While the election results were heartbreaking, there is much to be encouraged, and yes, even energized about. We did not win, but we are winning.
Senator Lamar Alexander did not run away with this election, as most predicted he would. He was forced to buy the election, spending $7 million. He resorted to last minute robo-calls in which he falsely claimed his vote for Senate Bill 744 was a vote against amnesty. In spite of all of this, he could only capture 49.7% of the vote.
The award for the tackiest campaign commercial goes to Mike Huckabee, who had nerve to lecture Tennesseans on being loyal to Alexander and threaten us by saying, “If you want to pick a fight with Lamar, well, you’ll have to fight me first.” Really, Governor? You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You owe every Tennessean an apology.
The fact that Joe Carr captured 40.6% of the vote while being outspent 7 to 1 is something to be very proud of, and everyone involved is to be commended. Middle Tennessee was solidly behind Carr; and Lamar now bears the embarrassment of not winning his home county.
We saw an inspiring convergence of the Beat Lamar PAC led by Michael Patrick Leahy, the Conservative Campaign Committee, and various Tea Party organizations. Before they even had a candidate, BeatLamar was canvassing the state, educating voters on Lamar’s voting record and showing up at Lamar’s events, outnumbering his supporters.
Rather than being responsive to the BeatLamar students’ amnesty questions, Lamar ran away from them and ultimately limited his events to invitation-only. This became known as Lamar Alexander’s “RUN AWAY” bus tour.
Lamar Alexander represents the dusk of the Howard Baker liberal GOP establishment in Tennessee, where conservatives need not apply. Just as Tennessee slowly evolved from Democrat to Republican domination, state politics are now migrating from establishment to conservative.
My favorite paragraph in Lloyd Marcus’ article: “A black student told me he initially joined Michael [Patrick Leahy]’s Beat Lamar team for college credit. He has since discovered he is conservative.” If the Republican Party truly wants to be a big tent, this is how it’s done, and yes, conservatives need apply.
Our prayers and gratitude go out to Representative Joe Carr and his family for stepping up to the challenge. Special appreciation to Tammy Bruce and Laura Ingraham for bringing this race to their international audiences.
It’s going to take many more elections and many more heartbreaks. We did not win, but we are winning.
