My name is David Poythress, and I’m asking for your vote for governor.

Why should you support me? For one, take a gander at my new website. It has lots of camo and a video of a guy with a thick Southern accent. Unlike other those other rich lawyer bank-investin’ candidates, I understand you and your love for tall rubber boots.

So, yeah, Poythress’ new website, bagbarnes.com, is pretty hilarious. It’s a one-stop shop for all things anti-Roy Barnes. The aforementioned “hypocrisy hunter’s” money line is, “Democrats, we got to bag Barnes before the Republicans get a chance to in the fall.”

And that’s the Poythress campaign in a nutshell: Vote for me because Roy can’t win.

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Democrat David Poythress took a swipe at Roy Barnes today regarding Barnes’ alleged plan to invest state pension funds in venture capital.

“As Governor, I will not, under any circumstances, gamble the hard-earned retirements of state employees and school teachers in venture capital funding or any other risky investments. If there were ever an instance in which Roy Barnes revealed his true colors, this is it. He can apologize in his TV ads all he wants, but this shows that he hasn't learned from his mistakes and is still out of touch with working folks, state employees and public school teachers.”

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Roy Barnes is truly, deeply sorry, but he wants you to know it will never, ever happen again.

In Barnes’ new TV ad that began airing in Columbus, Albany, Savannah, Augusta and Macon on Friday, the ex-governor apologizes for not listening enough. He’s not sorry about creating 235,000 jobs as governor, though, he said. That part, he’s pretty proud of.

Who didn’t he listen to? Well, teachers and “flaggers,” mostly. He says in the ad that he raised teacher pay and cut class sizes, and just now remind us on Twitter that it’s Teacher Appreciation Week. After the 2002 election, no one appreciates teachers more than Roy Barnes. Except maybe Sonny Perdue, but he has a funny way of showing it.

Democratic Party of Georgia Chairwoman Jane Kidd told WGAU’s Tim Bryant on Friday, “(A)nytime before qualifying, you have to hope that your candidates are looking at everything that’s going on in their races, and for the good of the party, let’s keep the competition down to as few candidates as possible. Just because of the shortages in campaign funds and money … it’s always more economical to have fewer candidates in a primary.”

Kidd was, presumably, talking about candidates like David Poythress and DuBose Porter, who are trailing badly in the polls. But Poythress said today that it’s the runaway favorite, Roy Barnes, who ought to drop out.

What’s become clear over the last nine months is that more and more Democrats realize that we need to nominate a candidate who can win in November. Roy Barnes may be the frontrunner, but he cannot beat the Republican nominee.

Republicans aren't the only ones tearing themselves to shreds over ethics.

Roy Barnes calling for stronger ethics in the General Assembly. In an e-mail to supporters, he said:

During my travels across our state, many of you have expressed to me your disappointment in the culture of corruption that seems to run rampant under the Gold Dome, and I share your dismay. Just last week, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that lobbyists have spent $1.3 million to entertain and influence our state’s public officials this year alone. When I hear this news, I think about the hardworking Georgians I’ve met over the last several months – folks who need state leadership on their side now more than ever – and frankly, I’m more than just disappointed. I’m fed up.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Poythress added four Athenians to his list of endorsements.

Former Athens-Clarke Commission Alvin Sheats; A.R. Killian, a radio talk-show host and the city’s first black police officer; pastor and community activist Larry Fort; and Nathaniel Irvin, who I do not know, have all endorsed Poythress, his campaign announced today.

Athens-Clarke Commissioner Doug Lowry and school board member Ovita Thornton had already endorsed Poythress.

Poythress is polling in the single digits but appears to be making inroads in the African-American community. At least four of those six people are black. Trouble for Attorney General Thurbert Baker, who must be counting on the black vote to win the Democratic primary?

Moving on

Count on voters to be sick of the 2010 election by November. November 2009, that is.

Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine announced a $500,000 media buy today, “locking down television and radio across the state.”

If The Ox is coming to a screen near you, the other candidates for governor can’t be far behind. Everybody pack a lunch, this is going to be a long campaign.

In the same press release, Team Ox announced it raised $420,000 in the first half of the year. That haul gives him a total of $1.45 million, with $1 million on hand, campaign manager Tim Echols said.

Democrat David Poythress, as promised, didn’t do too badly. He announced contributions of $460,000 from 800 donors, including, he emphasized in his ongoing onslaught against former Gov. Roy Barnes, $75,000 since Barnes entered the race last month.

David Poythress is considered a long shot at best to win the Democratic primary for governor, so it makes sense that he wishes former Gov. Roy Barnes would just go away.

The puzzling thing to many Democrats, though, is why he insists that it should be Barnes, not him, who drops out.

Poythress sent out another e-mail today calling on Barnes to drop out of – or rather, since he hasn’t actually started campaigning, not enter – the race.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Poythress announced a couple of endorsements today from our neck of the woods:

“Johnny C. Smith is a former Barrow County commissioner and superintendant (sic) of public works for the city of Gainesville. He retired from the U.S. Army after 23 years of service and now sits on the Barrow County Personnel Review Board. Commissioner Smith wants ordinary Georgians to ‘have a seat at the table,’ and he believes that I am the leader who will make sure the voices of his neighbors will be heard.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Poythress has been taking Republicans to the woodshed over the notion – advanced by a state Senate resolution supporting the doctrine of nullification and Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine’s recent emphasis on states’ rights – that this union might not be so perfect, and this house might ought to be divided after all.

Oxendine and three other GOP candidates – Secretary of State Karen Handel, Sen. Eric Johnson and Confederate-flag activist Ray McBerry – told the Savannah Morning News last week that they would entertain secession.

As reported elsewhere, Poythress responded by calling them “childish” and “immature,” and questioning their patriotism in this video: