Anyone But John Tanner for Congress

Listeners of West Tennessee talk radio host Mike Slater have made their decision.

After his call to arms against the re-election of John Tanner, U.S. representative of Tennessee's Eighth Congressional District who has had a stranglehold on the seat since I was a senior in high school (20 years), the self-styled SlaterRaiders have selected Craig R. Steinfels to be their write-in candidate. He bested seven other listeners in a series of on-air debates to determine who would represent SlaterRaiders in the election.

It's a creative way to present an alternative candidate to Tanner, who is unopposed for his eleventh term in Congress, and utilize the reach of talk radio to promote the candidacy of an average Joe. It's a shame that while votes for Steinfels will be counted, they won't count against Tanner because Steinfels wasn't registered as a write-in candidate until the deadline had past. Still, it's better to write in Craig R. Steinfels than not vote for Tanner (as I did). I only wish I knew about it before I voted early.

If nothing else, a few thousand write-in votes for Mr. Steinfels is better than giving them to Tanner just because he's the only candidate for Congress.