Former Senator (and long-distance diagnostician) Bill Frist bowed out of the GOP race this weekend, giving some reason that, frankly, I ignored. The GOP side got downright crazy, with Knoxville Mayor (and Pilot Oil scion) Bill Haslam getting in (and apparently receiving the blessing of the GODFATHER himself, Howard H. Baker, Jr.).
Haslam joins Chattanooga Congressman Zack Wamp and, inexplicably, our own Attorney General, Bill "No Deals" Gibbons, who has no base outside Big Shelby of which I am aware. Also talking about the race on the Elephant side is Rep. Beth Harwell of NashVegas (former TRP Chair), but apparently NOT Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood.
Damn, we just can't get rid of her, can we?
On our side of the line, former State Representative Kim McMillan of Clarksville is mulling the race, as is Congressman Lincoln Davis of Pall Mall and State Senator Andy Berke of Chattanooga, whom I had the pleasure of meeting last week. Add to that the name of former TDP Chair Doug Horne, who seems interested should Davis decide to stay in DC.
Who have we NOT mentioned here? Hmmm, maybe THIS guy? While Harold DOES still have a place here (says an unimpeachable source), his heart, to me, is in the NYC and DC areas, where his wife and his job happen to be. And, about his wife, cutie that she is, how would that play A) in the western sections of Big Shelby and B) in the rural areas of Tennessee? Come on, while it's something none of us like to talk about, you KNOW it's there. I think it's ridiculous, but I'm a Damn Dirty Hippie, so what do I know?
I'm just not sure that Harold's political future is in this city, or even this state. New York? Now, that's another matter entirely. His is a face for mass media, which you WON'T find in Tennessee unless you're Faith Hill or Tim McGraw.
Much will shake out over time, as people come to realize that while Haslam has more money that Croesus, no one really knows him west of Knoxville. Horne has money, but Berke seems to have an idea about where he would take the state, and it's closer to my direction than anyone else whose name has been discussed.
Frankly, if a gubernatorial candidate wants my vote, all she/he has to do is come out in support of A) a graduated income tax combined with B) a drastically lowered (and CAPPED) sales-tax AND the elimination of the local option on sales taxes. Look, I'm a Cubs fan, why not dream big? Maybe some day we'll be like all of our bordering states and do something smart to stabilize our revenue in Tennessee.
Then again, we just gave control of the Lege to the Republicans. Oops.
4 comments:
Frankly, if a gubernatorial candidate wants my vote, all she/he has to do is come out in support of A) a graduated income tax combined with B) a drastically lowered (and CAPPED) sales-tax AND the elimination of the local option on sales taxes.
We're going to have to fight like Hell to get that. No candidate for governor can pull that off by themselves.
To get your vote, a candidate would have to lose the rest of the state. You ARE Left-Wing indeed, and the voting majority in Tennessee is way NOT.
My Two cents...
The key is Tennessee progressives have to become less focused on candidates and more focused on issues and building a progressive mechanism for GOTV.
If you can do that, then and only then can candidates by swayed. There was no way that Tennessee was going to swing for Obama....but, if we could maintain some of the high voter turnout from this past election cycle, in an off year like 2010, then you might be able to pull some of these candidates to the left, by focusing on issues. Sadly this is something the left is not comfortable with as it also involves allowing inferior candidates to lose if they do not speak to your issues.
What then would you do with a stabilized income? If you advocate spending yet more money on public schools, how will those funds make a discernible difference when the billions we have already spent apparently only prepare those students who are already have advantages? How can you make certain that local districts won't spend these additional funds--or find someway to do it--on athletic equipment or new football fields or new basketball gyms?
If you're, conversely, going to stress the judicial system, are you willing to advocate for more adeqaute funding for public defenders? How about a program that exchanges student loan repayment, on top of their enhanced salaries, for 5 years of service as a public defender?
How do you know, basically, that more state money will be spent wisely and prudently rather than become a free for all of legislative back-rooming and--well--Waltzing? How do you know that government is necessarily the better option of societal organization and economic stability than a mixed market?
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