Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Saving the Soul of the Georgia Democratic Party

There's hope. It's a good evening when the candidate branded as "a decent man" wins overwhelmingly. That's exactly what happened tonight when Jim Martin won the Democratic primary. Clearly, if negative campaigns always win, Jim would not be the nominee. Other candidates should take note. Jim, for whom community service is a family value, will be a great Lt. Governor. Congratulations, Jim.

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4 comments:

Button Gwinnett said...

I like what Catherine (I think), or maybe it was Mel, over at BfD said a couple of months ago about negative campaigning. It's another form of voter suppression, even if not intentional. So while we definitely saw evidence of polls moving as a result of negative campaigning, we also saw quite a few of those voters tune those candidates out or not vote at all.

One thing about Jim Martin though. When Hecht started his attack mailings, Martin stayed the course. He relied on his decades long record and his ability to come across to voters as anything other than someone not looking out for the welfare of women and children. That, essentially, is what broke open a tight race. And its that kind of likeability and poise that will give Cagle trouble down the road.

Amy Morton said...

Tim, educate me, please. What is "instant runoff voting."

Button Gwinnett said...

Amy, not to speak for Tim (and he can correct me if I'm wrong), but I think he's talking about rules that allow you to rank your order of preference of candidates. This way, if a clear winner hasn't been decided, composite rankings can be used to determine a winner in an instant runoff. It would save a lot of time and money. And it would also give us more leeway in the scheduling of elections.

Amy Morton said...

Thanks, Button. That clears up the question for me. Interesting idea.