I try not to use "breaking" in blog posts, but this is important. Conventional wisdom says that there's no way we can defeat Lamar! Alexander and win his Senate seat next year, but there's absolutely no reason to let him win re-election without a fight. Conventional wisdom also said that George Allen and Conrad Burns were shoo-ins for re-election last year! People in Tennessee as in the rest of the country are fed up with what's happening in Washington, and you will definitely see that reflected next November.
I am pleased to announce that Mike McWherter, son of popular former Governor Ned McWherter, has formed an exploratory committee and seems all but set to run as the Democratic candidate against Lamar! next year!
From the Nashville Post:
NashvillePost.com reported in June that McWherter, a Democrat, was considering a challenge to current U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R). The formation of an exploratory committee makes that possibility of a campaign all but a certainty and begins the fundraising process.
Sources say that McWherter has had extensive meetings over the course of the past few months with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington, D.C., and with Tennessee Democratic leaders.
Mike McWherter has maintained somewhat of a low profile over the last few weeks, so we're still trying to sort out his policy positions. However, this interview from Jackson Day, the Tennessee Democratic Party's fundraiser over the summer, provides at least two important clues:
Clue #1--What he DIDN'T say was just as important as what he did say. When asked about whether he would take a populist position on immigration like Harold Ford Jr. did, he declined to answer.
Understand, with the attitudes you see from people in Tennessee these days about immigration, it would have been really easy for him to score a cheap political point there by railing against "them illegals". But he didn't. To me, that indicates that he will be a serious candidate who truly looks at and considers each issue, rather than playing to the lowest common denominator.
Clue #2: This comment, where he explains why he quit working as an attorney for a time to go into business after Ned McWherter was elected Governor:
"And in all candor, I quit after that because I think [I'd have] a media conflict of interest trying to practice law while your dad's sitting in the Governor's office..."
A politician considered about a potential conflict of interest and taking steps to avoid it? What a NOVEL CONCEPT!
Furthermore, Kleinheider at Volunteer Voters pointed out why Mike McWherter could be a more viable candidate than Harold Ford, even in a harder race:
Harold Ford, as impressive a rock star candidate as he was, had serious liabilities as a candidate. There will not be and cannot be any "Call me" ad this time around.
Mike McWherter is not a career pol with a playboy rep and no ring on his finger. Mike McWherter is a family man. He is a lawyer and most importantly he is a business man. He sits of the Board of Directors of a Fortune 500 company. He will be able to shake the money tree, not only in Tennessee, but across the country.
Like Ford, McWherter has a famous political surname. But unlike Ford, McWherter’s name is pure asset, not a mixed blessing. You may not remember but there was a time during the night on November 7, 2006 that a Ford victory did not seem inconceivable.
That was because his numbers in East and Middle Tennessee were strong and that if West Tennessee came in strong then Ford would today be Senator. The vote did come in strong but not nearly strong enough. Why? Because West Tennessee was far too close to and knew too much about the Ford Family.
There won't be that problem this time around. The McWherter name in West Tennessee is just as revered as the Alexander name in East Tennessee. If that forces this race to be a battle for Middle Tennessee, then suddenly we've got a VERY tight race here!
And it's not as if Lamar! has been a perfect Senator in every way. Bob Corker had the advantage of not being perceived as a "Washington insider." But not only is Lamar! a Washington insider of the highest order, he has voted in lockstep with Bush for the last five years. In addition, he has not been seriously challenged in an election in a long time. He was practically handed the Senate seat in 2002.
We just successfully rejected the old-style career politician for Mayor of Nashville. It's time for the rest of the state to do so as well!