Republican Candidates For TN District 8: Fincher, Flinn, Kirkland

OldSouth really has no idea where to invest his vote.

After twenty years or so of Democrat ownership, TN 8 is finally being abandoned by John Tanner, who decided to get out while he could.

So, we have three Republicans seeking the seat, in alphabetical order.

Stephen Fincher

George Flinn

Ron Kirkland

Fincher runs his large family-owned farm operation in Frog Jump, Tennessee. Really, no joke, there is a Frog Jump, Tennessee, although OS wonders why one would admit to it, much less boast of it. However, running a successful farming business is no small feat. It has very little to do with those pastoral distance shots with the music of Copland hovering in the background. He did announce his run before Tanner bowed out, and may have helped the blessed event occur. He travels with his family gospel-singing group in his spare time. The Southern Gospel Music culture is a world unto itself in many ways. OS knows more about it than he cares to admit, and don't ask him how he knows...

Flinn is a physician and businessman, with an engineering degree as well. He is a radiologist, and owns a series of radiology facilities, as well as a firm that owns some forty radio stations, Flinn Broadcasting. The man definitely knows how to organize things and make money, which OS considers a virtue.

There is an oddity here, though. Under Tennessee law, one does not need to live in a particular Congressional district in order to run for the seat. Given the imaginative manner in which the usually-Democrat-controlled state legislature cheerily gerrymanders districts to protect Democrat Members of Congress, this is not truly surprising, even though it is creepy. Flinn has taken advantage of that fact, and lives in Memphis (its own Congressional district, forever Democrat) while running for office in District 8, which stretches almost to Nashville. All very odd, but one has to admire his chutzpah, perhaps.

Ron Kirkland is a physician and businessman as well, practicing and managing a large medical practice in Jackson, TN, that provides most of the medical services for most of rural West Tennessee. He undoubtedly has prospered as well, again a virtue, assuming the earnings are acquired virtuously. One of the downsides of private-enterprise medicine is the same as public-sector medicine: large practices like this can tend to be anti-competitive, making life hell on any provider who may create competition. OS was recently regaled with just such a story, emanating from (you guessed it), Jackson, Tennessee. It may or may not have been Kirkland's outfit that screwed that provider, but it is illustrative of the problem.

The counties these firms serve begin to resemble plantations. OS lives in a county that was long dominated by such a practice, and the results were tragic in many cases. Fifth-rate medical care, fortunes built, patients regularly injured. OS is a capitalist, and thinks that rigged markets are evil.

All three candidates have formed the requisite circular firing squad, each accusing the other of secretly sleeping with Nancy Pelosi, worshipping Obama, and enthusiastically promoting abortion, while simultaneously assuring the voter 'I'm more conservative than THOSE GUYS!!'

OS is, well, not impressed.

Given the fact that each campaign probably has some snot-nosed kid working in the office whose job it is to scour for bloggers who write about the upcoming primary, OS hereby issues the invitation for someone from each camp to state, in fifty cogent words or less, why his guy merits a vote. Only rule is, no one can say anything remotely nasty or snide about the opponents.

Play nice, boys.

OS is curious to see if any of these gents is up to the linguistic task...

A Glimpse Of Good News: Tanner (TN-8) Voted No

Well, whaddaya know.

He actually voted against this turkey.

Here's the tally of ayes and nays, which will be a good reference doc for the fall.
HT to all those who screamed bloody murder about the attempt to avoid an up-and-down vote.

Tanner knew the numbers were bogus, and that anyone running as a Dem in his district would be doomed if he voted 'aye'.

In any case, a word of thanks to Rep. Tanner.

Votes (And Souls) Up For Auction This Week...

OS mused earlier about the process of auction of Rep. John Tanner's (TN-8) vote.

His Washington office isn't answering the phone, and now maybe we know why.

From today's Human Events:

Most interesting rumor from the Hill yesterday: Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) who announced his retirement from Congress has been promised the job of NASA administrator in exchange for his vote, and Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), another retiring Democrat, has been promised an appointment as U.S. Ambassador to NATO in exchange for his vote.

