Ten years ago, the nation was still recovering from having to wait until 13 December for George W. Bush to finally assume the title President-elect. In Tennessee, one would guess that the Democratic Party embarked on some collective soul-searching to determine how one of their favorite sons, Vice President Al Gore, Jr., could have missed picking up the state’s electoral votes.

Nine or so years ago, Governor Don Sundquist’s administration triggered a continental shift in state Republican politics by advocating for a state income tax. The protests that followed led to gains by more angular ideologues in the Legislature that by 2008 resulted in historic majorities in both houses. Of note here, too, is the 2002 GOP gubernatorial primary, in which moderate Jim Henry was bested by a more outspoken conservative named Van Hilleary. Hilleary went on to lose to a moderate and likeable Democrat named Phil Bredesen.

A bit of the state’s prominence in Washington was restored when former U.S. Senator Bill Frist, M.D. attained the leadership following former U.S. Senator Trent Lott’s rapid fall from the post. Meanwhile, former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson decided to return to acting. In the election for the open seat, former Governor and U.S. Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander won his primary against the more conservative U.S. Rep. Ed Bryant, and Alexander went on to take the general election from U.S. Rep. Bob Clement. We’ll have heard from Bryant and the aforementioned Hilleary again before the decade is out.

Redistricting led to some changes in the U.S. House delegation: mainly, the election of a conservative Democratic state lawmaker and gentleman farmer named Lincoln Davis in the sprawling Fourth District. U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, who had formerly represented the district, found himself a new seat in the Nashville metropolitan area.

2005 was quite a year in the General Assembly. To start it off, two GOP senators inflamed the rest of their party by voting to retain Lt. Gov. John S. Wilder as Speaker, even though the Republicans had won their first majority in the body since Reconstruction. Then, in May, came a shocking and debilitating blow which the Democrats still haven’t shaken: federal investigators arrested sitting lawmakers and lobbyists on charges of bribery and corruption, including the powerful Senate Majority Leader, Ward Crutchfield, whose family name hails back to Chattanooga’s earliest days. Several Memphis Democrats were also nabbed, including then-Sen. John Ford. (Note: yes, we will remember the lone Republican caught in the sting, former Rep. Chris Newton of Bradley County.) Truth be told, the scope of the “Operation Tennessee Waltz” arrests was limited to those against whom there was rock-solid evidence. If all the “players” had been netted, things would be quite different yet.

Speaking of Reconstruction, it finally arrived in the Volunteer State 140 years after the fact, when the Democratic Party (even) nominated the state’s first African-American candidate for statewide office. Former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, Jr.—nephew to the infamous felon noted above—was a charismatic candidate who ran a spirited campaign against former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker in 2006. But for a combination of reasons, Ford was not able to ride the national Democratic wave and join Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. Corker ended up being the lone GOP freshman elected to that body that year. Corker took advantage of having two GOP rivals to split the primary vote against him: Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary, each arguably unable to sacrifice his own ambitions for the hardline conservative cause.

A feisty state senator from Clarksville who had challenged Ford, Jr. in the 2006 U.S. Senate Democratic primary saw her surname become a verb in the next two years. Rosalind Kurita first made news by casting the winning vote for Sen. Ron Ramsey instead of her party caucus’ candidate, Lt. Gov. Wilder. In doing so, she ended Wilder’s record-breaking career and infuriated her fellow Democrats, who sent a challenger in the next primary. Kurita won that primary by a narrow margin, but the Democrats took matters into their own hands by declaring her opponent their nominee, citing “crossover voting” by Republicans as their reason.

The 2008 election cycle saw Tennessee Republican House members join their Senate colleagues in enjoying a majority; but, in a distorted echo of the upsets and betrayals earlier in the Senate, they were not able to elect former Rep. Jason Mumpower as Speaker of the House. Instead, longtime Speaker Jimmy Naifeh and his fellow Democrats cut a deal with Rep. Kent Williams, who became Speaker for one term after “Kurita-ing” Mumpower. (See?) Williams was subsequently banned (“Kurita’d”) by his party from running for office as a Republican. He fended off former rival Jerome Cochran and remains in the House as a rare independent. (Earlier, former Sen. Mike Williams voluntarily quit his party, and lost his reelection bid to Sen. Mike Faulk.)

This last year made for interesting theater against the backdrop of the national political scene, where the Tea Party movement vocally struck back at President Obama’s agenda and a variety of forces handed the Republican Party a major midterm victory in the U.S. House of Representatives. Those gains included Tennessee’s Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Districts. The GOP also strengthened itself in the Tennessee General Assembly, paving the way for a presumed Speaker Beth Harwell. But a look under the surface belies the notion that Tennessee drank much of the “tea.” Whether a candidate was truly “Tea Party” or just a rather conservative or outspoken alternative, in race after race the relatively more moderate candidate won. Stephen Fincher beat George Flinn and Ron Kirkland (and Donn Janes) in West Tennessee; Diane Black beat Lou Ann Zelenik in Middle Tennesssee; and Chuck Fleischmann narrowly won over Christian conservative Robin Smith and hardcore Tea Partier Van Irion in the Third District.

