Leave Doug Henry Alone!
Posted on October 2, 2009 at 10:19 amIn 2002, the rap against State Sen. Douglas Henry was that, while he was a fine gentleman legislator who had served his district well for 30 years, he was old, tired and resting on decade-old laurels.
That’s pretty much still the rap against him.
Back in ‘02 Henry’s Democratic challenger was Jeff Wilson, a former journalist turned software developer, who decided that someone should stand up for a new generation of Democrats in west Nashville. Wilson wondered aloud how long the state needed to continue to bear the burden while Henry pursued “his hobby of being in the state Senate.”
The answer from the district was four more years — and another four after that.
Now, in 2009, yet another young progressive, a downtown lawyer named Jeff Yarbro, is calling for Henry’s ouster. A co-founder of the “Kitchen Cabinet” meetings featuring young progressive professionals gripping and grinning with the party’s power elite, Yarbro is no stranger to either the grasstops or grassroots of the Democratic Party.
A fund-raising invitation which fell into media hands shortly after his campaign announcement boasted an impressive list of boosters that included both Obama fund-raiser Jerry Martin as well as Chip Forrester’s arch-nemesis in the race for party chair last year, Charles Robert Bone.
In only its first 24 hours, it was clear Jeff Yarbro’s campaign was no joke. After the first report by NashvillePost.com’s Ken Whitehouse, the announcement news was soon blanketing the media and the blogosphere. The campaign, even its embryonic stages was clearly calm, cool and coordinated — with a campaign kitty of 50K and rising.
Yarbro’s strategy seems similar to Republican Bob Krumm’s in 2006: heavy emphasis on honoring Sen. Henry’s service and little criticism of the man’s ideology or agenda. As Yarbro told the Associated Press, “I don’t think of this race as running against Douglas Henry. I’m running for the state Senate.”
Easy to say, of course, but harder to do. That’s the rub running against Henry. He is such a beloved figure, it is impossible to go negative against him. Not that there isn’t plenty of stuff that on paper looks damaging. But using it would provoke the kind of backlash you’d get if you hit your grandpa in the face — at Thanksgiving dinner.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against positive campaigns. Our politics would be much better if everyone was running for something rather than against it. But politics rarely works that way. You have to draw distinctions and communicate why change is urgent. All this talk of “working to continue Senator Henry’s legacy” doesn’t cut it.
An attractive young professional with progressive ideals and the establishment at his back can mount a formidable effort — but this is Doug-freaking-Henry. Elder statesman. Icon. A man who had been on the ballot longer than his challenger has been alive. It seems like, to win, Yarbro needs something more.
Of course, I wouldn’t be the first to suggest that a “win” for Yarbro in 2010 doesn’t necessarily have to achieve electoral victory.
A savvy young lawyer like Yarbro never knows what opportunities might pop up in the future — maybe a stint as party chair, maybe a run for Congress. Who knows? A respectable loss to the oldest of the old guard doesn’t hurt an ambitious young guy with an eye to the future.
The question that Democratic voters of the 21st District need to ask themselves is what it gains them to give the hook to Sen. Henry? What’s the rush?
Why work to unseat a Democratic state senator when what Democrats really need is an all out assault for control of the state House?
Democrats have limited time and resources at their disposal to save their future viability in state and federal politics. The state Senate is gonna be Republican — that’s a lock. But Democrats have a shot at taking back the House. A small shot, granted, but a shot nonetheless. A Democratic state House gets the party the seat at the redistricting table they desperately need. Without it, the GOP could wipe away the chances for Democratic revival in our time, literally, with the stroke of a pen.
Why expend the resources to defeat Henry now? He has been in the Senate this long, what is four more years? Is Henry that bad a senator?
Hell, not even Yarbro himself will say that. So what’s the reason? Is the need for progressive leadership that urgent or is this more about personal ambition? Is this less about what is at stake for the 21st district than what is at stake for Yarbro — now and in the future?
With all the problems Democrats have in Tennessee, one would think an effort to swap a Democrat with a Democrat in the state Senate would be the last thing they would concern themselves with.
Comments
20 Responses to “Leave Doug Henry Alone!”
Jeff lives in Nashville and lives in the 21st district. While it might be great if he lived in a swing district with an embattled Republican representative, he doesn’t. He wants to serve his district at the state level and he and others believe he is best equipped to do so. That simple really.
