the unspoken rules of campaign season

During the campaign season, one would like to believe that there are unwritten or unspoken rules that are understood by candidates running.  When unfortunate or unexpected situations arise, like the loss of a loved one that is the family member of someone running for office, their opponent usually suspends their campaign, at least publicly, during the time of mourning.

   Tennessee House District 76 Democratic candidate, Mark Maddox, lost his sister, Janet Maddox, earlier this week.  Here is her obituary, as listed, on the funeral home's website:

Services for Miss Janet Leigh Maddox, 51 of Dresden, will be held August 9, 2012 @ the Dresden Cumberland Presbyertian Church @ 2p.m. in Dresden, TN., with burial to follow in the Sunset Cemetery also in Dresden. Ms. Janet's visitation will be held August 8, 2012 @ Dresden Cumberland Presbyterian Church from 4 til 8 p.m. It will resume August 9, 2012 @ 10a.m. til funeral time. Janet is the daughter of Sam Maddox & Bonnie Jones. She is also survived by her Step-Father Kenneth Jones, two brothers, Mark(Kerri)Maddox of Dresden, TN.& Ricky(Bianca)Jones of Tulsa, OK. She was preceded in death by one brother Tommy Maddox. The Family has requested in lieu of flowers all donations maybe made to CDS Center in Martin, TN. or Dresden Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Dresden, TN.

First, and foremost, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the Maddox family for your loss of beautiful Janet.  I have heard such wonderful and inspiring stories about her, and I know that her impact on the lives of many will continue on.  For those of you who do not know Janet, she was part of  Community Developmental Services (CDS) and the Maddox family are big advocates of this program, and what it does for members of their community.  The Maddox family, as mentioned in the obituary, asked that donations be made to CDS or the Dresden Cumberland Presbyterian Church in lieu of flowers.

Janet passed on Monday morning.  At 10:23am, that same day, State Representative and current Republican candidate Andy Holt had the audacity to notify all members and staff of the Tennessee State Legislature via an email from his assistant Donna Anderson of the loss of Janet:

Rep. Andy Holt just learned this morning of the passing of Janet Maddox, sister of former Rep. Mark Maddox. We will give more information as it becomes available. Please remember the Maddox family during this time of sorrow.

While it was a nice thought, it apparently was only a thought, and not fully thought through.  In my opinion, Andy had NO right whatsoever to take it upon himself to make this known to everyone.  I know that if I was running for office, and an incident like this occurred just a few hours after the passing, I would not take kindly to my opponent for doing something he had no business in doing.  Some people might feel that this isn't horrible or as tasteless as I find it to be, but it does get worse.  I made the mention of an unspoken rule known by anyone running for office to temporarily suspend their own campaign, AT LEAST PUBLICLY, for a period of time for the candidate and their family to grieve peacefully.  Unfortunately, Mr. Holt doesn't believe that these sort of unspoken rules apply to him.  Not only did he take it upon himself to notify the legislature of Janet's passing, but he even had someone put an Andy Holt Conservative for Congress sign up within 100 feet of Mark's mother, Bonnie's, home.  His mother had to pass this sign at least five different times this day while going back and forth making arrangements for Janet.  Call it a coincidence or maybe plain ignorance....no matter what you call it, I would bet on it that this was pre-meditated by Andy, or his campaign staff, without a doubt.  Not only is this tacky and tasteless, but it truly shows what kind of a character Andy Holt really has.  Not to mention, there is nothing conservative about crass ploys like this during a campaign.  The more people I talk to about Andy Holt and how he consistently believes that nothing ever applies to him...kinda like he thinks that he is the supreme ruler of his land......in Andy Holt world that is....the more people are completely turned off by him.  Andy, do you really have no shame?  Next time you try to pull something like this i IMPLORE you to think, think, and think again.  My mother always told me to think before I speak or act......it's unfortunate that no one taught you how to do the same thing.

Lastly, I would encourage those that are in as much shock as I am over the way Andy Holt has conducted himself this past week to counter his ignorance by either making a donation to CDS or the Dresden Cumberland Presbyterian Church in honor of Janet Maddox or to Mark's campaign that he is running against Andy Holt.  Let's respond in a positive manner to Mr. Holt's negative one.

Andy Holt in Hawaii????

Why is our state rep, Andy Holt, not in Nashville you ask?  He's in Hawaii.  Now, if I cared even in the slightest about my constituents I would not be in Hawaii.  I would be representing my district.  I received information from a friend in Nashville that he was not in the first day of session.  I took it upon myself to call his office in Nashville to find out what was going on.

- Was Representative Holt in Legislation yesterday?
- No ma'am he wasn't.
- Is there a reason why he is not representing his constituents?
- He's out of town receiving an award.  He's out of state.
- Can I ask what state is he in?
- He's in Hawaii.
- Well that sounds more like a vacation than receiving any kind of accolade to me.
- Would you like to speak to Mr. Holt?
- Absolutely.
- Let me get your information and I will give him your message.


