His Name's Not On The Ballot But Barnes Looks To Play A Role In Fall Election

Under the current Georgia state flag on the Coffee County Democratic Committee website appears the following:

Lest we forget, Gov. Roy Barnes made this possible.

("A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." "The first step is the hardest.")

Read: I remain a big fan of Gov. Roy Barnes.

In InsiderAdvantage Georgia Dick Pettys writes the following about Gov. Barnes:

It hasn’t always been the case in Georgia politics, but for the last few decades at least, ex-governors have adhered to a kind of unwritten code which requires them to fade into the background on public policy issues and frowns on any public criticism of their successors. Democrat Roy Barnes knows all about that but isn’t altogether buying into it.

Four years after losing his re-election bid, Barnes won’t see his name on the general election ballot this fall, but he might play an active role in the campaign to unseat Republican Sonny Perdue, the man who denied him a second term in 2002.

He’s already been plenty active on the political scene this year:

--He filed the suit that prompted a Fulton County judge to halt enforcement of the Republican-sponsored photo ID requirement for primary and runoff voting.

--He fired a salvo at Perdue for an ad that asserted he left the incoming administration with a $640 million deficit.

--And, he’s been engaged in his party’s primary contests, backing Jim Martin’s bid in a runoff for lieutenant governor and backing Rep. Cynthia McKinney’s runoff challenger in the 4th District battle.

No, that’s definitely not following the unwritten code many of his predecessors have followed. What’s up with the former governor?

“I don’t think that former governors should have to fade away,” Barnes said in an interview Tuesday. “I’m doing no different from what I’ve always done. I like public discourse. I like public life. I don’t mind helping my friends who’ve helped me in the past.”

He said he’s siding with Martin – who served under Barnes as commissioner of human resources – “because I have a rule that anybody who worked for me in the past, I stick with him.”

As for his support for Hank Johnson, who is challenging McKinney in the 4th District, Barnes said, “I have known him a long time. I just think he’s best qualified. I think he’ll treat the office with dignity and respect.”

That puts Barnes in line with some other mainstream Democratic leaders who fear McKinney will be a drag on the ticket in the fall – an easy target for Republicans who dodged their own bullet in the primary when they nominated Casey Cagle for lieutenant governor over their own potential lightning rod, embattled Ralph Reed.

Some Democratic legislators think Barnes is trying to help his party rebuild after presiding over its biggest disaster in recent Georgia history four years ago.

“He was the first Democrat in 130 years to lose to a Republican. I think maybe he feels a little responsibility,” said one.

“I think he led us down some paths we never should have gone down,” said another. “I think he recognizes that and is anxious to get involved because he sees the state going in the wrong direction and wants to try to fix that.”

But the biggest reason for Barnes’ re-emergence as a political activist may be the fact that he’s lived a political life for most of his adult years and, as a trial lawyer, loves a good fight, both said.

Republicans contend it’s all about revenge and sour grapes and insist Barnes won’t be of any appreciable help to fellow Democrats because of the political baggage that contributed to his defeat.

Barnes said it’s not about any of that.

“I don’t think anybody can claim I was a sore loser. I didn’t sit around and say, ‘Woe is me.’ Listen, we don’t hold these offices in fee-simple title. We hold them only at the sufferance of the voters. I recommend every politician get defeated at least once or twice,” he said.

Barnes said he will be doing anything he’s asked to do for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mark Taylor but he added, “That doesn’t mean I hate Gov. Perdue. I just believe Mark Taylor has a better vision of this state. He believes in what I believe in – that children should be insured so they can learn; he does not believe you cut them off PeachCare; he believes you have to create tough standards in education. Sometimes that means not everybody is satisfied, but you’re not looking to the next election but the next generation.”

“I am not a sore loser. I understand it and I am at peace with it, but it does not mean we give up on the future and the vision for this state,” he said.

The message from the Perdue campaign: bring it on.

“The more he campaigns, the more voters are reminded of the budget deficit, job losses and failed education policies that the Barnes-Taylor administration left behind,” said Derrick Dickey, a spokesman for the Perdue campaign. “People will be asking themselves, ‘Why would we ever want to go back?’”