My granddaddy had a stroke when he was seventy-eight. In those
days, in the country, you didn’t go to the hospital. Something stranger
happened. The doctor came to the house.
The family, which was large, came together to huddle over "Papa"
and monitor his condition. About the second day, as he slowly regained some
awareness, they began to come, one-by-one, to see if he recognized them.
When my daddy came to the bedside, they asked, "Papa, do you know who
this is?"
Grandpa Craig looked up with that squinted carpenter’s eye, conditioned
by years of checking plumb lines and straight walls. He took a long look,
then answered, "Bill."
"Bill WHO?"
Grandpa hesitated. Then he mumbled, "Bill Roosevelt?"
The family, even my daddy, burst into laughter. You see, all the Craigs were
Democrats, and daddy was a dyed-in-the-wool Republican. He HATED Roosevelt.
(Hated may be a little strong, but it’s close.)
The years of political discussion and disagreement between daddy and grandpa
had penetrated the stroke and come out twisted.
I come from a family which takes politics seriously, but not "too"
seriously; therefore, on Wednesday, when Roy Barnes is re-elected and the
Democrats continue to control the legislature, I will not crawl into a hole
and sulk. I’m already there, still trying to get over the Georgia/Florida
game.
I have my priorities in order.
Concern? Yes. Concerned that politics has gotten so expensive that BOTH parties
are bought by special interests. Party lines mean nothing. The money follows
the favorite, usually the incumbent and the party in power. In Georgia, that’s
the Democrats.
Concerned that most folks vote for "labels."
"What kind of name is that?", one lady asked disdainfully. "Saxby."
Concerned that issues have been inundated with rhetoric and negativism. "That’s
politics" doesn’t cut it.
Concerned that folks vote for "baubles." Vote for me and when you
send that loaf of bread to Atlanta, I will bring a few crumbs back to you.
"That’s politics" doesn’t cut it.
Concerned that we have a state government that is rated one of the most corrupt
in the nation……the curse of a one-party system that has dominated
Georgia for one hundred and thirty years.
Georgia is the ONLY state that has the distinction of having the same party
control the governorship for over a hundred years.
The problem is not the PARTY, but the PROCESS. Absolute power brings absolute
corruption.
Up until well after WWII, the Democrats held the "solid south".
The electorate were "yellow-dog" Democrats, meaning they would vote
for a "yeller dog" before they would vote for a Republican.
The Roosevelts, Mr. And Mrs., made it worse for the elitist Republicans by
wooing the black vote, and the former segregationist Democrats, with the help
of Republicans, still hold it, nine to one in Georgia.
The yellow dog is sick, but he still lives. The black vote will continue to
pick the "D" until it is offered a better alternative, which the
Republicans have not offered.
And the money? The money will always hedge its bets, but put most of it on
the favorite horse.
Wednesday, thank God, it will be over for a while, and we can return to life’s
real problems.
Right now, that is how to stop that Manning boy from Mississippi. Grossman
ate our lunch.
Ó2002 Dave Nelson