Watching the 30th district house race is very interesting. It is normal that the front runner in an election can expect some attacks. However, the vicious attacks that Ms. Helton is facing is unprecedented in my opinion.
Both of these candidates are in the same party. I was under the impression that party leaders were the ones that challenged a candidate’s credentials. However, Ms. Helton’s opponent has taken it on himself to question her party status.
I have heard her speak and everything she says is conservative to the bone. I would think that the credentials committee would have discovered any problem with her when she served as a Republican delegate if she weren’t a “bona-fide” Republican.
More disturbing than the signs is what this type of campaigning does to our party. Let’s look at it from both angles. If Ms. Helton wins the primary, she has been forced to spend a lot of money defending herself from her own party members. Will she have enough money to defeat the Democrat in November? Her opponent has already shown that he has trouble raising money. Would he be able to raise the money to defeat the Democrat? If Ms. Helton loses the primary, is there any way in the world that she could endorse her opponent? If she doesn’t endorse him, doesn’t that make it even harder for him to defeat the Democrat? Unless the Republicans pull together, they could lose another seat in the State House.
In the past few years we have seen more and more of this type of “gotcha” campaigning. It does no good for our party and it reflects very poorly on the quality of some candidates we are putting on the ballot. Let’s stop this childish stuff and focus on why we are the better party and why our candidates should be elected.
Tom McMahon
East Ridge
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I couldn't agree with you more. I've seen back to back attack ads by these two and its down right silly. I was really digging on Mason early on because I really don't like the thought of being represented by more of East Ridge. Then I began to see the "Esther Helton voted for Obama Twice" signs. My first thought was, "So?" I thought maybe it was a Helton sign showing her ability to reach across the party lines and be a unifier. Once I realized that it was meant to be an attack on her, I was mad, but once again thought, "So what?" Vince Vaughn has made me reconsider who to vote for. I'll probably vote for Joda instead.
Much like Councilwoman Helton voting for Obama, many other Republicans (former?) will be shaking up their votes this year. Allegiance to the party is dwindling on all sides. Independents and moderates are growing in numbers. The Libertarian party is growing in popularity as defectors are seeking other options. The 2018 Gubernatorial election is record breaking, with the most number of candidates on the ballot in the history of TN's Governors race. And it's because people are not happy with the party problems that Tom referenced. Many Republicans will cross over to vote for Bredesen instead of the party's chosen one. Hopefully we will eventually see more options in the smaller elections like the 30th district.
People want adequate representation and the two party system isn't cutting it. Vote independent. Vote out incumbents. Doing anything, otherwise give these foolish folks justification for acting this way.
Tim Giordao