Back on New Year's Eve, Knoxville News-Sentinel Capitol reporter Tom Humphrey quoted State Rep. (Colonel) John Mark Windle (D-Livingston) on his impending deployment to Iraq with our own 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment:
State Rep. John Mark Windle, scheduled for deployment to Iraq with his Army National Guard unit, said Friday he intends to seek reelection while serving overseas.
"My intent now is to run again. I'll make a final decision by mid-January," he said in a telephone interview.
"It would be up to the people of the 41st (House) District to decide whether I'm reelected... (even if) I'm sitting in Baghdad on election night."
The Livingston Democrat also said he expects to miss most - perhaps all -- of the votes during the upcoming legislative session, but also expects to maintain constituent services with the help of staff and fellow legislators.
"I'm just like everyone else being called up," he said. "It's no more an imposition on me than it is anyone else... (and) I hope it sets a good example for the 18-to-25-year-old men and women to see someone almost 50 in the field with them, doing everything they do," he said.
Republicans are necessarily thinking of how John Mark Windle's deployment will impact the political numbers game in the Tennessee House of Representatives, and indeed we would be remiss if we did not. Key Republican members-and especially the GOP House Leadership-should be reminded that John Mark Windle votes with us on a myriad of issues and that in many ways he is a Democrat only in name. Far more than that, however, his service to our State and our country under these circumstances is so laudable that for the House Republican Caucus to actively work to oppose Windle in the General Election would bring a certain level of disgrace on the House Republican Caucus and, to a lesser extent, the party.
What could the party say, that Windle doesn't show up for votes because he is risking his life in uniform on the other side of the world? How do you campaign against that, and is there anything about that level of devotion to the armed forces and the country that could cause us to rightfully assert that Windle's record is poor, especially when he will have around 400 of his constituents under his command?
A humble word of advice to the House Republican Caucus: Do not recruit a candidate to run against this hero. We can't stop a citizen from voluntarily being stupid enough to run against John Mark Windle, but the GOP doesn't have to encourage them. To do so would be wrong in so many ways.
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