Tennessee "A Deeper Shade of Red"

It looks like the ridiculous press releases and gimmicky cow costumes couldn't keep Tennessee Democrats in control of the General Assembly after all. While the Liberal Messiah's capture of the presidency was disheartening, the blow has been cushioned somewhat by new Republican majorities in the state house and senate this Election Night.

From the state GOP:

Tennessee turned a deeper shade of red Tuesday as Republican victories in state legislative races increased the party’s majority in the state Senate and gave Republicans a majority in the state House for the first time since 1968.

For the first time since Reconstruction, Republicans hold a majority in both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly.

“The election of a Republican majority in the General Assembly is historic in its own right, and even more so given the strong Democratic tide across much of the country,” said Robin Smith, Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party. “Our victories send a national message that Republican values still resonate with mainstream America. The power of a consistent conservative Republican message - low taxes, small government and respect for life - once again demonstrated its power to attract a majority.”

Republicans held a majority in the state House for two years after the 1968 election, but had not held a majority in the state Senate since Reconstruction until the 2006 election.

“We are indebted to our great volunteers across Tennessee and to the people of Tennessee for this historic achievement,” Smith said.

So long, Jimmy Naifeh! So sorry, Jim Kyle! Your stolen election doesn't mean a thing, Tim Barnes!

Hallelujah!!!

Don't Allow the Stolen Election to Stand!

Voters in Montgomery, Cheatham, and Houston counties will have an important decision to make today. It's true the presidential election itself is important, but I would argue the one between State Senator Rosalind Kurita and Tim Barnes is important for another reason.

It comes down to what's right and what's wrong.

• Is it right for a political party, after deciding to allow the voters to select their nominee, to change the result simply because they don't like who was elected?
• Is it right that taxpayers should fund an election that a political party has the power to overturn?

I argue that it is wrong what the Tennessee Democrat Party did to Senator Kurita and the voters of Montgomery, Cheatham, and Houston counties should not tolerate it. If they do it once and get away with it, what is to stop them--or any political party--from doing it again?

The party will argue that they had the right to overturn the primary election citing hearsay voting irregularities that allegedly occurred at polling places. And according to state law, they do have the authority to do it. But it doesn't make it right what they did. The law should be amended that if parties take such action in future primaries, the party should refund the costs of the election to the affected counties. Otherwise why have a taxpayer-funded election in the first place? Nominate candidates in a smoke-filled room they way they used to if the party is unwilling to abide by the will of the voters.

Through moral and ethical eyes, the Tennessee Democrat Party did indeed steal the election that had been won by Senator Kurita, which makes Tim Barnes a very willing accomplice by accepting the nomination in this fashion. "I reject the word 'stolen,'" he recently remarked. But it is what it is, and voters should not stand for the injustice.

Democrats and Republicans should agree that it wasn't right in a democratic election. Please take the extra time to write in KURITA on your ballot.

So Much for Free Speech

Obviously the editor at Clarksville Online doesn't take kindly to critique.

It struck me after reading their interview with Tim Barnes, Democrat candidate for Senate District 22, that the interviewer showed partiality toward him. He asked what his position was on a variety of issues such as abortion, women's health, the environment, and education. (“I want to be clear that, I was ‘Green’ before it was cool to be ‘Green,’" he pointed out.)

Then the interviewer asked: "What ideas do you bring forward as you go into the Senate..."

This struck me as an unfair commentary by the interview that Barnes had already won the election four days before Election Day.

At the end of the article is a comment section, so I commented that the interviewer seemed biased toward the candidate and the election wasn't over. Admittedly, I'm very passionate that the Tennessee Democrat Party stole Rosalind Kurita's primary victory from her and handed it over to Barnes, so I added something to the effect that if the party wanted the right to change its mind, it should foot the bill for the primary election.

The comments are moderated, but there was nothing exceptionally controversial about what I had written. (I've seen much worse venom complete with swearing on other blogs.)

