Campaign  Georgia
A  Political  Journal

Georgia Democrats:  their Wrong  Way Run to the Goalpost. 

At the beginning of   2006,  a lot of political unrest existed in Georgia, even inside the state capitol.   Knowledgeable political observers doubted  Sonny Perdue would  be re-elected this year.  After all, he had alienated virtually all the groups Roy Barnes had angered.  It was even felt the Democrats had a chance of re-taking control of at least one house of the legislature. 

Now, if polls are accurate,  Sonny will be re-elected and the Republicans will pick up more seats in the legislature.  What caused  this debacle of  Democratic Hopes in  2006? Why aren’t Democrats benefiting from the mistakes of the Republicans and disillusionment of the people?

Well, Democrats themselves, for the most part.

In the first place, the party kept Bobby Kahn as its leader.  Bobby Kahn was head of the state party when Roy Barnes was defeated in 2002 and Republicans took over the State Senate.  He had presumably collaborated in the ill-fated appointment of   Perdue supporter Zell Miller to the U.S. Senate a few years  earlier.  Kahn remained party head in the 2004 elections, when Republicans took over the House, too.  His track record is not  what Georgia Democrats need this year.

Next, Georgia  Democrats decided to put all their chips on the race for Governor.  They reasoned that if they take back the Governor’s office in 3006, they will be able to get more democrats elected in the legislature in 2008. As a result of this decision, no real resources went into this year’s  legislative races.  Candidates who  were recruited for the legislature were likely strongly encouraged to abide by the party’s overall 2006 strategy.

The party’s overall strategy for winning in 2006 should have been dynamic and aggressive.  It should have capitalized on voter discontent and the real issues facing this state, like Atlanta trying to take over the state’s water resources and the City’s continued efforts to bring more people and development to one section of the state.  Limiting the Hope Scholarship programs to kids who have graduated from a home, public, or private school in Georgia and are U.S. citizens would be a great issue also.  Even the state flag: scientific polls have shown a whopping 79% of Georgians still want a chance to vote on the 1956 flag.  In fact, issues are lying around like ten pound gold nuggets which could realign the state politically.

But neither party wants to touch them, because dynamic issues are dangerous to the status quo.  Instead of an aggressive campaign which would mobilize widespread support as it generated controversy, Georgia’s democrats decided to try to return to power by reviving that old coalition which ruled the state so long—the black caucus and other minorities, women, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.  That meant keeping real issues like Atlanta, growth disparity, and water resources off the table.  It meant keeping silent on the Caucus and Chamber’s unpopular positions like favoring racial quotas, gay marriage, and continued state funds for Atlanta’s vanity public relations projects like the Atlanta Symphony Headquarters, state takeover of Marta, etc.

Instead, political buzzwords like “education”, “family values”, “healthcare”, and other topics of general interest are  promoted, and 30 second attack ads televised. But real topics which might galvanize voters ?  No.

No, the Georgia Democratic party did not promote the kind of  boatrocking program necessary to win back the Governorship and legislature in 2006.  The failure of  the democrats to give the voters a  boatrocking campaign is a blunder which is likely to be evident pretty quickly after the election.  And it may take a very long time to recover from it.

Having put all their hopes in the governor’s race, the democrats nominated the weakest candidate. According to the polls, he will lose to Sonny Perdue, who will be re-elected almost by default.  By failing to compete in legislative races, Democrats will lose seats, probably in both houses.  As a result, it will be much harder for them to capture control of even one house of the legislature in 2008, and make the goal even harder in 2010, when they will also be trying to win back the Governor’s office.

Statewide, the only bright spot for the Democrats this election day will likely be the folksy, astute,  and  venerable Tommy Irwin, Commissioner of Agriculture.

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