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GoogleDemocratic candidate Ty Cobb was already a no-show, and when moderator Hannah Little introduced the candidates, Republican Pat Marsh first, then Chris Brown, Brown addressed the crowd.
"This is the second meeting I've been where nobody said a prayer or the Pledge of Allegiance," said Brown, the Constitution Party candidate. "So, ladies and gentlemen, please excuse me."
Brown then walked out.
Little hesitated, then asked Webb's interim headmaster, Gordon Bondurant, to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. By the time the first member of the audience approached a microphone to ask a question, Brown was back in his chair.
As the audience asked questions, many times the candidates would agree with each other's answers. Both stated their opposition to abortion and especially government-funded abortions, and their support of the second amendment and the right to bear arms. Both wanted to see arts and music returned to public schools -- as well as prayer. Both said they wanted the government to be less intrusive in business and local government and both indicated a desire to be on the state's transportation committee if elected.
Marsh said his experience owning a trucking company would be helpful if he were named to the commerce and transportation committee and Brown said, as an independent trucker, he would like to see a lot of the pork belly spending in the transportation department cut.
When asked what their differences were and why each thought he was the better candidate, Brown stressed the importance of a third party in a two-party system and Marsh referred to his experience as a businessman.
"I believe in coming back to Bedford County to take care of Bedford County," said Brown. "I won't get caught up in special interests. We need checks and balances."
"I feel I have the business background and the maturity," said Marsh. "I've been a good corporate citizen. Also, I have Lincoln County roots ... I would be a voice for the total district, not just Bedford County."
He said his common sense and experience in running a business -- including not spending more than he earned -- would be an asset in Nashville.
One member of the audience asked about tort reform and both candidates said they felt it was needed to prevent frivolous lawsuits. Marsh said states that have introduced tort reform have seen an increase in doctors and the services they are able to offer, but Brown warned that stopping frivolous lawsuits shouldn't prevent people who have really been injured from being able to sue.
Both candidates also saw a need to bring more industry to the district.
"We need to try to keep our number one asset from leaving -- our children," said Marsh,"
He suggested keeping taxes low, offering tax breaks to new industries, and active recruiting as ways to increase industry.
"We need to sell this state, tell everybody how good our roads are, how good our schools are," he said.
Brown referred to how few jobs there were when he left for military service, and that there were even fewer when he got back.
"We need to lower taxes and get more jobs," sad Brown.. "We need to all work together ... us, not the special interest groups. You are the ones who support these jobs."
Both were also leery of the health care reform bill being worked in Washington.
"That money's got to come from somewhere and I haven't heard an good explanation of where that money will come from," said Brown.
Marsh agreed, adding stem cell research as another item he didn't think the government should approve, much less fund.
When asked why they wanted to run, Brown brought up his party affiliation.
"A lot of people complain about the two-party system," he said. "Mr. Marsh is a good man. Ty Cobb -- I don't know nothing about him, We have lost a lot of what our party stood on,"
He said the Democrats only wanted to raise taxes and the Republicans have yet to stop abortion.
Marsh told the audience he decided to run because he wanted to contribute.
"I was never in the service and I always felt a little guilty about that," he said. "I thought this would be a way to serve."
Marsh said he was concerned because so many people were amazed that he would want to run. He said their attitude indicated they were disgusted on with the system but they had given up and didn't even want to try to change things. He wanted to change things, he said.
"God is our leader," said Marsh. "We do need some good people to get back in the political arena."
Russ Faxon, a Bell Buckle businessman and artist, asked them about the money they spent on campaigning.
"You guys have sent us a lot of landfill material," said Faxon. "How much money have you spent on those flyers?
"How do we know you're going to be spending our money more effectively than you spend your own?"
"A lot of this came out of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party," said Brown. "That money could have fed a lot of children in this county."
Brown said his campaign has worked on the internet, going door-to-door and a few flyers, In all, he said, he's spent less than $1,000.
