TennWatch/Volitics

Leatherwood Speaks Out

Congressional candidate Tom Leatherwood was a guest on the call-in radio program, The Mike Slater Show, which has posted some audio clips of the Q/A session.

My favorite clip includes a segment in which Leatherwood compares Blackburn to Kerry:

She talks in here, quoting from the article she wrote, she supports a one-year moratorium on "wasteful" budget earmarks and pork barrel projects. Why a one-year moratorium on "wasteful" budget earmarks and pork barrel projects? They need to be eternally eliminated. They shouldn't have crept in to a so-called "conservative" Republican-controlled congress to the extent that they did to begin with.

Marsha has now signed the pledge opposing earmarks, but to me it is just very Kerry-esque where he voted against the war before he voted for it, or voted for the war before he voted against it. Well, she was for earmarks before she was against 'em. I mean, they're just wrong.

Snap!

I put the quotes around "wasteful" above because Leatherwood emphasized the words when he said them. Now to be fair, I read the article that Leatherwood quotes and I took the word "wasteful" in a more generalized fashion, as in all budge earmarks and pork barrel projects are wasteful. On the other hand, even if that was her intent why only a "one-year moratorium"?

Perhaps Leatherwood is right and Marsha has gotten a dose of Potomac Fever after all.

In other news, the Commercial Appeal has an article on a Leatherwood appearance in front of a tough crowd, which finishes up with a rather weak (and untrue) come-back by a Blackburn spokesman.

Also, Tom Leatherwood has picked up the endorsement of 11 Smiths for Huckabee.

Marsha Fights Backs by Digging for Dirt

Tennessee's 7th Congressional District runs from Mississippi to Kentucky, giving new meaning to the concept of gerrymandering.

Marsha Blackburn has represented District 7 for the past five years, and was appointed assistant majority whip almost as soon as she arrived in Washington. In short, she is a vote-getting rising star in the GOP sky. [She was also voted the "hottest woman in U.S. politics" in a 2006 Internet poll.]

Thus one would think that Blackburn would have little to fear from a challenger, particularly one that has been limited to Shelby County public service for the past seven years.

But Tom Leatherwood has thrown down the gauntlet and Blackburn is taking it very seriously indeed. Because she seems to be most vulnerable on ethics and funds mismanagement, Blackburn is attempting to find similar skeletons in Leatherwood's closet by examining everything imaginable:

A volunteer for Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn's campaign has asked the county for thousands of pages of documents about Republican primary challenger and Shelby County Register Tom Leatherwood.

In a letter dated April 25, Nashville resident Tyler E. Jones requested every e-mail Leatherwood has sent since taking the register's office in 2001, what kind of county vehicle he drives, travel expenses and purchases he's charged to the county credit card and a copy of his official schedule. He also requested information about the register's office, including budget numbers and contracts since 2001.

In the letter, Jones said he was authorized to spend up to $1,000. The county charges 25 cents a copy.

Leatherwood, meanwhile, is nonchalant about Blackburn's investigation, pithily returning fire:

Leatherwood said he doesn't use the county e-mail for personal messages, he gave back his county credit card and passed on a county-funded car. He drives his own Ford Explorer to work, he said.

"It's anybody's right to request this information," Leatherwood said. "I'm not concerned about what they might find. I know that they will not find any corruption on my part. ... They will not find any gross negligence where I lost track of hundreds of thousand of dollars entrusted in me. Both of those things have happened in her campaign."

Leatherwood, of course, is referring to the recent revelations about Blackburn's campaign fund mismanagement and nepotism:

Rep. Marsha Blackburn's campaign committee has made dozens of mistakes in its financial reports through the years, even misreporting the payment of a fine assessed by federal regulators for errors her committee made.

The Brentwood Republican's campaign bookkeeping problems came to a head in April when she announced that an audit she initiated of all her campaign finance records had caused her to refile all 32 periodic reports she has made to the Federal Election Commission since she first ran in 2002. More than $440,000 in campaign donations and disbursements had not been reported or were misreported, she said. . . .

Ten times in just more than two years, the commission reminded the campaign it was supposed to separate individuals' contributions from those received from political action committees. . . .

Since she began running for the House, Blackburn has paid her daughter and son-in-law, a company they both owned and one her daughter now runs by herself, MK Fundraising and Events, $317,623, according to an analysis of campaign data compiled by Congressional Quarterly.

Incumbents are hard to beat and this race is an uphill battle for Leatherwood. You also have to consider the fact that Leatherwood raised less than $25,000 in the first quarter of 2008 and ended with less than $5,000 cash-on-hand, while Blackburn raised over $620,000 and ended the quarter with about $800,000.

Still, if Leatherwood hadn't had a penchant for tilting at windmills he never would have won his first race, when he tackled 27-year incumbent Leonard Dunavant in a race for the Tennessee Senate. And we all know windmills can be toppled -- just ask a guy named Obama.

