Tennessee's 4th: The Incumbency of a Democrat in Name Only

If there is one issue that Democrats and Republicans can agree on (and, really, one is pushing it) it is that, in this year's midterm elections, almost no incumbent is assured re-election. The 2008 elections were historic not only in that they designated the United States' first African-American president, but they also ended the Republican majority's 14-year hold on Congress. It is now a scant two years later, and all bets are off. The American people are fed up with Washington for either doing too much or too little, and with President Obama for either not accomplishing as much as they thought he would or for his supposedly radical politics.

Not even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is safe as he faces a tough November challenge from conservative Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle. In California, which is typically a liberal stronghold, Democrat Barbara Boxer's opponent will be Carly Fiorina, who is the only woman ever to lead a Fortune 20 company. In South Carolina, where the Republican primary for governor has been especially heated and rocked with scandal, Nikki Haley came out on top. However, with only 49 percent of the vote, she still has to face a run-off election. Elections are heating up all across the country, with Democrats seemingly on the defensive and the Republican offense rallying toward those candidates on the far right.

In my district, Tennessee's 4^th, it is mostly business as usual, with neither Lamar Alexander nor Bob Corker, the two Republican senators, facing a re-election bid. However, Lincoln Davis, the Democrat incumbent, could be facing an uphill battle in what is typically a (moderate) Democrat stronghold. Although he is unchallenged for his party's nomination, after the August 5 primary he will be facing either Scott DesJarlais or Don Strong in the general election.

As an unapologetic liberal in a red state, I frequently find myself disappointed by my senators, neither of whom appear to share any of my political views. However, it is with Davis that I place most of my disappointment, enough to where I am undecided as to whether he will have my vote in November. This may well put me at odds with other liberals in my district who consider themselves moderates, but Davis is what I like to refer to as a DINO, a Democrat in Name Only.

Certainly, as a liberal in a moderate district I harbor no illusions and am fully aware that I am in the minority. However, I fail to see how someone who is anti-choice; supports No Child Left Behind and staying the course in Iraq; and who voted against health care, prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the clean energy act, but for bans on late term abortion and same sex marriage could be a Democrat. Certainly, I appreciate that he supports education and has requested that additional funding be allocated for breast cancer research but, on the scale of issues, for me his cons outweigh his pros. Of course he wants to represent what he believes the district's interests are but, in that case, why not switch parties? Why call himself a Democrat when he cannot even find it in himself to publicly endorse a Democratic candidate for president?

If he is so conservative, you may ask, then why is this election going to be so heated? That, dear reader, is because Davis committed the apparently grievous sin of voting for both the stimulus and the auto bailout. Those two things, stacked against the others I have already laid out, are poised to be the deciding factor for many in November. To this, I say, no matter who the victor is in the November election, Tennessee's 4^th is guaranteed a conservative voice in Washington. Whether that is a good or bad thing is entirely in the eye of the beholder.

Sources:

Irin Carmon, "Meet the Political Ladies Who Triumphed Last Night". Jezebel.
"Lincoln Davis". Vote-TN.org
Lincoln Davis. "Stance on Life". United States House of Representatives.
"Tennessee House Lincoln Davis (Democrat, District 4)" . On the Issues.