Last night's Tennessee Conservative Union Reagan Day Dinner was a testament to the state of the conservative movement in Tennessee in general, and in East Tennessee particularly. If attendance is an indication of ideological strength, conservatism is on the ascendancy indeed. TCU Chairman Lloyd Daugherty said that this was one of the most well-attended Reagan Day Dinners that he can recall. The biggest problem of the night was finding a seat. Nicole and I arrived a bit early, believing this to be the best approach to finding a seat and navigating the food line. Getting there early didn't seem to matter, however, because once we arrived it appeared that no official seats were to be had. I am used to the custom at Republican Party Lincoln or Reagan Day dinners, which is that one doesn't sit at a table marked for a group unless it is yours or someone asks you to sit there-but the overwhelming majority of tables were marked in just that way, and general table seating was already filled up. Nicole and I were on our feet for 30 minutes looking for a seat, and I can't handle being stationary on my feet for very long because of the spasticity in my legs. Just when we were ready to give up and head to the house, we bumped into State Senator Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville), who always seems to go out of her way to find and talk to me at every event we jointly attend. I dropped the fact that we had been standing for half an hour with no seat after having arrived early, and within two minutes we were being led to a seat. In fairness, we weren't the only ones with that problem-many attendees, even a few elected officials-could not find seats for themselves at first and waited just as we did, believing-it is to be supposed-that Republican Party protocols were the order of the night.
Eventually it was announced that all those with empty seats at their tables should make room for those with no place to sit down, though thankfully we were seated before that move was finally made. Where we were seated turned out to be within the Providence of God, anyway. As it turned out, Nicole and I ended up sitting next to Jennifer Little of Grainger County, who is the Director of Tourism for the Grainger County Chamber of Commerce, and is also very active in the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women. When I introduced myself, she was surprised and pleased to have us at the table with her, which was hosted very graciously by Leonard and Karen Brown.
Jennifer was quite familiar with my writing and blogging work and knew as soon as I greeted her who I was, and we began to gab about mutual friends and party gossip, though in the interest of Republican unity it was determined that we would not have in-depth discussions about certain people and matters local to our area, lest those of opposite opinion or support be present. Getting on well with Ms. Little was a very good thing, because it meant that two potential candidates for the GOP State Executive Committee from the 4th District (one man, one woman) could work very well together.
The dinner food was the best I have ever had at a political function, and left me wanting another piece of the delicious fried chicken-the desire for seconds is usually non-existant at these affairs. My only complaint was that because of the setting, I eschewed my traditional habit of eating my fried chicken with my hands, thus being messy, and chose a fork instead, so it was a bit harder to eat. Lloyd Daugherty and Kelvin Moxley deserve every credit for planning such a wonderful menu. GOP dinner planners should take note that this kind of food-good, down home comfort food-is what we ought to have at political dinners here in Tennessee. The side dishes included collard greens, hominy in butter, macaroni and cheese, and buscuits, of course.
The conversation was going so well that I didn't notice Rep. Frank Niceley trying to get my attention, but Nicole did. He stayed for a few minutes at our table and we talked shop. Jennifer Little took Frank and Nicole's picture and I commented that Frank looked much better than I did, to which Frank colorfully replied that I was full of it. The strange seating arrangements described herein also led to Stacey Campfield being seated at the same table with his State Senate Primary opponent, Ron Leadbetter, which must have made for interesting dinner talk.
The straw poll was surprising not because Ron Ramsey won it, but for the things that did not happen at the dinner or straw poll, which was conducted as a caucus or mini-convention roll call. Zach Wamp had a good excuse for not being there-fighting the Democrats on the health care bill-so he sent his son in his stead, who made a wonderful speech (he is a better orator than his father, who is very good). The Wamp folks had a good turnout machine for this event, too, and it was obvious that they took the results of the straw vote very seriously. Yet, in spite of the effort to get their people to this event, they finished third behind Ramsey and Haslam. In the early stages of the roll call, it really looked like the end result was going to be very tight and inconclusive. It was when the latter tables were called that it became clear that Ron Ramsey was going to win running away. Mike Faulk had placed Ramsey's name in nomination with a rousing speech, and Ramsey himself gave what might have been his best oration of the campaign so far.
The most glaring absence was that of the Mayor of Knoxville himself, whose excuse was that he was attending a fundraiser. While no one disparages Haslam of a fundraiser, he has known about the Reagan Day dinner for months but begged off of it, and his fundraiser in Sumner County would have been much easier to reschedule for a man whose personal funds along with collected campaign cash might rival the Sultan of Brunei. Haslam sent people and bought tables, but a conservative event in his own hometown was not good enough for him to be there and actively stump for himself. Bill Dunn is one of the few reputable conservatives openly supporting Haslam and gave a good speech and actually made a decent argument for the Mayor. When Dunn's speech was over, I wanted badly to put Dunn's name into nomination in place of Haslam.
After most of the speechifying and voting was over (I was caucus chair at my table and announced our tally), John Duncan III and his lovely wife dropped by to say hello. I am constantly impressed with what a genuinely nice young man JDIII is, and I get the real impression that his conservatism is born of the heart, not unlike his more famous father. For someone of such obvious means and deep political background, he treats everyone he meets with the same dignity and respect. That is why he will continue successfully following in the footsteps of his Dad.
As we made our way out of the hotel and said goodnight to many, Nicole commented that other than the seating problem, she had a wonderful time and we both enjoyed the food and the straw poll (believe it or not, it was my first one), as well as meeting some new faces and reconnecting with some old ones. We hope to return next year to TCU Reagan Day, and think that this event was the most reflective of conservative strength we have yet seen on the dinner circuit-not to mention being in the company of Lloyd Daugherty, a man with taste as good as the ideas he promotes. If this year's event was as well-attended, next year Knoxville's Reagan Day might just be standing-room only.
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