Local Minorities Take Monolithic Voting to New Heights

By Austin Rhodes

Taking a closer look at the area’s voting patterns in the November 6 elections, there is a case to be made that we have a very real racial divide when it comes to politics, with one particular race setting the highest standard for race exclusive single mindedness.

And surprise, surprise… it ain’t the white people winning that ribbon.

In Richmond County, when given the option to choose between a white candidate and a black candidate, you had a far better chance of seeing a white voter choose black than a black voter choose white.

Results show President Obama collected 66 percent of the total vote, which most rational people, based on voter trends that showed him carrying 90 percent plus margins of victory in densely black precincts, would declare as close to a baseline for voting Democrats in the county as there can be. In the countywide elections, there were no white Democrats running and no black Republicans. It has been reported in the past that 80 percent of the county’s Democrats are black.

The one Republican who fared the best in the county was incumbent District Attorney Ashley Wright, who lost to an impossibly underfunded, underqualified and underwhelming opponent in Democrat Evita Paschall by a 60-40 percent landslide. If there was a single example of black voters choosing race over qulaifications, with absolutely no qualms about casting a vote for a clearly inferior candidate, this would be the one case to make.

Wright outraised and outspent Paschall more than 8 to 1. Wright is an award-winning prosecutor widely considered one of the best in the state, and she is universally admired and respected by every judge and almost every attorney within 100 miles of the courthouse. When she became district attorney as Danny Craig ascended into his Superior Court judgeship, Wright became on day one the most experienced prosecuting DA to ever take over the local office.

There was not a hint, not a whisper, not a word of serious controversy or complaint about her service from anyone who matters. Not one damn peep. This race should not have been close, actually; in the grand scheme of things, it never should have been considered.

Yet Paschall nailed her in Richmond County by 15,741 votes.

Thank goodness for Wright, and for the sanity of the Augusta Judicial Circuit, she would ultimately win the three-county district on the strength of a 75 percent strong margin of victory in Columbia County. In Burke County it was practically a 50-50 split. Wright took the race by about 15,000 total votes.

There were other black-white races in Augusta that finished in similar lopsided totals, with blacks coming out on top. Harry James beating Carlton Vaughn for probate judge, Kelli McIntyre defeating Chuck Evans for solicitor and, of course, Richard Roundtree beating Freddie Sanders for sheriff. In each of those races, an argument could be made that the black candidate was unquestionably qualified and better known, if not more popular than the white counterpart. But that statement cannot be made in the case of Paschall vs. Wright. Not even close.

So what does it mean? It means that black folks are closer than they have ever been to controlling 100 percent of the important offices in Augusta. The coroner and marshal (both white males) are likely to be the next to go (in four years), and while Clerk of Court Elaine Johnson benefited from an incredibly poor and unqualified primary opponent this time around, you can bet she will be targeted soon again.

Before any of you elephants start jumping out of windows, let me remind you; while Augusta is indeed an island of Dem Blue, it remains an island in a sea of GOP Red!

Every state constitutional officer in Georgia is a Republican, and with the election, they picked up enough seats to practically own the legislative process (which means they are close to veto proof and can suggest state constitutional amendments at will).

The GOP has both U.S. Senate seats, and would have easily picked up another Congressional seat if a perfect “Honey Boo Boo storm” of odd events had not put a controversial country boy up against popular incumbent John Barrow. He won’t be so lucky in two years.

On the national front, while the Republicans certainly have a tall order to repair their image and refute so much of the pure bull**** that is constantly used by the mainstream media to smear them, here is a piece of trivia to give you pause… and hope:

President Obama won all of the following “battleground” states: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Florida and Wisconsin. Aside from Obama’s wins, what else do those states have in common? All of them, every one, has a Republican governor, and all of them have state legislatures that are totally controlled by Republicans (except Va.’s state senate, which is split 50/50 GOP-DEM).

I did not know that, but it’s encouraging. As is the fact that four of our states with the highest percentage of Hispanic voters, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, all boast Republican governors. And the GOP picked up an additional governor last week to give them a 30-19 national advantage over the Dems, with Rhode Island’s governor a confirmed independent.

Just 20 years ago, Republicans didn’t have a majority in a single legislative house in the states of the old Confederacy; now they will control all 11. In total, they have captured the Triple Crown (Governor, State House, State Senate) in 37 states. Not bad for a party in decline.You Might Also Like: