TennesseeTicket

The opening remarks by Hamilton County Democratic Party chair John Bailes drew modest applause for the most part, but at the mention of the word "Obama" the crowd erupted. (This with not a few former Hillary Clinton supporters in their midst.) Democratic National Convention delegate Justin Wilkins spent his allotted minutes imploring those present to volunteer in voter registration efforts, and to recruit more volunteers in doing the same. He apparently chose not to regale attendees with stories from Denver.

Tennessee's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, former state party chair Bob Tuke, took the podium and delivered his stump speech. While his message did not skimp on scathing rebukes of Senator Lamar Alexander's voting record, Tuke had only kind words for his friend, Senator Bob Corker.

Berke then took the stage in front of a standing, cheering crowd, and told supporters that the upcoming election is like "the national championship" for the Democratic Party, at all levels of government. But while he touched on accomplishments he says he made during his first year in the Senate, and as well looked ahead to a few policy objectives in the coming term, it seemed that his main purpose was to promote the candidacies of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, Bob Tuke, state Rep. Tommie Brown, and other Democrats.

I thought Berke's speech was well-prepared and expertly delivered. Like the recent national conventions, this event was designed to rally the faithful, and it seemed to have succeeded. Plus, and you know this if you've been following him on Twitter or Facebook, Andy is funny and personable.

State Rep. JoAnne Favors (District 29) closed the event with a brief echo of the earlier pleas to vote for each Democrat on the ticket, then led the crowd in a chorus of "Yes We Can."

The Democratic nominee for the Third District U.S. House seat, Doug Vandagriff, was conspicuously absent from the proceedings, both in person and in mention.

Here are some pics: 1 | 2 | 3

Unfortunately, the room lighting and the distance of my camcorder shot combined to make a grainy, dark video product, so I don't have any moving pictures to share.

NOTE: If anyone knows of an Oscar Brown event, please let me know, and I'll make every effort to attend.

Very pleased with the turn-out for Andy's kickoff. Although only a year's experience with the state legislature, Andy is trusted, competent, personable, and open to the needs of the people he represents. He is going to be an awesome voice for Chattanoogans in the years to come.