And if Stevens doesn't have the guts to challenge Campy in the primary, it doesn't look like Campy is going anywhere for a while.

Hard work, a lot of planning, and knocking on every door in the district is the only way to beat Campfield. Campfield doesn't get elected because of party. Having the "R" next to his name certainly doesn't hurt him in this area, but he wins elections because he knocks on doors. When a voter goes to the polls, they vote for that nice boy who came by the house. The person they've never met doesn't have much chance, no matter how many yard signs they might put out there.

Not sure our any thoughts on Stevens' candidacy are even relevant...

Like Bean put it, "Campfield's ass is grass and Richard Briggs is a lawnmower," IF Briggs should run.

And I think he will run. He told me he will, anyway.

Personally, I think a Briggs victory in 2014 is far more likely than a Stevens victory.

"tall and strapping"

Okay, then.

Stevens will run on the Democratic ticket, but mostly for the purposes of raising his odds against Campfield.

Sure, sure.

would defer to Haslam’s business knowledge when it comes to creating jobs.

"He knows what will bring business here. And I think it’s great we have a businessman as a governor," Stevens says

Alrighty then.

I repeat:
Campfield's ass is grass and Rick Briggs is a lawnmower.

Stevens is gearing up to run against someone who's unlikely to get through the Republican primary. Campfield is not popular among Republicans in general. He depends on a multi-candidate field and wins by a plurality, never a majority. And he has never faced an opponent as competent and well-financed as Briggs, who is, on paper, a damned near perfect candidate.

Briggs is out talking to people and getting commitments, and his presence in the race will chill the opposition. Nobody but the usual crazies will bother to run.

War hero?
Check
Esteemed heart surgeon?
Check
Political experience?
Check
Married, stable and a pillar of the community?
Check
Campfield won't beat him and neither will Stevens.

I'm not sure why anybody evens bothers to do a Stevens v Campfield story.

Why on earth would Democrats start out of the gate by cutting down their own candidates before they've even gotten started,

Mark E. Clayton

Just read the story.

The guy is teaching a class where he has to teach himself first? That way lies madness.

I once taught a differential equations class 5 years after I took differential equations. I had to refresh myself on stuff every day. And I still barely kept ahead of the students.

I could teach college algebra or intro to statistics right now. Anything beyond that - I'd be pretty nervous about.

PS the link you provided had a big blank spot after something Stevens supported, so I honestly have no blessed clue what he was supposed to have supported. Based on the next paragraph, it appears to have something to do with education. Could be my browser or my ad blocker.

Same here, CE.

I was especially interested in understanding that passage, too, since it appeared from the article that Stevens does support unions, but supports some of these (anti-union, anti-teacher) ed reform measures, as well? Didn't quite understand how he could espouse both positions?

Can anyone on this commentary list one single thing, one bill , one public statement that proves Stacey Campfield has done ANYTHING to help the voters and citizens of his District?

And does anyone remember ANY TNGOP leader who has criticized Stacey's shameful overt hatred, disrespect, and bat crap crazy public demonstrations of idiocy?

The reason he keeps 'winning' is because the TNGOP machine would run a Clint Eastwood empty chair if Stacey had to quit. Haslam will have a fundraiser for him, and his nitwit performances will be celebrated as some kind of twisted accomplishments for his District. THIS IS THE SAME ACTION THEY WILL TAKE IF DESJARLAIS IS FORCED OUT BY THE CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS COMMITTEE. AND IF DAVID HAWK IS CONVICTED OF THE FELONY, THEY WILL FIND A 'CHAIR' FOR HIS SEAT AS WELL.

And I wonder if Dr. Briggs will even bring up any of Stacey's ignorant "MEDICAL" theories of how women cannot 'catch' AIDS if they are hetrosexual', or all Campfield's other 'medical' bills he proposed against Women and Girls AND gay teens...or his "It's OK to Bully Gay Teens", or the old one..."Let's force all women who miscarry to make sure the fetus has a death certificate".

