Grassroots or the Will of the People?
This weekend Governor Nathan Deal will be vilified because he has ignored the grassroots and gone against the will of the people. Which lead me to wonder how can a sitting Governor that garnered more that 1.3 million votes in his last two elections be so bad?
How can a the Governor who led his state to top ratings as the place to do business, to becoming the movie capital of the south and a leader in so many economic categories be so bad?
So I would speculate that the real issue here is not the Governor but the perversion of the word “grassroots” and the phrase “the will of the people”.
Grassroots used to identify those people who volunteered in campaigns of people they believed in and supported. Grassroots were the people who setup and took down the chairs at the County meetings. Grassroots used to phone bank, sign wave and in their own way contribute positively to the political process.
Some where along the way grassroots got high-jacked by the “purists”, the single-issue people and most recently by the “anybody but (name)” crowd.
Realizing the narrowness of their own perspective, the grassroots now has adopted the tactics of the master of diversion – Bill Clinton. When pressed on the variety of scandals he created over the years he always deflected by saying he was “doing the will of the people” and would not be distracted by these accusations.
Fortunately most people have come to realize what you really mean is “the will of the people as long as they are our people”. And as a result I suspect Nathan Deal would get more than 1.3 million votes again in 2018 if he were not restricted by term limits.
About Author
IrishPat
Patrick Malone is a Business Advisor and Leadership Mentor headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. He co-hosts Mountain Daybreak and Mountain Mornings, weekday news programs, and hosts This Week in Blairsville a weekend program on WJUL/WJRB. He is a mentor in Union County High School, serves on his church council and writes a monthly column on leadership in the animal healthcare industry.
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I dont know why you had to poke the bear but if you’re armchair quarterbacking hypothetical elections in the absence of term limits, then William Jefferson Clinton would walk with 70M+ votes in 2016.
Phew! Okay, now I feel better. Continue on with your infighting.
Let’s not stop there. If Obama could run for another term I think he would easily beat Trump.
Pat, you seem like a nice enough guy but did you maybe start drinking a little early today?
The last I looked, the so-called purists, the single-issue people, the anybody-but-X crowd you’re so upset about are all gopers. You know, members of your party. Who you keep company with is your business but the rest of the country wishes you would either sit on them or send them to their rooms, along with the show-vote compulsives and the obstructionist crowd.
I guess you thought you were being generous by blaming Clinton instead of Obama for the sins of your brethren but what you’re really doing is pretending it’s not your problem. It’s the same as whining about Trump while ignoring the people who support him.
xdog, while I might be a nice enough guy I guess I am a pretty piss poor writer as I was referring to the purists, single issue voters and anybody but voters in the GOP and my point was that the majority of the GOP should in fact sit on them or send them to their room. Apparently the mere mention of St Bill of the Cigar was too much for some readers.
If anything, mentioning Clinton was more along the lines of a non-sequitur.
How is the Guinness pouring this afternoon?
Pat, hardly St Bill, although he had his moments, such as sending Newt home and running up surpluses. Maybe I misread your post. I guess we could agree that letting political vandals have their way never works. I’m just concerned that you guys have sat on your hands so long.
Have a good convention and hope to see you on TV.
Unfortunately, there are many politicians vehemently stating they are doing the will of the people, no matter how small the number of people. The only voices they hear are actually between their own ears.