On Nov. 6, Tennesseans will decide on who they want to replace Bob Corker as their next senator, among other positions. This is a heated race, with the Tennessean reporting that it is the most expensive U.S. Senate race in Tennessee history. The total amount spent now exceeds $50 million. Of which, $12 million has gone to fund negative ads against Democratic candidate Phil Bredesen. For comparison, nearly 40 percent less has been spent by democratically-aligned groups on ads against Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn.
This has sparked much debate and confusion among Tennesseans. One reason for this is that two of the negative ads placed against Bredesen were deemed “false” and “mostly false” by PolitiFact. At the time of writing, PolitiFact has not given a single ad opposing Blackburn either rating. Ads by the Bredesen campaign itself have primarily focused on a nuanced approach, whereas ads by Blackburn’s campaign represent a stark contrast often drawing on fear and emotion rather than actual policy. This has translated into the Senate debates as well, with critics saying that Bredesen has been too lenient in disputing Blackburn’s statements.
An example of this would be Blackburn constantly associating Bredesen with other Democrats in Congress. She says that if Bredesen wins in Tennessee, then Democrats will gain majority control of the Senate, and Chuck Schumer will be majority leader. She says that they will oppose everything Donald Trump does, and she says this without any evidence. Bredesen even joked during a debate, “You seem to have a crystal ball, talking all the time about what I’m going to do as a U.S. senator.” Despite Blackburn’s accusations of Bredesen supporting Schumer, she told the Kingsport Times News, “I’m going to vote for whoever the Republicans put up for the majority leader.” Between the two of them, she is the only one to admit partisan bias. She doesn’t care who the Republicans nominate because she only wants to limit the control of Democrats. Furthermore, I believe these scare tactics she uses causes voters to overlook something significant. Each state has two senators, but only one of the seats is up for re-election this year in Tennessee. So, even if Bredesen gets elected, Republican Senator Lamar Alexander will still be representing Tennessee until 2020.
During the first Senate debate in Tennessee, Bredesen said, “I will tell you right now, that if I’m elected, and when I’m elected and go to Washington, I am not going to be voting for Chuck Schumer.” Bredesen also told the Jackson Sun newspaper, “I plan to not be hyperpartisan…. Every side needs to be listened to. I found it best as governor if you took ideas from both sides of the spectrum.” Recently, the editorial board for the Tennessean reviewed the candidates, commenting, “We need leaders committed to all residents, not just one constituency, one political party or one definition of what Tennessee values are.” I believe this concept is important in order for us to maintain much-needed diversity in our state.
“The last time Bredesen was on a statewide ballot, when he ran for reelection as governor in 2006, he won 68 percent of the vote, swept all 95 counties and got more votes than any governor in state history,” according to PBS. However, when it comes to East Tennessee, as the Weekly Standard has pointed out, “Voters in this nearly all-white district have not sent a Democrat to Congress since 1878.”
Ultimately, if you don’t like the current state of your situation in this district, you shouldn’t be blaming the Democrats. You cannot expect change if you keep voting for the same individuals. Perhaps Dr. Marty Olsen, the Democratic candidate for the First Tennessee Congressional District’s U.S. House of Representatives, put it best: “I’d like to point out that you can’t ‘drain the swamp’ if you keep sending the same swamp critters back to Congress.”