OK, I’m not crazy. They are.
For months I’ve been wondering why in the world anyone would be running for Tennessee governor this year.
Yeah, I know an open office, resulting from Phil Bredesen being ineligible to run again after two terms, draws a big field.
And, I know Republican candidates have got to feel real good about their chances if they can win the party primary, due in part from recent election developments trending in their favor but much more dramatically by the 2008 elections results that saw Tennessee move hugely into “Red” status (heh, heh, some of us older political followers can remember when a Republican would go ape if you called him “red”).
Five serious GOP candidates are battling it out right now, and often being pretty bare-knuckled in the process with three serious Democratic runners, down by two due to other developments.
Now all eight of these folk are pretty politically savvy whatever you think of their political views and agendas.
That’s the baffling part.
You see, being governor of Tennessee next year is not going to be fun. The budgetary situation this year is grim with a generally expected $1 billion gap between spending and revenue.
When you consider a huge amount of the state’s budget is simply pass-through dollars from the feds for Medicare and such, state officials are facing cuts of better than one dollar out of 10. Maybe much more than that.
That’s with some federal help still filling the holes. Sadly for state officials that assistance evaporates every day.
By the time the new governor takes office the state is going to be facing some dire situations.
Resources to meet basic state functions like maintain prisons, schools and health care programs are not going to be enough.
The brand-new governor is going to have to make some draconian cuts that are going to literally make sizeable voter groups hate him/her. Just trying to manage the state’s dismal budget situation, and it’s better than many other states, is going to be totally consuming and a constant struggle.
I’ve been puzzled by this for a while, wondering if I was just crazy.
But, then I heard Sen. Bill Ketron, a most politically astute elected official, say on a local radio interview, “next year's budget – it's a train wreck.
“These guys running for governor. I don't know why they would want it.”
That brought a little relief about my political conclusion, but not much hope for what the state is facing.
And, even if his or her sanity might be a bit in question, we certainly need someone strong, resourceful and thick-skinned as our next governor.
So, far most of the candidates haven’t been forthcoming in a specific, realistic sense about dealing with the state’s budget.
“Managing” and “prioritizing” are good words, but the devil’s in the detail.
Little detail has been found on the campaign trail.
We would do well to press candidates on specifics of what they will cut and what they will trim and what they will preserve.
Because by this time next year the new governor will be making those decisions. |
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