Let's Everybody Calm Down A Minute

It's starting.

AJC Editorial Page Editor Cynthia Tucker pulls few punches in her column this morning.

If conservative white politicians insist on issuing threats or engaging in racially charged innuendo, black members of the governing authority will only grow more defensive. The negotiations will further bog down in racial gamesmanship and name-calling, delaying the changes that must be made at Grady and guaranteeing the hospital's demise.

Ms. Tucker is writing in reference to a proposal by Sen. David Shafer to have the state intervene in the Grady situation.

It's not as if Shafer really has Grady's best interests at heart. He has made it clear that he's not pushing for more state funding for the hospital. Instead, he's just using it to endear him to his conservative white constituents, many of whom believe Grady is just an icon of the discredited "welfare state," a drain on the resources of productive working folk.

Well, Ms. Tucker must have different sources than everyone else. Although I agree Shafer's "coming down from the mountain to impart wisdom" approach must certainly be irritating to those who have been solely responsible for Grady for decades, we've seen nothing to indicate he's only playing politics to placate idiots who do not recognize Grady's worth.

There's currently rare air in Georgia. Everyone is actually agreeing on a critical issue. From conservative talk show host Martha Zoller to Fulton Commision Chair John Eaves.

Everyone agree Grady is in trouble. Everyone agrees the management structure has to change. Everyone agrees it is no longer fair to solely rely on the taxpayers of Dekalb and Fulton to fund an asset which benefits the entire state. Everyone agrees we've got a problem, it has to be fixed and everyone has to pitch in. Let that sink in for a minute. Everyone agrees. How often do you hear those words in Georgia?

So, let's everybody calm down a minute and concentrate on the matter at hand.

Ms. Tucker is right. We certainly do not need "ham fisted" legislators bulling through the dish store. But neither do we need prominent media voices stirring pots that don't need to stew.