Fact is, there never really is a good time to challenge an incumbent, is there? I mean, every election is “the most important” ever, and the next one will be just as important, if not more so. Does that mean that once a candidate wins one primary, that seat then “belongs” to them for the rest of their life?
All this concern trolling about the “Resources” being expended by Yarbro is boring. There’s just no basis for this “zero sum game” theory that every cent Yarbro raises directly correlates to a lost dollar for unidentified Dem candidates in unidentified other races. This is especially true, since the race seems very unlikely to go negative, at least less so than say the RINO attackes Marsh has suffered.
This line of arguments is a fun parlor game for the blogs for a few days and makes for some predictable B.S. for Bill Hobbs to spout off about, but the 21st race will have little tangible effect outside this race itself.
Also, none of the House districts in the Nashville area are going to change hands between parties. The only one that could change hands period is Mary Pruitt to Steve Turner. Our area is the place to do such a primary challenge without distracting from State House elections.
Sean has a good point that “it’s never a good time.” Jeff could wait until 2014, perhaps, at which point Doug Henry would be 88. We’ll still be dealing with Republican turnout in an off-election year, just like now. And it still wouldn’t “be a good time.” Those in power will always say it’s never a good time.
I keep hearing two different, contradicting arguments. On the one hand, Doug Henry is totally untouchable so Jeff Yarbro shouldn’t even try, and the Republicans wouldn’t DREAM of challenging such a respected statesman. On the other hand, the Republicans will totally beat Yarbro in the general. Well, if the first is true, that Yarbro doesn’t even have a shot in the primary, why would you even worry about what the Republicans will do in the general?
I agree with Sean and GoldnI. And beyond that, rumors of the 21st’s Republicanicity have been greatly exaggerated. Obama and Harold Ford, Jr. both carried the district about 55-45.
ACK speaketh the truth. Yarbro and his sucklings on these threads spend all their time spinning bullshit political analysis. “The district” is trending this way. “The district” is trending that way. Obama won “the district.” And so on. It’s obvious that Yarbro and his ilk have whipped out their crayons and been circulating some kind of PowerPoint that makes the mathematical case for how Henry might be beaten and how the victor might hang on to win in the general election.
But what’s missing in all these arguments is any compelling reason to vote for Yarbro, other than he’s young and he’s not Doug Henry. That may work in some cases. But that ain’t going to cut it in this situation. I’m a lifelong resident of that district and I can tell you that you’re going to need more to beat Doug Henry than a calulator and a voting trends analysis of “the district.”
Bottom line: Right now, you’re basically running a campaign with no heart. It’s all about data and how data might support a certain outcome. And, of course, there’s the not-so-subtle use of code words to telegraph agism. (Be warned: That shit will boomerang on you faster than Goldeneye can say, “OMG, we love you Sandra Day O’Connor!!!”) My prediction is Henry will win by an even bigger margin than he did in the ‘02 primary. And you “progressive” amateur pundits will be left standing there with your thumb up your ass saying, “What the fuck happened?! Yabro’s Power Point told us ‘the district’ had changed.’” Get ready: You’re about to witness the power of incumbancy, and immense political loyalty, up close.
Now cue the whiners …
If Yarbro loses he loses, we live to fight another day…you people are the ones getting your knickers all wadded up at the prospect of someone challenging Doug Henry.
And why shouldn’t I get my knickers in a wad. He’s my state senator. He’s represented me ably since before you were born. I like him. Why should he surrender his seat because you think he’s too old? Or because he doesn’t fit your bullshit “progressive” mold. Here’s a question: Whose Senate district do you live in, and why are you interloping in this race (other than, you think you a playa)?
I’ll come out in the open with my ageism.
I do worry about Henry’s age. Statistically, he probably won’t live through the term. I don’t think this is an invalid concern, even if everyone is afraid to say it.
BUT…
To me, Yarbro is too young to represent the 21st. [Ducks and runs...]
Nobody is saying he needs to “surrender” his seat. If voters still like the job he’s doing, he’ll win re-election no problem.
As for me, I’ve lived in the 21st district, currently I live in the 19th. I care because the decisions made by one Rep or Senator effect us all, and given the 21st’s proximity to where I live, I care all the more.
Harrison,
A campaign with no heart? Really? Give this some time and I think you’re going to find a lot of people with the heart to knock on doors and phonebank.
