I'm starting to see why Taylor wanted to put off debating

In a style reminiscent of former WWF personality and preacher, "Brother Love," Mark Taylor continues to smile on cue, tilting his head just so, and dancing around questions, it's starting to become apparent as to why he's limited the amount of public debates with his fellow Democrats, most especially Sec. of State, Cathy Cox. It's even in his tone of voice which is sort of patronizing and certainly not conversational. I noticed this about Mark when I first personally met him at the 1999 County Officer's Association of Georgia meeting in Savannah. Don't worry Mark, if things don't pan out for you this year, you'd make a great televangelist.

When you only have 45 seconds to answer questions, why would you spend 20 seconds thanking people more than once and starting the answer to each question with "HOPE, pre K, and removing the sales tax on groceries?" It might be okay if the question is about one of those subjects. But it's not a good idea to answer a question about transportation that way. What this reveals is that he's short on answers. He's spent too much of his campaign attacking people with good records and not focusing on issues - even though he'd like for you to believe that his campaign has been issue-driven. Well, if you've paid attention you know that's just not the case starting in Dec. of 2004. I invite you to look at the website of each candidate and see what I mean. Cox has plans in many areas of Georgians' lives. Taylor's sole plan is healthcare and it's a "big government" program that's not being well received. Compare that to Cox's plan for purchasing pools, sharing the risk, and tax incentives.

http://www.cathycox.com/new-covenant

http://www.marktaylor.com/

It's nice to know that Taylor "agrees" that there's been too many attack ads. Considering that he's led this campaign down that road, doubled Cox in that area, and refused to take down attack ads that have been dismissed as "grasping at straws," "distortions," and "lies" by FOUR different news agencies. How convenient it is now that he should take this stance against attack ads and call for a moratorium on them!! The damage has already been done. His lead is built on the silty foundation of lies and distortions.

Once again, Cox's performance was smooth and sensible. She was accomodating to the questions asked of her, answering them in full. And she was tough when warranted. But most of all, the difference between she and Taylor is that she actually has an understanding of problems and has common sense solutions. Taylor rambles around and then falls back to his safety net of "HOPE, pre K, removing sales tax, etc." regardless of subject.

His record of achievement is valid conversation. However,Taylor has a tendency to exaggerate his role in passing other peoples' initiatives, claiming them as his own. And more importantly, he offers few solutions to problems facing Georgia NOW. As Mack McCarley said of Taylor's "two strikes" law, "there's not much thought put into it." It does not address crime prevention nor rehabilitation. He then reminded the voters that "two strikes" is something that both Taylor AND Gov. Perdue are proud of. It's not the stuff that good progressives are made of.

And yes MarkTaylor, it IS about your actions more than your words. So that leaves you with some explaining as to why if Georgia's population is made up of more than 30% African-Americans, then why do your senior appointments (that you are solely responsible for) not reflect that? Meanwhile, 50% of Cox's appointments have gone to good African-American men and women, including the Assistant Sec. of State, Terrell Slayton.

And Mark, if you're truly looking out for the "little guys," then why have more than $300,000 of your political contributions come from your appointees?

The contrast between Cox's candidacy and Taylor's candidacy is clear. Taylor focuses on the past, which is risky considering that his own past is rather dubious in some ways. While Cox does as most visionary leaders do, she concentrates on now and looks to the future. As Cox said, "this isn't a lifetime achievement award." We're looking for a leader who will take us into the future and improve the lives of Georgians.