Monday, December 1, 2008

Democrats At Sixty


I just saw rapper TI campaigning for Jim Martin in Georgia.

Who is Jim Martin you ask. Depending on whether voters come out tomorrow to cast their ballots, he's one of the guys who can help Democrats in the U.S. Senate reach a filibuster-proof 60 votes.

For those not in the know (and most of my readers are) a filibuster is a parliamentary procedure to obstruct or to prevent the adoption of a measure generally favored or to force a decision against the will of the majority.

One of the things I've learned since living in our nation's capitol, is that being the minority in the Senate isn't all bad. It means you hold the power; and that means you can put holds on legislation or make extraordinarily long speeches to keep legislation you don't like from being debated or voted upon.

Democrats say they need 60 votes to help keep such practices from happening.

Last month when voters, particularly black voters in suburban Atlanta, went to the polls in droves, they prevented the incumbent Senator, Republican Saxby Chambliss, from getting more than 50 percent of the vote. His biggest challenger, Jim Martin, nipped at Chambliss' heels, and now the two are in a run-off election that takes place Dec. 3 (tomorrow or today depending on when you're reading this).

As I've said many times before, there's Atlanta and then there's Georgia (I can say this because it is my home state and town). Because of this anomoly, I feel pretty safe in calling tomorrow's race for Chambliss because the JAW-JANS will come out, and election-weary (mostly black) voters in suburban ATL will choose to skip the festivities, even with the Senate at stake.

Former Republican Vice Presidential contender Sarah Palin visited the state Monday and John McCain has been there several times post-general election to help push the GOP candidate over the top. Obama, on the other hand, hasn't visited Georgia at all. Even he is blowing off the runoff.

Then again, Obama's been a little busy with other stuff lately I guess.

Regardless, Tuesday is about turnout.

If TI can campaign and vote, surely you can too.




1 comment:

Ted said...

“Dirty Pool” at the Supreme Court apparently on behalf of Obama currently usurping YOUR Constitution: Leo Donofrio’s companion case, brought by Cort Wrotnowski, with fuller/better briefing showing Obama is not an Article II “natural born citizen” reportedly has been sidetracked to the anthrax lab to deprive the full Court from seeing those filings in connection with Donofrio’s case this Friday, Dec 5, 2008. DO SOMETHING AMERICA!!!