Thursday, June 24, 2010
Who Are These Men? And Do They Own a Map to Memphis?
Posted by Jackson Baker on Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 1:29 PM
- McWherter; Fincher
Subsequently I read a blog article by Steve Ross, part of which dealt with the absentee candidacy (in Shelby County) of McWherter. And on Wednesday morning I had attended an event in Memphis in which Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Wamp was making (by his count) his 49th appearance of the campaign in Memphis.
At the latter venue I fell into conversation with a gentleman from the Tea Party who dilated on the 8th district Republican congressional primary and wondered out loud why Stephen Fincher, the Frog Jump farmer/gospel singer (which is how he is usually billed), had so far been something of a no-show in Shelby County despite being regarded as the GOP frontrunner in the district at large.
And all of this suddenly welled up in my consciousness. Hey, what’s going on here?
Granted that, in McWherter’s case, he’s home free in his primary and won’t face an opponent until after August 5 when the Republicans nominate their gubernatorial favorite, but still… He is way less than a name-brand presence, son of Ned Ray or no son of Ned Ray, and why would he not (a) let Shelby Countians in general get a look at him and compare him to the GOP candidates they see so much of; and (b) give the hard-pressed local Democratic cadres a morale boost?
I mean, even I can afford the time and money required for a simple back-and-forth between Memphis and Jackson. (Or Memphis and Nashville.)
And Fincher…. Does he not realize that an ample number of Shelby County’s northernmost wards are in the 8th District he hopes to represent? And that the Memphis media market encompasses an even larger swath of the 8th District?
Are these no doubt worthy gents aware that their reticence to be found here is bound to be interpreted as indifference by Memphians, notoriously sensitive to slights by political officials from elsewhere in the state?
What can they be thinking? And how will it affect their chances on August 5 in the one case and November 2 in the other?
Just sayin’.
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McWherter is probably following the usual Democratic strategy called "Take the Summer Off."
And if Fincher is anything like most people from the Frog Jump part of the state, he's scared to come to our urban hellhole for fear of being mugged and shot.
This is why Jim Kyle and Kim McMillan and shouldn't have dropped out. They'd be having debates right now and at least one of them would be building up some kind of momentum.
As it is now, well, it's like you said. If he wasn't named McWherter I'd have never heard of him. Bill Haslam, on the other hand, has signs up, some of his volunteers were passing out literature at the Italian Festival two weeks ago, he's obviously had people doing canvassing and phone banking here... he's making everyone else look bad.
Get your damn act together, Democrats.
Zach Wamp Voted Poorly
SUMMARY:
Zach Wamp voted FOR: War Authorization Against Iraq, Trade Promotion Authority, Homeland Security, Interior Department Appropriations, Prescription Drug Plan — Republican Alternative, National Science Foundation, Unemployment Benefits, Global AIDS Initiative, Special Education, Budget Resolution — Final Version, Fiscal 2003 Omnibus Appropriations, Supplemental Spending for Iraq & Afghanistan, U.S.-Chile Trade, U.S.-Singapore Trade, Agriculture Appropriations, Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, Job Training and Worker Services, Surface Transportation, Fiscal 2005 Budget Resolution, North American Development Bank, Child Nutrition Programs, Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, Foreign Aid, Agriculture Appropriations, UN “Reforms.”, Supplemental Appropriations, Vocational/Technical Training, Head Start Funding, Katrina Hurricane-relief Appropriations, Surface Transportation, CAFTA, Patriot Act Reauthorization, Foreign Aid, Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, Agriculture Appropriations, Supplemental Appropriations, Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, Patriot Act Reauthorization, Foreign Aid, Electronic Surveillance, Military Tribunals, Oman Trade Agreement, Line-item Rescission, Foreign Aid, COPS Funding, Head Start Funding, Minimum Wage, Peru Free Trade Agreement, Thought Crimes, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, Economic Stimulus, Head Start, Bailout Bill, Employee Verification Program, Warrantless Searches, Supplemental Appropriations, COPS Funding, Energy-Water Appropriations, Cash for Clunkers Funding.
Zach Wamp voted AGAINST: Ban on UN Contributions, not funding Mental Health Screening, Online Freedom of Speech, overhaul U.S. Treasury Borrowing, Defunding the NAIS, eliminate some Katrina Funding, bar funding of Iran Military Operations, specific congressional approval for Iran Military Operations, Iraq Troop Withdrawal.
See details of Zach's poor votes here:
http://mickeywhite.blogspot.com/2010/06/za…
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