Roaming Through Georgia Primary Results

Republican candidate Ed Lindsey did poorly in the U.S. Representative, District 11 race – finishing 4th place in Tuesday’s primary voting by garnering a mere 8,389 votes out of 56,584 cast. Or about 15% of the total votes cast for a District 11 Republican. He “got spanked,” as the kids would say.

So let’s break it down: a sizable TV ad budget from his campaign garnered just over 8K votes?! Talk about bad returns on one’s investment. Some money obviously went for an email campaign, as my Inbox filled with plenty of those. However, as of today, Lindsey managed only 700+ Twitter followers, and barely 7K Facebook followers. And a paltry under 2K views to the one video (a duplicate of a TV ad) on the campaign’s YouTube channel. The campaign was a huge failure-to-launch in social.

This is why I’m not a political consultant, as I really did believe Lindsey could attract a better, moderate Republican turnout. I should have known it was all over from the get-go, for a moderate Republican candidate such as Lindsey, when a seasoned, and occasionally astute, political observer blurted out at the Gold Dome during the past legislative session, “Poor Ed Lindsey. Such a smart man, reduced to abject pandering.”

That’s the thing about hiding one’s smarts and light under a canopy of political pandering with ideological sloganeering about hating on “Obamacare.”

Smart voters know a repeal of the ACA is never going to happen (and I suspect they don’t really want it repealed, if they were waterboarded on the matter), and the dumber ones are attracted to politicians who don’t have to pander, such as former state Sen. Barry Loudermilk, as those candidates can preach from their manufactured pulpits with a genuine zeal and conviction, making them far more appetizing ideologues for voters who need a dash of ideological Purell before touching their ballot screens.

Heck, Loudermilk may even genuinely believe he can march up to Washington and personally overthrow the ACA! I couldn’t see Lindsey ever leading that particular charge, so I wish he’d never even brought the ridiculous matter up at all.

Perhaps I should just surrender my old fashion notion of moderate, reasonable Republicans still roaming around in Georgia. Clearly, as the District 11 race data show, they’ve gone extinct.

Thank You For Choosing Political Service

To my many friends and social media aquaintances who were running for public office yesterday to serve the state of Georgia…

I am honored and impressed to know so many of you. Good character and good values cross all partisan lines. And I saw plenty of those from the people I know who chose to set themselves up for the scrutiny of our political process… as I also saw their names on my ballot.

Instead of going out to the victory parties or viewing the results at Manuel’s, as I like to do, I ended-up staying home and watching the documentary about the death of Neda in Iran… a story I’ve followed since seeing and hearing it all play out in front of my eyes and ears on Twitter and YouTube and Facebook and MSM… just over a year ago.

The documentary, Death in Tehran, was a perfect affirmation of our unique political process. There was not a moment that was lost to me, in a documentary about the tragedy and horror of political repression, of how blazingly fortunate and free we are in America – when we choose to be so.

And while there is gross apathy, ignorance and contempt for our gift of political freedoms in America I am fortunate and grateful that, for the most part, the people I know and associate with are fortunate and grateful and respectful of a political process we should never take for granted.

You set an example for others in every action, small or large, you do every day. With the greatest example being your belief and participation in a political system you chose to embrace with a great appreciation affirmation of the process we are astonishingly gifted with.

With absolutely nothing to do with a win or a loss, your example of expectant participation and service is a unique and valued treasure in itself.

Thank you.

Georgia – Obama’s Phantom Swing State?

Despite news from places such as the douchbags windbags at The Georgia Gang that Obama has “pulled out” of Georgia like he was some kinda dubious date, the Obama campaign has not given up on Georgia. In fact, the reality is anything but.

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The 22 to 25% Survey: Will Younger Voters Really Turn Out In November?

Heck, I have no idea! I never bothered to vote until I was in my late 20’s. Towery, and he’s just the kinda guy who’s voted in every election since he was 5, thinks that, by having polled the parents of these “new young voters,” that there could be a 22-25% increase of younger voters actually showing-up at the polls in November of this year. Thus the title… “The 22-25% Survey.” All that kind of analysis here.

Of course you can’t poll all those boring “nice young people” who may or may not vote in November as they’re all totally, like, all over the place on their cell phones. So go after their totally uphip parents; the ones left with land lines that is.