GA Democrats: Don't panic. Stay focused. Get ready for a difficult road back.

With all the talk lately, there's plenty to get dismayed by and distracted from when it comes to the DPG. You guys know I'm a "glass half full" kind of guy, but I can't sugarcoat it. It's been a challenging two years and the picture right now isn't pretty. Finances, organization, planning, morale: all indicators are on red. Still we can't lose sight of our main objective. Remember, we exist primarily to find and elect good Democrats to office at the local, state and national level. Period. There's a huge amount of work ahead for us to rebuild the foundation and relationships that will make us a viable organization, vital to the future of Georgia. I implore each of you. Don't panic. Stay focused. Stay determined.  There's heavy lifting ahead and we'll need each of you to do it. It won't be easy and it certainly won't be handed to us by the gods of demography.

The noise level right now is so high that we've forgotten the folks we are here to fight for; our elderly, our veterans, our youth and the disenfranchised. First, we've got the media/blogs pumping us up with these articles about the good weather ahead for us. HuffPo, Roll Call, DailyKos, you name it, they're saying the numbers are looking up, the environment is ripe for a turnaround and GA Dems are in a prime position to strike. Pay no attention to it! Really. It's like being on that doomed Carnival cruise ship before all hell breaks loose. The weather ahead may look great and the waves may be favorable, but it means nothing when the toilets are overflowing and the ship is listing to one side. While it does appear that Georgia is trending toward more potential Democratic voters, we've got to have the financial resources and sweat equity to actually get them out to the polls. Sorry to break it to you, but we've got a long, long way to paddle before we can even begin to see that port.

Then, we've got the endless naysayers who say it's all hopeless right now. They say we should just lay dormant for a decade or so. Wait until the numbers catch up, then put our good stuff out there. Are you kidding me? What in the world are we doing if we're just going to sideline it for the next few election cycles? Pay no attention to it! There's plenty to be said for fighting the good fight. There are times when you, against the odds, put your best plan forward and charge, head down, into the breach. I guess sitting out a couple of elections is one way to go. I'm a worker. I'm a fighter. I'm for gathering up the best candidates we can support and fighting the good fight. Governor Deal I'm talking directly to you and your "free pass" friends.

So again I say let's tune out the noise and get ready to do something that will be near impossible to do in the time that's left to do it. We've got to rebuild our treasure, rebuild the troops and most importantly rebuild TRUST. People have to trust us with their hard earned dollars. People have to trust us with their precious time. They've got to trust that Georgia Democrats, at every level, have a plan to improve the economy, increase educational opportunity and create an equal playing field for everyone. Yes, trust can be broken, but trust, with very hard work, can be renewed. I'm going to start on Monday by signing up to make monthly contributions to the party via the Yellow Dog Club. I trust you will join me in doing the same. rj


RJ Hadley, DPG Vice-Chair
Congressional Districts and County Parties
(404) 274-9281