Former Gov. won’t take lobbyist contributions again

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that former Gov. Roy Barnes has said his campaign will not accept lobbyist contributions.

“As you get older, two things happen to you,” Barnes said. “One is you learn from mistakes you’ve made in the past, and secondly, you get to the point where you decide, ‘I’m just not going to do that anymore, it’s just not right.’

“I have become very concerned that you have had an overwhelming takeover of the common interest by the special interests. We ought to say we’ve got to stop this right now.”

Barnes’ opponents find the stance hypocritical. They also argue that as a millionaire lawyer, Barnes is wealthy enough to fund his own campaign, so he doesn’t need special interest checks anymore.

“To put it mildly, it’s a disconnect for him to all of a sudden take on this air of righteous indignation about lobbyists running government when his whole campaign was based on lobbyist groups [in 2002],” said former state Adjutant General David Poythress, a fellow Democratic candidate for governor.

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