End the "Are You A Real Democrat" Purity Test

Some may not agree with me, but there is a PURITY test that is going on within the Democratic Party here in Georgia. Given the rash of party switching democrats in the legislature, now there's this Purity test as I call it to determine whether or not you're DEMOCRAT enough and how much do you love President Obama and the National Democratic Agenda.

Being a Moderate or Conservative Democrat is now is met with suspicion among those who determine who should earn the support of Democratic groups like the House and Senate Caucuses for example.

For some within the party, the though of being in a party with moderates and conservative democrats with different points of views on issues ranging from social to economic is unacceptable or unimaginable.

Why the disdain for another democrat with opposite views from that of a liberal is beyond me. The condescending attitude from some democratic activists, loyalists, insiders toward right-leaning democrats who hail from small towns or who was reared in a small town but moved to a much larger area small town is one reason why it's been difficult for the party to find and recruit strong able-bodied candidates for legislative seats in swing or conservative-leaning districts.

House Minority leader Stacey Abrams or State Senator Vincent Fort can be who they want to be because they represents VERY, VERY BLUE DISTRICTS in Metro Atlanta. On the other hand, the most hope you can hope for from Central and South Georgia is going to be a Quentin Howell-John Tibbetts style democrats, who are conservative leaning democrats whose backgrounds fits the makeup of the areas they tried to represent (Howell, HD 145, Tibbetts, then HD 153). Liberal Democrats may not like that, but the fact of the matter is, Stacey Abrams or Vincent Fort literally CANNOT win in Tifton, Milledgeville or Hazelhurst with the same rhetoric they use to win urban Atlanta voters. That's just a fact!

If you want to change the circumstances in those neck of the woods, then go for it, but I'm here to tell you, it's a complete waste of time. It'll take a lot of time and effort, and a LOT of persuasion of the populance. Not needing and cajoling those who doesn't see things your way! That means talking to people, not talking at them.

But the fact is the purity....well let me put it in another way...the underground purity game that is being used by democrats is a deadly game that will get them no where. All democrats are not party line foot soldiers, some are independent-minded, some are moderate, some are conservative, some are pro-business, pro-gun, pro-life, anti-regulation, tax cutters.

One problem with many of today's Georgia Democratic Liberals is that they don't understand the politics of the "Other" Georgia. Calling Bluedog Democrats Republican-Lite takes a monumental level of ignorance. Today's Democratic Party here in Georgia bear no resemblance of the Democratic Party of, say 2000.

The criticism from liberals towards moderate and conservative democrats that they aren't democrat enough is getting old and fast because they're willing to compromise a bit on issues in order to make progress. Whining and complaining about everything moderate and conservative democrats stand for is not going to help the party in the long run. Bluedog Democrats are not the problem, and getting rid of them only exacerbate the problems the party is facing.

The bottom line is stop with these purity test because a democrat who describes him or herself a moderate or conservative democrat maybe suspect. The problem is the current GOP rigid, anti-working class, anti-rural, anti-middle, low income voter agenda that has done nothing to improve the lives of the Trucker down in Atkinson County, or the Diesel Mechanic over in Terrell County, or the farmer up in Taliaferro County, or the 9th grade teacher up in Polk County.

GA Legislature: Ten 2014 Races/Seats To Watch

(1)  HD 156 Greg Morris (R-Vidalia) vs Lee Burton (R-Vidalia)

Incumbent Greg Morris faces a serious challenge in the form of Lee Burton for HD 156. Morris first elected in 1998 as a Democrat switched parties to the GOP in 2005. Morris pre-filed legislation HB 702 to erect a Ten Commandments monument in place of the Thomas Watson statue that was removed last yr. Now although it seem like a good gesture on Morris, it all seems political with the sudden challenge of Conservative Lee Burton.

Burton, a former U.S. Navy Seal, Vice Chair of the Toombs Co Republican Party and member of the Georgia Tea Party already has the endorsement of influential GOP Grassroots activists Pat Tippett & Kay Godwin. Burton, a 1988 graduate of Vidalia High School is making his first run for office.

Morris who is vice chair of the Banking Committee advantage as a incumbent may help him in the upcoming Republican Primary, but Lee Burton is no slouch, plus having the support of Georgia Conservatives in Action will only help him in his bid to upend Morris who was a former Toombs Co Commissioner. No Democrat have yet announced for this seat.