Well, editor Bill Larsen saw it differently:

I am not publishing your comment on Clarksville Online, here's why. We have a policy for stories and comments of "Attack the issue, never the person." Your comment violated that by accusing our reporter of writing a biased article. Second your comment was off topic, this interview has nothing to do with the Tennessee Democratic Party's actions. If you wanted to discuss the interview, or Mr Barnes issues on a specific topic or in general it would have been perfectly fine. Your pointing out that Mr Barnes has not yet won the election would be fine. If you wish to submit a new comment taking this into consideration, we will consider publishing it[.]

We tried to get a similar interview with Sen Kurita but it never came through.

I wish I had saved the comment as proof, but I never "attacked" the interviewer. Expressing an opinion that he was biased is not a personal attack; it's my opinion. Attack implies inflammatory remarks, threats, and foul language, none of which were contained in my comment. I felt it was a respectful response, but because it wasn't positive or complimenting like the others that made it past editorial scrutiny, it was rejected.

I can understand moderating comments that meet the criteria I listed. There's some pretty nasty remarks posted to all blogs that offer nothing to the conversation but hate. I've done my best on my blog not to get into that sort of writing. I may poke fun at my liberal friends and call them "goofballs" or even "idiots," but I don't condone vicious name-calling directed at anyone. It may be frustrating to read, but I do believe everyone is entitled to their opinion.

But obviously Clarksville Online doesn't hold itself to such lofty standards.

Too Bad Tim Barnes Wasn't Punished for Stealing an Election

Timmy Barnes, loser of the Democrat primary for Senate District 22 but their candidate nonetheless, was slapped on the wrist by the Tennessee Ethics Commission to the tune of $50 for failing to file his campaign's financial information on time.

The candidate lamented:

"We thought that it had been filed online, but it did not go through," Barnes said. "By the time we got it filed, it was two days late. They specified it was technical violation, not an ethical violation."

Not like that whole stolen election thing, right?

This is an excellent opportunity to remind voters of Montgomery, Cheatham, and Houston counties that they should write in the name of Rosalind Kurita for state senate. It's true she's not a Republican, but thanks to the Tennessee Democrat Party, she's not one of them either.

Tim Barnes' Puppet Dance

Here's an interesting homemade video for Tennessee state senator Rosalind Kurita's write-in campaign for Senate District 22 that was posted on the Tennessean's comments section.

Gray Sasser Can't Let Go of Rosalind Kurita

It's interesting that Gray Sasser can't seem to let go of Rosalind Kurita.

Despite the fact that the Tennessee Democrat Party pulled the rug out from under her nomination for Senate District 22 and hand-picked the nominee of its choosing, its venerable leader uses every opportunity to fire out press releases and belittle her with snide--and frankly ridiculous--quotes.

Ricky Wallace, a Montgomery County Democrat who nominated Tim Barnes at the kangaroo court called a nominating convention, claims that Sen. Kurita pulled almost $26,000.00 from her political action committee to help finance her campaign, exceeding the limit of $7,500 for a primary or general election. Wallace filed a complaint with the state Registry of Election Finance and wants her to reimburse the PAC and be punished for what she allegedly did.

The Tennessee Democrat Party is only too happy to share this juicy tidbit, adding:

“Unfortunately, Sen. Kurita is so power-hungry that she’s flagrantly violating Tennessee’s campaign finance law,” said Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Gray Sasser. “She broke the law by crossing the one hundred foot boundary during the primary, and now, she’s cheating by illegally using PAC funds to cover her campaign expenses.”

“We’re also calling on Sen. Kurita to abandon her frivolous lawsuits, obey the law, and stop funneling illegal contributions through her PAC.”

I've posted on the whole stolen election debacle numerous times, so I won't rehash it all here. But it's ironic that Gray Sasser would invoke such strong language as "power hungry" and "cheating" and attribute them to Sen. Kurita. It was the power hungry Democrat Party that couldn't stand the fact that she voted to retire a tired old man who had no business being senate speaker and lieutenant governor, a vote that ceded control of the state senate to the GOP for the first time since Reconstruction. The first time! And who's power hungry again, Gray?

