By Paul Smith

ATHENS --

There won’t be a race in the Fourth this year -- for the first time I can remember. (It’s been a half-century since the last time the seat was uncontested, and it has changed hands eight times since 1984.) Doubtless, the fact that the GOP fielded no one to challenge freshman Congressman Hank Johnson is a good sign for the Democrats in November.

More ominous news for the GOP: the Democrats DID field challengers to all seven Republican House incumbents. (The only good news for Republicans seems to be that their state General Assembly majorities appear safe, although at least one Democrat pick-up appears to be guaranteed.)

Here is even worse news for freshman Congressman Paul Broun. Before he gets to the general, he faces a July Primary against state Rep. Barry Fleming in the Northeast Georgia district.

Fleming’s campaign staff seems to think he’s got a shot, but to the naked eye his sole purpose in running seems to be, well, getting elected.

One interesting twist in the 10th is the involvement of the conservative PAC Club for Growth. It is throwing its weight behind Broun. Club president Pat Toomey said the Congressman has fought pork.

"In his short time in Congress, Paul Broun has proven himself to be a valuable member of the Republican Caucus and the Republican Study Committee,” Toomey said. "He has stood steadfast against wasteful government spending and big-government initiatives even if it meant voting against his party."

It oughta be a busy year for the “Club.” This year, 2008, is what this group has been practicing for for four years. Time to poop or get off pot. Either make some gains and elect enough politicians to do some good, or accept defeat and find another hobby.

Those associated with the “Club” take credit for Broun’s historic win over Jim Whitehead for the late Charlie Norwood’s seat. They love him. But to do that they have to overlook some inconvenient facts, such as his incessant taxpayer-financed campaigning. Still, the group gives Broun a perfect 100 percent score on its legislative scorecard and appears prepared to go to the mat for him.

It had already been well-known that the group planned to campaign in Georgia, but they received surprisingly little attention. I remember some things I had heard about South Carolina, where the Club for Growth, et. al. has a good ally in the state’s governor.

I called up S.C. political consultant Rod Shealy Jr., a Type-A campaigner whom Kellie Richards introduced me to while she was considering her Atlanta bid. Shealy had done work on some legislative races here and extolled the virtues of strategic recruiting.

Here’s a synopsis of the conversation:

The club’s involvement can only help an incumbent candidate because their views, or at least their stated views (such as their anti-pork stance), match those of regular voters.

In South Carolina, the group comes with baggage, mainly, as Shealy put it, an “insatiable desire to go negative,” even when it is not necessary. Also, there’s a concern that its coffers are lined with cash from elsewhere, namely libertarians from up north. But those are short-term, press-bite negatives, likely to dissipate come July when voters focus on the candidates and less on “insider” stuff.

Fleming seems to count on support from traditional rank-and-file Republicans. At a debate Saturday, he zeroed in on Broun’s libertarian worldview, calling the congressman an embarrassment. He spoke of his own, old-style conservatism. You know, the kind that is causing Republicans to get beat like a steel drum across the country.

That’s the irony. When Broun defeated Whitehead in the Primary, the astute among us saw it as a wake-up call for the traditional Republican. And now, Fleming signals that’s what he wants to return to.

Conservatives could be forgiven for having reservations about Broun. His legalized marijuana stand quickly jumps to mind. But while I don’t agree with it, it is principled nonetheless, a state’s rights thing.

There are other things. Broun calls Social Security unconstitutional. Uh-oh.

And his relentless automated “robo-calls.”

And his position on illegal immigration? Don’t get me started.

Still, in voters’ eyes, Broun’s principled conservatism is a nice break from the high-spending ways of both parties.

Broun recently had fellow conservatives Nathan Deal, Phil Gingrey, Jack Kingston, John Linder, Tom Price and Lynn Westmoreland vouch for his conservatism. They even hosted, and some attended, a Broun fundraiser. It was a counter, albeit a token one, to Fleming’s “establishment” support.

One Broun county chair frames the race in terms of an “old” versus a “new” brand of Republicanism. Fleming aides say Broun has “gone establishment,” citing his endorsement from Georgia’s other “establishment” Congressmen.

What’s clear is Broun is popular, if not with the establishment at least with regular party voters. But there is one clear disadvantage for the libertarian Congressman: money. As in, he doesn’t have any.

Broun’s total cash on hand is about $116,000, and that’s less than his $198,000 debt. Fleming, on the other hand, has nearly $600,000 in the bank.

In that respect, Broun has one huge mountain to scale. And if Fleming has what it takes to defeat Broun, it may be just one more good sign for the Democrats.