Randy's Views

Democratic insiders are working feverishly to find an acceptable resolution of the conflict that now divides the party faithful. To see the wounds that bitterly fought, hotly contested primaries leave, Democrats need look no further than the Republicans. The fact is that Republican Presidential presumptive nominee Senator John McCain has yet to recover from the deep political wounds that remain from the 2000 Republican Primary (much less those inflicted anew in 2008).

No matter what they say about coming together, no one really doubts the serious implications from contentious intra-party fights. Some disheartened supporters for one candidate or the other may actually threaten to cross party lines to inflict political retribution by voting for the other party’s nominee. However, the more likely risk is that key disenfranchised groups lose their zeal for participation in the general election once their first choice loses.

In the real world of general elections, rallying the base is as important as wooing marginal independent voters. Democrats and Republicans know this. As a result, both candidly fear that the stage has been set for at least one of their core groups to sit it out in November 2008 - just when they need them the most.

Already, Republicans fear that social conservatives and immigration activists will not be excited about Senator McCain. Democrats fear diminished enthusiasm from either African-Americans or women, depending on the who loses the Democratic Presidential Primary.

Republicans do have the hope (as fool hearted as it is) that there is a magical Vice Presidential candidate who can energize the right, secure the south, and deliver diversity without jeopardizing electability. For Democrats, the candidacies have become so personality driven that many believe that anything other than their choice (either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton) will never be good enough.

Of course, this does not stop political insiders from trying. Some of the possibilities are interesting. For example, there are rumors of deals floating in backrooms of Washington, D.C. of a “managed exit” strategy for the losing Democratic candidate which does not involve the losing candidate joining the Presidential ticket as the political runner up. Probably the most intriguing suggestion involves a “quadfecta”
(like a trifecta - except four candidates) of sorts for Democratic voters.

The lynchpin of this ultimate political deal is Democratic Majority Leader - Senator Harry Reid. Currently, he manages the Majority Conference in the United States Senate. However, in recent years, he has had some significant health issues. More significantly, many Senate Democrats have become openly frustrated with his inability to more effectively control the Senate where Democrats hold a clear voting majority.

If Senator Reid announced that he was stepping down as the Senate Majority Leader, then there would be a rather powerful and prestigious opening for either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama that does not involve the Vice Presidential slot.

Significantly, with twenty-two Senate Republican seats at play in 2008 (five of which involve vacancies due to retirements), the next Democratic Senate Majority Leader could actually have some real power to move an agenda in the U. S. Senate. Hence, it is a plum that would get sweeter thus increasing its appeal as a meaningful plan “B.” (Of course, this is exactly the kind of deal that Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean could facilitate.)

Putting all the pieces together, the ticket would be (assuming Senator Obama’s commanding delegate lead holds up): President – Illinois Senator Barack Obama; Vice-President - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (or some other Latino equivalent); House Speaker - San Francisco Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi; Senate Majority Leader – New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

Under this scenario, everyone gets something. African-Americans get the first nomination of a major political party. The important latino community (which everyone agrees is necessary to any successful general election strategy) gets the nomination for the Vice President of the United States. Women get control of the entire legislative branch of the federal government with the top jobs in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

It would be tantamount to the “dream ticket.” The only question would be the “dream ticket” for whom? - Democrats, Republicans, or both. (Of course, the dreams of some can be the nightmares of others.)

By now, most Georgians know of Speaker Glenn Richardson, Senate President pro tempore Eric Johnson, Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, and Governor Sonny Perdue. Behind these leaders, however, there are some important folks whose names many Georgians will never hear or see. In the world of politics, their jobs are to get the job done, but never get the credit. In many ways, they touch the lives of Georgians as much as a Senator or House Member in the Georgia Legislature. As a result, their greatest successes are known only to those working inside the Gold Dome. Lift the curtain, and here are some of the people making it all happen.

