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PAGE 4A THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2008 Editor: Angela Gary Phone: 706-367-2490 E-mail: AngieEditor@aol.com Website: www.banksnewsTODAY.com Opinion “Where the press is free and every tnan able to read, all is safe.” — Thomas Jefferson Republican chairman outlines Chambliss' record Dear Editor: I am writing on what I believe is a matter of urgency for all Georgians. Senator Saxby Chambliss is in a tough fight to be re-elected to the United Sates Senate. It is my opinion that Georgians need to carefully consider how their votes will be cast and vote to return Senator Chambliss to the Senate. I am well aware that many of us have had issues with some of Senator Chambliss’ positions in the Senate. These include his initial stand on the immigration issue and his vote for the recent “bailout plan.” However, on the immigration issue Senator Chambliss heard our voices and reversed his posi tion because he recognized the will of his con stituents. On the bailout plan, Senator Chambliss voted for what he believed was in the best inter ests of the country. I have always found Senator Chambliss to be a man of principle who considers the issues thoroughly and cares deeply for the people he represents. Please consider what Senator Chambliss has accomplished for Georgia while serving in the Senate. Senator Saxby Chambliss has worked tirelessly in the Senate on defense issues which are impor tant to our country and the State of Georgia. Senator Chambliss modernized the retire ment benefit for Guard and Reserve personnel by authoring a provision in the FY08 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 110-181) which allowed Guard and Reserve personnel to receive retired pay early based on the amount of time they are deployed. He also introduced the Yellow Ribbon Re-Integration Act in the Senate which established a program to help Guard and Reserve personnel and their families success fully re-deploy and re-integrate into their civil ian careers and settings after deployments. The provision provided for re-employment training, marriage and family integration counseling, and addressed a variety of health and welfare issues that re-deploying personnel face. This provision was also included in FY08 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 110-181). Senator Chambliss co-sponsored a provision expanding the benefits received by members of the military who separate as “sole survivors.” The provision expanded these individuals’ access to separation pay, commissary and exchange privi leges, and transitional health care. This provision was signed into law on August 29, 2008, and became Public Law 110-317. Saxby authored a provision in the Senate ver sion of the FY09 National Defense Authorization Act urging DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish greater partnerships between themselves and with public and private univer sities to provide the best care for recovering wounded warriors. The provision notes the ongoing partnership in Augusta, Ga., between continued on page 5A The Banks County News Founded 1968 The official legal organ of Banks County, Ga. Mike Buffington Co-Publisher Scott Buffington Co-Publisher Angela Gary Editor Sharon Hogan Reporter Anelia Chambers Receptionist Suzanne Reed Church News Phones fall 706 area code): Angela Gary Phone 367-2490 Angela Gary Fax 367-9355 Homer Office Phone 677-3491 Homer Office Fax 677-3263 (SCED 547160) Published weekly by MainStreet Newspapers, Inc., PO. Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549 Subscription in county $19.75 Subscription in state $38.85 Subscription out of state $44.20 Military with APO address $42.20 Senior citizens get a $2 discount Periodicals postage paid at Homer, Ga. 30547 Postmaster, send address changes to: Subscriptions, The Banks County News, PO. Box 920, Homer, Ga. 30547 Member: Georgia Press Association Georgia Sports Writers Association National Newspaper Association "Looks like I'll need that extra hour this weekend to figure out how to reset my digital clocks!" Who wins, who loses on election day? I don’t need to remind you what next Tuesday is and you’ve probably heard all you ever want to hear about the national race for president. But what about Georgia? The most suspenseful race for Georgians on Nov. 4 is still that Senate battle where Saxby Chambliss is trying to hold off Democrat Jim Martin. This was once an election that looked like an easy win for Chambliss, but over the past month the polling gap between the two candidates has slowly closed. Even with all the TV spots he has been running, Chambliss can’t seem to shake off Martin. The gap has also been closing between Barack Obama and John McCain among Georgia’s voters in the presidential race, although that one is not as close as the Senate race. More African-Americans are going to vote in Georgia than ever before - but will it be enough to pull off a upset in either race? I will predict, without a lot of confidence, that McCain and Chambliss will hold on and carry the state. But I won’t be terribly surprised if I’m wrong. In the congressional races, it’s almost guar anteed that Georgia’s entire House delegation will be reelected, just as it was two years ago. The only two districts that were even con sidered competitive this year are the ones represented by Democrats Jim Marshall and John Barrow, who won their races by razor- thin margins in 2006. Barrow looks a lot safer now. The black vote in his Savannah-to-Augusta district now exceeds 42 percent and he has swamped his Republican opponent, John Stone, in the fund raising arena. Marshall must face a more impressive GOP opponent in Rick Goddard, but he still had more than a two-to-one money advantage going into the campaign’s final weeks. The only hope for Goddard is that enough voters in this middle Georgia district are angry at Marshall for voting in favor of the Wall Street bailout bill. At the legislative level, there will be no change in the General Assembly’s balance of power. Republicans will retain major ity control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, primarily because of a big assist from the Democratic Party. There is at least one Senate district and six or more House districts that could have been trouble for Republicans because of this year’s strong Democratic trend. In each of these dis tricts, however, the GOP is assured of winning the seat because the Democratic Party failed to persuade any candidates to qualify. If you took those uncontested but competitive House districts and added to them the four or five Republican-held seats that the GOP leadership concedes they will prob ably lose on Nov. 4, that would have put Democrats very close to regaining majority control of the lower chamber. Because of their poor candidate