Shipp: Kitchen table issues are key

Georgia political columnist Bill Shipp writes today in the Athens Banner-Herald that state Democrats shouldn't fall into a trap of pushing to renew the federal Voting Rights Act because it would play into the hands of Republicans.

"Screaming at the Republicans on the voter ID issue will have one result: reaffirmation that the Georgia Democratic Party is the party of blacks - and no one else. Voter ID is a racial issue. So is the budding campaign to renew the federal Voting Rights Act.

"Of course, access to the ballot without fear of intimidation or restraint is important. It was the centerpiece of the civil rights struggle 40 years ago. Protecting minority voting rights remains essential to protecting democracy. However, one can already sense some leading Georgia Democrats plan to use voting rights in the 2006 election as a marquee campaign plank to galvanize black voters. That would be a dumb move. The plan may work in a Democratic primary, but it is a candidate killer in a state general election dominated by white independents and Republicans."

Instead, they should campaign on "meat and potato" issues to energize voters:

"Those middle-class matters are more pressing than ever. Addressing health care, shoring up the economy, cutting middle-class taxes and restoring dedication to educational improvement - those are only a few basic items the Democrats (and Republicans) ought to address. The Republican record of helping working-class Georgians in the past three years has been dismal."