Jones blasts media, Democrats following runoff loss

DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones blamed liberal media bias — and a Democratic Party that listens too much to the media — for the Democrats’ poor showing in Tuesday’s high-profile U.S. Senate race in Georgia.

“The Democratic party has to stop putting up these liberal candidates who tend to win in the in the primary but not in the general,” Jones told a Wednesday afternoon press conference. “They keep recruiting candidates who are consistently out of touch with mainstream Georgians.”

"The Democratic party has to stop putting up these liberal candidates who tend to win in the in the primary but not in the general," Vernon Jones said.

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Jones lost the August Democratic U.S. Senate Primary runoff to Jim Martin of Atlanta. Martin, in turn, was defeated Tuesday night by incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Moultrie in a nationally watched political match-up.

The CEO, who leaves office in a month, said he wants to help rebuild the state Democratic Party. He said the state party continues to recruit “out of touch candidates” for statewide office.

Martin Matheny, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia, said the party is a “big tent” and welcomes suggestions from all corners.

“Some folks have constructive criticism, and some folks don’t,” Matheny said.

Matheny said the party this year made significant inroads in the state, pointing out that President-elect Barack Obama got 47 percent of the vote here Nov. 4. Martin, he said, forced Chambliss into a runoff when no one gave Martin much of a chance against the Republican incumbent.

“We didn’t lose power in Georgia overnight, and we won’t get it back overnight,” Matheny said. “But we’ve done a lot of work to rebuild our party.”

Jones painted himself as a conservative Democrat in his five-way U. S. Senate primary. However, Martin blasted him for voting for President Bush in 2000 and 2004 and his other opponents accused him of being a Republican masquerading as a Democrat.

The state Democratic Party, Jones said, has a “losing playbook.” Tuesday’s runoff loss, simply confirms that trend, he said.

Jones specifically pointed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as an example of liberal media bias that he said has been directed against him. The AJC’s editorial board endorsed Martin in the primary, the general election and the runoff. Jones said the newspaper has a “pattern” of endorsing political candidates out of touch with the average Georgian.

Jones balked when a reporter asked if he plans to run for governor in 2010.

“My message is more important to the Democratic Party than me running or not running in the future,” he said.