Michelle Nunn and Rural Georgia

How well can Michelle Nunn do in appealing for votes in Rural Georgia? Her middle of the road, independent approach to issues may help her in that regard as Rural Georgia has virtually gone red since the election of Sonny Perdue back in 2002. Most Rural Georgians are not particularly wedded to any political ideology despite what many might think and are not single issue voters on things such as religion and guns.

Now appearing on the ballot as a democrat could prove to be a disadvantage in wooing rural voters in central and southern Georgia, but if she can get out to Rural Georgia and present her ideas and solutions to problems facing Georgia and the country, then I think there some votes out there she can & will get. It's all about pressing the flesh and face to face interaction. She should cast herself as the candidate for rural Georgia, who understands the plight of farmers and working class bluecollar families.

Rural Georgia is pivotal, but you have to have a candidate who's able to get through to the culture. She can definitely break through the culture of rural Georgia if she shows respect for gun rights and don't let social or "wedge" issues define her campaign. If she can get through that culture, then she can get rural voters to listen to her ideas about education, the deficit, debt, healthcare, etc.

In addition she can not only hold the base, but she can also expand from that. From her interview with Lori Geary, I believe she is Pro-Gun, says her mother owns a gun and her boys are also hunters, abortion, well that's a unknown at this point, but she should avoid getting bogged down in debates about guns & abortion & talk about things bluecollar workers like to talk about like job security, healthcare, education for instance.

So for Nunn, rural Georgia will be key in her quest to become Georgia's next U.S. Senator. Already the GOP are coming out the gate with attacks, trying as hard as they can to tie Nunn with Obama, Reid & Co.

Their strategy against Nunn will be some of this: Attack her strength with character assassination, suppress the vote, demoralize the democrats with whisper campaigns. Republicans have tow things going for them.......a fanatical base that's willing to carry out the dirty tricks and the greediest billionares to finance them. They deceive good people by diverting attention away from much more pressing issues by talking about gay marriage and abortion. That's a trick they ahve used over & over again and it will be used in this contest in 2014

Needed: Moderates in Congress, ASAP!

Many people have bemoaned our increasingly partisan Congress, with representatives from both parties clinging to the party line and refusing to compromise with the other side. I'm hoping that the 2014 elections would help fix this problem. During the past presidential election and now into 2013, I noticed something that really bothered me. It caught me by surprise, but when I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that it actually might be at the core of all the problems we have faced, now face and will continue to face in the future.Like the White, Southern Democrat, the political moderates are a dying breed.....or are they?

I'm the type who believes we have to take into consideration all ideas, including the nuts and wackos on both sides of the median ground? Then, in the end, put all those ideas out on the table, make conscious decisions that will positively impact as many people as possible and move forward with a view on truly improving society? I have found when a politician opens his or her mouth, when your neighbor starts spouting diatribes about his right to carry 300 high-powered Bushmasters in his trunk or when you get accosted by a PETA fanatic, who screams at you to protect dogs and cats but believes in abortion, you quickly are hit with the present and sad state of America.

We are being driven to exist in either a far-right conservative dungeon or a far-left liberal haze. I find very few, if any, of the above characters who make any effort to listen to anything but the voices they hear in their own heads and that makes many, including me very uncomfortable.

Most of what they allude to has no ultimate basis in fact. It all revolves around their EMOTIONAL stake in the argument presented.

