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McGraw We live in strange times. In a few short weeks, the Republicans will lose control of the House of Representatives. They will most likely retain control of the United States Senate. The Republican Revolution of 1994 is, for all intents and purposes, dead. An unusual coalition of intellectuals, fiscal conservatives, religious conservatives and middle class mothers are abandoning the Republican party this year in such numbers as to make a Republican hold on the House untenable. America will once again have a Congress in gridlock, as it did from 1994 to 2000. Only this time, the President will be Republican and the House Democratic. This will be a test of the President’s leadership ability, as he has not had to live up to his stated role as a “uniter, not a divider” for the past several years, given his party’s control of both houses of Congress. The upcoming loss of control of the House has special import to Congressman Lynn Westmoreland. The self-described “do-nothingest” member of arguably the most “do-nothing” Congress of at least the past fifty years is at a crossroads: Even though he did little more than collect a paycheck from the United States government for the past two years, Westmoreland was still in the majority party and as such had input into proposed legislation. With his party out of power, Westmoreland becomes absolutely irrelevant in Congress. Put another way: he is to the Republican party what the soon-to-be-departed Cynthia McKinney is to the Democratic party, i.e., a joke, little more than fodder for late night television ridicule. On paper, Westmoreland represents eight counties, including Fayette. In actuality, Westmoreland appears to have a parochial outlook, disdaining any matters that don’t directly affect his homebase of Coweta county (or his developer constituents). Mike McGraw is running as a Democrat to oppose Lynn Westmoreland. Westmoreland has $500,000+ in his campaign war chest (largely from developers and the like), McGraw has a scant $16,000. McGraw is an anomaly in the Democratic party. To begin with, he was a lifelong Republican until April of this year. Secondly, he is adamantly pro-life, but qualifies that by stating he “also respects established law of the land regarding abortion”. His most significant departure from Democratic orthodoxy, however, is his stance on illegal immigration. McGraw is firmly committed to fence-building to keep illegal aliens out, and appears to support most if not all of the more draconian measures to punish illegal aliens. I suspect this stance precludes McGraw from receiving campaign funding from national Democratic organizations. McGraw is a rarity, a conservative Democrat. Not necessarily a “Sam Nunn conservative”, but vastly more conservative than just about any Democrat currently serving in Congress. The question for conservatives then is, will you vote for a laughingstock like Westmoreland simply because he has the magic “R” next to his name? Or will you vote for someone who appears to be at least as conservative as Westmoreland but has a “D” next to his name? I’m a partisan Democrat, I make no bones about that, and I’m proud to stand up and tell people exactly what I am. I don’t agree with many of McGraw’s stands, but I will vote for the man nonetheless in the upcoming election. I’m not a single issue voter. I’m comfortable, if not exactly thrilled, with McGraw’s positions. In any event, I think McGraw is a much better choice than Westmoreland. I recognize that there are many conservatives living in Fayette county. I’m wondering who they will vote for and why. Basmati's blog | login to post comments
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