On Bart Gordon, Lou Ann Zelenik, and Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District
I previously decided to keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself concerning Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District, but I was dragged into the conversation yesterday on Twitter by Jason from LaVergne after Rutherford GOP Chairman Lou Ann Zelenik announced she would seek the Republican nomination for Congress.
For those of you unfamiliar with the 6th Congressional District, Dave Evans has filed to run on the Republican side, as well.
Bill Hobbs penned an excellent assessment of the 6th Congressional race, which you may or may not be able to see here. (You probably have to be his Facebook friend to read it.) To paraphrase, Hobbs suggests that a candidate who can defeat Gordon is one who should be “fresh-faced” and new to politics – and electable. Hobbs further asserts that neither Evans nor Zelenik are the candidate who can defeat Gordon next year:
With all due respect to Dave Evans, his campaign isn’t catching fire and few people I have talked to think he can beat Bart Gordon.
With all due respect to Lou Ann, the GOP isn’t going to beat Bart with someone who has been around politics for a long time, and who lost a state house primary, and who is not a “fresh face” in politics.
I have a few comments about Lou Ann Zelenik’s candidacy and what I’ve noticed in recent months. Now that I am removed from the political atmosphere in Middle Tennessee, I feel that I can somewhat objectively comment on the issues on the ground.
First and foremost is Zelenik’s desire to capture the attention of the tea partiers. I have suggested all along that someone should be collecting the names and contact information of attendees to tea parties and town halls. To transform this grassroots movement into an effective political force, these folks must be signed up and involved. What I don’t appreciate is the Rutherford County GOP’s hi-jacking of the tea parties in that area. Last I checked, it was several years of fiscal mismanagement under the Bush Administration that helped usher in this economic catastrophe. I think the “tea party” movement is truly non-partisan and grassroots, and I don’t appreciate either party’s involvement.
That being said, I appreciate that Zelenik has collected those names and addresses, but I do not appreciate that it was done by the party. Furthermore, the use of this list by the party – though they collected the names – is unethical, I think. I believe someone on the ground should follow closely the use of this e-mail list.
How closely connected is the RuCo GOP and the “tea party” structure in Middle Tennessee? Take a look at Middle Tennessee Tea Party. It used to look like this. Yes, it used to be DumpBartGordon.com, and it was run by the RuCo GOP. It’s changed appearances, almost mysteriously. How closely are these two organizations connected? It should be disclosed fully.
Secondly, when Lou Ann ran for State House in the last election cycle, she asked me what advice I would offer her. Without reservation, I suggested that she resign her position within the RuCo GOP. At that time, she served as the Vice-Chairman. She didn’t. My advice now is that she immediately and without hesitation resign her position as Chairman. Continuing in this role is in clear violation of what I would consider political professionalism. Zelenik absolutely must remove herself from the party leadership.
If I were on Bart Gordon’s campaign staff, I’d hit pretty hard there.
Lastly, I am concerned about the history of Zelenik’s political aspirations. She jumped into a Republican primary as a member of the RuCo GOP Executive Committee in 2008, running against Joe Carr – and she ran a nasty, nasty campaign. Now, she’s jumping into a Republican primary as a member of the RuCo GOP Executive Committee in 2010 against Dave Evans. Whether or not her campaign will be nasty is yet to be seen. Is she running to further the goals of the Republican Party or is she running to further the goals of Lou Ann Zelenik?
Who are we to challenge her motives? Then again, who are we not to?
7 comments
Matt,
I think that the Tea Partiers are now very influential withing the Rutherford GOP. I know of two individuals who are Tea Partiers who are involved with the Party apparatus. So it may not be that the Party is trying to hi-jack the Tea Parties, but yet the Tea Partiers are gaining control of the GOP.
And I have met LAZ several times, and I can tell you that she is NOT from the same-old big-government GOP establishment mold. While I may not agree with her on every issue, she did say to me once out of the blue and in no uncertain terms that “we need to get these big-government Republicans out of office”.
So you might consider taking a second look.
Just mt $.09 (adjusted for inflation).
Zelenik should most definitely resign her chairmanship. I’m surprised the state or county hasn’t passed some idiotic law against such a thing.
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