‘Make Georgia blue again,’ Rep. Lewis urges Democrats

Gainesville — U.S. Rep. John Lewis on Sunday attacked the Bush administration and tried to inject more fighting spirit into North Georgia Democrats.

“The president that we have now is the worst. He even made Richard Nixon look good,” Lewis in a speech to about 250 party loyalists at the “For the People” rally in Gainesville.

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Jessica McGowan/jmcgowan@ajc.com

‘We’re not conceding this state,’ Rep. John Lewis told the crowd Sunday at the ‘For the People’ Rally hosted by the Democratic Party of Georgia at Georgia Mountain Center.

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Jessica McGowan/jmcgowan@ajc.com

Leah Lunsford, Wilma Turner and George Turner cheer for Georgia Democratic candidates during the rally in Gainesville on Sunday.

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“As Democrats we can do better. We have a mandate to make Georgia blue again.”

He noted that Democrats want to bring the soldiers home and protect Social Security from privatization.

“We need to do more than bail out Wall Street, we need to bail out people of Main Street,” he said.

“This election is so important, not just for this generation, but the next generation and children yet unborn,” Lewis said in a conversation before the speech. “We need to restore a sense of confidence in America.”

Lewis said Democrats are not giving up in the presidential race in Georgia, despite reports that Barack Obama has moved some personnel to more competitive states.

“We will be traveling all across the state,” Lewis said. “We’re not conceding this state.”

Democratic Senatorial candidate Jim Martin also spoke at the rally. He faces incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss.

“There’s a lot going on in this country,” Martin said. “It’s scary. We’ve never faced the kind of economic problems we’ve faced in this country.”

Martin told a story about an 80-year-old woman in Crisp County who is being sued by a credit card company. She owes $2,000 and thinks she’s going to jail, Martin said.

“She may have to pay them. We need to help people work through their problems,” said Martin, who supports adequate consumer protection laws and lender oversight.

Mary Lou Godbey of Lilburn said she enjoyed listening to Lewis and Martin speak, as well as other candidates. This is the first year she and her husband have decided to take an active role in politics.

“I don’t think we can stand another eight years of Bush ideas,” said Steve Godbey, who wore an Obama T-shirt.