Best Person You Love to Hate

Back in the olden days (2007 or so), we genuinely liked Maconite Republican blogger ERICK ERICKSON, even though the only political issue we've ever agreed upon is the correct spelling of "America." Nonetheless, we admired his smarts, willingness to break ranks with the GOP and early mastery of a new medium. But sometime in 2008, Erickson began earning notoriety for lobbing partisan bombs. He declared jihad against any Republicans who criticized risible ignoramus Sarah Palin. He called Michelle Obama a "Marxist harpy," compared a White House spokesperson to a Nazi, called a sitting Supreme Court Justice a "goat-fucking child molester" and joked about greeting census workers at the door with a gun. Despite turning his name into a blogospheric synonym for gratuitous personal attacks, Erickson's star continues to rise. And since no publicity is bad publicity for right wing pundits, CNN even gave Erickson a regular gig. www.peachpundit.com less...

We all knew he had goofy hair and was a terrible driver. But until JOHN OXENDINE began running for governor, we didn’t realize just what kind of Christian conservative whack-job our state insurance commissioner seems to be. Since he launched his campaign, Oxendine has publicly opposed Sunday alcohol sales; proposed that MARTA be privatized; made a video in which he promises to run Planned Parenthood out of business; advocated Georgia’s secession from the United States; and plumbed new depths of banality through Twitter. Favorite Ox tweet: “We finished the nursery for baby Jake. The room is Confederate Gray. Reminds me of why I am running.” Were they out of Antebellum Apricot at Pottery Barn Kids? Anyway, with each fresh lunacy, the Ox has become the most entertaining Georgia political figure since former DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones, and is certain to keep us smiling — until we actually have to go to the polls. www.johnoxendine.com. less...

Pro sports stars can get away with a lot without losing the fans’ love: cheat on their wives, drive drunk, consort with hookers, make lousy rap records, etc. But for many people, abusing and torturing animals is on par with child molestation. The things MICHAEL VICK did to dogs are so disgusting and sordid that it’s impossible to look at the guy the same way we used to. Vick has failed his Falcons teammates, effectively wasted our entire football season and deeply embarrassed his adopted city. less...

Well, if it isn’t our own John Sugg, then it has to be Atlanta’s contribution to big-league talk radio, NEAL BOORTZ. Whether Boortz is trumpeting his Flat Earth Society views on global warming (yeah, sure, Neal, it isn’t happening), frothing up generalized hatred against Muslims, or demagogue-ing the idea of a national sales tax to rip off middle-class Americans, he’s still an essential listen ... if only to know what the other side is thinking. We’ll at least give Boortz points for his willingness to tackle sacred cows and to bandy about big ideas — no matter how wrongheaded he is about them. Unlike most talk-radio blowhards, he’s had an impact on at least one policy debate by doggedly advocating the sales tax (which he incongruously calls “Fair Tax”). Besides, if we couldn’t hear this particular Cox Enterprises employee bloviating each morning on AM radio, our blood pressure might drop to an unhealthy level. less...

Baby-faced super-Christian RALPH REED is running for lieutenant governor, and while the campaign is Reed’s first bid for public office, he’s said to have his eyes on the White House. Scary. Reed is a cutthroat behind-the-scenes political street fighter who’s claimed he put enemies in “body bags” and led the Christian Coalition to national prominence. The former plagiarist — he was banned from UGA’s student newspaper for copying lines from an attack on Gandhi — returned to the state as a political consultant following claims that a company with close ties to him over-billed the coalition. Now Reed is up to his neck in allegations that he fought the development of Indian casinos with money provided by their competitors. How presidential.
www.ralphreed.com.

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As fans of professional wrestling have long known, the Good Guys get the cheers, but the Bad Guys get the money. Pilloried by the press for his scattergun approach to casual sociopathology, the Braves reliever seems to embody the old joke about bigotry: He's not prejudiced — he hates everybody. But Rocker's no chump. His mug's been on every TV screen, front page and most magazine covers; an entire legion of like-minded misanthropes has rallied to his spike-studded flag; and the stage is set for Rocker II — The Reformation, in which our hero realizes the error of his ways, embraces progressive multiculturism, writes a best-seller about his struggle with his own dark inner-self and speaks at the next Republican National Convention. Ka-ching! less...

In a way, it's hard not to feel sorry for Mayor Bill Campbell. Widely hailed as a sharp, charismatic pol when first elected, Hizzoner had it all — a mostly friendly, pliant City Council, scads of money rolling in from a booming economy, and even a shot at a national appointment. Toss in the chance to host the Olympics, play host for a World Series ball club and a dozen ribbon-cuttings a day for new construction projects, and it's hard to see "the Pride of Pryor Street" as anything other than solid gold. So what happened? Well, it soon became apparent that the sharply tailored suit and snazzy 'stache disguised the disposition of a rattlesnake with a toothache, an obsessively hands-on mayor blighted with 10 thumbs who "managed" the police department into a decimated, demoralized crew overseen by a frightened group of bunker-mentality bureaucrats. An affirmative action program designed to uplift the disadvantaged seemed to devolve into a "friends helping Bill's friends" cabal of mutual back-scratching. City services were overpriced and under-delivered. And any complaint — no matter by whom — was dismissed as "racist." Then a federal investigation began, and leaky lawyers teamed up with blood-scenting reporters. The pity is that, after all these years, the city seems so ready to believe the worst about a man who coulda' been a contender. less...