ITEMS from the political notebook following our state’s general Nov. 2 general election:
•How far have things swung when it comes to voting in Georgia?
Consider this.
In 1980 when Democratic Senator Sam Nunn was up for his first reelection, no Republican even bothered to challenge him.
That’s right. Not a single one. Turning the clock ahead three decades, Republicans swept every statewide race in Georgia and while straight party voting has never been a good thing (regardless of party) I’m sure plenty of it went on last week.
Many factors played into the Republican sweep in our state. The state GOP candidates did a good job of tying President Obama to Georgia and the majority of voters fell for it hook, line and sinker.
The races on the Georgia ballot were not about Washington, D.C. but voters are easily swayed by sound bites. Many are even fooled by a fake news network from which misinformation is delivered on a daily basis.
I will say this. Republicans control it all in Georgia politics now. It will be interesting to see how they blame Democrats when things go wrong in the next four years.
•The election of Nathan Deal as governor is nothing short of an embarrassment for our state. For the past eight years I’ve heavily criticized Sonny Perdue for being the least effective governor in Georgia’s history. I stand by those comments but I believe down deep Perdue is a man who has tried to do some things right. It’s just that he hasn’t really known how.
Deal is one of those I like to describe as believing government is “of, for and by politicians.” He is a career politician who has been described as one of the most corrupt congressmen in the country. He slipped out the back door as the wolves were calling. He left the taxpayers of his district holding the bag for a special election.
He somehow won the Republican nomination for governor when more qualified candidates opposed him.
He has numerous ethical issues still to answer for. Tom Crawford, whose column appears in this and numerous newspapers across the state, has tried to get answers from Deal concerning his finances and other ethics issues but like a sly fox, Deal tries to point the finger at the one asking the questions.
Deal is an outright joke and the fact he was elected governor shows how lazy Georgia voters have become in 2010. Just because Deal was the Republican nominee did not mean you had to vote for him. Two other candidates were on the ballot. For all the faults of Roy Barnes, and believe me he has many, he would have been far better than the corrupt Deal.
It makes me wonder if some people would have voted for the name with the “R” by it had it been Manilla Gorilla or Grape Ape. Deal, quite frankly, is as big a buffoon as either of those two.
•Lazy voting also led to the election of Sam Olens as the state’s new attorney general. Olens is a career politician who has never prosecuted a single case. Yet since Olens was the candidate with the “R” by his name, a majority blindly voted for him and sent him into office.
Ken Hodges had the backing of numerous law enforcement agencies but this was a race which didn’t generate as much interest as the governor’s contest so I doubt few knew much about it other than who was “R” and who was “D.”
•Let’s hope newly elected Secretary of State Brian Kemp will do something about the archaic ballot access laws in our state. Candidates wishing to run for statewide or even local office should not face such obstacles from the twoheaded monster of the Republicans and Democrats. Voters need more choices, not less.
Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal. He can be reached at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
People do read sound bites and they are lazy. Television is ruining our attention spans. Call it what it is, a lazy electorate lacking the character to challenge the group thinking going on. Strategists and marketing professionals know people will not focus on facts, but rather the emotional bit.
Health Care overhall was necessary, even if politicians lost seats, at least they stood up to do something instead of just trying to be re-elected. Change doesn't come without expense.
I agree a healthcare overhaul is seriously overdue, but the method in which they did it was wrong. The majority of people did not want the type of overhaul being pushed. The bill was filled with earmarks, many of which people do not want. Put a reasonable option out there and you'll see more agreement from the general population.
As a member of the Republican Party here in Barrow County, I take strong exception to your remarks. The fact of the matter is, that you neglected to mention that the Democratic Party both here in Georgia and the rest of the country, failed to get out the vote with their message. Their so called "well oiled political machine" simply failed at almost all levels to get out the vote. Even their fearless leader Obama, could not rally the troops. Neither did Bill Clinton, who at one time could get America to do just about anything....... Also, it is also interesting to note that Ms. Clinton was strangely silent with her support for Obama during the campaign cycle.....I wonder why????
There is no substitute for hard work and effort when it comes to any political campaign, and like it or not, the Republican Party both here in Barrow County, and across the nation got their message across loud and clear. The Democrats did not, and now their party is paying the price of supporting and unpopular Socialist leaning President. Obama is in for more trouble in 2012 when those Democrats in Congress who are up for re-election, will have to make the difficult decision whether or not to be seen in public with Obama just as your buddy Barnes did when Obama came here to stump for his campaign....
Before you use words like "lazy" to describe the electorate of this county and this nation, I would suggest that those same "lazy people" you refer to also pay for the subscriptions to your publication....... or at least they did up to now................
Sincerely,
DuWayne R. Anderson
Winder, GA
Member, Republican Party
Barrow County, GA