From the Chattanoogan.com:
The Chattanooga Tea Party and Campaign for Liberty are joining together to sponsor a series of LiberTea Debates in preparation for the 2010 elections.The first of these public debates will feature the seven announced Republican candidates for Tennessee’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, from 2-5 p.m. at Woodland Park Baptist Church. The debate will be free and open to the public.
The seven candidates who expressed a commitment to participate in the first debate are Tommy Crangle, Chuck Fleischmann, Tim Gobble, Greg Goodwin, Van Irion, Arthur Rhodes and Robin Smith.
At the conclusion of the debate, each participating candidate will be provided with a private room to meet with attendees and answer their questions, thus allowing attending citizens to interact directly with candidates and further discuss issues of interest to them.
Joe Lance
Ray Minner on Dec. 4, 2009
It's wonderful to see debates being planned and sponsored. I hope there will be several.
We allowed Zach Wamp to skate away from these election cycle after election cycle. He should have been ashamed of himself, but of course, he was and is not. Somehow he felt it was OK for him to DEMAND that Rep. Marilyn Lloyd debate him when he was the challenger. Once he became the incumbent he felt debates were no longer in the public interest. What I would really like to know is why the media never called him out on this outrageous hypocrisy.
Then, of course, there is the issue of his violating his own self-imposed term limits pledge. At least that has gotten some attention in the press lately.
Now he wants us to support him for governor. I don't think so. But I am hoping for vigorous debates, and a chance to see candidates Gibbons and Haslam in action. (I've already ruled out supporting Ron Ramsey as well as Zach Wamp.)
The public definitely is the winner when a series of debates is held and adequately covered.