Newspaper Page Text
December 14, 2022
Page 5A
New trends
emerging
in Georgia
runoff result
L ast weeks runoff election for the U.S.
Senate has been examined six ways to
Sunday There has been plenty of analysis
about what Herschel Walkers loss means
for him, for Donald Trump, for the Republi
can Party at large - and, conversely, about the
meaning for newly re-elected Raphael Warnock,
President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party
more broadly
Just as intriguing is the unraveling of a state
wide pattern that had stood largely unchallenged
for decades: the
decoupling of state
and federal election
results in Georgia.
It’s not that these
results have come
back into align
ment, but that
they are moving in
opposite directions.
Democrats seeking
federal office are
running ahead of
their state-level peers
consistently enough
that this trend can no
longer be overlooked.
For many years, Democratic politicians per
formed better at the state level than they did at
the federal level. This trend more or less began
with Ronald Reagans defeat of Georgia native
Jimmy Carter in 1980. Georgia was one of just
six states, plus the District of Columbia, that
Carter carried, but four-term U.S. Sen. Herman
Talmadge lost a stunner to Republican Mack
Mattingly that same year.
It took a little while for the trend to fully take
root, as Sam Nunn was able to win two more
Senate terms and Mattingly soon lost his own
seat. Bill Clinton also carried Georgia in 1992.
But by 1996, Georgia Democrats running for
federal office were consistently underperforming
those seeking state office.
The widely accepted explanation is that nation
al Democrats became too liberal for Georgians,
while state-level Democrats could campaign
more as fiscal conservatives, or at least centrists.
Zell Miller, the governor-turned-senator, em
bodied the shift by speaking in favor of President
George W. Bushs re-election at the 2004 Repub
lican National Convention.Over the past decade,
however, an opposite trend has emerged in favor
of federal-level Democrats - so subtly that many
of us missed it.
The low-water mark for Georgia Democrats
was almost certainly 2006, when Gov. Sonny
Perdue won re-election by almost 20 percentage
points. (There was no federal race in Georgia
that year.) In 2010, a pair of known commodities
represented the Democrats in the top state and
federal races: Roy Barnes and Michael Thur
mond, respectively. Both lost, but Barnes ran
about 4 points ahead of Thurmond.
The state-federal disparity actually flipped
not in 2020 but in 2012, when Barack Obama
outpaced the Democratic nominee for the Public
Service Commission (which is generally the top
state race in presidential election years). The gap
narrowed in 2014.
Then 2018 happened. Stacey Abrams nearly
forced Republican Brian Kemp into a runoff.
She took 49.3% of the two-party vote, which I
calculated by removing third-party candidates’
votes in order to draw a more direct comparison
between the two major parties.
It looked like a soaring trajectory at the time,
but since then it has fallen off. A PSC nominee
won 48.5% of the two-party vote in 2020, and
Abrams captured only 46.2% by that measure
this year - back to the party’s level eight years
ago.
Meanwhile, the trendline for federal candidates
is still rising. The Democrat in the top federal
race on the ballot has taken a larger share than
the previous one in six straight elections now,
dating back to 2010. Warnock’s 50.5% of the
two-party vote in the general election - he did
even better in the runoff - was about 4 points
larger than Abrams’ share this year. In terms of
the disparity, it’s a complete reversal of 2010.
Of course, the big question is what all of this
means going forward. Georgia will have two
Democratic senators for at least the next four
years. Will it stay blue in the 2024 presidential
election?
And on the state level, few people in 1998 fore
saw just how hard state-level Democrats would
fall just four years later. Will Republicans have
their work cut out for them in 2026?
Those questions require more analysis, and in
formation we don’t yet have. But it’s a fascinating
development to watch.
Kyle Wingfield is president and CEO of the
Georgia Public Policy Foundation: www.georgia-
policy.org.
Reporter
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Terry Johnson one of best in the state
To the Editor:
s we discussed on the phone
when I bought four “No She
Didn’t” books, please find
enclosed a check for the Dep
uty Michael Norris Memorial Scholar
ship Fund.
I want to compliment Terry Johnson!
He does a great job! His work is at least
as good (or better) than columnists for
the Gainesville and Atlanta papers!!
I read them all! Have a good day and
good holidays.
William T. Jones
Gainesville, Ga.
Dr. William T. Jones is a retired
physician who grew up in Forsyth and
graduated from Mary Persons.
JUST THE WAY IT IS by Sloan Oliver
Victimhood purchases power
C ongratulations to Raphael
Warnock on his Georgia
senate election victory. I have
doubts about the Reverend’s
ability (or desire) to represent all Geor
gians. I say that because Warnock
blindly supports Biden’s policies.
Will that include supporting
Biden’s hatred and antipathy for
MAGA Republicans, like most
folks in Monroe County? Time
will tell. Second, during his
victory speech he claimed
to be a victim of voter
suppression. Let me try
to understand, Georgia
had record voter turnout, Warnock
won the election but claimed that votes
were suppressed. In other words, he’s a
victim. Really? Someone find one legal
voter who was unable to vote in Geor
gia. You can’t. Raphael and Stacey (she
also claimed voter suppression), please,
you’re both a bore.
WITH STACEY and Warnock in
mind, is there anything more insuffer
able than our privileged elites com
plaining about their terrible circum
stances in life, about being victims?
Last week, Jennifer Lawrence, of the
Hunger Games fame, claimed to be a
victim. Forget that she’s one of the most
privileged people in the entire world. In
a Variety interview, she claims to have
overcome oppression and that she’s still
being oppressed. In other words, she’s a
victim. How and what’s her proof? Law
rence’s proof is her statement, “Nobody
had ever put a woman in the lead of an
action movie.” Translation - Jennifer
thought her acting abilities were being
questioned which means she was being
oppressed; she was being victimized.
Not only is Lawrence not a victim, she’s
extremely ignorant. Sigourney Weav
er in Aliens (1979), Linda Hamilton
(Terminator movies), Angelina Jolie
(Tomb Raider - 2001 and 2003), Uma
Thurman (Kill Bill - 2003), and Jessica
Alba (Fantastic Four - 2005) all quickly
come to mind. Lawrence needs to read
history books about centuries past to
learn true victims of oppression.
LAWRENCE IS far from being the
only privileged Leftist who claims
victim status. Billionaire Oprah says
she’s a victim of whiteness (her words),
multi-millionaire Michelle Obama’s a
victim, and billionaire LeBron’s a victim.
A1 Sharpton, Don Lemon, Kamala, Hil
lary, Colin Kaepernick, Stacey Abrams,
and Meghan Markle all claim to be vic
tims. Markle competes quite well as the
most tiresome of them all. A Hollywood
star before she married a prince (thus
becoming a princess) she acts the victim
for being required to curtsy to Queen
Elizabeth. Oh, please, let’s all feel sorry
for the poor, privileged rich
girl. These people are extreme
ly wealthy; extremely privi
leged are living the American
dream, yet claim to be victims.
Besides the fact that all are
Democrats, all are uber Leftist,
all are radical Marxists
and none are white males;
what’s going on?
FIRST, it’s unspoken but white males
are not allowed to be victims; mostly
they are the victimizers. Second, victim-
hood, and desperately claiming to be a
victim, is the new currency of privilege
among our leftist elites. Some of the
most privileged people in the world
want you to believe otherwise. It’s a dis
traction. They want us peasants to think
they’re one of us so we won’t see who
they really are. They’re not us; they want
nothing to do with us underlings. They
don’t live in our communities (LeBron
lives in a gated Bel Air community;
Obama lives in a $15 million mansion
on Martha’s Vineyard), don’t shop at
our stores and businesses (when was the
last time Hillary was seen at Walmart),
and don’t even fly on the same airplanes
(private charters for them). They have
nothing in common with the average
American - black or white. If you actu
ally think that Meghan Markle, LeBron,
or Barak/Michelle Obama are one of us,
want anything to do with us, care about
us, and that they’re victims, you’re a
fool. Yet the Obamas, Hillary, et al., try
to use their skin color and/or gender as
a cudgel to make us believe they’re suf
fering because of your racism and your
sexism. It’s pathetic listening to them.
ALL THEIR claims of being a victim
are quickly and easily debunked. Let’s
use Oprah as an example. She said that
not all white people are powerful but
then talked about the caste system that’s
in place in America. She went further
and said, “No matter where they (mean
ing Whites) are on the rung or ladder of
success, they still have their whiteness.
