Why I love/hate politics...Cassville comes through in the clutch

When you work at the center of a community like we did at Cass Grocery, when election time came around, there was always a buzz. Campaign signs would go up all over the community, especially in the acre lot behind the store, where Dad welcomed any and all candidates to place a sign. (with certain exceptions) The guys on the benches would be debating (or berating) the candidates...

(in reference to a candidate) "Hell, I know a boy that said he didn't wave at him at Longhorn the other day. He thinks he's big time. Me and the old lady ain't gonna vote for him."

It was strange to hear what people would hang their hats on when it came to voting. It could be a major issue like taxes or something as minor as being slightly unfriendly in public. In any event, our little precinct would usually end up being slightly Republican nationally and slightly Democrat when it came to state elections. So many of the older people remembered Herbert Hoover, a Republican, whom they blamed for the Great Depression, and FDR, a Democrat, who saved everybody. Mama Kim, my great grandmother, was a "yellow dog" Democrat. She voted for Michael Dukakis, Jimmy Carter, and Walter Mondale. She voted for Clinton twice. I tried to talk her out of it the second time...

"Boy, I went through the Depression. I ain't NEVER gonna vote for another Republican, so you just hush."

And that was that. She couldn't drive, so Neen or I would take her to the polls, where she voted straight ticket Democrat every time. I guarantee you, if she were still alive, she would have voted for Obama. Old people love to vote. They take that right very seriously. I remember I took political science my freshman year at UGA and the second day of class we were discussing the largest lobbies in Washington. The AARP blew everyone out of the water. I thought of Mama Kim and laughed. I'll bet she is in Heaven right now eating chicken and dumplings telling Herbert Hoover what an idiot he was.

In all this hoopla, I would get really excited. I helped with local elections, usually putting out signs. Dad would get involved as well and that meant I got to ride around in the back of the truck with the Arrow T-50 stapler, stakes, and a hammer. I would jump out and have a sign in the ground before Dad could give me the "go ahead" wave from the prospective voter's front door. That job was made for me:  a hyperactive, slightly activist Southern boy that would argue with older men about SPLOST, military policy, farm subsidies, taxes or whatever you threw at me.  I was young and naive back then. I thought it all meant something and I was sure that I made a difference.

As I got older, I took a bite of the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge....I learned more about humans and their nature. Politics was a whole lot more than nailing a sign in somebody's yard. My least favorite moment was when a prominent local man ran for state assembly when I was in high school. He NEVER darkened the doors of our store for one reason or another, and frankly, we did not care. He was a transplant, he had a farm that he couldn't run worth a damn, and his arrogance was palpable. Well, when it was time to campaign and he realized that so many of his constituents frequented our little dusty corner, he begrudgingly drove his F-350 to 1810 Cassville Road and asked to set up on our benches and press the flesh. Funny thing, small town people have an uncanny way of sifting through the BS, and BS is what this was. Everyone knew he did not shop with us. Everyone knew what he was and that he was only doing this to garner votes and that once the election was over, he would never come back. Needless to say, he did not receive a warm welcome and I remember one of our customers telling him, "I ain't voting for you or that other sumbitch crook runnin against you either." He was defeated in a landslide.

That's the love/hate relationship I have with politics. This man was only there to use us and further his ambition, which I hated. However, the local constituency saw through him and let him know about it at the polls, which I loved. That's the beauty of America. Hell, no national politician knows me and very few state politicians do. They'll never get the chance, unless they back into me at the Waffle House or something. I understand campaigning, but you cannot tell me that it means anything other than "hey, remember to vote for this face." Sadly, it's like the SAT for college admissions, there's really no other way to get out there. I'm not saying that it's all fake, and there are plenty of men and women in office who are true to their constituency, but the political process as a whole has more flaws than Michael Moore has chins. Hell, our last governor ran on a platform that guaranteed he would allow Georgia to vote on our state flag. This was a BIG issue. A freaking piece of cloth. Is that his fault? No and yes. He played on emotion to gain votes, which is quite industrious and he would have been a fool NOT to do this, but it was sad to realize that those are the levels to which we are stooping. Thank God, the flag issue got resolved....I would hate for issues like job creation, failing farms, Atlanta's outdated infrastructure and the state's drastic bankruptcy filing numbers to get in the way.

So, as we anticipate a new presidential election, remember the story from benches. Are you voting for a face, or are you voting for somebody who actually gives a damn? Will you vote for somebody who says, "I promise to lower property taxes" with a wink or a guy who says, "Hey, how's your momma n' them?" As for me, I'll probably heat up some chicken and dumplings, chuckle about Mama Kim, and go to the polls and write in one of my neighbors for every position. I'm a "yellow dog" like that.