Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
October 29. 2008
OUR VIEW
Chambliss,
Goddard as a
thin red line
R ick Goddard and Saxby Chambliss may be our
best hopes of having conservative Monroe
County values represented in Washington, D.C.
next year, and that’s why we endorse Goddard
for Congress and Chambliss for Senate.
The retired commander of Warner Robins Air Force
Base, Goddard is a decorated Vietnam War fighter pilot.
Since retirement, he has served as a Mercer University
administrator. Chambliss is a former attorney from
Moultrie finishing his first term in the senate. Both are
needed as conservative-leaning bulwarks against an
increasingly bold liberal Democratic majority which, with
a President Obama, could do major harm to the American
experiment of liberty and freedom.
Just witness what a Democratic Congress has wrought
in two years in power, even with an opposing president.
Congress’ 9 percent approval rating is well-deserved.
Our current Congresman Jim Marshall is part of a
Democratic majority that has taken the standards for
recklessness and incompetence to new lows, an amazing
feat among politicians.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spent most of 2007
trying to revoke or impede funding for the troops in Iraq.
Her unconstitutional effort to act as Commander in Chief
from the legislative branch ought to earn her a one-way
ticket back to San Francisco. She tried to ramrod bills
through Congress that included timetables for troop with
drawals, essentially trying to supercede powers given to
the president.
Pelosi tried to undercut the U.S. surge in Iraq even as it
was succeeding in bringing us closer to victory there.
Furthermore, Congress has sought to gut anti-terror
measures such as surveillance laws which allow the gov
ernment to listen to phone conversations among suspect
ed terrorists.
Domestically, the Democratic Congress has been even
worse. In response to our economic woes they have done
next to nothing. They did pass the issuance of stimulus
checks, which seem to have done little to improve the
economy. Congress also passed a giant, pork-laden farm
bill larded with subsidies for wealthy farmers. Democratic
leaders refused to bring up for a vote a bill that would
have allowed off-shore drilling. Finally, under relentless
political pressure, they allowed the drilling ban to expire.
But don’t expect it to stay that way long once the election
is over.
Plus, Congress has refused to reduce the tax burden on
American families and is poised to let the tax relief
passed in Bush’s first term expire in 2010, ushering in a
giant tax hike for American families.
Yes, Jim Marshall has bucked his liberal party leaders a
few times. He’s supported the surge in Iraq and voted
against a big new health care boondoggle.
But we can’t get over the fact that in January, Marshall
will again be one more vote for Pelosi to remain as speak
er. His team, the Democrats in Congress, adheres to the
philosophy of more regulation and taxation on the econo
my, of denigrating U.S. efforts overseas and encouraging
our enemies, and of little respect for the value of human
life and of traditional marriage, the moral underpinnings
that made our country great.
We haven’t always been pleased with Chambliss, his
Gang of 10 energy compromise and support for the farm
bill and other pork are troubling. But with Democrats on
the march, we’ll need Saxby and Rick to stand for our tra
ditional values in Washington, a thin red-state line hold
ing forth against blue-state socialists.
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, president
Robert M. Williams Jr., vice president
Cheryl S. Williams, secretary-treasurer
OUR STAFF
Will Davis
Publisher/E ditor
publisher@mymcr.net
Gina Herring
Reporter
news@mymcr. net
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Webmaster
webmaster@mymcr.net
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Contributing
Writer
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Trellis Grant
Business Manager
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Advertising
Manager
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Denzil Hansford
Graphics Artist
gr aphics@m joncr. net
Laura Thackston
Editorial Assistant
forsyth@mymcr. net
50 N. Jackspn St., Forsyth, GA 31029
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Publication No. USPS 997-840)
^Reporter
Opinion
Declare among the nations,
and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not;
Jeremiah 50:2
In ^Memory of ‘KarCHOf TlHChefm TLsQuire sends fiis prayers>..
I, Wilhelm Meal, EsQuire will offer up prayers forKari
Hill and his family and will also honor him with this
quote from Thomas iefferson..."We in America do
not have government by the majority. We have
government by the majority who participate.' 1
—
—
On the Porch
Our fearless endorsements
D r. Tom Perry
asked me the
other day the
question a lot
of people ask
around election time: Will
the newspaper endorse any
candidates?
It’s a good question, one
that I’ve thought a
lot about.
Readers of this
newspaper have
come to expect our
editorial pages to
be unafraid to
express an opin
ion. And, it’s
hard to
cover the
political
scene in
Monroe County and not
have some pretty definite
opinions about the candi
dates.
Plus, newspaper endorse
ments are helpful to vot
ers. For instance, many
people take the endorse
ments from the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution and
use them as a guide of who
NOT to support.
On the other hand, when
a small-town paper endors
es a candidate, the editor is
inviting a few cold shoul
ders on the cereal aisle at
the grocery store.
But in the case of this
year’s election, there’s one
race too important to this
community and this news
paper not to take a stand.
Long, long, long-time
county commissioner Larry
Evans has threatened to
break the jaw of other
county commissioners,
accused the commission
chairman of having
Alzheimers, tried to have
criminal charges dropped
against a former county
employee without the
input of the other commis
sioners, and
accused this
reporter of being a
member of the
KKK.
His challenger,
local contractor Bill
Myers, presents
himself as a
respectful,
conscien
tious local
business
man. In a case like this, I
simply cannot stand aside:
So I wholeheartedly
endorse Larry Evans for
District 1. Larry is too
valuable to this newspaper
not to re-elect. We’re a
small town and sometimes
have to dig to find interest
ing news. And we don’t
have a movie theater.
Where would we go for
entertainment and comedy
if we didn’t have Larry’s
tirades to keep us in stitch
es?
If Bill Myers is elected,
we are in danger of having
serious, responsible gov
ernment that looks forward
instead of looking back
ward. Reasonableness and
common sense could break
out everywhere. It might
signal the end of interest
ing county commission
meetings, and local cable
access ratings could go
through the floor.
These are tough times for
small businesses, for news
papers and for the Forsyth
cable system (which loses
$500,000 per year). Do
your part to ensure the
county commission contin
ues to draw much interest
and embarrass Monroe
Countians everywhere: Re
elect Larry Evans.
Now here are some other
bold endorsements in criti
cal local races:
Sheriff: Sheriff John
Cary Bittick has made our
local sheriff’s office one of
the most professional small
sheriff’s offices in the
state. He is responsive to
the people and his staff
works hard to solve cases
and coordinate with other
law enforcement agencies.
His opponent, on the
other hand, is a nobody. He
seems to have no sense of
identity and it’s hard even
to find his name on the
ballot. And so we proudly
endorse Sheriff Bittick for
re-election.
Clerk of Court: Lynn
Ham has served quite ably
as our clerk of court. Her
office handles hundreds of
criminal and civil cases, as
well as property deeds and
jury selection, each year.
Her staff is friendly and
helpful and the court
seems to run with open
ness, fairness and integrity.
Oh, and her son is a fan
tastic part-time co-worker
at the Reporter. We
endorse Lynn Ham for
clerk of court.
Probate Judge: Probate
judge Karen Pitman runs
an open, efficient office.
Her always-friendly son,
J.J., is the Mary Persons’
mascot at football games
and her husband, Joey, is
the only one I can beat in
the Reporter’s football con
test. We heartily endorse
Karen Pitman for probate
judge.
Surveyor: County sur
veyor Hugh Mercer has
served in that capacity for
many years. He knows the
business well and is our
neighbor here at the
Reporter. We can testify
that he works hard (except
he doesn’t feed the stray
cats on our street.)
As for his opponent, we
cannot find his name on
the ballot either. And if we
can’t find his name on the
ballot, how’s he ever going
to find the boundaries for a
piece of property? We
endorse Mercer for county
surveyor.
Coroner: Finally, there’s
the hard-fought race for
county coroner. We endorse
Joey Proctor - he’s given
the job his “dead”-level
best.
There you have it. Some
brave and bold endorse
ments. The editor has spo
ken. Now go, and vote
accordingly.
Will Davis is publisher of
the Monroe County
Reporter. Email him at
publisher@mymcr.net.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Third grader: Keep city park graffiti-free
KILEY SPARKS
To the editor:
I am in the third grade
at T.G. Scott
Elementary School.
On Oct. 15 my class
mates and I went to
the rock quarry followed by
a picnic lunch at Forsyth
City Park. When we got to
our tables, we noticed dis
turbing things. The tables
were covered with cuss
words, offensive drawings
and such. I was shocked to
see such words and pictures
in a place that children love
to go and play. My solution
to this problem is to suggest
that the vandals find more
appropriate places to
express their ideas. Instead
of filling their minds with
such bad and nasty things,
they should fill their minds
with goodness, love and
peace. I think that the city's
part service should inspect
the tables, shelters and
bathrooms four or five times
a month to paint over the
graffiti. Please share this
letter with the people so
that our park can be a place
that children can now and
forever love to go.
Kiley Sparks
Forsyth
Reader: Democrat policies ruin economy
To the editor:
h, how short people's
memories are. I hear all
this rhetoric about "failed
Bush economic policies." I
remember Bush economic
policies. Here about two years ago,
the stock market hit an all-time high
of over 12,000 points. That's good for
your IRA or 40 IK accounts.
Unemployment was averaging at
around 4.3 percent and consumer
confidence was high.
Then, two years ago in the
Congressional elections, the
Democrats took over both houses of
Congress. Since that time, nothing
has gotten done and the economy has
turned sharply downhill. What has
the Democrat-controlled Congress
done? Nothing. That's why their
ratings are down in the teens.
Obama, with his plan to raise taxes
on businesses will only hurt the
economy. Businesses will pass the
tax increases on to the consumer
through higher prices. If you get a
tax cut under the Obama plan, you'll
need it to pay the higher prices for
the things you need. The average
person won't be a bit better off. On
the other hand, John McCain's plan
to cut taxes on businesses will spur
expansion of those businesses there
by creating jobs. I'm voting for
McCain, as I don't believe in the
socialist policy of "spreading the
wealth" as planned by his opponent.
Steve Bentley
Forsyth