Tennessee Conservative

This past week I finished N.T. Wright’s The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is (1999). It helps the reader examine the actions and words of Jesus from the perspective of his contemporaries, an undertaking Wright calls “The Quest for the Historical Jesus.” Once the singular “vocation” of Jesus is understood from the standpoint of a 1st Century Hebrew, his seemingly random teachings, symbolic actions and parables present a surprisingly cohesive message that was received far differently than we typically assume today. What was all the “kingdom” talk about? Why were the Pharisees so threatened by what Jesus was doing? And why were his disciples so confused? Wright answers these questions brilliantly and then explains what they mean for the church today. Our task is to build on the foundation that Jesus prepared: announce the good news, proclaim God’s love, and be the light of the world. Finally we must continue to study the story of Jesus, then find compelling ways to share it with our generation.

My first read of the new year is Richard Brookhiser’s Right Time, Right Place: Coming of Age with William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement (2009). It provides a surprisingly candid account of life in the National Review bubble. I recommend it to conservatives, intellectuals, aspiring writers, history buffs and political junkies who will appreciate its breezy summary of Buckley’s professional life and influence on world events over the past four or five decades. Brookhiser weaves Buckley’s biography with his own, framing both with the major political and world events of recent history. Unfortunately he dwells too long on, and returns too often to, his frustration with Buckley for backing off his promise that the magazine would be Brookhiser’s to inherit. Otherwise the account moves along rapidly, revealing a portal into the conservative movement and the major figures who gave it life. Those already familiar with Buckley, National Review, and conservative politicians may glean surprisingly few fresh insights, as he frequently turns to the same statements and anecdotes often quoted by others. We might trace this flaw to Brookhiser’s theory of political analysis, that “the most important things that happen in elections are the things that happen in public,” as developed in his first book, The Outside Story, an analysis of the 1984 campaigns. The theory may be apt, but it shouldn’t be applied to biographies. Perhaps Brookhiser, having written a string of books on the American founders, has come to rely too much on secondary sources, neglecting to offer much of his own account. Either way, he presents a compelling story.

There’s little I can add to what’s already been said about Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman’s statements on Facebook. There are more than a thousand comments about him on the Commercial Appeal website, which drew viewers from around Tennessee and the nation, linked by the Drudge Report, the Huffington Post, and countless political blogs. He clearly made some careless statements that have stirred up plenty of emotional reactions. For some, his statements apparently confirmed some of the worst suspicions people have about those who live in his community, share his faith, and belong to his political party. So as a fellow Republican, a citizen of Shelby County, a member of his church, and a friend of his family, I’d like to offer a few of my thoughts on the matter.

First, I want to say that I was disappointed with some of the things that were said the night of President Obama’s speech on Afghanistan, not only by Russell, but also by others who made similar statements. I don’t recall seeing Russell’s comments that night, although we were Facebook friends, but on my drive home from work, I did hear talk radio host Ben Ferguson joke about Peanuts getting bumped by the President’s address, and later I saw Glenn Beck play a clip of the cartoon on his Fox News program. Mocking a Democrat for bumping a Christmas-themed show off the air seems like a fairly common reaction for religious conservatives, particularly those who frequently use humor to vent their frustrations with politics and society in general. But in this case, I thought it just came across rather dumb, and I thought we should be paying more attention to what the President was saying and how he was planning to win the war.

It was a busy night for me, and I didn’t get to watch the speech, but I later read the transcript and made my own Facebook update, supporting Obama’s decision: ” I had wondered what GWB left in the oval office desk. Now we know — it was last night’s speech on Afghanistan. I agree with 90% of it, as written, and I hope his tactics are sufficient to achieve our goals. In short, I hope he succeeds.” That’s a pretty typical post for Facebook — a little bit serious, a little bit playful, and maybe an inside joke or two.

So knowing the context of when and where Russell said what he did, and being somewhat familiar with his irreverent style of humor, it didn’t surprise me to read some of the quotes as much as it did that they were actually published by the Commercial Appeal, a paper whose sarcasm filter could use a serious upgrade. Still, I wouldn’t have said what he did, and I wouldn’t have responded how he did, especially since we hold our elected officials to a higher standard.

I don’t know Russell well enough to call him and give him my advice, but if I had, I would have suggested he handle things a bit differently. I would have told him to apologize immediately and to explain as clearly as possible that his comments were intended to be humorous, but admit that they were carelessly written and not intended to offend. Coming out quickly, offering the complete account, giving your side of the story, and saying you’re sorry — that’s what puts an end to the story. Russell may have been so shocked by the media’s interest in his semi-private conversations that he wasn’t thinking clearly about how he would come across to readers who didn’t know him or have the full context of what he said. The story dropped just before the weekend, so Russell probably thought it would be old news, and not worth dredging everything back up with a statement at that point. But his reluctance to comment and eagerness to just let it pass actually intensified the story and caused people to question it even more than they would have otherwise.

I also would have suggested that he not delete the post in question or his Facebook account, because you always look like you have something to hide when you clear something from a website or a blog, and you lose your ability to show the complete record and maintain everything that was said. That said, I understand why he closed his Facebook account, knowing how far some political thugs will go, hacking into e-mail accounts, tracking down your address and phone number, and leaving threatening messages. I’ve been on the receiving end of some of that myself, so I know it can be intimidating, and your first instinct is to protect your family.