The definition of "cheat" is "to practice fraud or trickery." While it may not have been fraudulent what Tennessee Democrats did in taking the nomination fom Sen. Kurita--rightfully won at the ballot box--and handing it over to Tim Barnes, it was trickery; it was a cruel trick that deprived the voters in Montgomery, Cheatham, and Houston counties of their choice for the Democrat nomination. A choice that the Democrat Party allowed voters to make in a taxpayer funded primary, yet one that they could change at their discretion.

Changing the rules once the contest is over: now that's cheating.

I hope Sen. Kurita overcomes the odds, wins re-election, and voters send the Tennessee Democrat Party a clear message that it can't change the result of a taxpayer funded primary election because it doesn't like the outcome.

Who Will Steal the Election? TIM BARNES!

Who will steal the election? Tim Barnes!

Tennessee Democratic Party Believes Stolen Election Fight is Over

The Tennessee Democrat Party and their venerable leader, Gray Sasser, consider the ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Echols to be the final verdict for Sen. Rosalind Kurita's lawsuit against them. (She will undoubtedly appeal to the 6th Circuit Court.) It didn't take long for Sasser to come out with a press release claiming victory:

"We are obviously pleased with the ruling. She has now had her day in court twice, and the judge ruled that the Democratic Party was well within its legal bounds to nominate Tim Barnes as our Democratic nominee. Furthermore, the Tennessee Democratic Party acted in a fair and judicious manner, making every effort to keep this matter open to the public. We are now looking forward to Election Day."

If the ruling is upheld and Sen. Kurita's write-in campaign is unsuccessful, the Tennessee Democratic Party will have proven that it can overturn the will of the voters at their own discretion. Who needs an election anyway?

Rosalind Kurita's Stolen Election Lawsuit Thrown Out

Sen. Rosalind Kurita suffered a setback this afternoon in her bid to regain the Democratic nomination for Tennessee Senate District 22. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Echols rejected her assertions that her name should be placed back on the ballot and that the state law governing primary elections be ruled unconstitutional.

"The state statute allows the State Primary Board the final decision of selecting its party nominee if a primary election is contested,” Echols wrote.

It's expected that she will appeal the decision.

Tim Barnes' Arrogance

Here's a video that shows the contempt Tim Barnes holds for Sen. Rosalind Kurita. Even John McCain and Barack Obama can shake hands after their debates! She made the effort and extended her hand to his shoulder, which was turning away and off stage. Tempers may rise and feelings may get hurt during the course of a campaign, but there was no excuse for such disrepect that Barnes exhibited. This, dear voters, is the Tennessee Democratic Party's hand-picked candidate for Senate District 22.

A Voice in the Democratic Wilderness

A supporter of Senator Rosalind Kurita shares his perspective on the hearing by the Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee that ousted her from the party's nomination. Mind you, he is not one of those conspiratorial Republicans who voted in the Democratic primary, but a self-professed "lifelong Democrat" who sees what his party did as an injustice to Sen. Kurita and to the electorate. At one point during the hearing, he felt led to leave the room when he voiced his opposition to what the committee was doing.

...I was challenged by party officials and told I had no right to voice my opinion of the proceedings. That is when I started to get angry and responded 'but, I am a voter!' It was clear that the party officials were very concerned that an insurgency might erupt and began hurrying toward me telling me to leave. That is when I went on to shout as I was voluntarily leaving 'the Executive Committee should do its job and vote on the basis of the facts and the evidence, not vengeance.' I did not need to be escorted out, but I am certain that I would have been escorted out had I stayed any longer.

This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue as the state Democratic Party wants to make it. As I've stated throughout this blog, it's a matter of ethical conduct and honoring the wishes of the voters of Senate District 22. It's up to the voters not to validate what the state Democratic Party did to Sen. Kurita with a vote for the presumptive Democratic candidate, Tim Barnes. Take a few extra minutes to write in her name on November 4. If the Democratic bosses are allowed to do it once, it will happen again at their own discretion.

Clarksville Online provides the following steps voters in Montgomery County should take to write in Sen. Kurita's name:

You will cast your vote for President, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative and then State Senator. You will see Tim Barnes name as the Democratic nominee. Directly under his name you will see WRITE IN. Push the button beside WRITE IN.

