OPINION: What will new year mean for our state?

Deal has risen to fame as a politician, using elected office as a means of personal gain and fortune. He has shown, however, a lack of ability to manage his own funds and then plays the game of blaming the messenger who dares point it out.

In the primary he ran a hateful campaign full of the usual ultra right-wing rhetoric and defeated more qualified candidates in the Republican race. Georgia voters, or least a majority of them, were not going to listen to anything negative concerning Deal. It didn’t matter what he had done, what shady prospects he had been involved with or just how unfit he was for the highest elected office in our state. He was the Republican nominee and that was good enough for them by gum.

With the Republican sweep of all statewide offices in November, it will be interesting to see how the state GOP blames others when Georgia does not begin making massive steps to economic recovery. I suppose they could tie it all to President Obama. After all, that was a great campaign tactic as Barnes connected with Obama even though there really was no tie-in outside of the fact they are members of the same party.

For those of us at ground middle, we can only hope that those who put Deal into office will try to view him with an unbiased eye. Being the elected person of your party does not mean that person can do no wrong.

Deal certainly deserves keeping a close watch on. The past eight years of the Perdue governorship has been an embarrassment to Georgia. Now with a questionable governor elect on his way to the mansion, our state could very well tumble over the cliff.

It’s going to be a tough four years in many ways. People are still out of work. Good paying jobs are impossible to find. College degrees don’t really mean anything in terms of finding a job and especially one that pays well.

Will Deal be able to lead our state effectively? The smart money says no. He has shown that he cannot even manage his own personal finances so I don’t know why anyone would assume he could handle the millions upon millions the state has to contend with.

Georgia voters: you got what you wanted in Deal and a Republican slate of office holders. When things crumble you’ll have no one else to blame. Then again, I imagine some of you will still find a way to trace it all to the President.

Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal.