We've got the makings of a major turnaround in TN, but it's "all hands on deck" time. I need Kossacks to help out here.
I'll try to hit the highlights...
TNDP Treasurer Chip Forrester went to college and worked with David Axelrod in the late 1970s. After graduating U of Chicago, Forrester helped Harold Washington get elected as Chicago mayor in 1983 and worked in the mayor's office. (This was also during the time when Barack Obama was a community organizer, by the way...) Forrester is trying to work with Obama supporters in Tennessee to change the dynamics and mobilize a 95-county strategy that empowers local community leaders and uses the netroots more effectively. He's also looking to create more openness and transparency (and accountability) in the policy-making process.
Now, a little history on the 2008 election cycle in TN:
On Super Tuesday, Hillary won over Obama 58%-41%. Democratic turnout was higher than GOP turnout in TN on Super Tuesday, which encouraged the party faithful. But the ongoing campaign battle between Obama and Clinton hit TN harder than perhaps any other state in the US, with the possible exception of Arkansas. Why? Because the new energy generated by the Obama campaign bumped into conflict with the "party faithful" who knew the Clintons/Gores from back in 1992, and the party establishment had fears that Obama would be "unelectable" in TN and drag the races down-ticket. The movement in the Obama campaign was slowed down by Clinton supporters who kept their loyalty strong throughout the primary season.
In June 2008, Gov. Phil Bredesen suggested that superdelegates host a "mini-convention" to vote in advance of the convention, and to solidify the numbers before Denver. His suggestion did not fly w/ party officials including Howard Dean. Bredesen hosted a "unity breakfast" in Nashville among Clinton and Obama supporters, and while the energy was positive, it didn't really move things forward statewide. Rep. Lincoln Davis (Northeast Middle TN) refused to endorse Obama, and Rep. John Tanner (West TN) endorsed but did not support.
In August 2008 at the convention, Clinton and Obama supporters began to heal in TN, but Lincoln Davis still refused to support Obama and Tanner remained basically neutral.
In September 2008, Gov. Bredesen told the Obama campaign not to campaign in TN. Field staff were assigned in TN, but worked primarily on volunteer organization and phone banking to Indiana, Missouri, Florida, and North Carolina.
Fast forward to November...
Tennessee loses the state House of Representatives and the state Senate for the first time since Reconstruction. The narrow loss in the House gave the GOP a 50-49 majority, while in the Senate, the GOP won a majority of 19-14.
On November 5th, Chip Forrester announced he is running for TNDP chair. He has the support of most TNDP Executive Committee members, and is running on a platform that will respect, empower, and include more Tennesseans in the political process. Forrester immediately worked to reach out to the Obama campaign in Tennessee. In addition, he called for improved communications among state party officials, and between party leaders and the netroots.
He is being opposed (within the past 2 weeks) by Charles Robert Bone, a young attorney who helped with Obama's fundraising committee, but also helped manage Harold Ford Jr.'s campaign in 2006. Bone is being supported by ... none other than Lincoln Davis, the same US Rep who failed to endorse or support Obama. Party insiders speculate that Bone has the support of Davis because both share a Christian conservative viewpoint. Bone is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), which holds to traditional gender roles, does not allow women in leadership, and sees homosexuality as an inherently sinful lifestyle. (Progressive? Not so much...)
Lincoln Davis is not an all-bad guy - he's managed to hold a Democratic seat in Congress in one of the most conservative districts in the U.S. But Davis' opposition to Obama and his unwillingness to support a progressive agenda have made him "Republican-lite" or "Democrat in Name Only", and he's using insider connections rather than an open process to push forward his agenda.
(I'm also personally disgusted with Davis because of his ties to AT&T and his unwillingness to oppose telecom immunity in the FISA update earlier this year.)
In order to move Tennessee forward, we can't try to "out-Republican" the GOP. Chip Forrester understands this. Lincoln Davis does not, and Charles Robert Bone seems to be interested in furthering Davis' agenda, NOT Obama's.
If it walks like a Republican, talks like a Republican, votes like a Republican, but calls itself a Democrat - is it a Democrat? And should Democrats be so "inclusive" as to encourage patriarchy or homophobia? Will Democrats focus on winning at all costs, or focus on winning for the right reasons?
These are the questions that will be answered on January 24th, when the Tennessee Democrats will vote on a new chair and new leadership.