That’s what the term ‘white privilege’
is.” Oprah’s comments were made by
a woman who’s worth an estimated
$2.6 billion. She became fabulously
wealthy because people (of all races and
genders) liked her message and cared
nothing about her race or gender. In
rebuttal, Todd Starnes said, “I pray for
the day that America becomes a nation
where someone like Oprah will be able
to become a billionaire.” JT Lewis asked,
“How did Oprah make $2.6 billion if
America is so racist?” And Candace
Owens wanted Oprah to share some of
that $2.6 billion victimhood with her
and others.
BUT CAN you blame Oprah or
the others? In a normal society (say
America before Obama arrived on the
scene) the way you got ahead was to be
competent, to be physically excellent, by
inventing something, achieving some
thing in business, by having a better
idea, etc. Thus by being competent and
through hard work, you earned money
and acquired power. Ha - how foolish.
That’s way too much effort.
NOW, if you have a better idea and
build a successful business, you’re
accused of being an evil capitalist, of
having (white) privilege, of having toxic
masculinity, or of exploiting someone
(somehow only minorities get exploit
ed). We’re no longer a culture that
embraces excellence; instead we (actu
ally the Left and their Dems) embrace
victimhood. And along with being a
“victim” comes the social currency of
victimhood which is used to purchase/
acquire power, status and wealth.
QUITE FRANKLY, this constant
stream of whines and complaints by the
most privileged people in the world is
nauseating. They maintain a constant
level of animosity towards society and
toward the less privileged. They are nev
er happy, never satisfied, and unable to
see reality. If this doesn’t convince you
to avoid being a Leftist, to live a more
conservative life, to be more content
with your station, I don’t know what
will.
FINAL THOUGHT on Privilege:
Last week, Biden exchanged (i.e. re
leased) a Russian arms dealer (known
as the “merchant of death”) for Brittney
Griner, a privileged WNBA athlete
who hates America. Biden refused to
consider exchanging the arms dealer
for Paul Whelan, former Marine who
put his life on the line for America.
Who’s surprised that Biden chose the
anti-American elite over the pro-Amer
ican veteran? Disgusted.
Sloan Oliver ofBolingbroke is a retired
Army office who writes each week in the
Reporter. Email him at sloanoliver@earth-
link.com.
ON THE PORCH
Continued from page 4A
usually from Walmart on Christmas
Eve.
But this year, I have really been on my
game. I got a wild hair a few days ago
and decided the holiday season would
be a great time for my wife and me to
return to The Fox Theater. I love The
Fox, and we haven’t been since COVID.
One of my best Christmas memories is
when my dad took our whole family, 10
of us, to The Fox to see the Christmas
Rockettes Spectacular several years ago.
When I checked the upcoming Fox
events, I remembered why we haven’t
been back. The Rockettes don’t travel
anymore, and the animal rights freaks
have bullied them into giving up their
beautiful live nativity scene. So our only
choices were “Hip Hop Nutcracker,”
Gucci Mane and the B-52s. But they did
have comedian Louis C.K. coming this
Friday night. I don’t guess it’s really a
Christmas event, but laughter is always
good. So I impulse bought two tickets
for a night in the city since travel soccer
gobbled up our anniversary last month.
She was “excited.”
“Who is Louis CK?!?” she wondered.
“And you spent how much?!?”
Yes, Mrs. Davis maybe a little upset.
But don’t worry, when I put those bath
salts in her stocking on Christmas Eve,
she will remember once again why
doing EVERYTHING HERSELF at
Christmas maybe isn’t so bad.
SHOOTOUT
Continued from page 1A
Ridge home in the wee hours of Satur
day morning.
The sheriff’s office was called to a
home in Orchard Ridge, a subdivision
off Smith Road of $200,000-$300,000
homes, after two juveniles reportedly
exchanged gunfire in front of one of
their homes around 1 a.m. on Saturday,
Dec. 10.
Deputies found bullet holes in a truck,
but no one was hit. One shooter was
taken into custody and charged as a
juvenile. The juvenile who lived at the
home was reportedly the other shooter,
but has not been charged. Sheriff’s office
personnel told the Reporter that the
shooter who lived there may have been
acting in self-defense.
Several shell casings were found on
the ground and there were several
teenage witnesses to the shootout.
Sheriff Brad Freeman told the Reporter
on Monday that they still have a lot of
people to interview about the shoot
ing. This was not a party, said sheriff’s
officials, but a dispute between two teen
boys over a girl.
Similar circumstances led to a drive-
by shooting on Sharp Street on Nov. 26
after which two teenagers were arrested,
one of them as an adult.