Thursday, November 9, 2006
News Have Ga. Dems hit bottom?
Posted by Web Editor on Thu, Nov 9, 2006 at 11:01 PM
Amid disastrous statewide results, there are a handful of signs that Georgia Democrats aren't dead:
- With John Eaves easily gaining the chairman's post (57 percent vs. credible Republican candidate Lee Morris), Dems are taking firm control of the Fulton County government for the first time in more than a decade. This could be a sign that the blue island inside the Perimeter will eventually grow big enough to challenge the red sea that is the rest of Georgia.
- Not a single Democratic incumbent state legislator lost. That could be a signal that Dems have hit the bottom of the the two-decade-long downhill slide that saw Republicans eventually gain majorities in both the state Senate and the state House. Of course, Dems also lost five open seats in the House, so maybe now there's nowhere to go but up.
- A handful of around-the-Perimeter contests were close or even won by Democrats. Cobb School Board candidate Holli Cash beat a Republican incumbent. Kevin Levitas (son of former U.S. Rep. Elliot Levitas) eked out a win in the state House district he lost two years ago.
These are silver wisps in the dark clouds hanging over the Georgia Democratic Party. What can the Democrats do to become competitive in Georgia?
Comments (3)
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Fire Bobby Kahn. Set fire to his office supplies. Quit running fat people for governor. Quit being pussies! And CL: quit endorsing Republicans!
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There is no quick fix to the problems facing Georgia Democrats. Those of us (I'm a member of the state committee) who hold voting positions must insist on leadership that recognizes the value of growing the party from the roots up. We can no longer concentrate solely on a candidate-driven party. We will be electing a new party chair in January. And when that happens everyone who is disappointed, shocked and saddened by the results of last Tuesday must put their money where their mouths and fingertips are and contribute to the party, either at the state level, or at the local level. Join your county party. Go to an event. Have one yourself. Go to www.democrats.org and use the tools that the DNC has built. Invite the closest Democrat elected official to your house for a community forum. If they don't want to come, keep calling them. We can't just sit by and watch this thing crumble further. If you consider yourself a Democrat - you are needed. It's your party too.
Catherine-I agree with the "bottom up" ideas you have voiced here. Come up with a viable platform...something that the "rank and file" feel connected with and willing to work for, then find candidates that will support that platform. We have to define who we are as Democrats (maybe apart from the national definition to make it viable here in Georgia) and then sell that message to the voters. It does absolutely nothing for the party to say, for example: "We don't like Sonny because..." What are we going to do that is different from what they are doing?
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