Atlanta’s great collapse — and no, it’s not the Braves
I hate to bring this up on the morning after the Braves completed their monumental collapse, but ….
“The Atlanta region lost more jobs the last year than any other metro area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday, further evidence that the post-recessionary slump here shows little sign of abating.
Metro Atlanta shed 30,800 jobs since August 2010. Kansas City — 12,800 positions erased — was the closest competitor in job-losses. Nearly all of Atlanta’s peer metro areas added at least some jobs amid the slow economic recovery.”
… “Out of almost 400 metropolitan areas, we’re dead last and nobody is competing with us for that distinction,” said Chris Cunningham, a BLS statistician in Atlanta. “It’s pretty bad and it has been the same story for the last two, three years.”
I don’t get it.
You mean that a strategy of cutting taxes lower and lower, of refusing to spend money to modernize the transportation system that made you prosperous in the first place, of slashing state support for k-12 and higher education year after year, of kowtowing to developers and other businesses at the expense of quality of life for those who actually live here, of largely ignoring the needs of your state’s largest metro area — you mean that doesn’t work?
After all that, this is what we get?
– Jay Bookman
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709 comments Add your comment
Trotsky Foxtrot
September 29th, 2011
11:49 am
Don’t be afraid to say revolution — Cornell West
Jm
September 29th, 2011
11:49 am
Jay
Sure plenty of them are smart
That’s what happens when you have a population of a billion or so
But many of them elect to return after getting their education here, because of a poor business climate
Some will stay though, thank heavens
Peter
September 29th, 2011
11:49 am
The government can create jobs with infrastructure rebuilding…..Seems like a logical place to start.
Too bad the crap Georgia GOP comes up with is Toll Roads that cost more than they are suppose to help !
Matti's Open Eyes
September 29th, 2011
11:50 am
Nice breakdown, Mr. Bookman!
This *bleep* we’re getting from our current one-party, “gubmint sucks and we’re gonna prove it” rule simply IS NOT WORKING FOR US. On the up side, it’s working out well for many of our elected officials, who have optimized their mutual back-scratching positions to feather their own nests while ours blow away in the wind. Instead of We’re glad Georgia’s on your mind! the sign should read: Welcome to Georgia! Some people matter; most of you don’t. (If you have to ask which group you’re in, it’s the second one.)
Keep Up the Good Fight!
September 29th, 2011
11:52 am
So now GLL is a freedom fighter from the 1960’s while these day he rants about “black toward white racism”? I do believe this is another fictional creation from the GLL on the lines of his “I am a political blog virgin vs. I am a Republican campaign mucky muck” depending on the day of the week posts.
Adam
September 29th, 2011
11:53 am
poison pen: There are other states that have lost funds also and you don’t see the teachers leaving and you don’t see the poor press about their scandals.
This is actually not true. The teachers are being fired (not leaving) and there are scandals in other places. Not ALL places, but most. The places that don’t have problems are typically the ones that rely on property taxes in wealthy areas. Which goes right back to the funding point.
Corey
September 29th, 2011
11:53 am
(I)rational, go back and look at the crime statistics for Atlanta when the region was booming economically. Your argument just does not hold up.
Good little liberal
September 29th, 2011
11:53 am
DebbieDoRight
Which history book is that?
I have a collection of Nixon election Posters. It’s not out of a book, its the actual posters. Gosh, which would I trust more?
Jm
September 29th, 2011
11:55 am
Jay. Be honest.
You have no idea what % of immigrants who come here for an education subsequently stay or leave. And neither do I.
But I’m glad to know you agree with America bring a great place to come if you’re really really poor. Unless you want to argue somehow Indians are rich on average.
Matti's Open Eyes
September 29th, 2011
11:55 am
I have a collection of Nixon election Posters.
Am I the only one who shudders from the sheer creepiness of hearing that?
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
September 29th, 2011
11:57 am
Well, it takes time for Trickle Down to work. Besides, this area’s been in the dumps ever since Those People took over Atlanta. We had it pretty good back when the mayor and the police chief were White. It’s no wonder the area lost 30,000 jobs. Good people don’t want to live and work in a place they can’t run. They probly moved to those places where there was job growth. And taxes here is sky-high.
Anyhow, Bookman don’t want to hear the Truth.
Have a good day everybody.
Steve - USA
September 29th, 2011
11:57 am
I am a little bummed out, I thought the blog today would be about suspending the next elections.:)
GT
September 29th, 2011
11:57 am
Georgia has no voice to bring in business. I wonder when these prospects come to the state if the Georgia representatives don’t let a few remarks slip that indicate you are now entering an idiot zone. I am hearing prospects are appalled by our poor rural education systems in areas near West Point.
Jay
September 29th, 2011
11:58 am
That’s because it’s not an argument, Corey, it’s a sentiment that’s been disguised as an argument.
Good little liberal
September 29th, 2011
11:59 am
Matti’s Open Eyes
Perhaps you should look into what Nixon did before being yet another liberal sheep and demonize the man.
Adam
September 29th, 2011
11:59 am
Peadawg: It’s more around 88-90% but don’t let that get in the way of your racist views and comments.
That is SO MUCH BETTER, thanks.
