Yesterday I arrived at Senator Lamar Alexander’s East Tennessee Campaign HQ opening. There were Lamar signs everywhere. Also, Democrat candidates for U.S. Senate Terry Adams and Gordon Ball had signs there also. I thought what great file photos for the General Election, so I took pictures of the Lamar and Gordon Ball sign and then took pictures of Lamar and Terry Adams signs.
At which time some guy in a convertible pulls up and walks up and grabs the Terry Adams sign. He said I hope you are not offended that I take this sign. It isn’t authorized. I said I don’t care, I got the picture and they are not my signs. He then proceeded over to grab Gordon’s sign and said Gordon isn’t either. As if he and Gordon Ball were on a first name basis.
As the dude walked away, I asked if the signs of State Representative Steve Hall’s opponent were authorized. He suddenly had hearing loss.
In another yard sign incident. Sources tell me that Buddy Burkhardt the First Vice Chair of the Knox County Republican Party has been making phone calls about some black and white yard signs popping up that say “Republicans for Wimberly” with an elephant on the sign. He apparently has made phone calls to the state party about them and has been told that Wimberly can not use them.
It doesn’t seem to bother Wimberly’s opponent Bill Ailor or his campaign as they have not made an issue out of the signs. Wimberly is not the first to do such a thing. Senator Bob Corker, President George W. Bush and many others have had Democrats for (fill in the blank). Also, locally Democrat Finbarr Saunders in 2008 had bumper stickers that said Republicans for Finbarr. If I recall correctly those stickers were donated to Saunders. Saunders defeated his Republican opponent Ruthie Kuhlman easily, with the use of those stickers.
I did ask Judge Wimberly about the signs. He said it wasn’t the campaigns idea that they had many requests for them.
I (BrianHornback) in my humble opinion believe that Republican is a generic term that individuals identify themselves with politically. When one or more gather together, it would have to be plural, as in Republicans. The elephant on the sign also is a generic symbol.
Again, it isn’t unprecedented as many candidates have used similar tactics and like in 2008 with Saunders, there was no protest by the local party chair or vice chair about Saunders identifying his Republican supporters for him.
Ailor has the right focus as does Wimberly, just keep working for the votes.