Marsh did not say how much has been spent on his campaign but agreed that it was too much.
"It's my first time in politics," he said. "I said 'how much will it take?' and we've already doubled that. I don't see how we spent it."
He added that because Cobb would not debate him, he felt it the flyers were the only way he could get his message out.
The last question of the evening asked the candidates what they themselves would ask Ty Cobb if he were there.
"Ty Cobb, did you really have to pay a parking ticket up on the square?" asked Brown.
The audience laughed and the candidate continued. He said Cobb's father and brother had served in public office and that was part of the problem.
"There are too many good ole boys," said Brown. "Ty Cobb is a union man, I'm not a union man. The firefighters support him because they're union -- I thought their job was to save babies, not to kill them."
Later, Brown explained he was referring to their support of the Democratic party through their support of Cobb, not Cobb himself, who was endorsed by a right to life group.
Marsh said he wished Cobb had shown up and thought the Democratic candidate might be nervous about public speaking.
"I was at first, too," he said, "I got over it."
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Marsh outspends Cobb, Brown
Source (Daily News Journal of Rutherford County) link included below
Marsh raised $96,284 and spent $68,859 since his last report before the Aug. 27 primary. Cobb, a UPS driver, raised $76,001 and spent $68,317.
Independent candidate Chris Brown said at a candidate forum Tuesday that he has spent less than $1,000 on his campaign.
The candidates aren't the only ones spending money on the race. The House Democratic Caucus on Wednesday launched a negative television ad about Marsh. The caucus spent $60,000 for the spot to run on Nashville-area broadcast and cable stations between now and Tuesday's vote, spokesman Addison Pate said.
Both candidates have received heavy contributions from their respective parties since joining the race. The GOP's Tennessee Legislative Campaign Committee has given Marsh $33,000, while the House Democratic Caucus and the state party have given Cobb $27,654.
http://www.dnj.com/article/20091008/NEWS...
Almost no one can take on the two party establishment financially but money isn't everything.
On Browns website
http://www.votechrisbrown.info/
and on his campaign fliers it specifically states We don't want your money. We don't need it. The only thing we need to win this election is for you to go to the poles and cast your vote for the party that will protect your Constitutional rights.
"Marsh did not say how much has been spent on his campaign but agreed that it was too much.
'It's my first time in politics,' he said. 'I said 'how much will it take?' and we've already doubled that. I don't see how we spent it.'"
i dont mean this to be an attack on marsh. it is just that this quote really wraps up how i see this race. marsh and cobb have become cameo actors in a contest between the republican and democratic parties. if they are not even in control of their campaigns, why should we believe that they will be able to operate as anything but rubber stamps for their party once in office?
Candidates dont have time to worry about every dollar. They are supposed to work their tails off to raise money and campaign. Everytime someone donates money; its because they want to and can. And that comment about feeding people, where do you think that money goes--to a business with employees that use it feed their kids. thats the way the economy works.
As much as I am displeased with both the Republican and Democratic party, introducing a third party could really just complicate things further than they already are. I say lets stack the existing parties with better quality, REAL people and go from there..no need in re-inventing the wheel....I agree with Lazarus to an extent. It does trouble me that Mr. Marsh could not tell you with some degree of certainty how much money his campaign spent...however, there are few candidates who could tell you that unless their campaign manager fed them the info 5 minutes prior. Frankly, I feel better about Mr. Marsh than I do Mr. Cobb for a variety of reasons. I am very anxious to see how all of this plays out.
Chris Brown has already proven that he's a constitutional as well as fiscal conservative. Fiscal responsibility and protection of our constitutional rights should be the top priority of any candidate. Pat Marsh, by his own statements has admitted he can't operate within a budget. Ty Cobb is apparently like the typical politician, totally out of touch with those in whom he seeks support. Chris Brown will get my vote.
ANYONE WHO THINKS THE DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS ARE ANY DIFFERENT SHOULD WATCH THIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smzXFmOTJ...