(2) SD 22 Hardie Davis (D-Augusta)

Incumbent moderate State Senator Hardie Davis of Augusta is running for Mayor of Augusta in 2014, replacing the term-limited Deke Coperhaver. Expect multiple candidates to vie for the open Senate Seat that takes up much of Richmond County. Former State Senator J.B. Powell, Vietnam Veteran & 2002 Congressional candidate Chuck Pardue are possibilities for this seat.

(3) SD 18 Incumbent Cecil Staton (R-Macon), Spencer Price (R-Thomaston) & John Kennedy (R-Macon)

In 2012 Cecil Staton barely defeated Physician Spencer Price of Thomaston to return to the State Legislature in 2012. This time there will be a rematch, plus one with the entry of Macon Lawyer John F. Kennedy. Both Price and Kenendy are running to the right of Staton and it's likely that this race will go into a runoff. Staton is currently Majority Whip of the Senate. No Democrats have announced for this seat that includes Upson, Crawford, Peach, Monroe and portions of Bibb County.

(4) HD 12. Eddie Lumsden (R-Rome)

Lumsden defeated longtime Democratic Moderate & Educator Barbara Massey-Reece by 3% in 2012. With such a close margin of victory, expect democrats to make a run at this seat in 2014. The district includes Chatooga and Northern Floyd County.

(5) HD 105 Joyce Chandler (R-Grayson)

Chandler narrowly defeated Businessowner Renita Hamiton (D-Lawrenceville) a Conservative Democrat 51% to 48 in 2012.  HD 105 seat is your classic swing legislative seat. This seat will be atop of the Democrats list of seats they hope to pickup in 2014.

(6) HD 139 Patty Bentley D-Reynolds)

Bentley defeated Reynolds Foodliner VP Thomas Coogle, a Conservative Democrat in the Democratic Runoff 50% to 49%. The race also included Michael Dinkins who served as County Commissioner of Peach County. This seat includes Dooly, Macon, Taylor and Southern Peach County. Look for numerous candidates to jump into the race given the relative razor thin margin of victory by the Incumbent.

(7) HD 145 Rusty Kidd (I-Lake Sinclair)

Independent Rusty Kidd defeated Pharmaceutical Businessowner, U.S Navy Veteran and Radio Show Host Quentin Howell (D-Milledgeville), a Conservative Democrat the past two election cycles. This seat includes Baldwin and South Central Putnam County which includes Eatonton. Expect a republican to jump into this race and Howell may make a third run for the seat.

(8) HD 138 Michael Cheokas (R-Americus)

Cheokas who was another party switcher in 2010 narrowly defeated Marion County Commissioner Kevin Brown, a Moderate Democrat 50% to 49%. The newly drawn district includes Chattahoochee, Marion, Schley, and majority of Sumter County. Given the narrow margin of victory for Cheokas, expect Brown to make another attempt to unseat Cheokas.

(9) HD 148 Buddy Harden (R-Cordele) vs Randy Head (R-Hawkinsville)

Incumbent Buddy Harden will face a primary challenge from  Businessowner Randy Head who owns Grillmaster over in Perry. Head has a impressive background that will appeal to various interest of the district. Harden replaced longtime State Rep. Johnny Floyd who resigned after serving 17 yrs as State Rep. The district includes a bog portion of rural Houston Co, Pulaski, Wilcox and Crisp County

(10) SD 23 Jesse Stone (R-Waynesboro)

After Conservative Democrat J.B. Powell left this seat to run for Agriculture Commissioner, Stone who was mayor of Waynesboro, step forward and qualified for the seat...the sad part is the Democrats failed to recruit a challenger to put uo against Stone. Vietnam Veteran and Attorney Chuck Pardue mounted a successful drive to get on the ballot as a independent, but soon afterwards dropped out of the race due to a family related matter. ( His son was seriously wounded in Afghanistan and experienced serious trauma because of it). SD 23 includes Burke, Screven, Johnson, Jenkins, northern Emanuel County, Jefferson, Glascock, Warren, McDuffie, extreme southern portion of Columbia, tiny portion of northern and Richmond County. Expect Senate Democrats to do a much better job of recruiting a candidate to take on Stone.

Don't Give Up On The "OTHER" Georgia!

If liberal Georgia Democrats are serious about rebuilding the State Party and the coalitions they enjoyed during their success, they will have to figure out a way to recapture rural affections of Rural Georgians. These have been fading for some time  starting in 2002 when powerful House Speaker Thomas Murphy and then gov. Roy Barnes lost re-election and that's when the Democratic Party began staking its life and its fortune on the urban vote.

