GOP sells Bryson short
If you live in Tennessee, it might surprise you to learn that we do have a gubernatorial election this year, though you'd never know it by the way the way the press has been treating the subject. The media within this State decided months ago that Governor Phil Bredesen didn't deserve re-election, he deserved coronation. Since I called for the Republicans to put up a candidate to oppose Bredesen when it appeared that they would not, I was glad when State Senator Jim Bryson stepped forward and accepted the challenge to climb the seemingly unpenetrable Mount Bredesen.The odds against Bryson were long then and are longer now, but I don't think it is because he isn't capable of victory. His debate performance showed someone unprepared for the very public stage of being Governor, but I wonder how much of that is related to Bryson resigning himself to his pre-ordained fate? I think Bryson has accepted the defeat that the media and even his own party had already decided will occur. I can't blame Bryson for this entirely, I think the Tennessee Republican Party is at least partly if not wholly to blame for Bryson's situation. If the State GOP establishment had poured in near the money in time into the Governor's race as it has into the U.S. Senate contest, I believe the polls would reflect a much closer race and Jim Bryson would not be awaiting his own demise. A positive outlook on one's situation can make a person perform better in whatever task they set out to do, and if Bryson believed that his own party were behind him and were giving him the chance he deserved I believe his entire campaign would look the part.
Consider Bryson's new ad featuring Heather Steffek on the consequences of illegal immigration. What if Bryson had the money to run this ad and make a real issue out of illegal immegration before early voting began? Whether you are conservative or liberal, you have to admit that this is a hot issue in Tennessee and around the nation that resonates with voters.
Shame on the Tennessee Republican Party for not getting behind our man in the Governor's race all the way from the very beginning. I know that there are some of you who will go out and vote for the Bredesen/Corker ticket because both are the establishment's men. All we can do is hope and pray that Bredesen doesn't turn into the Democrat version of Don Sundquist.
Labels: Elections
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 8:20 AM
2 Comments:
David,
I think you're being way too hard on the GOP. It took too long for a viable candidate to step on the stage and once Sen. Bryson did he failed to get a fire lit. His campaign just neveer took off. he tried but ... it soon became clear to everyone but a few that his campaign was doomed and that any money or effort would be wasted. So why waste it? Why not put that effort and money into the Corker Campaign where the real action is? Retaining control of the US Senate is far more important than a Governorship.
SteveMule
Steve;
I am rather old school. As important as federal elections (House, Senate, President) are, I believe that State and local elections are far more important.
Our State and local officials have a far more direct impact on our daily lives than federal officials do. I'm not saying that federal officers have no impact, they do...but in terms of the daily impact of policy on your life and mine, an election for State legislature or Governor is far more important than an election for a federal seat.
There was a time in our history when those elections were viewed with the kind of weighty importance that they hold in reality...in our modern political climate, we have managed to severely diminish their importance in the eyes of both voters and political parties. That is a perception, however, that does not have a basis in reality.
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