George Erdel has qualified to run as a Democrat in the 2010 campaign for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District.

GUEST COLUMN: State needs conservative Democrat in House.

I want to thank Mr. Sam Stockard for his opinion column Jan. 12, 2010. I also wish to thank him for the opportunity to set the record straight about my candidacy and campaign for the United States House of Representatives, Tennessee 6th District.

Mr. Stockard emphasized my passive use of the term “Dixiecrat” which I merely used as a reference to values I consider to be, at their core, traditional Democratic Party ideals. I used it because of the historically conservative nature of the Democrats and Dixiecrats when it came to respecting the Constitution, as well as social and economic justice. Traditional Democrats, like JFK and others believed these were not only realistic, but were only guaranteed by their strict adherence to the United Sates Constitution. I believe this also.

Contrary to the title of Mr. Stockard’s column, I am not seeking office under the mantle of “Dixiecrat.” I am a Democrat, and I am running as such. To date, I am the only candidate having qualified to run from any political party. I will be on the August primary ballot as a Democrat.

When one looks at the wording of the very first Democratic Party platform, penned in 1840 it becomes evident that those Democrats were very conservative, and stood for the working people.

It was those conservative values which the National Democratic Party abandoned years ago. What happened to our party? It was infiltrated and overrun by liberals. These liberals began to cater to every disenfranchised group of malcontents that came knocking on the door with promises of block voting in return for tax dollars from the working class.

As the Democratic Party became more ardently liberal during the 1950s and 1960s, many lifelong Democrats began to look for representation by other parties that more closely shared their values. My parents left the Democratic Party when Ronald Reagan joined the Republican Party in 1962. Now, nearly 50 years later, liberal ideology is also so deeply entrenched within the Republican Party that most Americans see little difference in either party.

As a result of the policies put in place by the liberals of both parties, America today is traveling on a highway toward a bridge that is out. If we do not alter course immediately following the next election, the America we knew growing up will only be chronicled in history books.

Fellow Democrats with more name recognition than me have commented that the 6th District can remain in the Democrat column if the party chooses a conservative, pro-gun, pro-life candidate. Prior to my entry into the 6th District race, such a candidate did not exist. I am that candidate. What the liberal faction of our party does not like is the fact that I am conservative on all issues, not just on issues of the Second Amendment and abortion. Tennessee voters have watched the past year as Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid repeatedly capitulated to the beck and call of the president, against the overwhelming will of the people, in order to blaze his socialist trail across America on issues such as cap-and-trade, and socialized medicine.

Tennesseans of the 6th District are ready to take their Tennessee fighting spirit to Washington and reclaim our Congress from the liberals of both parties. Neither I, nor any other single representative, will be able to fix the problem in one term or several terms for that matter. Remember it took 50 years to get here. What will I do? If you send me to represent you in the 6th District, I will work closely with conservative representatives of both parties to turn our nation onto the solid, fiscally sound road that takes us away from the irreparably broken “bail-out” bridge that threatens our prosperity for future generations.

I invite you to join me in taking the Tennessee fight to Washington to begin the tasks ahead. Together we can do it, but we must start with this year’s elections. I will accept all invitations to visit any group to discuss the vital issues that threaten us. Contact information can be found in my Web site at http://www.georgefortennessee.com

This entry was posted on 23. January 2010 at 06:40 and is filed under Candidates - 2010, Running For Office, The Democratic Party, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.