Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious...

...Tuesday. Why not? So far I've heard Tsunami Tuesday, Super Duper Tuesday and Stupendous Tuesday in place of "Super Tuesday" to describe this primary day. Why not take it to it's illogical conclusion?

There's not a whole lot happening in the state of Georgia for our primary day, if you believe the polls. Senator Obama will likely win the primary here for the Democrats, while Senator John McCain is leading, albeit very slightly, on the Republican side according to Sunday's Rasmussen Poll. My poor husband will be working late, covering the returns as they come in. I'm hoping he makes it home before eleven o'clock tonight.

The biggest deal for us here in Effingham County, though, is whether or not our restaurants get to serve liquor by the drink. Beer and wine are sold at our local restaurants in the towns of Springfield and Rincon, but not out in unicorporated parts of the county, and you can't buy hard liquor at all anywhere here.

It's been quite a little battle, and it's not the first time the initiative has shown up on the ballot. One side says allowing liquor by the drink will encourage large chain restaurants (i.e. Outback, Chili's, etc.) to build here, which would be good, because right now we have to drive into Savannah if we want to eat there. It would also mean that we could boost tax revenues in the county instead of having it all flow into Chatam County, which is happening now. The other side, lead mostly by church groups, claims that allowing liquor to be sold will merely encourage bars (something not mentioned on the ballot), drunk driving, and the destruction of the "family way of life" which we've all worked so hard to preserve. To be fair, they do make the point that large chain restaurants look mostly at population base before they decide on location, but it seems their driving force is they don't want "demon liquor" destroying our families.

My take is this:

I'm a grown woman, and I should be able to decide for myself whether or not I want a Jack and Coke before, during, or after my meal. I've read the ballot (Shall the governing authority . . . be authorized to issue licenses to sell distilled spirits for beverage purposes by the drink, such sales to be for consumption only on the premises?) , and it doesn't specifically mention bars at all. It simply asks the folks in Effingham County, Springfield and Rincon to decide if they want to allow liquor to be sold, by the drink, in restaurants. The county and city councils can easily outlaw bars if they choose. As it is, the state has outlawed beer and wine sales in stores on Sunday, anyway, so it's not like there isn't a precedence for restricting alcohol sales here, both on a state and local level. I think we're all adult enough to decide the drinking issue for ourselves, without anyone else telling us we're all going to hell if we don't listen to them. For those that already have a problem with alcohol, they're going to drive to the liquor store (down here they call them package stores, y'all) that's located just across the county line and bring back their fifth of whatever and leave their tax dollars in Chatham County. The tax dollars we could use to help treat their addiction aren't being spent here.

Obviously, I can't vote, but if there's a primary going on in your state (and twenty-four states are holding primaries and ballot referendums today), go vote. I'm of the mind that you can't bitch unless you vote.

12 comments:

Mahala said...

They just legalized alcohol in our county. It was completely dry before. It's WEIRD to see beer in the grocery store for the first time lol.

Anonymous said...

Hey girl. I never knew that you couldn't sell alcohol by the drink down there. That's freaky. I know you can't buy it on Sunday - btw - don't forget to send the hubby to the store on the saturday before I get there (in case I need a beer since I can't buy it at a restaurant!) lol

One more question - how's Mr. Gurnal? I haven't seen him around here in forever. Tell him I said hi.

Kim said...

I grew up hearing about liquor by the drink. It was a big issue about the time I was in third grade. The liquor won, and as far as I can tell, it didn't make a darned bit of difference one way or another. You still can't buy liquor on Sundays (I do live in the Bible belt) and only beer and that type of thing are carried in grocery stores.

Hubby and I lived in a dry county for a short amount of time. It was strange having to drive across the county line to buy a bottle of gin or scotch. The restaurants there had some kind of club you could join; once you joined the club they could serve you alcohol. Seemed pretty silly to me.

the rotten correspondent said...

When I was spending so much time in Alabama my family lived in a dry county. They would pack up the car and head to the liquor store right smack over the county line. If they ran out (which was often, since you could only bring back so much), they'd just hop in the car and drive back.

Knowing what condition they were in at the time I'm all for liquor sales as close to home as possible.

Anonymous said...

Did you put that martini glass photo in this post because of my comment on your last post? Well did ya?

Susan said...

Wow, here you can buy anything in the local grocery store any time any day. They don't sell it by the glass, but there are two whole aisles of beer, wine, and liqour. There is an entire aisle of sodas and one for water, too. We don't drink any of that so I get to skip several aisles in the grocery store. Well we do drink water, but it is from the tap (then filtered).

Susan said...

p.s. It looks like the pollsters were wrong, and you did have a very intersting election night!

Diana said...

And here, in Wisconsin, you can get your Jack in the grocery store along with your milk and eggs on a Sunday morning, no less.

We clearly are all going straight to hell.

Anonymous said...

So..... how did it turn out?

Dumdad said...

You can't vote but don't forget to pick up your award over at my blog!

Jo Beaufoix said...

Hi Jen. I am pants at politics, but I agree, if you don't vote then don't moan. Hope you're feeling ok. x

Mya said...

Sometimes I wonder if you're living in another planet over your way! I live in the biggest wine producing region in France, alcohol fuels this area - economically and physically. I think there would be a revolution if the locals were told they couldn't buy a drop of the local tipple - at any time. That said, they do have incredibly selective restrictions on the wines you can buy in the supermarkets - ie. only French. And only from this region.If you moan they'll pull out a dusty old bottle of Chilean from the store room - but you have to ask if you want something other than French. Bless 'em. I hope you're feeling OK and getting some sleep.
Mya x