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May 17, 2006
CD-1: Clinch Mountain Cliffhanger
To hear the Davis folk tell it, something was rotten in Hamblen last week, where the young Republicans held a primary debate and straw poll among candidates seeking to replace Congressman Bill Jenkins. A blogger who goes by "VoteDavis06" says that "[t]he most glaring error in the straw poll was evident during the first 20 minutes of the debate when ballots [lay] next to the collection box with no individual watching to see if voters were submitting only one sheet of paper." Well, that would be a problem, if straw polls weren't always so set up (or so it seems — I've never participated).
Meanwhile, the erstwhile "Conservatore dall'est" (that's the "nom de blog" used on claims commissioner and candidate Vance W. Cheek's Pensieri site) claimed to "outshine" his rivals with a message aimed primarily at distancing himself from the White House on spending matters.
Peggy Parker Barnett holds a unique position in this race as the only woman running, and she sounds pretty darned right-wing, to boot. From her website: "The nation of Israel is the only nation that has a Biblical deed of trust given to them by the Almighty." "The march is on to prevent the Name of and worship of The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who is also my God, in our public domains."
No, honey; abolition of whatever it is you do in the public domains would be beneath us pagan secular civil libertarians. We're more likely to "disdainfully discourage" such behavior, all the while fully tolerating it, and we're sure as hell not marching. Until you start trying to govern from your Bible, that is. Then we'll at least peevishly saunter in your general direction.
The Morristown Citizen-Tribune published some photos from the Hamblen County Young Republicans event. I looked deeply into these captured souls and found a couple whose emanating vibes tend toward the positive (on my gauge, anyway). These are Johnson City Vice-Mayor Phil Roe, and Sullivan County Mayor Richard Venable, in that order. Don't ask me to explain this. I really do call 'em like I see 'em.
I'll cover the Democratic and Independent candidates for this open seat in a different post (and we know it's an academic exercise only — not to be offensive to these earnest and well-meaning candidates). I'll also have more to write about the GOP primary, I'm sure. The 1st and 9th are the US House races to watch this year, for obvious reasons.
US House Elections | By joe lance | 11:01 PM