All Posts Tagged With: "Progressive"
Meet Georgia’s ‘Aggressive Progressive’
I first learned about Georgia State Senator Regina Thomas when I received a communication from Democrats.com. In their email, they targeted Democratic Congressman John Barrow, of Georgia’s 12th District (whom they call a ‘Bush Democrat’), for removal and endorsed current State Senator Regina Thomas, an ‘Aggressive Progressive,’ as his replacement. Out of 17 substantive bills, Barrow has voted with his Republican counterparts 12 times, including “yes” votes on continuing to fund the war in Iraq ($163 billion to Bush), the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which granted retroactive immunity to the telecom companies and significantly broadened George Bush’s spying powers, and habeas corpus. In a district that is 45% black, Barrow votes like a southern right-wing Republican.
Regina Thomas was elected state senator via special election on January 11, 2000. She has served in that capacity since that time and is known as ‘a voice for the voiceless,’ and a tireless champion for those in need. She is committed to moving Georgia forward in education, health care, the environment, energy and security. Prior to serving as state senator, Regina served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1995 through 1998, where her efforts were focused on education, children’s issues and welfare reform. She also served as assistant majority whip in 1997-1998. I recently caught up with Regina for a quick interview.
D: So, Regina, I know you’ve been busy. It’s nice to finally catch up with you.
R: Nice to finally speak with you also! Well, I’ve been on the road. I’m sorry you couldn’t reach me the other day when we planned to talk , but I was traveling and I guess I didn’t hear the phone!
D: Oh, that’s absolutely no problem. I understand you’re busy. So, tell me about John Barrow’s votes, and why he’s being targeted for removal from office by his own party.
R: Well, you know he voted in favor of continued funding of the Iraq war as well as the new FISA bill, which is an affront to our rights, a violation of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution. However, it doesn’t end there. Barrow also voted against the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and taxing the oil companies’ windfall profits. As I travel around the state, what I’m hearing is that the 12th district has been neglected; he is not in touch with his constituents, 45% of whom are black. He will not be going back to Washington in the fall!
D: How is it that Barack Obama came to support Barrow, even to the point of producing a radio ad with him which, I might add, resulted in some outrage against Obama?
R: It’s called politics. Barrow is a superdelegate who threw his support to Barack Obama early on. That’s the way it works.
D: Can you give me some history of how Barrow even got elected in this district to begin with?
R: Well, in 2004, there really wasn’t a choice. Barrow was involved in a run-off against a Republican. At the time, we really didn’t know much about John Barrow, but he was a Democrat, so we voted for him. In 2006, nobody ran against him on the Democratic side, but the Republicans fielded a candidate, so Barrow was supported by the Democrats and was returned to office.
D: Ah, so now there’s a real choice for Democrats, and her name is Regina Thomas.
R: Exactly. I work for the homeless and disadvantaged children. I’ve campaigned for the environment, for an improved school system, all the things that matter to the people in John Barrow’s district. I’ve been there and I’ve heard their concerns and what they want their Congressional representative to champion, and John Barrow is not paying attention to the needs of his constituents.
D: When I spoke with Shirley Golub, who ran against Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco’s 8th District primary, she was lamenting the fact that the media coverage was dismal, even the progressive media didn’t cover her campaign. How is it going with you?
R: It’s the exact opposite with me. I’m getting a lot of press down here. I’ve been in the local paper almost every day, I’ve been on the radio and on television. The New York Times even called!
D: What does your day look like today? Is this a typical day in your campaign?
R: Well, Comcast has set up a forum for all the 12th District candidates, Republican and Democrat. However, I received a message from Comcast saying it was postponed.”
D: Better be careful with Comcast.
R: Well, I called some of the other candidates and they say it’s still on. I might just show up.”
D: I would. You know Comcast has been in hot water lately on many issues.
R: Yeah, well since I cannot confirm this and since I have some material to drop off up that way anyway, I’ll just show up.
D: Well, good luck. The next time I speak with you, I hope to hear how the forum went! And I hope to be speaking with you after your victory on July 15th!
R: Thanks very much. Talk to you soon!
