Perdue, Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, Has Troubling Business Background
(APN) ATLANTA — David Perdue, Georgia’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate and cousin of former Governor Sonny Perdue, is an extremist right-wing politician who would add to the current obstructionism of the U.S. Senate, and has a troubling business background reminiscent of 2012 Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
In a race that is critical to Democrats keeping majority control of the U.S. Senate, Perdue will face Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn and Libertarian Amanda Swafford in November 2014.
According to Perdue’s website, he leads Nunn by seven points. However, a WSBTV Channel 2 poll puts Nunn ahead by seven points. The wildly divergent poll numbers make it difficult to know who is really ahead in this race.
Perdue does not have a political background; he is an international business man, something he has used to attempt to distinguish himself from Nunn, whose background has been in running a nonprofit organization focused on volunteering and public service.
From his website page, “Meet David”: David Perdue is a successful business leader with 40 years of real world business experience who helped grow some of America’s most recognizable companies including Sara Lee, Haggar, and Reebok. As a Fortune 500 CEO, David led the impressive expansion of Dollar General, creating thousands of quality jobs and adding billions to the value of the company.
His platform includes the addressing the national debt, tax reform, a balanced budget amendment, term limits, repealing Obamacare, revitalizing American manufacturing, increasing American exports [he just started his own export company], local control of education, term limits, energy independence, securing our borders, right to bear arms, defending our values [being pro-life and against same-sex marriage), and being supportive of Israel.
On the afternoon of August 21, 2014, Perdue and Nunn faced off for the first time at a candidate forum in Macon, Georgia.
“If you like what’s going on in Washington, then vote for my opponent,” Perdue said.
“She [Nunn] knows she will be nothing more than a proxy for [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid (D-NV) and [President] Barack Obama, and nothing will change,” Perdue said.
Nunn attacked Purdue during the forum and in a recent attack ad titled Kannapolis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHhbrOjZSgo
Kannapolis is a small mill town in North Carolina. According to the ad, Perdue came in and took over the company Pillowtex as the CEO. Eight months later, he left town with approximately 1.7 million dollars, leaving Pillowtex to go bankrupt.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Politifact reported on Pillowtex during the Primary, noting that in 1887, Cannon Mills began operations in North Carolina and would become the world’s leading manufacturer of bed pillows, down comforters, mattress pads, blankets, and throws.
In 1997, Dallas-based Pillowtex bought the firm, which suffered from excessive debt.
In November 2000, Pillowtex filed for bankruptcy after defaulting on a 650 million dollar bank loan.
“The firm emerged from bankruptcy in May 2002. Perdue arrived in July on the heels of sneaker success, having revived Reebok’s finances as CEO,” the AJC wrote.
“Perdue told Pillowtex top leaders his plan was to improve sales through aggressive marketing and moving more work overseas… A similar game plan catapulted his career at Sara Lee, which closed dozens of plants (including four in Georgia) while adding work in Asia,” the AJC wrote.
“But the company lost $27 million in the seven months after coming out of bankruptcy. Shortly after arriving, Perdue and top managers also found between $40-$50 million in pension liabilities missed in bankruptcy proceedings,” the AJC wrote.
“In March, 2003, Perdue left Pillowtex to become chief at Dollar General. Pillowtex shut down four months later. About 7,650 people lost their jobs nationwide, including 300 people who had been laid off in the first bankruptcy,” the AJC wrote.
Nunn’s ad about Pillowtex is a tear-jerker to be sure and seems to have real former employes from Kannapolis in the ad.
According to Perdue’s Facebook page, he wants to focus less on attacks and more on the issues: “I shared the stage with my opponent for the first time today at the GA Chamber forum. I spent time talking about the issues that Georgians care about while she chose to attack. Clearly she can’t defend the failed policies of Obama and Reid that she supports,” Perdue wrote.
Nunn not talking about the issues has been an ongoing problem for the campaign, beginning with the Democratic Primary. Her strategy of vagueness was outlined in a leaked campaign strategy memo, as previously reported by Atlanta Progressive News.
She won’t defend her policies and she certainly won’t defend the President, even as a registered Democrat. She takes issue with Obamacare, as does Perdue. Nunn’s willingness to continue the anti-Obama rhetoric only lends credibility to Perdue’s message of repealing Obamacare.
It is no secret the Republican agenda has been to derail Obamacare, even going so far as to cause a government shutdown at the end of 2013, mostly, according to Speaker John Boehner (R-MO), to prove a point.
While millions of people across the country are signing up to finally receive health care for themselves and their families, what they cannot count on is a single candidate in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race who will defend the policy, which has been successful on a range of metrics.
A recent press release from the Nunn campaign stated “While Perdue Plays Partisan Politics, Nunn Has Said Time & Again We Need To Fix the ACA To Help Georgians & Business.”
Perdue used Nunn’s posturing against the ACA against her in a recent Facebook post, stating that Nunn “Wants to Keep Obamacare Even When Admitting….. ‘Some Georgians Have Found They Only Have Expensive Options And Less Choice.’”
If Perdue chooses to go on the attack, voters can expect to hear more about Nunn’s vagueness on policy, fiscal management issues involving the Points of Light Foundation, and, if necessary, an attack on her social values [she personally supports same-sex marriage, but says states should decide whether or not to allow it].
Perdue’s campaign did not return calls seeking comment.
(END/2014)