But as we all saw, the fringe element came out in response to this story, including those who really do believe Obama is a Muslim (and further, are convinced that’s an insult), and those who have used this as an excuse to attack Republicans, Christians, members of the Church of Christ, small-town Tennesseans, etc. All the usual suspects smelled blood in the water and came out for the kill, punctuated of course by Russell winning Keith Olbermann’s “worst person in the world” award (twice). For people who think they have a good sense of humor and consider themselves open-minded, Leftist media types really are some of the most bigoted, humorless, small-minded playground bullies on the planet.

Consider for a moment what it would be like if you were judged solely on the basis of some irreverent or careless thing you said in the confidence of friends, taken out of context, and spread around the entire country. Maybe it’s the worst thing you ever said about George Bush, Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, or some other politician you don’t like. How confident are you that there’s not a single thing you’ve ever said or done, that there’s not a crazy picture of you somewhere, that you wouldn’t be proud to see ripped from its original context and published in the morning paper?

One last thing.

A few people said Russell’s comments weren’t very Christ-like, and then they went on to judge and condemn him in a very ugly way. But perhaps the most outrageous comments I’ve seen accuse Russell of not caring about our soldiers fighting overseas, or those Obama plans to send to Afghanistan in the next few months. People said Russell “thinks Charlie Brown is more important than the announcement of the deployment of American troops to fight a foreign war” and that “he’s not concerned about our troops.”

Those who believe this should know that Russell spent this past year mowing the yard for my sister-in-law, helping out while my brother is serving active duty in Iraq. He has volunteered his time and has put in a good deal of care and effort to help out our family, without complaining or asking for anything in return. And he’s done this even though he has a family of his own to take care of, on top of his job and his duties as mayor.

That means far more to me than anything they’re saying about him on MSNBC.

When ACORN Founder Wade Rathke spoke recently at the University of Memphis, he cited the Community Reinvestment Act as the chief accomplishment of community organizers. When some of Rathke’s “interrogators” questioned him on that, he cited this blog entry by a writer named Mike Volpe, who posts at The Provocateur. Aside from some minor typographical errors, I find Volpe’s commentary surprisingly helpful, particularly his related “white paper” on the financial crisis — what caused it, and what should be done about it. In short, Volpe criticizes Republicans for blaming the entire crisis on the CRA, and both parties for bailing out quasi-governmental agencies and others that were “too big to fail.” He recommends that we break up Fannie and Freddie (a “duopoly”), stop trying to prop up the bad actors, quit papering over bad deals, and let the market correct itself.

Shelby County Commissioner Steve Mulroy plans to soon introduce a resolution in support of the Tennessee bottle bill. I urge you to research the issue and decide if this is really something we want, or need. Here’s a related article I wrote that appeared in the June issue of the Main Street Journal:

On tax day, half a million Americans across the nation gathered to protest an out-of-control government and the oppressive tax increases that will invariably follow.

As we wait to see what, if anything, these “Tea Party” activists plan to actually do about it, state and federal legislators are busy serving up the perfect issue for them to tackle first – new taxes on tea. read more…

There’s a common saying about a failed socio-economic model that goes something like, “it’s great in theory…”

Really? If it’s such a great theory, why does it always result in such disastrous consequences?

Isn’t the very basis for determining the value of any given theory its ability to prove valid in actual practice? Otherwise, any crack-pot theory can be considered great, even when shown incorrect in an infinite number of tests.

And so I’ve also come to question the theory that President Obama is a brilliant orator. I’ve heard it a number of times from dozens of people, on both sides of the aisle, but the evidence is beginning to pile up against this claim. read more…

Peskyfly Chris Davis has found himself a “hero” in Rep. Barney Frank, the contemptible politician who has been and remains behind many of the worst bills ever formed in Congress.

Rep. Frank is the one who in July 2008 assured us that government-sponsored mortgage lenders Fannie and Freddie were “fundamentally sound” and would be “solid” investments going forward.

So what did Barney Frank do to become the new hero of Davis, his pal Jen S. and others on the Left? read more…

If you’re like me, you supported John McCain last November because you love your country and you were concerned about the direction Barack Obama would lead us.

Maybe you didn’t agree with McCain on every issue, but you respected his record of reform and public service, and you knew that he would always seek to put his country first. With McCain, we knew America would stay on the offense against terrorists, stand up to dictators, and enjoy a revitalized economy free from increasingly burdensome taxes and regulations.

Unfortunately, we were unable to build enough support for the Republican ticket in 2008, and our concerns about Obama and the Democrats have been validated over these past six months. read more…

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, I thought I’d post an article I wrote a few years ago for the Main Street Journal, examining the space program through the lens of Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District.

Following the final live debate between the 9th Congressional
district’s three candidates, Republican Mark White confided that he had expected the evening to be about “bigger issues.” Instead, divisions caused by partisan loyalties, racial concerns, and political reputations had once again dominated the discussion. read more…

The Main Street Journal asks, “Outside the usual suspects of politicians, who would you like to see run for Memphis Mayor?” Assuming the current mayor actually steps down or retires, of course. Some suggestions, including mine, are featured in this week’s On the Block discussion question. Your turn: who would you like to see as the next Mayor of Memphis?