recruiting, Democrats missed a golden oppor tunity to win legislative seats in a favor able election cycle they probably won’t see again for 20 or 30 years. House Speaker Glenn Richardson and his Republican col leagues should send a big bouquet of roses to Democratic Party Chair Jane Kidd as thanks for the big favor she did for them. There are a few House races worth watching as the returns come in election night. In Rome, Republican Rep. Katie Dempsey goes against Democrat Bob Puckett in a rematch of race that she won by less than 200 votes in 2006. Rep. Mike Jacobs, who was elected twice as a Democrat by DeKalb County voters before switching parties, is trying to fend off inde pendent candidate Michelle Conlon. Rep. Jill Chambers, whose DeKalb district voted for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race, has her hands full running against Democrat Chris Huttman. Further south. Rep. Allen Freeman of Macon is in the fight of his life against James “Bubber” Epps, a Democrat who was once the Twiggs County commission chairman. Rep. Austin Scott of Tifton is going up against Democrat John Tibbetts for the second elec tion in a row. There are some endangered Democratic incumbents also, such as Rep. Jeanette Jamieson of Toccoa. She won a close race two years ago and the Republicans are try ing to knock her out this year with challenger Michael Harden. All of these legislative elections, along with the U.S. Senate race, could swing either way. That’s all the more reason for everyone to get out and vote next week. Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact's Georgia Report, an Internet news service at www.gareport.com that covers government and politics in Georgia. He can be reached at tcrawford@ capitolimpact. net. tom cmwford Letters to the editor policy given The Banks County News has established a policy on printing Letters to the editor. We must have an original copy of all letters that are submitted to us for publication. Members of our staff will not type out or hand-write letters for people who stop by the office and ask them to do so. Letters to the editor must also be signed with the address and phone number of the person who wrote them. The address and phone number will be for our verification purposes only and will not be printed unless the writer requests it. Mail to, The Banks County News, RO. Box 920, Homer, Ga. 30547. E-mailed letters will be accepted, but we must have a contact phone number and address. Letters that are libelous will not be printed. News department contact numbers Anyone with general story ideas, complaints or comments about the news department is asked to call editor Angela Gary at 706-367-2490. She can also be reached by e-mail at AngieEditor@ aol.com. Anyone with comments, questions or sugges tions relating to the county board of commission ers, county government, county board of education and crime and courts is asked to contact staff report er Sharon Hogan at 706-367-2350 or by e-mail at sharon @ mainstreetnews.com. Reporter Justin Poole covers local high school, middle school and recreation sports. Anyone with comments, questions or sug gestions relating to Alto, Lula, Baldwin and Gillsville, should contact Sharon Hogan at 706-367-5233 or by e-mail at sharon @ mainstreetnews.com. Calls concerning the City of Maysville should go to staff reporter Justin Poole at 706-367-2348 or e-mail him atjustin@mainstreetnews.com. Calls for information about the church page should go to Suzanne Reed at 706-677-3491. Church news may also be e-mailed to churchnews @ mainstreetnews.com. The Banks County News web site is updated throughout the week and may be accessed on the Internet at www.banksnewsTODAY.com. Obama tries the impossible in Georgia a. Believe it or not, the presidential race in Georgia is now a toss-up. I didn’t think it could ever possibly get to this point but a poll released Friday by Inside Advantage actually has Barack Obama leading John McCain 48-47 percent in the Peach State. When it comes to Georgia poli tics, Insider Advantage is the poll to go by. Other polls still had McCain ahead by a few per centage points, but the num bers are so close the race for Georgia’s electoral votes can now be considered a dead heat. A note, Insider Advantage is not a liberal outlet as some of you are probably going to suggest. Matt Towery, who helps run it, is a for mer Republican candidate for Lt. Governor in Georgia. How did we get to this point? Well, for one I think McCain, as well as other big whigs in the Republican state and national party, took Georgia for granted. That is proving to be a mistake. Obama’s national wave of momen tum (as of this writing he appears set to win the election going away) is spreading weekly, even daily, and it has reached states which have been conservative in recent elections. The Obama campaign actually sent paid campaign staffers to Georgia a few weeks ago but initially didn’t make a great deal of progress. Many of the paid staff were sent to other states such as North Carolina. One has to wonder what Obama’s numbers would be if those paid staffers had stayed in Georgia. Regardless, it appears McCain's once solid victory in Georgia is in serious doubt now. • •• Still think all political candidates and political parties are treated fair ly? Consider Libertarian Party presi dential candidate Bob Ban-. Last week Barr learned a judge in Connecticut ordered him off the state’s ballot. This ruling came despite the fact Barr had met all requirements to have his name appear. State employ ees had not only improperly struck signatures that Barr volunteers had collected, but also miscounted them. The judge, however, decided it was too big of a burden to add Barr to the ballot at this point even though the state was at fault. So in summary, Barr meets the requirements to be on the ballot but because the state makes a mistake he is not listed. Isn’t this country supposed to have free and open elections? Doesn't sound like that is the case for Bob Barr in the state of Connecticut. • •• Regardless of what happens next Tuesday, it has been great to see so many people take an interest in poli tics this year, both at the state and national level. Hopefully, our presidential elec tion will not be clouded by circum stances like we had in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. Those inci dents made it difficult, if not impos sible, to know who really won. Let’s hope this time everything runs smoothly with no glitches. The future direction of our country hangs in the balance. This election is too important to have any cloud of sus picion hanging over it. Let's have it done properly and fairly. Of course, some candidates have already been treated unfairly. Chris Bridges is an editor with MainStreet Newspapers. E-mail com ments about this column to chris@ mainstreetnews. com. chris bridges