Thursday, February 08, 2007
"Increasingly Democratic" ... ?!
As Bill Hobbs reported earlier this week, the Washington Post recently revealed how truly it is about politics in the Volunteer State. The Post had this about Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander:
"[Alexander] could draw a formidable opponent in 2008 as his state drifts increasingly Democratic."
Tennessee. Increasing Democratic? Please. If the Washington Post's writers had read and digested my recent commentary 'bout Tennessee's political environment, perhaps we'd have been spared from its nitwittery. Here's what I said:
Tennessee is not only a conservative state, it is a thoroughly Republican state as well. Yes, but, doesn't Phil Bredesen's big victory last year dispute this notion? Not at all. In 2002, Phil Bredesen was elected on a platform of low taxes and promises to use the power of the market to deal with issues like TennCare. That is, he more or less ran as a Republican. In fact, if an individual knew absolutely nothing about Phil Bredesen except what he or she had seen in the governor-to-be's 2002 television ads, the individual in question would've had to conclude that Bredesen is a card-carrying Republican.
Bredesen's 2006 re-election campaign was chock full of sloganeering on behalf of conservative causes (see illegal immigration), and he easily defeated an opponent will little money and no name recognition. Bredesen, however, had no coattails: Junior lost; Bredesen buds like Bob Rochelle, Mary Parker, and Vince Springer came up well short in their respective bids to defeat GOP members of the State Senate; and Democrats failed to pick up any seats in the State House of Representatives.
The GOP's gaining complete control of the State Senate for the first time in 130-something years has been the topic du jour in the blogosphere recently. Thus, I'll not dive into that subject here. I will say this, however: The fact that a down-the-line Democrat, i.e., Rosalind Kurita, crossed the aisle to support the Republican candidate for Speaker shows that state Democrats currently do not have their heads and their asses wired together. I'm afraid Kurita's defection is only the first crack of many cracks the Democrats will be trying to seal in the months ahead.
"[Alexander] could draw a formidable opponent in 2008 as his state drifts increasingly Democratic."
Tennessee. Increasing Democratic? Please. If the Washington Post's writers had read and digested my recent commentary 'bout Tennessee's political environment, perhaps we'd have been spared from its nitwittery. Here's what I said:
Tennessee is not only a conservative state, it is a thoroughly Republican state as well. Yes, but, doesn't Phil Bredesen's big victory last year dispute this notion? Not at all. In 2002, Phil Bredesen was elected on a platform of low taxes and promises to use the power of the market to deal with issues like TennCare. That is, he more or less ran as a Republican. In fact, if an individual knew absolutely nothing about Phil Bredesen except what he or she had seen in the governor-to-be's 2002 television ads, the individual in question would've had to conclude that Bredesen is a card-carrying Republican.
Bredesen's 2006 re-election campaign was chock full of sloganeering on behalf of conservative causes (see illegal immigration), and he easily defeated an opponent will little money and no name recognition. Bredesen, however, had no coattails: Junior lost; Bredesen buds like Bob Rochelle, Mary Parker, and Vince Springer came up well short in their respective bids to defeat GOP members of the State Senate; and Democrats failed to pick up any seats in the State House of Representatives.
The GOP's gaining complete control of the State Senate for the first time in 130-something years has been the topic du jour in the blogosphere recently. Thus, I'll not dive into that subject here. I will say this, however: The fact that a down-the-line Democrat, i.e., Rosalind Kurita, crossed the aisle to support the Republican candidate for Speaker shows that state Democrats currently do not have their heads and their asses wired together. I'm afraid Kurita's defection is only the first crack of many cracks the Democrats will be trying to seal in the months ahead.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Thursday, February 08, 2007 
