SMTRMC Banquet

On Saturday night, the South Middle Tennessee Republican Men’s club hosted its First Annual Banquet at the Coffee County Convention Center. After some opening comments by Club President Jack Daniel, the floor was turned over to WTN Morning Talk Show Host Steve Gill, who introduced Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn as the evening’s keynote speaker.

In her remarks, Mrs. Blackburn offered her thanks to the grassroots operatives gathered for the banquet and then offered her assessment of the current election cycle, as well as the issues that will take center stage.

Noting that social issues are once again one of the Republican Party’s strong points among the general populace, the Representative from Brentwood emphasized in particular how important the issue of marriage and its definition will be for, really, the foreseeable future.

With regard to fiscal issues, Mrs. Blackburn noted what almost everyone in the audience would be inclined to agree with – that federal spending has gotten out of control and needs to be reined in. While in this vein, she also cited facts concerning economic policies that point inevitably that tax reductions work effectively to stimulate the American economy.

The talk then turned to National Security, as Mrs. Blackburn noted the progress that is being made in Iraq, as well as the fact that there is much work still to be done to make America more secure – both in Iraq and the United States. Referring to the ongoing threat that illegal immigration poses to the U.S., she affirmed that more needs to be done by the administration and the congress to deal with it and noted the work that is being done to address it in the national legislature.

From this point, Mrs. Blackburn transitioned to her concluding remarks, noting how all that she had spoken of pointed to the need for the good stewardship of American liberty, both against major onslaughts, as well as against subtle and incremental infringements.

As she wrapped up her comments, Representative Blackburn then turned the floor back over to Mr. Gill, as she took her leave of the gathering to attend another event later in the evening. Mr. Gill then took a few minutes to add his own thoughts about the upcoming elections and where the Republican Party stands eight months out. He then introduced all the candidates who were present, giving each an opportunity to make some brief comments to the assembly.

The final event of the evening was the announcement of the results of a straw poll that had been conducted by Dr. Lynn Sebourn during the serving of the meal earlier in the evening to gauge support for the candidates for Bill Frist’s U.S. Senate seat. Noting that voters from South Florida were disqualified from taking part, as well as voters with a funeral home address, Lynn announced Van Hilleary as the winner of the poll, with Ed Bryant in a close second, and Bob Corker in third. SMTRMC President Jack Daniel then took the floor once again to offer some closing comments and conclude the event.

Hats off to Jack and the organizing committee for the event for an outstanding first effort. The SMTRMC is still very much in the early stages of its development, and to conduct such a well-run and productive event is certainly a feather in the organization’s cap that should bode well for the future.