Sara Kyle is seriously considering a race for Governor!

This is nothing short of spectacular news, giving the state's Democrats a rallying figure at the top of the ticket.

Joey Garrison broke the story at the Tennnessean, referencing the Facebook page I mentioned earlier this morning. While she has much to discuss and think about, we need to be prepared to support her in this run as much as possible.  We need to be there with time, money and whatever needs to be done in order to make this a successful campaign.

With a strong candidate like Sara at the top of the ticket, more candidates will be encouraged to attempt campaigns for the General Assembly and the State Senate, which are desperately needed.  It will be an uphill battle, as Haslam has all the money he will need, with the Koch Brothers and ALEC standing by to give even more.  This is why we have to be prepared with time, money, and organization.

More on this later, but this is terrific news!

For Whom I voted, and why, and for whom I would vote were I in those districts.

I early voted today at Greater Lewis Street Church at East Parkway and Poplar.

As one can imagine, I voted in the General for Cheyenne Johnson for Assessor, Ed Stanton Jr for General Sessions Court Clerk, and Carol Chumney for District Attorney General.  If I lived in County Commission District 1, I would have voted for Steve Ross; I took two people who do live in 1 and they voted for him!

Oh, the School Board?  I read the information available at Coalition for A Better Memphis, each of the statements by the Candidates (Dr. Freda Williams, Chris Caldwell, and Dr. Noel G. Hutchinson).  After reading those, I decided to vote for Dr. Noel Hutchinson.  Surprised?  So was I.  I just was not happy with Freda Williams for her fight against the merger, and Caldwell had a lot of GOP backing.  I went with Hutchinson.

In the primary, I went with Park Overall in the Senate race; she may not have money, but she damn sure SOUNDS like a Democrat, and we need that if nothing else.  I will be proud to vote for her over the 1-percenter Bob Corker.

For Congress, who the hell do you think?  Steve Cohen is the best Congressman we could hope to have right now.  Tomeka Hart revealed herself to be a Blue Dog and a Junior wannabe in this godawful Daily News interview.  Enough said.

As I was redistricted out of Senate 30 (more later on that race), I at least got to stay in House 93 (but only by two blocks).  GA Hardaway's House 92 was moved to Middle Tennessee, and he got thrown into District 93 with 38-year veteran Mike Kernell.  I like GA, he has always been great to me whenever I have been in Nashville, and he's a nice guy.

However, he's not always been on the same side as I have (and yes, Mike voted for that idiotic bill that opens up intelligent design to our classrooms, I know), but at the end of the day, Mike has been one of my closest friends for 30 years.  At the end of the day, he has more experience negotiating the now-treacherous and unfriendly waters of Nashville.

Ok, enough about my districts.  There are other folks in Shelby County.

In the State Senate, thanks to redistricting, I was torn out of Senate 30 and placed in Senate 33, which is held by ALEC-linked Democrat Reginald Tate.  He's not up for another two years.  Back to 30.

Senator Jim Kyle's old Senate 28 was originally redrawn to include GOP Senator Brian Kelsey (R-31) of Germantown, which meant that they would have faced this year, and I was delirious at the prospect of The Stunt Baby's defeat.  However, Kelsey, whined, and 28 was shipped off to Middle Tennessee, and Kyle was thrown into 31, which meant that Kyle would be out of a job in January.

Somehow, the GOP redistricting crew allowed Kyle to keep most of his old district, now known as 30, which had very little of the Midtown area that elected Beverly Marrero.  I know Jim Kyle's been Democratic Leader for several years, and he has had several opportunities to move up, whether it was for County Mayor, Congress, or District Attorney General.   However, at every juncture, he decided to play it safe and stay where he was.

Beverly Marrero has rarely played it safe, taking controversial (if correct) positions on women's issues, marriage equality and child trafficking.  In short, she's got guts, and is not afraid of anyone or anything, even if she's vastly outnumbered now in the Senate.  That's why I am asking you to vote for her if you live in 30.  Jim Kyle should be running for something bigger, but, as usual, he's playing it safe, and we need people who are risk-takers now.  I support Beverly Marrero, and you should too.

In House 84, my friend Joe Towns Jr is facing opposition from Hendrell Remus, who started to run for City Council last year against Janis Fullilove, but then backed out.  I do encourage younger Democrats to run, but Towns is too valuable to lose right now, so I hope you'll support him for re-election.

Now, to House 90.  John Deberry has represented a district for 20 years that consisted of western Midtown reaching into South Memphis and Whitehaven.  John always voted with Democrats on economic issues; fortunately, when Democrats controlled the legislature, social issue bills were buried before they could reach the House floor, so his conservative stances never mattered.  I like John, he is a good person, but on these social issues, we do not agree.

And now that he has lost some of his South Memphis area to be replaced with more upscale and yes, more gay sections of Midtown, and since the GOP loves to vote against women and gays whenever they can, John's deeply-held beliefs have become a liability.