Why, as we say here, isn't that special!

He'll get a very nice job in a very nice part of Europe, where he can hide out until the rage blows over about selling his soul and vote to Obama.

This is positively banana-republic sort of stuff. One of Mexico's most odious presidents was a character named Echeverria, who in the 1970's arbitrarily devalued the peso against the dollar, on a weekend, after the banks had closed. Of course, he had hoovered up on dollars, and when all those businesses opened on Monday, they found they were bankrupt, 'cuz a lot of loans were written in dollars, but paid in pesos.

Isn't that special!

So, our friend Echeverria and his friends were able to move in and appropriate a great portion of the country's wealth in short order. All the dollars sitting in everyone's Mexican bank dollar accounts had been seized, 'compensated' at an exchange rate that bore no relation to reality. It was a fire sale, and Senor Presidente was buying.

After he finished his term, he was appointed ambassador to UNESCO, and cooled his heels in Paris for a while. Every time he came home to visit, the newspapers announced his visit the week after he left. He returned to resume colorful life of crime, which continues unabated to this day. No one north of the border ever paid much attention, and besides, he was pro-Allende, anti-Israel, anti-American, and ranted leftist cant on a regular basis.

You know, the sort of despot the American left loves the best.

OS knew several people who would have happily shot the man on sight, had they been able to get within range. Normal, gentle, otherwise upstanding citizens. Little did OS know, back in his misspent youth, that he was visiting his future.

Isn't that special!

Angry White Men: The Economist

On his travels, OS spotted a copy of The Economist lying about, and scanned briefly.  Always a good read, looking at Our Fair Country from a British perspective.

Correspondent Lexington visited a suburb of Memphis earlier this year, and offers this report.

The opening paragraph is pretty salty, but the essay is fair-minded and accurate, in the main. Since his conversations took place in OS's congressional district (TN-8), it seems good to pass it along, to give a 'snapshot' view of where we are here.

Anyone who wishes to paint this part of the world with a tar brush is simply mistaken. The dissatisfaction with the Current Occupant of The White House is not about the color of his skin, but rather about the content of his character, to paraphrase Dr. King.

Bigotry cannot explain, however, why Mr Obama’s approval rating among white Americans has fallen since he took office, from roughly 60% to 40%. As the president pointed out in September: “I was actually black before the election.” White voters have changed their view of Mr Obama not because of his skin colour, but because of what he has done—and what he has failed to do—since he took office. And although he is not on the ballot this year, this matters. The less people admire the president, the less likely they are to vote for his party in the mid-terms.

An Open Letter to the Honorable John Tanner, Tennessee 8th District

He won't read it. He doesn't seem to read his mail, and his staff are utterly clueless. OS has called with questions a few times over the years, and no one knows what in Heaven is happening.

(Besides, he's retiring as of next January, so November is the last thing on his mind.)

The local papers are not likely to print it.

So, OS mounts his private pulpit. If you know somebody who lives in West Tennessee, OS would appreciate it being forwarded.


Dear Representative Tanner:

I respectfully urge you to oppose the current attempt to force health care 'reform' through Congress.

1. It is evident that a great portion of the country has deep, serious misgivings about any sweeping program that will seek to control this large and vital part of our economy and culture. Please, prudence demands restraint.

2.  The Federal Government has taken us to the brink of bankruptcy by enacting one entitlement program after another since the 1930's.  Each one, the country was told, was a modest effort, and would not ever cost too much. Each one ballooned into an out-of-control black hole of spending or outright fraud. Fannie and Freddie immediately come to mind, as does Medicare. Social Security has become an actuarial impossibility. You are in the insurance business, so you must understand this better than most. Please, this has to stop, and this is our best opportunity to begin to turn the corner.