There was a time, of course, when rural Georgia and the Democrats were virtually the same thing. But over time, Democrats became more urbanized and rural people became Republicanized, due to the lack of a field team or "bench" of candidate to run in districts that was once held by dems for 20,30 years and that was all right with the Democrats. So long as cities were thriving and their political machines were humming, it seem possible that Georgia Democrats could win statewide elections without benefit of rural support. But as it turned out, they are 0 for 3 (2002, 2006, 2010)

But a new dynamic is occuring...New demographic patterns have altered the math. With the large influx of Black, Hispanic and Young professionals moving into the state, and population shifting from Rural Ga to North G, the rural sectoe is shrinking and the Metro Area of Atlanta is growing...and growing....and growing.  But despite those trends, democrats here in Georgia from the Young Democrats to Rank and file democrats are making a grave mistake in complete seceding the Gnat Line voters to the GOP because they tend to lean conservative and independent who doesn't see eye to eye with National Democrats and its increasing left-wing philosophy.

Certainly liberals here in Georgia will have to show more sensitivity to rural needs than they have displayed. To begin with, they might re-examine the common assumption that rural Georgia exists solely for the convenience of city people and suburbanites, as a dispenser of rest and recreation

Diagnosing Democrats Problems In Georgia And Why They Continue To Lose

I'm not what you call a die-in-the-wool liberal demorat, nor an "Obamacrat". I never served on any democratic committees. I once served as chairman of my local democratic party (Temporarily). I reside in Small Town, Rural Georgia, where most democrats are far different than those in the urban areas of the state, socially conservative, fiscally responsible, economically moderate. Having said that, I know (and I'm not being cocky here)......I know why democrats haven't been able to win in this state over the past decade, or why democrats in the legislature have a hard time recruiting canddiates. And I don't need graphs, a 20 page thesis or political scholars to tell me why democrats have such a hard time winning. 

For starters, let's start with candidate recruitment. Liberal, progressive, (whichever you wanna call it) candidates works in areas that are heavily diverse with voters who are center-left. But they will not work in areas that are not as diverse where voters are center-right/independent.  The quality of candidates democratic leaders have found and supported have been abysmal. Ideology is another factor. Black and White Bluedog Democrats are met with suspicion nowadays within the party mainly because of the recent party switchers the have endured over a 5-6 year period. But I'm here to tell you, without them, democrats will NEVER sniff the possibilty of being the majority again..at least in my lifetime. 

In recruiting candidates, you must find that person who's background fits within that State Senatorial or House District. What's the median income of that district, the racial makeup, the voting tendencies, what issues resonate with the voters of that district because let's face it, all districts do not have the same problem. If a district have a high number of Social Conservatives, then you need a candidate who's not afraid to talk about his/her religion or if it's a area high in poverty and lack jobs, you need a person with a extensive background in business who can articulate the problems facing the area and then can come up with a solution to the district's problems.

Or if its a district that haven't elected a democrat in years (locally and legislatively) then you need to recruit someone who have a ability to appeal cross party lines and someone who's not afraid to disgree with the party on issues that maybe out of step with the voters of the district.

And the last....in overly majority black districts, the reason these types of districts were created in the first place was to assure the election of black elected officials due to the VRA of 1965, but it came with a heavy price. It severely weakened the democratic party as a result...and I'm going to stop right there! If a candidate happens to be white and running in a majority black district (and I'm speaking from experience)......stop trying to influence a election out of fear of a majority minority district being represented by a white democrat! If the white candidate voted republican in the past....so what? All that matters is who is the better candidate with the better message, who can appeal to the masses, regardless of skin color or gender. The Democratic Party is supposed to be the "BIG TENT PARTY" or so it claims to be. Instead of trying to cut the legs out from up under the white candidate out of fear the majority black district being represented by a non-minority, embrace him/her and let the chips fall where they may, but I know that's wishful thinking especially with the current leadership in the legislature

Now democrats troubles as far as winning can be attributed to a few things: (1) Culture (2) National Democrats (3) Values (4) Unwillingness to court white middle and lower class voters (5) Rural Black Voters

Culture & Values are issues have hounded democrats since the 1970s. Culture is the shared knowledge, behavioral norms, values and beliefs that help people to live in families, groups and communities. It can be defined by religion, work, region, or some other status. For decades National Democrats stances on cultural issues have been detrimental to local democratic candidates. From Gun Control to Gay Marriage, those issues have had a trickle down effect on democrats who don't hold those views and thus these moderate/conservative democrats have to continue to fight back charges of they support gun control or favor marriage between the same sexes.

