Zach Wamp

East Tennessee Rejects Zach Wamp’s Junk Science

On March 11, 2010, in Environment, Local Politics, State Politics, by Mary Mancini

Ruffed Grouse James Brooks, who writes an outdoorsy column for Johnson City Press, skewered Zach Wamp yesterday for embracing the “junk science” – also known as coal industry 20-year-old spin – that mountaintop removal mining “creates a new habitat that is bird friendly.”

The article is not online yet but here are the highlights:

It was almost 20 years ago, at a convention of the American Birding Association in California, that I first heard an industry spokesperson try to foist off the argument that strip mining creates a new habitat that is bird friendly.

He was hooted and shouted down right on the spot. Normally birders are polite people who listen carefully and then wait for the discussion period. This kind of junk science was such an affront that nobody was willing to wait….

The power industry quickly gave up trying to bamboozle birders with this sort of statistical flimflam…

Almost two decades later, the power industry has finally found someone stupid enough to buy this argument, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp….

I believe even Wamp, who has crossed swords with bird watchers numerous times in his district, had more sense than to frame his argument to those he has offended throughout his legislative career.

Brooks then explains the difference between desirable birds and the ones Mr. Wamp is referring to like non-native starlings, which “thrive on wasted environments and roosts on powerlines.”

Apparently there is a huge difference and the people in upper East Tennessee know it.

Brooks calls Rep. Wamp a dim bulb, too, probably because he thought calling him a “bird brain” might insult the people who know the difference between a pigeon and a Ruffed Grouse (see picture of said Ruffed Grouse).

UPDATE: Clearly, Mr. Wamp is not in touch with the people. Does anyone besides John Rich and the other 20-percenters living in the state care more about the 10th amendment than they care about a clean water and a healthy eco-system?

Tagged with: James Brooks • Johnson City Press • Zach Wamp

Re-calibrating Projections for 2010 in Tennessee

On December 3, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Freddie

So this has been quite a week for politics in Tennessee. First, news broke that long-serving West Tennessee congressman John Tanner would not seek re-election in 2010. Almost immediately after that announcement, state senator Roy Herron, who had been doing quite well seeking the Democratic gubernatorial primary nod, announced that he would instead seek the Democratic congressional primary nod in the 8th congressional district. A day later, Ward Cammack announces his withdrawal from the Democratic gubernatorial contest, reducing the number of announced candidates from 5 to 3.

Let’s play political pick up sticks:

Congressman Roy Herron
The first big question is: Why did Roy Herron switch races? Based on the political winds blowing in Tennessee, Phil Bredesen’s unprecedented 95-county sweep was an anomaly unlikely to be repeated by a Democrat for a generation or more (or, probably, any politician). A statewide win for a Democrat in a mid-term election year likely to favor, at least congressionally, the party in opposition to the President would be a hard-fought coup. Especially looking at the fundraising breakdown by party. So for Herron, winning the governor’s mansion, even should he win the Democratic primary, would be difficult. But let’s say that he is, in fact, the frontrunner in Tennessee’s fightin’ 8th. How could he possibly hold the seat as a freshman congressman after the Republican-controlled General Assembly redraws the districts to transform our 5-4 Democratic-majority congressional delegation to a likely 7-2 Republican-majority congressional delegation?

Possible answers:

Herron had polling showing that there was no way in hell a Democrat could win the governor’s race, or possibly that he in particular had no way in hell of beating a generic Republican.
Herron had polling showing that, actually, despite his public organizing prowess, he was getting thumped in terms of the Democratic primary.
Herron had polling showing that he had wanted that congressional seat ever since he was a little boy.
Herron somehow wound up in a deal with friends on the other side of the aisle whereby his district wouldn’t get too badly redrawn, giving him a fighting chance of keeping the seat for a decade.
Herron had polling from before any other race that demonstrated that his state senate seat was no safer than Tanner’s congressional seat or he knows that he would’ve drawn a stronger challenger than Fincher for his own seat.

Honestly, I can’t see how a long-term view that suggests that less than a single term could possibly be appealing to a state senator in a seat that is assumed to be safe. Is 2 years in Congress better than 4 (or) more years in the state senate? Can Herron somehow become a rare Tanner-like figure who is a legendary Southern Democrat perceived as independent-minded and authentic in a mostly rural part of the state? We probably won’t know the answer till 2012, should Herron best Stephen Fincher, darling of the NRCC. Regardless, I fully expect Herron to emerge as the Democratic frontrunner, even if other Democrats (not named Lowe Finney) emerge to fight in a primary.

Side bet for political poker players: Did Herron and McWherter discuss the Tanner seat? Did each prefer the race he’s now conclusively in? I.e., Herron preferred the Tanner race and McWherter preferred the gubernatorial race?

