Sanford Bishop, John Barrow & Racial Gerrymandering

Racial Gerrymandering will hit Georgia at its worst if everything I'm hearing bears fruit.

Macon-Bibb County, a majority-minority city & county possibly going into the second, therefore making it easier for Austin Scott to maintain a hold on the 8th District. Potential Richmond Co moving into the 10th & Chatham in the 1st, therefore making it much, much more easier for a republican to take the 12th away from John Barrow

The biggest supporters of racial gerrymandering are Republicans. The answer is simple:

To the extent that the black Democrats are concentrated in congressional ( even legislative) districts, it is easier for Republican candidates to win more seats overall. The creation of a newly majority black district is likely to drain black voters from other districts (like the 8th, 12), one of them represented by a white Democrat , John Barrow. The more "lily-white" the districts become, the easier it is for Republicans to win them. In short, buy adopting such a redistricting strategy, Republicans give African Americans the opportunity to increase their descriptive representation but, quite possibly, at the expense of their substantive representation.

Racial gerrymandering has once again become a political tool. In this case, racial gerrymandering is being used to ensure political victory for Georgia Republicans. This is not to say that the problems in the electoral system today are on par with those of the past. Yet, these are problems that need to be address all the same.

Sanford Bishop by all means is not your typical "Liberal" democrat. He has always been a moderately conservative democrat since his election back in 1992. Yes he lost a substantial number of white voters due to his support of the Healthcare Legislation that rocked town halls all across the county during the summer of '09-10, but that doesn't mean that he can't win in a district where the black vote is in the minority. Let's not forget he won the 2nd when it was a majority white district, but this whole idea of moving Macon-Bibb County into the second to so-call "Strengthened" Bishop is absurd!

The district is already around 48-50% African American. He only needs 60,000 more voters to meet the 692,000+ needed for a congressional district. The answer is simple: Include all of Muscogee County, as well as Lowndes County into the district. And with Westmoreland (Lynn) district being over populated, the district will have to move northward to take away some of his votes, so include Meriwhether, Upson & Harris in the second.

But instead they want to make the district a solid "Black" District by throwing Macon to Bishop in order to protect Austin Scott, who by not opening a office in Macon sent a signal that he wanted no part of Macon in his 8th district.

Despite the fact that blacks are in general more liberal on economic issues, majority-minority districts are not necessary for blacks to win elections & Bishop have already proven that he can with or without a Majority African-American Constituency.

Gerrymandering is becoming an ineffective method of ensuring minority representation. When majority-minority districts are created first a pocket of blacks must be target.

Majority-Minority districts are harmful to blacks and democrats in general & should be done away with if for no other reason that the fact that majority-minority redistricting will no longer work.

Then there's the saga of John Barrow, one of the few remaining white conservative democrats left in the south that survived the massacre of 2010. The goal of the Georgia GOP is to make his district either more of a swing district or even republican-leaning. And to do that, something will have to be done about Richmond & Chatham Counties, which one or both maybe included in new districts north & south respectively.

Going back to what I mentioned earlier, the more black voters that can be drained from a district, the more it increases the republican's chances of competing or winning a congressional district & in this case that's what they are going to do with Barrow, who does well among white independents & conservatives in the 12th. The logic here is that the more whiter the 12th becomes, the more vulnerable John Barrow becomes. Other than Jack Kingston who's district they can move into the 12th, one thinks Barrow will be alright regardless how they redraw the lines to make it more favorable for a republican.

Majority-minority districts also capture black voters from surrounding congressional districts, leaving white congressmen with no incentive to craft messages appealing to African-American voters. This explains why Republicans receive so few votes from African-Americans

State Senator Robert Brown (D-Macon) expressed two weeks ago that he would like to see Bibb County go back into the second, as well include Warner Robins (including RAFB) which has a 40% Black Population. A study was done not too long ago that show safe black districts dampen electoral turnout so why bother to vote when the outcome will surely be the election of one black candidate or another?