Steve - USA
September 29th, 2011
12:01 pm
DebbieDoRight,
Here is how GM “paid” back their loan.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/apr/27/ed-whitacre/ceo-says-gm-has-repaid-government-loans-full/
Jm
September 29th, 2011
12:01 pm
You know. If Obama treated all of America the way he treated the CBC, he would either be very popular or very unpopular. I think the former, but hard to know.
I think America would be receptive to a “tough love” message.
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
12:02 pm
GLL: Ahhh so you know that the real Southern Strategy was about the three A’s just like I said, but said nothing to Debbie.
Dude, did you graduate from a Georgia Public School or what?
Please read below:
RNC Chief to Say It Was ‘Wrong’ to Exploit Racial Conflict for Votes
By Mike Allen
Thursday, July 14, 2005
It was called “the southern strategy,” started under Richard M. Nixon in 1968, and described Republican efforts to use race as a wedge issue — on matters such as desegregation and busing — to appeal to white southern voters.
Jm
September 29th, 2011
12:04 pm
Magic pants has an interview with southern baptist huckabee.
Innerestin
SwedeAtlanta
September 29th, 2011
12:06 pm
Unfortunately for the Atlanta metro area, most of the control over policies and expenditures that could help attract new employers and work with existing employers are in the hands of the legislature and the governor.
Atlanta (with recognition from Deal and the thugs under the Gold Dome) needs to decide what it wants to be in the future. If it wants to become a backwater with high unemployment, decaying neighborhoods, uneducated workforce, ets. rather than the Phoenix of the South, then continue on the current path.
Employers are increasingly decreasing operations here, moving from here or are not relocating here not because of high taxes. They are doing it because the infrastructure is in such poor shape from water and sewer lines to bridges and roads, etc. They are doing it because the skillsets needed for the current competitve global marketplace are waning here as we produce and attract a less educated workforce.
Atlanta lacks vision and the Gold Dome seems intent on ensuring that any visiion it may have is thwarted.
Glad I am within a few years of retirement as I think this is a place I want to be from.
HDB
September 29th, 2011
12:06 pm
Good little liberal
September 29th, 2011
10:54 am
Remember: the CONSERVATIVES prior to 1964were Democrats…but left the Democratic Party….and went to the GOP! NOW, the CONSERVATIVES are REPUBLICAN…but the paradigm is still the same!!
Richard Nixon: Devised the “Southern Strategy” to marginalize the Southern black vote
Ronald Reagan: advocated for segregation in Philadelphia, MS; used the Nixonian “Southern Strategy” to further marginalize the black vote
Jesse Helms: Ran the most racist and devisive campaign against Harvey Gantt….check Helm’s bio and/or wiki for verification…..
jm
September 29th, 2011
10:58 am
“Republicans have been reaching out to the black community consciously and organically. Michael Steele on the deliberate front, and Herman Cain in his own right. If the black community doesn’t reciprocate, then things will just stay as they are…..
When your vote isn’t up for grabs, no one tries to get it. Got it?”
Let’s REALLY analyze this:
IF the GOP had REALLY reached out to the black community, they would hold town meetings IN the community to address issues and present their point! Have yet to see such!
If the GOP had really reached out to the black community, they would start on black college campuses to recruit! Not prevalent yet!!
If the GOP had really reached out to the black community, they would speak TO then…NOT AT THEM!!
In EVERY election…EVERY vote is up for grabs! When you write off an entire segment..you aren’t considering them as CONSTITUENTS….so WHY should an IGNORED constituent for for the party who is doing the IGNORING???
3
Good little liberal
September 29th, 2011
12:06 pm
DebbieDoRight
You can post all you want. I was there. I lived it.
To try and say that Republicans were the racist during the civil rights movement is nothing less than pure ignorance.
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
12:07 pm
GLL @ 11:53 – you’re telling me that you trust a POSTER from a political campaign more than you trust a HISTORY BOOK? Hmmmmmm I’m not sure, but I think I’ve figured out the disconnect in some of your posts. Thanks for clearing that up.
Matti's Open Eyes
September 29th, 2011
12:07 pm
GLL,
You mean like how Nixon started the EPA, was adept at foreign policy, and was ground-breaking in his intitiatives to restore relations with China? Yes, I remember. I also remember how he could have saved tens thousands of American lives by ending our involvement in Vietnam when he was elected instead of waiting to use it as an issue for reelection, and how he put himself above the law and embarrassed himself, his party, and this country with the whole Watergate ugliness. I was a kid, but I remember. Did you have a POINT, or do you just get all hot & bothered from calling people “sheep?”
Joseph
September 29th, 2011
12:08 pm
So the democrat policies on the federal level are working Jay? What about the so called saved and created jobs of the stimulous waste. Its laughable to argue that keeping taxes low for businesses won’t help unemployment. But thats what you missguided fools on the left continue to do. Think about the city and federal government regulations that are being forced on businesses. These entities are run by democraps. As far as transportation goes for Metro Atlanta. Cry me a freaking river! It wouldn’t do me any good so I don’t want my tax dollars going to something that would probably be a fiscal nightmare anyway. I’m just glad to know that Georgia stays within its means when spending my tax dollars unlike many of the so called blue states.
