By By Tim Cottrell
Over the past five years or so, America has heard a lot of negatives about the Democratic Party, and for the most part with good reason.
The party suffers from a huge image problem, but many political experts expect them to rebound big in the midterm elections next year.
However, if all the Democrats are as dumb as the ones in Virginia that is highly unlikely.
It was reported that members of the Virginia Democratic Party have contacted a high-profile name to run for the United States Senate next year against popular incumbent George Allen.
When one thinks of high-profile Democrats in Virginia, odds are that Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Robert E. Lee would all come to mind, as that's pretty much the last time anyone in Virginia felt like voting for one. But now we can add to that list the one, the only, Ben Affleck!
Yes, that Ben Affleck. Bennifer. Gigli. Surviving Christmas. Paycheck. You get the idea.
I've pretty much grown accustomed to Democrats coming up with really bad ideas recently, but this really takes the cake. They plan to put this guy in a debate with George Allen when he can't even handle Bill O'Reilly? It's pretty pathetic.
You may also wonder what our good friend Ben is doing running for office in Virginia when he's a resident of Massachusetts. Well, he and his wife Jennifer Garner have begun looking for real estate in Charlottesville, Va., recently, and apparently this news made the Virginia Democrats incredibly excited.
Democrats often complain about their negative image among average Americans, and this story here pretty much illustrates why they have it. The average American isn't going to respond to the average actor, unless that average American lives in California.
Who knows, perhaps I'm overreacting. Ronald Reagan, Fred Thompson, J.C. Watts, Steve Largent, Tom Osborne, and our friend the Governator all had successful political careers after their acting or sports lives. But anyone with poor enough taste to ask J-Lo to marry him should probably be under immediate suspicion.
Although it should be noted that Affleck's potential opponent, George Allen, is actually George Allen Jr. His father was the famous Washington Redskins coach of the same name; and many speculate that he won on name recognition only.
What a world.
Tim Cottrell is sports editor of the Atmore Advance. He can be reached at 368-2123 or via e-mail at sports@atmoreadvance.com.