No More Mrs. Nice Party

How dare the Democratic Party of Georgia go and support Democrats?!! Who do we think we are, anyway?

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What Do Georgia Democrats Believe?

On Saturday, the Democratic Party of Georgia adopted a values-based platform that reflects what Georgia Democrats told us they believe. Here's just the summary statement:


• Georgia Democrats believe every child in every classroom in every school in every county in Georgia should have access to a high quality public education.

• Georgia Democrats believe access to quality, affordable healthcare is a basic, human right.

• Georgia Democrats believe we have a moral obligation to leave our children and grandchildren with an earth as safe, beautiful, and majestic as the one bequeathed to us by our parents and grandparents.

• Georgia Democrats believe in and uphold every citizen’s right to equal and impartial justice under the law. We are firmly committed to upholding and protecting the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Georgia. We believe that all Georgians are equal in the eyes of God and should all be equal in the eyes of the law.

• Georgia Democrats believe that the American Dream of opportunity for all should guide government policies at all levels.

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New Year's Resolutions for Georgia Democrats

Here are a few proposed New Year's resolutions for Georgia Democrats:

1) Having perfected the art of the circular firing squad, in 2009, we resolve to point the guns outward, but not in a park, on a playground, in a restaurant or on public transportation.

2) Since this is Georgia, there will be a bloody primary in the Governor's race. This time, we resolve to let it be in the republican primary.

3) While various republican candidates for Governor spar during the upcoming legislative session, we resolve to get out of the way.

4) We resolve to become clairvoyant and therefore anticipate the mistakes the press will make so we can issue corrections before the articles appear.

5) We resolve to work very hard to recruit the three people, God bless them, in South Georgia who want to run for a part time job that will require their full time residency in Atlanta from January until about April each year. They will need to either be independently wealthy or have a very understanding boss - not to mention a very, very understanding spouse.

6) That said, when we choose our nominee for Governor, Lt. Governor and the other constitutional offices, we resolve to remember that there is a Georgia south of I-20, and if we hope to actually elect any of those nominees, we know that we must choose folks who can actually pull some votes from "the other Georgia."

7) We resolve not to dump on local governments. The republicans can have that gig all to themselves, and we'll see how that flies at the ballot box in two years.

8) We resolve to condemn corruption where ever it occurs, even, no, especially if a member of our own party is the perpetrator.

9) In these lean economic times, we resolve to insist that the burden be fairly shared.

10) Finally, we resolve to oppose Rep. Bearden's probable legislation to allow, perhaps even require, judges to carry a concealed weapon into the courtroom and use it to kill the defendant on the spot, regardless of the jury's verdict.

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I've Had Just About Enough of This Nonsense

Like a toddler who isn't getting enough attention, Andre's is flipping over the furniture again-posting his frustrations with the DPG on Peach Pundit, a republican blog. This is like complaining about your husband to his ex-lover. Except I'm not sure that Andre' and Erick were ever officially dating, given that Erick's been busy condemning an entire denomination.

There certainly are things that need to improve with the DPG, candidate recruitment being at the top of the list, so complain about the party. Fine. I don't mind criticism, especially constructive criticism, but it does sort of send me to the edge when someone who once worked for the party consistently behaves in a distracting and destructive manner rather than constructively attempting to become a part of the solution(s). It also send me over the edge when folks go over to republican-land to vent their spleen-especially when that criticism is devoid of a single constructive suggestion.

Amazing, really, that Andre' doesn't want anyone to brag about the seats we picked up in the House. I happily spent hours-for free-helping Bubber Epps who finally defeated Allen Freeman after two previous close calls. I have friends in the blogosphere who freely gave their time and talent to get commercials cut for him, as well. And, he won in a tough district, by less than 100 votes. That may not matter to Andre', but to us in Middle Georgia who genuinely believe we will be better represented, it does matter. And, I happily turned over every rock I could find to help Pat Dooley get the resources she needed to win her race, as did many other democrats and democratic groups. I'm curious about what Andre', who is a member of the state committee, did to help recruit candidates or get the ones we had in the field elected? Maybe he should write about his own efforts and in those we might find some solutions. One point of interest-he praises Rep. Winfred Dukes for calling for an investigation into the party's dealings in a school board race, but fails to mention that Dukes is Vice Chair of Candidate Recruitment for the DPG, presumably responsible for, oh, I don't know? Candidate recruitment? But, there is not a word of criticism for Dukes, just Jane Kidd. Maybe Jane spirited Dukes away to some undisclosed location. Clearly, it is ALL her fault.