Joe Mama
September 29th, 2011
12:10 pm
@11:43
I loves me some Aquagirl!
Good little liberal
September 29th, 2011
12:11 pm
HDB
“Remember: the CONSERVATIVES prior to 1964were Democrats…but left the Democratic Party….and went to the GOP! NOW, the CONSERVATIVES are REPUBLICAN…but the paradigm is still the same!!”
Perhaps you could name those Democrats that switched Parties after the Civil Rights Movement. There was Strom thurmond and . . . . and . . . and . . . . Want to help me out here?
The Southern Strategy was about appealing to the conservative South with the theme of The Three A’s Abortion, Acid and Amnesty. This racist ting to the Southern Strategy is a recent Democratic invention.
If you go to Wiki to check the definition of Southern Strategy, take a look at this written across the top of the page: The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (July 2011)
Jay
September 29th, 2011
12:14 pm
“Perhaps you could name those Democrats that switched Parties after the Civil Rights Movement. There was Strom thurmond and . . . . and . . . and . . . . Want to help me out here?
Nathan Deal? Sonny Perdue?
Good little liberal
September 29th, 2011
12:14 pm
Matti’s Open Eyes
Nixon ended the War that the Democrats had started. He had a democratic Congress to convince to end the war which he did.
Watergate was the scandal where Nixon hired independent contractors to break into the DNC headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in order to gather dirt of Democrats. Clinton ordered FBI agents to illegally bring him files on republicans. It was called File Gate.
There were some differences. Nixon committed a misdemeanor. Clinton committed a felony.
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
12:15 pm
But many of them elect to return after getting their education here, because of a poor business climate
My friend, Sanjay, told me that he will also return to India when he retires. Why? Is it because of the high taxes, etc., here in America? Not so much. It’s mostly because of cheap, (read living in CARDBOARD homes on the streets) labor – he can get a maid, cook, and nanny for about $50/month. Here it would cost him substantially more because people here don’t wish to live in cardboard.
Good little liberal
September 29th, 2011
12:17 pm
Jay
Deal was first elected to office in 1980.
Purdue . . . 1990
Not exactly big Democrats during the Civil Rights Movement.
RB from Gwinnett
September 29th, 2011
12:18 pm
Gee, whoda thought Jay would make the metro Atlanta’s problems out to be the Republican Governor’s fault?? Shocker there….
I don’t suppose it would do any good to point out that the metro area is primarily controlled by Democrats would it? That between the city of Atlanta, Dekalb, and Fulton counties, you couldn’t find enough elected Republicans to field an NBA team?
If giving all the transportation money from the state to metro Atlanta were the governors job, why are we voting on it as a “region”? And why didn’t the hundred years of democrats in the office before Sonny do that cause I’m pretty sure this problem didn’t start when he took office.
Jay, you’re such a partisan hack. I hope that new editor takes the time to read your blog and figures out 90% of your postings on this blog are from the same 5 tools (who probably work with you) and the rest of us think you’re a big reason the paper is failing.
Matti's Open Eyes
September 29th, 2011
12:19 pm
GLL,
Soooo… no point, then. Just an attempt to paint history with your preferred brush. Got it. (On the other hand, the fact that anybody is still so desperate for material that they’re bringing up “file gate” is HI-LARIOUS!)
Armed Liberal
September 29th, 2011
12:20 pm
Nice to see the “Conservatives” on this blog still know their way to the top of Stone Mountain and can still afford some bleach and starch for their little “costumes”…
Half of you are bigots hiding behind failed theories and the rest of you are just fools.
Please keep it up though. You are the reason Obama and the Dems will win in 2012.
poison pen
September 29th, 2011
12:21 pm
getalife
September 29th, 2011
9:54 am
pp,
” Have you been under a rock.”
People are gaming our systems left and right.
We have protestors on Wall Street protesting this fact.
Income equality is horrendous .
Wake up
Getalife, I’m not sure what you are responding to? that being said, I would rather live under a rock than be one, get the point?
Aquagirl
September 29th, 2011
12:21 pm
I loves me some Aquagirl!
Thanks, Joe Mama—and I loves me some posters who are soooooo transparent, they think businesses are afraid of black guys who aren’t even in office, not the State Senate’s lack of concern over their thug Banking Committee Chairman. Or, y’know, our total lack of solutions for transportation and water. They are just SURE that some CEO is as terrified as they are about a Sheriff kicked out of office in 2008, still lurking in those dark (coincidental? I think not!) shadows, waiting to rape their white wimmen or use the same sidewalks as the white folk.
Honestly, it would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. And typical.
Jess
September 29th, 2011
12:22 pm
Not to worry. The beltline and trolley from the King center to the park will get us right back on track.
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
12:23 pm
GLL: You can post all you want. I was there. I lived it.
So did a lot of others, AND they wrote things called HISTORY BOOKS to educate youngsters like me about it!
To try and say that Republicans were the racist during the civil rights movement is nothing less than pure ignorance.
Ooooo good dodging and weaving!!! Big Ups for trying to obscure what i really was trying to say by bringing in the old “You LIE!” defense!! First, I never said that “republicans were racist during the civil rights era…….blah,blah,blah”; I never even MENTIONED the civil rights era. I did however mention the Southern Strategy, which was a purely racial strategy to gin up the white voter to vote republican.
