Monday, December 14, 2009
The Grapes Go Sour: The 6th District’s Gordon Becomes the Latest Democrat to Bail from a Congressional Seat
Posted by Jackson Baker on Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 11:39 AM
- Rep. Bart Gordon
What it comes down to, stripped of all euphemisms and rationalization, is that Tennessee’s Democrats, one year after taking a licking in legislative races and becoming the minority party in both houses of the General Assembly, are abandoning ship at the congressional level, too — not even waiting for the 2010 census, after which the state GOP will presumably have a free hand in redistricting.
State Senator Roy Herron of Union City, who switched from the governor’s race to the one for the 8th congressional district after Tanner’s surprise withdrawal, is expected to run competitively against whatever Republican wins the 8th District primary. It is still too early to gauge if a Democrat of equal capability chooses to contest the 6th, where several Republicans are running or are about to.
The Democrats have held a 5-4 advantage in the state’s nine congressional districts. Two of these seats are now at obvious risk. A third, the 4th, is held by Lincoln Davis, a Blue dog Democrat (like Tanner and Gordon) who can also expect a stiff race in 2010 and perhaps a stiffer one afterward.
The 9th District seat now held by Steve Cohen is safely Democratic, though Cohen himself will apparently be challenged in the primary by former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton. The 5th District, encompassing Nashville, is held by Jim Cooper, a Democrat who faces constant criticism from the Democratic left (as did Tanner) for being too conservative in his voting. He may end up facing both a primary and a general-election challenge in 2010.
The Chattanooga-based 3rd District seat, which was Democratic until Zach Wamp won it in 1994, will evidently go by default to one of two Republicans, Robin Smith or Chuck Fleischmann, in 2010, as both declared Democratic candidates for the seat had undeclared by last week.
Some Democrats — especially in the blogging fraternity — have reacted to the withdrawals of Tanner and Gordon by saying, in effect, Good riddance, these weren’t real red-blooded Democrats anyhow.
That, of course, is almost a textbook recreation of the parable of the fox unable to claim grapes hanging high over his head. Sour Grapes is the name of that story. And there’s no denying that, electorally speaking, the grapes have turned very, very sour indeed for Tennessee Democrats.
Comments (14)
Showing 1-14 of 14
Maybe nationally, Jackson, but we know what this means locally and it ain't good by a long shot.
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?? Cracker, I'm not sure where we're different in interpreting things. What I'm seeing in Tennessee is a Democratic retreat under way -- just this side of surrender. I think this is what you're talking about, too.
The Democrats are pretty much screwed in Tennessee for a generation once redistricting starts in 2010. All we have to look forward to is the joy of voting for Sarah Palin as a 3rd party candidate to have some fun with the electoral college in 2012. I suppose we could take solace in the fact that we'll dominate Shelby County, but when the best we can do for mayor is Joe Ford I'd more just expect a slew of low-quality Roderic Ford type candidates in clerkships.
Of course, if all these districts are forced to use safe, secure voting machines, as mandated by the state legislature, all bets are off. I predict that under fair and equal voting laws, Republicans will have a more difficult time winning these districts. That is, after all, why they are fighting so hard to keep the election system under which they were elected.
I'm not so sure I agree with your Sour Grapes parallel, JB. For me at least, it's less a question of dismissing something I can't have than waving "Goodbye!" to something I never asked for in the first place. These people have been undermining the Democratic platform at every opportunity, and as was the case with Harold Ford Jr., the enemy within is far more dangerous than the enemy at the gates.
Who the hell do these people actually represent, anyway? Nobody I've ever met. There is a name for that bloc of voters who want Democrats to capitulate their core values in the name of some abstract and ephemeral principle of fiscal discipline (which is only ever applied to Democratic presidents). They're called Republicans.
I'd much rather have someone like Stacey Campfield or Michelle Bachmann in Congress than almost any Blue Dog Democrat, frankly. Give Tennesseans a few years worth of that and maybe, just maybe, we can have an referendum on the relative merits of the respective parties' true values and ideals, instead of these ridiculous proxy battles based more on turf and patronage than anything else.
This is essentially the fault of bloggers like Left Wing Quacker and their lord and master Chip Forrester. No sitting congressmen want to spend their time and energy in a tough electoral environment when they've got the party chairman and the so-called "party faithful" constantly whining about how they're not "real Democrats." That's what the bloggers and Chip did to Tanner and Bart. Now look what's happened.
Did local bloggers lose the state legislature? Are bloggers the reason Congressional and Presidential approval ratings are in the toilet. If they are then hats off to them. They're some powerful SOB's. By your theory, Blue Dog Democrats are awfully delicate flowers to quit their jobs because a couple of keyboard warriors are critical.
Hardee Har Har. Feel the sting of my sarcasm, blue dogs. Tremble in fear, wet the carpet, for verily my disdain shall entirely unman you.
"My Disdain Shall Entirely Unman You: A Poem For The Blue Dog"
My disdain shall entirely unman you, and
Emasculate all of your pride
As my sarcasm wets your Gap khakis
And the laughter begins to subside,
Are the bloggers the enemy soldiers?
Have they sacrificed Tanner and Bart?
And has Harrison murdered the messenger?
Or do sour grapes smell like a fart?
Somehow I missed this one. Jesus, so this is what you really think, Harrison. Wow. You're even stupider than I thought.
Auto be nice. It's a recession and I'd hate for a mean blogger to make him quit his job.
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