Our friend Wintermute has already fired up the Beverly Marrero bandwagon, and 24 hours ago, I was ready to concede that she would be the best candidate to face Republican Larry Parrish (he of "Deep throat" prosecution fame), the only Gooper to file for the seat.
After discussions with friends, it pains me to say she may not be the best option. As a Democratic progressive, she is untouchable, and she is a solid legislator with unquestioned integrity and is a delightful person who cares for her community.
However, as much as I personally appreciate her, I also realize that she is in the safest of Democratic districts, is not the hardest campaigner in the world, and will be hamstrung by the fact that, as a sitting legislator, she CANNOT raise money after the General Assembly session begins on January 9. Add to this the fact that she will be running in a district 2 1/2 to 3 times larger than her current district, and I am forced to come to the conclusion that, for the sake of the Party's chances in the general election, she needs to withdraw from the race.
It pains me to say this, because, if this were a normal election rather than a special election (where the fundraising problem would not apply), I would be cheering for her loudly.
Kevin Gallagher is a tough campaigner and he is already on the ground working the hell out of this district, and he would be just as progressive as Beverly. If he weren't, I sure as hell wouldn't be supporting him. He will raise the money that it takes to win, he will represent us proudly in Nashville, and he will not have the baggage that Robert Spence carries with him.
Frankly, given the investigations into corruption that are taking place in this town right now, we cannot afford to have Spence be our nominee. The Republicans are DESPERATE to win District 30, as it will enable them to force out John Wilder as our Lt. Governor and replace him with Ron Ramsey, killing ANY Democratic legislative agenda. If something were to blow up about Spence after he had won the primary, the Democrats would be screwed STATEWIDE. That simply cannot be an option.
You know, in your heart of hearts, if a Democrat like the Freedonian can find this stuff out, you can only imagine what the Goopers will be able to dig up.
This is why it is not in our best interests to have a three-way race for the Senate, which would enable a Spence victory, and thus a defeat in the general election. This is why I must respectfully, yet painfully, suggest that Beverly Marrero withdraw from the race; the future of the Democratic Party in Tennessee may well be at stake.
UPDATE: David Holt agrees!
12 comments:
I will acknowledge a bias here, but Kevin Gallagher is absolutely the best person for this job. He has almost the entire Cohen Congressional campaign backing him. He has already been out there everyday. He is good on the issues, and he will make an excellent State Senator.
I'm with Princess Dabness on this one. Kevin Gallagher is a very good friend of mine, but even without that, I think he's the best man for the job. This city is best served by having Marrero AND Gallagher in Nashville. Gallagher has the organization in place already--- The only thing that can stop them is Marrero being his Nader and handing the whole thing over to Spence. If that happens, the Republican in the race will have an ethically challenged Democrat that will be easy pickings.
The research material I put up about Spence took about a half hour with Google. What could a Republican come up with over the course of a campaign.
and that's why you're on my blogroll, John, you keep it straight!
I love Marrero, and I hope you're right about Parrish, because he would be a disaster. I just think Gallagher fits the situation we have now.
Beverly already HAS plenty of money, and many friends to raise lots more in a short time.
No Republican is going to win against a Democratic female in District 30; and the gap between the start of session and the special primary is negligible.
If Beverly loses to Spence, she is still in the House.
If Gallagher loses to Spence, he is ruined forever.
If you really want a Marrero/Gallagher team in Nashville, get him to back Bev and then run for her House seat, instead of trying to use the remnants of Cohen's campaign to beat one of his oldest friends and his campaign manager for the first elected office he ever won, delegate to the Tennessee Constitutional Convention of 1977 --that would be Beverly Robinson Marrero.
Mute, Beverly's position really doesn't change (except she becomes part of the minority) if she wins. Yet we have to pay over a 100,000 for a new election. That kind of bugs me. As far as Cohen goes, I like the man but he doesn't own the seat. Just because someone is his friend doesn't mean they get it automatically. As far as using the remnants of Cohen's campaign to run his campaign, is there something wrong with volunteers and staff moving from one candidate they support to another?
"As far as using the remnants of Cohen's campaign to run his campaign, is there something wrong with volunteers and staff moving from one candidate they support to another? "
Didn't they already do that once when they went from Mulroy to Cohen anyway?
instead of trying to use the remnants of Cohen's campaign to beat one of his oldest friends
Who built that house, huh?
It's not that he's using the remnants of the campaign--- People that worked the Cohen campaign are sticking around to help Gallagher because he did his job right and treated them well. You may not believe in him, but the people that busted their asses with him every day for seven months do. And they're going to be leaving shoe leather all over the streets of District 30 on his behalf.
You may have your issues with him, but show some respect.
Being "Cohen's friend" isn't enough to run for office. I set my standards a little higher than that. Crazy, I know, but there it is.
And let's dispense with the idea of a "Marrero campaign". Such a thing really doesn't exist. Hell, in 2004, I managed to go to Dem HQ every day for three months and never heard her name until I went to David Upton's house one night and saw her sign in his yard.
She has no ground game at all. If mailers and yard signs were all it took to win a real race, Joe Cooper would be on the county commission. And if it was really all about money, Nikki Tinker would have won the congressional primary.
The shoe leather that beat Tinker, by the way, was organized by Kevin Gallagher and Liz Rincon. That's worth remembering.
The "shoe leather" that beat Tinker was mainly organized by the other African American candidates in the race.
Don't you just love politics?
The sad thing is we do. We must to still be sparring after this many elections straight. By the time the mayor's race comes around we're all going to be asleep.
The "shoe leather" that beat Tinker was mainly organized by the other African American candidates in the race. I think Kevin, Liz, and the 40 or so interns who worked every day for 6 months straight deserve a little bit more recognition than that.
I really have no idea what everyone is sparring about here. I'm not familiar with any of these people, but I feel better knowing that everyone is at least talking about what is happening and who should do what.
Bravo!
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