The GOP's Small, but Still Shrinking Tent!

We always hear that the Democratic Party is the Big Tent Party.

Well............ I question that by the way the left treat more conservative democratic members of its own party & calling for their defeat in contested primary races.

But over in the GOP, their tent is not getting bigger.....Its getting smaller by the day.

Ronald Reagan’s “Big Tent” Republican Party is getting smaller every day. One wonders who the national Republican leaders expect to vote for them now and in the future.

Richard Nixon traded the Party of Lincoln for votes from former segregationists with his Southern strategy. The black vote post-Nixon is reliably delivered to the Democratic Party.

The fastest growing minority in America these days is Hispanic immigrants. It is certainly proper to deplore illegal immigration and demand that we secure the border. But harsh rhetoric and draconian state laws to harass anyone of Latino descent are delivering this huge potential future vote to the Democrats.

Gay bashing is also a popular sport among right-wingers in the Republican Party, candidates who seem to think gays are all Democrats and a small minority, so they can be trashed with impunity. What they don’t realize is that the younger generation has grown up with gay friends in school, in their family and at work, as more and more people decide to live openly. Young people are really turned off by gay bashing and it confirms their belief that the Republican Party is intolerant and behind the times. Yes, the young vote less than older people but they will get older and they will pay attention and they will vote. Will they vote for the Michelle Bachmanns of the world? Look at the number of young people who voted for the first time for Barack Obama.

The base of the Republican Party of late has been older white people. It works generally because they are the most reliable voting bloc. But Congressman Paul Ryan got all his Republican House colleagues to vote for a budget plan that calls for a drastic change in Social Security. Or, as the Democrats say, it was a vote “to abolish Social Security as we know it.” Yes, Social Security needs reform. But tinkering with means testing and raising the age or other tweaks are one thing—privatizing Social Security is political suicide, it will not happen, and to run around carried away with rhetoric of hardcore republicans will be noted by the older voter.

The middle-class voters out here also see that nothing has changed on Wall Street. Jobs are scarce, wages are in decline. The gap between the very rich and the middle class grows wider every day. And when they see the Republicans as standing in opposition to closing tax loopholes or raising taxes on the very wealthy, they wonder who’s looking out for them. When Republicans quite rightly raise questions about an alarming debt, we are sympathetic. But we also remember that it was the Republicans who spent a trillion dollars on two wars and another trillion on a Medicare prescription drug entitlement without paying for any of it.

Since the Reagan days it has been the goal of conservatives to “starve the beast.” The theory being that if you reduce government revenue there is less money for overweening federal spending and wasteful programs. The Republicans have continued to cut taxes to starve the beast, but they let the beast continue to feast on borrowed money. They ignored the other side of the equation.

So when the Republicans have finally achieved their lemming-like goals and have convinced blacks, Hispanics, gays, young people, the elderly and the middle class that their party doesn’t represent them, who will be left?

There aren’t that many Wall Street brokers and bankers.

For now, many of the traditional Republican voters are still committed to the party. Mostly because the Democrats are even more feckless, leaderless, and ineffectual. There is also widespread antipathy toward President Obama. That’s enough to perhaps give them a victory in the short run. But how long can they depend on the mantra that the Democrats are worse?

Traditional Republican voters do have an option between the Democrats and the Republicans.

They can stay home on Election Day.

The Big Tent is starting to look more like a pup tent every day.

Who will Challenge John Barrow?

With the creation of a republican leaning district, many people expect numerous candidates to come forward to challenge the BlueDog Democrat who first won the seat back in 2004 defeating Max Burns (R).

Potential candidates include:

State Senator Greg Goggins (R-Douglas)

Goggans is a born and raised South Georgian and is a proud graduate of our public schools, ABAC and the University of Georgia. He received his orthodontic and dental training education from the Medical College of Georgia and orthodontic specialty training from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Goggans has operated a successful practice in Coffee County.

