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Where do Tennessee Democrats fit in to Obama's new Democratic Party?
DENVER – There were some unexpected twists Wednesday in the otherwise well-scripted Democratic National Convention. There was apparently enough magic in the air for Rep. Jim Cooper to proclaim the rifts in his party mended.
"I thought Biden hit a home run," Cooper said of the speech by vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden. "I was especially touched by his comments about his mother. Also, it’s nearly impossible to follow Bill Clinton but he did it. After today, all divisions in the party have been healed."
The 2008 Democratic National Convention has come to a close after a raucous night at Invesco field where Senator Barack Obama accepted his party’s nomination for the presidency. Cooper, of course, was talking about the actions of his former nemesis Sen. Hillary Clinton, who on the convention floor that night moved to suspend the rules and have all delegate votes go to presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
Tennessee’s Democrats have not been immune to the giant "group hug" that happened in Denver. Throughout the week they have repeatedly said they have encouraged and inspired. However, the road they must travel over the next two months will be a road that won't look a thing like it did when former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were leading the ticket.
The remainder of the 2008 election season will begin to answer the question as to where Tennessee Democrats fit into Obama's newly reshaped party where the familiar populism of the Clintons and Tennessee Democrats' familiar spot on the national stage have both faded away.
It's so not 1996
Tennessee went for Hillary Clinton in the primary based on familiarity and comfort. The Clintons won big here, twice. Tennessee is a place where everybody knows their name.
Democratic big dogs like former Gore fundraiser Johnny Hayes and Congressman John Tanner threw their considerable political weight behind Hillary Clinton's presidential bid based on years of friendship and loyalty to the Clintons. That is not meant to diminish their belief that she would have been a great president, but she obviously already had an advantage of getting their support.
Memories of the Clinton/Gore campaigns are still strong with Tennessee Democrats and without being pushed hard it was highly unlikely for them to buck past loyalties.
Another point is that Clinton actually campaigned in Tennessee. Just prior to the primary she held a massive rally on the campus of Tennessee State University. Obama's last major public appearance in the state came in the waning days of the Harold Ford Jr. senate bid. Hillary Clinton's physical presence in the state was a big boost on primary day.
Finally on this point, the Clinton campaign didn't have to work that hard in Tennessee to win the primary. They had some good political people on the ground for a few weeks leading up to the election, but it won't be hard for Obama to match that organizational effort even if Tennessee isn't targeted.
The Obama Factor
Will Democrats be competitive in the fall? It doesn’t appear that they will on the presidential field but absolutely in down ballot races.
Ever since the 2000 Gore campaign ended with a Tennessee loss, the Volunteer State’s Democrats knew that they were entering the political wilderness on the national stage. Gone were the days that they sat on the front rows of the national convention.
How they respond, though, can make them competitive in the State House and the State Senate. Remember that just two years after the Gore loss, Tennessee gave Democrats one of their only statewide victories with the election of Bredesen in 2002. They did it by not relying on the national party for money and empty promises but by going their own way. It is true that Bredesen financed a large portion of his gubernatorial effort, but dismissing the ground game would not do them justice.
A likely scenario is that Tennessee Democrats will get a lot of talk but no action from the DNC. They will play the game, get what campaign money they can out of the national committee but concentrate on the Tennessee General Assembly.
If the DNC wants to put Obama in play in Tennessee then they will have to back it up with big money. If not, it will quietly go McCain, who won't have nearly the coattails that a Ronald Reagan did.
U.S. Senate candidate Bob Tuke seems to be relying on an Obama bandwagon to push him over the top and give him credibility with rank and file Democrats. Will it work?
Tuke deserves credit for ignoring the fact that he got 30 percent of the vote in the Senate primary. Not a promising start for an uphill battle to bring down Tennessee political icon and GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander. Watching Tuke speak, you can tell he believes in his own hype and for him to get others to believe he has to show that he believes.
But Tuke has also been promising for over a year that Obama would campaign in Tennessee. It hasn't happened yet and the reality is that so much time has gone by since he began assuring the media and voters that Obama was coming that he has lost credibility on the issue.