The axiom behind this gerrymandering is that a "safe," predominantly black district could guarantee the election of Bishop, as well other potential black candidates to Congress whenever Bishop retires, because of protracted racism among whites that left Bishop in droves during the 2010 election. I'm going to say this right now, the next representative from the district will be a white democrat. You heard it here first!

Let me close this out: When African Americans are elected to the House from majority-black, heavily gerrymandered congressional districts in big cities in their districts they're unlikely to have the wide appeal necessary to win statewide office. Just look at Georganna Sinkfield who ran for Secretary of State in 2010. She represented a overwhelmingly black district & could not appeal to a more mainstream electorate.

So if I were Bishop' Ill say leave Bibb County in the 8th & if I were Barrow, don't sweat it. Your record speaks for itself!

Could it be Deja Vu all over again for John Barrow?

Roll Call is reporting that Ultra-Conservative Lynn Westmoreland (R-Grantville) will be the point man in handling redistricting for the House GOP.



House Republicans have tasked Westmoreland with overseeing redistricting for their entire caucus for good reason. Westmoreland has extensive experience with mapmaking in his home state, which redrew the Congressional boundaries twice in the past decade. At least three seats are at stake for Republicans, who will likely attempt to draw a safe GOP seat in the new 14th district, shore up GOP margins in the district of freshman Rep. Austin Scott (R) and move more Republicans into Democratic Rep. John Barrow’s competitive district. No one in the Georgia delegation has relationships with the in-state redistricting players like Westmoreland. He is a former state House Minority Leader and is close with Gov. Nathan Deal (R), his former House colleague whom he endorsed early in a crowded GOP primary last year. As governor, Deal will have veto power over the final map submitted to the Justice Department for approval. What’s more, former Westmoreland aide Bryan Tyson has been hired by the state Legislature and will be heavily involved in drawing the new maps. Tyson was also very involved in the 2005 GOP-led redrawing of Congressional boundaries.







Then the folks over at politco has this piece of news:







Georgia Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, who heads up national redistricting efforts for House Republicans, has been meeting one on one with members of his state's delegation to discuss the redrawing of their districts. Westmoreland and Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) huddled outside the House chamber with a Peach State map on Wednesday. Georgia's picking up a seat, which surely will be drawn to the GOP's advantage. In addition, Republicans really hope they can eliminate a Democratic-held seat from the southern part of the state, where several districts need to add population. In an ideal world, Republicans would shore up the districts of freshman Rep. Austin Scott, who beat longtime Democratic Rep. Jim Marshall in 2008, and veteran Rep. Jack Kingston, as well as the southwestern turf represented by Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), for whom legal challenges could be raised if minority voting strength is diluted by a new map. In turn, that would leave Democratic Rep. John Barrow without a seat. As one Republican put it to Huddle, "When the music stops, Barrow isn't going to have a chair." Of course, it's the state legislature that draws the districts, but a unified Georgia delegation could influence that process. And, as a kicker, there's little love lost between barrow and senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus. After he voted against the president's health care law, then-Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the highest-ranking African American in Congress, traveled to Barrow's district to sing the praises of the overhaul to Barrow's constituents. The Georgia Democrat, whose district runs roughly from Athens to Savannah, also thumbed his nose at Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi by voting for Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) for Speaker, rather than Pelosi, at the opening of the 112th Congress.

Im willing to bet that the districts of Bishop, Scott & Barrow will look kinda like this (1992 map), especially with the GOP hell bent on taking out one of the last two rural democrats in the delegation.

If the state GOP stretch the 1st into the 12th, forcing Barrow to either take on Jack Kingston or forcing him to move again (like he did in 2002 when the GOP drew him out the the Athens-Clarke Co area, therefore forcing Barrow to relocate to Savannah rather that face the late Charlie Norwood in 2005). Its maybe deja vu all over again for Barrow.

If this were to occur, then who would dems turn to run in a re-configured 12th district that may look similar like the 1992 or even the 1996 maps?

