In the wake of Marsha Blackburn’s victory in a brutal and divisive GOP primary she made a call for party unity during her speech accepting the nomination. She encouraged those who supported other candidates to “come join our team.” Talk is cheap, even in a campaign fueled with over $10 million in dark pro-voucher money; and actions speak, louder than words.
Will Team Blackburn and Ward Baker move forward, and their array of sometimes thuggish special interest groups move forward in a conciliatory tone, and develop better relations with media outlets they have blacklisted, or will they spike the football and proceed with a vindictive, petty approach to “we won you lost get over it” governance? Multiple lobbyists and business groups are already expressing concern that “governing by retainers” paid to Marsha’s advisors will be the operative model in a Blackburn administration. Their concerns are valid.
Over 56% of Republican primary voters voted against her. The 50% lead over Rose she trumpeted throughout the campaign melted to about 11%. She lost in various counties to Rose, and even to Fritts!
And the bills for those millions in support from the out-of-state voucher groups will soon come due. She has already pledged her support for universal vouchers, guaranteeing that every child in Tennessee has access to the voucher money. That can carry a billion-dollar price tag. That path has put states like Arizona on the brink of bankruptcy. Where will Governor Blackburn find places to cut spending or increase revenue to fund the ever-expanding voucher scheme?
The legislature is already having to shift money from the lottery and sports betting revenue to pay for the promises they made to get the voucher plan passed. So education funding for college scholarships is also looking at a significant shortfall. Again, how will Governor Blackburn make up for that shortfall?
Tennessee recently doubled the state’s contract with the company that administers Tennessee’s private school voucher programs, despite questions from lawmakers about the vendor’s track record in other states. That vendor agreement will cost the state over $650 million over the next five years.
Again, where will the money come from or what will have to be cut?
Sadly, while millions of dollars from the voucher groups were pouring into the governor’s race, and the state house races to ensure that the program will continue to grow and expand, there was no significant discussion at all about education policy during the Governor’s race nor the statehouse races that swung based upon that out of state money. Soon that non-debated debate will have to take place in the legislature, and there are certainly no easy answers nor inexpensive ones.
Those issues and others should’ve been the focal point of the Republican primary that just concluded. They weren’t. Next year they will have to be confronted by a Governor Blackburn, but without a clear mandate based upon any particular issues that elected her. Crushing fortune cookies over “strawman” China concerns won’t help her wrangle a likely less-than-compliant legislature that will have to face voters long before she will.
There are strong and bitter divisions in the Republican Party today. Does Marsha Blackburn and her team of insiders possess the skills or sincere interest needed to heal them?
Steve Gill is editor and publisher of TriStar Daily.
