1 p.m. -- Dave Barbee is former chairman of the Richmond County Republican Party.
| Mike Wynn: I want to welcome our 1 p.m. guest, Dave Barbee, District 10 chairman of the Georgia Republican Party and former chairman of the Richmond County GOP. Hello, Dave. |
| David Barbee: Hello everyone it is a great day to be an American. |
| Mike Wynn: I know there’s lot of excitement in the Democratic camp. What’s the mood like out there among the Repubs? |
| David Barbee: We are excited too. The problem we have here is we can't do anything about the state above the Mason Dixon Line. We have to wait it out for now. |
| JimCox: Our bench is empty, how does the republican party rebuild in Georgia? |
| David Barbee: Jim, we have to build it back just as we did in 1994. We have good people; however to be a Republican you have have to have a tough hide. |
| Barry Paschal: What implications does today's election have for the open race for governor in two years? |
| David Barbee: Barry 2010 is going is going to be a tough election cycle for Republicans in Georgia. The Republicans are going to have to defend what we have and elect new office holders for the open seats. 2010 is going to be big fight for all concerned. |
| Mike Wynn: The political atmosphere in this country would have been bad for any Republican running for president. But if McCain doesn’t pull it out, can his loss be blamed entirely to bad karma out there for Republicans or will some of his decisions be called into questions? |
| David Barbee: Mike it will have to do with both, bad karma and poor decisions with the campaign. Gov Palin was not a bad decisions! |
| august: If you go by all the polls, Obama has won the election but we know that they can and have been wrong. Do you think The Bradley effect will come into play? Especially in red states the people think he will win. |
| David Barbee: august, as I said earlier on I would hope not. I feel the American people are voting for two ways for this country to go politically, socialism or capitalism. Do we raise taxes or do we cut spending? Do we want government in our life with controlling major corporation! I would surely hope not. |
| brotherjeep: I personally do not think the Bradley Effect will come into play, BUT I do think that there are many elderly people out there who have not participated in the polls, and may not have voted for years going to turn out today. I am thinking that could have a major effect on the results. You guys agree or disagree? |
| David Barbee: brotherjeep, I agree with you. I was poll watching at several precinct this morning. The voters were young and you can tell a first time voter because they do not what to do. |
| Mike Wynn: I want to go back to your previous comment that Palin wasn't a bad decision from McCain. One of the unwritten tenents of a presidential campaign is that the vice presidential nominee does no harm. Most polls show Sarah Palin as a drag on the McCain ticket among Independents and some moderate Republicans. So how was McCain's decision not a bad one? |
| David Barbee: Mike, when she was selected to the ticket she knot the Dem's in the dirt. The only way for them to gain the momentum back was to attack her negatively with the drive by media. She was under a lot more negative attack than Sen Obama and Sen Biden! |
| Naysayer: The Democratic Party is touting marxist and anti-capitalist ideals, the redistibution of wealth being referenced more and more by Obama and various of his political supporters. Why has this not destroyed Obama's chances in the this election? |
| David Barbee: Naysayer, this is a very good question. The only thing that I can think it could be is the American people somehow have forgotten how it was before 1994 with the higher taxes, give away programs. Everyone was told what the cost would be and no one believed it. As Brother Wright would say our SPENDING WAYS are coming home to roost! |
| SargentMidTown: Obama says that he will increase Bushes faith based initiatives. Many people say that the initiatives have caused well meaning people to inadvertently enable drug addicts and alcoholics. Do you see an increase in the transfer of federal money to non profit groups as a threat of further urban plight in Augusta ? |
| David Barbee: SargentMidTown, This something that has not worked in past and it will not work until we can make many of these programs we have seamless. We should not continue to warehouse people(poor, homeless, sick, etc). If we continue down the road of warehousing or segregation of people the problem will never be solved. |
| akshepherd85: Dave, A poll worker told me this morning that they expect record numbers this election, what's the key factor driving voters to the polls? |
| David Barbee: akshepherd85, We have an African-American at the head of one ticket and female VP on the other. Sen Obama is very good candidate and he has motivated the African-American community. Sen Obama has motivated the young kids on college campus(new voter). These things are driving this election cycle. I have seen excitement before however this is something new in my lifetime. |
| Mike Wynn: Thanks Dave and everyone for participating. Dave will return at 1 a.m. with his longtime rival and friend, Lowell Greenbaum. |
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