The Dems bench is rather thin in some of those rural counties in the northern half of the 12th. Let me throw some names out there: Although he is a independent, Augusta Mayor Deke Coperhaver could be persuaded in running in a new 12th district that includes Columbia County as a conservative democrat, then there's ex-State Senator & 2010 candidate for Ag Commissioner J.B. Powell who's background fits in perfectly in a potential new swing district, then there's always Michael Thurmond who rumor has was considering a run against Barrow in the primary last year. I don't how true was that, but remember here in Georgia, you are not required to live in a district to run for congress: (Remember Saxby Chambliss in 1994 when he ran in the 8th, although Moultrie was in the 2nd) Its something that needs to be thought about if you are the Georgia Democratic Party because the possibility is real that Barrow will be the odd man when the lines are redrawn. Remember because Georgia is still under the VRA OF 1965, any maps will have to be approves by the DOJ, despite talk that the GOP could bypass the DOJ & instead let the courts decide if the new maps are fair to all parties.

James Beverly to run for HD 139

With the departure of David Lucas to the SD 26 race, a newcomer is vying to replace Lucas as representative for HD 139.

James Beverly (D-Macon) is the first candidate to announce that he will seek Lucas's seat in the state legislature in this year's special election.

Beverly owns a medical practice (Goggles Eyecare 4 Kids) , & is heavily involved with the community of central Macon.

Beverly is a graduate of Wesleyan College as well as Harvard University (MPA, Budgeting, Finance) & Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is also a Fellow at Ash Institute Democratic Governance at Harvard University (MPA, Democratic Governance and Innovation) 2009 – 2010 & Field organizer at Obama for America.

Montezuma, Georgia: A City on the Decline

Rarely I don't dwell on local politics here in my home county (Macon), but this time, I am. Montezuma, Ga once a thriving city is now only a shell of itself. It doesn't help that its also located in the second poorest county in the State, with Hancock (1) & Randolph (3). Macon is ranked 89th out of the 100 poorest counties in the United States 100 counties with the lowest per capita income.

Macon County is one of the poorest counties in Georgia. According to data collected in 2000 by the U.S. Census bureau, 22% of families and 25.8% of individuals in Macon County live below poverty levels

As you ride downtown Montezuma, you see buildings that was once booming with business are now sitting vacant & deteriorating & there seems to be no progress on the horizon anytime soon.

Job losses due to closing of the former Integrated Composites Technology (ICT), Riley's Manufacturing & the uncertain future of Allen's Inc ought to have many citizens of Montezuma worried.

But the biggest problem is within the city government where strife between the mayor & city council at times look like a episode of Jerry Springer, with the name calling, shouting, drowning out the opinion of others. There have been protest concerning the direction of the city to charges of nepotism & cronyism, which is in someways true!

Current Mayor Willie James Larry (D) is up for re-election this year, along with councilmen Norman Carter (D) (who was appointed to fill the term of late councilman Cordel Jackson), Charles Ivey (D) & James R. Trask (D).

Larry who was elected back in 2000 became the first African-American Mayor of the City has been subject to controversy concerning his tenure as mayor of the troubled city. No word on whether he will run for re-election, but one thinks that it time for mayor to step aside. When there is friction between the council & mayor, you know its time for a change.

Now I admit, I know a few of the councilmen who are currently serving over there, but hey you know me, I call it like I see it & time for the people of Montezuma, MTZ to make their voices heard & elect new leadership to get Montezuma back on its perch once again.

New councilmen Bobby Lewis & Carl Peaster have tried to shake things up since being elected in a almost sweep back in 2009 when the ticket of Lewis, Peaster & Riley (Tarschea Fudge-Riley) almost made it 3 for 3, with Riley losing by a razor thin margin. Some citizens like the things they are doing, while others say they are going too far & going over the edge when criticizing the mayor.

Now the question is will another anti-incumbent wave hit the city of Montezuma? Time will tell, depending who's running against who.

You can go to meetings & say this & that, but if you want change, its going to have to happen at the ballot box this November.

But in order to do that, someone will have to rise to the occasion to do what's necessary. You can't let fear rule the day!

Georgia Democrats Need New Stars: a Farm Team.

Georgia Dems needs more Will Rogers & less Michael Moore's in its ranks

They say Georgia Democrats are an endangered breed at a time when Republicans control the governor's office, legislature and Cabinet. They say the Georgia Democratic Party has no "bench" of next-generation candidates for statewide races.

Who's left to push the Georgia party, and who are its leaders? Looks to me like slim pickins.

The Old-Guard is virtually extinct. What's left is a party with no stars in its ranks. (Only State Senator Jason Carter qualifies as a star currently in the legislature)

What the Georgia Democratic Party needs more than anything is to develop its farm system of statewide & local candidates, the way the Republican Party did in the late 1980s and early 1990s with David Schafer, Brian Kemp, Allen Peake and others.

And they have some potential. There is Teresa Tomlinson, the first woman mayor of Columbus, who some see as a gubernatorial candidate four years hence. There is Andrew Ginther, a city councilman for Columbus who those who know him well is primed for a run for State Senator.

Then there's Christopher Pike, City Commisisoner of Albany, fellow Commisisoner Bob Langstaff, Irwinton Mayor Darrell Burns, Sumter County Tax Commissioner Bill McGowan, Montgomery County County Commissioner Brandon Braddy, Hazelhurst Mayor Bayne Stone, Millen Mayor King Rocker just to name a few

Major league/professional sports teams have 'farm team' systems where they can identify and train prospects. The NBA only recently saw the usefulness of having a minor league system with the NBDL ... developing the Democratic Minor League will be just as important, if not more important, than keeping the Democratic Major League in line."

If Democrats want to come back, they should look to the past for a path to a better future.

Concentrated on two areas: getting full slates of candidates in every county and getting full slates of party offices in every county. Just by doing that, democrats will started getting a reasonable share of state legislators, sheriffs and state’s attorneys and so on.” But on the local level, democrats are strong... but anyway tyhat’s a textbook method for rebuilding a party,

Where the rejuvenation can come in is with organizations. What you’re really trying to build are local candidates. Winning legislative seats is more important than competing for the high-profile races like governor.

Democrats, they really do need to start at the ground level, bringing people into the state Legislature races and building up some statewide names. “It’s not that hard to win some of these state legislative districts, if you can find well-known, popular local candidates.

Successful local candidates also help build up a “farm team” of politicians to run for bigger statewide offices, another important piece of party-building. Democrats must “find a first-class candidate to put on the top of the ticket. That’s one of the anchors that’s going to go out and build a party.”

When Georgia Democrats in their heyday have had success in recent history, it has been at the federal level where politicians, like Sam Nunn, built strong organizations over decades in office.


The downside of relying heavily on organizations of individual candidates is that eventually politicians leave office and their organizations can go with them.

To some degree, that’s true of party organizations But Democrats have suffered more than usual from a flight from the state after a candidate retires. While Republicans have had strong candidate organizations, they have also had a more robust state party.

The Georgia Republican Party has organized better within the party organization itself. The state (Democratic) Party was able to step up and replace the level of financing and the level of organization that the Democratic campaign organization was able to muster, something they are trying to change now

The attempt to resurrect the Georgia Democratic Party is largely in the hands of a new generation of leaders, who plan to revive the party by re-establishing a grassroots organization.

Part of it is a back-to-basics approach, reaching out to folks who haven’t been involved,” said
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In order to be successful, the to-do list is lengthy. Aggressive fundraising and messaging, making sure Democrats stay in the public conversation and always having resources to compete, focus on candidate recruitment and building local county parties.

The dominance of younger politicians is frequently seen in rebuilding parties. On the one hand, it reflects a party without many successful, experienced leaders. But it is also presents opportunities.

“If you’ve got a hungry young person, it’s easier to get a nomination for a statewide office in the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. “In one sense, the Democrats are devastated and have nowhere to go; but in the other, it’s an opportunity for young people to become leaders in the party very quickly and that is exactly what Democrats need: new leaders who aren’t “yesterday’s news.”

“Find somebody new, a fresh face, articulate,” he said. “Help build the party around that person.”

Now can Democrats can recreate their 1970s, 80, 90s glory days? Who knows!

