Governor’s plan doesn’t add up

Sonny Perdue, as the clock continues to tick down on his tenure in office (thank goodness) is pushing an idea of taking power away from Georgia voters when it comes to four statewide offices. Seems the esteemed governor doesn’t think voters are smart enough to decide who occupies the offices of insurance commissioner, labor commission, agriculture commissioner and state school superintendent.

The immediate response has been negative, from all corners of the political spectrum, so one can only hope Perdue will back off of this plan. The governor’s proposal is for the positions to no longer be decided by the state’s voters beginning in 2014.

Perdue’s reasoning behind wanting the change is to take “politics” out of these offices. The governor believes more qualified people can be appointed rather than elected.

What Perdue fails to grasp is the fact that the positions would still be of a political nature, as they would be appointed by whoever is governor at the time. If a Republican is governor, then look for Republicans to hold the offices, whether they are “qualified” or not. The same goes if a Democrat holds the office.

My advice to Perdue: continue your inactivity and just leave Atlanta come the end of the year. Haven’t your disastrous two terms been bad enough already without this monstrosity being added on?

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One state-wide office holder who appears to be in serious trouble this year is state school superintendent Kathy Cox.

In recent months Cox and her husband, John, filed bankruptcy. John Cox is a homebuilder apparently hard hit by the recent economic downturn, reports have indicated.

Kathy Cox won $1 million on the game show “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” but even those winnings are being sought after by creditors and by schools who were promised the money as a donation.
Challengers have already lined up to challenge the state school superintendent in the Republican primary this summer and even if she survives that, a Democratic challenge awaits in the fall.

Odds are Cox’s tenure will end the same time as Perdue, although for different reasons.

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The Tea Party movement continues to gain momentum as many supporters are using an overtaxed working man and working woman slogan.

While I don’t argue with any third party coming onto the scene (quite frankly more are needed), the Libertarian Party has been fighting against overtaxation for decades. Of course, the Tea Party is benefiting from getting tons of free publicity from the far-right wing Fox News channel so it’s name is the hot one right now.

The question will be if the Tea Party can maintain its hot streak and not fizzle. Also in play are the ballot requirement laws which are very tough in many states, including Georgia. In the end though, it would be great to see Tea Party candidates on our ballot in the future. Something, anything, to shake up the two-party dinosaur we have now would be a welcome sight.

Chris Bridges is an editor with Mainstreet Newspapers. You can reach him at chris@mainstreetnews.com.