State Representative Jon Burns (R-Newington)

Burns graduated from Effingham County High School and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Georgia Southern University. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from John Marshall Law School. Burns is a member and Sunday School Superintendent at Mizpah United Methodist Church. He is a member of the Rotary Club, past member of the Georgia Southern University Alumni Association Board of Directors, Member and Past President of the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, Member and Past President of the Effingham County Young Farmers Organization, member of Sigma Chi Fraternity and proudly served in the Georgia Army National Guard.

State Reprsentative Lee Anderson (R-Grovetown)

Anderson is the hot name being rumored to challenge Barrow for the 12th. Anderson currently serves as state Representative for District 117, which includes Lincoln County, and portions of Columbia and Wilkes Counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2008, and currently serves on the Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Intragovernmental Coordination, Natural Resources and Environment, and Transportation Committees.Representative Anderson now sits on the Columbia County Farm Bureau Board of Directors after serving as President of the organization for over 26 years. He is also a member of the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association and was Chairman of the Georgia Farm Bureau State Young Farmer Committee in 1987. In addition to these leadership roles, he is also an active supporter of several youth organizations, including 4-H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Church Groups, and the Future Farmers of America. Every year he hosts an annual fishing tournament for these organizations on his property in Columbia County.

Greg Morris (R-Vidalia)

I consider Morris a longshot at making a bid for the 12th. Born and raised in Vidalia, Georgia, Representative Greg Morris attended the Robert Toombs Christian Academy before pursuing a Political Science Degree from the University of Georgia.
The businessman served his native county for three years as a Toombs County Commissioner. Morris was first elected to the Georgia State House of Representatives in 1998 as a democrat until he switched parties back in 2006

Honorable Mention: Tommie Williams, State Senator out of Lyons said yesterday that he will not seek the 12th CD at this point in time. I still say before its all over, he will run for the 12th CD.

Raymond McKinney who ran for the seat a few yars ago could make another run for it, as well as Jeanne Seaver.

All of these men would be strong challengers to Barrow, but like I said yesterday, do not underestimate John Barrow's ability to get the job done.

Are Republicans Underestimating John Barrow's ability to win in new 12th?

A look at the newly proposed 12th District finds Conservative Democrat John Barrow in the same position former Congressman Jim Marshall was in when the republicans redrew the old 3rd district (now 8th) in a mid-decade redistricting effort to oust him in favor of ex-congressman Mac Collins back in 2006.

Back then it was said that Marshall political career was over when the republicans redrew the district to favor Mac Collins who was seeking a return to congress after his failed attempt at the open U.S. Senate seat vacated by Democrat Zell Miller in 2004.

But it wasn't as Marshall went on to win in the newly redrawn district 51% to Collins 49%, in which Collins to this day hasn't conceded, which shows how much class Collins has.

It took a anti-government, anti-Obama, anti-Pelosi, Tea Party 2010 wave election to finally defeat Jim Marshall. Republicans back then underestimated Jim Marshall ability to adapt & win over his new constituents in the southern & Norther Half of the 8th District.

The same thing is occurring here with John Barrow. His 12th district has been drastically altered in a effort to defeat him in 2012. Barrow, the only remaining White Southern Democrat in the deep south is now one of the most endangered democrats in the county as a result. The new district is now a republican leaning district, rather the democratic leaning district Barrow once occupied.

Republicans are making a mistake & underestimating Barrow's ability to appeal to independent conservatives & swing voters alike. Counties such as Laurens, Coffee, Telfair, Wheeler are counties that Barrow should do well in, as well as Jeff Davis, while republican strongholds Appling & Columbia Counties are areas that he will have to crank it up a bit.

Barrow is a able campaigner & a strong fundraiser, in addition he has crossover appeal among some republicans just as Jim Marshall had when he was serving as 8th District representative.

I expect Barrow to do well in the new 12th district. Barrow will have to relocate to another city in the 12th with all of Chatham County now in Rep. Jack Kingston's 1st District. The logical location would be Augusta, but if I were Barrow, I'd move to Metter, Dublin, or Statesboro for strategic purposes.

Hard Times for Georgia Democrats. What's the cure?

