Fixing Scottie Mayfield's agenda

In the instantaneous digital era of social media and YouTube's ubiquitous online stage, anything political candidates say can go viral in a heartbeat -- especially their gaffes. Scottie Mayfield, one of several GOP candidates trying to oust incumbent Rep. Chuck Fleischmann in the Republican primary, got a full dose of the Youtube gotcha' treatment Wednesday when he was filmed stumbling for an answer to the basic question he was asked by one of the college students to whom he was speaking. What would be the "top two or three things ... (he) specifically would want to accomplish in Washington?"

"Well," he said, closing up his briefcase as he ended his opening remarks to the College Republicans at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, "I talked to some guys today about that and, uhh, I mean other than the tax code thing, I don't have any specifics at this point because..."

Because, he rambled on, "it really depends a great deal on the committees on which you get on, and until you know what you're on, I can tell you what I'm going to do, but if I don't get on the committee that can do any of those things, I probably will not."

And so on.

So much for fire in the belly.

Mayfield's disappointing response seemed to suggest a candidate still in search of a cause, or at least an agenda. Which is a considerable irony at this point because Mayfield is campaigning to replace a first-term congressman, Chuck Fleischmann, who is vulnerable precisely because he didn't seem to have a heartfelt agenda when he ran in 2010, or at least not one he one he was willing to defend in a public debate, despite repeated attempts to get him to participate in a public debate.

Though the still-anonymous person who took the five-minute Youtube post didn't record Mayfield's introductory remarks to the UTK students, the question and answer speak for themselves. For whatever reason, Mayfield has yet to define his political mission and hone his message. He obviously has put the necessity of fund-raising for a substantive campaign before condensing his political sentiments about the vital issues on which he would take a stand.

To be fair, the Youtube video does show that Mayfield offered a handout that listed the top 10 issues he's concerned about. The problem is that he immediately refuted his handout. He said his real number one issue -- national defense -- wasn't at the top of his printed list because, despite two wars in the Middle East and saber rattling over Iran and North Korea and the threat of terrorists at our borders, things seem to OK right now.

There is, of course, a potentially favorable side to having a candidate who is ostensibly open to arguments about the agenda he should pursue. We've seen the devastating wreckage the GOP's tea party wing would impose -- more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations and deep cuts for safety net programs for the middle class. So our suggestions his agenda are: A reversal of tax cuts for the super-wealthy; closing tax loopholes for rich corporations, especially for job exporters; focused investments in education and national infrastructure; preservation of the social safety net, basic federal services and environmental protection; and full implementation of the Affordable Care Act and re-regulation of the banking industry under the Dodd-Frank banking and consumer protection bills.

That's a short list for the 99 percent of Americans who aren't making at least $1 million a year. The rich elite, as Mayfield admitted in pointing out the tax-code provisions that benefit him, are doing just fine.

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