Wednesday, May 23, 2001

I'd like to respond to Dave Hamrick's column regarding Zell Miller's possible switching political parties.

I don't think ""zig zag Zell" will switch political parties, Mr. Hamrick, and why do I believe this? Because it is my view that the Democrats will take both houses of Congress in the off-year elections of 2002, largely because of the chaos of the 2000 Presidential election, and the feeling, among certain of the Democrats' core constituency, that the election was, in a word, stolen. This sense that the 2000 election was stolen is so strong among certain quarters that the Democrats have but to tap into this resentment of the outcome of the election which they are already doing and they will be successful in 2002.

So how did the rumor spread that Zell Miller was switching political parties? I believe that it was put out by mean-spirited Democrats intent on harming Miller for no other good reason other than they do not like him. And it is not that they do not like Miller; they do not like any Democrat who speaks his or her mind and is honest and straightforward in their beliefs. In short, I think the Democrats want to damage Zell Miller politically so he will have no choice but to switch parties, and once he does switch he will be in a minority come November 2002 and thus effectively silenced.

Does this sound farfetched? Maybe so, but I also think that George W. Bush is fast becoming the Republican Jimmy Carter and thus will be a one-term President. Bush is already starting to sound Carterlike in urging federal buildings in California to lower their thermostats. If gasoline prices go up any more as they very well may the public anger against President Bush will be so pervasive that he won't have time to recover politically.

Bush, after all, has no ideas, and doesn't anymore know what to do about the gas crisis than former President Clinton would know about ethics or honesty. So I think we are looking at a scary scenario for the next two years or so: Democratic arrogance increasing; President Bush floundering; the nation stumbling through one crisis after another and the Democrats in the Congress not giving any support at all to Mr. Bush purely out of mean-spiritedness and rancor.

So in this type of environment, if Zell Miller wants to switch, it will be fine with the Democrats; let him and the Republicans stew in their own juices they'd better enjoy while they can because it wont last long.

And this is too bad because personally I like Zell Miller. He is honest, hard-working and really does want what is best for Georgia. He is an excellent United States senator and good man. His integrity sets him apart from his fellow Democrats.

So maybe Zell will switch parties; if he asks my advice which he would never do I would suggest that he make the switch because he has nothing to lose. He will still get reelected because the good people of Georgia unlike the Democrats in United States House and Senate know a good man when they see one. It will be the Democrats' loss if Zell Miller changes parties, but maybe they don't care about that and that is too bad. We need more men like Zell Miller in elective office, not fewer.

Dennis Sams

Fairburn

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