Konapolled's picture

Honestly, Neal...

...none of them are going to appeal to me unless they're on Steve Cohen's level of Liberal.
Cammack talks like he is, but his past tells a very different story.

knoxrebel is not stretching it when he calls the guy a chameleon. Cammack has shown every shade depending on what fence he's sitting on.

If Cammack is elected, and starts performing political fellation on the Right, the TNDP will lose credibility with the newer, younger voters that are the future of this party in this state.
If that happens, if we fail to show a stark difference between the Repigs and us, we can kiss this state goodbye.

I'm not willing to take that chance at the moment.

Cammack needs to come with a convincing argument as to why anyone should believe what he says instead of just parroting popular Leftist slogans.

No choice at this point. Thanx for asking.

bill young's picture

No clue in the primary

If it's Ball that may run I voted for him in '78
for congress in the 1st district.

Roy won Ned's state house seat in '86 when Ned was elected governor.

So both Mike & Roy are picking on the same bone.

A Nashville Democrat's picture

Cammack's Views

Let's see, Ward Cammack wants to make Tennessee a leader in the green economy. He wants to expand the Solar Institute to make geo-thermal and other forms of alternative energy a reality. He has publicly said he will ban mountaintop removal mining and that he supports gay adoption.

Tell me what is "not progressive" about that.

knoxrebel's picture

The biggest point I made is

The biggest point I made is that he's a chameleon. Look at his record of contributions - Corker, Hilleary, Alexander - yeah, those guys are progressive, huh?

Paul Kuhn's picture

Cammack

And he also favors medical marijuana.

Konajuana's picture

:)

I wasn't aware of that. That's important.
:)

Are you absolutely certain of this? I can't find anything to substantiate it. I Googled ward+cammack+medical+marijuana and the first link was this thread.

Personally, I don't trust a word Cammack says. Republican-Lite types have that effect on me.
But I could be swayed his direction if what you say is true and he's not lying about it, and the other Left-leaning lyrics he sings.

If you could give me some more info I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanx!

talidapali's picture

I'm only leaning...

towards Cammack. I don't know enough about the others to really make a judgment right now. I would like to see a whole lot more from all the candidates...perhaps an online round-table thing or something where they answer questions or a questionnaire (essay questions are a bonus, I don't like one word answers) that I can read through and see how they stack up against each other and where they lie on the political philosophy scale...I usually go with the one that most closely matches my own philosophy, so far that's Cammack.

_________________________________________________
"You can't fix stupid..." ~ Ron White"
"I never said I wasn't a brat..." ~ Talidapali

knoxrebel's picture

An East Tennessean will change the dynamics of this race

I've talked to folks from one end of the state to the other and it just seems like there's a huge void in the Democratic field right now. Kim McMillan should be governor one day. We'd be lucky to have her. But she will be the first to drop out. She just can't raise any money. In the end, it'll be a four person race. Herron is a great orator, has been in the legislature forever, and will raise a bit of money - he might get to $1 mil - but he has problems of his own out in his neck of the woods and won't catch on in Middle or East TN. McWherter's name alone will carry him for awhile and he'll probably far surpass Herron and McMillan in fundraising (might get to $1.5 or even $2 mil), but Herron and McWherter will be fighting it out for those rural votes and neither will catch on over in Middle or East TN (although McWherter has a better of shot at this). Cammack has some money, and pockets of support scattered across the state, but he will ultimately be seen for what the Nashville Democrats are saying he is, an opportunist who is running as a Democrat only because he could not win in the GOP Primary. His views - for the most part - are certainly not progressive, and his political track record might be his downfall. Nutshell, I think we'll have another candidate - the only one from East TN - within the next 30 days. An ET Democrat's entry into the race, especially one who can self-finance if necessary, will alter the dynamics of this race. He will be strong in East TN and will be able to compete on equal footing with Herron & McWherter in West TN (especially in Shelby and Madison County) and with McWherter and Cammack in Middle TN (especially in the Nashville suburbs and outlying counties). Stay tuned.

Besides, an East TN Democrat might be the only electable alternative to ET GOPers Haslam, Ramsey, or Wamp. The strategy is much like Gibbons' plan in taking on the 3 ET guys. They'll split up the ET vote fairly evenly, he can hold his own in Middle, even affording to come in 3rd or 4th there, and carry Shelby, Madison, and some other larger West TN counties. The ET Democrat would hope that Herron & McWherter split the West TN vote, see a 4-way fight in Middle TN, and carry ET by a decent margin.

benintn's picture

Progressive? Cammack?

Confused - what exactly is it about Ward Cammack's policies, positions, or platform that it NOT progressive?

If you have specifics, I'd love to hear them.

Then again, if you have any specifics from Kim McMillan or Roy Herron or ANYONE ... I'd love to hear those too.

Bbeanster's picture

East Tennessee Democrats

East Tennessee Democrats don't do so well in statewide races. Especially East Tennessee Dems named Randy.

knoxrebel's picture

The fella I'm talking about

The fella I'm talking about is not named Randy, and he could raise far more and put considerably more money into the race than either Randy had or did.

vibinc's picture

Gubers...

It's still too early to tell anything. So far, only McMillan and Cammack are even making a go of it. McWherter and Herron just got in and have plenty of time to get up to speed. They do need to get up to speed soon though, so they don't lose too much ground.

Cammack is doing the best job of getting a message out there. Of course, as the new guy he has to. Lots of people don't know who he is and some are distrustful of his past political activities. Still, this is the early effort that will pay off in the end.

McMillan is polished, but not taking advantage of her name recognition, and not pushing information out of her shop effectively right now. The result is that Cammack is gaining a foothold in some areas that McMillan may be a more natural fit.

Still lots of time folks and plenty of opportunity for fumbles and turnovers.

LeftWingCracker's picture

I'm waiting....

on someone to make up their mind...

WhitesCreek's picture

At the moment, Cammack is

At the moment, Cammack is the only person in the race that I think can win the general election. His environmental record alone would win me over, but he appears to be centrist enough to appeal to both sides.

McWherter has a big name dad but what else?

McMillan would be a great governor but I don't see her winning the general.

Roy Herron has to be the odds on favorite of Dem insiders but I don't see him winning the general OR being a great governor.

(Opinions of this blogger are subject to change...early and often.)

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