Now, Andre is attempting to use the results of the Martin and Powell campaigns as support for his ongoing campaign to attack Jane Kidd. Perhaps Andre's thinks we'll elect him. Or maybe Vernon Jones. There clearly is a long line of people who want to work for free at a job guaranteed to award a permanent spot on the dunking booth perch so Andre' and others can gleefully hurl their softballs.

But, let's take a breath and look realistically at what the results of the runoff do, and do not mean. Of the 35 U.S. Senate seats up for re-election this cycle, exactly four incumbents, all republicans, were defeated. Three of those seats are in states with democratic governors-North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Oregon, and all three of those states went for Obama in the presidential election. Only Alaska, where Mark Begich barely defeated convicted felon Ted Stevens, had a republican governor (you might've heard of her) and voted for McCain in the presidential election. Oh, and, by the way, in these four races, only the two women, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, got more than 50% of the vote in the general election. Shaheen had the advantage of high statewide name recognition because she was a former governor. Think Barnes v. Chambliss. And, then in one of the stupidest political moves in my memory, Liddy Dole called Kay Hagan "godless" and that race was all over-probably the presidential, too in N.C. So, except for the narrow defeat of Ted Stevens (did I mention that he was a convicted felon?), there was no state in the whole county that McCain carried in the presidential that ousted an incumbent republican senator. But, obviously, Georgia should be cutting edge.

So what do the Georgia results mean? We do need a more coordinated, pro-active approach to candidate recruitment. We do have enough democrats in Georgia to win statewide elections, if we can figure out how to get them to the polls. And, we do need to raise money-not easy to do as the opposition party, but it will be easier with a democratic president, U.S. House and U.S. Senate. And, by the way, would you rather the party have money in the bank after an election or rather that they spent all they had, and more to help candidates? And, fyi, the 40K for the space for the inaugural party will be reimbursed in full to the party by another organization.

The bottom line? Saxby was bad, really bad. But he was not a convicted felon. The time to win that senate race was in the general, and if the DSCC had spent in the general like they did in the runoff, there might've been a chance. Everyone with two neurons to make a synapse knew that Martin and Powell winning the runoff was a Hail Mary. We hoped for the miracle. We gave, we phoned, volunteers came in droves, but it just wasn't happening. And, that's not Jane Kidd's fault.

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Epps vs. Freeman

If I were Allen Freeman, I'd be worried. It looks more and more like Bubber Epps has the right combination of support to win in November. For example, today, Daryl and I went to Gray for an event, and folks from down that way are none too pleased with Freeman's lack of leadership, especially on the issue of the War Veteran's Home. I also saw a number of Epps signs, but no Freeman signs. Signs don't vote, but interesting still. Then, I keep reflecting back on his announcement party. What struck me were the number of people there with "Sonny" and "Bush" stickers on their cars. Epps will get a lot of cross-over Republican support and will appeal to independent voters. He will do fine in Bibb County-probably lose South Bibb but win the East Macon precinct overwhelmingly, and I predict that he will carry Twiggs, Jones and Wilkinson by a wide margin. In 2006, it poured rain on election day and there was virtually zero GOTV from the top of the Democratic ticket. I can't predict the weather, but I can predict a huge voter turnout this year. Yep, I think come January, we're going to be calling Bubber, "Rep. Epps."

By the way, I'm trying to figure out how Freeman's officer club dues at Robins AFB are a campaign expense. Just asking.

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DPG Has Standing to Challenge Voter ID Law

Today, the Democratic Party of Georgia was found to have standing to bring the Voter ID lawsuit, and Judge Campbell also found that the Plaintiff's petition was not subject to dismissal for failure to provide verification. While the press may be focused on the fact that Judge Campbell declined to grant the requested TRO for the primary, it is the finding on the issue of standing that should give hope to all those in Georgia who want to protect the fundamental right to vote. Past suits on this matter in Georgia have ultimately failed because the plaintiff(s)were found not to have standing. You can read the decision here.

