Allow me to distill all of this chatter into a reality that some of us have known for a long time-that if it doesn't happen in New York, Chicago, Miami or Los Angeles or some other haven of the Left, it isn't news. The reasons for this are not political of course, because most reporters for the majornational media outlets live in or near those those places, so for many of them those places are a big part of their personal universe. The things that are important to the people in those locations often seem to color the mainstream media's perception of what should remain news.
Apparently, Bill Haslam now feels that the political situation is such that he and his campaign can begin to close the pincers around his intra-party opposition. It has long been something of an accepted piece of wisdom that Bill Gibbons' presence in the campaign was helping both of Bill Haslam's opponents by taking Shelby County's votes off the table. Memphis and Shelby County are hardly paragons of conservative Republicanism-Shelby County is heavily Democratic-but the sheer size of the population of Shelby County means that it has more Republican Primary voters than any other Tennessee county, including those in traditionally GOP-heavy East Tennessee.
I had expected that the popular State Senator was going to win, and deservedly so because of how hard he had campaigned. However, this result was almost cruel to Tim Hutchison, who had served so long as Knox County Sheriff and not terribly long ago enjoyed popularity ratings that made him one of the most popular Sheriffs in the State and certainly one of the most well-liked in Knox County's recent history. Black Wednesday sullied Hutchison's reputation, perhaps permanently, and it may be that after such a landslide defeat that Hutchison's career in elected office is effectively at a close. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Republican Primary was going to decide the county mayor's race, Jefferson Countians knew this. One of the things that I knew was that County Mayor Alan Palmieri was very beatable, but only if he had one opponent. A three-man race benefits Palmieri because he has formed a stable base that will stay with him. Both Daryl Brady and Bob Cavanah ran good-to-great campaigns, but to win both needed not only to have good early voting numbers, but a high turnout on Election Day itself, and in areas of the county where they are known to be strong-and the latter did not manifest itself.
One thing this experience has caused me to believe is that our local and State primaries in Tennessee should no longer be divided-one held in May and the other in August-both the local and State primaries should be held on the same day in May. County government calendars in Tennessee should be reformed to allow for county general elections on the same day that many the State and many small towns have their election-on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, with winners taking office in either December (county) or January (State). August could be reserved for special elections and "emergency" ballot issues. The State and county election commissions would have to deal with a much longer ballot, but could save precious time and money by combining primaries. Such a system would also be less likely to promote voter fatigue.
When campaigning, it is difficult for me to stand for long periods of time, but oftentimes I can't avoid doing so, especially at Lincoln Day dinners and other similar functions, and friends tell me the hurting feet and the aching back show in my face. I sometimes do not look as though I am enjoying myself, my wife has said. In light of that, I think voters need to know exactly how I do feel about hitting the hustings and meeting the folks. I love political functions and anyone who knows me will tell you that I thrive on politics like a fish thrives on water, and if I didn't want to win or didn't want to try, I wouldn't even bother getting out to do it because of the personal difficulty involved in doing so. Most importantly, I love meeting new people and making friends.
I've never thought about my disability when considering whether or not to run for office other than realizing that I can't do it alone and that I need help and because I have lived with physical challenges all my life, it is second-nature in many ways-I can't let it stop me or stand in the way of doing the things that I feel called by the Holy Spirit to do. I wish that I could convey to every person that I encounter in detail what their support would mean to me, and fortunately I have had the time to do this with at least some potential voters.
Those who would vote for me for the Republican State Executive Committee will give me the greatest personal honor that has ever been bestowed on me. I will work hard to open the work of the SEC to ordinary Republican voters, and I will always stand for what is right, not what is popular. Most importantly, I will stand on conservative conviction in all matters, and I will work not only to increase our Republican majority in Tennessee, but to grow our great party among those who might previously have not considered us.
Super Saver, with now-three-time Derby winner Calvin Borel aboard, wins the 136th Kentucky Derby on one of the sloppiest Derby Day tracks in recent memory.
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