It all started with that rarest of occurrences: the newspaper accidentally reported something that wasn't factual. Specifically, the Chattanooga Times Free Press included Dave Goetz in a list of Chuck Fleischmann's financial supporters. Dave Goetz, you see, is a Democrat. And he's not just any Democrat: he "serves as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration."
Mark Winslow, a campaign spokesman for Robin Smith, sent an e-mail to Smith supporters that not only castigated Fleischmann for accepting money from a member of the opposing party, but also swiped none-too-subtly at said party itself.
"Democrats finally have a candidate in District 3! Dave Goetz (Bredesen's right hand man and TN Commissioner of Finance) was one of the few people who actually contributed to Chuck Fleischmann's campaign in the last quarter of 2009.
Goetz is widely known as a democrat party insider and partisan campaigner for democrats in middle Tennessee. I guess democrats finally found their candidate."
Records show that Commissioner Goetz did make a contribution in the 3rd District race — to former Democratic candidate Paula Flowers, who dropped out last year.
The Fleischmann campaign issued a denial and demanded an apology.
Robin Smith is playing the same old game we have come to expect from politicos and party bosses. Her attack on Chuck Fleischmann is 100% untrue, and she knows it. In attempt to cover up her poor fundraising effort last year, and the fact that Chuck has 2.5 times more cash-on-hand than she does ($451,000 to $180,000), she has sent out an email accusing Chuck of receiving a donation from a member of Governor Bredesen’s cabinet. All Mrs. Smith had to do was simply look through Chuck’s disclosure with the FEC and she would have known it is simply not true.
[…] "Robin should apologize to Chuck for her rush to judgment, and consider taking the high road throughout the remainder of this campaign.”
The politicos in (former party boss) Smith's campaign were quick to pick up on the "politicos and party bosses" line, and issued a diatribe against, well, party bosses and paid political consultants.
In a release today, Fleischmann’s paid consultant, former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chip Saltsman, attacked Smith as a “party boss” and continued to mischaracterize the financial status of the Republican candidates in the Third District primary. Mr. Fleischmann and his consultant repeatedly point to Mr. Fleischmann’s ability to use his personal wealth, gained as a collections and personal injury lawyer, to loan his campaign cash as a sign of strength while average Tennesseans are struggling to make ends meet in a tough economy.
“Mr. Fleischmann and Mr. Saltsman, the ‘party boss’ on his payroll, have no grounds to lecture anyone on honesty,” [Smith campaign spokesman Mark] Winslow continued. “After scraping in a paltry $24,000 in contributions for the final quarter, it is clear Tennesseans have heard Chuck Fleischmann and said no thanks. What they will not tell you is that Mr. Fleischmann’s total contributions from individual voters over three quarters have dropped from $60,000 to $54,000 to $24,000. While Mr. Fleischmann will not acknowledge the falling support revealed in his lack of contributions and chooses instead to attack Robin Smith, he cannot cover up the fact that he has no traction, no message and is left to attempt to buy the election. In August, Tennesseans will have the opportunity to decide if they wish to be represented by a true conservative leader with a 20 year record or a slick but empty campaign crafted by professional consultants.”
For those who have followed Tennessee politics for some time, none of this is very surprising. First of all, it's politics. Even candidates and supporters who have previously been "on the same team" are going to look for ways to distinguish themselves from rivals.
But Robin Smith and Chip Saltsman, both former chairs of the Tennessee Republican Party, have a little more history. Saltsman, you recall, ran former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign. The following is entirely speculation, but that could have put distance between him and Tennessee Republicans for whom former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson was the preferred candidate.
Not speculative is the fact that Saltsman ran for National Republican Committee Chair last year, and that Smith endorsed South Carolina's party chair, Katon Dawson, over Saltsman. (Saltsman had arguably narrowed his chances of winning the post by sending a controversial Christmas gift to friends the month before.)
Until yesterday, the messages coming out of these campaigns were mostly aimed at "liberals in Washington." As the the August primary draws nearer, though, we can expect to see more attacks on opponents, especially from campaigns that, through breadth or volume of financial clout, see themselves as the most viable contenders for the spot.
There may not have been any "demon sheep" in yesterday's season opener, but there are almost six months to go. Enjoy the show.
(UPDATE: Link corrected to the "demon sheep" article. Thanks to reader Dan Lehr for pointing out the error.)
Joe Lance
Ray Minner on Feb. 4, 2010
This whole episode is a perfect example of why I could never support Robin Smith. It is typical of her slash-and-burn tactics. In the dreadful event she were to be elected she would make a national reputation with her overheated rhetoric in no time flat--and that is NOT what makes an effective member of Congress. There is already gracious plenty of that in Washington as it is.
Grundy Green on Feb. 4, 2010
1. Has anyone asked the Republican candidates their views on the Citizens United decision? That in itself could be telling.
2. Robin Smith could easily take her place alongside Marsha Blackburn given both are from heavily gerrymandered districts.