Now I have received information that Mr. Holt is in fact in Hawaii (on a tropical vacation that his constituents can only dream of) competing for an award at the American Farm Bureau's annual convention.  I don't see dates listed, but a post from January 5th state that it was currently going on.  


Now, Mr. Holt has returned my call, from Hawaii, answering all of my questions in a typical know-it-all can't be wrong fashion.  He kept reiterating the fact that since he is in the majority party in the Legislature, and that he was given blessings from Speaker Harwell to miss this week.  When I asked about redistricting and other votes this week he said that his vote didn't really matter (not something I want to hear from my Rep) because the minority party would not be getting any changes that they want in terms of redistricting.  He did say that he will be back this Saturday, and back in Nashville Tuesday unless the vote is postponed to Sunday.  The GA is closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Frankly, I am shocked that he did respond.  However, I think he may have thought that I was a Republican with his constant mentioning of the majority party and his disregard for the minority party.  


Frankly, I don't care who you received blessings from.  You were voted in. stupidly in my opinion, by the residents of the 76th and your concern is competing for a 2012 Chevy Silverado or 2012 GMC Sierra as well as fully paid registration for next year's convention in Grand Rapids.


Now if you see what I have brought up to be a problem, then I encourage you to call Rep. Holt's office in Nashville and express your thoughts of him being in Hawaii and NOT Nashville.

Andy's Nashville Office Contact Information

301 6th Avenue NorthSuite 

205 War Memorial Bldg

Nashville, TN 37243

Phone (615) 741-7847

Fax (615) 253-0293 

email: rep.andy.holt@capitol.tn.gov

On A Side Note: While speaking with Mr. Holt I did inquire about redistricting.  He did say that Huntingdon will no longer be in the 76th, but rather the 79th (Curtis Halford's district).  Bruceton and Hollow Rock will remain in Andy's district.

A Ron Paul Revolution in West Tennessee?

I went to Jackson yesterday to get my son some new shoes.  My husband and I decided we wanted to eat healthy while we were in Jackson and were making our way to Jason's Deli.  To my utter shock I came upon this:

Now for those of you who are familiar with this area, this is right by the wal-mart on vann drive.  right near the columns.  i did not go down to the columns to see if they were there as well, but if i had to guess id say at least 100 if not more were out there.  now, for the last four years that ive been living in tennessee i cannot recall jackson getting political about much of anything and doing something like this.  now, i am not a ron paul supporter at all.  in fact, from most of the younger people that are in to him, i can personally attest that they all are or were stoners....or the majority of them are.  they see ron paul as being a support of the legalization of marijuana.  i have several supporters that I am friends with scattered across the country.  i know that several of them participate in the wacky tobacky.  now, i really never gave paul the slightest bit of attention.  he claims to be a libertarian and many of the supporters out there claimed to be libertarians and that he was as well.  

Now according to the Libertarian Party's official website this is how they describe being a libertarian:

   via Libertarian Party

What is a Libertarian?

Let's start with Webster's definition:

libertarian: A person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially of thought and action.
Libertarian: a member of a political party advocating libertarian principles. 

Libertarians believe in, and pursue, personal freedom while maintaining personal responsibility.  The Libertarian Party itself serves a much larger pro-liberty community with the specific mission of electing Libertarians to public office.

Libertarians strongly oppose any government interfering in their personal, family and business decisions.  Essentially, we believe all Americans should be free to live their lives and pursue their interests as they see fit as long as they do no harm to another.

In a nutshell, we are advocates for a smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

Now, I would guess that if you didn't want the government interfering in your personal life then you would be accepting of gay rights since what they do in their house shouldn't be regulated by the government.  Then a woman would most definitely have the right to choose.  Right?  Well, we all know, Ron Paul is definitely PRO-LIFE.  Doesn't sound very libertarian like to me.  If he supports less government, then he shouldn't care or what a woman chooses.  As from his website he had this to say:
via Ron Paul Fan Site 

In an Oct. 27, 1999 speech to Congress, Ron Paul said:

“I am strongly pro-life. I think one of the most disastrous rulings of this century was Roe versus Wade. I do believe in the slippery slope theory. I believe that if people are careless and casual about life at the beginning of life, we will be careless and casual about life at the end. Abortion leads to euthanasia. I believe that.”

Now,  the site also says:

He believes that human life starts at conception, and that casual elimination of the unborn leads to a careless attitude towards all life.

So let me get this straight, if I were to have an abortion clearly I have a careless attitude towards all life?  If I am a teenager, knowingly unable to provide a reasonable life for a child, most likely without two responsible, especially financially, parents, and will rely only on state-funded health care provided by tax dollars to bring this child into this world.......and Im careless towards life if I know its better for both me, my family, and that cell mass to be terminated?  Let me say, that this doesn't make sense.

Now, recently there have been newsletters that the "good doctor" wrote in the early 90's that exploit typical racist stereotypes on blacks and gays.  So he clearly, does not really support gays like he so adamantly claims today.  I encourage you to follow twitter user RP_Newsletter .  He has been posting the different newsletters 140 characters at a time, and it is rather interesting the things that he writes.  And, I can personally attest, that as a doctor, he more than well should have known that the accusations that he made about AIDS and blood transfusions in the early 90's was BS.  I had a severe ten hour spinal surgery in 1994 that required a blood transfusion and at the age of 12 I was informed of all the different tests that were run on blood before a transfusion at the time because of the knowledge that HIV could be transferred that way.  I was blown away that he really did believe this virus could be transferred in the most ridiculous ways.

