Last Saturday I went to the Cobb County GOP breakfast. I’ve wanted to visit over there for some time, and Johnny Isakson was scheduled to speak, so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. Isakson had to cancel the appearance because he was in Washington dealing with the health care legislation. I was disappointed not to get the opportunity to hear Senator Isakson (and hopefully speak with him briefly), but I’d rather he be fighting against the health care bill in Washington.
After the meeting, I was standing off to the side and saw a gentleman with an Isakson sticker on his shirt. I approached him and asked how he was associated with the campaign. It turns out that the guy was Edward Tate, Isakson’s campaign manager. Since Isakson wasn’t there, and since I figured Edward was my best chance at getting a message through to the Senator, I asked him to relay some thoughts for me. He said he would.
I explained my extreme dissatisfaction with Senator Isakson’s first term in the Senate. I said that he has had a perfect opportunity to take a stand for conservative values, but he has failed miserably. I pointed out some specific places where he’s supported government growth (under Bush and Obama) and said that if he is reelected, I’d like to see him take a stand for a smaller federal government and free market principles. Tate thanked me for the input and said he’d pass the word along. I knew he disagreed with everything I said, but he was gracious about it.
Then a few minutes later, a guy I’ve know from a few other political gatherings came over to talk to Edward with me. He asked how Edward could support such a liberal candidate; Edward insisted that Isakson was not a liberal; and then we talked for another 20 minutes or so (and were eventually joined with another person that I did not know).
It was a pretty good discussion. We hit him with issue after issue. He was always very gracious, though at times I could tell he was getting frustrated that the exit door was behind us, not behind him. Some of the issues we brought up were:
- Confirmation of Eric Holder
- TARP vs. Bailouts
- Free Markets
- Housing Tax Credit and the Bubble it Creates
- Increased Spending (Department of the Interior Budget)
There were some other talking points, but that was the bulk of the conversation. On every issue, Tate disagreed. He insisted Holder wasn’t a bad nomination, that TARP wasn’t a bailout, that government can be involved in (and meddle with) free markets, that the housing credit doesn’t create a bubble, etc.
Though I appreciated Edward taking the time to speak with us, I was amazed at his stubbornness in his stance against our arguments. Sure, he was just saying what Isakson would say, but that’s even more troubling.
My “conservative” Senator doesn’t understand what a free market is. My “conservative” Senator doesn’t see the similarity between creating money to give to banks and creating money to give to auto manufacturers.
My “conservative” Senator is many things, but conservative is not one of them.
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A potential replacement for Johnny is Herman Cain. Herman is a conservative and a Fair tax advocate. He almost beat Saxby Chambliss in his first Senatorial primary.
I-SUCK-son is not a Conservative. I’m not sure he shares any values with the common fellow, Georgians, or for that matter Americans. He might with Ted Kennedy and Barack Obama.