The Governor’s Club
Herron’s departure lets the other son of Dresden, Mike McWherter, shore up his Northwest Tennessee base. Some have suggested that it advantages Jim Kyle, too, but I don’t see that. The big question will be the fight among all three of McWherter, Kyle, and McMillan for Middle Tennessee supporters, where Herron had a broad base of support, and McWherter just fired a loud opening shot.

Cammack’s departure… well, it’s unlikely to have a meaningful impact. Unless, I suppose, one of the remaining three finds a way to extend Bredesen’s legacy in making Tennessee a green technology center and generally becoming a green policy technocratic candidate.

I hadn’t predicted that the Democratic primary would’ve been particularly brutal with 5 candidates, at least nowhere nearly as brutal as the Republican primary has been and will be. And that’s in part because the Republicans feel the need to perpetually seek Truth in Conservatism, whereas the Democrats have presented as relatively un-bold pragmatists, with frontrunners McWherter (gays) and Herron (God, guns) anchoring some socially conservative points but otherwise generally hoping their ability to connect with a base was likely to determine a winner. I shudder, actually, to think what the general election might look like without Herron, as he was a forceful floor speaker who was probably the most unafraid to take on progressive causes strategically and with charisma. Kyle has no problem on the attack (“Kurita.” “Who?”), so that might be fun, but I’m still waiting for a grand populist (or otherwise) outburst from one of the Democratic contenders that makes running for governor as a Democrat seem like it’s not only fun but also the right thing to do. Otherwise, Bill Haslam, coasting calmly above the wingnut fray, will likely resonate more genuinely with Tennessee voters angling for another Bredesen (a pragmatic administrator coming from a recent background of municipal executive experience) and not disrupt my original prophecy.

Tagged with: Bill Haslam • Jim Kyle • John Tanner • Kim McMillan • Lowe Finney • Mike McWherter • Phil Bredesen • Roy Herron • Stephen Fincher • Zach Wamp

Zach Wamp: Extremist

On November 10, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

Sean Braisted analyzes some recent missives from the gubernatorial candidacy of Zach Wamp and asks, is Zach Wamp offering Tennessee “a style of conservatism that alienates anyone in this state who doesn’t hate everyone who disagrees with them?” That would be a big 10-4, good buddy.

Somehow I’ve managed to get on all the major Republican e-mail lists, and so it goes that today Zach Wamps sends out email touting an upcoming fundraiser hosted by Nashville’s biggest douche-bag John Rich and the self-described “Redneck Woman” Gretchen Wilson. In addition, he is touting the pseudo-support of national rightwing blogger Erick Erickson of Red State:

Erick Erickson, the Editor-in-Chief of the nationally acclaimed conservative blog RedState, wrote an analysis of the Tennessee Governor’s race and said Zach “is a conservative and would govern conservatively.”

In his article, Erickson trashed popular Republican officials like Lamar Alexander and Howard Baker, saying:

For the longest time Tennessee has elected squishy moderates state wide. Howard Baker was conservative, but in a â€œcompromise his mother to advance his goalâ€ sort of way. Arguably Lamar Alexander is even worse, refusing to do anything that does not advance bipartisanship, even at the expense of core conservative goals. Hell, Alexander is not even and does not consider himself to be, a conservative.

Could you imagine a Tennessee Democrat so gleefully touting the endorsement of someone like Markos Moulitsas? Erickson has compared Linda Douglass to Joseph Goebbels and urged Conservatives to beat elected officials to a bloody pulp for regulating dish soap.

Tagged with: November 2010 • Sean Braisted • Tennessee • Zach Wamp

Marsha Blackburn Chases Michelle Bachman’s Spotlight

On April 3, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

In what can only be described as a brazen attempt to ride Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachman’s coat tails into the Fox News limelight, Tennessee Congressmen Marsha Blackburn and Zach Wamp have signed on to Bachman’s proposed Constitutional amendment that would prevent the Obama administration from replacing the dollar with global funny money:

“The President may not enter into a treaty or other international agreement that would provide for the United States to adopt as legal tender in the United States a currency issued by an entity other than the United States.”

Of course, there is absolutely no such proposal on the table, but that apparently won’t stop Bachman, Blackburn, Wamp, and 27 of their colleagues from getting ready for their closeup on “The Glenn Beck Program” instead of focusing on real problems that need real solutions.

Tagged with: Marsha Blackburn • Michelle Bachman • Zach Wamp

Liberadio(!) Podcast: March 9, 2009 with Hal Cato and Peter Canellos

On March 9, 2009, in Podcasts, by Mary Mancini

Summary: Guests include Hal Cato, president and CEO of Oasis Center, and Peter Canellos, Washington Bureau Chief for the Boston Globe and author of Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy .

Part 1 – Dodging a Bullet – News, to do list, is this Daylight Savings Time thingy working for us or against us, Councilman Mike Jameson calls a meeting about Riverfront development, and Councilman Jason Holleman’s storm water amendment. [37.3 MB 23:13 download MP3]