3. There are other, much less invasive ways to accomplish some good reforms within our outstanding system of medical care that Obama and company will NOT consider.  A physician of any integrity will not advocate surgery when a medical solution shows great promise of working effectively. He will not even advocate a 'medical solution', e.g. writing a prescription, when what is needed is a change of diet or lifestyle. Why won't the Congress and Executive branch exercise that same prudence?  The government plays roulette with our lives, and seems deaf to our voices.

4. The Federal Government has proven itself, again and again, to be a completely untrustworthy steward of our resources. It must not be entrusted with control of our health care. It has not earned that trust. Why should we entrust health-care to the same people who have treated us to both the creation of, and subsequent misguided attempts to cure, our massive financial difficulties?  If it can't clean up GMAC, why should we hand over the medical system to Washington? Sheer prudence demands restraint.

I read of various procedural 'dodges' being cooked up, whereby members of Congress might spared actually having to VOTE, up-or-down, on the record, on this bill. Please be assured that this behavior is being watched. These attempts are unconstitutional on their face, blatantly so. You know it , we know it, and you know that we know that you know it. Nowhere to hide on this one, Mr. Tanner.

Please don't shred the Constitution on our way out the door.

Please. Prudence demands restraint.

Respectfully,

The Rats Begin To Flee The Sinking Ship: So Long, Congressman Tanner

As it becomes obvious that The Beloved Leader and his gang are in for a brutal November 2010, the Democrat Congressional rats occupying vulnerable seats will begin to flee.

Locally, that would be John Tanner.

This is the guy who decries the national debt and proudly votes for unconstitutional travesties like the TARP, the Obama stimuli, and any piece of pork Mama Pelosi can serve to her vote-hungry minions. (He did vote against PelosiCare, to his credit, but I suspect it was because he perceived the voters were paying attention, and melting his staff's phones off in their hands.)

This August, he refused to schedule anything except 'phone-in' town hall meetings, essentially unpublicized. He did meet one group, at a state-run senior citizen's center, which was announced after the meeting took place. He knew what awaited him once the voters began paying attention.  Calls to his office were generally met with hostile staffers who often did not even know the day's news, or what legislation was under consideration.

It's time to go, and he knows it.

Remember the old joke?

Q. What do you call twenty (fill-in-the-blank--usually lawyers) jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge?
A. A good beginning.

Now, as big a fool as Tanner is, I wish him no harm. I just want him out of public office, where he can do less harm to the nation.

With his announced retirement,  we have a good beginning. Many more, from both parties, available to take that leap back into the Real World.

Plenty of room on that bridge, and plenty of time to act.

Green shoots nominee!

The Definition of a Blue-Dog Democrat

Yes, once again, we have our good Congressman John Tanner playing the ends against the middle.

The 'Guest Columnist' insertion in the local paper was a piece submitted under Rep. Tanner's name (seriously, friends, listen to the guy talk; hard to believe he can write anything of this length with correct grammar).

The title? Drum-roll, please! We Must Restore Fiscal Responsibility

The Honorable Member then explains how everything that has gone wrong was the fault of the evil Republicans; easy to do, since a lot of it can be laid at their feet. He intones that 'The borrow-and-spend policy down which our country has begun poses at least two serious threats', and goes on to name the spectre that the Chinese might not want to buy our T-bills(They expect to get paid back!), and our weakened place in the world and its foreign policy implications.

So, this would be a reason to not vote for the TARP, the 'Stimulus' and a budget that runs well over ONE TRILLION in deficits into the endless future, right?

WRONG! He then goes on to explain that despite all these things, he just had to vote for the 'Stimulus Bill'--he had already voted for the TARP(he just 'had to', you know), and signalled that he would be voting for the 2010 budget.

And, indeed he did!

So, what's the definition of a Blue-Dog Democrat?

He howls at the moon, declaring his fealty to the conservative values of his district. But when his masters(Pelosi, Frank, Reid, and Obama) command, he rolls over and plays dead.

Check his congressional home page:

Cries of outrage against the mounting national debt, and never a mention of his votes that make it possible.

Our grandchildren will curse our memories for allowing him and his to get away with this.