Chris Cumminskey is the Chief of Staff for the Speaker of the House, Glenn Richardson. His anonymity is notable given that he works for one of the most controversial people in Georgia government. His job in the Speaker’s office is very different from his former role as State Director for Senator Johnny Isakson. In the United States Senate, the focus is mostly on consensus building where direct controversy is avoided at all cost. In contrast, the Speaker’s job is to create cover, political maneuvering room, and support for Members while simultaneously moving an agenda based on the will of the House majority. Of course, Speaker Richardson has been occasionally known to use tactical explosions to create maneuvering room and cover for Members of his Caucus. Chris Cumminskey makes sure that the fallout from these explosions never reaches critical mass so as to threaten either the Speaker’s job or the majority’s agenda. Most importantly, as the former Political Director for Senator Isakson’s campaign, Chris Cumminskey understands that the name of the game is winning elections. In this regard, it is his combined skill sets that make him so valuable and trusted.

Brad Alexander is the Chief of Staff for Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle. Brad Alexander has never been a stranger to political conflict. Before joining the office of the Lieutenant Governor, Brad Alexander served in capacities as former Congressman Bob Barr’s press secretary in Washington, D.C. and as district director in Marietta. Then, in candidate Casey Cagle’s political campaign, Brad Alexander led the relentless attacks on Republican primary opponent Ralph Reed that eventually resulted in Casey Cagle’s unexpected lopsided primary win. Yet, his charge as the Chief of Staff has been anything but creating political controversy. Instead, in his role as the Lieutenant Governor’s Chief of Staff, Brad Alexander has been tasked with downplaying conflict and winning intellectual arguments over public policy. As a graduate of Berry College and Emory University, his depth on the issues is exceptional. Few under the Gold Dome are as well versed in literature, political thought, and current events as Brad Alexander. While he has never been reluctant to get his hands dirty in the rough and tumble business of politics, Brad Alexander has succeeded in his current job by navigating the politically stormy waters down at the Capitol without allowing his boss to suffer any politically fatal wounds. With all the cannon fire under the Gold Dome, this has been no easy task.

Melanie Sloan is a mom. She is also the Chief of Staff for president pro tempore Senator Eric Johnson. Like her boss, Melanie Sloan works within a core conservative ideological framework that is unshakable. In a place where the political winds can blow even the most reliable legislator off course, Melanie Sloan has cut through the smoke and gotten down to business. She has consistently worked toward moving Georgia from a government based education system that has failed generations of children toward a merits based system that draws upon both the public and private sectors for success. Everyone under the Gold Dome knows her. Smart people respect her.

Finally, Josh Belinfante is the Deputy Executive Counsel to Governor Sonny Perdue. His unassuming demeanor conceals his exceptional talent. He served as a law clerk to Chief Judge J. L. Edmondson (of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals), legal counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the Georgia House of Representatives, and as an attorney at Balch & Bingham (one of the most respected firms in the Southeast). Yet, quietly and effectively, he works the halls of the Capitol with notable success.

The Georgia Legislature endeth and tax day (April 15th) cometh. And so goes the story for Georgia taxpayers - no tax relief in sight, but tax bills right on time. With over one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000.00) in the reserve, Georgia legislators had every opportunity during the 2008 Georgia General Assembly to either cut taxes or at least allow Georgians to decide for themselves whether to cut Georgia taxes.

There were a couple of possibilities considered down at the Capitol. In the Georgia House of Representatives, the leadership favored eliminating the ad valorem tax on automobiles. The tax was dubbed the “birthday tax” since taxpayers must pay the tax on their automobiles on or before their birthday. The “ax the birthday tax” movement started slowly but seemed to gather momentum as the session progressed. It did not matter. The Georgia Senate had no appetite for such a tax cut.

In the Georgia Senate, some floated the idea of an income tax cut. There were moments when the tax-cut friendly Georgia House would have agreed to any tax-cut, even one that gave only marginal relief to some Georgia taxpayers. Yet, any hope of a Senate sponsored tax-cut was short lived. In the end, the Georgia Senate had no appetite for a tax cut at all.

Legislators reluctant to embrace any form of tax cut for Georgians mostly relied on the same old arguments. Most often, they cited the slowing economy and the potential for sliding tax revenues as the reasons Georgians should not keep more of their money.

Given that Georgia has a Republican legislature and a Republican governor, this is a bit confusing. Since Ronald Reagan, Republicans have typically stood for the proposition that the best way to stimulate an economy is to leave more money in it. This means tax cuts.