Martin Matheny, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Georgia, said:

"We are pleased that the issue of standing is now settled. The ruling on the request for the temporary restraining order is disappointing but not totally unexpected. We knew this was a short time frame to bring this action. We look forward to the court's full consideration of this matter as the lawsuit moves forward. The Democratic Party of Georgia will continue to fight to protect the Georgia Constitution and to make sure that every Georgia voter has the a chance to vote in November."

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The Party's Throwing a Party

And you thought politics was about blog chatter....actually, it's about this:

From Bibb County Party Chair, Steve Allen

The Bibb County Democratic Party, in cooperation with the Democratic Party of Georgia, is opening a headquarters at 428 Second Street in downtown Macon. That's near Cherry Street and directly across from the SunTrust Bank. Everyone is invited to attend the open house on the evening of July 4 (which is also First Friday in Macon) between 5:00 and 8:00 pm. We will be inviting local candidates and will serve refreshments.The telephone number for the Party is 478/747-1000.

I'm there: Party with the Party on the 4th. An aside-it's pretty cool to read the words "Bibb County Democratic Party," "Democratic Party of Georgia" and "cooperation" in the same sentence.

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Isn't it Worth it?

If you had to dip into your savings to make sure your child was able to get the best start possible-the best chance to live the American Dream-you'd do it, right? Of course you would. I would. But, according to The Southern Education Foundation, the State of Georgia won't.

While the Georgia Lottery Reserve Fund sat at $879.1 million, ($309.5 restricted, $569.6 unrestricted) and our rainy day fund reached an historic one billion dollars in 2007, half of Georgia's four year olds were shut out of "universal" Pre-K. We once led the nation in creating "universal" Pre-K, but over the last ten years, enrollment in Georgia has basically flat-lined and spending has declined by about $400 per student, this according to a report titled, "Time to Lead Again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K," and published by The Southern Education Foundation. And, they're just counting the children whose parents want them to attend Pre-K. There are, no doubt, invisible children whose parents never added their name to a waiting list.

In Bibb County, only 49.1% of children who entered 5K were enrolled in a Georgia Pre-K program. More than half of children who attend 4K in Bibb County are considered "at risk."

In 1993, Georgia's leaders demonstrated great vision by declaring that every child in Georgia would have access to Pre-K, but over the years, we have lost our vision and our will. Now, we spend a whopping 1.6% of the state's annual budget on Pre-K, even though we know that every $1 invested in Pre-K returns $5.12 to the state's economy. In fact, if we committed today to make space available for 80% of Georgia's four year olds, the program would pay for itself by 2026.

How? Students who participate in quality Pre-K are more likely to succeed in school and in life. Children who participated in a Georgia Pre-K program are much less likely be retained in 5K (2.8%) than those who attend a private Pre-K (4.4%) or those who attended no Pre-K (5.9%). And, as adults, children who attend a high-quality Pre-K are more likely to own their own home and more likely to earn more than $2,000 per month. Perhaps, most impressive, 41% of children who attend a high-quality Pre-K will never be on welfare as adults.

The bottom line is that we can do better, and we already have the resources we need to improve. It's time for Georgia's leaders to again embrace the vision that every single child should have access to excellent Pre-K education. It's not just the right thing to do, it makes good economic sense.*

*All of the statistical information in this post is from "Time to Lead Again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K," published by The Southern Education Foundation. And, about that, I have good news and bad news. I got a copy of the report at a presentation in Atlanta tonight, but I don't think that it is posted on the net yet. That's the bad news. The good news is that the SEF is taking the presentation on the road in an effort to build public will to insist that every child whose parents want it should have access to quality Pre-K. They'll be coming to Macon soon, and to a city near you!

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Freeman Op-Ed Raises Credibility Question

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, plagiarize is defined as follows:


pla·gia·rize: transitive verb : to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source; intransitive verb : to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

Rep. Allen Freeman has a letter to the editor in the Telegraph today. He addressed the issue of biofuels. I have no particular issue with biofuels, but it appears that Rep. Freeman took substantial portions of his letter verbatim from industry-based publications without citing the sources or acknowledging that the words are not his own. Even if he used it with the permission of these industry-based publications, he still should've acknowledged the source because he presents the words as if they are his own. That's a credibility issue.

Last year Freeman sponsored a piece of legislation to create a study committee on biofuels. On 12/5/2007, Freeman received a $1,000 contribution from Alterra Bioenergy, a Macon-based company that manufactures and distributes biofuels.

