Project Logic Ga

We should look at the political situation in Georgia by the numbers…my numbers.  Of course, the two Staceys –Stacey Abrams and Stacey Evans would be the first two numbers and all other numbers are relative to them.

Point #1:  Stacey Abrams is positioned to win the Georgia Democratic primary for Governor because Whites exited the party for the GOP.  Most Georgia Democrats are Black voters but that doesn’t or shouldn’t mean that they would vote for a Black candidate simply because she is highly qualified and looks like them.  Other points and factors need to be taken into consideration…primarily endgame.

Point #2: Stacey Evans stands a better chance of actually winning the general election.  An Abrams victory in November would require turning out Black and progressive voters in historic numbers.  Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton didn’t get the Black numbers Abrams would need to win without a certain percentage of the Non-Atlanta vote.  Ms. Abrams strong statement about sandblasting the Confederate memorial off Stone Mountain means that working class Whites who once voted for Dems as labor union members won’t be voting for her.

Point #3: We have three Georgias.. Metro Atlanta; the five Other Cities (Augusta, Savannah, Macon, Columbus and Albany); and Rural Georgia.  At this point, the battle for Georgia starts to feel like the American Civil War..the classic oxymoron.  In the War Between the States, the North had superior numbers but the South had farm boys that grew up hunting and killing outdoors…better troops.   Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” opened with a 1967 quote from Thomas “TNT” Todd that stated “Yet our best trained, best educated, best prepared troops refuse to fight! Matter of fact, it’s safe to say that they would rather switch than fight!”

Blacks in the South have the numbers on paper to change everything politically on the local, state and national levels.  For some strange reason, the segment of the community most affected by public policy refuses to vote.  Middle class Blacks are growing weary of fighting political battles for them.  The matter is exacerbated by the opinion that certain Blacks aren’t striving for success…that the hip hop culture has inadvertently perverted the Black American dream.

Point #4: The “Head of the Snake” theory created by this writer is that a snake can be six feet long but without it’s head, the rest can do nothing.  Actually, this idea relative to Blacks comes from Dr. W.E.B. DuBois’ s Talented Tenth.  What would happen to southern Black voting power if the most successful quarter of Black voters functioned as a separate unit?  Of course, we would still care about all southerners of every race but could tip the scales of elections in either major party.

Point #5: Endgame.  The ultimate goal isn’t success for a political party or race.  The goal is forming a more perfect union… a union that started on the corrupt foundation of human bondage.  The more direct endgame is wrestling control of the White House from the scary segment of the Republican Party.  The Public Enemy quote above ended with “they rather switch than fight.” In 1967, Todd was referring to assimilation of Blacks with Whites.  Today, we are at a cultural crossroads..many Blacks are put-off by the criminal element of our race; some Whites are just learning about the meth-loving element of theirs.

At the end of the day, it all comes back to the lyrics from the Police’s song “One World (Not Three).”

“I don’t want to bring a sour note

Remember this before you vote

We can all sink or we all float

‘Cause we’re all in the same big boat.”

Georgia is a big boat and our next generation of leaders needs to be about the business of more jobs, better education, growing the economy and competing in a global market.  A focus and prepared labor force are vital and international businesses want to locate in a place without ongoing historic drama.  How in the world is the head of Germany the leader of the free world rather than the president of the U.S.A.?

Point #6: Post-election Staceys:  The political blogging community thinks Stacey Abrams is destine for national fame—this contest and the governorship are stepping stones.  Some wonder if she could be congresswoman after Rep. John Lewis retires but I think that is small potatoes for her.  Abrams will be the head of the D.N.C., national leader of the Progressive Movement or host her own MSNBC show in the future.  On the other hand, Evans won’t leave Georgia for D.C. because she is a mom.  Remember, members of the General Assembly with children normally seek higher offices in Atlanta because flying home from Congress on the weekend is rough on parenting.  After public office, Evans will likely land in a Georgia based international law firm…balling on the next level.

Point #7: The Elephant In the Room:  Since Georgia is a red state for now, the next Governor might be decided in the GOP primary with little involvement from the Black community.  However, the abovementioned most successful quarter of Black voters could tip the GOP primary to the most reasonable Republican candidate…if there is such a thing.

We need to discuss these points now on the grassroots level.