Candidates Flock to ‘Muster on the Mount’

PINEY FLATS, Tenn. – Barbecued pulled pork might have been the official menu at Saturday’s “Muster On The Mount,” but the Democratic Party’s four gubernatorial candidates clearly preferred “scorched Tennessee Republicans” as the main course in their speeches.

“The Republicans have become so partisan that every issue is a partisan issue,” said Tennessee Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, who later earned laughs and applause by declaring he was “tired of Republicans spelling God, G-O-P.”

Herron and fellow gubernatorial candidates Mike McWherter, Kim McMillan and Ward Cammack were the featured speakers at the Rocky Mount Museum rally, which drew an estimated 250 spectators. The four are battling to win the Aug. 5, 2010, Democratic gubernatorial primary. The winner will be the party’s nominee on the November general election ballot.

During their 10-minute speeches Saturday, all four candidates said they’d follow the policies of current Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen. They also accused state Republicans of blocking progress on issues such as health care, jobs, education and the economy.

Herron said he would be a Democratic governor who would pursue “common-sense policies” that would support working and unemployed residents.
“I believe in government being on the side of the people, not against people,” he said.

McWherter, son of former Gov. Ned McWherter, noted Saturday that he was at the same site where his father declared his candidacy in 1985.

“I’m proud of his record and what he accomplished,” McWherter said of his father, who was governor from 1987 to 1995.

McWherter said he would follow his popular father’s motto of putting the interest of Tennesseans first, and his experience as a successful Jackson businessman would be a valuable asset in Nashville.

“You need a governor who will put creation and saving of jobs front and center on their agenda, and that is why I’m running for governor,” he said.

McMillan, a former Tennessee House majority leader from Clarksville, said her proven skills at “listening and leading” would guide her as governor. She pointed to her past statehouse leadership as an example of how she’d govern.

“My colleagues didn’t elect me majority leader because I’d be the first woman in Tennessee history to be majority leader,” she said. “They elected me because they knew the job was hard [and] they knew I would give it my all. I would do everything it took.”

Along with Herron, McMillan took the most-pointed shot at Republicans, recalling that when she taught her son Ryan how to drive, he used a handy tip.

“He said, ‘If I want go forward, I put the car in ‘D’ like [for] Democrat. But if you want to go backwards, you put the car in “R” like for Republican,” McMillan said.

Cammack, a longtime Nashville businessman, environmentalist and financial adviser, said he could lead Tennessee through its current tough economic times by making it a leader in green-technology jobs and renewable energy.

“This is not a recession, it’s a reset,” Cammack told rally spectators. “It doesn’t have to be a bad thing. We just have to be realistic about it.”

Cammack also said that as governor, he’d work to double the number of Tennesseans with associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in five and 10 years, respectively.

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney dismissed the Rocky Mount speeches by the Democratic candidates – and said the Republican field for governor (Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp and Shelby County District Attorney General Bill Gibbons) was far superior.

“The Democrats are running scared, so they’re trying to scare people on the issues,” Devaney said Saturday evening. “We have four strong candidates for governor. And our candidates are talking about issues with a positive message.”

Other Democrats speaking at the Rocky Mount rally included state Rep. Eddie Yokley, D-Greeneville, and former state Rep. Nathan Vaughan, who is attempting to regain his Kingsport seat.

Vaughan did double duty at Saturday’s rally, singing a stirring rendition of the national anthem before the candidate speeches.

rbrown@bristolnews|(276)645-2512.