Minority Leader DuBose Porter sees path for Democrats to regain lost ground.

Excerpts from Wayne Crenshaw's article in the 01-10-05 Macon Telegraph:

Porter sees path for Democrats

Rep. DuBose Porter . . . is now the top Democrat the state House and will play a leading role in whether the once-dominant party can rebound from its devastating losses in the November election.

He's probably a man fellow Democrats should listen to. After all, in the November election Porter bucked the trend that essentially doomed the party. Throughout the state, districts that had been trending Republican for years on a national level finally went Republican on the state level.

Not so in Laurens County. In a conservative district that overwhelmingly voted Republican for president, Porter thumped his GOP challenger.

He said he thinks his race could be a model for what Democrats need to do to regain power.

"We need to get back to defining who we are instead of letting Republicans define who we are," said Porter, editor of The Courier Herald newspaper in Dublin. "We did it by talking about job training and educational opportunity ... issues that matter to people."

The problem in the past election, Porter said, had nothing to do with the beliefs of the Georgia Democratic Party.

Porter said Republicans were able to convince voters that there wasn't much difference between the state party and the national party. The challenge during the next two years, Porter said, is to demonstrate to voters that Georgia Democrats are more in tune with Georgia values than Republicans.

Also, he said, the national party could help itself and Southern Democrats by re-evaluating its priorities. Porter believes former Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., was right in chastising the national party for moving too far to the left.

"The national Democratic Party has written off the South," Porter said.

But even without changes in the national party, Porter said the state party can rebound by touting its conservative values.

If Georgia Democrats are conservative, just what are the differences between the two parties in Georgia?

Porter is quick with a response to that question.

"We are the party of the HOPE Scholarship, the party of pre-kindergarten, the party of open government and open records, Peach Care, clean air and water," he said.

HOPE has a special place in Porter's heart. He was then-Gov. Zell Miller's floor leader in the House and shepherded the legislation that created HOPE.

When Democrats held their caucus to elect party leaders, former House Speaker Terry Coleman opted not to seek the minority leader position. Porter, who had been second in command as speaker pro tem, was selected unopposed. He hopes that meeting will serve as a turning point in the party's fortunes.

"To begin with, it was a little like a funeral," he said. "Then people realized they need to get fired back up."

State Rep. David Graves, R-Macon, said Democrats made a good choice in selecting Porter as their House leader. Graves said the Republican majority of 99-81 is not large enough to ignore the minority party.

"I think when you get down to the real fighting and debating of the issues, it's going to be important to have someone you can work with on both sides." he said.