My thoughts: the RCDP Straw Poll

The last time I was in a room full of Democrats was at the 2008 Jackson Day dinner. There's nothing better than being in a room full of like-minded individuals, so I was looking forward to the RCDP "Grow TN" dinner and straw poll.

The minute you walked into the James Union Building on MTSU's campus, you were bombarded by volunteers distributing campaign literature. I have to say that I was most impressed with Roy Herron's literature. Like most of the others, it was professionally produced, but it also included a free copy of his book God and Politics.

The Mike McWherter team had the most visible presence, but their literature was was just printed on a blue piece of paper. I understand that the packaging of the literature shouldn't be important, but trust me, it is. This is especially true at a straw poll. Attendees want to support a candidate that they think can win. If you go the cheap route on your campaign materials, people are going to think that you're strapped for cash and unelectable. It's just a big no-no if you want to be taken seriously.

Before the dinner started, the five gubernatorial candidates performed the usual ritual of shaking hands and introducing themselves. I was able to observe every candidate except for Jim Kyle doing this - I guess he was just on the other side of the room. Their interactions with the attendees were varied in style. Kim McMillan seemed to flutter from table to table, stopping to shake hands with individual people but never lingering for long. McWherter was very standoffish - it almost seemed like he didn't really want to be there. Ward Cammack was just as reluctant to get familiar with the guests, but this seemed to spring more from just being generally awkward around people. Roy Herron proved himself to be the most intimate candidate of them all. He came over to the table that I was sitting at. Rather than introduce himself to the entire table all at once, he addressed maybe two people at a time, leaning down to spend a brief moment with each pair. He seemed genuinely interested in what was being said and was very personable.

One by one, the candidates were introduced and strode up to the podium to present speeches that were typically five minutes in length. Each delivered what I would assume were their basic stump speeches. This was a good approach, because the audience didn't seem to be that familiar with any of them. Here's my general impression of each speech.

Ward Cammack: The first thing you notice about Cammack's speaking style is that he short on fluff and emphasizes facts and ideas. There was a dirth of high flown rhetoric and he generally stuck to one topic: Tennessee's place in the new "green economy". Essentially, his vision for Tennessee includes making the state "a renewable energy leader". Cammmack has some great ideas, but his delivery was dry and academic. As Silence Isn't Golden pointed out to me at the dinner, Cammack seems better suited for an advisory role than a candidate. The man is a walking renewable energy encyclopedia, but rarely discusses anything else. He's running the risk of being a single-issue candidate.

Kim McMillan: She rightly emphasized her experience both in the legislature and in the executive branch as an adviser to Gov. Bredesen. She seemed to be the only candidate that spoke about what she had actually done for the state. Her delivery wasn't as insipid as Cammack's, but it failed to generate the sort of enthusiasm that the candidates should be aiming for.

Mike McWherter: McWherter's speech focused on generalities and at times it was just rambling. Honestly it was so bland that I can't even remember what the guy said. I know he came out against a state income tax, but other than that I'm drawing a blank. Note to candidates - it's a bad sign when people have a hard time remembering what the hell you just said.

Roy Herron: Herron probably has the most effective stump speech of the bunch. Throughout the campaign he has been positioning himself as the "values candidate", and his speech emphasized the Democratic Party's commitment to moral values. He decried the efforts of Republicans to cast Democrats as godless heathens. He claimed that Republicans want to change the spelling of "God" to "G-O-P" and exhorted the crowd to stand up to Republicans and claim their rightful place as the party of social justice, empathy, and the defender of the poor. Attendees were very receptive to his speech.

Jim Kyle: Kyle gave a barn-burner of a speech. His was probably the most inspired of all the candidates. He also threw a LOT of red meat to the crowd, which gratefully responded with hoots and hollers when he vowed to stand up to the extremists in the Republican Party. Specifically, he castigated Zach Wamp for vowing to stand at the state line to prevent federal interference in Tennessee state affairs. Kyle pointed out that the federal government was the only reason that Tennessee was able to balance it's budget this year. He included a couple of more jabs at Republicans, but his swipe at Rep. Wamp drew the most response.

After the candidates finished speaking, it was time for all of us to fill out our ballots:

Bart Gordon introduced the keynote speaker of the evening, Lincoln Davis, who spoke while the ballots were being collected and tabulated. Like Kyle, he threw a lot of red meat to the crowd by attacking Republicans. He warned us of the dangers of going back to a government controlled by the GOP, and spoke about the superior economic and fiscal record of Democrats. After his speech was over, the straw poll results were in!

Here's the video of the results being read:

Roy Herron wins with 119. Jim Kyle follows with 81, Kim McMillan - 58, Mike McWherter - 32, Ward Cammack - 13, Undecided - 12

I was surprised by the Herron victory, as I expected Kyle to come out on top. Here's the man of the hour:

At least Cammack didn't get beat by the undecideds. That would have been embarrassing.

Thanks to Rutherford County Democratic Party for planning this event. It was a great evening!