Gov. Nathan Deal: Months Later, Carter Finally Spins His Awkward Budget Votes

Your Georgia Desk

Months later, Carter finally spins his awkward budget votes

Senator acknowledges that Deal’s spending plans had ‘unanimous’ Democrat support

The “Seriousness Gap” in the Georgia governor’s race continues to widen. After months of avoiding the question of why he voted for three budgets he now attacks, Sen. Jason Carter and his brain trust decided this week the best excuse is that he’s just too darn bipartisan.

“I believe in bipartisanship,” Carter said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, somehow managing not to laugh. “Those budgets, most of them passed unanimously. You’ve got to have a budget.”

Deal for Governor spokesman Brian Robinson praised Carter for bravely pointing out that Gov. Nathan Deal’s budgets were so widely supported that even the most liberal members of the General Assembly voted for them.

“When your entire argument for running is phony, sometimes you hurt your cause by accidentally telling the truth,” said Robinson. “Jason Carter and his fellow Democrats voted for Governor Deal’s first three budgets because the governor prioritized education during very tough times. It’s reassuring that he now realizes we need a budget.

“It’s not shocking that Carter has come up with an excuse; it’s shocking that it took him so many months to come up with one so blah.”

Since voting for the budget is “bipartisan” and “you’ve got to have” it, he also needed spin for his 2014 vote against a budget that greatly increased education spending.

“I led that task force on education and I went out there and sat with teachers and educators in rural Georgia and saw the impact of the cuts,” Carter said. “After you’ve done that, after you’ve talked to enough people, I couldn’t justify voting for that budget ever again.”

Carter learned so much on his tour of the state that he followed up by doing absolutely nothing.

“Carter’s education task force traveled the state at taxpayer expense, and not one report or recommendation was made by his committee,” Robinson said. “The only thing taxpayers have to show for it is receipts. Jason Carter can’t give a serious answer on any topic.”