I'm Soooo glad this will be over with Tuesday.....
The citizens of the 62nd District - whether Republican, Democrat, Independent or Martian - should be humbled to have a man of Pat Marsh's high character and integrity willing to represent their interest.The fabricated false allegations made against Mr. Marsh by the Democratic candidate and his ilk are despicable. I have known him and his family since we were young boys. Pat is a self-made man whose success first and foremost is built on following the "Golden Rule" whether in his personal life or in his business. He makes sound decisions after gathering facts. He is seasoned by years of community service and generous with his personal resources. I have personally seen him open his checkbook to friends who have been run over by life. He is a genuine gentleman of the highest order and a man who will do what is right for this district. I will be proud stand with him on any field, on any day, against any foe.
Jim Eakin
Flat Creek, Tennessee
Pat Marsh did not say he "can't operate within a budget." Tattoos & Scars should pray for the gift of understanding to go hand in hand with his thinking skills and then revisit Pat's remarks. Furthermore, T&S has no idea what Marsh's campaign budget was. Marsh had previously said that in his trucking business he had practiced spending less than he brought in.
Criticism is more acceptable when it has a hint of reason and accuracy.
As much as I am displeased with both the Republican and Democratic party, introducing a third party could really just complicate things further than they already are. I say lets stack the existing parties with better quality, REAL people and go from there..no need in re-inventing the wheel....
-- Posted by jtjustice30 on Thu, Oct 8, 2009, at 12:24 PM
How can you do this, if the party has got the control and not the man? It's time to bring in some people who will go against the odds, but not in those two parties. They have too much money and they own the man, he doesn't own himself. I heard one person tell another candidate one time, "If you get in, go in with a clean nose and keep it clean, don't come out owing anyone". Mr. Brown use to be with the Republican party and left because no one wanted to support him. He is head-strong and they couldn't control him. The Republicans and Democrats don't want you unless you have something to benefit them. The Cobb name is a well known name in Politics and that's the reason the Democrats wanted Cobb, not because of who he is. The Republicans want Marsh, because he looks good with having all that money. They will control them just the same. I'm sorry, but I feel that we need someone who is not going to put up with that. If they can't take us as common everyday folks, then why should they be able to control our money and funds? If they can control you then yeah, they want you. Bringing in a third party is the only way to try and gain some control of our lives. It'll be a slow process, but it can be done. If you are just an everyday person then try and run for office and see if you get the backing that these two have.
Dear ,poo me. PUT up or shutty up .LEAD ME FOLLOW ME OR GET THE HECK OUT OF THE WAY ..UNLESS YOU WERE THERE .Bellbob so what is it he said both go to WWW.VOTECHRISBROWN.INFO its on tape I just went there.
you and the rest of the cry babbes of Bedford Co. have a last chance to have your lazy rear ends to be at the court house sat 1500 .that is if you can walk from the parking lot to the court house doors .oh i for got you cant get off your lazy rear ends to do anything but nag nag nag i will be there picking on the ones running .its my right to pick on them .this time we can ask corn cobb something.Brown/Marsh might not be the OBOMA gifted speakers.But they will try to tell you something ,and NO not ONE of the have done this befor
When Marsh talked about the taxes he had to be forced to pay he said there were too many different tax codes in too many places to keep up with, and some were over looked, when asked questions about how his campaign was run he said he busy trying to get votes and was unsure about it ( as pr. and article in this paper ) NOW HE SAYS,"'It's my first time in politics,' he said. 'I said 'how much will it take?' and we've already doubled that. I don't see how we spent it.'"
