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Politicians live in glass houses.
Whatever they do, there is a spotlight on their every move.
If they sneeze or burp in public, it’s a major story.
The normal rights of privacy accorded the individual are denied
them. Ask Gary Hart who ran
for president a few elections ago. When reporters heard rumors of his having an
affair, he dared them to catch him.
They took the dare and they caught him.
Goodbye, presidential campaign. Normally, the rules of protection through libel
are: Is it true? Is it
news? Is there an absence
of malice? There has to be
some semblance of truth, however vague as the super market tabloids hang
their stories. There has to
be news value to it, as the actions of a private individual are not
newsworthy unless there are other ramifications.
And a writer-publisher would be in trouble if a personal vendetta
could be proven against an attacked individual. Reporters are pretty resourceful, too.
The slightest indiscretion in a politician’s past will be
uncovered sooner or later. When
Zach Wamp ran for Congress, he was plagued by gossip of his youthful
excesses. He took the
advice of some seasoned politicians and beat the opposition to the
punch. He laid it all on
the table, admitted his mistakes and said he had learned from it. We all remember a few years ago when the leading
presidential candidate, whose name is easy now to forget, began crying
during a campaign appearance. Someone
had said something critical about a family member.
Of course, there is always controlled anger. Ronald Reagan, the Great Communicator, will be remembered for
his crack about this being “my microphone.” In Hamilton County, Tennessee, Wayne Cropp is a
capable political party organizer and a pillar of the Republican Party.
He was one of the key masterminds behind Zach’s first election
to the House of Representatives in 1994.
Wayne recently remarked the next governor and the senator to
replace Sen. Bill Frist could come from Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
That assumes, of course, that Bill Frist does indeed step down
from his senate seat in 2006. It’s
hard to understand why he would give up the powerful senate majority
position. Still, he would make a good vice-presidential candidate or
even one day for the top position. Van Hilleary, who lost the Republican
governor’s campaign by three percent of the votes, has made no secret
of his plan to run for office again.
It’s hard to quit once a politician has fed at the public
trough. Many feel it
unlikely he would try again for the governorship, instead putting his
sights on the Frist senate seat. That
would put him butting heads with long time friend and fellow
representative Zach Wamp. Zach
has always had his eyes on the senate when the time was ripe.
Ed Bryant may become a factor.
He has been pushed by some as a senatorial candidate. In a statewide race, Zach would have the
disadvantage of being unknown outside his eastern territory.
Voters out west are not that familiar with him.
Van is known state wide, but that can be a drawback, too.
His negative campaigning hurt the Republican Party last time.
Ed Bryant has statewide recognition. Throw Mayor Bob Corker’s name in the circle.
But which circle? He ran an unsuccessful statewide campaign once and was
advised to start off with a smaller office for seasoning.
He was elected mayor of Chattanooga with a term that hasn’t
been all peaches and cream. The
two-way street anger could haunt him politically in the future. And his loss of his temper in a radio interview with Jeff
Styles left him scarred. Jeff
is usually known as one of the nicer, kinder talk show interviewers. Bob should take lessons from an old pro like
Dalton Roberts who can be comfortable with a church social or the guys
at a honky tonk. People
like to feel the man they elect is one of them.
If he does decided to move up politically to bigger and better
pastures, which one? A run
for governor? Many feel
that Bob and Gov. Phil Bredesen are very close friends and he wouldn’t
want to run against him. That leaves the Frist senate seat again.
Could be four heavy hitters running for that one seat.
It would be a bloody battle. Gov. Bredesen took on the thankless job of
trying to sort out the state’s financial problems with his hands tied.
Van’s campaign motto of “No Income Tax” saddled him with
few options. He may have to
bring up that dirty word when people get tired of services being scaled
back. Since Ray Blanton’s
interrupted term, the governor’s seat has gone with eight years first
to Republican Lamar Alexander, then Democrat Ned McWherter, and then GOP
Don Sundquist. Phil’s job
performance will determine his reelection. The Republicans will likely find plenty of
candidates for the governor’s seat regardless.
There are some in Hamilton County who have mentioned County
Executive Claude Ramsey’s name for the job, and say they feel he would
be interested. In the GOP
primary, Claude supported Jim Henry who many feel would have made a more
viable candidate than Van. Phil
made the comment he had rather face Van than Jim.
It’s early, but Jim has made no commitment toward a future
political run, putting his time to operation of his two-state company,
Omni Visions, which places special children in homes and care. In all, it’s amazing anyone would want to live
in the glass house that goes with political office.
There will always be plenty of contenders. They just have to remember to be nice to everyone and walk
softly. Everybody is
watching.
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