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The Forsyth County News
Opinion
This is a page of opinions ours, yours and others.
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Carolina’s economic
woes troubling GOP
RALEIGH, N.C. John
Edwards returned to a home
town hero’s welcome last
Wednesday after losing 29 out
of 30 contests, good enough for
runner-up to John Kerr) for the
Democratic presidential nomi
nation. While Sen. Edwards was
given up for dead politically lit
tle more than a month ago. one
public poll shows that today he
would carry North Carolina
against President Bush. More
troubling to the Republicans
than a transitory survey is what
ails George W. Bush here.
It is not the war in Iraq,
strongly supported in a state
known for patriots and warriors.
The GOP worries about the sea
change here on international
trade created by job losses
blamed on foreign competition.
Edwards’ lurch toward protec
tionism at the end of his presi
dential campaign reflects the
Democratic Party abandoning
its heritage of free trade. But it is
Republicans who have trouble
coping with the new reality.
Republican politicians are
chilled by a story making the
rounds in the state's political cir
cles. A delegation of North
Carolina factory owners recently
went to Washington to plead with
the White House for relief from
foreign competition. They
returned complaining that the
president's agents responded w ith
the "free trade" mantra. Their
verdict: They could no longer
support Bush. North Carolina
may be changing from a certain
’red" state (carried by Bush with
56 percent in 2000) to a potential
battleground with hopes for cap
turing Edwards' Senate seat
diminishing. That would foretell
a very difficult year nationwide
for Republicans.
Johnny Edwards, a flashy
multimillionaire trial lawyer new
to politics, looked like an extin
guished shooting star when this
year began. He had dropped out
of seemingly sure defeat for
Senate re-election to bolster his
flagging presidential campaign.
Now, after the revival and end of
his presidential candidacy,
prominent Republicans fear he
would win a second term if he
re-entered the race (which
nobody expects). That adds cre
dence to claims by his supporters
that Edwards on the ticket could
hand Kerry the state’s 15 elec
toral votes otherwise destined for
Bush.
Although Edwards voted
consistently against ratifying
trade agreements, he did not
trumpet the protectionist line
until the final stages of his race
for president. He lacked suffi
cient time for this theme to take
root in economically depressed
Ohio as he hoped, but Edwards
On your payroll
G!TY COUNCIL
Mayor, H. Ford Gravitt
PO. Box 3177, Cumming, GA 30028; (770) 887-4342
Mayor Pro-Tern, Lewis Ledbetter
205 Mountain Brook Dr., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-3019
Ralph Perry
1420 Pilgrim Rd., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-7474
Quincy Holton
103 Hickory Ridge Dr., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-5279
Rupert Sexton
705 Pine Lake Dr., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-4332
John Pugh
10813th St., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-3342
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Charles Laughinghouse, Post 1
3550 Rosewtcke Dr., Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 886-7937; office, (770) 886-2810
David “AJ.” Pritchett, Post 2
4840 Chesterfield Court, Suwanee, GA 30024
(404) 392-6983; office, (770) 886-2809
John A. “Jack" Conway, Post 3
6130 Polo Club Dr., Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 886-9226; (770) 886-2807
Martie Kreager, Rost 4
9810 Kings Rd., Gainesville, GA 30506
office, (770) 886-2806
Eddie Taylor, Post 5
4195 Morningside Dr., Cumming, GA 30041
(770)886-2802
Robert 1
Novak yr
the protectionist is well received
back home.
The national economic
recovery has lagged in North
Carolina, which for years had
enjoyed low unemployment and
a vibrant economy. The classic
case is the solidly Republican
Hickory area, which in 1999
encountered a labor shortage but
now suffers from manufacturing
job losses in textiles, furniture
and fiber optics. Foreign compe
tition is blamed, and protectionist
fever rages.
Erskine Bowles, a rich
Charlotte investment banker
who lost badly to Elizabeth
Dole for the Senate in 2002 and
now is try ing to fill Edwards'
seat, has felt this mood change.
Bowies was no mere foot sol
dier in the globalist army. As
President Bill Clinton's chief of
staff, he managed passage of
fast-track authority that enables
congressional approval of inter
national trade agreements.
Bowles is saying farewell to
all that and plays the protection
ist card with a vengeance. He
has switched positions to
oppose not only fast track but
the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) as well.
Speaking to Democrats at Elkin
near Winston-Salem recently.
Bowies denied w affling and said
he has just evolved. Putting the
blame on China, he declared; "I
will not vote for any new trade
agreement."
That leaves Richard Burr, a
five-term congressman from
Winston-Salem with a solid
conservative voting record, in a
difficult position as Bowies'
Republican opponent. He dis
tanced himself from the White
House by calling for the presi
dent to dismiss economic advis
er Gregory Mankiw, whose
report found merit in outsourc
ing American jobs. But Burr is
not retreating from his record in
support of Bush trade initiatives,
and that worries his advisers in
today's climate.
State Sen. Fred Smith, a rising
new face in North Carolina
Republican politics, told me the
GOP will be saved here by conser
vative social values - in particular,
opposition to gay marriage. But
many Republicans disagree as'
they ponder this question: Can a
debate over homosexuals getting
married in other states really trump
China-bashing on jobs lost in
North Carolina?
Robert Novak is a nationally
syndicated columnist.
, J) ''j
q-runp! I /\ 4
—z.juz.x. 2 ■ . ■
Kerry ruminates on ‘blackness’; considers VP
WASHINGTON John
Kerry will be only the third
Catholic in U.S. history to be
nominated for the presidency by
a major party. The other two
were Al Smith in 1928, who
lost to Herbert Hoover, and
John F. Kennedy in 1960, who
defeated Richard Nixon.
1 asked Kerry if sewing up
the nomination has any special
meaning for him as a Catholic,
and he said: "Historically, yes;
substantively, no. I subscribe
completely to the speech
Kennedy made in Houston in
1960 and believe completely in
the separation of church and
state."
Kennedy’s speech made to
the Greater Houston Ministerial
Association on Sept. 12, 1960,
is eloquent, powerful, emotional
and stirring. (And comparing it
to the typical political speech
today is profoundly depressing.)
The most famous line is; "I am
not the Catholic candidate for
president. I am the Democratic
Party's candidate for president
who happens also to be a
Catholic."
Kerry said of the Catholic
issue today. "I really think
Americans have ceased to think
about these kinds of things. 1
don’t think people care. I think
people are in a different place."
If Kerry wins, he would
become not just the second
Catholic president in history,
but the first with Jewish grand
parents. And for decades, voters
in Massachusetts assumed
Kerry was Irish, as did mem
bers of his own staff and
newspapers often described him
that w ay.
Oddly, Kerry never wrote a
letter to the editor complaining
and pointing out that he was
Austrian on his father’s side and
British on his mother's side.
This may have been because
Massachusetts has more Irish-
Americans than any other state.
But Kerry says he never lied
about it. In any case, aside from
not being Irish, Kerry is not a
Boston Brahmin, either, though
he is often described that w ay.
The phrase was coined by
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. to
designate the elite WASP ruling
class of Boston. Since you have
to be a Protestant to be a WASP
(that's what the P is all about),
Kerry isn't one. All this is ren-
NATIQNALIEGISLAIQRS
€< U.S. Sen. Zell Miller
Russell Senate Office Building, Room C-3
Washington, DC. 20510
(202) 224-3643; Fax: (202) 228-2090 _
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss > I
1019 Longworth House Office Building ■' .’I
Washington, DC. 20515 ' Ti
(202) 224-3521 |
—— < U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, 10th District
2437 Rayburn House Office Building,
I Washington, DC. 20515
[ '* Gainesville; PO. Box 1015, Gainesville, GA 30503
k -C a Gainesville, (770) 535-2592; Washington: (202) 225-
1 5211; Fax: (202) 225-8272
U.S. Rep. John Linder, 7th District >
1727 Longworth House Office Building,
Washington, DC. 20515-1011 L
Washington: (202) 225-4272; Fax: (202) 225-4696 I 4
’ < s® n ' Dav * d Chafer. 48th District
109 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
I -J (404)651-7738
» rwKr
Sen. Casey Cagle, 49th District >
421 State Capitol, Atlanta, GA 30334 | U
H Telephone: (404) 656-6578; Fax: (404) L
651 -6768 U
< Sen. Dan Moody, 27th District
(770) 495-3127;
Office (404) 463-8055
’ Roger
* Simon
dered moot, however, because
Kerry really wants to be black.
Last week, Kerry gave a lit
tle-noticed interview to
American Urban Radio in
which he said: "President
Clinton was often known as the
first black president. I wouldn't
be upset if I could earn the right
to be the second."
When Nobel Laureate Toni
Morrison wrote that about
Clinton at the height of the
Monica Lewinsky scandal in
October 1998, however,
Morrison was not talking about
Clinton's empathy with black
people, she was talking about
his being a victim.
"Years ago, in the middle of
the Whitewater investigation,
one heard the first murmurs:
White skin notwithstanding,
this is our first black president,"
Morrison wrote in the New
Yorker. "Blacker than any actual
black person who could ever be
elected in our children’s life
time."
What Clinton's "blackness"
earned him. however, according
to Morrison, was to be persecut
ed and possibly "fired from
your job, sent away in disgrace,
and who knows? maybe
sentenced and jailed, to boot."
Donna Brazile, Al Gore's
campaign manager in 2000, a
superdelegate to the Democratic
National Convention this year
and an African-American, was
somewhat taken aback when I
read Kerry's statement to her,
but she quickly recovered.
"That's a very steep hill to
climb," she said. "Clinton bond
ed with African-Americans and
they never, ever left him. 1 saw
some internal polls recently.
Clinton's favorable rating with
black people was at 91 percent
in 2000, 92 percent in 2002 and
94 percent this year. It will take
years for John Kerry to build
that kind of credibility with
black voters. Clinton started in
high school. He knew the verses
at Baptist services. He knew the
songs. He knew how to do the
Electric Slide! Now, Kerry
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWB -Thur»d«y, March 11,2004 -
looks presidential and acts pres
idential, and African-Americans
will be open to that. And if he
can learn to dance and sway like
Clinton. Kerry can get there."
I have never envisioned
Kerry dancing and swaying (the
mind boggles), but he told me
that there is a "new" Kerry; that
the primary campaign has had a
"profound impact" on him, that
his speeches are "shorter and
tighter," and his demeanor is
"softer and easier."
And, Kerry said, "I am hav
ing fun and letting it all hang
out."
Groovy.
Enough of the presidency,
however. Who will be the vice
presidential nominee? No, not
the Democratic vice presidential
nominee, anyone can speculate
on that. ("The Hotline,"
National Journal's daily briefing
on politics, has a list of 53 peo
ple whose names have already
been mentioned.) Who will be
the Republican vice presidential
nominee?
True. President Bush has
said he wants to keep Dick
Cheney on the ticket, and loyal
ty to vice presidents runs strong
in the Bush family. (His father
kept Dan Quayle on the ticket.)
And Cheney certainly wants to
keep the job. But what if
Cheney becomes a drag on the
ticket'.’ What if, as some fear,
the Plame Affair gets uglier?
Valerie Plame is the CIA
operative whose cover may
have been blown by a leak to
columnist Robert Novak and
other journalists. A grand jury is
now investigating, and there has
been at least one published
report quoting an unnamed
source saying some of the tar
gets of the probe work or
worked for Cheney.
That is a long way from top
pling a vice president, but those
close to the White House say
there is some nervousness there.
So what if Cheney needed to be
replaced for this or health or
other reasons? Who would
replace him? Certain names
leap into play: Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist, Secretary of
Homeland Security Tom Ridge,
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of
Pennsylvania. Massachusetts
Gov. Mitt Romney and
here's the longshot National
Security Advisor Condoleezza
Sen. Renee Unterman, 45th District >
(770)466-1507;
Office (404) 463-1368 W- ~ W.
i “1 < Rep. Tom Knox, 14th District y
Legislative Office Building, Room 504 K__jß
* *- 18 Capitol Square, Atlanta, GA 30334
<•- i (404)656-0188, or (770) 887-0400, law office
| j an Jones, 38th District >
412 Legislative Office Building,
Atlanta GA 30334 J* * B
(404)656-0137 C~'t|
B< Rep. Jack Murphy, 14th District
Legislative office Building,
Room 612, Atlanta GA 30334
(404) 656-0325; (770) 781-9319, home
I BOARD OF EDUCATION
Ann Crow
I 96 Barker Rd., Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 887-9640; acrow@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
PaulKreager
9810 Kings Rd., Gainesville, GA 30506
(770) 889-9971; pkreager@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Nancy Roche
7840 Chestnut Hill Rd., Cumming, GA 30041
(770) 889-0229; nroche@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Rebecca K. Dowell
2030 Commonwealth Place, Cumming, GA 30041
I (770) 844-0830; rdowell@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Chairman Jeffrey Stephens
PO. Box 169, Cumming, GA 30028
(770) 889-1470; jstephens@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Rice.
The odds on Rice could get
shorter if the Democrats go for
their longshot choice for vice
president, Hillary Clinton. Keep
in mind that the head of Kerry's
vice presidential search team,
Jim Johnson, filled the same
role for Walter Mondale in 1984
and came up with Geraldine
Ferraro, the only woman ever
nominated by a major party for
vice president.
If you like longshots, here is
an even longer one: the All-
Navy Vietnam Veterans ticket of
John Kerry and John McCain.
Though defeated in his presi
dential bid in 2000, the Arizona
senator remains very popular.
Like Kerry, he served in the
Navy in Vietnam (McCain in
the air and Kerry on the water)
and is considered at least by
reporters to be much funnier
and more personable than Kerry
(but. then again, who isn't?).
The two are good friends
and worked together to restore
U.S. relations with Vietnam. In
fact, in 2000, McCain pushed
Kerry for the vice presidency
under Al Gore.
"I think it would be very
helpful to Vice President Gore,"
McCain said at the time. "I
think that Sen. Kerry has proved
his service to our nation and his
ability as an accomplished
debater and a person who
knows the issues."
Kerry didn't get selected, but
isn't it time for him to return the
favor to McCain? Well, one
problem: McCain is in the'
wrong party. He is a
Republican.
"Do you think the
Democrats would want a pro
life, free-trading, fiscal conser
vative?" McCain told a reporter
recently. "They'd be smoking
something pretty strong,
stronger than they usually do. I
will not leave the Republican
Party."
1 asked Kerry about this, and
his answer was typical Kerry.
"Maybe I should support
McCain to replace Cheney on
the Republican ticket," he said.
"That was a joke."
Roger Simon is a nation
ally syndicated columnist. He
can he e-mailed at
Writeßoger@aol.com.
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