The Broun Sound

Iconoclastic Georgia Rep. Paul Broun (R), whom I profiled late last year, has beaten back a primary challenge from the speaker of the state House.

Fleming raised more than $920,000 in the run-up to the election, keeping pace with the roughly $1 million raised by Broun.

Both candidates pledged to represent conservative values, with Fleming promising to "walk the walk" for traditional family values and Broun vowing to unravel the federal government's "huge ball of twine of socialism."

Throughout the campaign, Fleming took aim at Broun's votes, calling his philosophy "strange and outlandish." Broun, meanwhile, insisted the votes helped limit the government.

With most of the vote counted, Broun has buried Fleming in a 42-point landslide. Yes, Broun was the guy who wanted to ban dirty magazines on military bases, but that's the rare issue on which he's worse (or as bad) as the rank-and-file Republican.

Comments

SIV | July 16, 2008, 12:31am | #

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The outcome was pretty predictable as of lat but the victory is still sweet.

SIV | July 16, 2008, 12:40am | #

Vernon Jones won the Democrat Senate Primary to run againsy Saxby Chambliss in November.
He wasn't bad as my Dekalb County CEO, considering the alternatives. He vetoed a County Commission passed ban on bar smoking for example.
I do find it amusing that in a "realignment year" the Democrats in GA are having to run a candidate for US Senate who responded to a credible rape accusation with the statement "it wasn't rape, it was three-way sex gone bad!"

Dave Weigel | July 16, 2008, 12:57am | #

Did Jones win? I thought, since he didn't get 50 percent, that he was headed to a runoff with Jim Martin. In that case I'd bet on Martin.

SIV | July 16, 2008, 12:58am | #

Despite Broun's support for a military base dirty magazine sales ban and a few other cosmotarian-gagging quirks (like being one of those damn fundies), can anyone point out a "libertarian-leaning" elected Democrat Party US Congressman ?

SIV | July 16, 2008, 1:10am | #

David,

You are right, I was looking at earlier returns before the race was called. Martin probably will take the runoff.

They changed the runoff rules for the general election after Paul Coverdell's libertarian-assisted victory way-back-when but that doesn't apply to party primaries.

SIV | July 16, 2008, 1:15am | #

I'll be votin' for Vernon in the runoff though.
I early voted a Dem ballot last week as their were no contests on the Republican one in my district.I do enjoy open primary voting.

SIV | July 16, 2008, 1:30am | #

I wouldn't be too quick to predict Martin beating Jones in the Dem senate runoff.
That race is now looking to be interestingly complicated by turnout demographics and other runoffs in local races.

David Weigel | July 16, 2008, 1:40am | #

Eh, I'd bet against a black candidate who barely cracks 40 percent in a GA Dem primary, with four white candidates splitting the rest. Hell, Jones didn't even crack 40 percent in DeKalb, which he should have swamped.

If Martin gets some money and gets Democratic voters aware of Jones's 2000 and 2004 support for Bush, he should win by at least 10 points.

Bill Rutherford, Princeton Admissions | July 16, 2008, 10:34am | #

"Despite Broun's support for a military base dirty magazine sales ban and a few other cosmotarian-gagging quirks (like being one of those damn fundies),"

Other than that, what'd you think of the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

Brandybuck | July 16, 2008, 2:27pm | #

Broun is not the only libertarian leaning GOPster to win in Georgia. There were many RLC endorsed candidates who won state seats. I may have to consider moving to Georgia if this keeps up.

Oh, and as long as I'm paying for their discounts, no dirty mags in the PX!

Bill Rutherford, Princeton Admissions | July 16, 2008, 3:05pm | #

"I may have to consider moving to Georgia if this keeps up."

There's a lot about GA that is not "libertarian-leaning" at all.

Brandybuck | July 16, 2008, 3:14pm | #

There's a lot about ALL states that's not "libertarian-leaning" at all!

SIV | July 16, 2008, 6:58pm | #

I may have to consider moving to Georgia if this keeps up.

What? And leave the libertarian paradise of Alabama?

jtuf | July 19, 2008, 9:47am | #

This news is great. If NH is too cold, I might end up living in Atlanta.