I find myself in complete agreement with Andy Herod concerning the ridiculousness of Georgia’s current legal drinking age and with David Lynn concerning the desirability of lessening the distance restrictions barring serving alcohol near schools and churches.*
I just wish this apparent rejection of paternalism would extend to other areas of local government. Be that as it may, my agreement on such issues may come as a surprise to all those who claimed that I was too conservative, perish the thought, to serve on the Commission. It should not, though, as I went to great lengths to articulate a consistent philosophy of limited government. It was just much easier for many of Athens’ politicos to write me off simply for being a Republican in the bluest of blue counties rather then deal with my arguments in a rational manner.
For what it is worth, Herod, Lynn, Kelly Girtz, and Elton Dodson, and to a somewhat lesser extent Heidi Davison, constitute the group of commissioners from whom I can expect to receive a response when I advise the Mayor and Commission of my thoughts on any given issue – not that we always agree (but on some issues we can and do). What is interesting is that this group is pretty much at the opposite end of the political spectrum from me, which reinforces my belief that local issues are difficult to pigeonhole on a partisan basis and that employing a authoritarian-libertarian ideological spectrum in politics is much more useful that a left-right one.
*I am glad that the article exposed Georgia’s drinking age as a function of the extortion employed by the federal government concerning the withholding of highway funds, unless the various states did the fed’s bidding, that is.
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