Let me be clear. My issue here is not with biofuels-it's with Rep. Freeman's use of the words of others without attribution.

You can read a entire copy of his letter here. Below, I have pulled out the sentences that contain large portions from at least two other publications and have color coded the phrases and posted the source quotes below. So far, these are the phrases that I have found that appear in other publications (that he did not author):

1. With legislative concerns about America's energy future and food resources, some leaders in Washington are rethinking America's commitment to alternative fuels.

2. Biofuels have become a convenient scapegoat in the media, but fortunately not all biofuels are the same and it is possible for our country to have food and fuel and meet objectives to mitigate global warming.

3. Georgia can provide viable feedstocks and the one biofuel that shows exceeding promise for long-term sustainability is biodiesel.

4. The 500 million gallons of biodiesel produced in the U.S. in 2007 displaced 20 million barrels of petroleum and reduced greenhouse gas emissions at an equivalent of removing 700,000 passenger vehicles from America's roadways.

Sources:

1. Not All Biofuels are the Same, May 29, 2008 - by Jeffrey Trucksess, Executive Vice President for Government and Regulatory Affairs for Green Earth Fuels, a Houston, Texas-based biodiesel company.

Here is a link to the full article. These are the portions that appear, unattributed, in Rep. Freeman's letter to the editor:

· Due to a confluence of legislative concerns about America’s energy future and an international food shortage, some leaders in Washington are rethinking America’s commitment to alternative fuels, especially biofuels.

· biodiesel’s contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions equaled the removal of 700,000 passenger vehicles from America’s roadways.

· It is time for all to take note: not all biofuels are the same and we can have food and fuel at the same time.

· the one biofuel that shows exceeding promise for long-term sustainability is biodiesel

Also, many of these same words and phrases appear in Trucksess' testimony before the a U.S. House committee last week.

2. And, a portion of Freeman's letter appears in this article from Biodiesel.org:

President Bush Calls for Farmers to Keep Growing Energy
Weather and energy costs play greatest role in higher food prices
National Biodiesel Board

...Meanwhile, the U. S. biodiesel industry is helping increase the nation's refining capacity by building plants that produce an American-made, cleaner burning fuel. The 500 million gallons of biodiesel produced in the U.S. in 2007 displaced 20 million barrels of petroleum. Biodiesel is an extremely efficient fuel that creates 3.5 units of energy for every unit of fuel that is required to produce the fuel.

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Kick Mike Out of the House!

Mike Jacobs abandoned us; now, it's our chance to KICK MIKE OUT OF THE HOUSE:

Democrat Keith Gross State House - District 80

Please join us for a fund raising reception

for

Keith Gross

Democratic candidate for House District 80

on

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

from 6 to 8 p.m.

Manuel's Tavern

602 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307

Host Committee

Rep. DuBose Porter, House Democratic Leader, Rep. Calvin Smyre, House Democratic Caucus Chair, Rep. Carolyn Hugley, House Democratic Whip, Rep. Nikki Randall, House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair, Rep. Kathy Ashe, House Democratic Caucus Secretary, Rep. Don Wix, House Democratic Caucus Treasurer, Rep. Rob Teilhet, House Democratic Caucus Chief Deputy Whip, Rep. Stacey Abrams, Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, Rep. Karla Drenner, Rep. Michele Henson, Rep. Billy Mitchell, Rep. Howard Mosby, Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, Rep. Robbin Shipp, Rep. Pam Stephenson, Rep. Stan Watson, Rep. Earnest "Coach" Williams
Visit Keith's web site - Click here!

