Dodger Davis

4 Responses to “Dodger Davis”

1. Kevin Ragsdale writes
   October 9th, 2008 1:29 pm

   I sent an email to Ms. Zechman this morning about this, and also sent a similar one to the Colu,bia Daily Herald:

   Good morning, Ms. Zechman.

   My name is Kevin Ragsdale. I’m an Independent candidate for Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District, and I am writing to you to express my disappointment in not being invited to participate in the two debates recently sponsored by the Southern Standard.

   As an independent candidate, it has proven to be almost impossible to be recognized by the local media, and a debate/forum would provide a much needed opportunity for me to share my thoughts on the issues with the voters.

   I read your statement in the recent issue about Lincoln Davis deciding not to appear: “Lincoln Davis obviously doesn’t feel our political forum is important,” said Standard publisher Patricia Zechman. “If you’re going to ask the people of Warren County to vote for you, you should take the time to come here and tell us where you stand on the issues.”

   I respectfully request to be included in a future debate (and hope the Southern Standard *will* indeed sponsor one). This election, this year, is far too important for voters to go to the polls without knowing all of their candidates.

   You may contact me at anytime to discuss the campaign, debate plans, or anything else. I look forward to hearing from you.

   Regards,

   Kevin Ragsdale
   Manchester, TN
   Independent Candidate for Congress
   Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District

   Phone: 931-841-6443
   Web: http://ragsdaleforcongress.com
   Email: kevin@ragsdaleforcongress.com

2. Donna Locke writes
   October 9th, 2008 3:10 pm

   Davis had better be in that theater at CSCC on Saturday, that’s all I can say. If he isn’t, give it your best 15 minutes, Monty. And Ragsdale would be worth hearing, probably more interesting than all the others combined. What a shame.

3. Donna Locke writes
   October 11th, 2008 9:36 pm

   Here is an impromptu, biased, and sketchy report on the Oct. 11 “debate” sponsored by The (Columbia) Daily Herald between two 4th District congressional candidates and between Maury County’s state House candidates. The event was held at Columbia State Community College.

   I showed up. Unfortunately most people in these districts, including U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis (D), did not. The turnout was light, attributable in part to the Vols game and to the failure of the Columbia newspaper to remind readers of the debate (no Friday mention that I noticed, and the paper does not publish on Saturday). In addition, many here in high-unemployment and heavy-underemployment Maury County may have already jumped off the Duck River bridges by now. I don’t know what Congressman Davis’s excuse is, other than “not politically useful” — my quote, not his.

   As an aside, this college theater was crammed with attendees, hanging over the railings in fact, for a town-hall panel discussion on illegal immigration led by state Sen. Bill Ketron (R) and state Rep. Tom DuBois (R) not long ago.

   Kevin Ragsdale, an Independent candidate for Davis’s seat, attended and handed out his campaign cards, although the newspaper refused to invite him to debate the Republican and Democratic nominees or to address the crowd, employing the term loosely. The shutout of Ragsdale was all the more ironic and galling, given Davis did not show up, indicating Davis had NOTHING to say to his constituents, while Ragsdale was THERE with PLENTY to say.

   The Republican congressional candidate, Monty Lankford, was allowed to address the audience and took his 15 minutes and ran with it in a forceful, impassioned speech, focusing on economic and energy issues, with illegal immigration thrown in at the end.

   I met Kevin Ragsdale there and read him as a very nice, smart, energetic fellow who comes across as sincere. He’s a clean-cut, nice-looking guy who made a long drive in his truck to talk with people. I fear for our country that our political system is so corrupt and insular and our news media such an accessory to this gated community that average citizens such as Ragsdale cannot break through. This is not America. It is post-America.

   The state House candidates, state Rep. Tom DuBois (R) and Maury County Commissioner Ty Cobb (D) debated, and the acrimony was detectable. I expect this race will get even nastier before the election. Cobb, who has a Naifeh tattoo (joke) and was obviously coached, held his own better than I thought he would. I have nothing personal against Cobb but feel he is not the right (sorry) person for this seat at this time. Neither he nor DuBois mentioned immigration/demagnetization, which is my thing, but focused on education funding and a few other issues. DuBois, of course, has been a sponsor and co-sponsor of, among other legislation, a number of illegal-immigration-demagnetization bills.

   Our county is struggling to fund our schools to keep pace with growth and Cobb’s parents are/were schoolteachers, and the candidates’ plays for teacher and parent votes were apparent.

   They touched on other issues, but my comment is getting long here. I just want to conclude by saying that if I can talk the rabid Vols fan in my house into attending this debate, a person so infected with Vols psychosis that when given a choice once of getting emergency hospital help for a kidney stone or attending a Vols game, he chose to pop a bunch of Advil and go to the game, if I can talk this guy into going, then our congressman, Lincoln Davis, should have been there!!

4. Kevin Ragsdale writes
   October 12th, 2008 8:39 am

   Thank you, Donna, for your kind words. It was a pleasure to meet you today!

   I knew the campaign would be an uphill battle - especially with limited financial resources - I had hoped to be able to reach more people by participating in debates and forums throughout the district. I’m gaining support daily, as evidenced by the emails, phone calls and letters I’ve received in recent days as we get closer to the election. With just a bit of exposure in a debate/forum environment, I believe the amount of support for my candidacy would grow exponentially. Voters are tired of business as usual and campaigning as usual, and I offer a something different: I say what I mean, and I mean what I say, without the all-too-familiar crackpot idealogy of some independent candidates.

   Unfortunately, it appears the newspapers and radio stations throughout the district prefer to ignore my candidacy, favoring the two “party” candidates who can afford to spend money on media advertising.

   Lincoln Davis’ arrogance shown by his refusal to participate in a real debate proves just how far he’s “gone Washington”, and I’m upset the good people of Columbia were robbed by Lincoln Davis of the chance to see a debate.

   And I’m appalled the People were robbed by The Daily Herald of an opportunity to hear from *all* the candidates.