U.S. Senate Race in Georgia Will Make or Break Democrats' Hopes

Roswell, Georgia -- As a small business owner, I make it my business to follow political races in Georgia. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss have done nothing in my opinion to help the hard-working people of Georgia. But being in the Bible Belt almost assures that both will be re-elected. Why do these two get re-elected in a state were we struggle with education, unemployment above the national average, and the highest foreclosure rate in the nation? Apathy breeds discouragement over our political system and those that run it.

Primaries are Slow to Gather Interest in Georgia 2010 U.S. Senate Race

As I drive to work, I see a few political signs in north Atlanta, but they are mostly for the governor's race. The right-wing conservatives have Georgians believing that the GOP is God's party. If you don't vote for the conservatives, you must be atheist or communist because the liberal Democratic party is evil. They voted heavily for George Bush and his losing effort nationally to Barack Obama.

Why did the majority of our people vote Barack Obama into office over the incumbent? Are there that many atheist and communist in the United States? Don't think so. It was because Americans want and need a change in what they see as self-serving politicians helping themselves to riches. Take our current senator, Johnny Isakson, who proposed a first-time buyer credit to generate interest in the residential home markets. Well that's because Sen. Isakson has been in the real estate business for years in the Atlanta markets. Who wins?

In Georgia, I'm guessing that a large percentage of the population aren't even aware of the upcoming primaries to vote in someone who can possibly unseat Senator Isakson from his post. Why is that? Well the two Democratic hopefuls, R.J. Hadley and Michael Thurmond, are both off to a slow start. Thurmond has the best chance to defeat Sen. Isakson but he needs to get his running shoes on and hit the campaign trail.

Thurmond has a homepage up on the web, but it says it is under construction and R.J. Hadley has an impromptu video on his page and ways to volunteer, which is an improvement over Thurmond but not enough to overcome the 15 percent deficit to Isakson discovered in a telephone poll by Rasmussen Reports an online polling company on April 23, 2010.

Small Businesses are Concerned

As small business owners, my wife and I hear first-hand how hard a struggle most small businesses in Georgia have it right now. In Atlanta, I don't know a small business that is doing better then this time last year.

Even though we have hired more employees and contractors this year, we still are being squeezed by price increases. As we try and pass these increases along, we experience a proportionate decrease in sales. I believe this is because of the high unemployment in Georgia, which is 10.4 percent according to the Georgia Department of Labor website. What has Sen. Isakson done in Washington to improve jobs?

Then there is the matter of health care, which has caused the wealthy top 5 percent to get outright angry because they might have to change the way they use health care. But what about the 45.7 million Americans that have no health care plan according to the US Census Bureau in a report dated 2007. Is it because they have a pre-existing illness, bad health history or just can't afford the high premiums? Has Sen. Isakson proposed any worthwhile legislation or developed a bi-partisan strategy to help his constituency?

Then there is the matter the federal deficit, which is the root cause of our economic failures developed by unrestricted markets in sub-prime mortgages. What has Isakson done to help further loans to small businesses so that we can grow our markets and add more jobs? Has he helped to develop financial reform to prevent this bad a recession in the future?

These are the things that the Democratic Party should be capitalizing on for the primary coming up in July. In order to continue as a viable party in Georgia they need to place Democrats in office and win some elections. These needed discussion points should be debated and their positions listed on websites to help bring about change in Georgia. Newspapers need to carry the message to their subscribers to inform and help every citizen in our fine state. This would thwart the cronyism that pervades in Washington. We need to become activist for our lives and chase apathy out of Georgia for good.

Sources:

Income, Poverty and Health insurance: 2007 by Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D, Proctor, Jessica C. Smith for the US Department of Commerce, Economic and Statistics Administration, US Census Bureau

Georgia Department of Labor website located at http://www.dol.state.ga.us

Rasmussen Reports, online Political reporting, located at http://www.rasmussenreports.com