Come on folks lets break this statement down,
"it's my first time in politics"
his excuse and way of transferring the blame away from himself,
"I said 'how much will it take?' and
we've already doubled that. I don't
see how we spent it"
Do we want that mentality representing our hard earned tax money? His excuse for not paying taxes was basically the same , too many to keep track of, he didn't know , he over looked, a and then had to forced by the courts to do the right thing and pay them ( I have not read if he has yet or not).. HE did not do the appropriate research into to his expenses (again, last time it was taxes) and then when his figures were wrong he just kept spending ,rather than stick to the budget he let it keep running and double, and admits he doesn't know how it was spent.....
iS IT JUST ME OR DOES HE ALWAYS SEEM TO HAVE AWAY OF TRYING TO SHIFT THE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HIS RESPONSIBILITIES IN OTHER DIRECTIONS rather THAN AT HIMSELF ????? And shouldn't he be watching what is going on, how the money was being spent ? If he is to be trusted for this position shouldn't we be able to expect him to "SEE" how things are done, know if things are getting out of controlled ( the budget doubled - he admits he doesn't know how)
"""Marsh said his experience owning a trucking company would be helpful if he were named to the commerce and transportation committee"""
His experience that I have seen presented shows his lack to details and responsibility ( gosh he didn't know the tax codes,he didn't know he owed those taxes, the courts had to force him to admit and pay them, he didn't know he had doubled the original budget, he didn't know where the money went ,)
He wants to be on the board of transportation, but by owning a transportation (trucking) in my book that should be considered as a conflict of interest.
As a voter I consider these to be all very concerning to me. I received 3 mailings from him today ( 1 from Cobb) He says he has spent double what he thought he would, if he knew what his crew was doing, and if he were organized enough to cut down on excess ( 1 example would be to send out one well planned flier instead of 3 ) the cost would not have sky rocketed.... What can we expect if he is elected if this is what we see of him now??? The only sure thing I've gotten he represents is gun rights and Cobb bashing. If he wants my vote all these things need to be addressed and cleared up by HIM, he need to take ownership of his deeds and actions and stop passing the buck.
I doubt he's a "bad guy" but he has not given me any reason to go out on a limb for him.
Prayer is very important in our lives, The Pledge with the words Under God is so meaningful for us as individuals and as a great country.
Everyday it seems God is being left out of our society taken away from public places, I do not judge anyone else's religion and I think it is terrible that the word God can not be mentioned displayed in public places for fear of offending someone. Our Great country is for freedom of religion, we should certainly be able to display the name God, The Ten Commandments, in a public place.
Look around with all that is happening in this world, Tune in to Fox news.
Use your heart to vote for someone you believe will represent and fight for the good old American values! Someone that believes in our constitution .
As a former longtime activist member of one of the two big parties (Republican), I can assure you that the "We don't need another party" is, just, one of the oft-repeated propaganda lines that have saturated the general public, but originated with party loyalists as contrived, self-protective snake oil. It's, just, like the lines "A third party can never win", or, as some prefer, "It'll take forty years to build a new party." These are all deceptive (and untrue)messages that were originally despensed with the intents that they would be repeated often and, eventually, would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. To those who say, "A third party can never win," I say, you'd better hope you are wrong, because if your right, the unvarnished truth is America has no (political) hope. Don't waste your time trying to transform a terminally corrupt two-spiggoted cesspool into fresh water drinking fountain.
Folks, the elites at the top of both big parties have a stranglehold on the control of those parties and are quite able to make sure that no one can wrest power from their hands. In fact, quite a few of the big money controllers are bipartisan (to hedge their bets).
Would more competiton in the marketplace be bad? Would a new supermarket with better product lines (made in America) at lower prices "complicate" the matter or improve the buyers situation?
Clell Drumheller
Houston, TX
Clell, your comment is right on target. Look what's happening in Florida. http://www.dailypaul.com/node/106046 The republican party has become split between True Conservatives and Progressives. Their not going to allow the party to go back to being Conservative, they're going to purge them out. Wake up America, the whole party is sick, wounded and diseased.
Did anyone really expect Cobb to show up? He knows better. Better to keep your mouth closed than risk sticking your foot in it. Ty Cobb is really a nice guy and I've known him for years, but he really needs to actually talk to people instead of hiding behind all those tons of flyers he's mailing out.