Mike Moser "I Say" Published July 26, 2002

The shout you hear
Aug. 1 will be me

The loud noise you hear around 7 p.m. next Thursday won't be hallelujahs from an old-time camp meeting or celebratory noise for a great athletic achievement. It will be your editor applauding the end of the County General Election and the State Primary Election.

Once again, at least for several weeks, we will be able to attend community functions without having to run the gauntlet of politicos pressing the flesh and asking what one is hearing election-wise, and asking for votes and support.

It has been a curious election from a reporter's viewpoint, in that most of what I have heard about the election on the streets is people asking what I am hearing. It might be a sign of today's time, but most Cumberland Countians keep close to their vest their political leanings as far as specific races are concerned.

Many want to know what others are thinking but few are sharing their personal views.

The turnout
There is no reason or excuse as to why Cumberland County should not have a record turnout on Thursday. There are plenty of hotly contested races, from the race for U.S. Senate, Congress, and the governor's mansion right down through some of our local races in the county.

The candidates have given us plenty of choices. There are plenty of opposing views and opinions being expressed. All these candidates have worked very hard to gather each and every vote they can, and they and their supporters have spent a lot of money during this political season.

These men and women who expose themselves to the political process are deserving of our support at the polls. Most important, we owe it to ourselves to go to the polls and vote for the persons we feel best capable and equipped to shape our future and decide, to a large extent, events in our daily lives.

There is no reason why we cannot have a record turnout Thursday.

Don't ask
Don't ask how I will vote. I won't tell you. Folks have been trying to label my political gender for years without success, and I guess I will confess only that I honestly don't know what political flag I wave. I think I am in the majority. But this is not to say that political parties and allegiances are wrong. They are just not for me.

I have dear friends who are staunch in their Democratic Party leanings, and equally have many friends who labor untiringly for the Republican Party. I think I have more friends who are independent, or at best, confused, just like I am.

Sometimes I wonder if political parties aren't overstated. State Rep. Charles Curtiss who until this election has represented western portions of Cumberland County is a man I truly respect. To me he is the epitome of a true citizen/statesman.

He is also as loyal a Democrat as the proverbial yellow dog. Yet, I view him as a conservative and not a liberal. He ran into some criticisms at home in White County this year because of his positions on the state income tax and his desire to end the state budget crisis. He was sincere in his efforts and despite the criticism he received, let's not forget that at least he tried to do something.

On the flip side, former Sen. Howard Baker is another man that I have long respected and admired. But I never viewed him as being a straight-laced, Patrick Buchanan-style conservative. I viewed him as a statesman who loved and cared for the government process.

I think in these times most voters desperately seek candidates who will best serve the needs of their communities, and overlook political affiliations when pulling the lever in the voting booth.

A new senator
We will have a new state senator, with Lincoln Davis seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Congress in the seat being vacated by Van Hilleary. I saw Charlotte Burks Saturday at the Cumberland Count Farm Bureau annual meeting.

The seat she presently holds through redistricting will encompass Cumberland and Putnam counties. She is an unassuming, charming, salt-of-the-earth lady whom I got to know through the tragic circumstances of the political assassination of her late husband, Sen. Tommy Burks.

Despite the awful event that brought her into the lives of many Cumberland Countians, she carried herself with such dignity. It would have been so easy not to do so, but she became the rock that her family leaned on following the murder and on the winding trail of the judicial process that culminated with Byron Looper being convicted of Sen. Tommy Burks' slaying.

Their story should have been one told as a love story for Valentine's Day issues instead of locally as the crime of the century.

White County
An interesting situation has developed in White County where incumbent Sheriff Guy Goff was defeated in the Democratic Primary by former sheriff's deputy James O'Conner by 381 votes.

Supporters say complacency was responsible for the defeat of Goff and at the urging of those supporters, Goff is actively waging a write-in campaign to retain his office. Such efforts seldom succeed, but Goff is campaigning sometimes 18 hours a day.

"I know this is a political risk, but I've had enough people come to me and ask me to do this that I feel comfortable that we might pull it off," Goff told The Tennessean reporter Leon Alligood.

The situation has placed the White County Democratic Party in an uncomfortable position. The party is bound to support O'Connor even though Goff has been very active in the local party, and has many friends among the party's leadership.

Spartans may not know who their sheriff is until the early hours of Friday morning.

Senatorial thrashings
The fervor at which former Gov. Lamar Alexander and Congressman Ed Bryant are going at each other is interesting. The winner of this political boxing card will face Democrat Bob Clement in November for the right to claim Fred Thompson's seat.

One local Democrat friend pulled me to the side recently and smiled, "What about that. That's the way we Democrats usually do."

When the dust clears and the votes are counted, it will be interesting to see if there is enough time between Aug. 1 and November for the party to heal itself and unite.
Tax issue

Many elections across the state are being fueled by the speculation of how voters will react to the ongoing state budget crisis and specifically, debate over a state income tax.

The Tennessean this week quoted many incumbents as saying they do not believe the tax issue will hurt them. Can you blame them for their belief? After all, voters have been hearing about state budget problems for four years and nowhere in the General Assembly has someone stepped forward to fix the problem.

Yet, Tennessee voters continue to re-elect legislators who fail to fix the problems with the state budget. If it were private business, the whole lot would have been fired a long time ago. It will be interesting to see how forgiving voters are this year.

The only thing I know for sure is that I am going to vote, and I hope to see you at the polls Thursday, if you did not participate in early voting.

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Mike Moser is the editor of the Crossville Chronicle. His column is published periodically on Fridays.