Nov 3

Tennessee Goes Republican. Will the Bogeyman Show Up?

Here’s the problem the Democrats in this state have–they all already voted for stringent anti-abortion measures, it’s a Democrat who can tell who are illegal aliens just by looking at them, a Democrat who thinks rape is different now than it was in his day, the Democratic candidate for governor who came out against gay adoption and ooooooooo Socialist Venezuela, and so on.

So, how is my life, as a Lefty in this state going to be any worse?

I see Lindsey is thinking along these same lines, so it’s not just an idle question by me.

Democrats already hated the lefty parts of their base, so what? The Republicans are going to double super-secret hate us?

Or will they trot out the bogeyman of “But what about our national agenda?!” Well, Democrat’s national agenda has also been to be impatient, embarrassed, and pissed at the progressives. So, again, for me, what will the difference be?

Honestly, Democrats better hope progressives feel a little pinch these next two years or it’s going to be very hard for them to argue that progressives should turn out to support them.

5 thoughts on “Tennessee Goes Republican. Will the Bogeyman Show Up?”

  1. Pingback: What’s Left to do? : Post Politics: Political News and Views in Tennessee

  2. speaking as a lefty, I already didn’t support them – I dropped nary a vote for McWherter nor Cooper nor Henry. I think the hunting amendment results show just how much power we have in this state.

  3. So, how is my life, as a Lefty in this state going to be any worse?

    QFT.

    Spamming what I said over at R.Neal’s joint:

    Allow me to be the first to muster for the circular firing squad…

    As I’m watching these results roll in, I find it somewhat reminiscent of watching a beloved relative die of a terminal illness. This is all certainly discomforting and sad, but it’s not an outcome that was remotely unpredictable.

    This is the proverbial death by 1,000 cuts.

    And I’m sorry, I’m not waking up tomorrow and thinking that things are really going to be all that different once this legion is sworn in. They’ve had the majority in the House for one session and the Senate for two. And honestly, for anyone who thinks that Bredesen was doing such a bang-up job on policy, I’m ready for the argument. Further, if anyone thinks it mere coincidence that Bredesen presided over the generational electoral shift in this state, I’ve got some decent recommendations for therapeutic intervention.

    And now we sit at the end of the line. For all of Bredesen’s alleged support, McWherter was never the heir apparent. There was no one on the ballot to claim Bredesen’s legacy — no one, that is, other than Bill Haslam.

    For Bredesen hasn’t stood athwart much of the advance in the Republican gains; on the contrary, he has been their predominant enabler. I don’t argue that he had some competence in his office. He was always an accomplished technocrat. He was a shitty Democrat, however. (I don’t worry about his future; he will obviously earn significant money in being a professional scold, an adopted Southern version of Joe Lieberman. You can always count on him to tell a Democrat how they’re screwing up, although it never escapes my notice that the man has had no coattails. I wonder if anyone else sees that.)

    Much of this game was lost before the players took the field. Let us not forget that two of the seats going to the Republicans were held by incumbent, long-tenured Democrats WHO QUIT RATHER THAN FIGHT. I’ll at least give Lincoln Davis credit for waging the war.

    Statewide – this is a goddamned train wreck, but let’s not pretend that we hadn’t noticed the huge gaping hole in the rail as the GOP Express came steaming down the line.

    … I keep hearing the mantra “this is a conservative state” and not from Republicans.

    To borrow a phrase: Tennessee has long been an independent state. It had been (up until recently) a fairly accurate bellweather in terms of presidential outcomes. It has gone with the current, more often than not. I don’t believe for a second that this is becoming any more a conservative state than it was yesterday. It’s become a nominally Republican state, and much of that has been because of a failure to be self-critical on the part of some otherwise pretty damned sharp people. And I hate to keep harping on this point of there being some institutional advantages to being in the majority BECAUSE THAT’S THE WAY THE DEMOCRATS RIGGED THE TABLES over the last 140 years prior to losing the majority. It was foolish to think that the DP could keep that going forever.

    So, here’s to Jim Cooper, Steve Cohen… and local heroes Mike Turner, Janis Sontany, and Sherri Jones – some pretty decent people who’ve managed to keep their jobs as Democratic legislators. Time to get tough, time to be creative. And time to look forward instead of focusing on the good old fun days when all you had to do was attend a cocktail & cheese party or two and land your fair-haired Donkey in office.

  4. Pingback: Where Do We Go From Here? | Speak to Power

  5. So, here’s to Jim Cooper, Steve Cohen… and local heroes Mike Turner, Janis Sontany, and Sherri Jones – some pretty decent people who’ve managed to keep their jobs as Democratic legislators. Time to get tough, time to be creative. And time to look forward instead of focusing on the good old fun days when all you had to do was attend a cocktail & cheese party or two and land your fair-haired Donkey in office.

    Hear, hear, Andy.

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