TODAY'S ISSUE
Writer questions Sen. Miller's leadership in Washington
By Steve Reilly
Special to GwinnettForum.com

(Editor's note: the following is an Open Letter from Steve Reilly, who is a former chairman of the Democratic Party in Gwinnett County from 1996-2002.. -eeb)

AUG. 13, 2004

Dear Senator Miller:

I have been a long-time supporter of yours. I believe you were an outstanding Governor. I supported your U. S. Senate campaign following your appointment to complete Paul Coverdell's term.

When you initially made public comments critical of the national Democratic Party and the Democratic leadership in the U. S. Senate, I regarded those comments as "constructive criticism." I, too, am a moderate-to-conservative Southern Democrat. I, too, feel that the Democratic Party must focus on "kitchen table issues" that effect mainstream America. As a former Army officer myself, I, too, support a strong national defense and an aggressive effort in the war on terrorism.

About a year ago, however, your public comments took a sudden turn. You publicly endorsed the reelection of President Bush, even though the Democratic candidate field at the time included several moderate-to-conservative Democrats (Lieberman, Clark, Edwards). You appeared at the Georgia Republican Party convention, where you made harshly critical attacks upon John Kerry's candidacy. Now you are scheduled to address the Republican National Convention later this month.

The President you have so enthusiastically endorsed is not the second coming of Lincoln or FDR; he is an incurious, dangerously simple-minded man who leads an administration willing to mislead the country and Congress on matters of public policy. From critical decisions leading up to and continuing after the invasion of Iraq to domestic matters here at home, the Bush administration has repeatedly made bad decisions and misled our country.

When you look beyond the rhetoric and examine the record of the Bush administration, the following is apparent:

1) The primary rationale for an invasion of Iraq as given by Mr. Bush (WMD, al-Qaida connections with the Iraqi regime) has proven largely groundless to this point;

2) The financial cost of the invasion will not be born by Iraqi oil exports or by our allies, but will instead be required of our country for years to come, with annual appropriations of $50 billion or more;

3) The failure of the administration to secure Iraq with an adequate number of American troops after the initial invasion has fed the instability that plagues us in Iraq right now, and has endangered the lives of our troops. When General Eric Shinseki, then the Army Chief of Staff, told Congress it would require several hundred thousand troops to occupy Iraq, the administration (Mr. Rumsfeld and Mr. Wolfowitz) spent two weeks criticizing General Shinseki's testimony. Today, we find ourselves sending massive numbers of Reserve and National Guardsmen to Iraq for lengthy stints, with the 3rd Infantry Division soon to return after a brief respite from their last combat tour in Iraq. All the while, our mission in Afghanistan is incomplete, as much of that country is unstable, and Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri remain at large.

4) Even on domestic matters, the Bush Administration has misled the Congress and our people. The administration appears to have deceived Congress on the cost of the Medicare reform bill to get their bill passed. The extra $140 billion cost announced after the bill's passage is not a "drop in the bucket" when the administration at the same time insists on massive income tax cuts while also pursuing massive increases for domestic spending. Our nation now finds itself saddled with increasingly large annual budget deficits with no end in sight. This is a development that can eventually undermine our economic security in this country.

As for your criticism of Senator John Kerry's defense record, perhaps you missed the recent comments of a couple of Republican senators who have been in the Senate a little longer than you. Both Senator John McCain and Senator Chuck Hagel recently made public statements indicating that Mr. Kerry does not have a weak record on defense matters. Retired Army General John Shalikashvili, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, publicly endorsed John Kerry at the Democratic National Convention.

Senator Miller, I think you have somehow gotten lost during your sojourn to Washington. In the process, your political legacy has become tarnished in the twilight of your previously distinguished career.

Sincerely,

Steve Reilly, Norcross

ELLIOTT BRACK
Endorsements, big money are no match for wrath of voters
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

AUG. 13, 2004 -- So much for endorsements.

So much for raising big pots of money.

And so much for a small turnout of voters.

With voter wrath turning, it now appears that barring a wholesale philosophical about-face of voters in the General Election, Charles Bannister will be the new chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission.

After 12 years in office, Wayne Hill finds himself the victim of voting his instinct too many times, continued growth, voter wrath, and a perception by the voters of being too closely tied to the power structure.

Even the endorsement of a sitting governor and a primary opponent did not help Mr. Hill. (The picture of major Gwinnett power brokers behind the governor and Hill may have swayed the close (52.5 percent to 47.5 percent) difference in vote totals.)

Think, too, that with Wayne Hill no longer chairman, there will be a majority turn-over of the commission, as Lorraine Green and Mike Beaudreau along with the new chairman, now form the new majority of the commission. Kevin Kenerly and Bert Nasuti, from the old commission, are a minority.

Of course, so far the Fat Lady hasn't sung. There is a General Election, where the Democrats have a candidate for commission chairman. He is Jamil Imran, a newcomer to politics. You wonder if the larger group Hill supporters, including the large majority of the people who did not vote, might switch to a Democrat in the fall? We doubt it.

While some day Gwinnett may elect a Democrat to countywide office, we doubt it will be this year. Yet stranger things have taken place in the political world. And this is a presidential election year, when Gwinnett usually counts the greatest number of people going to the polls. The election in the fall will, therefore, be a major test of the sentiment of the largest portion of the county's registered population.

However, unexpected forces might surface. Such has already entered the Gwinnett scene this year. Veteran Candidate Bob Wood, who had entered the race for chairman on the Democrat side, died just before the primary. Some thought that the late Mr. Wood could be a formidable candidate, what with his big name recognition. But it was not to be.

So while Mr. Bannister is celebrating his victory over the incumbent Wayne Hill, still there is one small barrier for him to cross before his full assumption that he will be leading the county. We suspect he will. But we will also wait until all the votes are counted.

* * * * *

Mike Beaudreau ran a beautiful race in winning a county commission seat. He did this by doing what many politicians who do not have tremendous financial resources do: they go directly to the people. (For you oldtimers, shades of Vincent Wall!)

So there's Beaudreau, knocking on door after door in District 3 to introduce himself to the people. That, plus positioning himself as a "slow-growth" candidate, and also by painting Auto Dealer Dwight Harrison as close to the current establishment, led to his 58-42 percent victory.

* * * * *

Said over and over in politics when there is a large field of candidates: the goal is to get into the runoff.

Randy Rich did just that, placing second with 14.4 per cent in the July 20 voting for State Court Judge. But it was oh, so barely so! He was less than one per cent ahead of his next rival, Rodney Harris with 13.5 per cent. Mark Lewis had 11.1 per cent. Chung Lee copped first place in the primary with 36 per cent of the vote, and looked good to come out on top.

But in the runoff, Mr. Lee continued to get about his same voter percentage, scoring 38.5 per cent, while all the rest and the election went to Mr. Rich. He proved the old adage, "get into the runoff"," is alive and well.

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McLEMORE'S WORLD
8/13: Courtin' Kerry

Another great cartoon from Bill McLemore:

FEEDBACK
8/13: Unwanted political telephone call irks this voter

Editor, the Forum:

Your story on the elections and the voter apathy got me thinking about 'Why folks are so turned off by the election process?'

Tonight (Monday before elections) my telephone has not stopped ringing with tape recorded messages from many different candidates. No live persons bother to call,
only those annoying machines that have been banned from all telephone usage
EXCEPT for the politician's own campaigns.

Some of the calls are from "Big Name" politicians from other states "endorsing" the local candidate.

Now the result was to turn out and vote. But every single time that telephone rings, my first reaction is to (A) stay home and not vote and, (B) vote against whomever the call is for. Problem with this reaction is (A) If I don't vote then I have no say in what happens in my home community; and (B) if I don't vote for the person they are calling about, I would have nobody to vote for, since every single candidate is using those stupid machines.

Maybe if the winners of the election read in this paper how much their campaign tactics irritate the voters, and they stop to consider just who they are working for, maybe they will reconsider using those stupid telephone machines just to irritate the bosses.

-- Steve Rausch, Peachtree Corners

8/13: Comment on recent runoff for Gwinnett Chairman

Editor, the Forum:

Comment on the recent runoff election: Charlie Bannister 1, Georgia Republican Establishment 0. Good move, Gwinnett.

You mentioned the runoff law changes. Please remember why they changed the runoff threshold to 45 percent - they took advantage of the Losertarian (read Libertarian) vote to win for Democrats. That's how Max Cleland won the Senate seat in 1996. The Demo legislature gave it to him.

The new math : 45 percent is a majority in Georgia. No more runoffs. Cleland'd have lost to Guy Millner under the old, fair law. That's why the Democrats changed it - it was fair.

Losertarians will tell you with a straight face that they take votes equally from both sides but I'm betting 70 percnt of their votes come from ostensible Republican voters. Their one or two percent can come up big in a close race. Losertarians are being used and don't seem to mind. Demos are far more party loyal than the GOP.

-- Marshall Miller, Lilburn

BOOK RECOMMENDATION
8/13: From Sheldon Glorit
Gwinnett County Public Schools

I am currently reading By Sorrow's River, written by Larry McMurtry. It is the third book in his series called "The Berrybender Narratives". It is written very much like the Lonesome Dove series and takes place about the same time in our history. It has pathos, comedy and historical background; all of which when combined, makes for interesting reading.

Next I plan to continue that series, with Folly and Glory, the final book in
the series by McMurtry.

• An invitation: What books have you enjoyed? Send us your best recent book along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus what you plan to read next. --eeb
  
  

ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBIT
8/13: One of state's finest novelists writes of Georgia life

Philip Lee Williams is an award-winning novelist and author of eight novels, and a widely published poet. He founded and edited the poetry journal Ataraxia.

Born in Madison, Ga., Williams began his career working for newspapers. From 1974 to 1978 he served as associate editor of the Madisonian and from 1978 to 1985 as managing editor and then editor for the Athens Observer. Currently he is the director of public information for the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia. He lives in Watkinsville with his wife, Linda, and his children, Brandon and Megan.

Williams's first novel, The Heart of a Distant Forest, won the Townsend Prize for Fiction in 1986. For The Song of Daniel he was named Georgia Author of the Year in Fiction in 1991. His work has been translated into Swedish, French, German, and Japanese

Williams's books reflect his strong inclination to meditate as a naturalist, whether from a lake cabin (The Heart of a Distant Forest) or an Appalachian cave (Blue Crystal). His attitude toward nature also lies at the center of his memoirs. It is in the woods behind his childhood home where he reaches a final epiphany in the Christmas memoir The Silent Stars Go By (1998). Crossing Wildcat Ridge (1999) interweaves concerns of his own health following open-heart surgery with a resurgent sensitivity to the landscape around his woodland home. In all his writing, Williams's work illuminates a wide range of human concerns.

• To access the Georgia Encyclopedia, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
  

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
What some politicos will do when they get to a bridge

"I once said cynically of a politician, 'He'll doublecross that bridge when he comes to it.'"

-- Oscar Levant (1906 - 1972)

• Another invitation: What's your favorite saying? Share with others through GwinnettForum. Send to elliott@gwinnettforum.com.
  

MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com

© 2004, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.

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GwinnettForum.com
Number 4.38, Aug. 13, 2004

TODAY'S ISSUE: Gwinnett Resident Questions Sen. Miller's Stances
ELLIOTT BRACK: Hill Finds Endorsements, Big Pot of Money, Don't Work
McLEMORE'S WORLD: Another View of What Happened in Vietnam
FEEDBACK: Before and After Views of Gwinnett Elections Runoff
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: From Sheldon Glorit
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Novelist Philip Lee Williams Based Out of Athens, Ga.
TODAY'S QUOTE: About Some Elected Officials and Bridges

WARMING UP AMERICA. Thanks to the Michael's Arts & Crafts store in Snellville, the Gwinnett Red Cross can better help their clients stay warm during the cold months. Those who have lost their home and belongings to fire or other disaster may receive afghans made and donated to the Red Cross by customers of Michael's as a result of the store's "Warm-Up America" program. From left to right receiving certificates of appreciation from the Gwinnett Red Cross are Cheryl Clarke, store manager, Opal Mitchell, crochet instructor, Marilyn Quick, coordinator of the "Warm-Up America" program and Sylvia Calhoun, Art Department Manager. Twice a year, in September and January, customers volunteer to make crocheted or knitted squares that are then collected at the store and eventually made into warm afghans for both babies and adults.

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