National Democrats: Like I said, National Democrats are out of step with majority of Georgians and in areas that are not as diverse, less populated and are conservative on social and economic grounds. Now being the realist that I am, democrats cannot not going to win every rural county in Georgia. Some they can definitely win, but the trick is not to lose some of these rural counties so badly which contribute to republican margin of victories in the last few election cycles. The question is how to appeal to rural voters in an election year without the benefit of having a president on the ballot who would spur turnout among democratic base voters of young, minority, college educated suburbanites. But to be successful, democrats should not be so eager to embrace the National Democrats and its politics. Develop your own brand of politics (case in point John Barrow & Joe Manchin)

White Bluecollar Voters: Despite all the talk about demographic changes coming to Georgia, Democrats cannot forget about White Bluecollar Voters. You still need them! Democrats need to win the support of this significant group of voters who are now part of the Republican coalition.  A high number of white working class voters have historic ties with Georgia Democrats, even among those who currently vote Republican. Some have personal memories and others family traditions of past Democratic voting. No comparable connection or previous ideological affinity exists with today’s upper income or other Republican voters. While white workers are overwhelmingly cultural traditionalists they are not all conservatives. Despite the cliches of “conservative white workers” the group is actually divided, depending on the issues, with majorities being “populist” on some issues and conservative on others. So Dems cannot give up on this group and put all their eggs in the basket on minority voters who are not the most reliable bloc of voters out there.

Rural Black Voters are different that those from the Cities. They're no doubt the most socially conservative group of voters in Georgia, they're fiscally discipline, but economically liberal and some, not all, but some support school choice. In courting rural black voters, a candidate must run two campaigns. Word of Mouth (Barbershops, Churches) and the Airwaves. This approach is used everyone, but it is very important in small isolated communities in Rural Georgia

LONGINES CHRONOSCOPE WITH RICHARD B. RUSSELL

Medicaid and Rural Georgia: A Political Issue in 2014? You Better Believe It!

It's a program geared toward Rural White, Black, Elderly, and Young Residents who are heavily dependent on the program

With the latest population trends, Medicaid is becoming increasingly important to rural areas, in Georgia. Medicaid is the program that pays for medical services for those too poor to afford their own coverage, and it's funded by a combination of federal and state dollars.

In rural communities, Medicaid has become the only insurer for many people, particularly children, whose parents work at low-wage jobs with no health care coverage. It provides health care services and access to health care for a large number of rural Georgians who probably wouldn't have access to those services otherwise, whose health would suffer because of that. So, from a human perspective, it provides necessary services and access that these populations need.

So my question is why is Governor Nathan Deal and State Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens so opposed to expanding medicaid here in the Peach State.  Sadly these men rather put politics and their party ahead of Georgians those who desperately need some type of coverage.

Medicaid also is an economic engine in rural areas like Wheeler, Echols, Baker, Jenkins Counties, etc and literally keeping some hospitals and clinics open.

Those hospitals and clinics, the backbone of the rural healthcare infrastructure, who are depended so much on Medicaid and Medicare payments that they probably couldn't keep their doors open otherwise. We've already hospitals close in Charlton, Stewart, Habersham and Calhoun County.

Many look at Medicaid as the classic "welfare" program, which it is, but in my view, that isn't the case. It really does provide a necessary benefit and necessary services to working people, what we sometimes refer to as the working poor. 

Those who are dependent on medicaid are: Children, Low-income disabled, Low-income elderly, Low-Income families and Pregnant women.

Medicaid is a critical piece of the rural health care system and the refusal of the governor to expand medicaid and the Insurance Commissioner opposition to the expansion of medicaid will be a campaign issue come 2014.

With Deal facing two GOP challengers and if he's able to escape the primary will face State Senator Jason Carter, a centrist democrat and the grandson of former president Jimmy Carter. 

The one down ballot race that's sure to receive plenty of attention will be Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, but so far no democrat have announced nor shown any interest in taking on the anti-health incumbent. 

Georgia U.S. Senate Candidate Gerald Beckum (D-Oglethorpe)... A Common-Sense Candidate for Senate