Wednesday, March 28, 2007
News Vote for Vernon for � a lot of GOP cash
Posted by John F. Sugg on Wed, Mar 28, 2007 at 9:36 PM
So DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by the draft-dodging Bush lotion boy, Saxby Chambliss. Jones says he's a Democrat, but for years the buzz has been that he's a GOP wannabe -- but being a black Republican is not only oxymoronic, it's simply plain old-fashioned moronic.
True, the GOP really does like people of color -- when it comes to needing minimum-wage wait staff for $1,000-a-plate banquets for neo-Confederates. And there are a few sorry souls -- Herman Cain comes to mind -- who get a bit of fleeting fame, much like the bearded lady at the freak show, by being tokens.
So why is Vernon Jones running for a seat he can't possibly win? And as a Democrat? After all, his campaign material doesn't sound very Democratic -- it ranges from mealy-mouthed to Bushite. For example, on the war, he proclaims his "unconditional support of our armed forces no matter where they are deployed" and that he "is not satisfied" with "progress" in Iraq. I guess the idea has never blinked in Vernon's head that the best way to support our troops is to get them the hell out of an illegal quagmire where all they're doing is getting killed in order to boost Halliburton's profits.
True, the Republican Party is so bogged down in a deceit-driven war; assaults on the Constitution and American citizens; illegalities; sexual misconduct; war profiteering and the like that patriotic Americans next year will turn many more states from cancerous red to healthy blue, or at least ambivalent purple.
But if any state remains red in 2008, it will likely be Georgia, where so many of our fellow citizens embrace the delusion that the horrible excesses under the Gold Dome and in Washington are somehow preferable to, say, making sure all children have health care.
Chambliss probably doesn't have to worry about his seat. His base is the new-segregationist, religious-nutcase, hate-Atlanta bunch. Plenty of those in Georgia.
Back to the question: Why is Vernon running? Well, we should consider another DeKalb pseudo-Democrat, Denise Majette. The anti-Cynthia McKinney Republicans in DeKalb crossed over to the Democratic primary in 2002 and sent Majette to Congress. Two years later, she made a run for an open U.S. Senate seat and was soundly trounced by Republican Johnny Isakson, as everyone knew she would be. Why did she take the suicidal plunge?
Because Republicans nurtured her political career from the beginning. They knew a GOP candidate couldn't hope to unseat McKinney in DeKalb with its large black and Democratic population.
Had the Democrats fielded a real candidate in the Senate race, there was the slimmest chance Isakson would have lost. Majette had no chance, but she could siphon off black votes and ensure that the Democratic nomination went to a sure loser.
Jones is now playing the same shameful role. The pathetic Democrats probably won't field a viable candidate, but just in case one materialized, Jones would be there to be a spoiler.
As DeKalb CEO, Jones has been controversial in his personal life (last year he commented to me, "There's nothing illegal about a m�nage a trois") but he's also been a reasonably competent administrator. True, critics and lawsuits charge that he tried to purge his government of white employees, and he likes imperial trappings, but he has a loyal following.
The buzz around both D and R circles is that he's carrying water for Chambliss, and will be suitably rewarded by the Republicans for deterring a candidacy by any Democrat that might be victorious. It's a truly sad commentary on Georgia, but no black Atlantan will beat Chambliss. But Vernon Jones can guarantee that a divided party will have no chance of fielding a successful candidate.
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