A NOVEL STRATEGY
Bill Shipp

Gov. Sonny Perdue and Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor should take a close look at the wreckage of Ralph Reed's primary campaign. They might figure out quickly why Reed lost his bid for lieutenant governor.

Most voters did not believe what he said.

They did not believe Reed was mostly motivated to fight Texas casino gambling and the Alabama lottery because of his Christian beliefs.

Voters did not believe RR could be innocent of the origins of $4 million in fees paid his firm to fight gambling in Texas.

Nor did voters believe his association with corrupt Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff was rooted in friendship instead of greed.

They also did not believe Reed helped Pacific Island sweatshops avoid U.S. labor laws because he wanted to "promote family values."

Disbelief was the common thread linking all the stated excuses for Reed's downfall. So ...

If Georgia voters did not believe Reed, why would they believe Gov. Perdue when he says the state's economy is booming? Georgia ranks at the bottom among the states in net creation of jobs. A major pharmaceutical company just announced it would not locate its plant in Georgia because North Carolina offered a better-trained workforce. Gasoline selling for more than $3 a gallon and crude oil for nearly $80 a barrel do not portend boom times.

If voters did not believe Reed, why would they believe Lt. Gov. Taylor when he takes credit for the lottery and the HOPE scholarship? Just about everybody knows that the lottery and the education scholarship were election-year gimmicks created by campaign strategist James Carville to help Zell Miller win the governor's office.

For Perdue and Taylor, the lesson of Ralph Reed is obvious. Tell the truth. No matter how bad it looks, glossing over reality or trying to make a bad situation look good won't work. Voters are wising up - I think and I hope.

What if Perdue and Taylor tried the un-Reed strategy of laying out the truth about Georgia and explaining what they intend to do about our truly awful state of affairs?

For instance, suppose both candidates admitted that public education in Georgia has turned into little more than a jobs program for teachers who are paid more and more while students achieve less and less.

What if the candidates told us that the Legislature is now owned by out-of-control environmental despoilers who will do anything, pave anything and build anything just to make a few bucks? What if the guys who aspire to be the next governor said they intend to try to control growth and clean up the air and water to improve Georgians' quality of life? What if they made such an unusual pledge, and it turned out to be the truth?

Consider what might happen if the candidates came clean and told the voters this: "The much-touted reformed medical malpractice law is a fraud. The so-called tort reform laws did not reduce doctors' insurance premiums. In fact they rose. It did nothing but make it impossible for little people to sue butcher physicians and their insurance carriers. Malpractice tort reform was sold as a boon to the middle class. Instead, it was simply a way for insurance companies to reap more profits. It stripped regular folks of their right to seek legal redress for injuries."

Or suppose the candidates stepped before the cameras and declared: "The gay-marriage issue is a scam. Gay marriage in Georgia is no threat to conventional nuptials. Never has been. Never will be. Gay marriage was meant to divert attention from real stuff. That's all. And, oh yeah, all that talk about how activist judges might decree same-sex marriages as valid - that was just bull, too. There may be one or two trial judges who ought to have their heads screwed on tighter. However, Georgia's appellate bench is about as conservative and dull and precedent-bound as they come. We promise to appoint qualified and experienced judges. That's the truth.

"As for Voter ID - that was an idea dreamed up by a backbench state senator who yearned for more media exposure. We let it get out of hand. Yes, indeed, that law worked a hardship on old people who have no drivers' license and, yes, the KKK branch of the GOP thought the law might keep blacks away from the polls. Voter ID made Georgians look like saps on the national stage - again. Voter ID is the kind of thing that hurts us in recruiting new industry and promoting tourism. It makes us seem backward and racist. We promise not to travel down that road any more, and that's the truth."

Thirty years ago, Jimmy Carter pledged, "I will never lie to the people." That simple declaration helped him win the presidential nomination and move into the White House. How well he kept his promise is a matter of debate. Yet, the recycled idea of swearing to speak truth ought to have appeal in this age of trying to remake the real, flawed Georgia into something that it is not. So perhaps the gubernatorial candidates will consider a campaign based on truth-telling even if their consultants tell them it is a lousy idea.

It's just a thought. I don't expect it to be taken seriously. Even the candidates have difficulty separating truth from fantasy. Still, voters seemed to know the difference in the Cagle-Reed match, and they might see the light in the Taylor Perdue contest as well.

You can reach Bill Shipp at P.O. Box 440755, Kennesaw, GA 30160, or e-mail: shipp1@bellsouth.net