Hence, there is a certain irony in the fact that just when Georgians begin to feel the pinch of an economic recession the most, the principle focus of many of the Republicans down at the Capitol was (and is) to make sure that the government has enough money. Now, while many Georgians contemplate the possibilities of cutting spending, Georgia government can rest assured it will have plenty of money.

The problem is that many elected officials believe everything they hear. But, when elected officials rely on bureaucrats to decide when the government can afford a tax cut, there is never a tax cut. The fact is that government bureaucrats have never seen a tax cut that they believed the government could afford.

Just consider the current situation. In the face of a slowing economy, economic stimulus is needed. As the impact of the slowdown hit, average Georgians needed more money in their household budget - not the State of Georgia’s budget. And, there is well over one billion dollars in reserves. So, within these boundaries, if not now, then when? The fact is that if elected officials rely on bureaucrats to decide when the government can afford a tax cut, there will never be a tax cut.

Within this context of the tax cut debate, there appears to be an assumption that the government is best suited to decide how to spend taxpayers money. After all, the idea that the government needs money during a recession presupposes that the government can best decide how to spend the money when tough times come. This assumption is especially noteworthy in connection with the debate surrounding the birthday tax.

Because eliminating the ad valorem tax would involve an amendment to the Georgia Constitution, the proposed tax cut would have required a vote by Georgians. Imagine that possibility - voters deciding. Yet, legislators were even unwilling to allow Georgians to decide whether to eliminate the ad valorem tax.

In the end, the decision was that Georgians could not be trusted to decide whether to cut their own taxes, much less how to spend their own tax dollars.

Worse yet, none of these arguments address the core philosophical issues surrounding a government stockpiling billions of tax dollars as it collects far more money than it needs to operate. Something is out of whack here.

Pope Benedict XVI came to America. His visit was not what anyone expected. And then, it was very different than most expected.

To listen to the modernists, there were plenty of reasons to believe that Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States would be a giant thud. After all, how could the increasingly secular modern America hold any regard for the 81 year old leader of the Catholic Church?

Shortly after his ascendancy as the spiritual head of the Roman Catholic Church (and Sovereign of the Vatican City State), his critics attempted to diminish him by commenting that he is no John Paul II. By setting such a standard, they hoped to destine his papacy to inevitable failure by comparison.

After all, together with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II helped change the world. With a soft spoken word and a charismatic presence, Pope John Paul II forgave a would-be assassin, stood firmly behind Solidarity (the Catholic, pro-democratic/anti-Communist Polish workers' movement), and traveled the world to reach out to people. Above all, like Reagan and Thatcher, John Paul II never wavered from his principles.

Yet, Pope Benedict XVI has never pretended to be John Paul II; instead, he has set out on his own historical course as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. With “the look and feel of a monumental and historic event" (as one reporter put it), President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush greeted the Pope on his arrival on Shepherd 1 at Andrews Air Force Base - the first time an American president has done so and the first visit by a Pope since September 11, 2001.

As opposed to the predicted non-event (characterized as an old pope meeting with an unpopular president), President Bush’s welcome of Pope Benedict XVI was headline news for every major news organization in the country. The pictures were impressive.

Best estimates are that there are approximately 70 million Catholics in the United States. Approximately 13,500 American Catholics and their friends came to watch the White House South Lawn arrival ceremony. Approximately 46,000 attended a Mass led by the Pope at Nationals Park (the Washington Nationals’ baseball stadium). Add to that an address to the United Nations General Assembly and another Mass at Yankee Stadium in New York City and the Pope’s visit was in fact momentous. Pope Benedict XVI has embarked on his own course in world history.

Modernists and television pontificators still cannot quite figure out what is going on here. After all, in Jesse Ventura style, they view any organized form of religion as a crutch for the weak minded. Worse yet, they see the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church on issues like abortion and stem-cell research as outdated and out-of-touch with contemporary America. Faith is such a foreign concept that the mere idea of a spiritual leader is frankly incomprehensible. Yet, as they continue their steady move to drive God from America’s public square, there was Pope Benedict XVI riding in his “popemobile” right into the public square. But his visit did not end there.

