In a Georgia election dominated by highly visible, bitterly hard-fought battles for governor and lieutenant governor, the campaign for U.S. Senate has been almost quiet by comparison. Part of that’s a reflection of the personality and career of the incumbent, Republican Paul Coverdell.. His six-year term in office has been productive, at least in one sense. Through quiet hard work and a willingness to take on difficult tasks shunned by some of the show horses in the Senate, he has cemented an influential role in the Republican inner circle, now ranking fifth on the Senate leadership ladder. For the most part, however, his accomplishments have been political rather than legislative or policy-oriented. He talks most proudly of his proposal to create a tax-free education savings account, an idea that has yet to become law. Even if it were enacted, it might create a tax savings of maybe $60 a year for a family that puts the maximum $2,000 in such an account. That’s simply not much to boast about during a six-year term, especially since Coverdell’s party has controlled the Senate for much of that time. The absence of policy accomplishments might ordinarily make a politician vulnerable, but Coverdell has adopted a chameleon’s strategy of blending in with his surroundings. His voting record shows almost no deviation from that of his fellow Senate Republicans. For example, he has opposed reform of campaign-finance laws, fought to gut environmental-protection efforts and worked to strengthen the hand of real-estate developers in their legal battles against local zoning laws. In each of those instances, his votes have also had the effect of pleasing special interests that are generous with campaign donations. That low profile has made Coverdell a difficult target for his opponent, Democrat Michael Coles. Coles, the millionaire founder of the Great American Cookie Co., didn’t face that problem in his first political race two years ago, when he challenged House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the 6th Congressional District. Coles’ candidacy is itself testimony to the need for campaign reform. Increasingly, only rich people able to spend their own millions can hope to compete against Senate incumbents with access to special-interest dollars. Coles has contributed more than $1 million to his race and is still being badly outspent. Unlike Coverdell, who seems to have bought his political philosophy prepackaged from the Acme Conservative Platform Co., Coles is perfectly comfortable breaking down an issue, analyzing each aspect and then coming to his own conclusion. He brings to that analytical process a broad life experience, ranging from the creation of a major business to full recovery from a supposedly crippling accident. The end product is an independent thinker who is concerned with making government work for those who pay the taxes. He’d make a better senator for Georgia than someone who seems more intent on being an inside political player. |
