If It Could Have Gotten Worse For Democrats..It Just Did

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/04/us-usa-politics-tennesee-idUSBRE87302Y20120804


Tennessee is home to two national mule and donkey shows (Shelbyville and Columbia), but these are the only two places you are going to find a large gathering of donkeys (four legged or otherwise).  As I have written before, Democrats in Tennessee in a bad way, and last week's story about Mark Clayton only hurts their case.  Tennessee is, and appears to remain, a Republican state.  In addition to their solid voting Republican, they seem to have a pretty good eye for who is a "good Republican."  So where does that leave the Democrats?  Is there any need for them to bother?  The evidence is stacked against them.  Despite the effort of a few strong willed pockets of Dems, fools like Mark Clayton are not helping the cause, that's for sure, but he is only the latest in a long list of problems for the  donkeys in Tennessee.

Many might say the problems started for the Democrats when ran Mike McWherter, son of former governor Ned McWherter, for governor in 2010.  Granted Bill Haslam did have the backing of big money from the Republican party, it was not even a real race.  McWherter managed a meager 33.1% of the popular vote and won a paltry five counties, all west of Knoxville (and people don't believe me when I say west Tennessee is a different state).  McWherter did not campaign well.  At least in eastern Tennessee he was a none factor.  Part of that could have been that Haslam was the very popular mayor of Knoxville and had the east sewn up before he started.  It is easy to say the cards were stacked against McWherter from the start, but I contend other wise.

Tennessee's last Democratic Senator left office in 1995.  In the U.S. House, only two placards have (D-TN) after the name.  If you leave Al Gore Jr. out of the picture, Tennessee has not played large in national politics in half an century. You could argue the last volunteer to hold major power was Cordell Hull.  Tennessee's state house is held by Republicans, and so is the Senate.  Tennessee went for Bush both times and McCain.  Despite it's Democratic leanings in the west, central and east are Republican almost to a man.  It is a solidly red state, but why?

I think that part of it is that Tennesseeans are for the most part conservative when it comes to money issues, and ultimately those win out. No one (nation wide) is all that liberal on taxes and government money, so social issues are where many votes are won and lost.  Tennessee happens to be a fairly conservative state on those too so the Republican win out.  Republicans simply win out on the G's (Guns, God, Gays) and Tennesseeans go red.  In addition to the issues, Republicans run candidates that are actually Tennesseeans.  Haslam, Lamar Alexander, and all but one Republican Representative is from Tennessee.  The Gores had northern roots, and Phil Bredesen (Tennessee's last Democratic governor) was from New Jersey.  It makes it hard to vote for a guy that isn't from where he represents..or at least it is for my and my high standards.

The Democrats don't help themselves by affiliating themselves with jokers like Clayton, but there is a larger problem.  Democrats are simply not "Democrat enough." In his book BLUE DIXIE, Bob Moser points out the flaws on a regional scale, and the inability of the Democratic party to win majorities in the south since the Civil War.  Political wildcards like my favorite consultant Dave "Mudcat" Saunders are running around out there trying to spread the gospel of the Jackson to the descendants of Jackson and it is a tough sale.  Rather than trying to be real Democrats (something Moser and Saunders would agree is a good thing), Democrats are trying to be Republican-Lite and its not working.

I will leave my comments on the specifics with Mark Clayton to another time, but I will say it is a hard day for Democrats in Tennessee.  Selling Jackson, Jefferson, and FDR (for heavens sake that ought to be easy) is not as easy because of names like Bredesen, McWharter, and now Clayton, but it is not entirely their fault.  Democrats need to step up and be Democrats Stop being ashamed.  After all  we have two national celebrations  for the four legged variety and it was a donkey of the two legged nature that gave power to the valley.  It's time the Democrats remember that, and start recruting some two legged donkeys that are worth more than a broken down four legged.