Georgia Democrats haven't been this down & out since the aftermath of the Civil War when the party don't exist for a few years until the early 1870s when it roared back to power. But the Civil war isn't the blame for a party that had basically controlled the state of Georgia for over 135 years.

A rapidly growing population by the influx of transplants from different corners of the country who came in around the time Georgia Republicans was beginning to make noise in the early 1990s, mass retirements of democratic officials who held seats in the state legislature, some as much as 40 years or more, party switching by democrats who felt the change was on the horizon after the shocking defeat of then gov Roy Barnes in 2002 & a party that was being taken over by Urban/Suburban Democrats, as rural democrats were beginning to desert the party.

Democrats were caught sleeping at the wheel 10 years ago & when they finally did, the truck was turned upside down. It was a total loss!

Georgia Democrats have now got to get back behind the wheel & catch up with a Republican Vehicle that's traveling well over 120 MPH. (Ga GOP).

Redistricting is a ugly affair. Dems did it 10 years ago, Republicans are trying to replicate it. So what's a party to do?

Three straight statewide elections lost for governor, minimum or no gains in both chambers of the legislature since 2006, a bench that is almost empty, I mean there's no where to go but up!

The local level is the party's last hope. Many of these local (rural) democrats on the City Council, County Commission, Mayor, etc are mostly moderate/conservative democrats. The progressives are found in the cities (Macon, Savannah, Augusta...etc)

But many of these local democrats are not about to leave relative safe seats to run for a legislative seat. The reasons have to be concrete, legitimate & most of all they have to know that they will have the full & unbinding support of the Georgia Democratic Party.

Political Consultant Jay Stalnaker, former candidate for Butler (Taylor Co) City Council said something that makes alot of sense: Democrats need to reach out to former democrats who have now retired like Robert Ray (Fort Valley), Newt Hudson (Rochelle), Carol Jackson (Cleveland), Rooney Bowen (Cordele), I can on & on, especially candidates who are running in areas that these legislator once held. Dems up in Atlanta don't realize that former legislators like them still carry sway on the local level in their counties & towns. Their word goes along way in these small communities.

Embrace democrats who hold different views that the typical democrat who is progressive. Turning a cold shoulder towards Bluedog Democrats does not help a party that is now down to 63 house members & 20 senate members. In 2012, there will be many democratic candidates who are in the mold of John Barrow, George Busbee, Jim Marshall, Zell Miller, Sanford Bishop (yes Bishop is a moderate, not a liberal many are trying to make him out to be). Running progressives/liberals in swing or conservative districts is a recipe for disaster as that candidate will not have a chance in hell of winning. I said this once & I'll say it again: A PARTY MADE UP OF ONLY BLACKS, HISPANICS, GAYS, LIBERALS CANNOT & WILL NOT WIN IN GEORGIA....PERIOD!

The so-called Big tent party is no big tent without some centrist/conservative democrats in its ranks. Democrats, you need 'em. Don't fool yourselves! The National Democrats made the same thing & look what happened.....lost control of house. Why? Many democrats who made up their majority were rural democrats.

Become the Democratic Party of GEORGIA again!

Georgia New Congressional Map: Barrow on the move.....AGAIN??? Bishop a lock! Scott more safer?

Today the New Georgia Congressional Map is out & with no surprise, Conservative Democrat John Barrow (D-Savannah) is on the move once again. Hos home of Chatham County is now occupied by Jack Kingston (R-Savannah). New counties in Barrow's district are Laurens, Coffee, Appling, Jeff Davis, Telfair, Wheeler, & republican south Columbia County.

Other Bluedog Sanford Bishop is made safer with the removal of Thomas County from his district. He now has Bibb County & much more of Muscogee County (Columbus) going into midtown Columbus.

Freshman Austin Scott is made safer by the removal of democratic Bibb County, but he has republican North Bibb County in the district. He takes in much of Kingston's western half of the district of Lowndes, Clinch, Lanier, Cook, Berrien, Atkinson, Echols, & he takes democratic Brooks County from Sanford Bishop.

