Political Posturing

On Saturday, April 17, 2010 I went to the Reagan Day Dinner in Hendersonville, TN. It was a fund raiser for the Republican party, which meant there was a lot of political handshaking going on. You know, the kind where the politician clasps his left hand over your right as he shakes it. Or gently cradles the back of your arm as he holds your hand. Slicked back hair and pearly whites glistened all night as light from grand chandeliers glittered through the room. Boy, was I disappointed.

Does that sound like fun? Oh please. Right about now I presume you’re wondering what got stuck in my craw. It’s simple, political posturing. Few of these hopefuls were sincere and nary a one was real. Pompous, plastic and taken to pontification was mostly what I saw. There were, however, a couple exceptions. Several standouts that I would like to mention.

There were three gubernatorial candidates and a half-dozen congressional ones. The venue was a prominent country club in town which had to accommodate an extraordinary crowd. The expectation was about 150 people, 350 showed up. There was to be a silent auction scheduled for fundraising and dinner thereafter. We got to hear each candidate’s views, or demagoguery if you will, after dinner and conversation at our tables . Oh Lord, please help us.

My friend, a gracious woman on Sumner County’s Republican Women’s Committee, was kind enough to introduce me to most of the candidates before dinner. Milling around the vestibule and then through the hall, I shook hands and listened to the candidate’s talking points. After listening patiently I took the opportunity to interjected a few thoughts of my own. I wanted to know what our future governor would do to educate our children, bring jobs to our state and maintain our sovereignty and independence from federal mandates. This was the onset of my disappointment.

The last person I would consider for governor would be Ron Ramsey. He was replete with the same old talking points. A “good ol’ boy” who couldn’t answer my questions, look me in the eye, or give me anything but piffle and family stories. After listening to him open with narratives about his daughters and wife I thought I would rather vote for his wife than for him. When I had him cornered in the gathering hall I asked about any future educational programs or policies he had for the state, that is if he were elected as Governor. Hemming and hawing, dodging and dashing, he was more concerned about finding a drink than espousing any policies he might have. Something I’m sure he had given little thought to.

I spoke to Bill Haslam ¾ Mr. “that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.” If I heard that catch phrase out of him once, I heard it at least a half-dozen times. I asked him how he thought the fifteen cent federal gas tax being pushed by our government would affect Tennesseans this summer, and the economic stability of our state in general.

He appeared confused and that’s when I realized Mr. Haslam wasn’t aware of what I was referring to. As I explained he cognized and started to fall in line. Offering up, “my opinion and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.” What kind of response is that for an opinion leader, our prospective governor? Pressing him further for plans on bringing jobs to Tennessee I heard all about how he started the Pilot Co. and how that portrayed into jobs for Tennesseans.

All the while his wife was standing beside him, rolling her eyes on a sardonic face. Of course completely out of his view. Maybe she was worn thin from having gone through this all before during his bid for Mayor in Knoxville. I guess she was just tired of the same ol’ song, tired of having to deal with us little people.

Meandering around, speaking to the constituency and a number of congressional candidates, I found myself in the anteroom talking to Nathan Buttrey, a prominent staffer for Mr. Haslam. The conversation was lengthy and didn’t bode well for Nathan. I posed the same questions to Mr. Buttrey as I had Mr. Haslam, and a number of others as well. Needless to say, my disappointment grew.

We spoke about education, economics and the growth of jobs in Tennessee. I listened quietly to all of Mr. Buttrey’s talking points, probably the same ones laid down by the campaign. The rhetoric was nothing I hadn’t heard before and after several minutes I had all the bureaucratic speak I could take. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but there was no substance in his patter, nor change in his tone. I asked if he’d mind answering a few specific questions, say about garnering jobs in Tennessee. He acquiesced.

I posed the challenge of specific jobs programs that could be instituted by a new governing body. What did I get? The pat answer I’ve heard from a plethora of politicians before. “We have no state income tax, a draw for industry coming in the state.”

So I asked him. “How, specifically, does Mr. Haslam propose to promote and take advantage of that?”

The answer, unknown. It fared the same on education and other issues. But make no mistake about it, the talking points; revocation of the health care bill, cap and trade, stimulus bill, finance reform, et al, were all on the table for discussion. All being demagoguery at its finest.

