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EGG ON MY FACE
Well, I said nobody was going to talk Ralph Hudgens out of
the 10th District Congressional race, and he talked himself out of
it. I also said my hunch was that our former Mayor Doc Eldridge
would get into the race, but he's not. Doc told me at Mama's Boy
Friday morning that he's not going to run. Period. Except that Doc
is politically sophisticated enough to know that it ain't over 'til
it's over, and there's a lot of time between now and the closing
of qualifying, and, look at Ralph: anything can happen. In other
words, Doc's leaving the door cracked just enough that if the wind
shifts, it could still blow open.
Doc really wants to run, but he's also a realist, and he has
talked to a lot of people with deep political experience. They have
basically told him that it's a slam dunk. The Republican movers
and shakers and power brokers have coagulated behind Augusta-
area State Senator Jim Whitehead, and they have basically frozen
Doc out by now. A month ago, when the incumbent Congressman
Charlie Norwood died and the moving and shaking began. Doc was
tied up with the eventual death of his mother-in-law. By the time
he could again turn his attention to politics, the deal was done.
Whitehead seems to be a big old good old boy, and being big
and old (64) makes it hard to run. Of course, they'll raise enough
money to sell him like soap, and he won't have to do more than
show up at your local Rotary with remarks prepared by his team.
T hat's just as well, because as the Banner-Herald's Jim Thompson
has cleverly shown on his new blog, Whitehead is liable to say
anything on his own. (Jim resurrected an old Whiteheadism to the
effect that the University of Georgia is run by a bunch of liberals
and if it weren't for the football team he wouldn't care if the whole
place was bombed out
Doc really wants to run, but
he’s also a realist, and he has
talked to a lot of people with
deep political experience.
of existence, or words
to that effect.)
The whole
Republican field of an
nounced candidates is
running so far to the
right that you could
drive an RV full of
Democrats down the middle of the road and pick up enough decent
folk to at least get into a runoff. Newly-elected state Democratic
Party Chair Jane Kidd is driving the effort to find an attractive
Democratic candidate. I think Jane herself is plenty attractive; she
could do a good job of grassroots party building if she would run.
She grew up in Lavonia, where she served on the city council. Her
daddy was Governor Vandiver, and she has lived in what is now
the 10th District all her life, except when she was boarding in the
Governors Mansion. But she says she can't do it, and she says
the Democrats have three or four possible candidates, including
Terry Holley, the Augusta-area jeweler who ran a plucky campaign
against Norwood last time; Denise Freeman, from Lincolnton, who
has also run before; James Marlow, from Lincolnton and Atlanta;
and Evita Paschall, an Augusta lawyer, has also announced her
interest in running. Probably the strongest candidate, who is not
in it at the present time, is Jeff Reynolds, a Chaplain at Rabun
Gap-Nacoochee School, who used to be the Moderator of the
10th District Presbyterian Synod and is beloved by Democrats and
Republicans alike. A Democrat and a Christian!
Close readers of this column will recall that my and Doc's
scrambled-egg political jawboning has taken place before the
backdrop of the Cobbham brains trust in the corner (this week
graced by former school board member Jackie Saindon celebrat
ing her birthday with her husband, anthropology prof. Steve
Kowalewski). The Cobbhamites, who have had their political differ
ences with Doc in the past, have been cordial and encouraging and
have even indicated their possible support for Doc, in the absence
of an attractive Athens Democrat.
Tipped to the news that Doc's not running, the neighborhood
nabobs finally revealed the name of their own favorite-son candi
date: Milton Leathers.
If Doc and Jane won't run, why not Milton? Milton is the spirit
of Athens even more than the statue at City Hall by that name:
like Pericles (or at least Alcibiades), the quintessential Athenian,
given, like Socrates, to rambling around Athens engaging its citi
zens in discourse. Milton, moreover, is the direct descendent of,
among many illustrious Georgians, Howell Cobb, the Athenian who
served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Election to
Congress would be a homecoming for Milton and the continuation
of his noble line in those hallowed halls. Milton, moreover, now
lives in Jackson County, giving him a feel for the more rural parts
of the district. We need an Athens candidate in this race, and you
can't get more Athens than Milton.
Of course, Doc could still get in it. The Republican leaders have
put all their eggs into Whitehead's basket, but who knows what
that slam dunk will hatch before this omelet gets made?
Pete McCommons Editor & Publisher editor@flagpole.com
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
City Pages 5
Local News & Politics
Yet another small mobile home park in Athens is set to close this spring and
Commissioners put the brakes on proposals to crack down on alcohol ordinance violations.
EVEIMT
Theatre Notes 11
Let the Festivities Begin!
University Theatre presents Euripides' The Tro/an Women; the UGA Graduate
Acting Ensemble does loo Story-. Oconee Youth Playhouse's Thoroughly
Modern Millie and Cinderella. Also, The Effie's girls go Hollywood.
Runnin’ Wild
Robert Osborne’s Classic Film Festival
The ethos of Athens' very own classic film festival, special guests this year and more.
Plus, full write-ups for all eight films on the schedule
[MUSI©
When Is Tragedy Ever Petite? Part II 26
Kevin Barnes And Of Montreal Are Leaping New Hurdles
And Aiming For Evolution
The growth in popularity of Of Montreal, its relationship with its fans, its live performance, and more...
SXSW Report ' 33
What Happened? Who Played? How Was It?'
Get the full rundown from music editor Chris Hassiotis
Liner Notes 36
Druid City Stokes That Warm Slow Burn
Flagpole writer Jim McHugh offers thoughts on Julien Derocher's rustic new band.
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ISSUE NUMBER 11
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