Voters in Barrow County will play a key part in the Republican runoff between Jody Hice and Mike Collins in the race for the vacant 10th congressional district.
The two candidates survived a field, which started with seven, and now has been paired to two. The seat is vacant after Paul Broun ran (unsuccessfully) in the U.S. Senate primary.
Collins and Hice were in a virtual deadlock during the first round of voting. Hice took a first-place finish with 17,408 votes (33.5 percent) to 17,143 for Collins (32.99 percent).
The two were clearly the favorites among most of the primary voters as the third-place candidate totaled 15.34 percent.
Hice and Collins agree on many issues so what separates them? Collins is a businessman who speaks of the challenges he has faced — and conquered — in that area during the past two decades.
On the other hand, Hice is a Baptist preacher who became involved in talk radio as a means of pushing his ultra right-wing stance on social issues.
In a race of this nature, a solid business background (a successful one at that) should mean more than a candidate who simply is running to try and push his sense of morality onto the public.
Hice, who fought to have the Ten Commandments placed in the Barrow County Courthouse, describes himself as a freedom-loving candidate, but in reality, he wants his values to be your values. You are free to believe the way he does.
While Hice has the right to believe what he wants, he does not have the right to force others to believe the same way. His “no exceptions” stance on abortion is too extreme and absurd (seems he would tell a woman who faced death that she could not end a pregnancy). Even some true liberty people within the Republican Party have advocated backing off on such far-reaching stances on personal/social issues.
Hice was quoted in a 2004 article by the Athens-Banner Herald saying it’s fine for women to go into politics, as long as they ask their husbands first.
“If the woman’s within the authority of her husband, I don’t see a problem,” Hice said.
In Hice’s world, women are clearly second-class citizens.
Collins, meanwhile, shows his convictions by example. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three children. He went into the family trucking business and has exceeded in that area despite extremely tough economic times.
So who would be better suited to represent the 25-county district in Washington? Collins is the better choice of the two GOP hopefuls still standing.
In a time when we must have lesser government control and regulations, Hice, despite what he says on the surface, would likely use the pulpit of the office of congressman to push his beliefs on others.
We live in a country where religious freedom is an important right. Hice has the right to worship any way he desires. He does not, however, have the right to force you to believe the same way, which includes fighting to put a religious document in a taxpayer-funded building and to not treat women with the respect they deserve in making what is the most private of decisions.
We send those we elect to Washington, D.C. to look out for our best interests, which includes our wallet. We do not elect people to go to Washington, D.C. to be a spiritual advisor.
In this runoff contest, Collins is the only choice. He would get to Washington, roll up his sleeves and use the same business sense, which has made him the success he is.
The winner will face Democrat Ken Dious in November, but the GOP survivor will be the clear favorite. (Even with seven candidates on the Republican ballot, both Hice and Collins received more votes than Dious did unopposed on the Democratic side.) That’s why this runoff is so important. Do we really want the far reaches of the right wing fringe, representing Barrow County and the 10th District? Surely, we do not. Help us all if that happens.
Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
