Election Day: The Christmas of political junkies is right around the corner! Next week's Flagpole goes to press on Monday, so we won't have any election results for you in print. However, I'm teaming up with our pals at WUGA 91.7 and 97.9 FM—home of "Athens News Matters"—July 31 to bring you live results over the airwaves and on Flagpole.com. You don't have anything better to do on a Tuesday night, so be there and be square.

Round Three: Last week's column discussed some of the factors in the closely watched race between state Rep. Doug McKillip, R-Athens, and Republican challenger Regina Quick. Initially, I was concerned about the accuracy of our cover—McKilliptron should be landing an uppercut on Optimus Quick, not the other way around—but my concerns may have been unfounded.

Word has reached the Dope's ear that a number of Oconee County citizens are growing increasingly frustrated with McKillip's scorched-earth campaign. First came an over-the-top mailer depicting a sonogram of a fetus. Sample text: "We cannot trust Regina Quick. She's a liberal who will not protect innocent life." In a radio ad apparently aimed at seniors, an elderly-sounding woman calls Quick a "fibber."

The real head-spinner though, is an ad that appeared recently in the Oconee Enterprise. "Obama is Killing Jobs," it says. "Doug McKillip is Creating Jobs." What a state representative can do to stop Obama, I haven't a clue, but forget for a second that he's running for the Georgia legislature, not Congress or president. The ad goes on to say: "This year Doug Championed [sic] efforts to pass tax reform that lowers taxes and is already attracting new jobs for our families. Because of Doug's efforts, Caterpillar is building a new plant that will create 3,500 new jobs." The legislature did pass a tax reform package beneficial to industries earlier this year that, among other things, eliminated sales taxes on energy. A joint committee rolled it out Mar. 19. It passed the House the following day, the Senate three days later, and Gov. Nathan Deal signed it Apr. 19. Caterpillar announced its new plant in Athens on Feb. 18. State Economic Development Commissioner Chris Cummiskey does say the energy tax cut helps lure industry, but the timeline just doesn't make sense.

In addition, McKillip and other state legislators really had nothing to do with recruiting Caterpillar. Credit goes to the state Department of Economic Development with a big assist from Athens-Clarke and Oconee County staff. Gov. Nathan Deal and local elected officials were involved and had the good sense to stay out of the professionals' way. Legislators, though, didn't even know about the deal until just before it was announced.

The Caterpillar ad is guaranteed to tick off Oconee County officials and business leaders who really did work hard to lure the company. While they may not come out and endorse Quick, they are using their influence behind the scenes. The negative tone of McKillip's campaign also smacks of desperation. It's not the type of race a safe incumbent would run.

Still, the question remains, how many Oconee County voters are really paying close attention to this race? If they show up to the polls and all they know about the candidates is from McKillip's ads, of course they'll vote for him over the demon spawn of Nancy Pelosi and a coat hanger. As with most primary challengers, Quick has little money of her own to counteract the charges. And no matter how many Athens Democrats cross over for her, the math says Quick still needs Oconee Republicans to win.

Blake Aued's Krazy Korner: Since their districts overlap, many of said Athens Democrats who pull a GOP ballot to vote against McKillip will also be tempted to vote against another liberal bogeyman, U.S. Rep. Paul Broun. Don't do it, I say!

Sure, Broun's the guy who's compared President Obama to Hitler, Stalin, Castro, Hugo Chavez... Am I leaving any dictators out? Gaddafi, maybe? Yeah, he thinks Obama is turning Teach for America into a private army to take your guns and enforce marshal law. He calls Democrats traitors, literally, and this most likely offends you. But it's also a great source of lulz, if you don't take his musings too seriously. There are enough kooks and cranks on both sides of the aisle to keep Jon Stewart employed for the rest of his life. What can it hurt to keep Broun around? It's not like Berkeley on the Oconee over here is ever going to get a rep most of Athens agrees with. We even had a Democrat in John Barrow represent us back in the day, and look how that turned out. You could hardly tell the difference, right? Might as well go for the entertainment value.

Nothing New to Report: Some readers are wondering what's become of Selig Enterprises' proposed Walmart-anchored development on the edge of downtown. Selig continues to tweak the design and still has an option to buy the former Armstrong & Dobbs property, but when it expires is confidential, spokesman Brian Brodrick says. Athens-Clarke Commissioner Kelly Girtz says he thinks the option is up soon, at the end of this month, but Selig can extend it.