Abortion, Tactics And The TNGOP In East Tennessee
Posted on June 13, 2008 at 9:32 amR. Neal, after reading up on an exchange on abortion between two incumbent Republican legislators fighting it out for one Senate seat, asks this question:
If Finney and Overbey are in lockstep on the number one issue for Tennessee Republicans, why is Overbey challenging his own party’s incumbent? Did you want vanilla or vanilla?
Really, it’s more like vanilla or vanilla twist. Overbey and Finney represent different wings of the party. No matter what is said in a campaign, everyone acknowledges that Overbey is a man in the tradition of the moderate old-style TNGOP as opposed to Finney who is a Republican conservative firebrand. The same division that you see play itself out between the TNGOP and our more moderate U.S. Senators is the same dynamic at work here.
And it isn’t always about issues. Sure, one faction is more conservative than the other but the beef is also about tactics. The conservatives are bomb throwers, they are confrontational, they thrive on conflict. They are content to be defiant in opposition until they have their day to rule.
Moderates on the other hand, like Lamar Alexander in the U.S. Senate and Overbey in the state House, seek to work with the opposite party and get things done so matter who is in charge. For instance, in 2003, 2005, and 2007, Overbey voted for Democratic Speaker Jimmy Naifeh. His thinking is that if the votes aren’t there for a GOP speaker why not go along to get along and try to get something done. The conservatives, they will have none of that. They are more likely to eschew compromise and let the chips fall.
That is why the abortion debate is crucial in this race despite the fact that they both claim the same position. The divide is not on the issue per say but about the tactics. By voting for Naifeh, the conservatives assert that Overbey was voting to give the pro-choice party license to run the legislature. It matters not that with or without Overbey’s vote the fate of various pro-life pieces of legislation would not have changed. It is the principle of that Naifeh vote that this race will hinge on.
If the conservatives can sell that Overbey sold out conservatism by voting for Naifeh then he may lose. If they cannot, and the race hinges on more localized issues and competence, then he will win.
Comments
One Responses to “Abortion, Tactics And The TNGOP In East Tennessee”
This race is all about old school local party BS. Finney is a “loose cannon” and Overbey is the establishment guy with the backing of the powerful local GOP machine. Should be interesting, but if I had to bet I’d probably put my money on Overbey. But part of the district is in Sevier Co., so they could be the wild card.