October 31, 2006
AlphaPatriot's Nov. 2006 Endorsements
Enough people have asked me for my voting guide that I have finally created and posted it. Thanks to everyone for the interest.
I know, there are only two more days of early voting left. And I know (courtesy of John Harvey) that there has been a record turnout of early voters in Shelby County. Hopefully no one came looking and went to the polls empty handed and made a horrible mistake [poor attempt at wry humor in written form].
But I feel compelled to explain why I picked who and what I did.
"Marriage Protection" Amendment: Most of my friends and acquaintances, conservative and liberal alike, will no doubt be surprised at my voting "no" on amendment 1.
But I do so not because I think homosexuals should be allowed to marry, but because I don't think marriage is any business of the governments. It is a religious issue. If a church wants to allow gays to marry and you don't like it, then I suggest you don't go to that church.
I believe the debate has been framed incorrectly. The issue is whether same sex partners should be legally entitled to benefits and what to do with the children. And frankly, I think they should be entitled to benefits (which is why I will never be elected to public office as a Republican) and that children will end up in same sex households no matter what the laws are, so we must deal with the issue.
Besides, I am opposed to enshrining a restriction on anything except the government in a constitution. I won't say more on this aspect because Say Uncle has eloquently covered the topic.
Tax Relief for Seniors Amendment: I don't like the wording but I like the concept. Give those seniors who need it a break. Hopefully, this won't get abused.
Governor: Bredesen has been wrapped up in more scandal than any governor in a long, long time, not that you would know it from the media coverage. I pick Bryson because Bredesen and his cronies don't deserve a second chance.
US Senate: Ford is so liberal that he has a score of 21 from the American Conservative Union. For comparison's sake, Arlen Spector has a 63 and Robert Byrd has a 20. I don't love Corker, but this one is a no brainer.
US House: I have defended Marsha and posted as to why I love Marsha. Nothing has changed. I'm joyfully voting Marsha Blackburn.
State Races: I have personally met and spoken with every candidate that has a red checkmark next to their name. Every one is a good man. I believe that I know most of them well enough that I would personally vouch for them in just about any situation.
Angelo Cobrasci: Henri "No Pledge" Brooks is running for reelection in District 92. This woman is a blight on Tennessee politics, so I recommend writing in Angelo Cobrasci. Not because he will win (even if he did, he doesn't live in the district), but because it is well known that he is the most fearsome wingnut in the county. Send a signal: we want true conservatives!
In fact, I recommend writing "Angelo Cobrasci" in for any race that doesn't have a true conservative in the race.
Bartlett Mayor: I do not endorse reelecting Mayor McDonald because I am still trying to determine if he deserves it. But he is popular and running unopposed -- there is no doubt that he will win in a landslide of massive proportions. I may just write in Angelo Cobrasci.
Bartlett Alderman 1: Do you like the direction Bartlett is headed? Then vote for Morris. I don't know of anything that he has done that makes me want to pull the lever for him.
Meanwhile, Bubba Pleasant will bring important political contacts (having served in the TN House) and a know-how that is hard to beat. On the other hand, I wasn't a huge Bubba fan.
Judging from the number of yard signs, I'd say Bubba is cruising to victory. He can probably do that on name recognition alone.
Another Angelo Cobrasci write-in? I don't know. I'll decide tomorrow at the poll.
Update: The night before the election, I found out that Morris is a realtor. I don't like the way they are throwing up houses on quarter-acre lots across the street from $400K houses on 4 acre lots, and I don't like a realtor being in charge of such decisions. I'd rather have a retired fireman with contacts in Nashville in charge. I enthusiastically endorse Bubba Pleasant for Alderman Position 1.
Bartlett Alderman 2: I've met and like Emily. She makes an effort to meet the citizens and hear them out. She's running unopposed, which I'm not displeased about. She gets my vote.
Bartlett Alderman 3: Bridges is a college kid whose political experience seems to consist of working on campaigns for the Ford family. I'll be voting for Parsons.
BTW, click here if you want the official Shelby County ballot.
AlphaPatriot's November 2006 Picks
These candidates have been researched and approved by AlphaPatriot.