Arch Conservative Paul Broun of Athens now has a much more competitive district for democrats to contend with. He takes Barrow & Walton Counties from Rob Woodall of the 7th CD, & he takes John Barrow democratic areas of Hancock, Baldwin, Taliaferro, Johnson, Warren, republican lean Glascock, Jefferson, Washington (Dem leaning counties) & Takes old portions of 8th CD Jasper, Butts, Newton & eastern Henry County.

The new 14th CD now hovers over NE Georgia, with Hall County the anchor county

Tom Price 6th CD now occupies Bartow County & snakes into north central Fulton County.

The other Districts are pratically the same Tom Graves now takes Floyd, Polk & Haralson Counties, as well as Paulding County.

What to make of this?

This opens the door for State Senator Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) to run for this seat. Based on the proposed district, it was drawn specifically for him. Greg Morris, (R-Vidalia), a former democrat who switched in 2006 could also be another possibility.

Bishop is less likely to received a challenge from a republican, but given the mrgin he won, its like he will receive another challenge.

Austin Scott must be happy camper right now. With Thomas County now included, the 8th appears to be much safer for him, but who knows? Although North Bibb is republican, there are democrats up there as well & could get a challenge from that portion of the county. Or it could come from Houston County or down somewhere in South Georgia.

Paul Broun is in a totally new district! If this stands, former Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond would be the ideal candidate to run in this district. Its much more friendly for democrats.

The 12th & 10th CD in my opinion are tossup districts because they have been so altered by the ruling Georgia GOP.

Counties, Communities, Cities Get Cut, Chopped & Chewed Up in Georgia GOP's Redistricting Efforts

In the proposed redistricting Maps put out by Georgia's GOP ruling majority, Counties, Cities & Communities get chopped, cut, chewed, & divided in the GOP efforts to maximize their already majority status & weakened democrats even more. Democrats did the same thing back in 2001 when they held control of the state & the GOP howled in protest over those hideous maps

That was then.......

And now the same party who protested the maps then are now doing the exact same thing, just take a look at the House Map:

Everything from Cracking, Packing, Gerrymandering, Retrogression has been done to the house districts, especially down in Rural Georgia. Counties such as Lowndes are divided up into 4 House Districts, Ware into 3 House Districts, Thomas, 3 House Districts, Houston, 5 House Districts, Laurens, 3 House Districts, etc, etc. Now supporters of the map are saying that this was necessary to achieve the required 53,000 needed for each district.

Maybe!

In some cases its true, but in others its not. Of the two maps, the house maps will be under severe scrutiny when it goes to court for passage. I say its a 60/40 chance it gets approval from the courts.

In the proposed Senate Map, take a close look at SD 14.....WELL ITS GONE! George Hooks (D-Americus) home of Sumter County has broken up leaving him in a district with Freddie Sims (D-Dawson. Gone are the City of Andersonville (located) in Sumter Co now located in......John Crosby State Senate District! The Andersonville National Historic Site is located in Macon County. The two should be represented by the same individual. Dooly Co & Sumter Co share the same interest & are being separated in the GOP's attempt to oust Senator Hooks because.......he is the only remaining white conservative democrat left in the state senate, or it may have something to do with that little episode back in April when there was a attempt by Hooks to have powers restored to Lt. Governor Casey Cagle which was stripped by the GOP Caucus.

Robert Brown's Old Senate District 26 which was a majority minority district already is now a super blue district with the inclusion of Hancock & Washington Counties to increase republican advantage of SD 25 (Johnny Grant) & SD 23 Jesse Stone, who's district is now a tossup with the removal of Washington & the inclusion of McDuffie & Warren County.

Tommie Williams SD 19 gets expanded all the way into Telfair & Treutlen County. Williams could a likely candidate to take on John Barrow for GA-12 in 2012.

But overall the Senate Map doesn't look bad & may get a pass from the courts & DOJ.

State Democrats will watch helplessly as the new maps get its likely approval from the legislature. Their only hope is for the court & the DOJ rule that these maps doesn't pass the smell test!

