Monday, December 14, 2009
Should Democrats be concerned about Sanford Bishop?
Sanford Bishop has been in congress since 1992, defeating Incumbent Charles Hatcher. Every since then he has had no threat from a republican for his second congressional district seat, the last being Dylan Glenn, who gave Bishop his lowest vote percentage since he became a congressman (54% in 2000 race).Bishop is a staunch supporter voice for Georgia Agriculture & our military veterans. He has managed to bring home the bacon to this mostly poor, rural, agricultural district that is 48% African-American. But on wonder if Bishop has begun to go from being a center-right democrat to a center-left democrat? If you loom at his most recent votes on things like Cap & Trade & the house version of Healthcare Reform, you would have to say not quite, but if you listen to his opponent Mike Keown, a arch-conservative republican, who candidacy was spurred on mostly by the Tea Party Protesters in South Georgia, you'd think Bishop has gone to the radical left.Bishop is a saavy politician & he knows the district like the back of his hand, but I feel that he is supporting the president on things that normally he would not support if President Obama was not in office. That Cap&Trade Bill is awful in my opinion, but bishop gave a pretty good solid reason why he voted in favor of the bill. It's important for Bishop to remember to not to go along with the liberals in Congress on every bill that comes to his desk. He needs to keep a centrist edge & not let the Congressional Black Caucus & other liberal groups pull him in the direction that would put his seat in jeopardy. Now I still think Bishop wins, but it will serve as a wakeup call for him not to stray too far to the left on issues that will put him out of step with the second district.
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http://www.govtrack.us/congress/spectrum.xpd
Keith: Take a look at the political spectrum from a non-bias source. Bishop is actually to the right of one House Republican. How ultra-conservative must someone be to consider Bishop a liberal? What does that make John Lewis and Hank Johnson? Also, I like to think about things from a “relative” perspective. The bulk of Bishop votes come from Columbus and Albany where people are far more liberal than he is but those voters tolerate his moderate and at times conservative votes out of consideration for the people in the district who feel differently and the interests of regional concerns. (The same reasons some Democrats vote for Georgia two senators.)
But, does the Right give us the same consideration? They actually beat up on the Blue Dogs who have supported their efforts in the past—efforts mind you that include some of Bush’s questionable policies.
As a smart guy, you know that Bishop and the Black Blue Dogs catch heat from the urban members of the CBC for not rubberstamping their truly liberal agendas. These urban old heads include the Black MOCs who basically pushed former GOP Rep. Gary Franks (R-CT) out of the CBC and are the reasons J.C. Watts did not join the CBC. While Watts is Black, his district was White and his election was largely due to his being a great guy and one hellava option quarterback in college.
The people will speak at the polls next November and let the chips fall where they may but the Georgia’s Blue Dogs in the House are sincerely trying to balance pools of voters with diverse views---that can’t be easy. To say they need to do what a vocal 40% want is silly. Equally silly would be me moving to Waycross and constantly tripping on Jack Kingston for not voting like John Lewis.
I am glad John Conyers and the liberal in congress are sweating President Obama. It shows that they are standing by their beliefs and not giving him a pass because he looks like them. If you think about it, the oldheads in the CBC would have been much better off with John Edwards as president because he is to the left of Obama. I think President Obama is directed by the new voters who supported him more than his party.
While this is old, here is an example of the heat moderate Black members catch from “real liberals.”
http://www.blackcommentator.com/151/151_cbc_monitor_report_card.html
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