Anything that smacks of vote-the-way-the-famous-people-vote-because-hey-they're-famous makes my molars ache. So it was refreshing to learn in a conversation with financial wizard and nationally syndicated radio host Dave Ramsey that his celebrity status is not why he hopes voters will agree with him that Zach Wamp is the best candidate for governor.
In a given week, hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans listen to Mr. Ramsey's program, based outside Nashville. Judging from the effective advice he dispenses to help people get out of debt, I'm betting those listeners are among the savviest Tennesseans around. They'd tell him to get lost if he expected them to follow his political recommendations merely because he's famous - and he wouldn't insult them by asking them to.
He's hoping, rather, that Tennesseans will study up on the candidates and reach the conclusion he has: that Rep. Wamp has the best combination of knowledge, fortitude and principle to lead the state for the next four years.
From Mr. Wamp's service in Congress, he knows ObamaCare is a Ponzi scheme designed to make Washington look compassionate while forcing states to cover the hot checks. That federal sleight of hand will smother state economies if it is met with anything less than the calcium-enriched resistance offered by Mr. Wamp and other current or prospective governors who grasp the scope of the fraud being perpetrated against the American people. An understanding of congressional Democrats' wrecking-crew sensibilities will be a useful deterrent when Washington starts mailing out collection notices.
"The best way to beat somebody up is to know where their weaknesses are," Mr. Ramsey told me. Zach Wamp will "meet these guys at the state line and protect our state sovereignty enough to balance our budget with the least pain."
Speaking of the budget, Mr. Ramsey points out that there won't be all that nifty federal stimulus cash next year to keep states in the black. Happily, government-as-Lady-Bountiful is not Rep. Wamp's preferred path to economic growth.
"The economic development that he has a proven track record in is based on the free market, not based on government stimulus," Mr. Ramsey said.
Neither is it based on the fantasy that government is at its best when taxes are at their highest and most redistributive. In the difficult years ahead, Mr. Wamp will take a baseball bat to the inevitable attempts in the General Assembly to impose a state income tax. He understands that "if you want to build jobs, you've got to keep Tennessee income tax-free because it makes us very appealing," Mr. Ramsey said.
He praised the candidate's uncompromised support for the right to keep and bear arms, too. Gun rights are "a part of our liberty," he noted, and "Zach stands really strong on that. A couple of candidates say they do, but they don't have a track record on it." (And how.)
Mr. Ramsey's endorsement of Rep. Wamp ranged to other fundamental philosophical questions as well. The federal government has violated practically every boundary ordained by the Constitution, and Democrats in Congress are convinced that our $13.2 trillion national debt needs to be, oh, at least $7 trillion bigger by 2020. Opposing that twilight zone mentality is Mr. Wamp, who respects the division of powers among Washington, the states and the people - and knows that of those three, it is Washington whose powers are most strictly limited by the Constitution.
"He sat in my living room and explained to a group of people that he's basically a federalist ...," Mr. Ramsey said. "We've really got to get some of that back. The amount of tentacles that the federal government has (for instance) in a local school board, it's honestly absurd."
Mr. Ramsey sees in Rep. Wamp a unique resolve and clarity of purpose.
"It's economic vision. It's also personality and sophistication to be able to meet these particular challenges ...," he said. "Zach's a tough little guy. ... It's going to be a tough year next year. That's going to require a certain personal strength."
Mr. Ramsey's own track record shows why his is not another vacuous celebrity endorsement. He regularly rejoices on air with callers who have paid off their debts by heeding his counsel. In a time when debt is one of the greatest threats not only to our economy but to our national security, you could do a lot worse than listen to a man whose financial smarts are exceeded only by his integrity.
To heck with celebrity. Fame and a buck-50 will get you a bottle of dish liquid.
But if you want a leader who can protect Tennessee from an abusive federal government, it's helpful to know that a man like Dave Ramsey believes that leader should be Zach Wamp - and that Barbra Streisand probably doesn't.
To reach Steve Barrett, call 423-757-6329 or e-mail sbarrett@timesfreepress.com.