Something else happened on the Pope’s way to the park. Pope Benedict XVI made his way to meet with some of the victims of the sex abuse scandal that had rocked his church. He publicly acknowledged that the scandal was a “deep shame.” Of course, these are not the actions that critics had expected from what they had described as the inflexible and antiquated Roman Catholic Church. The fact is that nothing about the Pope’s visit has been what they expected.

CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry candidly acknowledged that “[c]overing the White House is a thrill for a political junkie like me, but nothing prepared me for the euphoria of reporting on Pope Benedict XVI's Mass at Nationals Park for about 46,000 worshippers here on Thursday.”

There is a reason for that. Somehow the pundits thought that Americans were too busy and distant to engage or pay attention to the Pope’s six day tour in the United States. They were wrong. Contrary to the perceptions of (and portrayals by) Hollywood and the elitists, faith and God have not yet been completely driven from the hearts and minds of Americans.

In addition to the President and the Vice President, Georgians will elect a United States Senator, thirteen United States Representatives, fifty-six Georgia Senators, one hundred and eighty Georgia Representatives, two Georgia Public Service Commissioners, forty-one Georgia District Attorneys, two Georgia Supreme Court Justices, three Court of Appeals Judges, and one hundred and thirty nine Superior Court Judges on November 4, 2008. In total, this is three hundred and thirty eight candidates vying for public service in Georgia.

Qualifying for public office is no small thing. The Secretary of State’s publication outlining the “Qualifications and Disqualifications for Holding State or County Elective Office in Georgia” is two hundred and seventy two pages long. Candidates must complete a whole array of forms and affidavits along with paying the necessary qualifying fee. (The qualifying fee is three percent of the salary of the office sought and ranges from $4,956.00 for United States Senate and Representative to $400.00 for Georgia Senator and Representative.) Yet, the legalities of qualifying for political office are only the beginning for candidates. There is the campaigning, fundraising, get-out-the-vote drives, and so much more.

Yet, a viable democracy really depends on two essential ingredients - candidates and voters. One without the other diminishes the process itself. If no one qualifies, then there really is no choice involved. (It is why reports in some countries of ninety-nine percent voter turnout mean little given that voters are only given one choice.) If people qualify for office, but no one votes, it is the same problem in reverse. Both make the system work.

In Georgia, any citizen who meets the qualifications for office can sign up and be a candidate - regardless of the preferences, wishes, or desires of anyone else. It is a beautiful thing.

Contrary to popular belief, ordinary people run for office. Many times they have held public office before. Sometimes, they have not. Most often, they really want to make a difference.

Regardless of their reason, candidates for public office should be congratulated. They have distinguished themselves as American patriots willing to endure some measure of sacrifice in order to assure that Georgians have a choice. Candidates offer the best opportunity for voters to express their beliefs and values.

As results often confirm, there are no predestined winners or losers in American politics - whether at the national, state, or local level. Just this year, no one seriously thought that Senator John McCain had a chance, and now he is the presumptive Republican nominee. More significantly, perceived barriers of age, race, and gender have been obliterated by the candidacies of Senator McCain, Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton.

Unfortunately, the vitriolic nature of modern American politics combined with the availability of instant communication via the internet and cable news has chilled many would-be candidates from stepping up to the plate. While the number of people participating as voters in process has increased, the number of folks willing to sign up as candidates has declined. A large part of this reticence stems from the personal nature of the attacks often levied against candidates.

Political operatives are quick to attack the messenger when they have little ground to attack the message. Politicians do not help the situation when they resort to petty name calling as opposed to genuine policy debates.

Yet, while the internet and cable news have increased the speed and efficiency of personal attacks, voters have become increasingly adept at sizing up candidates and zeroing in on the issues and qualities that are important. Georgians talking to Georgians continues to be the best way for voters to synthesize the data that they receive and to make good choices.

Occasionally, the latest flavor of the month may win. But over time, there is a reason that America’s system has worked so well. William F. Buckley once said: “I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.” The key, however, is that folks in the telephone directory have to sign up to run for office. If you see a candidate, say “thank you.”