As respectable a man as Senator Henry is, I wonder if any candidate at 88 years of age and 30 years of service will be able to mobilize an empassioned base of volunteers. Time will tell I suppose.
Lastly, those saying Yarbro’s run will strain democratic resources should consider the resources that would be saved if Senator Henry decided not to seek another term.
Oh, please, davis, don’t take Harrison seriously, I stopped doing that long ago. Harrison, you hate liberals, we know this, so why the hell do you pretend to be a member of the liberal party? Now, go back to work before Phil catches you surfing again.
Quacker. Why don’t you wipe away the Cheeto crumbs, climb off your bean bag chair and go door knocking midtown Memphis. Nobody in Nashville is interested in your silly shit.
Davis,
Henry doesn’t need “an empassioned base of volunteers.”
He needs voters. And he has those aplenty. When Yarbro and his supporters knock on doors and talk to people who voted for Henry for decades, they are going to have to give those people a reason to vote for Yarbro over Henry.
What are they going to say that will trump the respect and loyalty that voters have for Henry?
Frankly, if they try to make the argument that it’s time to elect a new senator for the future, to give Dems a better shot at holding the seat after redistricting, they will in essence be arguing that voters should support Yarbro in order to give the district a shot at power in the senate after Henry is gone.
But that’s a better argument for electing the Republican in the general election - a freshman Republican will have more power in the GOP-majority senate than a freshman Democrat will have.
Sen. Henry has power by virtue of being the bipartisan consensus pick from the district for 30 years, and because he’s got seniority and the respect of his fellow senators, all of them, D & R. He has political weight in the senate that no freshman Democrat in a Republican-majority Senate will ever have.
If the district’s voters want to think of its own self-interest long-term, they’ll elect a Republican. Otherwise, they’ll stick with Henry unless Yarbro comes up with some other reason to motivate them to switch.
With all the problems Democrats have in Tennessee, one would think an effort to swap a Democrat with a Democrat in the state Senate would be the last thing they would concern themselves with.
With all the problems Democrats have in Tennessee, it is wise to get some new folks, new minds, and new faces to address these problems and change the image of the party. Sweet a man as he is, Doug Henry is in no position to do that. He can in no way be a face of the future of the Democratic Party or the state legislature. And quite frankly, both need changing.
And while I’m socially fairly liberal and economically not that liberal, I, personally, am not demanding a more liberal legislature, just a fresher one. I’m sorry, but there comes a time you stop scraping stuff off the old slice of bread and actually put something new on the menu. And by old I do not just mean Henry. I could say the same about Odom, Pruitt, Haynes, West, Harper. Even Sherry Jones. We- the party and the legislature- need some rising stars, and I’m happy to cast my vote for one in the 21st.
But that’s a better argument for electing the Republican in the general election - a freshman Republican will have more power in the GOP-majority senate than a freshman Democrat will have.
So you’re saying that is the argument you are going to make for the Republican who pays you a consulting fee after spending all this time concern trolling about how gosh-darned good a senator Doug Henry is?
If we could get rid of Odom, I’d vote for Abbie Hoffman for state senate.
If Left Wing Cracker had a frigging clue what he’s talking about, he’d be dangerous.
Sean, I don’t have a client in that district, don’t plan to. Most of the work I do now is for business clients, not political clients.
But, yes, if I was advising a Republican candidate I’d urge that candidate to make that message a part - just a part - of their overall message. The state Senate now has a Republican majority. The district - which has plenty of R voters - has consistently chosen as its state Senator a candidate who is, let’s be honest, either a centrist or a slight degree to the right of center.
So, yes, the district should select a right-of-center Republican rather than a than a Democrat, even a centrist Democrat, if it wants its senator to wield substantial power in the state Senate.
In the upcoming session, the Senate Republicans will likely include Stacey Campfield, Brian Kelsey and Susan Lynn, all bomb throwers who garner headlines with outlandish ideas and pronouncements.
Democrats in the General Assembly don’t have the luxury of being timid anymore and hoping they can hang around long enough to gain sufficient seniority to allow them to pass a few bills.
There’s only a handful of Democrats willing to go toe-to-toe with the loudest of the loudmouthed Republicans and Doug Henry ain’t among them.
Henry can maintain his courtly, above-the-fray attitude while the Democratic Party in Tennessee slides right down the tubes. Its time to fight or leave the playing field.
How ’bout forgetting about “preserving Doug Henry’s legacy” and keeping the LEGEND!!
Brian