It is likely Obama will come at some point before election day, but that's not based on anything being said by anyone associated with the campaign. He probably would have been back sooner if not for a drawn out primary, but either way Tuke will have to win on his own without a push from Obama.
Buh-Bye Hillary
Despite a turf battle between delegates for Clinton at the convention, yes.
They want to win, and Obama won the primary so that is their only chance. Hillary's most ardent supporters in Denver will privately talk about how much they miss her, but they will be having that conversation while stuffing envelopes for Obama.
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Probably don't fit in at all considering McSame is polling 25% ahead of Obama here.And yet even Harold Fraud Jr. only lost by 3%. Tennessee, go figure.
Obama wrote off Tennessee a long time ago. He did not win the primary in TN (41% to Hillary's 54%). He will not waste his time and money campaigning in TN.Where do TN's Democrats fit in? Send money and stay out of the way.
Pathetic choices, pure an simple!!!
5263, you're so right. McCain and his running mate are PATHETIC choices.
That's true, Dragon, but it's also unfortunate. With Obama's treasure trove and organization on the ground, he should really be fighting in every state like he said he would.But I doubt he'll address Tennessee at all, although I expect him to surprise in a few Southern states.
Tennessee will be a nice shade of dark blue in Novembe. McShame does not have the grass roots support that Obama has. Obama has put so many new states in play because so many states put all their hopes on their supposed saviour, George W. Bush.Now McSame has found a Big Oil candidate in this inexperienced first term governaor, Palin. Her husband works for BP. How much more out of touch could the Republican Party be in this election? Everyone is this country has had it with Big Oil and their record profits and record prices. Now, in all his "wisdom
News for John McCain...all women are not the same. He's a blood clot away from croaking and he's got a unexperience woman that no one has heard of in line to be president. She's no Hillary Clinton. I was a Hillary supporter and I will be voting for Obama/Biden.
I think Palin is going to be a horrible gamble. If she comes across as a desperate grab for Hillary voters (and I think she will), it will make this choice seem really shallow and insincere.I also don't think she'll make much progress with women either since she's still a hard-core conservative and anti-abortion rights.
"Now, in all his "wisdom
It's been known for a long time that the so-called blue-dog Democrats are motivated by class envy (e.g. the "working" class, union, and lower educated voters). What wasn't known until this year is that they are also racists. You guys can keep that bunch, we have no place for them in the Republican Party, the party of the first female veep.
Gotta love the consternation (i.e. panic) from the left. Oh, and Linda, I think just about everyone is a blood clot away from croaking. What's your point?
LOL...linda010155, you're right. I hope McCain't has a massive heart attach before the election and dies.
shinestx: "the Republican Party, the party of the first female veep." Sarah Palin is NOT the first woman to be a major party vice-presidential nominee. That would be Geraldine Ferraro on the Democratic ticket back in 1984. Learn your history first before you lie about it. Typical conservative.Oh, and trust me, NOBODY on the left is panicking. We're quite thrilled with McCain's choice and you'll see why before long.
Morpheus, do you have enough intelligence to understand the line you quoted from me? Obviously not! I did not say Sarah Palin is the first female vice presidential nominee! You need to understand what you read. Then you might be able to learn history. Dope!BTW: NewYoker, that's such a kind and compassionate thing for a "progressive" to say (NOT!). Then, it just shows what has happened to political discourse on the left. After all, you have not ideas. Oh wait, let's trot out LBJs boondoggles again. Even the AP (from your own liberal backyeard) has slammed the laundry list of grievances that was B.O.'s "acceptance" speech. When you progressives (lol) make comments like the above about wishing someone would die, it only shows your true colors. It also shows how desperate you guys are. I repeat for morph-head... The Republican Party, the party of the first female veep! Speaking of Geraldine, she's all in favor of Ms. Palin. Just goes to show how "devoted" your Party's glitterati are to their core ideals. To her, and the other party leaders, it's always been identity politics. Unfortunately, it has sucked out all the ideas from the Dim party. I see now that B.O. has joined the vicious chorus of voices attacking Ms. Palin. So much for the politics of change from the Dims.