Retirement Watch: State Rep. Lynmore James (D-Montezuma) to retire in 2012

State Rep. Lynmore James (D-Montezuma) will step down as representative for HD 135 in 2012. This has nothing to do with redistricting of his district which basically remains the same except it loses northern Talbot County & picks up the rest of Dooly County in the proposed map presented by the GOP which renames the district HD 139.

James, who will turn 75 in two weeks have been recovering from back surgery since 2009 have been battling heath problems since that time & recently early this year he spent some time in a Atlanta Hospital battling a unknown illness.

Elected in 1992 riding the Zell Miller, Pierre Howard gubernatorial ticket, James, a moderate democrat & farmer have represented the constituents of Dooly, Peach, Talbot and Taylor Counties. Presently, he is serving on several House Committees: Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Appropriations, Regulated Industries, and Retirement.

James is a graduate of the Flint River Farm High School in Montezuma and earned a Bachelor’s of Science from the Tuskegee University in Alabama & he has been a member of the Flag Bank Board of Directors, the Flint River Community Hospital Governing Board, the Georgia Center for Youth Advisory, Georgia Agri-Leaders Forum, the Fort Valley State University Foundation Board and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

So if the new map of HD 135 holds up, there will be a new state representative for the counties of Macon, Dooly, Taylor & Southern Peach County. Already several names have been mentioned as possible candidates for James house seat. There is a strong possibilty that the next State Rep will come out of either Macon or Dooly County.

Georgia Redistricting Maps are Out!

The Senate Maps aren't bad. I don't see any legal challenges coming towards this map.

In the proposed State Senate Map, George Hooks (D-Americus) is drawn out of SD 14 into Freddie Powell Sims (D-Dawson) SD 12 district, which will pit the two one on one in a primary in 2012. The Northern Portion of SD 14 is now being taken by Ed Harbison (D-Columbus). Sumter County is split into two Senate with eastern Sumter now in John Crosby's SD 15 seat as well as democratic leaning county Dooly.

Harbison who is approaching 70 years old now has the counties of Macon, Schley, Tayor, Marion & Talbot to contend with. The new district is now solidly democratic, but don't expect Harbison to coast towards re-election (if he decides to seek in in 2012). I expect other democrats to challenge for the seat in 2012.

Now if there's one district that could see a challenge its SD 23 held by Jesse Stone (R-Waynesboro). The new district loses Washington, Wilkinson Counties & picks up McDuffie & Warren County & a tiny sliver of southern Columbia County. The Columbia County portion could be challenged by democrats because it wraps around Richmond County. But if it does, I expect it to stand legal challenges. One thing that's noticable: The city of Blythe, which is the home of J.B. Powell & Chuck Pardue are now in Hardie Davis Senate District. Clever move by the GOP.

SD 26 becomes more democratic & it increases in Black Voting Population with the inclusion of Hancock & Washingtom & more of Jones County

SD 25 held by Johnny Grant becomes more republican which now takes in southern Walton County & the city of Social Circle.

The proposed house districts is where all the fuss is located. One of the big GOP talking points was that they wanted to keep communities in tact...........WELL, so much for that!

In some of these districts, the minority population is diluted or "weakened" & some counties such as Ware is split into three different districts.

The 10 incumbent pairings, six with two Democrats paired and four with two Republicans paired, are:

1. Ely Dobbs (D-Atlanta) and Sheila Jones (D-Atlanta)

2. Pat Gardner (D-Atlanta) and Rashad Taylor (D-Atlanta)

3. Simone Bell (D-Atlanta) and Ralph Long (D-Atlanta)

4. Stephanie Benfield (D-Atlanta) and Howard Mosby (D-Atlanta)

5. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) and Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta)

6. Mack Jackson (D-Sandersville) and Sistie Hudson (D-Sparta)

7. Gerald Greene (R-Cuthbert) and Bob Hanner (R-Parrott)

8. Darlene Taylor (R-Thomasville) and Gene Maddox (R-Cairo)

9. Chuck Sims (R-Ambrose) and Tommy Smith (R-Nicholls)

10. Mark Hatfield (R-Waycross) and Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine)

There are 49 total majority minority districts.

