No, Thank You, Please

Historic British bulldog Winston Churchill pulled his countrymen through World War II and is probably the reason why the German language is not more widely spoken in the world today. Immediately after the war, he was voted out of office. Democracy is the worse possible form of government, he noted, except for all the others.

Georgia’s runoff will be Tuesday for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate. Turnout may not reflect the importance or complexity of this election between Jim Martin and Vernon Jones. Remember, the incumbent Republican should never be forgiven for suggesting his opponent, former Sen. Max Cleland, had somehow failed to lose enough limbs in combat for his country to check the Patriot Column, Yes. Jim Martin, a former veteran state legislator and Georgia Department of Human Resources Director under two governors, a Republican and a Democrat, ran for Governor unsuccessfully. In the current primary campaign for the U.S. Senate, Martin has been endorsed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Rev. Joseph Lowery, and the DeKalb County Sheriff. A lawyer friend of mine tells me he has known Martin personally for many years, has the highest respect for him, and praises, among other things, Martin’s known legal representation of people who were never going to be able to pay him. Jim Martin is also a Vietnam veteran.

If Vernon Jones, CEO of DeKalb County, runs on the platform of wanting to do for the country what he has succeeded in doing for the county, I would have to say, no, thank you, please. In the past, I have often joked about Vernon Jones that leading his accomplishments for DeKalb County is the regulation that you cannot sell your home now without replacing the toilet with a low-flow model, what I call flush-light. Advocates insist this is a water saver, but how can it save water if you have to flush twice to clear it? Still, my desire to dismiss Vernon Jones as a laughing matter is as dangerous as ignoring a loaded gun in the hands of a child. DeKalb Officers Speak, the website privately put together by a police officers group, lists among its favorite links Vernon Jones Facts, consisting of detailed criticisms of Jones and his record, including spending improprieties, management abuses, and a “long record of mistreating women.” Bumper stickers for Jones show him side-by-side with Barack Obama, but Sen. Obama says, "I do not endorse him. I have not endorsed him. He put my picture on his literature without asking me. I think he may have come to an event of ours a while back. The reason I think I may have met him is I know somebody told me as I was shaking his hand that he had taken pride in voting for George Bush twice." Cynthia Tucker, editorial page editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, writes that if Jones is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, it will alienate potential Georgia voters for Obama in the Presidential election, because Jones is so divisive politically and racially. Nonetheless, both Jones and Martin declare themselves strong supporters of Obama for President.

Did I mention that Mr. Jones has particular problems with women? These include abusive confrontations and even an allegation of rape, which Jones claims was consensual. In fact Jones explains the sexual encounter as a menage a trios, presumably posing the proposition to ponder, how can you rape two women at the same time? The best thing about Vernon Jones running for the Senate is that he will no longer be in charge of my county government.

Copyright 2008 by William C. Cotter