Several months ago, Republican incumbent TN-01 Congressman Phil Roe announced he was running for re-election. Nothing unusual by itself. Except - he had previously vowed to limit himself to five terms, that clock had run out, and both the newspaper announcement of his candidacy for re-election and his Wikipedia page tried to re-write history by falsely claiming that the original term limit commitment was actually six terms.
“Sneaky Phil,” a moniker he has clearly earned, got caught and called out for breaking his promise. But, for a long time there was no explanation, just silence, not even an “oops!”
Now we have an explanation. On the eve of the August 2 Primary, after failing to show up for an NAACP-sponsored community candidate forum that included a Republican challenger with very strong military service credentials, Rep. Roe announced that he broke his term limit promise because he feels he has “unfinished business” on the House Veterans Committee (which he chairs).
Guess what Phil — every one of us has unfinished business. That’s life. A so-called “reason” that applies to everybody explains nothing, and certainly does not justify breaking your promise. Do you think nobody else can do your job but you? Your lame pseudo-explanation sounds like it.
Personally, it’s a bit disgusting when somebody does something wrong and then tries to excuse themselves by saying they did it on behalf of somebody else (in this case, Veterans).
To be absolutely clear, there was no clamor from Veterans’ groups for Roe to run again, no “draft Phil” cries emanating from VFW chapters. To the contrary, this episode reflects Sneaky Phil dishonorably drafting Veterans into the service of his personal ambition.
Furthermore, if you look at Sneaky Phil’s track record on Veterans, this is not the first betrayal that he has tried to spin into something else. For example, he has twice proposed that veteran “benefits” be paid for by veterans themselves with new fees (a/k/a taxes). One such proposal applied to GI Bill benefits and thankfully failed to pass; the second proposal, involving Blue Water Agent Orange benefits, did pass and now VA mortgages cost more to fund the “benefit.” In the name of the ideological Holy Grail of “choice,” and over the objections of both veterans and VA employees, Roe has supported increased outsourcing of the VA’s unique integrated healthcare, sending more veterans to the uncertainties of the private sector. Most recently, Roe stood by and allowed the award of a multi-billion dollar NO-BID contract for a VA software system that had failed in previous DoD trials. The contract was given to a corporation that has been a big political donor.
We have enough grandiosity, truth-spinning, and shady dealing in the White House, we don’t need any more in Congress.
Tennessee sadly ranks dead last in voter turnout among the states. Apathy, not accomplishment, is how guys like this get re-elected. So, if you are an East Tennessee voter, or know one you can help get to the polls this Thursday, August 2, please remember: your country and your community need you. Vote!