Does every assault and arrest make the local paper? That article and the comments under it read like gossip more than news.

Wow. Just saw some of those comments. The two that have been removed must have been real doozies. A couple of them are perfect examples of the redneck idiot line of thinking with regard to female candidates for public office. They should all be ashamed.

Tell me again why KNS allows comments on stories? Newspapers should relay news-not gossip and libelous comments.

To their credit, they removed many of the comments within 30 minutes. Specifically to his credit, Dave Keim posted a comment reminding readers they could be banned for inappropriate comments.

As for the comments, there were some real rough stuff being said. It's a tough situation for anyone, man or woman, candidate or not. It does get old reading "she's hot" or "she's not hot" everytime there is an article involving a female political candidate.

KNS comments feature serves a purpose other than ad bait. It is a stark reminder of the caliber of Tennessee's electorate.

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Oh no, what will the Truth Squat think?

I threw up were just sickening. Talk about a rush to judgment.

The article clearly states that Mr. Gionta was DROPPING her off. That implies that they were coming from a meeting place that was too far away for her to walk back to her car safely at night. The article also clearly states that they were out with a group of people from their workplace and that they met up with even MORE people from other auto dealerships. That does not sound like a romantic evening out, and would certainly not be very conducive to trysting the night away. I would hope if I worked somewhere, that my co-workers would worry about my safety enough to offer me a ride to my car when it was parked a far piece away.

I have been the victim of domestic violence, it takes NO REASON at all for someone to beat you bloody. I doubt very much if Mr. Vandergriff had any legs to stand on with regard to her behavior. He appears to be just a bully and a psychotically jealous person. Jail is EXACTLY where he belongs.

How anyone over at the KNS comment section can defend him is beyond stupid.
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"You can't fix stupid..." ~ Ron White"
"I never said I wasn't a brat..." ~ Talidapali

Why is everyone assuming she is telling the truth? Maybe she just got caught? Having been cheated on, I understand why her husband's feelings. Believe me, I wanted to do that very thing, but I was not that stupid. He should realize that photographs speak volumes in a court room.

.. Amy's a good person from all my encounters, and for some guys, having a (ahem, don't kill me wifie) attractive wife is sometimes more than most guys can bear. But Amy generally portrays professionalism , and certainly she has to talk and interact with a number of male constituents, members of the media, etc. My conjecture is it's a bad formula for this particular person in particular.

That being said, I don't know all the facts, and since I hear this person is n't a member of the media and probably in a position unrelated to the race, it's possible something is going on. Still, that's no reason to assault your wife and beat the crap out of some guy.

I'm dismayed that the article is on the front of the KNS web site. That's the real tragedy. There were rumors about (ahem) other ELECTED officials IN OFFICE having affairs, but I don't recall reading about them on the KNS web site.

** Given that the KNS has utterly ignored the general election so far, this is a piss-poor way for them to start covering candidates. **

Shame on the News-Sentinel.

I hate the headline, about possible affairs and not the assault. That crap belongs in the Journal, not the KNS. Amy has faced alot of inneundo and crap, good for her for keeping on through this.

Every time I read newspaper site comments on a story like this (and not just at KNS either), I feel like I need a shower to wash off the ugliness, stupidity, misogyny, prejudice, and general judgemental blame. Commenters yell loudly as if their guess is the only one that could possibly be true.

We seem to be a society that leaps to condemn long before the story is clear, and many of us are immune to any feelings of sympathy.

Liberty and justice for all.

My home

Those on the outside can only speculate on the marital problems. What struck me as much as anything was 'in 2003, Vandergriff was convicted of conspiring to sell 1,000 pounds of marijuana' and 'received 21 months in federal prison'. They've been married 8 years, right? So, was she unaware her husband was dealing drugs? Maybe she'll address this in the expected press conference.

So, was she unaware her husband was dealing drugs? Maybe she'll address this in the expected press conference.

So what? What does that have to do with anything? She already stated the marriage had problems in the past, but she tried to reconcile to keep the family together for her daughter. Maybe she thought he had reformed from his other problem(s). So why would she address this? Or are you just trying to smear her with his criminal record?

Remind me never to hire you as my attorney.

Remind me never to hire you as my attorney.

As if that was ever a consideration.

You will never make me believe that if the spouse of a Republican candidate was a convicted drug dealer you wouldn't be all over that like stink on...well, you get the drift.

And, it's not because she's a Democrat. It speaks to judgment and character. Based on prior debates on this blog, I understand those are low on some people's list of credentials for public officials, but I'd say this will resonate with many Knox County voters, Republican and Democrat. To prove my point, I ask that Andy and Factchecker keep up and post Vandergriff's political contributions from today forward. You can also check the vote totals on election day.

Yes, Faux News would have enough evidence from CBT's earlier comment to prove that Republicans hate two parent families.

...I'd say this will resonate with many Knox County voters...You can also check the vote totals on election day.

It's all about political games to you people. Thanks for admitting that.

Oh, and yes we're all about attacking spouses of disgraced Republicans. Abramoff, DeLay, David Vitter, Giuliani, Giuliani's South Carolina Campaign Director, and this woman's husband come to mind. We're so mean to their wives.

The husband's drug dealing should have been reported in Feb. if important to the race. What the Sentinel shouldn't do is be in the business of playing secret tapes by and estranged husband!!!

Especially when those tapes are between the parents of a seven year old child. Shame on you KNS! Whose poor judgment was that?

I don't know what's worse about all this. That guy is a creep for taping the phone call (and isn't it against federal law to tape a phone call without telling the other party?), and a worse creep for trotting it out to the media (but we already knew he was allegedly a creep because he allegedly roughed up his wife and beat up some dude in a parking lot). The media's pretty creepy for making the tape public. She's pretty creepy for talking about how well off they'll be once she gets elected and starts raking in the dough (allegedly, assuming it's actually her on the tape). The whole thing is pretty creepy. And it's very sad for everyone involved, especially the kid.

I guess we first learned of the legalities of taping someone last year....

(link...)

As long as Republicans are willing to stick up for savages, we will fight wars.