Items from the political notebook as the Nov. 6 general election looms:
•The big day is almost here. Voters will go to the polls Tuesday (assuming they haven’t already participated in early voting) to decide, among other things, who will be president for the next four years.
The country is as split as it has ever been. It’s been split pretty evenly for a while. Remember in 2000, Al Gore actually won the popular vote but lost the election through the electoral college. Some have predicted the opposite may be true this year with President Obama losing the popular vote, but still holding onto the White House by winning more electoral votes. It’s certainly possible.
From this voter’s way of thinking, neither of the two major party candidates offer much. We’ll still be too heavily involved overseas trying to be the policeman of the world. The working man and woman will still have too much of their hard-earned money taken away from them. (It’s about to get worse, regardless of who wins the presidential election.)
While the extremists on both sides of the political spectrum will try to convince you there is a difference between the two major candidates, those in the world of reality know there’s not. This columnist has for many moons longed for a viable third party movement. In reality, we really don’t have a second party now, just more of the same political rhetoric, although it’s coming from the other side of the candidate’s mouth.
•Closer to home, there is an interesting race that actually affects Georgians more than the presidential race.
Two seats on the state Public Service Commission are on the ballot for 2012. The PSC, among other things, regulates how much Georgians pay in power and utility fees.
Republican Stan Wise, the incumbent for one of the seats, faces Libertarian David Staples in a head-to-head matchup as the Democrats didn’t bother running a candidate.
Wise has ducked Staples at various forums and continues to defend his practice of accepting campaign donations from those associated with utility companies. Under Georgia law, this is actually legal but the debate on whether it’s moral or not remains. Staples has stated he will not accept such donations if elected.
Leading up to the election, Wise has been criticized by Republicans, Democrats and independents for his campaign donation practices as well as sleeping during hearings. He has been called the most unethical elected official in the state.
With the state Democratic Party in a major downturn, perhaps the Libertarian Party can step up and send Wise packing. Let’s hope so.
•We are two years away from most of the statewide elections in Georgia.
While two years may seem like a long time, in reality, it’s not for statewide races.
The news of potential Democratic candidates for statewide office in 2014 has been very quiet. Republicans currently hold every statewide office and the chance of any Democrat breaking that stranglehold doesn’t seem likely at this point.
There’ll be someone to step up and run, of course, but even the big Democratic names like Roy Barnes found out two years ago just how far that state party has fallen.
It will take a Democratic candidate with a lot of money and name recognition to have a chance. Time will tell whether or not that will happen.
Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
With all due respect, I must disagree with your assessment. There is a big difference between Romney and Obama. Obama is a Socialist, who believes that bigger government with more intrusive control (Obamacare), and billion dollar bailouts are the answer for America. In addition, his national fiscal domestic policies are a complete and utter failure. If you think Socialism is the answer, I invite you to take a hard look at the financial crisis facing Greece, Italy, and Spain. In addition, Obama has shown zero leadership in foreign policy.(Bengazi debacle).Finally, Obama's defense of same sex marriage has alienated Conservatives on both sides of the political aisle. Finally, Obama's claim to fame is as a "community activist", with no real business experience.
Romney has real time business experience with a plan to create jobs and turn this sinking economy around. He will reach across the aisle to work with Democrats, to pass meaningful legislation that will move our country forward. Finally, Romney will lead from a position of strength, and not from weakness.
He will not apologize to our enemies.
DuWayne Anderson
Republican voter
Winder, GA
You watch too much TV. Not one original though in your entire responce.
The root word of Socialism is society. Social Security Act was passed in 1935. Hardly an Obama idea.
The United States was the only industrialized country in the world without a nationl health care program.
Bengazi was a tragety, as was the USS Cole bombing,as was the Marine Barracks in Beruit, No leader is immune from terrorist.
Republicans want less goverment but would like to tell a woman what to do with her body and tell someone who they can love and who they can not love.
Change can only come until you look at the man in the mirror.
Big business has been out sourcing jobs, for over 30 years, one man can not correct this, if it's one term or 2 terms.
What makes America great, is the ability to have and express different viewpoints. Unlike many nations of the world, we are still free to have have our opinions,and share them. You and I clearly do not agree on this political campaign, but we still have the right to express our views.(For now anyway).
As a Conservative Republican, and a Southern Baptist Christian, my beliefs in what the Bible teaches, are reflected in my personal and political views. I make no apologies for those beliefs, nor will I.
Sincerely,
DuWayne Anderson
Republican Voter,
Winder, GA
The only thing I can guess you are referring to is the statment about small goverment.
I did not attack your conservative Christian beliefs, only stated this not be within the scope of your "small goverment".
He will not apologize to our enemies."
Blah, blah, blah...just like Bridges stated...MORE OF THE SAME. That is exactly the same kind of BULL that we've all heard from every candidate that has run in the past 20 years.
MY candidate is better than YOUR candidate because he's/she's a (fill in the blank). MY candidate is better than YOUR candidate because he/she has THIS experience or THAT experience.
BLAH BLAH BLAH. Same crap, different election year.
Mitt Obama or Barack Romney, doesn't matter. You get the shaft one way or you get it the other way. They don't care about the average citizen of this country and they aren't going to do ANYTHING different than the guy before him.
And the TRUTH is that as long as the "two party system" exists, nothing is going to change. As long as you have to be rich or be backed by the rich just to run for office, the "common" man or woman can forget about having any real representation in the government of this country, at any level.
There are none so blind as those who will not see.
Not One Thing. There will be NO Middle Class so, it was all just plays on words anyway.
I bend over and wait for my TAX INCREASE everyone requested yesterday around the Country.
On the other hand you have the communists who took over the democratic party, universities and the mainstream media and ran those institutions, and the country into the ground.
A corrupt media that no longer reports facts and figures...but instead seeks to cause strife between neighbors and countrymen by reporting as news, opinions and misinformation designed to keep everyone off balance and angry.
So after decades of failure and malfeasances, people have voted into the highest office in the land the one and only
President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho Obama, proving that we have most certainly arrived at an Idiocracy.
The Gimmiedats now out number those who have skills and can produce, and that spells the end for this great nation.
So now that the political class and the media have successfully divided our country and civil war looms on the horizon, you’re going to have to ask yourself some tough questions.
Such as; is the “system” stacked against me and am I going to continue to tolerate a society based on selfishness and a dysfunctional need for material possessions.
The time of Kali Yuga is upon us....choose wisely.
-Othinn