OK, one thing of which you may be sure about whoever wins the 7th District Republican Primary, they will be too far to the right for 99.9% of our faithful readers.
I don't really want to get in between two Goopers beating the crap out of each other, but we need to face up to the fact that this is a Republican District, and will be through 2013. How so? It was DRAWN that way, so as to soak up excess Goopers from Districts 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9. As those five Districts have remained Democratic since 2003, it has worked well. As a result, it is as far right-wing as TN-09 is left, and probably further out there than we could ever go.
So, while I would vote for the Democratic nominee if I lived out there, in all reality, either the incumbent, Marsha Blackburn, or her opponent, Shelby County Register Tom Leatherwood, will represent that district come January 2009.
On a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being liberal and zero being right-wing (Conservative? That died with William F. Buckley, sorry), both of these people would be in negative numbers. So, you can't make your vote on an ideological basis, except that I believe that Leatherwood would be more of a true believer, while Blackburn is a neocon's neocon, and would believe that the moon is made of green cheese if Cheney told her so. Who knows, privately, he may have!
So, on that basis, whom would I rather see in that seat? Well, since A) I believe Blackburn should have gone to jail for inciting the near-riots surrounding the income-tax vote in the State Senate, and B) she is a Bush-Cheney parrot, and C) she lives in that most right-wing county, Williamson, I would go for Leatherwood.
I believe that if Leatherwood were asked to do or vote a certain way by the GOP leadership, and it went against his principles, he would politely but firmly tell them to stuff it. Next, he is from Shelby County, and, even on our worst days, that's better than Williamson County. We can always use another Congressperson. And, of course, if Leatherwood wins, the Democratic-majority County Commission will appoint his successor (and it's likely a Democrat would now win a succession special election). We win all the way around if Leatherwood goes to Congress.
Oh, and I forgot; this would also finish Blackburn and kill ANY chance she had to become Governor, which, if that happened, would ALMOST be enough to make me move to Desoto County.
I said ALMOST; don't get your hopes up just yet!
So, Democrats, urge your Gooper friends in the 7th to go with Tom Leatherwood, a decent if politically misguided fellow, because he's not nearly as wrong-headed and damaging to Shelby County as Blackburn. Marsha Blackburn needs to go, and now is as good a time as any.
UPDATE 7/7: Jonathan at Grand Divisions has a really good take on this, H/T to AC.
6 comments:
On a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being liberal and zero being right-wing ... both of these people would be in negative numbers.
If you don't mind, list a few 10s.
Also, let's not forget Congressman Blackburn has a serious accounting problem, with recently discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in missing funds, some of which was paid to one of her relatives.
Whatever happens, Blackburn has to go away from Tennessee politics.
I'm doing my part, and I hope all ethical people will continue to expose this fraud named Marsha Blackburn.
You would be shocked at the number of politicos that read this blog that are republicans or independents ..... they may not agree, but they visit .... you cast a wider net than you think my friend. Take care.
Mike, Steve Cohen, (he's no lower than 9.6), Bernie Sanders is a 10 (he may go all the way to ELEVEN like Spinal Tap!), Barney Frank is in the high nines as well.
LWC,
I understand what you are saying and I personally detest Marsha Blackburn and agree with everything you have said about her.
However, I equally detest Leatherwood. He booted out Leonard Dunavant, a decent moderate Republican, to get elected to the State senate, worked to keep high taxes for middle and lower income Tennesseans (by opposing tax reform), opposed TN Care when it was a better program, calling it socialized medicine. He tried to form a Toy Town that would have included Wolfchase before Memphis annexed it. Speaking before a discussion of the Toy Towns, moderated by Jackson Baker, he flippantly said "let it die" referring to Memphis. He denies saying it but hundreds of people, including me, collectively gasped when he said it.
So it's hard for me to say that one is not as bad as the other. My hope at this point is that she wins by 50.1% of the vote, giving a tiny chance to the Democrat, probably ending her gubernatorial aspirations, and giving the first loss ever to a someone who should have never been in elective office.
On the Democratic side, I plan to vote for Randy Morris from Wayne County. Jim Tomasik from Shelby is one of the Fair Tax Democrats who want to spread the inferior, regressive tax system of TN to the national scene.
Leatherwood has the lead in yard signs over here in Hardin and Wayne so far. I also heard over the weekend that Stan Wheeler has got the democrat nomination in hd 71 to replace Rinks pretty much sewn up.
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