Now, if you were to read any history book, (i know, God Forbid!! right?
), you see that those two instances, though linked, were not at the same time in American History.
Good try GLL but you get a FAIL on trying to change the subject. Better luck next time.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
September 29th, 2011
12:23 pm
Lee Atwater, a political strategist for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, described the Southern Strategy in an anonymous 1981 interview:
“You start out in 1954 by saying, “[Nword x3].” By 1968 you can’t say “[Nword]” — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states’ rights and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now [that] you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I’m not saying that. But I’m saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me — because obviously sitting around saying, “We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “[Nword, Nword]”
___________________
The Nword is what I substituted for the actual word used…But the racial tinge is a recent fiction of the Dems according to GLL
HDB
September 29th, 2011
12:23 pm
Good little liberal
September 29th, 2011
11:35 am
GLL…I am a product of the South…raised during the segregation of the 50s….and LIVED through what is being described…with FIRSTHAND knowledge of the Southern Strategy; to explain further — (from wikipedia:):
“In American politics, the Southern strategy refers to the Republican Party strategy of winning elections in Southern states by exploiting anti-African American racism among Southern white voters and appealing to states’ rights. Though the “Solid South” had been a longtime Democratic Party stronghold due to the Democratic Party’s defense of slavery prior to the American Civil War and segregation for a century thereafter, many white Southern Democrats stopped supporting the party following the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, and desegregation.
The strategy was first adopted under future Republican President Richard Nixon in the late 1960s and continued through the latter decades of the 20th century under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.[1] The strategy was successful in achieving its goals; it led to the electoral realignment of Southern states to the Republican Party, but at the expense of losing more than 90 percent of black voters to the Democratic Party. As the 20th century came to a close, the Republican Party began trying to appeal again to black voters, though with little success.[1] During the 2000s decade, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman formally apologized for his party’s use of the Southern Strategy in the previous century.”
Joe Mama
September 29th, 2011
12:24 pm
GLL — “Nixon ended the War that the Democrats had started. He had a democratic Congress to convince to end the war which he did.”
Oh, well, then, you should have no problem with President Obama taking as long to end our involvement in Iraq as President Nixon took to end our involvement in Vietnam.
Oh, Obama’s ahead of the Nixon curve?
“There were some differences. Nixon committed a misdemeanor. Clinton committed a felony.”
So Obstruction of Justice, Abuse of Power and Contempt of Congress = misdemeanors. Didn’t know that.
moonbat betty
September 29th, 2011
12:25 pm
Raise taxes on the wealthy!
That’ll fix it.
poison pen
September 29th, 2011
12:26 pm
DebbieDoRight
GLL @ 11:53 –” you’re telling me that you trust a POSTER from a political campaign more than you trust a HISTORY BOOK? Hmmmmmm I’m not sure, but I think I’ve figured out the disconnect in some of your posts. Thanks for clearing that up.”
Debbie, Do you believe everything that you read in History books, Really! they have been distorted, especially about those savage indians that it’s hilarious.
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
12:28 pm
Perhaps you could name those Democrats that switched Parties after the Civil Rights Movement
St. Ronnie Of Reagan comes to mind……..
Mick
September 29th, 2011
12:30 pm
gll
Sorry, but the vietnam war ended because congress stopped appropriating money for it – look it up. That’s most likely how our current wars will end when the people have finally had enough. Can’t pay for medicare, can’t fix social security, can’t solve trade issues with china, but we can sure keep on warring…
AmVet - Read my lips. No new Texans!
September 29th, 2011
12:30 pm
One of the more laughable aspects of this “Conservatives are the black man’s best friend” argument is that once upon a time there actually were moderate and even liberal (GASP!) Republicans.
No more. No sirree.
Modern day Torquemadas and Purity Tests put an end to that wayward thinking.
Knee pads and complete obeisance to the party machinery are now THE hallmark as the sheep factor COMPLETELY defines that hyper-dysfunctional, homogenous organization of reactionary backwardness…
(See Tom Price as proof.)
Joe Mama
September 29th, 2011
12:34 pm
Aquagirl — “waiting to rape their white wimmen or use the same sidewalks as the white folk.”
It goes both ways. I’ve been told to “drop the chalupa” while out with my Hispanic wife.
I have no idea why some people freak out so much over skin color.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
September 29th, 2011
12:34 pm
Okay, I have tried to post the quote twice but it has been put in moderation despite my editing for what I assume is the troubling use of a derogatory term for a certain race. So here is link to the 2005 article quoting Lee Atwater regarding the evolution of the GOP Southern Strategy….The quote is in the middle. Warning in advance…it does contain an unedited offensive racial term.
So the claim by GLL that the racist tinge is a recent Dem creation is false. (again
) Unless of court Lee Awater who managed Bush 1 campaign (Willy Horton)
poison pen
September 29th, 2011
12:35 pm
Jay
” Poison pen, if what HDB wrote is BS, then explain Phil Kent to me.”
Explain how an appointment like that doesn’t demonstrate if not an outright animus against racial and ethnic minorities, at least a tolerance for such animus.