1. The screen will change and the letters of the alphabet (A-Z) will appear. Place an X beside each letter: K – U – R – I – T – A . You will see KURITA spelled out in the middle of the screen.
2. Once you have typed KURITA just press the done button at the bottom to accept and return to the former screen.
3. You should now see Kurita with an X beside it underneath Tim Barnes name on the ballot. You can now continue on with the remainder of the ballot.

Remember – you can always ask an election worker to help you with this process.

Democrats Still Trying to Rationalize Stolen Election

Democrats continue to defend and rationalize the stolen election in Tennessee Senate District 22 in the pages of the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle. One reader opines:

Under law passed in 1972, Democrats and Republicans have absolute authority on who their party's nominee should be. The Democratic Party voided the Barnes-Kurita election due to numerous irregularities, including voters being misled by poll workers and a concerted effort by the Republican Party to influence the election.

I've argued this point for the past month on this blog. It's true the state Democratic Party had the right to do what it did, but it was a politically expedient decision that invalidated the choice of the voters in District 22. The party that admonishes Republicans that "every vote counts" is the same party that pulled off this act of political thievery. Democrats can try to convince voters and themselves it's not the case, but no amount of political correctness can mask the fact.

They don't like that Republicans voted in their primary, but they fail to mention there were only two candidates for the senate seat and both were Democrats. They must be reminded (obviously) that Republicans are still voters and in the state of Tennessee, voters are allowed to participate in whichever primary they choose. If a voter in Montgomery, Cheatham, or Houston counties wanted to vote for their representative in the state senate, they had to vote in the Democratic primary. I understand this must be a difficult concept for some Democrats to comprehend. As Dr. Seuss would've put it, "A voter is a voter no matter who he is."

Some Democrats by nature are conspiracy theorists. If anything goes wrong for them, it's the fault of Republicans. Back in the day, Hillary Clinton lamented "the vast right wing conspiracy" out to get her faithful and beloved husband. This particular Leaf-Chronicle reader rattles off the standard Democratic talking point that there was a "concerted effort by the Republican Party to influence the election." Yes, we admit it: every single Republican voter in the three counties got together at a clandestine hideaway and concocted an ingenious plot to steal the election away from the rightful candidate, Tim Barnes. O, the guilt is unbearable that we had the nerve, the audacity, the unmitigated gall to pull off such a dastardly usurpation of the democratic process.

That's funny: sounds just like what the Democratic state executive committee did to Senator Rosalind Kurita.

Democratic Women Toe the Party Line

The National Federation of Democratic Women have followed the party line and endorsed Tim Barnes for state senate District 22 rather than the incumbent, Senator Rosalind Kurita.

Is there any sense of right and wrong in the Democratic Party, regardless of partisan politics? The Tennessee Democratic Party executive committee decrees that the loser of an election is the winner and everyone in the party drinks the Kool-Aid, nods in agreement, and turns against their one of their own. Are there any Democrats in Montgomery, Cheatham, or Houston counties--or anywhere else in Tennessee--who can see this issue what what it really is: stealing an election away from the rightful winner because of a party vendetta? I shake my head in disbelief.

Phil Bredesen and Tennessee Democrats Show Off Their Morals

No surprise that Gov. Phil Bredesen and the state Democratic leadership are getting behind Tim Barnes's stolen candidacy for state senate in District 22. Yesterday they all gathered in Nashville to flaunt their support for him, including Sen. Thelma Harper and House speaker Jimmy Naifeh. Isn't it wonderful these elected leaders display their morals and principles by advocating the overturn of an election in favor of the loser? I'm so proud to be a Tennessean.

Jimmy Naifeh and Tim Barnes

Republican Influence in Stolen Election is a Joke

A.C. Kleinheider at Post Politics has a great post about an email distributed to the seven Republican senators who will host a fundraiser for Senator Rosalind Kurita on October 1. It was written by Elizabeth Klein, treasurer for Tim Barnes' senate campaign who happens to be a Republican. The post also dissects the Democrat's argument that Republicans in higher than usual numbers voted in the Democratic primary for Senate District 22 and makes the point that some may have actually supported Barnes rather than Senator Kurita.

