Letters policy: Send by e-mail to letters@gainesvilletimes.com (no attached files, please, which can contain viruses); fax to 770-532-0457; mail to The Times, P.O. Box 838, Gainesville, GA 30503; or click HERE for a form. Include full name, hometown and phone number for confirmation. They should be limited to one topic on issues of public interest and may be edited for content and length (limit of 500 words). Letters originating from other sources, those involving personal, business or legal disputes, poetry, expressions of faith or memorial tributes may be rejected. You may be limited to one letter per month, two on a single topic. Submitted items may be published in print, electronic or other forms. Letters, columns and cartoons express the opinions of the authors and not of The Times editorial board.
Georgia is indeed a strange state, and when Tip O'Neill used to say, "All politics are local" he must have had us in mind.
Thursday, it was speculated that one of our local Democrats on the Hall County Commission would announce today that he is switching parties. Now he's not very old, so maybe he's still trying to determine his true political philosophy. But he does represent the most liberal district in the county and represents it "very well."
But now he's seen the light, had an epiphany, if you will. Ashley Bell apparently woke up and realized that he's no longer a "liberal Democrat." No, he rolled out of bed and suddenly realized he's actually a "limited government, low tax kind of guy." Go figure.
The Georgia Republican Party, now run by ex-Democrats from the governor's office all the way down to the county commissions.
Charlie Waddell
Gainesville