A friend and I were recently discussing the challenges facing Georgia as we attempt to create jobs in an ever-increasingly competitive environment. He bemoaned the lack of political leadership as the impediment to real solutions and we began to handicap the upcoming General Elections and what that meant for the future of our state.
My friend believes the agenda won’t be changing much sense the “vast majority of Georgians are Republicans, or at least conservatives.” I rebuffed the statement, stating a majority of Georgians identify themselves as independent of either political party even though they might lean more towards "Democrat" or "Republican" one year to the next. Gallup data actually show that Democrats hold a 3 point “leaning” affiliation lead over Republicans (electoral turnout is one explanation for Republicans currently holding a decisive legislative advantage) in Georgia at this time.
The real problem with fixing our state isn’t ideological – at least along party lines. The challenge is that the vast majority of Georgians are tuned out and choosing to pull a lever for neither party. They’ve given up hope our “leaders” will solve problems, ultimately believing neither party cares about making Georgia a better place, or certainly offering needed reform to get us there. Election turnout, while showing slight gains the previous years, still remains ridiculously low. Only about 1.1 million Georgians (or 22 percent of active registered voters) cast ballots for governor in the 2010 Primary contest this past July.
In the end it appears the vast majority of Georgians believe the old political adage that there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between Republicans and Democrats. And that is increasingly proven to be true when you look at outcomes under both parties’ leadership.
Look at the “Big Three” issues facing Georgia: water, education and transportation. Other than offering vouchers, is there really much difference between Republican or Democratic “solutions?” Both want to improve student performance and increase teacher accountability but offer few differing, revolutionary ideas. As for transportation, both parties want to reduce gridlock generally but offer few tangible policies for doing so (note: a main difference is that one party favors roads over rail). And both want to find a settlement with our neighbors (Alabama and Florida) to ensure Georgia can continue to draw water as desired and needed from Lake Lanier and other sources. But neither offers even the most basic comprehensive solutions for making sure our water quality and quantity remain appropriate to continue life as we know it into the foreseeable future (forget it if the expected population growth continues across metro Atlanta the next 25 years).
Consider the actual “accomplishments” of both parties in Georgia and you will see that the silent, electorally inactive middle is correct. Is Georgia's academic performance better today, after eight years of Republican leadership, from when Roy Barnes was governor? Have Georgia students moved from the bottom two in standardized testing to middle of the national pack (a rhetorical question, obviously)?
Are we any closer to a water solution today than when Democrats led? Quite the opposite. Things have gotten so bad that the fate of negotiations are about to go to the experts in Congress to decide.
And what about transportation – MARTA, GRTA and Cherokee transportation systems are seriously reducing service or shutting down all together. The legislature kicked the can this year, punting regional transportation planning decisions to voters in 2012. That means needed projects won’t get underway from any new funding for three to five years at the earliest.
We continue to lose ground in education, job growth and economic competitiveness to neighbors like Charlotte who put light rail through the city in just a few years. And neither party will own up to that fact, study the problems and offer real and sometimes difficult solutions to get us back on track. In the end, perhaps the “middle” is right, we suffer and the system fails to work because the quest for power, fundraising and partisanship take priority over actual problem solving.
So in the end, as I told my friend, Georgia’s policy future isn’t so gloomy just because of a leadership vacuum that exists at the capitol. Citizens allow this inaction and ineffectiveness to continue by sending the same folks back to the “Gold Dome” regardless of the party next to their name on a ballot. And actual voters aren't solely to blame here, those sitting on the sidelines are just as guilty.
But there is hope. Each of us can make a difference by taking action – any kind of civic action: go to the polls; write a blog; or contact a candidate, legislator, governor or Congressman, telling them your idea for fixing our state and then holding them accountable through their term (and at the polls in the next election cycle, if necessary). Those aren't plattitudes - making your voice heard and holding elected officials accoluntable is how problems are solved - look at cancer funding (thanks Lance Armstrong), global warming (thanks Al Gore and your PowerPoint presentation) and health care (well, maybe nobody is to thank for tackling that mess).
In the end, we all win with more participation (perhaps “we” doesn’t include current politicians in this scenario). But all of us suffer (perhaps “all” doesn’t include politicians in this scenario) when the vast middle remains silent.
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