Tom Leatherwood at the TFA

Tom Leatherwood is running against incumbent congressman Marsha Blackburn for Tennessee district 7. Tonight he addressed the Shelby County chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association.

Leatherwood entered politics when he ran for Tennessee Senate in 1992, taking on and beating a 27-year incumbent. He served eight years, after which he voluntarily stepped aside, fulfilling a campaign promise to serve no more than two terms.

Leatherwood is currently the Shelby County Register of Deeds, funding the entire department from fees so that no taxpayer dollars are required. At the same time he has modernized services, taking the office from microfiche-based information available only downtown to a web presence with GIS maps where a wealth of information can be obtained for free, yet he has decreased the cost of using the services to access additional information.

The following is the result of hastily typed notes during a long and sometimes spirited conversation between Tom Leatherwood and the members of the TFA.

Leatherwood began his talk by applauding the TFA for their work protecting Second Amendment rights and in education in firearm safety. He then noted that there hasn't been an incumbent congressman defeated in Tennessee since the early 70s when Harold Ford, Sr. pulled it off.

He then turned to why he is running: a specific disappointment with Marsha Blackburn and with Republicans in general. He said that we (the conservative base) had worked hard to get Republicans in Congress and the White House and they squandered the opportunity. He said that Blackburn had gotten a big case of "Potomac Fever".

Leatherwood pointed out that Republicans are losing special elections. He said that Republican politicians need to hear the message that they need to keep to their conservative principles. They were swept out in 2006 because they abandoned those principles. Leatherwood said that we need to reform our party, renew our promises, and then we will have the opportunity to recapture the majority.

Leatherwood has a degree in geology and worked in the field exploring for oil for several years. He said that we could be energy independent. We can drill in ANWR and off the coast of Florida (instead of letting China do so), we can develop the recently found deposits of shale oil in Montana, we can drill our way out of our oil supply problem in a matter of months. In addition, we need to pursue hydroelectric, nuclear, and so on. Leatherwood spoke knowledgeably about types of oil (sweet, heavy, shale, etc.) and the problems and methods of drilling and refining them.

Further, Leatherwood said, we must remove the congressional prohibitions that lead to EPA regulations that keep us from building and expanding refineries. That will keep us from paying for both sides of this war we are in.

Leatherwood then turned to Marsha Blackburn, saying that she is self serving, funneling over $100,000 of PAC money to her family. Last March, Leatherwood brought up the fact that she failed to report over $100,000 in campaign donations, over $280,000 in campaign expenditures and there were $50,000 in accounting errors. He then asked what would happen to you and I if we mismanaged our funds like this? Leatherwood noted that he has been filing financial disclosures for 16 years without any warnings or fines, and that Blackburn was fined $1,500 for inappropriately moving money between accounts.

Leatherwood said that Blackburn is insulated from what Tennesseans are struggling with, such as paying for gas and groceries. She has taken over $100,000 from special interests for 20-some-odd trips to places like California, a symptom of "Potomac Fever".

Leatherwood noted that in 1992 he ran against a 27-year incumbent that everyone said couldn't be beat (Leonard Donovan). He stayed in the race and won. He said he would only serve two terms, and he did.

And he said that he helped balance the Tennessee budget, which can also be done at the federal level. He said that you have to tell people "no". It's tough, but he said that he's been there and done it, and that we need to send that kind of stewardship to Washington.

Leatherwood claimed that every budget he has submitted as Register has not only balanced, it has provided a surplus. He eliminated two positions through attrition, an example of how he was cutting the budget before other offices were told that they will have to make cuts. Leatherwood said that you can run government efficiently, if you have the will and the backbone to do so.

He said that this race is very winnable. Polling early on showed this, even before Marsha's money issues were exposed. For Leatherwood, it is just a matter of getting the resources [AlphaPatriot: though it will be tough to fight against Blackburn's $800,000 war chest].

Leatherwood noted that Marsha has done many of the things that Tom Delay did, and Delay's district flipped from Republican to Democrat.

Q&A Session:

One member noted that Marsha has only introduced a few bills. Leatherwood said that she had introduced 36 bills in six years, 32 of which hasn't made it out of committee. He said that while we don't need people being prolific bills, the only way to create an energy policy is to pass legislation. He said that Blackburn has major issues from energy to the economy to immigration.

Best quote of the night was about Blackburn's record: "You judge a tree by the fruit it bears, not the sound of the wind going through its branches." Leatherwood said that we need to have someone who is effective and doesn't have the ethical baggage that Blackburn does.

Leatherwood said that he does not want to be up there fighting with Nancy Peloci, but rather wants to be the majority party solving problems like they should have done when they had the opportunity. He mentioned the video available on YouTube where Blackburn is seen "questioning" Big Oil executives, in which she does little more than go down the list of Big Oil talking points.

Questioner asked if any debates with Blackburn have been scheduled. Leatherwood said that Mike Flemming and Main Street Journal have offered venues where both Blackburn and Leatherwood would participate. Leatherwood has accepted, Blackburn has not. He stressed that incumbents rarely participate in these events because it does not benefit them as much as the challenger (it would basically be free publicity for him).

Questioner asked how he would support the Second Amendment. Leatherwood said that he would sponsor legislation to stop the infringement of our rights. While in the Tennessee Senate, he was an active supporter of the legislation for the right to carry in Tennessee. He believes that the constitution is clear as to the individual right to bear arms. Leatherwood said that he agreed with the bumper sticker, "If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns."

Questioner cited NAFTA, CAFTA, the UN, and asked if Leatherwood was familiar with the North American Union concept. Leatherwood responded that this is a legitimate concern. He cited the example of boiling a frog one degree at a time, which is what he said is happening to our sovereignty and our liberty, "one ill-advised law and bad treaty at a time". He said that the people have to get involved, and they have been quiet too long. He believes that we are just a few short years away from going from the greatest country in the world to just another has-been country. On the other hand, Leatherwood feels the same energy that was present in 1992 when he beat a 27-year incumbent and again in 1994 when Republicans took Congress.

Leatherwood said that we need strict constitutionalists on the Supreme Court to strip away freedom-eroding laws and return us to the concepts on which this country was founded.

Additional notes:

Most candidates pass out a pamphlet. Leatherwood passed out a packet of materials, which included a business card-sized card that has his email address as well as his home and cell phone number. Impressive.

Tom Owen from Blackburn's staff was in attendance. After the meeting it was discussed among members that this is the first time that anyone from Blackburn's staff has ever come to a TFA meeting, although other politicians are often represented [Alexander is particularly good about this].

Bryan Edmiston, a local high school teacher, is Leatherwood's is campaign manager. Edmiston is the brother-in-law of Anne Edmiston, Shelby County Board of Education member for District 3.

After spending several years in oil exploration, Leatherwood backpacked for 14 months through 25 countries.

AlphaPatriot Reaction:

Tom Leatherwood conducted himself well. He was animated and well spoken, knowledgeable on every issue that was brought up, respectful of his audience, and an attentive listener.

His record speaks well of him, and I've been a fan of Leatherwood for some time. If I get the opportunity to ask a few more questions, I may even become a supporter.

Mickey White Just Doesn't Understand

Mickey's on another rant (I know, that's no surprise) over at Blue Collar Republican. This time, he lumping congressional candidate Tom Leatherwood in with (and I quote) "Marsha 'Queen of Pork' Blackburn".

Yep, Mickey's taking Tom Leatherwood to task while Tom's a candidate who hasn't yet had the opportunity to do any federal pork barrel spending.

And at the local level as Shelby County Register, Tom Leatherwood actually reduced costs, lowered fees, and radically increased services. Just take a look at the Register website that came about due to Tom's leadership. [I often use the GIS feature, and you can too. For instance, here's the house that the mayor of Bartlett lives in. Neat, huh?]

That's right, Tom Leatherwood succeeded in pulling Shelby County into the 21st century, and did it while keeping the Register of Deeds a profit center for the county. Not bad for a civil servant these days.

Now then, let's examine Mickey's "Queen of Pork" accusation leveled at the sexiest woman in congress.

When it comes to measuring pork and looking out for the taxpayers, I have two favorite sources: the Citizens Against Government Waste and the Club for Growth.

According the Citizens Against Government Waste, there were 44 critical spending bills in the 2007 congress, of which Marsha Blackburn voted what they consider to be "the right way" on 43 of them. She has a 98% rating for 2007 from CAGW, earning her the label "Taxpayer Hero". In fact, she could have voted the "wrong" way another eight or nine times and still been considered a Taxpayer Hero.

Marsha enjoys a lifetime rating of 91% from the Citizens Against Government Waste, putting her solidly in the middle of the "Taxpayer Hero" category.

Turning now to the highly respected Club for Growth, let's examine the 2007 Club for Growth RePORK Card where Blackburn earns a score of 94% for her voting record last year.

When Mickey says "Queen of Pork", he means every single member of congress because they don't go up there and consistently vote "no" on every single appropriations bill that ever comes up. Mickey, I love ya like a brother -- OK, maybe more like that crazy uncle that got put in a home a few years ago and nobody talks about anymore at the family reunions but everyone still has a few fond memories.

While I am not yet certain of who I will support in the primary for the 7th congressional district of Tennessee, but I do know that I am privileged to have the choice between two very fine candidates.

I also know that Tom has picked a very difficult fight and I give him about a 3% chance of winning. Not only is Marsha an entrenched incumbent, she is viewed as a rising star in the Republican party, makes frequent appearances on political talk shows and has about a million dollars in her campaign war chest. She's going to be tough to beat.

But I have to admit that it would be nice to be represented by someone from Shelby County instead of someone from over 200 miles away. The 7th district stretches from Mississippi to Kentucky as it weaves it's ludicrously gerrymandered path across the state and Blackburn is from Franklin, just south of Nashville.