Forget Congress Georgia Democrats! Don't let that distract you. There's bigger fish to fry & that's the statewide & local elections. Y'all can't control what going to happen to the democratic majority, but you can control what happens here in Georgia! Got it! Its time to devote all of your time & energy on Georgia.
The disconnect between the National Democrats of Washington (who are majority Liberal) and the grassroots Democrats of Georgia (which are more moderate/conservative) offers stark evidence of the crisis with Democrats in General as it enters the most critical stage since the inauguration of Barack Obama. The policies the Obama Administration have implemented to solve the economic crisis has caused a severe backlash from the American Voters, Business Leaders & just about every aspect of the public.
Following a series of devastating Townhall Meetings over the very controversial Healthcare Reform Legislation during the 2009 season, special election upset of Scott Brown, a republican in baby blue Massachussetts, the loss of governorships of New Jersey, Virginia and now facing new battles on an increasingly unfriendly political landscape, State Democratic candidates & the Democratic Party of Georgia must decide how to go about this 2010 election. Will it argue that it can better manage the implementation of a moderate to conservative agenda in a state that has been down since the GOP takeover in 2002? Will it run with President Obama, knowing that it'll be a recipe for disaster? Will they slam the president at every turn, possibly risking alienating the critical African-American Voting Bloc? Or that it seeks power in order to reject that agenda and chart a new direction for the state?
State Democrats here have to articulated a vision that echoes grassroots sentiment. They will never raise more money than the Republicans at the moment right now. They must elevate the non-money wing of the Democratic Party and create populist symbols to convey their message.
To folks in Atlanta, this may have sounded crazy. But to folks in Cordele, Valdosta, Kingsland, Douglas and Rome, where Democrats have had trouble over the last 8 years attracting more rural moderate/conservative voters, it’s a rare dose of common sense. Democratic activists know that their candidates cannot win, along with a massive shift in voter sentiments towards D.C. Democrats, a dramatic decline in turnout among base voters who are having more and more trouble figuring out why it matters to vote Democratic. When I get emails from folks, they always tell me the same thing: Let’s stop playing to the special interests and start appealing to the people who have just stopped voting, & to the ones who are fed up with the current leadership in Atlanta.
The republicans know that in order to defeat Barnes in November it has to tie him to President Obama in each & every way. Its gonna be very difficult to do, but by nationalizing the governor's race, that it'll distract voter's attention from the problems that was created by the current GOP Leadership like the state's high unemployment rate, failing public schools, Tax Increases, Transportation Gridlock, the Water Crisis, & a whole variety of problems that was created by the lack of leadership from the GOP.
Democrats from Michael Thurmond to Roy Barnes should not be afraid to call out the president & the likes of Pelosi & Co when they know that the liberal policies have not done a bit of good in turning around the economy & creating jobs for Americans.
People are concerned about (1) the economy & (2) their financial security & as of now, nothing has been done to ease voters concerns & fears that things will get better anytime soon.
Like Thurmond for example, the DSCC haven't gotten involved in his race yet & they may not get involved at all. And if that's the case, they he should rail against democrats, in fact the entire congress for letting the American People down in these tough times.
If I were Barnes, I wouldn't hold back either in attacking the liberals up in D.C. who hold the power positions like Obama, Pelosi, & the Obama Administration Policies. Democrats can't be walking on Egg Shells when talking about their left-leaning counterparts.
Jim Marshall, you can bet he will rail against these cast of characters.
So will John Barrow.
Sanford Bishop, like it or not you are joined at the hip of Obama & Pelosi. I'm curious to see how Bishop conducts his campaign against upstart Mike Keown. The only reason why I say Bishop will win re-election is because of the way the 2nd District is Gerrymandered. Had this been the old pre-2005 District, Bishop reign as Congressman of the 2nd District will be in serious, SERIOUS JEOPARDY!
I hope Doug Heckman does the same thing as well as Russell Edwards to a certain degree.
Now let me move to another subject for a minute: Dumb Policy & Dumb Politics of Congressional Democrats & the President:
If Obama and congressional Democrats believe they can seduce independents by defining the rich as individuals and couples with incomes of over $200,000 and $250,000, they are using a stimulant stronger than that found in either conservative tea or liberal lattes. Upper-middle class, home-owning taxpayers are the motivated voters in this mid-term election, just as Clinton hating Christian and economic conservatives were the righteous army in 1994 that overturned decades of Democratic control of the House. Recall the part health-care "Reform" played in defining the Clintons as the Gingrich Revolution's enemy that year. The religious right was populated with economic conservatives, not just those who hated the sex, drugs and rock 'n roll lifestyle all or some had imagined were embodied by Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Some Beltway Democrats think they can inspire their working-class base by beating up on those $250,000 rich couples. That's an aging, worn out Democratic populist political consultant's dream. The most reliable voters in the Democratic base are not the declining number of union members who can be rolled out by the AFL-CIO political action committee. Just look at not-so-big labor's disastrous wasting of members' dues trying to oust Sen. Blanche Lincoln in the Arkansas Democratic primary this year. The Democratic base is increasingly, the well-heeled Baby Boomers, more moved by Obama's elective war in Afghanistan and failure to move faster on the liberal and libertarian cultural agenda than they are with the rich not being taxed more.
Add that to the Healthcare Bil or "Obamacare", the possibility of the Bush Tax Cuts Expiring, the Cap & Trade legislation that flopped & a high jobless rate, along a hostile electorate, its a recipe for disaster.
But I'm a believer that despite the national mood, democrats here in Georgia certainly try to make inroads with that very electorate that's upset with happenings in D.C., without trying to twist themselves into something different. Meaning, democrats should be out there organizing and stumping, even among groups they think of as hostile to them because of the letter next to their name, most voters aren't monoliths, even if they prefer one side to another. They are fools if they just let an entire group hear only one side of the argument.
The state party is active, somewhat strong, and not particularly conservative like the state democratic parties of the past. The recent GOP dominance here in federal, state elections has to do, I think, with specific candidates, not the party platform. Hell, maybe both! My gut feeling is that Roy Barnes will definitely make serious inroads in Rural Central & South Georgia, not due to conservative positions, but just by being able to talk to rural voters without sounding condescending.
White Conservative voters are not monolithic voters for the GOP, but there's a core group of conservative whites that aren't likely to be moved by much a democrat no matter how conservative he or she is going to say. That's a fact!
Basically, the media decides who wins these elections, based entirely on cliched stereotypes of the candidates' personalities. The Republicans are better at identifying aspects of their opponents that can be caricatured in a negative way & that what democrats here need to do against their opponents.
