U.S. Rep. John “Jimmy” Duncan Jr. speaks to a crowd at the annual McMinn County Lincoln Day Dinner held at Tennessee Wesleyan College on Friday night.
U.S. Congressman Chuck Fleischmann looks at the flag as the pledge of allegiance is recited before the annual McMinn County Lincoln Day Dinner held at Tennessee Wesleyan College Friday night.
Candidate for Congress Scottie Mayfield looks at the flag as the pledge of allegiance is recited before the annual McMinn County Lincoln Day Dinner held at Tennessee Wesleyan College Friday night.
Candidates for Congress Weston Wamp, left, and Scottie Mayfield look at the flag as the pledge of allegiance is recited before the annual McMinn County Lincoln Day Dinner held at Tennessee Wesleyan College Friday night.ATHENS, Tenn. – For the second time in a week, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann found himself on the wrong end of the schedule.
He was set to deliver the keynote speech Friday at the McMinn County Lincoln Day dinner at Tennessee Wesleyan College, but he left early to inspect damage from tornadoes that lashed several counties in the 3rd Congressional District.
Last week, when GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum arrived 30 minutes early to a stop at a Chattanooga Tea Party event, organizers bumped Fleischmann’s pre-Santorum speaking spot to the end of the program. As the freshman Republican congressman belatedly took the stage, hundreds swarmed Santorum for an autograph or walked out the door.
McMinn County used to be part of the Knoxville-centric 2nd Congressional District, manned by U.S. Rep. John “Jimmy” Duncan Jr. since 1988. It was moved into the 3rd District just this year.
So when Fleischmann stood up early and faced some of McMinn County’s most plugged-in Republicans Friday evening, he took the opportunity to introduce himself. (In fact, he referenced the musical “The King And I” and one of its signature songs – “Getting To Know You.”)