If you’re a black kid in Alabama, and you see that a powerful GOP state senator is on tape dismissing black people as aborigines, and yet he remains in office and in leadership, are you going to think that’s a party that respects you and yours?
Jay, I can’t explain him anymore than I can explain Van Jones, I love the way you only see on side on everything.
Jay
September 29th, 2011
12:35 pm
Ike Eisenhower got 39 percent of the black vote in 1956; Nixon got 32 percent in 1960.
In 1964, Goldwater got 6 percent. In 1968 — eight years after pulling 32 percent — Nixon got 3 percent of the black vote.
Wonder what happened in those intervening eight years — you know, those years in which Republicans “were really fighting for civil rights” — that might account for that truly dramatic shift?
And all those Southern states that George Wallace won in ‘68? I take it those were liberals voting for him?
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
12:35 pm
pp: Debbie, Do you believe everything that you read in History books, Really! they have been distorted, especially about those savage indians that it’s hilarious.
You’re right of course pp. From ths day forward I should only believe things that are on POSTERS; because only political POSTERS tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing BUT the truth. Got it!!
PS: Do you ever wonder WHY states like Georgia that cut educational spending is soooo far behind? I mean, if people get their history from POSTERS and not books, do you ask yourself “Why Johnnie Can’t Read?”
poison pen
September 29th, 2011
12:37 pm
Joe Mama
Aquagirl — “waiting to rape their white wimmen or use the same sidewalks as the white folk.”
It goes both ways. I’ve been told to “drop the chalupa” while out with my Hispanic wife.
” I have no idea why some people freak out so much over skin color.”
Jpe, It’s because they’re dyck heads………. good post.
RB from Gwinnett
September 29th, 2011
12:38 pm
How about one of you fine liberals tell us what the black-friendly Obama administration has done for the black community in 2.5 years???
The truth is, they’re being lied to by people who want their votes. They’re still poor and are being left behind in this society regardless of the promises made by Dems. I wonder when they’ll figure out they’re being played?
Joe Mama
September 29th, 2011
12:38 pm
AmVet – “One of the more laughable aspects of this “Conservatives are the black man’s best friend” argument is that once upon a time there actually were moderate and even liberal (GASP!) Republicans.”
“No more. No sirree.”
“Modern day Torquemadas and Purity Tests put an end to that wayward thinking.”
Quoted for Truth. I was one of those moderate Republicans. But being moderate or collaborative or collegial isn’t considered a virtue in the modern GOP any more. Neither is thinking for yourself or forging your own path. You either fall in line and get in step, or the GOP doesn’t want you today.
Shrug. Message received.
Jay
September 29th, 2011
12:38 pm
What happened to Van Jones, Poison?
Without accepting your false equivalence in the first place, what happened to Jones, and what has happened with Kent?
poison pen
September 29th, 2011
12:40 pm
Debbie, I think there is an old saying, ” Believe half of what you read and nothing of what you see” or something like that.
Strawman
September 29th, 2011
12:40 pm
HDB:
Okay, I finally have some time to respond to your post a few pages back.
“Look as to what has occurred since then: conservatives left the Democrats for the GOP, took the racist paradigm with them…and the South became solidly Republican.”
It would appear you are painting with a big brush that conforms to your preconceived notions, which I would say is ironically prejudicial. If you are going see everything TODAY through the prism of the sixties, then what can be said: you are simply close-minded. I would hope that you would not argue that the bulk of Republicans today are operating from a “racist paradigm.” If so, I would contend you are as ignorant of the facts as you would say a white suburbanite is ignorant of inner city
conditions.
“Conservative political strategy: Note – Nixon’s Southern Strategy: methodology to marginalize the Souther black vote; Reagan’s advocacy for “states’ rights”….which in the South is a call for segregation; Bush41’s “Willie Horton” strategy….Jeb Bush’s elimination of black people from Florida’s voting roles.”
Huh??? Boy, you must have crystal ball or something to “know” such things. Some of these claims are ludicrous on their surface. Reagan’s advocacy for “states’ rights”…is a call for segregation? Please tell me you are kidding. What a warped perspective of his motivations! Jeb Bush is married to a Hispanic (like someone I know), but I guess he is secretly racist towards blacks. I guess you would also include GWB in the mix of the Bush “clan” as well (although he sure was clever to refute naysayers by appointing Powell and Rice to SoS). Holy smokes!
“Conservatives’ IGNORING of Urban America: How many conservative candidates have come into the inner city, held town meeting forums to discuss the issues and addressed the needs of that community, and ASKED for my vote?”
I can’t say. I’ve never seen one the times I have been in the inner cities. If you are right, I would concede this is a real problem.
“Conservatives’ portrayal of minorities: Note: Reagan’s “welfare mothers”…..to the numerous statements of conservatives here portraying minorities as “driving Cadillacs and using food stamps”.
Look…at the risk of offending you, people (white, black and Hispanic) are abusing the system. There are IN FACT unwed mothers of multiple children by multiple fathers living off the government. If pointing that out offends you, then I suggest that you are overly sensitive. I am Irish and you know the common joke about my people: that we are drunkards. I wince sometimes, because it’s a racial slight. But you know what – I’m not that way. Are you a church-goer? Read Titus then and see what Paul had to say about the inhabitants of Crete. Did he hate them? No…he was rebuking them.
