James_Jan-Feb_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 67
he older I get,
the more I find
myself writing
about people
who younger
generations have
never heard of. I
am slowly drifting into that time in
life when one’s memories are more
valuable than present observations.
I’m not there yet, so please keep
watching my Fox News Channel
appearances and look at our InsiderAdvantage polls. But, yes, I’m
moving towards that point where
the past perhaps becomes more
intriguing than the present.
In December of 2025, business/
civic leader and political advisor
Rogers Wade passed away. He was
truly a Georgia institution. While
Rogers held more positions of power
and influence than I could possibly
list, his greatest contribution was
serving as an unexpected and so
appropriate bridge between the two
political parties— and a transition
from one generation to another.
Rogers was always a casually
distinguished man. He was low key
in his style. Soft spoken, but never
lacking an opinion. He had a voice
that always sounded calm and that
always portrayed thoughtfulness
and reason. He learned that as a
young University of Georgia student member of the Demosthenian
debating society. Rogers was as
Georgian and UGA as you can get.
Here is where I need to divert
from a typical obituary and explain his importance to younger
readers who may have never
known his name.
From before 1933 until 1980,
the name Talmadge was an
unequaled political power in an
unchallenged dominant Democratic Party in Georgia. Yes, Jimmy
Carter became president, and
Richard Russell became Georgia’s
most storied Democratic U.S. Senator. But only one family had a true
“political machine” and it belonged
to the Talmadges.
It started with Gov. Eugene
Talmadge, a fiery orator, who
was twice elected as Georgia’s
governor. Before his first term as
governor, Talmadge had served as
the powerful agricultural commissioner. After his second election as
governor, and before he could be
sworn in, “Gene” Talmadge died.
It’s too complicated (and a bit
comical) to explain how it happened, but in the end the state
legislature chose his son Herman to
succeed him as governor. Herman
achieved success as a governor
and later rose to prominence as a
U.S. senator.
Fast forward decades later.
Watergate had turned every reporter into an investigative “Woodward
and Bernstein.” In the late 1970s
a bitter divorce produced accusations of bribery against Talmadge.
He was never charged of any
crime, but the Atlanta media coverage had badly damaged him. And
with the increasing public opinion
disapproval of then-President Carter, Talmadge was more vulnerable
to defeat than anyone imagined.
Now back to Rogers Wade. In
the early 1970s he was working at
the Georgia Chamber of Commerce
and he helped found Leadership
Georgia. And the young Wade
caught the attention of Herman
Talmadge. Soon Rogers served as
Talmadge’s Senate chief of staff,
a tenure from 1973 to 1980. That’s
the year that ended a dynasty and
started a slow march of Georgia
moving from a Democrat-controlled
state to a Republican one.
In a stunning upset, Republican
Mack Mattingly defeated Talmadge
as the very last votes came in the
morning after their general election
U.S. Senate campaign. Along with
the then-future House Speaker
JA N UA RY /F E B RUARY 2026
67
