All Posts Tagged With: "Thomas"

Friedman in his usual insightful manner began it by saying:

“Before Democrats adopt “More Troops to Afghanistan” as their bumper sticker, they need to make sure it’s a strategy for winning a war — not an election.”

The main caution I would offer to Thomas Friedman’s suggestion that “islands of democracy” would be beneficial, is the danger of a policy of nation-building and the quagmire it can create (Iraq and Afghanistan serve as excellent examples). Thomas Friedman’s discussion of the situation concerning America’s worn-out welcome in Afghanistan is basically a mirror image of Pakistan (without nukes). As much as various entities exploit nihilism as a source of public support for terrorism, I honestly believe that those same entities are even more successful in generating support by exploiting the sense that they have somehow been egregiously wronged by the United States. Unfortunately, we have been losing the the war on terror at the most crucial front of all, the popular opinion front. As long as we continue to allow those who would foster terrorism to be more influential and media savvy than we are, we will continue to lose. I honestly believe that we need to change many facets of our foreign policy toward the Muslim and Arab states. But that being said, the bottom line in this war is not truth, but the perception of truth. And the international perception of the United States has become very unpopular over the last decade.”

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 12^th 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 4^th 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 12^th 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 8^th 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 12^th 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 12^th 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.