“Conservatives’ hostility towards public education. The evidence speaks volumes”
Huh? I was once an educator. Conservatives are not hostile towards public education. They are hostile towards expensive and inefficient programs. If you don’t know it, the educational system in America is largely broken. But you know what? I would agree with Bill Bennett (who I think knows something about it and with whom liberals often agree about this subject) that the biggest factor in a successful educational system is PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT. That is something blacks, whites and Hispanics have to do on their own.
“Conservatives’ lack of inclusion. Not just minorities…but those who DON’T think as they do! Just because the TRADITIONS are different makes a person no better or worse! Gay marriage…for one….is de facto legal by LAW (treaty and the 14th Amendment)…but conservatives decry such!!”
Sounds like you have other issues besides the imagined racism of the Republican party. Have you really thought this through? Let’s say we allow gay marriage. Then some people really into beastiality start clamoring for their right to marry their dogs (or whatever)? I bet you would join the Republican party then! See, it’s all about moral standards. Conservatives tend to believe more in absolute standards (even if they are hypocritical and don’t practice them) and liberals tend to believe more in changing standards. The former create all sorts of problems when their standards are wrong in the first place, and the later create all sorts of problems when those standards are right in the first place.
TruthBe
September 29th, 2011
12:41 pm
Too much corruption, too much wasteful spending, badly planned transportation projects, too many corrupt black racists mayors that controlled Atlanta giving no bid contracts to their family and friends, corrupt lying democrat bias newspapers like AJC and other media hypocrites. Remember Reed’s election “Get Out the Vote Atlanta and vote for Reed, Don’t let Whitie Win”. Get the homies out of downtown Atlanta politics and put some fresh faces down there.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
September 29th, 2011
12:41 pm
liberal Republicans? — why those are as extinct as the dodo.
Matti's Open Eyes
September 29th, 2011
12:41 pm
AmVet,
Yeppers on the Tom Price reference. Good LORD, he’s awful in every possible definition of the word! (Wanna run against him next year? Please?)
poison pen
September 29th, 2011
12:42 pm
Jay, And please tell me who was the group that called out Van Jones, it sure as hell wasn’t the Dems.
Two wrongs don’t make 1 right, and we will always have nuts in gov’t. and in our country. It doesn’t make it right and I don’t condone it, but I at lease admit it, something you have a hard time doing.
Georgia Native
September 29th, 2011
12:44 pm
Atlanta could burn again and nobody would care! A once great Southern city turned into a International Hell-Hole of a city!!
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
12:44 pm
It goes both ways. I’ve been told to “drop the chalupa” while out with my Hispanic wife.
Dude my husband has blonde hair, blue eyes and looks like Redford. When I’m out with him, some black men loose their minds. Now, these are the SAME black men who may have a white woman by their sides at the time. I’ve been told to “Come Back Sister!!” and one guy threw me out of the WHOLE BLACK RACE!! Dudley and i have learned to ignore them; but at first it was really hard for me because I wanted to apologize for who i loved; but my mother, (who’s a very light Brazilian), told me to tell them all to kiss my azz when they make comments like that to me. These people never bothered Dudley and through him and my mother I’ve learned to not let them bother me.
I have no idea why some people freak out so much over skin color
I think it’s because they have nothing else going on in their lives. I mean if they get their history from POSTERS….
Just kidding GLL — not a dig at you. Honest.
Jefferson
September 29th, 2011
12:44 pm
The state gov’t has a part, but the biggest part of the unemployment in GA is lack of income growth over the last 10 years. Now that trickled down…
Josh M
September 29th, 2011
12:45 pm
What misleading data. By population percentage, the Kansas City metro region (pop 2 million) lost more jobs than Atlanta (pop 5.3 million). By a lot.
Atlanta’s bond rating has been ‘A’ since 2009 due to operating deficits and spending, and you are blaming job losses on low spending? It’s almost as if you’re serious! “If only government spent more, Atlanta would be overrun with jobs!”
I find it amusing when liberals try their hand at statistics and economics. A journalist earns a state college degree in history, and suddenly we have another Paul Krugman!
larry
September 29th, 2011
12:46 pm
Atlanta leading the nation in job losses in metro areas really isnt a suprise when you think about it. 49 straight months the unemployment rate has been higher than the national rate, billions and billions cut from education, transportation is a mess, our quality of life is slowly eroding away……..
Sure , there has been some glimmers of hope but its funny with all the tax breaks and credits and advantages that the state is offering , no one wants to come.
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
12:47 pm
RB: How about one of you fine liberals tell us what the black-friendly Obama administration has done for the black community in 2.5 years???
Last I heard Obama was the President of the UNITED States of America. Not just black america.
HDB
September 29th, 2011
12:47 pm
Good little liberal
September 29th, 2011
12:14 pm
“Nixon committed a misdemeanor”
You need to quit attempting to revise history!! Here’s what Nixon was charged with:
http://watergate.info/impeachment/impeachment-articles.shtml
poison pen
September 29th, 2011
12:47 pm
RB from Gwinnett
How about one of you fine liberals tell us what the black-friendly Obama administration has done for the black community in 2.5 years???
