Jeff Yarbro is probably tired of the question of why he would launch a Democratic primary challenge to the highly respected, well established Sen. Douglas Henry of Nashville in the Tennessee General Assembly.
But he has been consistent with his answer.
"I don't consider this a race against Senator Henry. I consider this to be a race for the state Senate," Yarbro says.
Youth against experience can make for a great election match-up. This one is about as interesting as they come.
Henry, 83, has served in the Senate since 1971 and was a member of the House in the 79th General Assembly (1955-56). Yarbro, an attorney with Bass, Berry & Sims, is 33. He looks younger.
Henry, a native Nashvillian, was educated at Vanderbilt. Yarbro, who grew up in Dyersburg, was educated at Harvard and Virginia. Henry is a sage veteran of the legislature. Yarbro is an articulate newcomer. Both seem as able and sharp as the other. Neither should be underestimated.
Yarbro is making a bold move, challenging a veteran in his own party. But when you hear Yarbro address a group, like a room full of students at Belmont University last Friday, explaining the nuts and bolts of the new federal health care law, you have further proof that Yarbro is worthy of anybody's attention.
If Henry has a weakness in the race, it is that he's too respectful. He doesn't sound like a man who's being challenged. He just goes along doing what he does, representing the folks in his district, trying to use good sense, keeping an even keel.
"The people I've approached seem to be receptive, so if you ask me about the campaign, I'd say it looks pretty good," Henry said.
One problem for Yarbro is that while he is trying to gain some recognition among the voters, Henry gets to show that he's on the job doing the legislative work. Just being there, engaged in legislation, helps Henry. He's as close as the video stream on the state Web site.
"It gives you an edge. It does. It does," Henry said. "Right now I'm pretty well occupied with the legislature, but on weekends I've been getting around shaking hands where I could. I'm going to do more of it as soon as we adjourn."
Yarbro simply feels part of a new way of thinking. Take the health care reform law. Instead of taking the usual political posturing of the moment, like saying why the law is either a good idea or ought to be repealed or fought in a court of law, Yarbro says the legislature should be spending time figuring out how to make the new health care exchanges work.
"One of the biggest things the General Assembly is going to be doing in 2011-15 is implementing the health care reform bill," Yarbro said after his recent session at Belmont. "All this talk now about nullifying the law or opting out, that's not going to happen. This is a time for Tennessee to figure out how to implement the law in a way that's good for health and not destructive to our finances.
"We have a unique perspective. We're not just health care consumers here. We have a health care sector that is really important to our economy, especially in Middle Tennessee. We have an opportunity for businesses here and government to work together in fashioning the rules of the road in implementing health care reform. So we can be a national leader on this new system."
Yarbro finds it fascinating that states' rights advocates are the ones challenging the health care law. He sees the states as being the laboratories for change in the system, unless the federal government oversteps its regulatory authority. Yarbro sounds frustrated that instead of moving toward how to put the new law to good use, the debate continues on legislation that has already passed.
Health care is certainly not the only issue on Yarbro's mind, and there is a difference in making keen observations of what's happening, or not happening, in government and in being in the thick of it, like trying to manage a state budget in difficult economic times. Henry knows a lot about that.
"The main thing I'm interested in is not making the mistake again of paying recurring expenses with non-recurring revenue," Henry said. "That was a bad mistake.
"The trouble with stimulus money is it's wonderful to have, but it only comes for a very short while. You spend it as though it were permanent, then you find yourself in a deep hole when it goes away. But it did help us some, I think."
Henry should be expected to have a sense of security about his seat, but he doesn't view it that way.
"We're not here to feel secure, because the district doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the voters, as you know," he said. "They may have had enough of me, maybe not. But I've done the best I could to do a proper job. That's all you can do."
Yarbro clearly feels some momentum. When the totals were announced showing Yarbro defeating Henry in a Davidson County straw poll several days ago, Yarbro and his supporters were immediately, visibly pumped. He clearly shows an ability to organize.
"I've been overwhelmed by the number of folks who have come out to volunteer for the campaign," Yarbro said. "Our fund-raising has come along nicely, and I think we've got a winning message. I think we're, by any metric, way ahead of where we were when we were planning this thing."
Yarbro sticks to his script about exactly why he's running.
"It's no secret I made the initial decision to run when I didn't think I'd be facing Senator Henry," he said. "I had been looking at the race. I think Senator Henry is a great man. I supported him and voted for him in the last election. I think he has served this district faithfully and admirably, but I think all elections are about the future. We're at a time where we really need new leadership in the state Senate."
Yarbro's sense of discontent among voters is not about Henry so much as about the legislature in general.
"I think folks understand the legislature is not going in the right direction and needs new energy and leadership," he said. "When we go door to door across the district, what drives people a little crazy is the legislature focusing on sideshow politics instead of the real problems that face Tennessee families.
"One in 10 Tennesseans is unemployed. We're 42nd in the nation in terms of schools. We're 48th in terms of health. But the judgment of the legislature is that the No. 1 issue is whether or not you can take a gun into a bar or into a park."
He elaborates on the sideshow.
"We've got this health care bill passed, and as opposed to working on how to implement the health care bill, how to expand access, how to cut costs and how to improve people's health, we've got the tea party in there trying to pass this so-called Health Freedom Act and fight it in the courts," he said.
"People know that's not productive for them. That's not making their lives better. They're tired of the grandstanding and want people who are going to focus on the real issues facing Tennessee."
The Democratic primary, of course, is not the end of the story. Two Republicans are in the race, including Steve Dickerson, a physician who says lawmakers need to be proper stewards of taxpayers' money, and James Chesser, an attorney and consultant.
"There will be fallout from that Democratic primary, and there will be a lot of things said that will cause people to think more seriously about the direction of this county and the future of our government," Chesser said.
"We need a broader voice for people who have been left out of the political process. The problems of jobs and spending are givens. Then the issue is how do we restore people's confidence in a system that's broken."
Henry's race is a rare example of a lot of activity on the Democratic side in a year when much of the attention has been among Republicans statewide. Henry was asked if he thought Democrat Mike McWherter could win the race to be governor.
"Sure. I think so," said Henry, who mentioned the potential of McWherter's father, former Gov. Ned McWherter, helping his son. "Ned McWherter is quite a campaigner, as you know."
It takes good campaigner to know one. Yarbro's quest may not be easy.
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