a classic oldie --- "Yes, he's the great
pretender. Pretending he's lived on a farm . . . " --- followed by images of a
bumbling man in jeans falling off a horse, a tractor and a fence.
Narrator:
"Roger Kahn tells us he's a farmer. Farmer? He's a millionaire carpetbagger from
Buckhead. Like Hillary in New York, he recently bought property in the 7th
district just to run for Congress. But Bob Barr's really from the 7th district.
He's really like us. The only place we're sending Roger Kahn is back to
Buckhead."
Roger Kahn's "Too Much" ad
Video beings with black
and white images of pills, newspaper headlines and an unflattering photo of Bob
Barr.
Narrator: Prescription drug prices are soaring. And
if Bob Barr has his way prices will continue to rise. Bob Barr has co-sponsored
a bill to prevent production of generic versions of Claritin and other widely
prescribed drugs. That would cost 7th district residents over $
13 million in higher prices. Roger Kahn will fight to lower prices and pass a
real prescription drug benefit for Medicare. Bob Barr fights
for the drug companies. Roger Kahn will fight for us."
LOAD-DATE: October 8, 2000 
