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Jewish supporters react to majette exit mckinney return Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://atlanta.jewish.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=603http://atlanta.jewish.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=603
Jewish supporters react to Majette’s quick exit from U.S. House
By Gabriella Burman
The Jewish Times
Many members of Atlanta’s Jewish community worked tirelessly to elect Democratic U.S. Rep. Denise Majette to office in 2002.
Now several of them are smarting at the news that after only one term she decided to seek a U.S. Senate seat that many political observers believe she is unlikely to win — that of Democratic Sen. Zell Miller, the former Georgia governor who is retiring.
Early polls indicate that third-term U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson, a Republican who is well-liked on both sides of the aisle, is the front-runner, according to longtime political analyst Bill Shipp.
“Isakson has more money, is ahead in the polls and has more name recognition,” he said.
Other Republican contenders include businessman Herman Cain and U.S. Rep. Mac Collins.
Shipp does not believe Majette can beat either of them. He says unless Bobby Kahn, chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia, “can recruit a big-name Democrat, Georgia’s Democrats will lose Miller’s seat to a Republican.” The primaries are July 20.
“This is a nutty thing she did,” said Shipp of Majette’s decision.
It is a sentiment that has echoed widely in the days since March 29, when Majette amazed even her own staff in announcing her intention to run.
Among her many Jewish supporters, some have expressed anger, disappointment and confusion over her decision.
“I’m surprised,” said Larry Cooper, an oncologist who helped raise funds for Majette during her successful 2002 campaign to unseat 10-year Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney. “I frequently talk to her. I had no hint that this was coming down the pike.”
“I’m in shock,” added Steven Wertheim, an orthopedist who along with his wife Melinda hosted several fundraisers for Majette at their home in 2002. “I was given no advance notice.”
Wertheim, who calls Majette’s decision an “obvious misstep,” says people who this year have contributed money to what they believed would be her 2004 House re-election bid may now ask Majette for their money back.
“I think there will be a lot of people who do so,” he said.
Knowledgeable sources confirm that some Jewish supporters have already called Majette’s 4th District congressional office in Decatur demanding their money back.
Answering their concern, Majette told The Jewish Times, “It was not my intention to deceive anyone. I have honored my commitments. I have addressed Jewish concerns.
“Those who supported me will continue to have a voice in the Senate,” she continued. “I hope they will give me the opportunity to serve [there].”
That depends, say observers, on how people recover from their initial shock.
“People feel bitten in the behind by this decision,” said one person familiar with the inner workings of Majette’s office and who spoke on condition of anonymity. “And that will make additional fundraising hard for her. This is not the return on investment that anybody wanted.”
Majette, a former judge, had attracted both local and national donations from Jewish sources when she ran against McKinney in 2002. At the time, the political novice benefited from negative media attention focused on McKinney, whose pro-Palestinian sympathies cost her Jewish support (see story above).
“Majette rode public anger to office, and she exploited it to win. In the senate race, she has none of those advantages,” said the source.
For starters, say critics, the first-term congresswoman hasn’t spent enough time on Capitol Hill to cultivate the statewide relationships necessary to be a viable U.S. Senate candidate outside Atlanta.
“There is a vast difference between winning a congressional district and a statewide race to be U.S. senator,” said former political reporter Bill Nigut, now head of the Atlanta Regional Arts and Culture Leadership Alliance. “Winning the race against Mc-Kinney couldn’t help but give her a sense of empowerment but she has misjudged just how much she is capable of accomplishing.”
“Everyone knows the first job of a [novice member of Congress] is to get reelected,” said Irving Schoenberg, who retired from the Air Force in 1973 and donated to Majette’s 2002 campaign. “She didn’t learn this lesson.
“She said she only takes advice from God,” he continued. “But I don’t think God knows much about politics.”
“She did not follow the usual paths to deciding on a candidacy and building the kind of consensus you need,” Nigut said. “If she wants to run for U.S. Senate she can but there is groundwork you must lay if you expect the support of people who have been with you as your career has developed.”
Majette has acknowledged that in making her decision to run she did not seek the advice of an inner circle; according to sources, she does not have one, other than her husband Rogers J. Mitchell Jr., a Realtor.