Randy Walker was an excellent candidate, a leader in his community, scientist in OR who invented a process that saved lives on our highways, a devoted family man and devout man who had experience creating good jobs. NO, he didn't have a lot of experience in "politics", but he had and has integrity, character and a vision of working FOR our area in Nashville. He ran an impressive campaign but was not willing to get into the slime and dirt of the right wing mess. I hope he continues to seek public office. He was and is an inspiring and dedicated public servant.

I guess the point of R's initial post was to express frustration with a candidate who clearly wants to be perceived as progressive but who is reluctant to call himself a Democrat (and who may not really be all that progressive or liberal, though I can't make out why that's a fair accusation yet). Then there was some other discussion and snark about whether it makes any sense for him to run, and then discussion about Richard Briggs, Man of Steel. (I actually like Richard Briggs but he is a rightwing conservative and it is yet another painful degradation in the sad and endless humiliation of being an East Tennessee liberal/progressive that so much hope for his rise to power comes from our side. I know, I know: But Campfield Must Be Destroyed.)

But honestly whoever is posting here about the weird side attacks on Stevens makes a good point. It's completely anti-Democratic to just spontaneously, based on no reasonable suspicion, challenge the motives or integrity of somebody who puts his name out as a candidate for public office. And saying he's wasting his time is just cynical. OK so Briggs will probably (I hope, pitifully) beat Campfield, and he'll go on to beat Stevens. That's no reason to ridicule any effort to oppose him. It's no reason to tear down a smart, educated challenger who has clearly thought about why he wants to run and has some policy to run on.

As far as running on the Democratic ticket without necessarily branding himself a Democrat - well, to me that actually shows some progressive spirit. He might, like a lot of people including me, would like to see a transformation in progressive politics, which have become so filthy and collaborative in both major parties that it is entirely justified to feel reluctant on an ethical level to associate yourself with it. But realistically, you have to if you want to get in a position of leadership. That's compromise, a longstanding and essential part of politics.

I guess I just don't see what the BFD is.

edit: And by the way, anybody who voted (especially if their vote was enthusiastic) for Barack Obama needs to just withhold judgment of any progressive calling himself a fiscal moderate. Obama, champion of the Trans Pacific Agreement, supplicant to Goldman Sachs and the tunnel between their board of directors and the White House, is not quite the man of the people his fan club thinks he is. And yeah, I voted for him.

I'd like to echo much of what Hildy said. Don't have time to get into the weeds, but good for Stevens for wanting to get involved. And while Briggs would be better than Campfield, but the almost anyone would be, Briggs still is very conservative and isn't likely to have the betterment of the poor and underprivileged at heart. Just saying.

I'm didn't say I hoped Briggs won the seat. I said he would beat Stacey if he ran. I still stand by that (and that includes a scenario with Stacey as an independent).

Don't know enough about Stephens to really have an opinion, but I gotta admit I'm suspicious of anybody who's running as a Democrat but won't claim to actually be one.

We're talking political reality here, not pie-in-the-sky fantasy. Randy and Rachel are absolutely right. Campfield will only be beaten in the primary.

Edited to add Rachel-- and to comment that predicting what's likely to happen is not the same thing as willing it to happen. So spare us the lectures.

Campfield, primary
Stevens claims he's Democrat
Ain't no point in that.

But Stevens doesn't claim he's Democrat, Hildy.

I don't know what everyone here makes of that, but my thought is that if his choice is not to identify as a Democrat--and if he isn't a Republican, either--he really should run as an independent, that's all.

Yeah, I breathed, so Bean didn't like it. For the record, I wasn't lecturing. Just observing. Don't know why I bother.

It was quite interesting reading this thread regarding my campaign. I believe this quote from Hildegard summarizes my feelings towards the current political climate:

"He might, like a lot of people including me, would like to see a transformation in progressive politics, which have become so filthy and collaborative in both major parties that it is entirely justified to feel reluctant on an ethical level to associate yourself with it. But realistically, you have to if you want to get in a position of leadership. That's compromise, a longstanding and essential part of politics."