There are open majority minority districts in Valdosta, parts Fulton and Fayette, Douglas, parts DeKalb and Rockdale, parts DeKalb and Gwinnett, and parts Gwinnett and Hall.

As crapy as the proposed House Map is, its very likely that it will pass the legislature, with the POSSIBILITY of minor changes to a few districts. Democrats have to realize when you only have 63 members in your ranks, there's basically nothing you can do about it except raise hell over it & hope that citizens who live in these districts disapprove of the way they are drawn. The Dems main concern is over the metro Atlanta seats. Very little or no mention of Rural Georgia & this shows how far apart rural conservative democrats & liberal urban/suburban democrats are in this state.

Enough of all this talk about "We are all in this together"! That's not true & never have been since the late 1980s/1990s.

The main goal of the Georgia GOP is to solidify the Georgia Democratic Party as the Minority Party made up of Blacks, Latinos, Gays, with liberal whites as the icing on the cake,along with far-left special interest groups! They are close to making it a reality.

And the current reality is that the Georgia Democratic Party has become the mirror image of the National Democratic Party, dominated by liberal pols who aren't what you called Georgia Born. And once they did that, moderate/conservative democrats said "ITS TIME TO HAUL ASS FROM HERE" except for a few!

And one more thing, these new maps hopefully will force the State Party to get back to its roots, the party of Georgia & not trying to be like its national counterparts. Its a recipe for disaster!

Wanted: Business Saavy People in the Georgia Legislature, especially in the Democratic Party!

With all of the attention focused on Washington these days, let's not forget about what's happening here in Georgia.

Under GOP rule, Georgia has a unemployment rate of 10% which exceeds the national average & for now shows no signs of going down. Now you can blame it on the National Economy & like many blame it on the policies of the Obama Administration.

While Georgia has gained jobs in the form of Kia over in West Point, Ga & the NCR Corp. relocating in Columbus from Ohio, Georgia still has lost 167,000 manufacturing jobs over the last 10 years despite steep Tax breaks for Corporations & big businesses

And the painful consequences of lost jobs, reduced wages and a problematic future for millions of Georgians are hurting people in ways unimaginable just three, four years ago.

I’ve been heard to say publicly that free markets routinely rise and recede, and that politicians don’t really create jobs, businesses do. But economically IGNORANT politicians and bad public policies can make a economic recession much worse and kill jobs. This is exactly why we’re in a hole here in Georgia and digging it

It can’t stay this way, or every single one of us in this great state is in deep trouble; failure to fix our state economy is simply not an option.

We’ll have to get people out of the way who know little to nothing about our free market economy and private enterprise. More lawyers ( nothing against y'all), and people with no private sector experience in charge, simply can’t fix our economy.

Men and women with business savvy can and must.

And we’ll never get enough of them into public service because most just want to grow their businesses, taking justifiable pride in their accomplishments and contributions to Georgia's as well as America’s economic successes.

I also believe that they can resuscitate higher-end manufacturing in this state, which will keep jobs here and create new ones. Creating a more competitive business environment will be required, but the benefits are apolitical and flow to everyone.

If we had more business savvy business minds in the legislature, they could implement policies and regulations to “promote” business formation and growth, instead of policies that are lopsided & caters to a few, Georgia could be one of the leading states in job creation.

High unemployment is bad enough, running off jobs is a killer. Georgia can do better!

Why good business leaders are essential to the recovery is because they’re trained to create jobs, make profits to grow companies, and perhaps most important “think out of the box” to effectively compete in their respective marketplaces.

If you’ve done this with success, applying that experience in creating solutions is an invaluable contribution in fixing this terrible recession we’re in. Business Savvy Public Servants are what's needed in the legislature RIGHT NOW! The current crop of legislators (mostly republicans) in Atlanta have no clue what's going on beside doling out Tax Cuts which has done very little in stimulating Georgia's Economy. Bigger & Bolder ideas as well as "SMART Tax Cuts that will benefit EVERYONE are needed to get this state out of its rut or more jobs will be leaving the state sooner rather than later.

The Georgia Democratic Party needs to attract talented business savvy, business friendly conservatives in its ranks who can think outside of the box. Who can offer new ways to create jobs. The same 'ol policies going back to the LBJ era aren't going to work anymore. Be different than the current Georgia GOP who are following the lead of its National Counterparts, the National Republican party in enacting policies that only help the very comfortable, well-to-do constituents that line their pockets with campaign donations. Like the liberal democratic policies of the 60s & 70s, the Conservative republican politics of the 80s are not going to work either. Something new is needed, not recycled policies of the past.

Conservative Democrats: The New Movement in Georgia?

This piece was written by Former Gubernatorial Candidate & Ray City Mayor Carl Camon

The mysterious smoke screen between Conservatives and Liberals is dissipating rapidly and both sides seem to be afraid of what will be revealed once the smoke is gone. Can a Democrat have conservative ideals? In the minds of some strong liberals, this just can't be possible. A new breed of conservative Democrats is on the horizon and I am proud to be amongst them. Many people are afraid of the unknown and feel threaten by what they don't understand, without even making an effort to confront their fears. Is it possible that a democratic candidate can be Pro-Life; a supporter of the Constitutional Amendment regarding the right to bear arms; a non-supporter of same-sex marriages/civil unions; a defender of those whom crimes are perpetrated against because of their sexual orientation; and an advocate for an employee's right to work and challenge unfair treatment on their jobs? I think that it is possible! However, those who are willing to take this kind of a stand are often ridiculed and are not too popular amongst extreme partisan supporters from both sides of the aisle.

If we all just stop for one minute and examine the sheer strength of such candidates, we would probably be amazed at the possibilities. In my opinion, most of those who have switched from being long-time Democratic Party supporters to becoming a Republican did so because their former party's message did not align with their beliefs. I would even venture to say that the beliefs of those who switched have not changed all that much, but the doctrine of the Democratic Party has changed significantly. This new breed of Conservative Democrats supports the ideals of people in general. This bold new approach can and will prove to be successful.

During my candidacy for Governor of Georgia, I learned several important things. One of the most important things that I learned was that Democrats and Republicans are from the same planet and we agree on more things than we disagree on. On my journey, I met concerned people who were democrats, republicans, libertarians and those who supported the Tea Party Movement. They were all tired of business as usual, and wanted a candidate who would do the right thing. However, most were just not willing and ready to accept the notion that there could be a candidate who would listen to the concerns of all the parties and who would work in an united effort to seriously address those concerns. In a Utopian world, the business as usual candidate would be a thing of the past. I would even go a step further and say that in our state, a business as usual candidate can still be a thing of the past, if we, the people, accept nothing less.

I am mindful of the fact that any time one voices his or her opinion and that opinion doesn't align with the status quo, massive efforts are often made to dilute the message and the destroy the messenger. There will be others who will do their level best to start a fire and put up a more dense smoke screen. One thing that Georgians can be reassured of though is the fact that this new Conservative Democrat Movement has a consistent message and an army of messengers who are not afraid to go into battle on behalf of the hardworking people of this great State of Georgia. I don't know what my political future holds, but from my past experiences I do know two things, and they are I finish what I start, regardless of the obstacles; and if I do decide to seek another political office, I will gladly carry the Conservative Democratic Banner. From day one, I'll remove that smoke screen and the people will be clear on where I stand.

Written By: Carl Camon - 2010 Gubernatorial Candidate

Kidd lives in Putnam, not Baldwin County

My sources tell me that E. Culver "Rusty" Kidd (I) who was elected in a special election to replace longtme democrat Bobby Parham (D-Milledgeville) does not live in the district he was elected to represent HD 141 consisting of Baldwin & a sliver of Putnam County.

Turns out he lives at a home he owns in Putnam County, not Baldwin, so my question is how long has he lived in Putnam & not Baldwin Co? Since he was elected? Or did this occur just recently?

Look for the Reapportionment Committee to make some tweaks around Putnam County to ensure he gets re-elected.