Zell and Shirley Miller on the porch of their Young Harris, Georgia home. They married in 1954. (circa 2000) [photo taken by Kimberly Smith/Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Posted on 09/19/2003 2:35:14 PM PDT by Golden Gate
1. General Question: Who would be a good Conservative Democrat Candidate for President?
First preference would probably be someone on the national level. U.S. Congress / Senate, State Governor, etc. However, I would be inclined to consider a good conservative candidate from the state level; - they would be better than the current flock of Democrats who have announced thus far (or who are likely to announce.)
Or, if we could field several conservative Democrat 'favorite sons / daughters' from several regions of the U.S.
2. Specific Question about Sen. Zell Miller (Conservative Dem, GA):
Sen. Zell Miller, Georgia; - Conservative Democrat - Does he have "The Right Stuff" to be a Democrat Presidential Candidate? From a conservative point of view, does Sen. Zell Miller have any major "negatives"?
I'm asking for the thoughts, informed opinions, and suggestions of those here on Free Republic!
-Serious responses, please!-
Sen. Zell Miller, Georgia Democrat, has written a book that mourns the collapse of the Democratic Party, maintaining that it no longer represents a large part of America.
His book, "A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat", will be released in November. In it, Miller looks at what he calls "The growing chasm between the American heartland and the national Democratic Party over such issues as abortion, welfare, gun control, the environment, the arts, education, immigration and national security."
He questions whether the Democratic Party can still field a serious presidential challenge.
Miller, by the way, has joined two other Southern Democrats, John Edwards of North Carolina and Fritz Hollings of South Carolina, in announcing they will not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate next year.
Original FR Source: The County Press (Second Thoughts) | 9-18-03 | William W. Lawrence
Posted on 09/19/2003 7:01 AM PDT by Temple Owl
...freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/985568/posts = thread w/ multiple subjects
From Google: Sen. Zell Miller's official Senate website: http://miller.senate.gov/usmc.htm
Zell Miller credits the Marine Corps for turning his life around as a young man. He had dropped out of Emory University and landed in the drunk tank for a night in 1953 when he decided to sign up for a three-year enlistment in the Marines. Miller did his 12-week boot camp at Parris Island, SC, followed by time at Naval Training Station in Great Lakes, IL and the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, NC. By the end of the three years, he had earned the rank of sergeant and was an Expert Rifleman. Miller went on to become a history professor, mayor of his hometown of Young Harris, Georgia, a state senator, lieutenant governor for 16 years, governor for eight years and now, a U.S. senator.
The following is the prologue from Miller's 1996 book, Corps Values: Everything You Need to Know I learned in the Marines. - [more, good read!]
...I believe that more of our citizens must learn these lessons if a democratic society in our republican form of government is to survive and thrive. I not only believe that with all my heart, but I also know it to be true from the lessons of my own life.
Name: Zell Bryan Miller Born: Feb. 24, 1932, in Young Harris, GA
Home: Young Harris, GA; lives in the home in which he grew up
Education: Young Harris Junior College (1951); Bachelor's and Master's degrees in history, University of Georgia (AB 1957, MA 1958)
Military Service: United States Marine Corps, 1953-56 (Parris Island, SC, Great Lakes, IL, and Camp Lejeune, NC); Sergeant; Rifle Expert
Family: Married to Shirley Carver Miller since Jan. 15, 1954; two sons: Murphy Carver Miller, born June 25, 1955; Matthew Stephen Miller, born Aug. 13, 1956; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren
Religion: Methodist Party Affiliation: Democrat
A Chronology of Senator Miller's Career... [more]
Senator Miller serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee. While he concentrates on those three areas for Georgia, Senator Miller also is working on a broad range of issues in the U.S. Senate. [much more]
"Talking Pickup Truck Blues" = A new song by Zell Miller and Jack Clement
Washington D.C.--A congressional panel voted 29-3 to force light truck manufacturers to save the nation 5 billion gallons of gasoline...John Dingell, D-Michigan, said the bill would be "the equivalent of taking two years of production of SUVs and pickups off the road." Others pointed out that it would add hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, to the vehicle's sticker price. (Dallas Morning News, July 13, 2001)
"You hardly ever see a pickup truck in Washington, D.C." Senator Zell Miller explained. "They're scarce up here and that's why I'm concerned the pickup owners of this nation might get screwed in all this gas guzzler talk about SUVs and vans. That's why we wrote this song." [more]
In January 1998, then-Gov. Zell Miller went to the Georgia Legislature armed with a tape player and a new idea. Miller told lawmakers he wanted $105,000 to pay for a CD of classical music that would be distributed to parents of newborns across Georgia. Miller cited early childhood research touting the benefits of music in developing babies' brains and the link between music and math. ...
