On December 6, Georgia will decide whether the Senate splits 50-50 or the Democrats have a two-vote majority.  Given the politics of the Democrat party, they are two votes short of abolishing the filibuster and passing an ambitious radical agenda.  The loss of the House will of course put the brakes on the more extreme elements of their spending proposals, but it will limit Senator Joe Manchin's ability to influence his Democrat party colleagues.  For strategic reasons alone, the election is of considerable importance to Republicans.

There is, however, something more at stake in Georgia.  From the perspective of history, the fact that an election of this consequence should come down to a competition between two African-American candidates in a former Confederate state is quite remarkable.  I would hope both candidates can look at each other and say that regardless of their differences, the contest itself is a milestone worth remembering.

That being said, the difference between the two candidates poses a real choice for African-Americans as they move forward into the future.  In a radio interview in 2008, Shelby Steele described two different postures, bargainers and challengers, adopted by African-Americans in relating to whites.  He described the bargainer's posture as

I will not rub America's ugly history of racism in your face every five minutes, or even at all, if you will not hold my race against me.

...whereas the challenger's position is

"we're going to presume you are a racist until you prove otherwise by giving us something, racial preferences, affirmative action," so challengers are always using America's history of racism in an almost extortionist way, to gain concessions from the mainstream.

There is much more to the interview, and it is well worth reading the full transcript, as it sheds light on the current contest in Georgia.  The two candidates clearly fit into these two categories, both in their current political positions and in their personal histories.

While Warnock presents a soft image, he fits into the description of the challenger.  He was clearly influenced by more radical elements of the black clergy before he began his term as pastor at the historic Atlanta church where Martin Luther King had served as a pastor.

Walker, on the other hand, came from a small town in Georgia and became a football hero at the University of Georgia.  In his political messaging, he is clearly in the bargainer's position as he talks about getting beyond the disunity of the past.  He explicitly avoids challenges to whites about their racist past, speaking in positive terms about all Americans.

The vote is going to be very close.  One factor in determining the outcome is the extent to which black Georgians are willing to embrace Walker's vision of unity moving forward.  A second factor is the extent to which white Georgians reject Warnock's more radical history on race.  The two candidates are both articulate in their own way but represent two very different paths.  It will be interesting to see how this contest plays out.  There is more at stake here than just a single Senate seat.

Image: Senate Democrats, USAF.