Monday, July 28, 2008

Phobias About Memphis And About Answers To Real Problems Play Out In 7th District Race

We’re getting more and more suspicious that Marsha Blackburn qualifies as our first Stepford Congresswoman.

These days, she sounds like a mindlessly robotic candidate programmed to spew more wedge issues per second than Karl Rove.

She can rattle off a litany about the enemies of her district - people supporting a woman’s right to choose, people who care about the environment, people who drive hybrid cars and people who think it’s more important for their children to pray at home than school.

Lost In Space

Lost in the diatribes is any mention of what she has accomplished in her terms in Congress, particularly any legislation that she has introduced that helped improve the lives of 7th District voters. More to the point, she’s been a rubber stamp for the Bush Administration, reliably casting votes that have created the largest budget deficit in the history of the U.S.

We’ve heard so much about “liberal elitists” from Mrs. Blackburn that it’s almost possible to forget that her opponent in the primary is the reliably Republican and conservative Tom Leatherwood, Shelby County register.

If she was a football coach, the only play she would call is a misdirection. The more Mr. Leatherwood suggests that the campaign should be about the real issues of daily life in the 7th District, the more she talks about anything but that.

Stuck In Time

Her latest foray into the land of unrepentant pandering is her blast about “latte-sipping earth-first-istas,” and just in case you thought she had fully mined her dictionary of political clichés, she added a threadbare canard about environmentalists’ obsession with “the ridge-crested woodchuck.”

Contrast those dreaded environmentalists with her constituents, who are too busy for such frivolous conversations because they are piling “their kids into the mini-van and head(ing) for church, summer camp, swimming lessons and baseball practice.” Apparently, she believes that everyone in her district has small children, which comes as a shock to the empty nester here from the 7th District.

Seemingly, in the alternate universe of Marsha Blackburn, environmentalists are atheistic, bike-riding, child-abusing people with an addiction to a kind of coffee that sounds suspiciously French.

Vive La Difference

In the same commentary, she said that “my constituents and I live a very different lifestyle.” That is undoubtedly true, but not in the way she meant it. Clearly, she does indeed live a different lifestyle. After all, there’s not many of her constituents who can invite over their daughter and son-in-law who have made more than $1.3 million in four years as a result of their professional influence.

Her son-in-law racked up about $1 million to lobby the federal government, and his client list included companies located in his mother-in-law’s district (you would assume these companies could call on their congress member’s help without a lobbyist) and companies who had business with his mother-in-law’s committee. Meanwhile, Mrs. Blackburn’s daughter has been paid more than $325,000 to help her mother’s campaigns.

We get cold comfort from Mrs. Blackburn’s pledge that she and her son-in-law never discuss his clients. Mr. Leatherwood’s words ring true when he says that they don’t have to discuss his clients, because she knows who they are.

Drilling For Answers

Meanwhile, Mr. Leatherwood labors to get the race for 7th District Congressman focused on anything that matters. For us, these would include gas prices that have more than doubled while Mrs. Blackburn has been on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, salaries of the middle class that are declining and her blind support for a war whose pricetag will be more than $1 trillion while she voted against programs to help average Americans because she said they cost too much.

In light of the admission by the Bush Administration that it leaves office with the largest deficit in the history of the republic, she might want to reconsider the words on her website which brag about her “helping shape American fiscal policy.”

In keeping with her scorched earth political style, she attacks Mr. Leatherwood for being uppity enough to run against her, and in her tours of the 7th District, she tends to say he’s from Memphis as if the word almost chokes her. Actually, he lives in Arlington.

Memphis As Whipping Boy

She blames Mr. Leatherwood’s entry into the race on the courthouse crowd in that dreaded Memphis, but it’s pretty hard to understand who that crowd would be since Democrats have taken charge of Shelby County Government and surely not even Mrs. Blackburn would accuse Mr. Leatherwood of being a pawn of those political interests.

All in all, it’s easy to understand why, during her years as a Tennessee Senator, her colleagues and her party’s leaders frequently granted themselves exemptions to the Republican Party’s 11th Commandment when it came to her.

18 comments:

autoegocrat said...

Blackburn: the Republicans' Harold Ford.

Anonymous said...

Blackburn is a bum. She was in the house leadership when Mark Foley was messing around with the congressional pages. She knew what he was doing but kept quiet about it just like Hastert did. "Family values" go out the window when it affects political power.
But you know what really gets me. When was the last time a liberal democrat representative gave a speech railing against conservatives? Oh that's right you haven't. Especially the day after some conservative maniac shoots up a liberal church in Knoxville. Marsha Blackburn is a corporate whore who poisons our political discourse.

Anonymous said...

so why elect a register who's primary mission this term is to get hisself a seat in Gnashville?
why dint he resign to run rather than waste county taxpayers $ and staff resources to run for higher office?

How aboout 'NONE OF THE ABOVE? on the ballot?

Anonymous said...

I got a call from a pollster yesterday, and contrary to my usual practice, I stayed on the phone with her and answered here questions about name recognition, media attention and my attitudes toward the two candidates for the 7th district race. I up front told here I had already voted for Leatherwood (although I don't agree with him on much) because Blackburn was a corrupt hack and at least Leatherwood has some integrity. One question for anyone who supports Marsha: what's the difference between her actions in using her office to enrich herself and her family and those of John Ford? Anyone ? Buehler? Buehler? ...sound of crickets chirping.......you can bet her supporters, especially those around Nashville, are the ones who scream the loudest about corruption by the Ford family, but when their white little Breck girl gets caught, they clam up pretty quick.

Zippy the giver said...

We always seem to elect the "best representative money could buy".
Only corporations who are trimming employee census benefit.

jccvi said...

I find the latte charge especially interesting, with no Starbucks closing in Williamson County, and nine closing in Shelby.

MickeyWhite said...

Marsha Blackburn is my Congressman.
She is no conservative.
See her unconstitutional votes at my old blog:
http://mickeywhite.blogspot.com
See current info at:
http://bluecollarrepublican.com/blog/?s=marsha+blackburn+vote
Mickey
Rossville TN

Anonymous said...

I agree with you on everything about Marsha and I am a 7th District reident. However, Tom Leatherwood is just as bad.

Remember that he is the one who calls TennCare socialized medicine. He is the one who tried to form Toy Town that would include much of East Cordova and include Wolfchase before it was annexed by Memphis.
He is the one who, in a forum on the Toy Town issue, moderated by Jackson Baker, flippantly said "Let it Die" referring to Memphis, implying that if the toy towns choke it to death, then good riddance.

He denies the last statement now but I and several hundred others heard him.

I will not be voting in the Republican primary but had just as soon see Marsha win as Leatherwood. Both would be worthless for the next two years but at least we now know what Marsha is all about.

Dwayne

Anonymous said...

"Marsha Blackburn is a corporate whore who poisons our political discourse."

And American people are slaves to the corporations they detest. So many hate them with all of their being but continue enriching the Corporation Masters with their business. I don't get it.


"but when their white little Breck girl gets caught, they clam up pretty quick"

Which reminds me to ask, why aren't we hearing anything about John Edwards' escapades? The last I remember is that he was parading his sick wife in front of the cameras.

Anonymous said...

anon 10:33, what does John edwards have to do with this subject?

Anonymous said...

"... but when their white little Breck girl gets caught, they clam up pretty quick."


Anon 9:41 AM brought up the subject of "Breck girls" and "clamming up."

John Edwards is the Democrat's "white little Breck girl" and they have "clammed up" about his immoral behavior. And the Democrats tried to put him up for President? No thank you.

This Independent just wanted to point out the double standards that continues to flow between all of you Party People.

Anonymous said...

Breck girl getting all purty for the cameras:

http://tinyurl.com/2tj44e

autoegocrat said...

The cowardly Republicans who are posing anonymously here as fake independents seem to have forgotten that the National Enquirer also ran a front page story about how Laura Bush was leaving Dubya because he was having an affair with Condi Rice.

You people need to get out of your mother's basement and focus on something that actually matters. Silly crap like this is exactly why the Republican brand name is in the toilet right now.

Anonymous said...

"The cowardly Republicans who are posing anonymously here as fake independents..."


Auto, I thought you were above making ad personem attacks. I guess not. So since you went there, how about providing proof of your assertion that I am a coward, a fake, and a Republican.


"Silly crap like this (adultery) is exactly why the Republican brand name is in the toilet right now."

Sorry buddy, but cheating on your spouse (who has cancer) and having a child with another woman is more than just "silly." It demonstrates
that one lacks integrity, is disloyal and dishonest. If one treats the one person that is closest in heart to them this way, then they certainly have it in them to do it to others and cannot be trusted in my book.

Now I don't condone killing the adulterer like many do who practice Islam (women only), but I don't believe adultery is so innocent and simple as being "silly" as you try and paint it. It is this kind of dismissive attitude towards immorality, which why many are turned off by the Democrat Brand.

autoegocrat said...

Auto, I thought you were above making ad personem attacks. I guess not. So since you went there, how about providing proof of your assertion that I am a coward, a fake, and a Republican.

First of all, I don't know who told you that I am above personal attacks, but they told you wrong.

Second, I know you're a GOP troll because of your talking points and the pedantic manner in which you express them. Oh yeah, and "Democrat Brand" is a dead giveaway.

Overall troll score: 3/10, and you only got that much because I bit your bait. Now go chase your tail.

Anonymous said...

Nobody told me that you were an intelligent person and don't have to resort to personal attacks to make a point; I've read your writings many times in various places and agree often with your point of view. But here you proved me wrong.

That's one thing you'll have to learn to deal with from Independents (people who are disgusted with the two major partys) is that we will point out the games, double standards, lies, and hypocrisy from both Democrats and Republicans.

Accusing someone of being something they're not when you really don't have a clue is juvenile on your part. Your apparent sensitivity of the criticism of some of your members prove that you are a hardliner and are blind to the truth or ignorant one about the shenanigans going on in your own party.

Your defensive response (you tried to turn it back on me calling it bait) is typical in that I get accused of being a Democrat in disguise when pointing out to Republicans the follies perpetrated by those in the Republican party.

This is your problem, not mine.

autoegocrat said...

If you are truly interested in "[pointing] out the games, double standards, lies, and hypocrisy from both Democrats and Republicans," then begin by signing a name to what you write and refrain from cluttering an otherwise on-point post from Smart City Memphis with unsubstantiated tabloid gossip.

Anonymous said...

Why do you all of a sudden demand from me to sign my name when there are many other people posting here under the name ANONYMOUS?

Is it because they said things that you agree with so you don't have a problem with their anonymity?

It figures. Double standards abound with you folks.

Making up a cutesy name (like yours) to appease you will not have an effect on whether my view point is legitimate or not.

So how about you taking care of what "autoegocrat" wants to do and I'll continue to run my business how I please.

It's pretty simple; If you don't like what I say, don't read it.

The John Edwards (Breck girl)/Rielle Hunter baby mama drama will continue to unfold no matter how hard you try and sweep it under the rug (clam up).

http://www.eff.org/issues/anonymity