The prospects are tough, to be sure, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a possibility. Among Democrats, no one expects to take over the state in two or four years. But there is hope for the future.

I think the Democrats can come back again, maybe not right away, but I think it’ll happen.

Georgia Democrats Needs a Makeover

Republicans: they dominate the statewide offices and the state legislature, But the Democrats have let the right have the right of way. Instead of presenting an image that appeals to the Average Joe, the party is pandering to itself. A certain intellectual arrogance sets the Democratic base on fire, but the heat puts off average voters. The Democrats have never been this in touch with their loyal base or as out of touch with their traditional blue-collar supporters and swing voters.

There are those who say the average working class voter clearly benefits more economically from Democratic economic policies than from Republican tax cuts for the rich and irresponsible deficit spending. (The way I look at it there are some democratic & republican economic policies that benefit the working class voter.) The majority of these voters has decided that social and personal issues are more important. And when it comes to these issues, the Democrats do not present the image that mainstream Georgians wants to see.



First, the Democrats need to get religious. We need a candidate who won't just claim to be religious when asked about it. The party needs a leader who voluntarily and naturally discusses his or her faith, someone who will remind Georgia that Jesus is not a Republican.

Along with religion, "values" is a key issue for Georgia voters, most of whom voted Republican. And that's the Democrats' problem: They took the "whatever" stance. They don't appear weak on values because of what their values are; they appear weak on values because no one knows what those values are. If Democrats want to be pro-choice and pro-gay rights, that's fine, as long as they are assertive. (It wouldn't hurt to take a more representative stance either.) The hardcore religious right won't vote Democratic anyway, but by strongly arguing the other side of the coin, a debate is generated. After all, when Democrats are vague about their values they are essentially conceding moral superiority to the right.

Republicans have also managed to convince voters that Democrats hate America, and the left has provided plenty of fodder. As a result that has trickled down here on the local level when republicans nationalize local elections, all the way to a lonely seat on a city council. Liberals have a tendency to complain about conservatives and government in general, regardless of the political climate. Although it goes directly against our notion of democracy, there is...or WAS a view in this country that it is unpatriotic to criticize the government. Democrats even got tagged with the position, although it is certainly a minority view, that the phrase "under God" should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, an unpatriotic sacrilege. Democrats need to pick their battles and stop being bogged down in semantic wrangling.

But elitism isn't just a personal repellent; it also stops the message from getting out. Democrats have an unquenchable urge to show that they know more than the person next to them. But as intellects grow, comprehension withers and dies. If liberals can learn anything from Republicans, it should be that simplicity is the name of the game. There is a place for weighing all the pros and cons, and that place is in the quiet of your hotel room, your office or your own head, not a presidential debate. All the public wants to hear is one or two good-sounding reasons for an opinion, not a dissertation. Redundant argumentation quickly appears uncertain, while brevity and clarity appear resolute.

I can go on & on, but let me make this short:

There are 5 democratic congressmen on Georgia's Delegation. There are only 63........let me repeat 63 democrats in the House of Representatives. There are 20 democrats in the State Senate.

Which lends an air of necessity to create a Farm Team, with the idea of finding, recruiting and grooming moderate & conservative democratic men & women for political leadership. These candidates must be ready when opportunity knocks like a chance to run for an open seat.

Lucas to Run for State Senate. Will Someone Challenge Him?

State Representative David Lucas (D-Macon) announced Monday that he will seek the State Senate seat held by Robert Brown, who will seek the Macon mayoral seat in this fall elections.

Lucas a 37 year veteran of the State Legislature is a formidable candidate for the Central Georgia Senate seat.

So the question is: will Lucas cakewalk his way into that Senate Seat? Or will someone else from Macon, or Twiggs or Wilkinson County make a run at the open seat.

To give my two cents on this, I think that one other person may qualify to run in the open seat. Fear may keep others from qualifying for this race due to Lucas's connections in Macon, plus he'll probably have the endorsement of Robert Brown to boot. But this is a prime opportunity for some other aspiring, ambitious candidate from that area to test the waters. You never know.