And then there was the race for Governor of Tennessee. Outgoing U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp raised his voice a lot and talked of “meeting Obama at the state line,” while Lt. Gov. Ramsey was the Tea Party favorite. (They didn’t care as much for Wamp’s congressional voting record.) But Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, though he expectedly courted the Right in the primary, was widely seen as the moderate candidate; indeed, there was little distance to be found between him and his main general election rival.

The Democratic gubernatorial primary was beyond unimpressive, in that what started as a respectable field of five quickly dwindled to an unopposed Mike McWherter, son of popular former Gov. Ned Ray McWherter. The younger beer distributor’s clumsy campaign against the remarkably agile Haslam (check his record on gun rights over the past three years) did also suffer from bad timing, but it could have seized more of the Bredesen legacy for leverage.

It is most interesting to observe that many of the decade’s prominent Democratic names belong to scions of earlier prominent Tennessee Democrats. Clement, Cooper, Ford, Gore, McWherter; Sasser too. And, save Congressman Cooper, all have fared relatively poorly. Another trend that seems to have manifested itself is that of the power base largely shifting from Shelby County to elsewhere in the state, in both major parties. The Democrats are weakened overall. The Republicans, while they revel in victory, continue to sort out their collective stance on ideological purity. While it’s not likely, a schism is not impossible.

A development that will not go unheralded on this blog is the 2010 federal court ruling that declared Tennessee’s ballot access laws unconstitutionally restrictive. This should pave the way for future Constitution, Green, and Libertarian Party candidates (and others, as they organize) to be labeled as such on ballots. While the jury is still out on whether this will lead to actual electoral gains by these parties, at the very least voters will be more informed about those running for office.

And here we are, ready to begin the next decade with Republicans heading the administration and holding strong majorities in both houses of the Legislature. Clearly the Democratic Party has some rebuilding to do; but what’s not as clear is whether Tennessee has completely jumped onto the “red state” train. Our statewide elected officials are the first clue: Alexander, Corker, and now Haslam all have ties to the moderate GOP establishment, and each fought off more conservative firebrands for his respective nomination. Likewise, an endorsement by TEA Party groups has not generally been a winning accouterment. Our state’s long history with a fiercely prided independent streak, combined with our penchant for electing moderates to higher offices, may keep Tennessee in the “purple” category for some time, although it is surely a few shades toward mulberry for now.

A special note of acknowledgment and thanks to 10ec.com’s great timeline for helping to fill memory gaps.

Related reading: a look at the past year in metro Chattanooga, including a couple of pieces by yours truly.

Republican House of Representatives candidate Charles Williamson, of “bison poop” fame, says he is not behind a recent round of negative robo-calls aimed against his Democratic opponent, incumbent District 51 Rep. Mike Turner. Williamson’s campaign says he “has held fast to a ‘no-mudslinging’ rule and demanded the same of his staff and volunteers. He has also promised no robotic telemarketing.”

“If voters get a call from my campaign,” Williamson says, “It will be from a real human who can answer questions and thoroughly engage in conversation. I hate robo-calls and they are not a part of this campaign plan.”

This year, voters are having a hard time hearing from candidates in another expected format. Yes, we’re talking about debates. In the Third Congressional District, Republican nominee Chuck Fleischmann is taking heat from the Democrat and from the independents for not agreeing to debate them. A second “LiberTea” debate will be held Saturday, October 16, at the Woodland Park Baptist Church site that hosted the first one. Unlike the first one, Fleischmann will not be there. Democratic candidate John Wolfe, and independents Mark DeVol and Savas Kyriakidis are expected to attend.

Voters in the Eighth Congressional District are missing out, too. Some place the blame on GOP nominee Stephen Fincher, and say he is the one avoiding his opponents in a head-to-head verbal contest. A debate that had been scheduled for today (Tuesday, October 5) at Union University in Jackson has been canceled, and is replaced with solo appearances by each candidate. At this writing, no other debates are scheduled in the district.

Gubernatorial candidate and Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam agreed to three debates against his chief opponent, Jackson businessman Mike McWherter; but additional events had already been planned, or were in the works, and Haslam has no plans to attend those. The Chattanooga Young Professionals chapter is putting on its second annual “Drink and Debate” on Thursday, October 14. According to the YPAC press announcement, McWherter is scheduled to attend, along with independent candidates Bayron Binkley, Brandon Dodds, Samuel Duck, David Gatchell, June Griffin (Prohibition Party), Howard Switzer (Green Party), and Carl Whitaker. (Note: Duck and Whitaker have recently dropped out and endorsed Dodds.) Unfortunately for YPAC, their first “Drink and Debate” was similarly lacking a key candidate: Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield had a conflict, which left Rob Healy and Thomas Smith II (who’s now on the ballot for governor, by the way, but apparently not debating) to bedazzle the curious yupsters.

