Calvin Smyre as the turtle on a fence post

Barbara Ballard, left, current president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, Joe Armstrong, the NBCSL president-elect, and past president Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In its off-hours, the Democratic National Convention breaks down into the subsets and networks that make the larger machine work.

One of the more important organizations is the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. With its membership of 600 state lawmakers, this is one of the organizations that Bill Clinton and Barack Obama relied on when running for president.

The group’s most prominent member may be state Rep. Calvin Smyre of Columbus, who over the last 20 years has been the best-connected Democrat in Georgia. (And the former state party chairman.) The 38-year veteran of the state Capitol, first elected in 1974, was recognized for his service.

What looked like a majority of Georgia’s Legislative Black Caucus was on hand. Smyre often converses in the call-and-response mode.

“When you see a turtle on a fence post, you know that he-she didn’t – what?” Smyre asked the crowd.

“Get there by themselves,” the Georgia caucus answered in unison.

Smyre has apparently used the line before. (In fact, later, in the convention hall, Smyre said he picked up the line from a young Lt. Gov. Zell Miller.)

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

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