It Was Time to Wake Up, But the Georgia Electorate Stayed in Bed

In my December 1st diary entry, I questioned whether or not deploying Obama field staff and volunteers to Georgia would be a successful strategy to elect Jim Martin in the Senatorial runoff election.

Well now that the results are in, it is clear that the Obama magic cannot be transferred by long-distance to candidates in Republican strongholds.


Despite the masses of human and financial resources poured into his campaign, evidently Jim Martin's personal story and vision were not compelling enough to drive the Obama coalition to the polls. Despite appearances by hip-hop stars and civil rights pioneers, Martin's own star power paled in comparison.

Simply put, Martin's platform of anti-crime, child-protective legislation did not display the vision to entrance today's electorate. He did not exemplify the key values of Hope and Change which are so attractive to Obama supporters in the US and around the world.

Could voters truly relate to the idea that Martin's election was a life-and-death necessity, simply in order to give Barack Obama a Super-Majority? Did the electorate understand the need for a Super-Majority? Were voters really convinced of the urgency of this election?

In addition, Martin's campaign was not as clearly focused as the President-Elect's had been. Part of Obama's secret weapon in the general election, besides his oratory skills, his brilliance, his charisma and his magnetic vision, was his insistence that his supporters take advantage of early voting to boost poll numbers. Five-hour early voting lines were not unheard-of in Florida, North Carolina, and other "red", battleground states which were taken by Obama.
However, all the Georgia polls indicated that the early voting turnout was unexpectedly low in Democratic precincts. People, for whatever reason, were simply not sufficiently motivated enough to stand in the rain to vote for a man who did not really represent the Man who Represents Change.

Now Georgia Democrats will be left with the consequences of the loss.



Originally published in The Daily Kos, December 2, 2008.