No room in the middle in Middle Georgia

It's tough to run as a conservative Republican against a Democrat who radiates battle-hardened conservatism better than a bronze statue of the RoughRiders.

Mac Collins has tried in television ads, and yes, his campaign supporters took a raise-the-roof mentality to Thursday night's debate in Perry. But U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall is an old pro who knows that the best way to beat a southpaw is to keep moving to the right and throwing right hands.

And when it comes to Marshall, almost everyone else seems like a southpaw — even Collins.

There were some signs in Spanish scattered throughout the audience on Thursday night. But they turned out to be the evening's only reference to Marshall's house vote to allow bilingual ballots in voting districts where there are large numbers of Latinos.

Marshall's a Middle Georgia Democrat — which in and of itself makes him arguably one of the more conservative congressmen in Washington, in either party. His stance on blocking illegal immigration, including an "aye" vote on construction of a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border to block the flow of undocumented workers — is Macon-tough. Still, Collins insists on draping Marshall in the trappings of Nancy Pelosi liberalism — in large part based on that one vote in favor of bilingual ballots. For the congressman's efforts on behalf of Spanish speakers, a Collins campaign ad snidely thanks Marshall in a Speedy Gonzalez Spanish accent.