Now a moderate is defined as a sane person; someone with a political belief that sits between the two extremes of liberal and conservative, usually combining aspects of both; someone who seeks compromise on political issues and, as such, gets insulted by the two extremes who just don’t get the idea that this form of government survives by compromise; someone whose political beliefs seem quiet and mild, and, as such, is always ignored by the media, which seeks out people from the screechy left and shrill right because they make for better sound bites, like Congressman John Barrow (D-Augusta) who is a moderately conservative democrat who is neither a loony liberal nor a rabid right winger. And although she is not a candidate, I suspect Michelle Nunn (D-Atlanta), likely candidate for the U.S. Senate is in that mold as well



If there is one thing the far-right and far-left have in common, it is that they refuse to listen and shut you down if you try to ask a question or, even worse, question their beliefs. Both sides also unequivocally believe they know best about every issue presented, whether it be recycling, abortion, birth control or gay marriage.  If you ever want to get in the middle of a vicious fight, disagree with a member of either side and try to get your ideas across. You might as well scream at the moon and beat your head against the wall. So, if you stop for a second and think about the current state of affairs, it is relatively easy to follow the above statements. The leaders of both houses of government make little, if any, effort to listen to each other because as they tell you, “We believe in Republican ideals! We believe in Democratic standards!


I just wish for once they actually believed in America, the land where you and I live and suffer under the bondage of the left and the right. They don’t speak for you and me because, come to think of it, maybe there are a lot more moderates than one might believe. When you listen to the far-right and the far-left, one would think they don’t speak the same language when issues come into the light of day. No one can compromise on gay marriage because marriage was instituted by God and given to a people who enter marriage only to call it quits at a failure rate of probably 50%.

We are told living in moderation will make us healthy, so we exercise and eat the right foods. We get a good night’s sleep and we practice breathing deeply and correctly. We cut back on the sweets and try to eat a few more apples and peaches a week. I think it is time to refute the comment that moderates are dead or dying, and scream that they are far from dead. They are very much alive and ready to take back the country. If the far-right and the far-left can’t do the job we sent them to do, let’s come up with a good name for the moderate party and return Washington to a form of sanity we haven’t seen for decades.

Former State Sen. Bobby Rowan (D-Enigma), Reflections on Georgia Politics

Former U.S. Rep Don Johnson (D-Royston) - Part 3, Reflections on Georgia Politics

Former U.S. Rep. Don Johnson (D-Royston) - Part 2, Reflections on Georgia Politics

Max Cleland, Reflections on Georgia Politics

Cobb County Democrat & State Senator Doug Stoner announces bid for Chair of the GA Democratic Party

"It is critical to connect Democrats around the State. Just as we've seen in the Georgia Legislature the priority of metro and rural citizens may not be the same. So it is with Democrats. It will be incumbent on our party's next leader to build consensus to ensure our success. I believe I have demonstrated that I can successfully build and lead that effort"Former State Sen. Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna) in a press release a few days ago, who announced his intentions to seek the Chairmanship for the Georgia Democratic Party.

Prior to his service in the Georgia State Senate, Sen. Stoner served one term in the Georgia House of
Representatives during 2002-2004. In 2004, Sen. Stoner was elected to the State Senate, and he was
overwhelmingly re-elected by his constituents in 2006, 2008 and 2010. During his service, Sen. Stoner has received numerous awards including: the Outstanding Legislator Leadership award from the American Cancer Society (2003 and 2004), the Outstanding Leadership award  from the Georgia Alliance for Tobacco Prevention (2005), the Local Distinguished Service Award from  the American Public Transportation Association (2004), the Georgia Association of Emergency Medical  Services Star of Life, Legislative Award (2007 and 2008), the Georgia Association of Educators  Legislator of the Year (2005), the Cobb County Association of Educators Cheryl C. Rice Friend of  Education Award (2005), Legislative awards from the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia  and the Georgia Municipal Association (2009 and 2010), the Georgia Conservation Voters  Environmental Leadership Award (2006, 2008, and 2010), and the Outstanding Legislator Award from  the Georgia Council on Aging (2010).

Stoner joins former State Sen. Mary Squires, current DPG Vice Chairman of County Parties RJ Hadley & Keyantwon Stephens of Athens, Ga.

Two other names that continues to receive attention are Former Gubernatorial candidate & House Minority Leader DuBose Porter of Dublin & Tharon Johnson, who led campaigns for John Barrow & John Lewis.