” The truth is, they’re being lied to by people who want their votes. They’re still poor and are being left behind in this society regardless of the promises made by Dems. I wonder when they’ll figure out they’re being played?”
RB, If they all think like Getalife, never.
Kamchak
September 29th, 2011
12:48 pm
…too many corrupt black racists mayors…[...] Get the homies out of downtown Atlanta …
There’s your sign.
Oy to the vey!
Joe Mama
September 29th, 2011
12:49 pm
RB — “How about one of you fine liberals tell us what the black-friendly Obama administration has done for the black community in 2.5 years???”
How about trying to pass healthcare reform? How about trying to keep the economy afloat? If President Obama did something *specifically aimed* at helping African-Americans, your party would lose its collective MIND.
He’s not the Black President. He’s the American President (who just happens to *be* black).
“The truth is, they’re being lied to by people who want their votes. They’re still poor and are being left behind in this society regardless of the promises made by Dems. I wonder when they’ll figure out they’re being played?”
You know, a good start for the GOP would be not demagoguing minorities and the poor. Maybe if your party would stop blaming the poor, the minorities, the disadvantaged, the struggling — THEN maybe you could peel off votes from those communities in greater numbers.
But when your outreach program happens for maybe two weeks a year and the rest of the time you’re slagging on those selfsame people, don’t expect them to forget it.
Jay
September 29th, 2011
12:50 pm
And if GLL insists on political posters as history, very well:
http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2010/05/27/how-rand-pauls-libertarian-streak-ran-afoul-of-history/
DBCOOPER
September 29th, 2011
12:50 pm
Atlanta Metro area is in the shape it’s in because of George W Bush.
Hey it works for Obama? I’m just saying.
Peadawg
September 29th, 2011
12:51 pm
“Last I heard Obama was the President of the UNITED States of America. Not just black america.”
I 100% agree. Tell that to the Black Caucus or whatever they’re called though.
Jm
September 29th, 2011
12:52 pm
Jay I’m speculating but I bet one can find data showing a decline in immigration applications
DBCOOPER
September 29th, 2011
12:52 pm
I wonder how many of those that suffer from this economical tragedy , will vote for four more years of it?
Joe Mama
September 29th, 2011
12:54 pm
D. DoRight — “but my mother, (who’s a very light Brazilian), told me to tell them all to kiss my azz when they make comments like that to me.”
My wife and I love Brazilian food; it’s substantial, tasty and often a good value at little lunch counters. And the people-watching is *fantastic;* many of the women in those places are absolutely gorgeous. My wife pointed out a woman who was about four shades darker than her but with *green* eyes (and they didn’t look like contacts).
I don’t know it for a fact, but I think Brazilians are a lot less hung up on race than Americans tend to be. Anyhow, my wife says that in a few centuries, everyone’s going to be her color, so it was smart of me to get down with the brown early on.
SwedeAtlanta
September 29th, 2011
12:55 pm
DBCOOPER, the sheep will vote to leave the governor’s office and the state Houses and Senate in Republican hands. No question about it cuz they are against taxes and fags and love them sum Jesus and guns!!!
AmVet - Read my lips. No new Texans!
September 29th, 2011
12:58 pm
Matti, I understand that Chambliss, Westmoreland, Gingrey, Broun, et al are just knuckle dragging neanderthals.
But the frustrating thing about Price is that he has always struck me as someone who is actually intelligent and likely a good guy.
But when he puts his Republican underwear on, he instantly turns into just another of the sycophantic, claptrap dispensing miscreants.
The man has no balls.
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
12:59 pm
Debbie, I think there is an old saying, ” Believe half of what you read and nothing of what you see” or something like that.
Sigh. Actually it’s “Believe half of what you see and none of what you HEAR”. I bet you got that other rendition from a poster didn’t ya?
PDawag: 100% agree. Tell that to the Black Caucus or whatever they’re called though.
I have. BTW if you’re in a mood for a fight and have no one to fight with, find a couple of blogs about Maxine Waters, (Dem California), and her supporters. Talk about some good fighting!!! Her supporters are totally illogical and swear that she’s the best thing since sliced bread. I always have a good time over there arguing with the intellectually challenged.
Mick
September 29th, 2011
1:00 pm
rb
What exactly are the repubs offering black voters to cross over? Tax cuts…
Joe Mama
September 29th, 2011
1:00 pm
AmVet — “Chambliss, Westmoreland, Gingrey, Broun, et al are just knuckle dragging neanderthals.”
I will grudgingly admit that Chambliss has been a friend to farmers. He seems to stick up for them, even when it’s against the GOP’s position.
But after how he slagged on Max Cleland to get elected, I will *never* vote for that man. He could personally save me and my wife from a house fire and I still wouldn’t shake his hand.
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
1:01 pm
Jay @ 12:50 – You.Are.So.BAAAADDDD. GLL is gonna loose his lunch now just because of you!
MiltonMan
September 29th, 2011
1:02 pm
Oh yes we have suffered mightly at the hands of Perdue & now Deal.
I can imagine how great this state would be if we only elected the clowns like loser Roy Rat Barnes, Jimbo Martin or the retread-Barnes yet again.
GA dems do us a favor and start electing someone who could actually have a slight chance of winning. Which clown are you going to elect as the next sacrifical lamb? Let me guess: “Barnes 2014!”