“It’s not that we didn’t want Republicans voting in the primary,” Klein told Kleinheider. “We just didn’t want, and state law is against, the Republican Party interfering actively in the primary, telling people who to vote for. We wanted people to vote their conscience.”

Tim Barnes admits that Republican friends voted for him in the Democratic primary, yet he describes Republican support for Senator Kurita as a "concerted effort by [Republican] party leaders" to lobby votes for her. Mr. Barnes certainly wouldn't deny anyone that can legally do so the right to vote, would he? Mr. Barnes, there was no Republican candidate for state senate on the ballot. Who else could a Republican in Montgomery, Cheatham, and Houston counties vote for except yourself or Kurita?

The whole argument that Republican influence led to an "incurably uncertain" election and justified handing over the Democratic nomination to Mr. Barnes is ridiculous. Pete Kotz over at the Nashville Scene suggests Tennessee Democrats try something a little more original. I hope Senator Kurita's lawsuit is successful and Mr. Barnes and the Democratic party find themselves trying to organzie their own write-in campaign in a major hurry.

Rosalind Kurita Takes Democrats to Court

Senator Rosalind Kurita has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Nashville to reinstate her name on the November 4 ballot as the rightful Democratic candidate for Senate District 22. The suit lists as defendants the Tennessee Democratic Party; every member of the Tennessee Democratic Party's executive committee that overturned the primary election; the candidate who benefited from it, Tim Barnes; Robert E. Cooper Jr., Tennessee attorney general; Secretary of State Riley Darnell; Brook K. Thompson, state coordinator of elections; and the election commission administrators for Cheatham, Houston, and Montgomery counties. Click here for the complete document.

The lawsuit claims that state law TCA 2-17-104 is unconstitutional and "violates the due process requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment." It also asserts there are no provisions specified in the Tennessee Code to settle a disputed election. Because due process was not given to Senator Kurita, the decision of the committee should be overturned and either her name be placed on the November ballot as the Democratic candidate or a special election be held to determine the nominee.

The Tennessee Democratic Party's official response to the lawsuit is laughable:

“We’re disappointed that Sen. Kurita is trying to throw a legal wrench into a political primary process that was conducted under a state law approved by former Republican Gov. Winfield Dunn,” said Gray Sasser, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party.

“On the other hand,” Sasser added, “we’re glad that Sen. Kurita appears to be acknowledging that she is, in fact, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey’s hand-picked candidate in the Tennessee Democratic primary."

"Hand-picked" is a description Democrats would be wise to avoid in this particular election, especially since that is in fact how their anointed candidate, Barnes, was chosen.

The press release continues:

“It’s now abundantly clear that Sen. Kurita has been receiving considerable aid and comfort, both financial and legal in nature, from national Republicans who are bent on interfering in the Tennessee Democratic primary,” Sasser said. “We’re calling on Lt. Gov. Ramsey to get out of the Democratic primary process and put a stop to this legal monkeying by the national Republican Party.”

Memo to Gray Sasser: the Democratic primary is over. There's no primary "to get out of" anymore. The general election is on November 4; contrary to what you think, Republicans can--and will--vote in this election and they can--and should--vote for Senator Kurita.

It's true that Republican leaders support Senator Kurita and she has accepted their assistance in political and fundraising support. One of her lawyers is even a Republican, as blogger Sean Braisted points out. Can you blame her after the way her own party treated her? Who in their right mind would want to be part of a political party that takes away your rightful nomination and gives it to the man you beat?

Meanwhile voters continue to give their opinions both for and against the stolen election in the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle.

The Tennessee Democratic Party disputes Senator Kurita's claim that she did not know about the rules of the executive committee hearing on September 13 until the morning of the hearing. In his "Pith in the Wind" blog at the Nashville Scene, Jeff Wood writes:

[Tennessee Democratic P]arty spokesman Wade Munday tells Pith that's not the way it went down. “There were all the rules that she agreed to through counsel prior to the meeting that Saturday. The terms were agreed upon prior to the meeting.” Munday adds:

“The executive committee acted in its rightful capacity as the state primary board. All the actions taken were conducted in the open and in accordance with state law established in 1972."