Cindy Abel, Majette’s communications director, says, “She prays a lot. God is the final authority on what she does.”
Majette’s actions will have consequences.
Because she was not recruited by the Georgia Democratic Party to run for Miller’s seat, and because she did not consult with party Chairman Bobby Kahn, she may not get the backing of state leaders or the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which financially supports the candidacies of Democrats around the United States.
Sources speculate it will take $7 to $8 million for Majette to run a viable campaign. “A $5 million campaign by someone not known outside of Atlanta is not going to get anywhere,” said the source familiar with Majette’s office.
Majette seems prepared to go it alone.
“It would be great to have the help of state leaders, but none of the powers that be supported her in 2002,” Abel said.
Without state help, Abel said, a “grassroots campaign” will seek out locals in smaller cities “who want to get involved but are disillusioned.” She added that the campaign staff, which is being assembled, has already received calls from volunteers in Macon, Augusta and south Georgia. She said Majette may pick a Jewish liaison, and will continue to “reach out to diverse communities, as she has before.”
Abel acknowledged that Majette’s announcement has people “catch[ing] their breath.” But she insisted that Majette is not “abandoning the 4th District.” Rather, she said, “she is doubling the benefits, doing what she did for the 4th District for the whole state.”
Majette reminded voters of her accomplishments during her March 29 press conference. While in office, she was elected president of the freshman class of Democrats; was appointed an assistant minority whip; helped bring $556 million in federal funding to the 4th District; and successfully sponsored legislation establishing the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, earning her a good rating among environmental groups.
“My experience has prepared me to go to the next level ...What I have done for the people of the 4th District, I want to do for the people of Georgia,” Majette said when she announced her candidacy, and then proceeded to outline her vision for the state, including preparing children for university education and improving self-esteem among girls.
While expressing surprise at her long-shot senatorial aspirations, some Majette fans nevertheless say she should not be counted out. After all, no one expected a novice to beat an entrenched incumbent by a margin of 18,000 votes when Majette unseated McKinney in 2002.
“She came as a surprise to people the first time around,” said Deborah Lauter, executive director of the Southeast region of the Anti-Defamation League. “If she wants to serve the state, it’s her prerogative to try.”
“We have to wish her well,” said Sherry Frank, executive director of the Southeast region of the American Jewish Committee. And while Isakson also has a good record on Israel, Majette “was supportive of issues of concern to the community, and she was available to the community both here and in Washington.”
“She’s got a chance,” said Philip Rafshoon, owner of Outwrite Bookstore in Midtown. “We need a Democrat who’s got a possibility. I don’t think we should roll over and play dead.”
That the Democratic party couldn’t recruit stronger candidates — Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox, Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor or former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young — to begin with, “is a failure of the state party,” said one longtime Democrat who has worked behind the scenes for several candidates and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official word from state party headquarters is that other candidates may emerge. “We expect to have a full field and a spirited contest that will yield the best candidate for the U.S. Senate,” said Emil Runge, the state party’s communications director.
As the Democrats scramble for that full field, and Majette tries to build a war chest in only three months, some people doubt she will find the same level of support from a Jewish community that invested in her congressional race two years ago.
“Whoever in the Jewish community can make her listen, it’s too late. How much faith does anybody have in her now? She cannot turn to the Jews,” said the source familiar with Majette’s office, particularly because Majette’s move has opened the way for Mc-
Kinney to try to regain her former seat.
With another race to fund, “there’s a lot of demand for the same dollar. It puts tremendous pressure on the Jewish community. People plan who they’re giving to — they’ve checked Majette off their list and now they have to reevaluate,” said Wertheim.
He says he still is bewildered by Majette’s choice. “I’ve never seen anyone do this. Most people have to have a good chance of winning to give up a safe congressional seat,” Wertheim said.
Having been blindsided by the representative it supported, the Jewish community can learn a lesson, said the source close to Majette’s office.
“The situation with McKinney was so bad the Jewish
community — and other communities that supported her — thought Majette was a step forward. But they need to know the people they support.”
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