Not to be left out, Democratic state Rep. Jimmy Naifeh is accused of ducking debates by his opponent, Jim Hardin, who said he is “far from shocked.” “I think the last thing Mr. Naifeh wants to do is have his liberal record questioned by the voters of the 81st District. He’s gotten away with being ‘Mr. Jimmy’ in Covington, Burlison, Stanton and Brownsville when he comes home and talks a good game, but the voters are starting to see that his votes in Nashville don’t line up with their values,” Hardin continued.

Of course, conventional political wisdom says that the frontrunner avoids debates while the challenger looks to gain ground by appearing on a shared stage. But how far does that logic go? And, as in the case of the Eighth District, what if there is no clear frontrunner?

Debates are by no means the only way for voters to vet candidates. In fact, they too often devolve into streams of talking points and petty finger-pointing. But even so, it seems that if one is certain of one’s ability to serve in the office, one ought to show voters the respect of attending, if at all possible. With just weeks to go before Election Day, I urge you to stay informed, even as some of the candidates try to sidestep you.

A televised gubernatorial debate has never happened outside a major metropolitan area, but in one week, a first-of-it’s [sic] kind gubernatorial debate will be held in Cookeville.

The reason for the change is to make sure the candidates know about the needs of small town Tennessee.

Today is the last day to submit written or video questions to be asked of the candidates. Visit the debate website for details.

There’s no place like Tennessee. Mountains in the East, river in the West. Heartfelt music in every corner. Good people. Great leaders. Phil Bredesen, Ned McWherter, Lamar Alexander, Bob Corker. People who take our natural good and give it a shine. There’s another good man from Tennessee. Thinks he can make a difference. Seasoned in the world of business. Created thousands of jobs. As mayor, led Knoxville to its best days ever. Sees Tennessee a few steps ahead of some. Plan’s right for the future. Brings us security, prosperity. Bill Haslam. Businessman. Mayor. A good man. The right experience to be Governor. Not for any part of Tennessee, but for the good of all Tennessee.

Governor Phil Bredesen and former Gov. Ned McWherter, both popular Democratic officials, have endorsed Haslam’s chief opponent, Mike McWherter, in the November election.

Haslam campaign manager Mark Cate said “Tennessee has been blessed with great leaders—statesmen—who rise above the fray during difficult times. Bill Haslam is that type of leader, and the combination of his public and private executive experience makes him uniquely qualified to govern in these challenging times.”

UPDATE: Andy Sher of the Chattanooga Times Free Press got this reaction from the Mike McWherter campaign:

McWherter campaign spokesman Shelby White scoffed.

“It’s glaringly apparent that Bill Haslam is leaving out the eight-year term of (Republican) Gov. Don Sundquist in his new fluff piece,” White said. “He also fails to address the fact that his family strongly supported Don Sundquist and raised millions of dollars to support their quest for a state income tax.”

UPDATE 2: I found this quip by renowned political commentator A.C. Kleinheider on Facebook: “Let’s be honest. If Mike McWherter [weren't] the actual candidate running against him, even he would be thinking seriously about voting for Bill Haslam.”

I did not get a chance to finish documenting the primary contests in the Tennessee House of Representatives. At this point, I wouldn’t finish before the races were decided, so there’s that. It’s a shame, because there are some I wanted to highlight, like District 81, where Rory Bricco and Jim Hardin are vying to see who will take on former House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh in November. There are also a few open seats, like District 18, where Rep. Stacey Campfield is running for the District 7 Senate seat. Three Republicans are running in the race to replace him: Steve Hall, Jonathan Katsiros, and Gary Loe. The winner will face Democrat Sam Alexander in November.

Other than state House, if you don’t see a district or office in the list, it’s because there is not a contested race on August 5. I realize that it’s more thorough to list all candidates, even when there is no opposition. I’ve taken the most practical approach I could muster, given time constraints. Thanks for understanding.

I’m cooking up a whole new approach for presenting this information for the November elections. Stay tuned, and thanks for your continued support.

But the mode of transportation chosen by each will determine just how much of the state can be covered. Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam’s itinerary suggests that air travel will be necessary. U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp tweeted his disapproval of his rival’s flight plan, and said that he will stay in his “used RV.” Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey’s schedule includes cities and towns exclusively in East Tennessee, the home of his state Senate district.

No information has been received regarding Basil Marceaux’s travel plans or choice of transportation.

A new video was also posted today.

The statewide door knock is indicative of the size, organization and dedication of the campaign Haslam has built over the past year and a half. No other campaign can match the intensity, passion and determination Haslam sparks in those willing to dedicate their time to his campaign.

Haslam has knocked on doors in the pouring rain, freezing cold and sweltering heat in 147 communities, allowing him and his wife Crissy to speak face-to-face with thousands of voters.

By the way, did you know that Poe foreshadowed the advent of bloggers?
“Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking…”

The AP story on WRCB

The Post Politics liveblog

@RonRamsey

Tennessee Democratic Party chair Chip Forrester

Andy Sher’s Times Free Press story

A roundup within a roundup

I’ll post more links as they become available.