Despite all the national talk about upheaval in Congress due to Iraq, Mark Foley and Bush's generally abysmal ratings, in Tennessee the more things change the more they stay the same.
Here's the rundown:
All incumbent Representatives - Jimmy Duncan, Zach Wamp, Marsha Blackburn, Lincoln Davis, Bart Gordon, Jim Cooper, John Tanner will win.
The Republican nominee, David Davis, will apparently win in 1stDistrict succeeding the retiring Rep. Bill Jenkins. Not a surprise as the Republicans have held this seat since 1881!
In the big 9th District (Shelby County) race for Congress to succeed Harold Ford Jr., state Senator Steve Cohen should defeat both the Republican and the Ford family candidate, Jake Ford.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
King of the County - The 2007 Nashville Mayor's Race
This 2007 election is already bloody.
The Contenders:
Clear favorite in both votes and money is former Congressman Bob Clement. Chasing the leader is Vice Mayor Howard Gentry and Councilman Buck Dozier, trying to catch up. Now Councilman-at-large David Briley is about to jump in this race as well.
The Match-up:
So it will be Clement versus three guys from the Nashville Metro Council ... a group that has lower approval ratings than President Bush and Congress, if you can imagine; whose new Courthouse building, not yet completed, is already the source of rumors about cost overruns (link - The Tennessean) and the kind of luxury carpeting and baubles that got the President of UT run off a couple of years ago.
Clement is challenging his opponents with an aggressive plan for a neighborhood advisory council, infrastructure repairs (storm water problems, street repairs, etc), and reducing crime by cracking down on drug dealers and cracking down on gangs.
Clement's opponents don't seem to understand or feel the pain of everyday people on these issues. Gentry was recently quoted that crime is important because we need to worry about artists who might not play at the new Symphony Hall because of their fear of crime. Clement's opponents were described by the Republican Party County Chairman as being soft on crime when Clement called for a crackdown on drugs and gangs to improve the quality of life in a recent mayor's debate. (link - City Paper).
With this sort of matchup, I might return to watching the Titans for some suspense.
The Contenders:
Clear favorite in both votes and money is former Congressman Bob Clement. Chasing the leader is Vice Mayor Howard Gentry and Councilman Buck Dozier, trying to catch up. Now Councilman-at-large David Briley is about to jump in this race as well.
The Match-up:
So it will be Clement versus three guys from the Nashville Metro Council ... a group that has lower approval ratings than President Bush and Congress, if you can imagine; whose new Courthouse building, not yet completed, is already the source of rumors about cost overruns (link - The Tennessean) and the kind of luxury carpeting and baubles that got the President of UT run off a couple of years ago.
Clement is challenging his opponents with an aggressive plan for a neighborhood advisory council, infrastructure repairs (storm water problems, street repairs, etc), and reducing crime by cracking down on drug dealers and cracking down on gangs.
Clement's opponents don't seem to understand or feel the pain of everyday people on these issues. Gentry was recently quoted that crime is important because we need to worry about artists who might not play at the new Symphony Hall because of their fear of crime. Clement's opponents were described by the Republican Party County Chairman as being soft on crime when Clement called for a crackdown on drugs and gangs to improve the quality of life in a recent mayor's debate. (link - City Paper).
With this sort of matchup, I might return to watching the Titans for some suspense.
Bredesen on '08?! And Who's Next?
At the Tennessee Womens Political Caucus convention in Nashville this past weekend Bredesen spoke and was asked if he would run for President in 2008. He tapdanced quickly away from any real answer but my inside source says Bredesen has a campaign button (given to him as a gift) that says "Phil in 08". Since no Democrat has won the Presidency since 1932 unless he (or she) carried at least two or three southern states. Bredesen has to think about this more than he admits. I am are sure this had nothing to do with Bredesen writing an op-ed piece for the New York Times (link - login maybe required) two weeks ago urging that a national campaign about healthcare reform should be the mantra for the Democrats. The Democrats would do well to take his advice.
In other gubentorial news, the 2010 race has already started. Why do you think Marsha Blackburn is running that talking head ad? (looking for the link) Why do you think conservative Lincoln Davis sent Beecher Stevens, his chief political guy, over to run the Harold Ford campaign? Can Knoxville Mayor Haslam, Bill Purcell, Steve Gill etc be far behind?
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