At the same time, Jeanne Richardson's House 89 was sent to Knox County, as her record for standing up for women, minorities and human rights put her at odds with the GOP and male-dominated legislature.  Yeah, I know Beth Harwell is Speaker of the House; she's still a Gooper FIRST.  Jeanne was encouraged by many of her Midtown supporters to run against Deberry, and after deept thoughts and discussions with Deberry, decided to run for House 90.

I hate to see two friends run against each other, but at the end of the day, women, minorities, and everyone who's not white, male and right-wing need all the help they can get in this legislature, and Jeanne will continue to fight for them if she wins the nomination on August 2.  I am supporting her, and encouraging all who live in that district to do so as well.  We need her there, just as we need Beverly.

Your mileage may vary, but please think before you vote.

Shameless Self-Promotion Part MMXII - Reminder

I have been invited to join David McLaughlin this Sunday night from 6:10-6:30 on KudzuVine, an online radio show discussing Southern politics from a Democratic perspective.

You can listen to the show at this link, and can call in if you like at the number listed at the link. I look forward to this, and hope that you will as well!

UPDATE: if you missed it, you can listen at the link above.  I wasn't bad.

Out of the Blue

I received this morning in my inbox a new email newsletter from Mike McWherter titled Out of the Blue. It will become, over the coming weeks and months, a morning update of what is going on in Tennessee, especially from a non-conservative point of view.  Here's Mike:

So many candidates walk away and "fold the tent" following their races.  I want to remain an active Democrat and do everything I possibly can to promote the values our party.  Due to the recent illness of my father, Governor Ned McWherter, we were forced to delay this venture, but now we are moving forward.  Let me assure you, this is not an attempt to usurp any efforts by our leadership, but merely to help enhance communication efforts.  United we can stand and develop an environment in our state which serves everyone, not just a privileged few.

Good start.  Oh, and he won't be doing this alone by a long shot; he hired someone really Sharp to put this together.  As in our dear friend, Trace Sharp, who will be the managing editor of this enterprise.  If you want to sign up to have this in your inbox every morning, go to bluetn.com and add your email address to the list.

It will be more than worth your time, and I think this is a great thing Mike and Trace are doing, because Democrats around the state are reeling right now, and this will inform us and keep us fired up for the task ahead.

Finney and Fitzhugh call out Haslam for lackluster jobs proposal

Here's an op-ed by Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) and House Democratic Leader Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley) in today's Tennessean:

Haslam should back up talk of job creation
Gov. Bill Haslam's State of the State address followed the blueprint of responsible spending and tough choices that former Gov. Phil Bredesen laid out over the previous eight years. Thanks to our previous governor's leadership, we are in better financial shape than most of the country.

But the state's financial health means little to the nearly 300,000 unemployed Tennesseans who can't provide for their families, or the hundreds of thousands more who want a full-time job and can't find one. When presented with proposals to help small-business owners grow and create jobs in Tennessee, lawmakers in the majority party have dismissed them as "hokey" while claiming that government doesn't create jobs. They are more focused on printing their own money than helping put more money back into Tennesseans' pockets.

Yet in Gov. Haslam's speech, he outlined $182 million in economic development funds and other investments in projects across the state, "as a stimulus for new jobs and new business investment." It appears the governor has decided, after all, that government has a role to play in creating jobs. Such an investment is a start, but more needs to be done to support our small-business owners and encourage businesses to start, relocate and grow in Tennessee.

Major investments like those by Volkswagen and Hemlock required a governor who was all-in for jobs. Tennessee needs that kind of hands-on approach, now more than ever, through investments like the West Tennessee megasite, which is not funded in the governor's proposal. We believe that our rural communities should have the same opportunities as Chattanooga and Montgomery County, especially in areas with continued double-digit unemployment rates. Until we see that kind of proactive commitment from the majority party, they cannot truly say that they are working to put Tennesseans back to work.

College cuts are a misstep
In order to attract those jobs to Tennessee, we must also increase the number of Tennesseans with college degrees. A highly trained work force is the top priority for businesses relocating to Tennessee, and that training will come largely through our higher education institutions. Unfortunately, our colleges and universities are facing even more budget cuts, and those shortfalls will be made up almost entirely through tuition increases.

Increased fees are essentially a tax on our Tennessee students, many of whom have returned to school to train for a new career after losing a job. We're telling low-income students that their scholarships will remain steady, but continued tuition hikes effectively decrease their scholarships. If we're serious about job creation, we have to also be serious about giving Tennesseans the opportunity to train for those jobs. Cutting their legs out from under them with continued tuition hikes isn't the answer.

The governor ended his address Monday with a call to avoid partisanship. We remain ready to work with him and the majority in the legislature to help put Tennesseans back to work. Such efforts will require an increased focus on job creation and job training, until everyone who is willing to work is able to find a job. We're not there yet — and judging by the governor's speech, we still have a lot of work to do.

State Sen. Lowe Finney of Jackson is the Senate Democratic Caucus chairman. Rep. Craig Fitzhugh of Ripley is the House Democratic leader.