Kahn becoming Democrat Republicans love to hate

Posted 3:54PM on Thursday 31st October 2002 ( 21 years ago )

CARROLTON - Roger Kahn stood in the same classroom where just months earlier his offhand remark about drug legalization became fodder for an opponent's attack ad. This time, he was ready. When the moderator asked about his position on illegal drugs, Kahn's prepared response was intentionally redundant. ``I am opposed to legalizing illegal drugs, but I do believe that in America we are losing our war on drugs,'' said the millionaire businessman, making his second attempt at Congress. ``We need to find new solutions that are going to work. Now that does not encompass legalizing illegal drugs.'' In the same State University of West Georgia forum during the primary, Kahn said decriminalizing some drugs was an option worth exploring. He then explained he's personally against that, but of course, only the first part made Democratic rival Buddy Darden's commercial. Kahn's new foe still isn't convinced. ``He was in favor of it, but when he tested the water, he realized it didn't test really well, so he waffled,'' said GOP state Sen. Phil Gingrey, who attended both debates. A bulk of northwest Georgia's 11th District is currently represented by outgoing Rep. Bob Barr, perhaps the most despised Republican among Georgia Democrats. Kahn, who has never held public office and lost to Barr two years ago, is quickly becoming the equivalent for Georgia Republicans. ``I'm just getting used to it, I guess,'' Kahn said. ``Everyone I run against wants to make personal attacks against me and run ads that are character assassinations instead of just talking about issues.'' It's Kahn's biography, not really his politics, that seems to be under attack. He has held a variety of business interests over the years, but none more lucrative than a liquor distributor he has since sold a favorite target of opponents. He had retired to Florida but moved back to Georgia to run against Barr in 2000, purchasing 1,100 acres of farmland in Bartow County where he sells Angus beef. Barr's ads depicted Kahn as a bumbling farmer falling off a horse, and Gingrey has used a similar approach. Kahn's response has evolved from anger to levity. ``I'm not too bad at riding a horse,'' he said during an NAACP meeting in Rome. ``Now, if you want to get me for not being able to rope good, that cow's going to get away every time.'' A more serious charge involves the Bremen Home for the Elderly, where Kahn has been a board member for 20 years. It was once sanctioned by the federal government for alleged abuses of residents, and Gingrey's ads put the blame on Kahn. ``He looks benign,'' said Gingrey, an obstetrician in his second term in the state Senate. ``He's got a nice smile. But we need to let the people of this district know the character of this man.'' Kahn has struck back, releasing a letter Gingrey wrote on his own Senate stationery in which he seeks parole for a longtime friend imprisoned for a business crime. It also alleges Gingrey used his influence ``to arrange special treatment and favorable transfers for cocaine dealers and violent criminals convicted of attacking police officers.'' Gingrey explained asking for such transfers is a ``constituent service'' engaged in by most members of the Legislature. Kahn said it shouldn't be. ``I don't believe in helping prisoners have a better life while they're in prison,'' Kahn said. Beyond the personally driven attacks, the 11th District race has followed a familiar theme among the handful of districts across the nation that President Bush carried but were redrawn to favor a Democrat. Kahn has argued he's a conservative who would buck national Democrats on gun control and many fiscal policies, but Gingrey insists his opponent could help give liberal leadership a narrow grasp on the House. And while it's not clear whether Georgia's Democratic Legislature drew the new 11th with Kahn or Darden in mind, one thing is clear: It wasn't drawn for Gingrey. Still, that hasn't phased him, and he is considered one of the GOP's best hopes at preventing an 8-3 Republican delegation from shifting to 7-6 Democratic. In addition to rounding up the most conservative voters, Gingrey might benefit from some Darden supporters staying home, angered by Kahn's primary attacks. ``The district was drawn based on a computer printout that showed more Democrats traditionally voted in this district than Republicans,'' Gingrey said. ``But we're going out into the public where the warts are uncovered and people can't be fooled by glossy, slick television commercials.''

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/10/188238