Republican contenders hammer Barnes on ethics, style

JEKYLL ISLAND - Three Republicans seeking to unseat Governor Barnes hammered him in a debate Thursday, calling the Democrat part of a corrupt good ol&#39; boy network that&#39;s ruled Georgia since Reconstruction. <br> <br> GOP candidate Linda Schrenko said, ``For 135 years we have had a Democratically or one-party controlled Georgia. It leads to corruption, it leads to abuse of power. And whether that abuse of power comes under the name Talmadge or Barnes or whatever, it doesn&#39;t matter.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Schrenko, the state school superintendent, joined former state Senator Sonny Perdue and former Cobb County Commission chairman Bill Byrne in a debate during the Georgia Press Association&#39;s annual meeting. <br> <br> All three are competing in the August Republican primary for the right to take on Barnes in the general election November 5. <br> <br> In a separate speech to the association, Barnes rebuffed critics who say he&#39;s honed a dictatorial style in state government, saying he&#39;s had to use political muscle to make tough, sometimes unpopular, decisions on issues from reforming public education to changing the state flag.