I've heard some rumblings among our Democratic leaders in Georgia. Some are of the opinion that we need to put the bulk of our money and our energy into the Governor's race, working on the theory that we must elect Mark Taylor, and hopefully make some gains in the House and Senate, but that re-building a majority in the legislature is something that we can focus on in 2008. While I agree that the Governor's race is important, focusing on it to the exclusion of some of these winnable and defendable legislative seeks is awfully risky. We need to at least maintain the margins we currently hold in the legislature, margins that have at times allowed us to keep objectionable constitutional amendments off the ballot. (I said "at times.")
I am interested in your thoughts. Is it wise to put all our eggs in one basket? Do you think that Taylor will win and help others do the same?
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
All Our Eggs in One Basket?
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5 comments:
I think if Taylor becomes Governor, he will continue to raise serious money and devote it to targeted legislative seats in the Senate (as he has already done) but also in the House.
With that understanding, most of the money will continue to go towards the governor's race (just like both candidates raised boatloads during the primary). We certainly hope our candidates that are in winnable districts have the resources they need to win those districts, and I am optimistic that we can add numbers to our caucuses.
However, lets not kid ourselves, with a governor we could see the political landshape remade and open a lot of new doors, so that should be our top priority. And I say that as someone who is closely involved with many legislative candidates.
I think that balance is good, too. I didn't mention this in the post, but I do have a personal commitment to helping qualified women find their way into office. The balance is just not there yet- less than 18% of our legislators are women. (That was my last count, anyway.)Qualified democratic male candidates are great, too, but, as you said, it's about balance!
It is ridiculous to concentrate so heavily on one race. I am absolutely opposed to putting all our eggs in one basket. I am also sick of this "competititve races" nonsense. Perhaps if funds and effort were funnelled into the races that are perceived as unwinnable, something would change. Sorry for the crankiness, but I live on the coast, and we get written off as "safe republican" far too often.
We gotta support Taylor and we also must support our house candidates. Money is in short supply. There is much that we can all do to help our house candidates. Call voters, host rallies and Meet & Greet parties, send out cards, distribute literature, write letters. I carry cards for house candidates in my purse and pass them out while shopping! I leave literature off at friendly businesses and even in my doctor's and dentist's office! Maybe the big money should go to the Gov. race but we need Dems in the house so badly. We all can donate elbow grease to our house reps and at least a portion of our political $$$ donations.
Oh, yeah. And I'm never ready to write off ANY Democratic candidate until the very last vote is counted.
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