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Calling All Candidates

Dear Candidates,

The Democratic Party of Georgia would like to thank you for your decision to participate in this year's upcoming elections. We are looking forward to working closely with you over the coming six months, as we work to restore mature, steady leadership to our government. In order to assist you, we will be hosting a Candidate Training Session (CTS) on June 7, 2008 at the Loudermilk Center in Atlanta, GA. This is an event you don't want to miss, because the purpose of the CTS is to equip your campaign team with the necessary information to help you win this November.This is the first of several candidate training sessions that we will hold between now and November. Due to our desire to make sure all of our candidates have the best experience possible, this session is only open to candidates who do not have Democratic primary opposition, and to candidates running in open seats. The CTS will focus on the topics that are important to you and your campaign: fundraising, field organizing, direct mail, and campaign management. We will also introduce you to our state-of-the-art voter file and targeting system, VoteBuilder, as well as our winning messages for 2008. Training on these topics will be provided by some of the most experienced persons in their fields. We encourage you to bring one person from your campaign team to accompany you to the training session so that they can also benefit from the campaigning strategies that will be discussed.The training session will last from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In addition to the various topics that will be discussed, lunch will be provided. In order to make certain that everyone benefits from the CTS, the session will be FREE!!!In order to participate, it is mandatory that you contact us by email at rsvp@georgiademocrat.org by Wednesday, June 4, 2008. Again, this event is free, it is open to you, the qualified candidate, and one other person, and it will be on Saturday, June 7, 2008 at the Loudermilk Center. RSVP immediately and we will contact you to confirm your reservation.

Thank You,

Matt Weyandt
Executive Director

Democratic Party of Georgia
matt@georgiademocrat.org
(678) 278-2008

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Show Up. Seriously. Show Up.

The State Committee of the DPG meets tomorrow in Atlanta. We will be voting on our slate of delegates to the DNC. Some people have been trying to encourage committee members to boycott the meeting. The idea is that if we do not have quorum, then we will not be able to vote. Some people are unhappy that the presidential campaigns cut the slates of at-large delegates to one per slot. To that, I say, big deal. Get over it.

The rules are that the campaigns have the right to purge the slate. Those are the rules. If you don't like the rules, talk to your DNC rep, or better yet, run yourself, but, for now, those are the rules. Given that, I think that both campaigns exercised GREAT restraint by letting almost everyone through at the district level. And, I completely understand why they would want to exercise more control at the State Committee level. Unlike the district-level election, at State Committee, all members vote on all delegates. That means Obama supporters get to vote on both Clinton delegates and Obama delegates and vice versa. And that, my friend, opens the door wide for tomfoolery. So, no wonder the campaigns limited the slates.

Besides, I think suggesting that members stay home is a terribly short-sighted take-my-ball-and-go-home approach. Look, if Barr is on the ticket, we may have a shot at putting Georgia in play in November. Don't you think that we should at least bother to send a full delegation to Denver?

So, if you ran for and were ELECTED to serve or ACCEPTED AN APPOINTMENT to the committee, then, you have a responsibility to show up and vote. So, be there.

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When They Do the Right Thing...

When the DPG does the right thing, we should show our support. The Party did the right thing last week when they canceled a long-planned fundraiser in Macon after the tornado devastated our community. In the meantime, Democrats Work brought volunteers to Macon to help with the aftermath of the storm. (There's still PLENTY for volunteers to do, by the way.) This was exactly what should've happened.

Now, the fundraiser has been rescheduled, and I want to invite you all to come to my office on May 27th at 5:30, and support the DPG. Here's the info from Jane:

What an exciting and busy year 2008 is shaping up to be!We have rescheduled our Macon reception to Tuesday, May 27th from 5:30 to 7:00pm at Amy and Daryl Morton's offices.

I really hope you are able to make room in your hectic schedule to attend.

If you'd like to be a host by giving $1,000 or $500, you can click here, or you can give $250 or $100 by clicking here.

Macon Young Professionals may attend the May 27th reception for $75 by clicking here.

To RSVP or for further information, please call us at 678-278-2102. You may also email tim@georgiademocrat.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Again, I hope to see you in Macon next Tuesday!

Best regards,

Jane Kidd,

Chair Democratic Party of Georgia

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Macon DPG Fundraiser Postponed

Because Macon was so hard-hit by the tornado, the Democratic Party of Georgia has postponed the fundraiser that was to occur at my office this evening at 5:30 p.m. They did send out a notice on Tuesday morning. The event will be rescheduled in the near future, and I hope that when it is, you will be able to attend. Personally, I think that it is a showing of class to postpone this event that was scheduled in a community where so much destruction occurred. Good decision.

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Join Jane Kidd In Macon On Thursday!

Join Jane Kidd in Macon on Thursday, May 15th!