My goal is to be open and honest with the people of Tennessee throughout the campaign. The way I'm described often leads to a lot of ambiguity. Starting the campaign this early affords us the time to fill in those areas of uncertainty.

I have nothing against calling myself a "Democrat" but I've met many people who will immediately tune me out if they hear that word. My goal isn't a win for a party; my goal is a win for Tennessee.

As one final point of clarification, I considered running as a Republican. I immediately backed away from this notion when I was told multiple times that I would have to change my views. I won't change my views to a more popular stance to gain election. Although my decision to run as a Democrat has been met with some scrutiny, I have never been confronted regarding my views. For further clarification, I've included a link to my political compass.

Feel free to visit my website or Facebook to ask questions or get more info.

WEBSITE - (link...)

FACEBOOK - (link...)? (Best place to ask questions)

POLITICAL COMPASS - (link...)

I've been regularly meeting with educators to get their opinions on these subjects. My experience in the education community has been as a college lecturer (Not professor). The opinions I have below are my own but have been influenced by those within the education system who will be directly impacted by these issues.

SCHOOL VOUCHERS - I oppose school vouchers. We have to work on providing a quality education to all students. Vouchers take away money from already underfunded public schools. There are fewer oversights on private schools which don't have to accept every student.

UNLIMITED CHARTER SCHOOLS - There should be limits to charter schools. Charter schools have shown success across the US but they are not the panaceia to our complicated education system. I personally would like to see charter school options expand in Tennessee so we can properly gauge how they work for our community.

STATE APPROVAL OF CHARTER SCHOOLS - Since charter schools receive state funding for their students, I believe they should be approved and held to certain standards.

CLASS SIZE EXPANSION - Most teachers do not benefit from larger classes. Individual attention to the needs of a specific student drops off and teachers become overworked. In upper level courses where students need less individual attention, larger class sizes can work. Speaking from experience, getting students to participate can be nearly impossible at times (Especially early in the morning). If my three sections of Math 115 were put in to one, I believe students would still receive a quality education.

NEW TEACHER EVALUATIONS - The teachers feeling this the most are special education teachers. Multiple special education teachers explained to me that the individual needs of their students are rarely taken in to account during these reviews. The person observing them often doesn't have an understanding of their classroom dynamic and what they're dealing with. A good day in their classroom might look nothing like a good day in another classroom.

I believe in evaluations but we have to make sure they are fair to all teachers. This means they need to be consistent across the board for teachers held to the same standards. When a teacher is in a unique situation, it must take in to account that unique situation. As you can tell, I want to work improving the system we currently have in place.

NEW TEACHER TENURE RULES - The tenure system was great; the best educators had their jobs protected. I do not believe all educators deserve tenure; it is an honor and should be given to those who earn it. I do not want to see tenure go away. I'd like to see it become more like it originally was. The best educators should have their jobs protected.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask.

CHARTER SCHOOLS
LOCAL APPROVAL VS STATE APPROVAL

I believe in giving local communities more power to regulate. While this can lead to abuse, it allows them to handle unique situations and make the decisions that will directly impact their community. I am currently researching how other states handle this and the pros and cons. I am interested to hear your opinion on this issue.

MEDICAID EXPANSION

I believe the most important expansion for Medicaid in Tennessee would be the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In the coming years we will see many issues regarding health care in America. I believe this issue is more of a federal issue and the problems stem from the misallocation of our federal budget. With more federal funding, we could expand medicaid options in Tennessee.

2013 Federal Discretionary Spending - (link...)

STATE INSURANCE EXCHANGE

The independence the states have from the federal government comes in to play here. If a state wants to subsidies the cost of healthcare, I believe the people should vote on it. When it comes to how our tax dollars are spent, the people should have a direct voice in the matter.