The conversation went on for twenty or thirty minutes before Mr. Buttrey paused, looked me in the eyes, and gave me the answer I was expecting. “I don’t have the answers to your questions. I should, shouldn’t I?”

You think?

While we were in the midst of our conversation Mr. Zack Wamp’s bus pulled up out front. There was quite a to-do and blustery commotion upon his arrival. Not being too familiar with his record I thought he must be the crowd favorite from all the zeal. I had heard from a number of colleagues and associates he was a visionary, and the hands-on favorite. I became excited.

As it turned out Mr. Wamp was the consummate politician. Bounding up the stairs he gave everyone he came in contact with a warm smile, poignant handshake and a kind word. Myself included. There was no conversation, no exchange of ideas, or any inkling that he had his constituency’s concerns in mind. Instead, he went off to the back in order prepare for his fifteen minutes of fame on the make-shift stage during dinner. What was my impression? Late to arrive, rushed though the crowd as if he were too good to mingle, and out of view to cloister himself in another room ¾ I was not impressed.

I have no idea who our next leader, our next governor, will be. Or who it should be for that matter. What I do know is who it shouldn’t be; any of the three aforementioned candidates. Pure demagoguery is what I saw, what everyone at this event saw. At least that’s the way I see it.

The congressional race is something different. Out of the six candidates we were fortunate enough to see, two were worth listening to. Only one of those would be what I consider electable ¾ Diane Black. She comes from a good background, has abundant experience, and above all, listens to her constituency in order to address our concerns.

I had a chance to meet her in the hall and we spoke at length about my biggest concern. At first, when I asked her what she thought the gravest national issue would be, she responded with the usual talking points; health care repeal, jobs, growth of government, etc. I waited politely to tell her what was truly on my mind. What should be on the minds of every American.

I told her, in not as many words, this should be the preponderant issue of concern for all of our countrymen. The national debt and deficit, all else is ancillary. Greece is struggling with bankruptcy, if that’s possible for a country, the Soviet Union fell because of it, and Argentina was in ruin and still struggles from it. Repealing the health care bill is insignificant if we don’t get our debt and deficit under control. Jobs and government is of no concern if our dollar is useless throughout the world. The last bastion of safety, democracy and civility will fall by the wayside if our debt and deficit continue to soar. We are on the brink of damnation and all else falls beneath it.

During Obama’s Nuclear Summit he proclaimed “the greatest threat to our national security is a nuclear bomb.” He couldn’t be further from the truth. The greatest threat, the current reality that is rife in the world, is the economic decay of America. The world knows it, Americans seem not to. Our threat is from within, our Administration and Congress. This is the issue that needs to be addressed first and foremost. This is the issue I want my Congressman, or woman, to pursue.

And what did I get from Ms. Black? Well, she was gracious and acknowledged my concern, responding in kind. But at dinner, after explaining my position to all those who would listen, Diane Black came on stage. I was, needless to say, very impressed. She opened with what she believed was our nation’s gravest problem, the national deficit. Then she followed that up by saying it was a national security issue. It showed me at least one candidate was listening, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who expressed this view. Bravo Ms. Black!

There was another candidate who stood out above the rest, although that wasn’t difficult to do. Amongst an old military Major General, an athletic coach, a couple small business owners and a CPA, Gary Mann was a refreshing voice with an inspiring opinion. Unfortunately, Mr. Mann has a snowball’s chance of getting elected. As the straw poll denoted.

There are many things that can be done to streamline our economy, garner jobs and push forward the expansion of the greatest nation the world has ever seen. A leader is needed that is dauntless in accomplishing such goals. Leaders of yesteryear, like Harding and Coolidge, who cut the federal budget virtually in half while stymieing inflation and expanding industry. It was called “The Roaring Twenties.”

So what is the outcome of all this? This writer believes we need a strong leader. One with vision who will not only lead our state, but our nation, to the castles in the sky. One of prosperity, commonsense and the ability to confront the evil of Washington. One who listens to their constituency and recognizes their duty to fulfill their wishes. The only one I see at this juncture would be our current State Senator, Diane Black. The remainder are boondogglers, unavailing at best.