It's No Secret Why Tennessee GOP Won Big in 2008
By: Robin Smith, OpEd Contributor
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January 1, 2009
On Election Night, voters spoke loudly with the echoes reverberating still today. In Tennessee, John McCain carried the state with 57% of the vote, Senator Lamar Alexander was re-elected with 65%, and fourteen new Republican legislators were elected yielding a Republican Majority in the General Assembly for the first time since 1868.
Voters elected legislators that carried the same values and principles that are held by average citizen in these districts. Those values and principles are pretty simple.
* Taxes and spending: The government should live within its means and oppose higher tax bills to fund a bloated budget; the voters know government needs to cut spending.
* Gun Rights: Voters want commonsense carry laws making it easier for them to protect themselves and their families.
* Local economies: Families in their community know that improvements are needed by investing in transportation and education infrastructure to support existing jobs and recruit new businesses. They are tired of the powerbrokers in Nashville increasing entitlement programs instead.
Candidates, who displayed the courage to challenge Democrat incumbents and in open seats were solid, qualified individuals. They were not just “known” in their communities. They are people that truly represent the values of their communities.
We believe this is what our founders intended with citizen legislators. The hard work and time commitment that is necessary to run campaigns are a good test of how hard each legislator will work for his or her district. The people of these districts will be well represented by their new representative’s principled leadership.
Volunteers across Tennessee were tremendously diligent in their efforts. The countless grassroots volunteers that made phone calls into neighboring districts, raising money to pay for local newspaper ads, and canvassing neighborhoods were just a few of the efforts that yielded victories in legislative districts, many that have been Democrat strongholds for decades.
The message from the candidates never strayed from the very DNA of our Tennessee Republican Party, with an emphasis on a limited, accountable, yet effective government with the wealth and opportunity for individuals all wrapped in on our Constitutional values – life and liberty.
So, the ingredients for Tennessee’s successful election were the standard nuts and bolts of our campaigns combined with the irreplaceable enthusiasm of volunteers and voters for our candidates. The election night victories resulted from great candidates, great volunteers, proper funding, a consistent, conviction-based message and a strategy that was implemented, rather than on a shelf gathering dust.
Now, these new members join Republican majorities and face the most difficult task of all…governing at the level of dignity and decorum the people of Tennessee deserve. Tennesseans have put their trust in us and our leaders will deliver.
Robin Smith is chairman of the Tennessee Republican State Committee.