Ferraro was indeed the first female VP nominee in US History in 1984. That is a fact. Civil discourse should be kept for civilized people. shinestx: you are corrected.
Hey, Care-less, you can also go back and read my first post as written. Do you guys even understand the quote? Or are you just dense? It's been noted by the world's great thinkers, and even by a few Dims, that it's really frustrating trying to talk sense into the senseless.So let me break it down for the senseless. The quoted line refers to the first Vice President! Not the first Vice Presidential Nominee (candiate or whatever you want to call Geraldine Ferraro). So, what part of that distinction do you not get? It's really becoming clear to me why you are Dims. LOLThe next dolt who misunderstands my quote is welcome to just stay silent. Your opinion is not valued. BTW: I am LMAO at Keith Olbermoron and Rachel Maddike trying to trash Palin as inexperienced... such leftist cartoons. Well, it's true that she has no more experience than the Dims' presidential nominee. LOL
The most pathetic thing about this is that some people will actually vote for this woman because she can shoot a gun and eats moose. I guess that would make her a better choice than who we have now, but it's a stretch.
McCain isn't liberal at all, and he's chosen a VP who's extraordinarily socially conservative. She's more anti-abortion rights than he is.
shinestx: Your name calling and rudeness is what was corrected IF you read the post, or IF you have the capacity to understand what civil discourse means. YOU obviously confuse rudeness and anger and disrespect with intelligence. Excuse me, but that kind of adolescent behavior is associated with total ignorance. I do believe it is time to grow up, MR. Angry!!!! No one needs your pathetic diatribe!
Yes, Tennesseans voted for Phil Bredesen twice, but he is a Republican in Democratic clothing. Tennessee's Democrats have no hope of swinging Tennessee for Barack Obama or for Bob Tuke. When it comes to statewide offices, Tennesseans demonstrate their abysmal educations & vote for a lesser candidate.WT, there’s no reason that Obama should campaign here. He should expend his attention & money to Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Michigan, and Florida. The numbers are on his side, and he can make John McCain defend in state where Bush-Dick won easily. Further, he can help Democrats attain a filibuster-proof Senate. That won’t happen in Tennessee, but if we can help it happen via other states, then we can defang Lamar Alexander & Bob Corker. JWMcS, your prediction about Tennessee is baseless, but you are correct to state that Sarah Palin’s nomination shows how much McCain is, like Bush-Dick, owned by Big Oil.Linda, over 90% of Hillary Clinton’s supporters will join you in voting for Obama.Soup, Tony Palin is not a blue-collar worker. Further, he does work for British Petroleum. In addition, Sarah Palin wants to give the Alaska national Wildlife Refuge over to Big Oil lock, stock, & barrel. She taxed the oil companies but supports McCain’s inane plan to eliminate gasoline taxes, and she is against federal taxes on Big oil.Finally, this is simply Palin’s bending over for Big Oil. We haven’t even touched her hypocrisy on ethics or on family planning or her woeful lack of experience: two years as mayor of a town of 9,000, followed by 22 months as mayor of the second least populated state in the nation.The result of McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin is that he can no longer claim the mantle of experience, he can no longer claim freedom from Big oil, and he still has an utter ignorance of the dire economic problems facing us.Soup, you are obviously a shill for Palin—like those who bowdlerized her Wikipedia entry. Please leave our site to those of us who live in Nashville.Having pointed out a few of McCain’s failings, I must remind everyone that Obama is not such a great choice either. He is a slightly conservative Democrat who has not guaranteed to end the occupation of Iraq, simply to stop the war. We could easily have troops there for years to come. His health-care plan is far from the single-payer universal coverage that we should have. Our public schools will still need much attention. We will still have the dreadful results of decades of Republican rule surrounding us.Electing Obama is a step in the right direction, but it is a very small step. We must keep persuading Americans that the world’s best interests are in progress, not stagnation or retrogression.