Audio clip
Jim Lewis
JASPER, Tenn. -- About 160 Democrats feasted on pinto beans and turnip greens Tuesday night to signify "hard times" and rally for 2010 gubernatorial and state legislative candidates.
Former state Sen. Jim Lewis, D-South Pittsburg, organizer of the dinner, said it was a reprise of the "hard times" dinner the county party had in the early 1980s. He said people were hurting economically then and they're hurting now.
"I thought we'd create some memories for some younger Democrats," he said.
Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney argued Democrats are to blame for the "hard times."
"Many Tennesseans are struggling to make ends meet during this economic downturn, and they don't want higher taxes, more spending or a costly government takeover of health care," he said.
Mr. Devaney also said he thinks Democrats are having hard times of their own with Gov. Phil Bredesen preparing to leave office.
But state Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, who spoke at Tuesday's dinner, argued that Gov. Bredesen has been a sound financial manager in comparison to Republican governors.
"I kind of have a curiosity of what an elephant's memory is like," he said.
Two of the four Democrats running for governor, state Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, and Nashville businessman Ward Cammack, spoke as well. Mr. Cammack said Tennessee should seek to become a source of renewable energy for the country, while Sen. Herron told attendees not to let the GOP peg Democrats as anti-religion.
Another gubernatorial candidate, Mike McWherter, stopped by the event early on but left for another event in Chattanooga. Former state Rep. Kim McMillan and state Sen. Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, also in the Democratic gubernatorial race, did not attend.
Republicans in the gubernatorial race are U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.; Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam; Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, and Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons.
ELECTION DATES
* Nov. 20: First day for candidates to pick up petitions
* April 1, 2010: Qualifying deadline for candidates running in primaries
* Aug. 5, 2010: State primary
* Nov. 2, 2010: Election day
I really don't understand the structure of this article.We are given one innocuous quote from Jim Lewis in the third graph and then we are subjected to the comments of the GOP Party Chairman attacking the Democrats. It seems to me that the GOP comments would have been much better placed farther down in the article.
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