From the Knoxville News Sentinel's report today on the latest Knox County election lawsuit [1]:

Tindell said he recognizes the will of the voters, who approved term limits by a 3-to-1 margin, as "pretty straightforward." "But most of the people I've talked to, they're not for it," Tindell said. "If you put it on a ballot, they'll vote for it, but individually they don't support it. If they like their commissioner, they're not for it." [..] "I think sometimes people don't really think about what they're voting for," Tindell said.

That last part may actually be true, judging from some of the politicians who are able to get elected. Regardless, I think this pretty much sums up the attitude of local government. We're in charge. You're not. And we're going to do everything we can to keep it that way. UPDATE: Betty Bean has the inside baseball [2].