A Hamilton County Republican group hopes to raise money for local races by tapping into conservative anger over national issues.
"At our nation's capital, they are curtailing freedoms outlined by the Constitution and placing additional, undue burdens on the middle class and small-business owners -- the backbone of our economy," states an e-mail sent last week from the Majority Builders. "Why can we become very impassioned about a presidential or congressional race, but only feel lukewarm in our attention to partisan, county races where a conservative, Republican candidate can make a difference in our lives right here? Well, we shouldn't."
IF YOU GO* What: Majority Builders reception* When: 6-7:30 p.m. Jan. 21* Where: Heritage House, 1428 Jenkins Road
Matthew Bryant, chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party, said organizing the group will help gather the basic tools for winning local elections.
"I do think there is an enormous amount of attention given by conservatives to national issues, and rightly so," he said. "But we feel that, as a county Republican Party, we must be about the business of taking care of ensuring victory at the local level."
Last summer, local conservatives turned out in large numbers for town hall meetings on health care reform legislation, and a local group even marched on Washington, D.C., in September.
Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester said that, if Republicans plan to tie their local and state appeals to national issues, he sees it as "a flawed strategy."
"Voters look at issues locally," he said.
Mr. Forrester said Tennessee Democrats will respond to national appeals with reminders of when the GOP was in charge in Washington.
He referred to "the eight years of flawed Bush administration economic policies that have gotten us into the mess we're in. We inherited this economic disaster."
Bruce Oppenheimer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University, said it's tough to raise money for political campaigns in this economy, so political groups are looking for ways to tap into people's passions.
"People try to use whatever they think will work," he said. "These are things that resonate with (the Republican) base."
The question, he said, is whether the people who are so riled up are the same ones who pull out their checkbooks to help pay for campaigns.
Harold Coker, honorary co-chairman of the Majority Builders, said voters in Hamilton County will do that.
"We have sort of gotten away from our conservative (roots). At least, the Congress has," he said. "We need to elect those kind of people that stand for those values."