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| Constitutional Amendments | ||
| Amendment 1 | ||
 Yes | Vote YES if you believe marriage should be defined in the Tennessee constitution as being between a man and a woman. | |
 NO | Vote NO if you believe in homosexual marriages or if you don't think this is an issue for the constitution. | |
| Amendment 2 | ||
| Yes | Vote YES if you want to freeze property taxes for people 65 and older. | |
| NO | Vote NO if don't believe senior citizens should be given tax relief. | |
| State and Federal Offices | |
| Governor | Jim Bryson |
| US Senate | Bob Corker |
| US House Dist. 7 | Marsha Blackburn |
| US House Dist. 8 | John Farmer |
| US House Dist. 9 | Mark White |
| TN Senate Dist. 29 | Terry Allen Roland |
| TN Senate Dist. 31 | Paul Stanley |
| TN Senate Dist 33 | |
| TN House Dist. 83 | Brian Kelsey |
| TN House Dist. 84 | |
| TN House Dist. 85 | |
| TN House Dist. 86 | |
| TN House Dist. 87 | |
| TN House Dist. 88 | |
| TN House Dist. 89 | John Farmer |
| TN House Dist. 90 | |
| TN House Dist. 91 | |
| TN House Dist. 92 | (Write-in) Angelo Cobrasci |
| TN House Dist. 93 | Tim Cook |
| TN House Dist. 95 | Curry Todd |
| TN House Dist. 96 | Steve McManus |
| TN House Dist. 97 | Jim Coley |
| TN House Dist. 98 | |
| TN House Dist. 99 | Ron Lollar |
| Bartlett Municipal | |
| Mayor | A. Keith McDonald |
| Write-in | |
| Alderman, Position 1 | Mike Morris (Incumbent) |
| W.C. "Bubba" Pleasant | |
| Write-in | |
| Alderman, Position 2 | Emily Elliot (Incumbent) |
| Write-in | |
| Alderman, Position 3 | Burton B. Bridges |
| David Parsons (Incumbent) | |
| Write-in | |
| Collierville Municipal | |
| Alderman, Position 1 | Maureen J. Fraser (Incumbent) |
| Write-in | |
| Alderman, Position 2 | Stan Joyner (Incumbent) |
| Write-in | |
| Alderman, Position 4 | Tom Allen |
| Justin G. Mitchell (Incumbent) | |
| Write-in | |
| Germantown Municipal | |
| Mayor | Sharon Goldsworthy (Incumbent) |
| Write-in | |
| Alderman, Position 1 | Carole Hinely (Incumbent) |
| Write-in | |
| Alderman, Position 2 | John Drinnen (Incumbent) |
| Write-in | |
| Memphis Municipal | |
| Board of Education At-Large, Pos. 1 | David Page |
| Juanita Clark Stevenson | |
| Ed Vaughn | |
| Kenneth T. Whalum, Jr. | |
| Write-in | |
| Board of Education, District 2 | Deni C. Hirsh |
| Betty Mallott | |
| Arnold Weiner | |
| Write-in | |
| Board of Education, District 4 | Martavius D. Jones |
| Write-in | |
| Board of Education, District 6 | Darrick D. Harris |
| Carl Johnson | |
| Sharon A. Webb | |
| Write-in | |
Liberal(er) Media Comes to Memphis
Radio broadcaster Entercom Communications Corp. has been given approval to purchase CBS radio stations in four markets Austin, Texas; Cincinnati, Ohio; Rochester, New York; and Memphis, Tennessee. To avoid an antitrust investigation, Entercom will sell off three stations in Rochester.
Entercom was under indictment by the NY Attorney General for a "payola" scheme:
The AG's office filed the suit in March charging Entercom with repeatedly engaging in a scheme of playing songs on its stations in return for payments or non-cash consideration from record labels or independent promoters.
Although four radio corporations were under investigation, only Entercom had charges filed against it. To make the charges go away, they recently agreed to pay up to a $2 million to New York non-profits for the purpose of music education and appreciation programs.
Entercom's CEO is David Field, son of company founder Joseph M. Field.
According to OpenSecrets.org, David Field has given $145,635 in political contributions during the last three cycles. And the recipient list reads like a Who's Who in Democrat politics: Tom Daschle, Joe Lieberman, Arlen Specter, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama. Not to mention the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, DNC Services Corp. and various state Democrat parties.
