No Surrender: Forrester Speaks On The Truce
Posted on April 30, 2009 at 8:16 amTNDP chair Chip Forrester issues a retort to those that say the accord he reached with his detractors in the party was less a truce and more unconditional surrender:
Mr. Baker was right when he noted in his article that things were moving in a positive direction at Speaker-emeritus Jimmy Naifeh’s annual Coon Supper. But to characterize this as “surrender” could not be further from the truth. The coming together of all the constituencies for party unity is something I hoped would happen and could not be more pleased with how this has taken place.
He also wrongly states that the “deal” requires that I hire an executive director picked by the governor and reporting directly to the governor. This is completely untrue. What we have decided to do is bring on a top-flight communications director (something that I, in fact, campaigned on while running for chair) to more aggressively combat the continued failings of the Tennessee Republican Party which has been hijacked by extremist right wing zealots like Rep. Jason Mumpower, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and the current TNGOP Chair Robin Smith.
Given his history as a successful entrepreneur, Governor Bredesen looks at operations from a business perspective and in discussions has suggested that the party develop a business plan to help guide its operating activities, which we are in the process of developing now. The kind of leadership that the governor has given the state in these turbulent economic times is just the kind of leadership he has demonstrated for the Party.
What we are really all doing is having the entire team play to its strengths—the governor’s fundraising prowess is key to our statewide financial success, an “all hands on deck” candidate recruitment process that seeks, identifies, recruits and trains the best candidates for 2010, empowers the 72 members of the state Democratic executive committee in a much more visible leadership role, re-engages our 95 county parties, brings the grassroots activists from across the state into the Party and new 21st century communication tools (like our brand new web site www.tndp.org) that creates a community of committed Democratic activists—to do the single most important job we all have—win in 2010. There has been no “surrender” — just the unification of our Party for the battle ahead.
Comments
3 Responses to “No Surrender: Forrester Speaks On The Truce”
And in other news, OJ is out looking for the real killers.
(Wagging head) Chip, Chip, Chip, let it go. Why are you extending the story? Everyone had forgotten the Baker piece. Just . . . take a deep breath . . . let it go, and move on.
That’s all hogwash, of course. But, in a sense, Chip “won” because without this arrangment he would have been completely marginalized to the point of extinction, virtually no money would have been raised for the party, no staff hired, and Chip’s already-diminished salary would have been cut even further.
At least now he can keep his job and have some officially-recognized role. He’s not influential in any particualr way, but he’ll do some orgainizing, produce some stuff on the internets, and get quoted occassionally by the media. I know this ain’t much but he was headed for the unemployment line.
It’s a shame it came to this. But this is what he and the executive committee voted for. So be it.