Not exactly sure what the "mud" is. "Mudslinging" refers to the use of insults and accusations, especially unjust ones, with the aim of damaging the reputation of an opponent or an attempt to discredit one's competitor, opponent, etc., by malicious or scandalous attacks. My take is that we Democrats need to develop much thicker skins, especially to combat the coming GOP tactics between now and November.

Anyway, I received the Owen piece today and on one side it simply shows a chart listing Democratic candidates or groups and indicates whether you or Owen donated anything to them. It's a fair comparison. And your citation to Owen's GOP donations is also fair, although one is almost 20 years ago and all are well over 10 years old. And as a response, the video is pretty funny, and reminds me a little of something Tom Jester would do.

The key though, is that unlike races for government offices, this type of race focuses almost entirely on the candidates' Democrat credentials. It's the only way someone who does not know you can assess you. Owen can point to his past service as a state representative and state senator and DNC member and his prolific support of Democrats and you can point to your past service as county commissioner and party officer and support of lots of candidates as well. It's the only way an interested and undecided voter is going to be able to fairly assess each candidate.

I am very surprised that Owen hasn't raised the issue of you supporting an Independent against an incumbent Democrat for commission back in '06. Fair's fair, Mark. I was attacked for running as an Independent against an incumbent Democrat commissioner in '10 and called disloyal and a lot of other things in the process. But you folks knew very well that I was a Democrat and that one way or another, a Democrat was going to keep that seat. You just wanted it to be YOUR Democrat. You won. All's fair.

But neither your post nor your video counters or otherwise addresses the facts set forth in Owen's piece. The flip side of Owen's piece is actually more compelling than the chart, as he lists endorsements and quotes by numerous well-respected Democrats, like Joe Armstrong, Councilwoman Brenda Palmer, Charlie Woody and Suzanne Coile of the AFL-CIO, former TNDP chair Doug Horne, and 2010 Democrat nominee for state senate Randy Walker. You are only referenced once in those quotes, where someone refers to you as "polarizing and divisive." But hey, I've read and heard the same thing about me, and that's just today.

I was contacted by a real live person from one of the campaigns who was asking pertinent questions about how I felt about the issues and who seemed genuinely disappointed when I had to go. And I really had to go to work, so the call, at that immediate moment, was secondary.

What impressed me was that that candidate understood the importance of getting to people that were almost certainly going to vote. This party needs more , a lot more, of that one on one interaction in order to win elections.

The only way to win in a low information voter state is to become the party that the low information voter trusts.

I like the video. Keep up the good work.

These District lines have been redrawn since the last election, and I understand Bill says he now lives in the LMU law school. Not necessarily saying he doesn't, but it seems odd. How does that work?

Who has more say in the direction of the Party? This committee or Herron?

I hate to throw water on the catfight, but,

I had a friend break my heart today and it didn't have to happen. Because I'm sick and live in a state fighting Obama care I'm in a struggle just to keep a roof over my head. My friend called and asked me what he could do to help. I didn't call him. I had given up asking anyone for help a long time ago. I told him what I was facing. I hadn't eaten in 4 days because I had to buy meds with my last cash instead of food. I told him I hadmy wreck settlement coming in 2-3 weeks and would be fine after that. So I waited on him with the food and funds promised. He never showed. Why offer to help someone that truly needs help if you aren't going to help. Its cruel and wrong. I lost everything I owned in 2003 from cancer bills when I only had 1 million in insurance and 3.6 million in hospital and doc bills. Now I'm losing it all again because my state won't give me healthcare. So thanks my friend for breaking my heart. I didn't ask for your help although I need it. I cancelled my flight to Houston and maybe you can take me there when I lose my car. Next time just punch me in the face. It won't hurt near as bad.

This is what we're supposed to be trying to fix. We need to make work what we've done, otherwise everything forward is meaningless. We need to work on delivering what we've passed and done as a party. The reason Republicans can get away with saying Democrats are full of shit is because they take petty anecdotes from real life to prove we are. We need to work together to get what we've done as a national party working at a state and local level. I understand that I'm considered a blowhard prick, but hear me now and believe me later, the biggest problem we face as Democrats is not Republicans, it's the people we look at in the mirror every morning. If we can't put the good of the party ahead of ego and personal gain, how are we going to convince low information voters that we're going to put their wants and needs ahead of their bosses'? We're killing the party here people.

Bob:

If your friend is in need of health care right now, he can go to Cherokee Health or Knox Area Project Access/KAPA (531-2766) or Interfaith Clinic at 546-7330. If he needs help in enrolling in the ACA or applying for TennCare, Cherokee and KAPA can help with that right now.

He can also contact the Tennessee Health Care Campaign (877-431-7083) for more resources, and if he is willing to share his story so they can continue to make the need for TennCare expansion known to everyone.

For help with food, he can contact the Fish Pantry or just check online for a number of food banks in the area.

Tennessee Justice Center at 1-877-608-1009 may also have more resources available for him.

When I was a volunteer at the Knox CAC on Western Ave there was an office that helped folks if they were going to lose their housing but I cannot get that info this morning.

Please let me know if I should research that further or if there is anything else that I can help with.