I wrote Mr. Munday myself and asked which state law he was referring to and he kindly sent me the details:
___

2-13-102. Creation of state primary boards.

(a) Each political party shall have a state executive committee which shall be the state primary board for the party.

(b) The state primary board shall perform the duties and exercise the powers required by this title for its party.

(c) The state primary board of each statewide political party created by this section is the immediate successor to the state board of primary election commissioners of each party. Wherever in the Tennessee Code the state board of primary election commissioners of a political party is referred to, “state primary board” shall be substituted.

[Acts 1972, ch. 740, §§ 1, 8; T.C.A., § 2-1303.]
___

It seems to me the Tennessee Democratic Party considers the state executive committee (which is also the state primary board) to be the final authority for choosing their candidate. If this is the case, why should tax dollars and voters' time be wasted on a primary whose result can be overturned on the whim of a political party? Obviously there's no need for one if Democrats have a preference between one or more candidates and will give it to the one they want anyway. (In this case, there was no hiding the fact that Democratic bosses did not want Rosalind Kurita back in the state senate.)

Meanwhile, Senator Kurita will continue her write-in campaign and announced that she will open campaign offices in Clarksville and Ashland City tomorrow and one in Erin soon.

Fellow Senators Support Rosalind Kurita

Seven Republican colleagues of Tennessee state senator Rosalind Kurita will host a fundraiser for her write-in campaign for Senate District 22 in Nashville on October 1. Randy McNally of Oak Ridge; Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro; Steve Southerland of Morristown; Tim Burchett of Knoxville; Mae Beavers of Mt. Juliet; Jamie Woodson of Knoxville; and Rusty Crowe of Johnson City offered to host the $500-per-person event and Kurita accepted.

"You can just genuinely say that I got a raw deal, and they just want to reach out and help me," she told the Tennessean. "It's not about one party, it's about the process."

I'm glad Republicans are helping Senator Kurita fight back against the state Democratic bosses. We may not completely agree with everything she believes (her pro-abortion stance is one I have a problem with), but it was wrong what the Tennessee Democratic Party did to her and the primary election. It sets a dangerous precedent when a political party can disregard the votes of the American people simply because they don't like the outcome. Even the Memphis Commercial Appeal agrees. (One Clarksville voter believes what the Democrats did will backfire on them in November.)

Mark Brown, spokesman for the senate Democratic caucus, smugly retorted: "We're not surprised that Republican senators are holding a fundraiser for Ron Ramsey's hand-picked candidate." We're surprised a Democrat has the audacity to call Rosalind Kurita a "hand-picked candidate" when Tim Barnes is nothing but a hand-picked candidate!

Tim Barnes "Looking to the Future" and Wanting Voters to Forget His Stolen Election

Tim Barnes is a forward-thinking Democrat: he wants voters of Tennessee Senate District 22 "looking to the future" and not at how he got his party's nomination for state senator.

Of course he wouldn't say it in so many words, but it's certainly what he's thinking. Look past the fact that he lost the Democratic primary to incumbent Rosalind Kurita; chose not to seek a recount but to protest to the Tennessee Democratic Party's Executive Committee; and sought to throw out the votes and void the outcome. Look past the fact that he nominated himself to fill the vacancy rather than recuse himself from the process and sees no reason to be ashamed of the way he got it. "I'd be honored to receive the nomination in this way," he said beforehand. Look past all that and you have the handpicked nominee of 65 Democrats who met at a Clarksville hotel rather than 8,935 voters who took the time to go to the polls. Of course he would rather "talk about things I can do to help the people of the 22nd Senate District," as he said at a press conference on Friday.

Barnes admitted there could have been a second primary held, "but there was not time to have another primary," he claimed. "The only other option was to have this process...After that process I was overwhelmingly named the nominee."

Responding to her opponent's desire to move forward, Rosalind Kurita told the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: "I'm sure that Mr. Barnes would like to change the subject. The subject is that in America, we don't steal elections."

Tennessee Democrats Show Their True Colors

It's a fact that's true not only in the presidential election but in Tennessee politics as well: Democrats will do anything to gain or retain power. They will turn on their own members if they dare to cross party lines and work with the other side--like Rosalind Kurita--while claiming to be a party of "change" that wants bipartisanship and cooperation.

