This statement is as true as the law of gravity and has been noted over the centuries by men like Thomas Jefferson and Alexis de Tocqueville. Oftentimes we think of this sentiment in terms of elections, but that is much too simplistic a view. The role of an engaged citizen is so much more involved than just the actions taken at the ballot box.
Consider the American men and women of the 1700’s. They had a choice to make, a choice between tyranny and freedom. The decisions they would make in those moments would impact generations not only in the future United States, but around the entire world. Their choice was not simply in casting a vote. It was a decision that would require payment in blood. That choice resulted in a revolution.
The scenery today is much different. But the plot remains the same. Those in power seek to retain it by any means necessary. They will lie, cheat, and steal to get it. Meanwhile, a citizenry preoccupied with bread and circus neglects their God-given right of self-governance with the great majority shirking the simplest of responsibilities, their vote.
Statewide in Tennessee, less than 20% of registered voters will show up to vote in primary elections. And those who do show up will be greatly misinformed and have no idea of the names and positions for which they are about to cast their ballot. Only a select few will have taken the time to research candidates and have the ability to see past the headlines and the millions of dollars spent to cast a narrative mostly intended to deceive the voter.
In the recent August 1st Republican primaries across the state, conservatives took a bath. We lost in epic proportions, save one contest out of Signal Mountain, TN. Michele Reneau came out victorious in her challenge to RINO incumbent, Patsy Hazlewood. While this is a great victory, it is an outlier for sure. Reneau had to contend against less than $10,000 of independent expenditures from political action committees, thankfully. Grassroots engagement in her district against the incumbent yielded a one-point victory (137 votes).
Bobby Harshbarger won his race against incumbent Sen. Jon Lundberg. But Harshbarger, a pharmacist out of East Tennessee, is largely unknown around the state. His politics remain to be seen. We certainly hope that he will align with conservatives in the General Assembly.
His race is also a major outlier. As of the pre-primary campaign finance reports, PACs spent over $897,000 supporting Lundberg in his bid for re-election. How did Harshbarger overcome such a deficit? A Trump endorsement. It took an endorsement from President Trump to put Harshbarger over the top by four points (872 votes).
In total, PACs spent over $5.1 MILLION supporting candidates in Tennessee who were either incumbents like Jon Lundberg and Ferrell Haile or had pledged their allegiance to the school voucher mafia championed by Governor Bill Lee and his Washington DC friends Americans for Prosperity, American Federation for Children, Team Kid, and School Freedom Fund (aka Club for Growth).
In the majority of cases, this obscene amount of money was spent slandering conservative candidates on a host of issues completely unrelated to vouchers. Why would organizations who are pushing vouchers and supporting candidates who have promised to vote on vouchers not message directly on…vouchers? Because they know that the issue is not popular with voters. So, in order to get their desired candidate in office, they message on the most important issues to voters like inflation and illegal immigration.
If you live in an area where a contested primary was held, you know this to be true because your mailboxes were inundated with these messages. Knox, Sumner, Montgomery, Williamson, Blount, Sullivan, and a few others got their fill.
In Sumner County, challenger Chris Spencer was hammered with messages about “not paying his taxes.” And voters bought it. But the truth is that Spencer had this issue with the IRS twenty years ago. They disallowed certain deductions taken and when the issue was resolved, Spencer paid every cent that was owed. Unable to match these independent expenditures dollar for dollar, voters were left in the dark on Ferrell Haile’s record protecting the use of puberty blockers for pre-teens, taking money from Pfizer, and pushing the clot shot every chance he got. Spencer lost by 20 points.
In East Tennessee, Senator Frank Niceley was portrayed as being soft on illegal immigration. And the messaging worked. He lost his bid for re-election by 11 points. Nevermind the fact that he was consistently one of the most conservative legislators in the General Assembly and voted to increase criminal penalties for illegals, protect our land from hostile foreign ownership, required law enforcement to report the immigration status of offenders to ICE, and sponsored legislation to punish those who transport illegals into our state.
Put that message on repeat for Bryan Richey running for State Senate in Blount County. Again, one of the most conservative legislators in Tennessee was billed as a liberal, soft on crime, and supportive of child rapists. Absolute hogwash.
There are many more mudslinging examples to give. But I will leave it there.
The unfortunate truth is that most of the time, these lies work. Voters will mostly believe what they are told despite the truth. And these organizations do not spend millions of dollars in these campaigns without expecting a good return. They spend the money because they know that historically, it works.
What does that say about us? It clarifies that voters are lazy. We are gaslighted by sensationalized media and then we just tend to leave it there. Voters are not typically concerned with the truth, but moreso will fall in line with any relatively believable narrative. That is a sad commentary.
The funny thing about all of this is that most voters dislike the influence of special interests on politicians. The knowledge that a certain politician takes thousands of dollars to fund their campaign from special interest PACs is usually a turnoff to voters. The truth? It’s the voters that are being bought! It’s the voters who are electing these people and then sending them on their way to killing conservative legislation every year.
Imagine how much easier advocating for conservative values would be if voters elected conservatives instead of believing the lies they are spoon fed by whoremongers. Better yet, imagine if people even cared enough to vote.