Peadawg
September 29th, 2011
1:02 pm
“Sigh. Actually it’s “Believe half of what you see and none of what you HEAR”. I bet you got that other rendition from a poster didn’t ya? ”
I’m pretty sure it was another Bushism along the lines of “Fool me once…”
.
Aquagirl
September 29th, 2011
1:04 pm
Have you really thought this through? Let’s say we allow gay marriage. Then some people really into beastiality start clamoring for their right to marry their dogs
If that’s the result of your “thinking through” gay marriage, you may want to keep it to yourself. Don’t project your desire to marry your dog onto gay people.
Your bizarre fetish for Rover is not their issue.
Trotsky Foxtrot
September 29th, 2011
1:05 pm
Mick: “What exactly are the repubs offering black voters to cross over? Tax cuts…”
They offer them: conservative ideology!!!
Namely, stick a finger in the eye of your more righteous-than-though, supposedly more gullible herd-following brother. Herman Cain style (I’ve risen to the top of the corporate food chain (no pun) and so can you if you just stop whining and pull yourself up by your bootstraps).
Joe Mama
September 29th, 2011
1:06 pm
MiltonMan — “I can imagine how great this state would be if we only elected the clowns like loser Roy Rat Barnes, Jimbo Martin or the retread-Barnes yet again.”
I think the only candidates WORSE than Deal last year (and did that wackjob Neal Horsley try to run again?) were Oxendine and McBerry. I wouldn’t be happy with Karen Handel, but at least she didn’t have to GTFO of Washington in the middle of the night ahead of a Congressional ethics charge.
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
1:06 pm
JoeM: I don’t know it for a fact, but I think Brazilians are a lot less hung up on race than Americans tend to be.
That’s because of years & years of the swirl.
Most Brazilian families are a lot like my family, they come in all shades. From Mocha like me to blonde hair and brown eyes like my sister.
Anyhow, my wife says that in a few centuries, everyone’s going to be her color, so it was smart of me to get down with the brown early on
Your wife is a genius!! Make sure you tell her that often.
TruthBe
September 29th, 2011
1:07 pm
SwedeAtlanta, Go back under the rock you came from in the northern frozen lands of Europe. You liberal socialist political Correctness liars are the problem with the World Today. As for sheep just look to the democrats for that. Not one of you democrat sissies have the backbone to confront Obama and his failed policies.
Strawman
September 29th, 2011
1:07 pm
“If that’s the result of your “thinking through” gay marriage, you may want to keep it to yourself. Don’t project your desire to marry your dog onto gay people. Your bizarre fetish for Rover is not their issue.”
Is that all you have AQ – a childish ad hominem attack? Really? I guess I pegged you for being a bit smarter than that. Oh well…
Kamchak
September 29th, 2011
1:08 pm
Your bizarre fetish for Rover is not their issue.
Zoophilia in the afternoon.
MiltonMan
September 29th, 2011
1:08 pm
Libs on here bashing GA reps while at the same time driving around in “cash for clunkers” trade-in covered in “Hope & Change” and “Hank Johnson was right about Guam tipping over” bumper stickers.
Classic!
Jay
September 29th, 2011
1:10 pm
“What misleading data. By population percentage, the Kansas City metro region (pop 2 million) lost more jobs than Atlanta (pop 5.3 million). By a lot.”
Wrong. If KC were Atlanta’s size, its equivalent job loss would be 33,920, compared to 30,800 for Atlanta. That’s not a lot. It’s actually very little. So congratulations, you’ve now succeeded in proving that Atlanta is only a close second to the worst in almost 400 metro areas.
If that makes you feel better about the situation, I’m glad.
AmVet - Read my lips. No new Texans!
September 29th, 2011
1:10 pm
Joe Mama, ditto. The ONLY one. Hell, I’d even shake George’s hand if he offered it to me. (I’d then wipe my hand repeatedly on Bill Clinton’s shirt!)
Like Bro SoCo wrote last night – Suxbee (my choice of words) is lower than an ant turd.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
September 29th, 2011
1:10 pm
Funny how homosexual acts can lead to beastality as the “slippery slope” but never heterosexual…..
Let’s say we allow
gaystraight marriage. Then some people really into beastiality start clamoring for their right to marry their dogsWhy I do declare….any type of marriage may just lead straight into beastality….
Joe Mama
September 29th, 2011
1:11 pm
TruthBe @ 1:07pm (pointing, laughing)
DebbieDoRight
September 29th, 2011
1:12 pm
If that’s the result of your “thinking through” gay marriage, you may want to keep it to yourself. Don’t project your desire to marry your dog onto gay people.
I will never undersand people’s hang up about gay marriage. I mean, do they think it’s a disease they can catch like, Gaymarriageitis or something? Will they wake up one day with an uncontrolable urge to marry a gay person? Their fear makes ZERO sense to me.
Logic 101 For Liberals
September 29th, 2011
1:12 pm
“Is that all you have AQ – a childish ad hominem attack? Really? I guess I pegged you for being a bit smarter than that. Oh well…”
It seems so, Straw…there are few libs here that can argue a case to save their lives. I guess they never left the playground.