Postscript: I spoke with Regina yesterday about the Comcast forum. She told me that John Barrow chose to pass on the forum. Therefore, her participation was cancelled by Comcast. The Republicans running in Georgia’s 12th District were allowed to go on. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Comcast must give Thomas equal time because she is running in the same Congressional race as the Republicans who participated in the forum. John Barrow, however, has elected not to participate.
Bravo Barack
Today at a press conference, Barack said when he goes to church it is not for spectacle, not to posture politically, not to hear things that violate his core beliefs and he says the extremists comments of Rev Wright, do not represent him or his campaign and he disavows them.
Some of the most outrageous comments Wright made included about the US being complicit in HIV, 9/11. Beyond those conspiratorial views, he said he disavowed most of his “performance’ topics. He says Wrights assertion that he “just says what a politician has to say” is not what he or his whole life has been about and that Wright did him wrong.
This kind of straight talk is what I had thought I had heard even early in his campaign. As an independent who holds positions that disqualify me for gold label membership in either of the mainstream parties, as well as smaller parties also, I detected things in his speeches that I think will cause many of his ardent supporters to experience disappointment after he is in office (of course I mean “if”).
That is because, like all presidents, he would be presented with the world as it is, not as any of us would have it were we able to mold it. He will have to start with today and will have to make the near impossible decisions a president has to make even though most voters believe there truly is a single right or wrong decisions. Wrong. Not Wright.
At that time during which he gained early strength from mostly only liberal and progressives and idealistic college students as well as the inevitable extremists in those movements, the kind of extremists that exist in all movements, that energetic support was from an adoring constituency that could not see or hear what I believe I did.
Some of those extremists and others less extreme, give voice every day on the internet in endless conspiratorial tirades on sites that because I can see both sides and admit it, I am INELIGIBLE to be a blogger. Many of you know the names of those sites.
Will that prevent him from getting the nomination and if so from beating John McCain? I don’t know, conventional wisdom and probably Vegas odds seem to think so. But if I truly knew such things, beyond a belief or a hope, I would buy up and rename Hawaii to “Justo Land” and the airports and seaports would be private.
A Better Not Bitter America
As I sit here watching the Pope and listening to his sermons I can’t help but think back to the “preaching’s” of Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Add in the bitter statement last week by Barack Obama and I have come to some interesting conclusions.
The Pope in his very first speech at the White House concluded with “God Bless America”. I don’t know if it was intentional but I bet a lot of folks were comparing that to Wright’s “God Damn America”. So far, the Pope has been preaching a sermon of forgiveness, encouragement and love. Wright, on the other hand, seems to spend a lot of time preaching about blame and anger and even hatred.
In addition to comparing the Pope’s message of love and forgiveness to that of Wright’s hate and anger filled sermons, throw in Barack Obama’s message last week. If Barack does attend a church that preaches hatred then you can almost understand why he might think that bitter people turn to religion when they are frustrated.
If your church reflects your frustration and anger with the world then I suppose it would be appealing to a frustrated bitter person. But most people who go to church go to one that preaches a message of love and forgiveness similar to the Pope’s sermons.
Mixing all of these thoughts together and I am arriving at two interesting conclusions. First, it isn’t small town folks who are bitter but the Democrats. Liberals, like Obama, seem to be very frustrated and bitter and angry at the USA. These liberals have yet to forgive anyone; not the people, the Supreme Court, Republicans, Southerners, Floridians nor anyone else who they think helped to elect President Bush in 2000 and again in 2004.
On the other hand, the most successful Republicans, like Reagan, campaign on the promises of hope and a better tomorrow. Their positive messages reflect that of main stream churches. History has shown that most people want leaders who are positive, who offer the masses hope and encouragement to be a better person, a better country. Actually it isn’t only Republicans who are elected if they have a message of hope. Think of FDR, Kennedy, even Bill Clinton. All of them encouraged the people that there would be a new tomorrow filled with hope and a better life.
Obama had initially started off campaigning on hope and the offer to bring Americans together again. But after the divisiveness of Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s proclaimed spiritual advisor, then Obama himself began to be tainted with the brush of liberal anger and hatred. Obama then compounded the problem with his bitter statement. He probably will still be the Democratic nominee for President. But if McCain can emulate the Pope and past successful Presidents by giving Americans a message of hope and optimism he just might win over an opponent who is portrayed as seeing a bitter not better people and country.