315 College Street, Suite 150Macon, GA, 31201

Google Maps

May 15, 2008

5:30pm -7:00pm

Please Join

Chair Jane Kidd, Congressman Jim Marshall, Senator Robert Brown, Rep. Nikki Randall, Sheriff Jerry and Mary Modena, Councilwoman Lauren Benedict, Bibb County Chair Steve Allen, Amy and Daryl Morton, Duke Groover, Thomas W. Herman, Marc Treadwell, Dwan Packnett, and Nancy Terrill

At a Reception to Support

The Democratic Party of Georgia

Thursday, May 15, 20085:30 pm – 7:00 pm
At the offices of Amy and Daryl Morton

315 College Street, Suite 150

Macon, Georgia 31201

Host Committee & VIP dinner - $1,000 Host Committee - $500 State Party Sponsor - $250State Party Supporter - $100 -Young Professional - $75

Please RSVP by May 8, 2008 to: tim@georgiademocrat.org or by telephone: (678) 278-2102
Contributions may also be mailed to: Democratic Party of Georgia

P.O. Box 77856Atlanta, GA 30357

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What's With the Georgia GOP?

In a tough recruiting year, Georgia Republicans blamed the salaries for legislators, while Georgia Democrats, predictably, just blamed each other. When candidate qualifying ended in Georgia on Friday, there was a lot of grumbling on the blogs about the recruiting efforts of one political party. Sure, one party failed to field candidates in all thirteen congressional races, while the other will compete in every single one. One party had fielded fewer state House and Senate candidates than the other. One party challenged far fewer incumbents than the other. Trouble is, the party with the poorest recruiting record is the Georgia GOP, yet, the complaining has been about the DPG, with Democrats providing the grist for the mill.

Consider this:

• Democrats qualified great candidates in every congressional race while Republicans will only compete in eleven of thirteen.
• 145 Democrats will compete in House races, while only 136 Republicans are running. Despite their majority status, Republicans are competing in only 17 more House districts than Democrats.
• 50 Democrats will compete in state Senate races, while only 48 Republicans will run. Again, despite their majority status, Republicans will compete in only three more Senate districts than Democrats.
• When it comes to challenging incumbents, Democrats clean the GOP's clock. We will challenge 23 incumbent House members while Republicans will challenge only 11 incumbent Democrats. Republicans will challenge 5 incumbent Democratic senators while Democrats drew targets on the backs of 14 incumbent Republican senators.
• Republicans have failed to challenge incumbent Democrats in a number of marginal districts, including seats held by Amy Carter, Ellis Black and Mike Cheokas.

Georgia Republicans hold majorities in the House and Senate along with the majority of the constitutional offices. Their efforts are really embarrassing considering that the Georgia GOP enjoys a substantial cash advantage over the DPG. You'd think that with the money in the bank, a Governor with a 60+% approval rating and virtually unlimited access to lobbyist dollars, the Georgia GOP would've done a better job. You'd think that they would've recruited folks to run in marginal districts (Amy Carter, Ellis Black and Mike Cheokas are all unopposed). If the Democrats had all those things in our favor and had this kind of showing, Kidd and Company would've been run out of town on a rail. Well, if we had rail, which we don't because the GOP led General Assembly couldn't manage to address transportation. I digress.

I understand Republicans wanting to draw the media focus away from their dismal efforts; I just don't understand why Democrats were helping them do it. I'm the first to acknowledge that Democrats need to do a better job of recruiting, but there is a myth floating around that candidate recruitment was a one week marathon for Democrats, capped with an ill-advised robo-call. Whoever's floating that story doesn't know what they don't know. The truth is that many of us have been actively involved in candidate recruitment for the last two years. The truth is that many hours were invested by the Party, the Caucus and various Democratic organizations like Red Clay and Georgia's WIN List. We called, we surveyed, we trained, and, yes, sometimes we begged, pleaded and cajoled to get quality candidates in races. I know this because I have been involved in the process. And, yes, just like the Republicans, during the last month, those efforts were kicked into high gear to get people who we had reached out to over the course of time in place to qualify. And, yes, there are races where we wanted to field candidates and did not, but in many of those races, we were able to identify really quality candidates whose names you will see on the ballot in 2010. We have lots of great Democrats running this year. Now, admittedly, we need to get some real estate agents for some of these folks so that we can compete in more districts, but not only are we running more folks, this is an absolutely fantastic crop of candidates.

Could we have done better? Sure, and next cycle, with your help maybe we will. Now is the time to look around you, or look in the mirror, and help find great candidates to run in 2010.