So, now my question is this, why is there all this VISIBLE support for Ron Paul?  Is there something else appealing about him that I don't know?  Can someone fill me in?  To me, I don't see the appeal to him at all.  So, now are we going to start seeing people gathering around West Tennessee in support of Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, or my personal favorite, Perry?  If I wasn't with my family, I might have ventured out there to ask those folks why they personally are voting for Paul.  Maybe I would have gotten some interesting answers.

How much more of this will we see before the primary on March 6th?

Anyone?? PLEASE!!! Anyone??

With the first views of the new possible districts being laid out this week, I know here in West Tennessee we are wondering, now who is going to run???

MY PLEA.......

 Will a Democrat with some GUTS please file to run against both Rep. Andy Holt & Rep. Stephen Fincher?!?!?!


If I wasn't a woman from Chicago and had funding I'd do it.  No doubt!  However, I think that there are more qualified people to do so.  Now, I am wondering if Mr. Mark Maddox will run despite the changes in the district.  Ideally, he and many of us would have liked a unified Weakley & Carroll County, but sadly, it doesn't look like this will ever be.  So, there is my first question.....

Mr. Maddox will you be filing your papers by early April?


Now, an even bigger question.....has Roy Herron STOPPED campaigning since his loss in 2010?  His website is functioning.  Not updated, but functioning.  He has had booths at different events including this year's biggest state fundraiser, Jackson Day.  I, personally, don't think he has stopped.  I think that Roy is in it to win it.  He will certainly have to change some things from his last attempt.  Visibility and marketing being the two biggest reasons he lost.  Here in Carroll County, I could not drive more than 1 minute without the sight of a "Plow Congress" sign covered with Fincher's dreaded name EVERYWHERE!  Now, I know Roy had supporters, but Fincher had his HUGE signs all over 70 & 22 MONTHS before Roy even announced he was running after withdrawing from the Gubernatorial race.  Roy needs visibility!!  Signs EVERYWHERE, and not waiting until after the filing deadline in April, he needs them NOW.  I also feel that a way to edge over Fincher is the capitalize on the esteemed award from CREW this year, that I previously mentioned in an earlier blog, him being one of Congress's most corrupt members.  Take it and run.  In a classy way, BUT RUN WITH IT!

Now, in other areas.  I'm still trying to decipher whether or not Huntingdon, where I reside, is moving into another House district.  If so, then for sure I will throw my help and support behind whomever will legitimately run a campaign against Rep. Halford.  There was a failed attempt in 2010.  I think we need someone bigger, younger, and smarter.  I have a thought, and I know he was toying with the idea in 2010, but stopped when someone else filed.  I think he would make an excellent candidate.

In other districts, please let me know who is thinking about running or who you think should run.  You can email me via the link on my blog, leave a comment here.  If you have any information you'd like to share and remain anonymous, I would be more than happy to post and not give any information out as to who you are.

proposed tennessee redistricting maps (state, senate & congressional) updated 1.6.12

From what information I've gathered from the proposed redistricting maps these are what changes West Tennessee could be possibly looking at.  I will update as I come across more information.

       Tennessee House:

Johnny Shaw, (D) - District 80: Adds a greater portion of Hardeman county and loses part of northern Madison county

Steve McDaniel, (R) - District 72: Gain southern Decatur county and lose southern Wayne county

Jimmy Eldridge, (R) - District 73: Would gain part of Rep. Shaw's district in northern Madison county

Craig Fitzhugh, (D) - District 82: would represent Crockett, Haywood, and Lauderdale counties

Curtis Halford, (R) - District 79

Vance Dennis, (R) - District 71: Would be merged with Democrat Eddie Bass; however they are drawn in a way that Dennis would likely win

Andy Holt, (R) - District 76: Gains part of Obion county including South Fulton and the northeastern part of the county 

Tim Wirgau, (R) - District 75

Jimmy Naifeh, (D) - District 81: Tipton county only (sadly he lost Tipton in 2010)

Bill Sanderson, (R) - District 77: Gained ALL of Dyer county, Lake county, but lost part of Obion County including South Fulton & NE part of the county.

Tennessee Senate:   

Lowe Finney, (D) - District 27: From Madison, Carroll & Gibson counties To Madison, Crockett, Dyer, Lake & Lauderdale Counties

Roy Herron, (D) - District 24: Carroll & Gibson counties would move into his current district

Congressional Map:

Stephen Fincher, (R) - District 8: would gain part of Shelby county

             
Tennessee House proposed Redistricting map                           
I will break these up a little bit so that there is a better view of the different districts.

West & Middle Tennessee

Middle & East Tennessee

East Tennessee

The State Senate proposed Redistricting Map looks like this:

The Congressional proposed Redistricting Map looks like this: