You’re Light, Son

By Kleinheider Posted on July 3, 2009 at 4:42 pm

David Oatney, populist conservative that he is, thinks Bill Gibbons should hang up his quest for the Executive Residence because he didn’t raise a million dollars:

A lot of people on the other side of the State do not know who Gibbons is, and sadly when some of them find out, they often do not care. “I’m the Shelby County District Attorney” isn’t often a great selling point in Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City, Maryville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Crossville, Murphreesboro, Franklin, or points in between. His message has been obscured by the question “Bill who” in many places. At least with Jim Kyle, people might get that he is a State Senator from Memphis, and that he currently serves as the Tennessee Senate’s Democratic Leader.

Gibbons also must deal with the hard truth that the Republican Primary can be won without Shelby County, and that Republicans can carry the State without it in a General Election. If the Democrats were to lose Shelby County, however, it would likely be the political signal of a Republican landslide at the State level. As a Republican, I’d love to carry Shelby County and do it more consistently, but I also know it isn’t necessary and that we can get the numbers we need to win somewhere else. That is the hard reality.

I hope that perhaps Gibbons will give running for Governor another try, perhaps after spending a few years in the General Assembly.

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