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Thanks, Insider Advantage

Insider Advantage Georgia has posted extremely helpful downloadable spread sheets that detail the qualifying results in the Georgia House and Senate. For all the talk about our recruiting (more on that in the morning), there's some good news for Democrats.

If I can count this time of night:

In the Georgia Senate, Democrats fielded 14 challengers to incumbent Republicans, while the R's qualified just 5 challengers to incumbent Democrats.

In the Georgia House, Democrats fielded 23 challengers to incumbent Republicans, while Republicans qualified 11 challengers to take on incumbent Democrats.

Of course, we have ground to make up in both chambers-ground that was lost long before Jane Kidd took office, by the way-but it looks as though we are actually contesting the most seats.

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Run, Pat, Run!!

Georgia Democrats ought to be happy with this one! Today, Pat Dooley qualified to run for HD38, a seat in Cobb County currently held by Steve Tumlin. To this race, Pat brings a wealth of legislative experience and a passion for working on behalf of the people in her district. I understand that at the recent Cobb JJ dinner, the room erupted into cheers of "Run, Pat, Run" when keynote speaker Rep. Dubose Porter suggested to the crowd that Pat had served us well and should be encouraged to run again. And, so she is. Thanks, Pat, for running. Thanks to you, we've got a very good shot at flipping that seat.

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There is No Candidate Fairy

There's been a good bit of chatter today about the robo call the DPG commissioned to solicit candidates for some targeted races. I've had several calls, and no one who called thinks it was a good idea. People used words like "embarrassing" and "desperate" and in general made fun of the effort. Truthfully, I could've written the press on it before it ever happened. The spin was predictable, but it points to a larger problem.

We need a systematic program to identify, train and elect Democrats. While the party has a role in this, I'm not sure that this can really be accomplished through the DPG. Some entity needs to have the freedom to focus only on recruitment, and they must have the latitude to be selective about who they support in primaries. It needs to be someone's full time job. I have some thoughts about this, but, that's a discussion for the day after qualifying.

Right this minute, we all need to understand that there is no candidate fairy-there is no pipeline, (though there needs to be a pipeline and there can be a pipeline.)And, frankly, the way to make gains in the House and Senate is not by simply fielding a candidate-any candidate-in every race. It's probably better to have nine candidates in districts we have a great chance of flipping than to have 20 candidates in races where success is unlikely. This isn't just true for Democrats. When we're done with qualifying on Friday, there will be a lot of incumbent Democrats who are unchallenged. Neither Democrats or Republicans will invest a whole lot of money in races they are unlikely to win. Add to that, when you're in the minority, it is no small task to find qualified candidates who have the time to both campaign and serve, especially in districts 250+ miles from Atlanta. The bottom line is that if we want candidates in these key races, we all need to be reaching out to whomever we know in these key districts.
So, get on the phone and call your friends or family in places like Cordele or Camilla.

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Play Nice

You can't always play nice in politics. As Roy Barnes once said, this is a blood sport. It is, I know, and some issues are worth the bleeding, but there are times when the process chews up perfectly good people for no good reason. For example, I was sad to get email today announcing that the constituency vice chair for the DPG, Virgilio Perez Pascoe, has resigned. Let me be clear, I have no information about why he resigned, but it sure is sad to lose him. Virgilio is relatively new to party politics-something most of us saw as a plus. He comes from a corporate background where the trains generally run on time. I know for a fact that he spent a tremendous amount of time making sure that the whole delegate selection process worked as well as it possibly could've. For example, he met my husband, who is the 8th district congressional chair, in Macon at 8 p.m. on Friday night to give him the materials for the caucus the next day and then went back to Americus to be the DPG rep at that caucus the next day. That doesn't even begin to count the many, many meetings that he chaired or attended in the run up to this process. Perhaps his departure is unrelated to the stress of that process, but the timing sure is curious. The bottom line is that we can't afford to lose these newly engaged Democrats.

All of these party officers-from Jane on down-are volunteers. Yet, many give full time or nearly full time to their posts at the party. For their trouble, they also get to be the whipping posts when things aren't going well. That's understandable to a degree-they should be accountable to the duties of their elected posts, but it seems to me that the party would be stronger if we spent as much energy complimenting as complaining.

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