Tim Barnes is proud of his stolen election and is basking in the glory of his party's political thievery. He's living in a fantasy world where there is nothing out of the ordinary about his coronation and he acts like the candidate who won the election that wasn't bogus. Choosing to disregard his own actions (which included voting for himself at the so-called "nominating convention"), he told The Tennessean: "At some point I think she'll probably accept that she's going to have to take responsibility for her own actions."

What it came down to was Republicans who had no candidate to support in Senate District 22 voted for Kurita instead of Barnes. There's no law in Tennessee against crossing party lines and voting in the other party's primary. Democrats are hypocrites if they think they're above doing such a thing in a Republican primary. State Democratic leaders didn't want Rosalind Kurita back in the state senate, so they came up with the excuse of an "incurably uncertain" election to overturn the will of some 9,000 voters.

Barnes' supporters were only too happy to belittle Senator Kurita's supporters in attendance after his coronation. According to The Tennessean:

Shortly after Democratic executives nominated Tim Barnes for the 22nd District state Senate seat, one woman stood outside the Riverview Inn with her mouth duct-taped shut.

Her shirt read, "You silenced 9,000 votes."

A Barnes supporter offered the woman a Tim Barnes sticker to put over her mouth, then placed it over his own mouth and stood next to her, seemingly mocking her, before walking away.

The Barnes supporter is a perfect example of the Tennessee Democratic Party: arrogant, belittling, mocking. They will turn on you in a heartbeat if you don't think like they do and support who they want you to support. They have this unreasonable lock on the hearts and minds of some Tennesseans that because someone's granddaddy was a Democrat, they have to be one too. And the Tennessee Democratic Party knows it and they take advantage of it in every election.

Rosalind Kurita will fight this injustice at the ballot box through a write-in campaign as an independent candidate while exploring her legal options in court. "This is America--you just don't steal an election, and that's why I'm doing a write-in candidacy," she told the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle.

I encourage Republican and independent voters in Cheatham, Houston, and Montgomery counties as well as any Democrat who respects the democratic election process and truly believes every vote counts to make the extra effort and write in Mrs. Kurita's name for state senate on November 4. Show the Tennessee Democratic Party that they cannot control our country's political system for their own power grab.

UPDATE: It didn't take Phil Bredesen long to fall into line with other state Democratic leaders in their support for illegitimate candidate Tim Barnes. They're hosting a $500-per-person fundraiser on his behalf in Clarksville September 29. I hope Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and other state Republican leaders and independent-minded Democrats unwilling to be led like sheep by the Democratic bosses will do their part to support Sen. Kurita and help her fight for her seat.

Tennessee Democrats Oust Rosalind Kurita, Overrule Voters of Senate District 22

Tonight, the Tennessee Democratic Party officially overruled the voters of State Senate District 22 (Cheatham, Houston, and Montgomery counties) who elected incumbent Rosalind Kurita and handed the nomination to the loser, Tim Barnes. Members of the three county executive committees voted 61-4 to overturn the election results in retaliation for Kurita crossing party lines to oust John Wilder, longtime Democratic senator, as speaker and lieutenant governor last year.

The Democratic leaders were pleased with themselves as they hooped and hollered at the outcome. Democracy had died at the hands of the Tennessee Democratic Party. One Barnes supporter was quoted by The Tennessean that "never have I seen a process work so well as today."

In the most ridiculous statement of them all, this same Barnes supporter had the gall to add:

"I really think there shouldn't be any sour grapes. I think she should come on board as a private citizen and support this ticket because that's what this is all about if she's the Democrat she claims to be."

Following this logic, if someone breaks into your home and steals from you--something that is rightfully yours--"there shouldn't be any sour grapes." You should even help load what was stolen onto the thief's truck and support what he did to you "because that's what this is all about." Just smile and let it happen.

If that's what it's all about to be a Democrat, a lot of them should be ashamed of themselves at this injustice toward the winner, Rosalind Kurita. I hope she does well in the general election and the voters of District 22 see the Democrats for what they really are.