...The program and the CD, "Build Your Baby's Brain Through The Power Of Music," drew national and international attention.
"I've always thought the children of Georgia were the smartest anywhere. With this program, we can now give them an even greater head start," Miller said at the time.
Zell and Shirley Miller on the porch of their Young Harris, Georgia home. They married in 1954. (circa 2000) [photo taken by Kimberly Smith/Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
email Senator Zell Miller = http://miller.senate.gov/email.htm
"Georgia's Senator Zell Miller: Democrats out of Touch"
Posted by Dale Wong Sunday, September 07, 2003
A noted Democratic senator, Sen. Zell Miller from Georgia, is saying some frank things about the Democratic Party in his new book due out this fall. This is reported by Carl Limbacher and the NewsMax staff in the article below, reprinted by permission.
NEWSMAX.COM - The Democratic Party hasn't got a clue about what Americans really want, writes retiring Sen. Zell Miller.
In his new book, ''A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat,'' due out this fall, Miller, a hard-nosed ex-Marine, charges that the Democratic Party is no longer tapped into the concerns and hopes of Americans, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Miller, who regularly votes with the GOP majority in the Senate, says bluntly: ''Once upon a time, the most successful Democratic leader of them all, FDR, looked south and said, 'I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill clad, ill nourished.' Today our national Democratic leaders look south and say, 'I see one-third of a nation and it can go to hell.' ''
''Many party loyalists will not like what Sen. Miller writes,'' according to a press release from publishers Stroud & Hall. ''Driven by conscience and common sense, Sen. Miller names the self-destructive direction of his party and stubbornly pulls the Democratic family toward reform.''
Miller even questions whether the Democratic Party can field a successful presidential candidate in the future, his press relations firm reported.
The book will look at the campaigns of the last two Democratic presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and outline those positions on abortion, welfare, gun control, the environment, education, immigration and national security that Miller thinks are more in line with how Americans feel.
Miller, who was appointed to the Senate in 2000 after the death of Republican Paul Coverdell, will retire at the end of 2004, when his term expires.
1. Who would be a good conservative Democrat candidate for President? And,
2. Would Sen. Zell Miller be a good conservative candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States?
He might, however, provide an excellent reason for the rest of the party to get its collective behind to the polls on primary day.
Have you read the public letters he had made about the present state of the Democratic Party, he skewwers his own party.
That I why I voted for him to be in the Senate. That and the fact that he was good as governor of Georgia.
While we frequently chided Zell as Governor (zig-zag-Zell)... he posted a good eight years in a difficult political environment; He has been marginally heroic in filling the shoes of the late Paul Coverdell.
I believe he prefers to retire and write...and...
Though I believe he has the makings of a good POTUS,the Democrat party leadership and lefty support base could not abide him... he is anathema to them.
Regards,
I can agree with that. The Hope Grant that he got passed really benefitted me, and a lot of other Georgians.
I'd say Miller. Hell, I'd even vote for Miller over Trent Lott.
He wholeheartedly supported and campaigned for Max Cleland. That's pretty durn negative in my book.
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