What's more important?

We are six weeks away from the Nov. 7 election. While the governor's race has been somewhat devoid of slander, it has been full of misinformation, sleights of hand and behind-the-back charges of ethics violations from both sides.

Mark Taylor, the Democrat, is hopelessly outgunned. His campaign is in debt and his pronouncement that his race will not be affected by a shortage of money doesn't hold water.

Money is the filthy lucre of politics. Either you have it or you don't. You can't count Taylor out. He's run and won more statewide campaigns than Perdue, but again, money is the lubricant of all political machines. Without it, you blow a piston.

The most interesting campaign is the battle for the 8th Congressional District. Jim Marshall, former mayor of Macon, is running against Mac Collins, a former congressman who was convinced he had a shot at the Senate two years ago and got beat like a drum by Johnny Isakson.

When I think of the Marshall/Collins race, I remember a comment by a Republican insider after Marshall beat Calder Clay for a second time in 2004. The insider said, "He (Marshall) can't be beat now. We'll just redistrict him."

That's exactly what happened. The Republican-controlled Legislature shifted the district north and made the district's makeup much more Republican (61 percent for Bush in 2004). That opened the door for Collin's challenge.

Let me tell you up front: I don't think Collins can hold Marshall's intellectual athletic supporter. The Collins campaign validates my thinking.

For all candidates who think the electorate is stupid, here's a warning: We're not.

Collins has pulled out all the buzz words: "Liberal." "Rep. Nancy Pelosi." "Illegal immigration." But Marshall has not exhibited a liberal bent. Even if he had, is liberal such a bad word?

Apparently it is. Marshall has run from the liberal label in his TV ads as if it were a scarlet letter. As far as Pelosi is concerned, it's easy enough to demonize a representative from California. They don't call it the Left Coast for nothing. But is that term accurate?

Let's take a look. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Republican and governor of California. Where did the Republican god, Ronald Reagan, come from? You guessed it. California may seem to be the home of liberalism, but in the 20th century, California elected 16 Republican governors and only four Democrats.

Last time I checked, Collins can't run against Pelosi. She does represent the 8th District, but not Georgia's 8th District. California's.

No matter the outcome of the Marshall/Collins race, the leadership of the Democrats in the House is not determined by Republicans. And the speaker, no matter who he or she is, only has one vote.

Unfortunately, every congressman is looking at each issue as a potential problem. Voting, no matter whether it's for or against, is ammunition for opponents. Any vote can be misconstrued, thanks to the machinations of Congress. However, Collins' latest ad uses Pelosi again and charges Marshall with, of all things, running a negative campaign.

But here's the kicker. Collin's ad, which he says he approved, states that Marshall voted to give food stamps to illegal immigrants. The amendment Collins cites had nothing to do with illegal immigrants. That makes the Collins claim a flat-out lie.

Or is it possible Collins doesn't know the difference between a "sponsored" alien and a "illegal' one?

One thing that's easy to determine about Marshall is that he has stood by the president and the Iraq War. I think that's misguided.

What's not misguided is Marshall's support of veterans and Robins Air Force Base. Marshall bucked everyone, including the president, and sponsored a discharge petition to force the issue of concurrent receipt for veterans out of committee and to a full House vote.

Marshall forced the issue into the light and veterans are the better for it. This election will tell whether partisanship is more important than results.

Charles E. Richardson's columns appear Tuesdays and Sundays. He can be reached at crichardson@macontel.com or (478) 744-4342.