Democrats, now in the minority, look to recover in Georgia. -- A good overview.

Today Brandon Larrabee and Brian Basinger of Morris News Service have a excellent write-up:

Democrats, now in the minority, look to recover

Just two and a half years ago, Democrats ruled state politics with an iron hand.

The governor was the leader of the party, which also controlled both houses of the General Assembly. It was a dynasty dating back to the post-Reconstruction.

Not anymore.

In a series of stunning victories, the GOP swept Democrats out of their one remaining power base - the House - and consolidated their hold on power in the Senate.

They also gave Gov. Sonny Perdue, the state's first GOP chief executive in 130 years, a free hand to pursue his agenda before facing re-election in 2006.

But even with these stunning defeats, observers say, it's too early to count Democrats out.

"The dynasty is certainly over," said Mike Digby, a political science professor at Georgia College & State University. "But I think it's probably premature to say the Democratic Party is not going to have any chances in Georgia."

Even among the party's leadership there is an array of opinions about how badly the Democrats' standing as the once-majority party in Georgia was damaged.

"As depressed and sad as I am with the results, it's absolutely not the end of the Democratic Party," said Rep. Tom Bordeaux, D-Savannah.

House Speaker Terry Coleman, an Eastman Democrat who will relinquish his position when the General Assembly reconvenes in January, was philosophical.

"Gosh, who knows? ... A lot depends on how (Republicans) do, how they operate," he said.

At the very least, most concede, the days when Democrats were the unquestioned power in the state is gone.

"I certainly think that it's an indication that we're going to be, at least through this decade probably, a heavy two-party state," said Senate Minority Leader Michael Meyer von Bremen, D-Albany.

Some members of the party, University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said, preferred to look on Perdue's victory in 2002 as a fluke, the result of the unpopularity of then-Gov. Roy Barnes.

Some Republicans see it differently: They see a vindication of GOP policies and a final rejection of the way Democrats ruled.

"I think they have relegated themselves to minority status," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Stephens, R-Canton. "There's been a complete meltdown over the last two years."

For now, Democrats are beginning to focus on 2006, when all 236 legislative seats and the governor's office will be up for grabs. Two prominent party figures, Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and Secretary of State Cathy Cox, are expected to vie for the chance to challenge Perdue.

The prescriptions for fixing the party vary, but they tend to revolve around the same idea: Democrats need to re-establish ties with groups that have recently swung Republican, including South Georgians, rural voters and moderates.

"We need to do a better job of communicating directly to the folks in rural Georgia," said Emil Runge, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia.

For advice, Digby said, Democrats might want to turn to their least favorite standard bearers: U.S. Sen. Zell Miller. Though he refuses to change parties, Miller has blasted his party for what he says is an excessively leftward tilt.

"But Zell has been a very popular politician, (and) there could be some lessons to be learned from Zell's admonishments over the last few months," Digby said.

But Digby also counseled against Democrats taking an overly grim view of the future.

"It's not hopeless," he said. "Politics is cyclic, and things do go up and down. ... I don't think the Republican dominance is likely to last for 130 years."