Tuesday, April 7, 2009
News DuBose Porter joins gubner's race
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Tue, Apr 7, 2009 at 4:11 PM
He's got the funny sounding first name (á la Newt, Zell, Bubba, Saxby, et al.). And he's got the down-state accent. So it's little surprise that House Minority Leader DuBose Porter, D-Dublin, would decide it's time to get into the 2011 governor's race. We got this notification late Monday afternoon:
I realize a Democrat will have a hard time in what is seen as a red state. However I believe Georgia will look at the issues and if they find a candidate that represents their core values they will be willing to vote for a change in the Governor's office. My work on the issues will carry me in Atlanta, but according to the pundits from the far right to the far left, it will take a candidate with my core values to connect with those outside of Atlanta.This session was a final straw. The infighting in the majority party dominated the session. I realized at the state’s Chamber of Commerce breakfast that when the three Leaders at the top could not be on the stage together long enough to take questions, the needs of this state had taken the back burner while the quest for power had become their goal. If you walk yourself through what happened this session, it is clear egos trumped policy. It is time for someone to be in the Governor’s office that doesn’t play into ego driven politics. It is not about power for one - but for all.
Georgia deserves a Governor who cares more about people than power, and that’s why I am filing the papers today to run.
Porter joins a Democratic field that already includes Georgia AG Thurbert (another weird name) Baker and the very former Secretary of State David Poythress. In fact, I received Poythress' response to Porter's announcement before I got the announcement itself. Here's what Poythress had to say:
Dubose Porter, as House Minority Leader, is the Democrat who seconded the nomination of Republican Glenn Richardson to become Speaker of the House. He also left 81 House Republicans uncontested in the 2008 elections by not recruiting Democratic challengers. This is an unforgivable offense given the tremendous turnout and historic year for Democrats. And Dubose should tread lightly when talking about his alleged General Election viability especially since Republicans would have a field day over his 26 year voting record in the General Assembly.
With the Democratic primary more than a year away, it's fairly pointless to speculate about any particular candidate's chances. There's plenty of time for that. The question I'd like answered is: Does Porter's entry into the governor's race signal, finally, that Roy Barnes has decided against throwing his hat in the ring? Theories, anyone?
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