Of course, David is just a chip of the ol' block. Daddy Joseph gave $160,900 in the same 3 cycles to many of the same names. Only Joseph was a Wesley Clark man and also seems rather fond of Robert Byrd.
Somehow, I just don't think Entercom will bring a fair and balanced approach to the airwaves in Memphis.
October 2, 2006
The Race to Watch
The year was 2004, the place was Pennsylvania and conservative Pat Toomey was within a hair's breadth of unseating incumbent RINO Arlen Specter from the Senate. Widely viewed as "the race to watch", Toomey (backed by $2 million of advertising from the Club for Growth) lost by a mere 1.7 percent margin.
Why did Toomey lose? Perhaps it was because Bush, Rick Santorum and the NRA backed a backstabber, taking the safe bet of a liberal that occasionally votes with the caucus rather than create strife in the ranks. Had they stayed out of it, there is little doubt that Toomey would have won.
All they had to do was keep their mouth shut. Just say something like "we'll let the voters decide". But no, they protected the incumbent because that is what politicians from political parties do.
The year is 2006, the place is Tennessee and the Republican party is splintered during a contentious primary. Conservatives are splitting the vote between two candidates, Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary, while moderates support Bob Corker. You don't need a crystal ball to see what will happen: with all his millions, Corker can take advantage of the infighting and buy the election.
Where is Bush? Where is First? Where is Alexander? In Washington, studiously avoiding the entire affair. This time it's "we'll let the voters decide".
In the end, the conservatives lose and we are stuck with a difficult to win race against a polished Democrat that convincingly denies that he is the most liberal congressman from Tennessee (eight out of nine years).
Had they backed a real conservative in the first place, we wouldn't be seeing headlines like Democrats pin their hopes on man who is no liberal and Former Virginia governor touts Ford as “independent”. Or maybe we would; the press has come out full force behind Ford.
But at least Bush and company are here now. Bush came to Memphis and raised $1.5 million at a fundraiser held in a house. This was his second time Bush has raised money for Corker in less than a month and it seems that Laura Bush will be in Knoxville for a Corker fundraiser on 11 October. With the fact that Bush's approval ratings are slightly higher in Tennessee than the rest of the country, his support won't hurt.
Last week's Zogby/Wall Street Journal poll shows Republican Bob Corker leading Democrat Harold Ford Jr. by 5 points:
HT to TeamGOP newsletter
So why is Corker shaking up his campaign office just four weeks before the election? Perhaps because it will take a campaign manager like Tom Ingram, who managed all of Lamar Alexander's gubernatorial campaigns, to stave off the Ford attacks. The most recent Mason-Dixon poll indicates that the race is a dead heat.
For now, the battle remains dirty. A Ford television ad accuses Corker of taking three pay raises as mayor of Chattanooga while "freezing the pay of Chattanooga’s police and firefighters", a charge hotly denied by both the fire chief and the president of the Chattanooga FOP. Further, review of the city budget clearly shows that the ad is false.
The same ad claims Corker is worth more than $200 million, a figure Corker denies although he has not released actual figures. Yet:
Financial disclosures filed by Corker, which do not require specifics, state that he has assets somewhere in a range of between $63.7 million to $234.5 million and liabilities between $24.7 million and $126.5 million.
The combination means a net worth could be as high as $209.8 million, a figure that Michael Powell, senior adviser to the Ford campaign, says was used in choosing a figure for the ad. The figures also mean Corker could actually have a negative net worth.
Typical that a campaign would take the high estimate and market it as fact when the available information is so inexact.
Not that Corker's ads are equally misleading. For instance, WREG reports that Corker's claim of a 50% drop in crime while mayor of Chattanooga may be overstated. According to FBI stats, the crime drop was "only" 28.7%:
Chattanooga police spokesman Tetzell Tillery said the discrepancy may stem from differences in how the local police and the F-B-I classified certain kinds of crime.
If anyone could get a 28% drop in Memphis crime, I'd nominate them for king.
As for me, on election day I'll just remember that Harold Ford earned a failing score of 21 from the American Conservative Union, that Ford has earned an "F" from the Gun Owners of America (the only no-compromise gun rights organization) and that the NRA has officially endorsed Bob Corker.
And after all, even an Arlen Specter is better than a Robert Byrd.