Georgia runoff ad: Jim Martin Fact #19

The NRSC continued with its plan to roll out a new web ad every day between now and the runoff election in Georgia for the Senate. Jim Martin, the Democratic challenger, has quite a history, and the GOP want to make sure Georgia voters remember it:

They’re also taking a close look at Martin’s Project Vote Smart questionnaire from 2000:

• Abortion. Martin supports Roe v. Wade’s decision and among the legislative priorities listed is that he will “Defend a woman’s right to reproductive choice.”
• Taxes. Martin supports slightly increasing corporate taxes, slightly increasing income taxes (incomes below $75,000), slightly increasing income taxes (incomes above $75,000), supports the principle that Internets sales should be taxed, and would not support returning any operating surplus to Georgia taxpayers
• Crime. Martin supports the principle to implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
• Guns. Martin supports the principles to maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns, and also require background checks of gun buyers at gun shows.
• Social Issues. Martin supports the principles that Georgia include sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination laws, Georgia recognize civil unions between same-sex couples, and removal of the Confederate symbol from the Georgia state flag.

On a couple of these points, I don’t see too much of a problem.  Removing the Confederate symbol sounds like a good idea to me, but then again, I’m not from Georgia.  Alternatives to incarceration for “certain non-violent offenders” also sounds reasonable, at least for debate, depending on the details. I fail to see the problem with civil unions, which are nothing more than partnership contracts that people create every day for a wide range of reasons.

However, some of these are flat-out non-starters.  Increased gun control will be about as popular as the plague in Georgia.  I’d object to the pro-abortion position, and increasing taxes on corporations when we already have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world will push American capital out of the country.  Taxing Internet sales would be a serious mistake, one that would damage the on-line business — and hiking income taxes below $75,000 is so out of the mainstream that even Barack Obama doesn’t support it (out loud).

It’ll be interesting to see how these play out in the next three weeks.  At least the ads should be entertaining.