Padgett Likes Puppies...
...and I'll wager he likes ice cream too.
Matt Pulle, over at the Scene, has a teaser to an upcoming piece on the Democratic Primary for the US Senate, in which he interviews Mike Padgett on the issues of the day (and takes the opportunity to rib Tuke for not calling him back on his questions regarding Gus Puryear).
Pith: What are your thoughts on Sen. Alexander's decision to back CCA corporate counsel Gus Puryear to the federal bench? Bob Tuke doesn't have any.
Padgett: Well, I don't run in Nashville legal circles, so I don't know Mr. Puryear. But I do know Senator Alexander's record as a card-carrying member of the "ol' boys'" network.
Pith: What advice would you give Bob Tuke when he decides to run for juvenile court clerk?
Padgett: Oh, I hadn't heard he was getting out of this race. I'd tell him that if he wants to get into public service, he has to start somewhere, like I did more than 20 years ago.
Pith: Bob Tuke doesn't have think he needs to have opinions on pertinent political issues? Do you?
Padgett: As I said, I haven't had time to think about Bob's stands on the issues. I have been too busy trying to figure out just what Senator Alexander DID when he was UT president and the secretary of education for Bush I.
While I find Pulle's tenacity on the issue regarding Puryear to be amusing, I do think he's being a bit unfair to Bob Tuke on the matter. Granted, I'd be pissed off if he didn't return my calls (I haven't tried), but he did speak with the Knoxville Voice and said pretty much the same thing Padgett said, which is that he didn't know enough to make an informed decision (a position I can respect).
Also, regarding pertinent issues, Tuke does have some detailed policy positions on his website, and I've rarely known Bob Tuke to be a man to bite his tongue when it comes to his feelings on issues.
Open advice to Bob Tuke, sit down and talk with Pulle, 'cause he ain't gonna stop until you do. And in an election where neither candidate has high name recognition, having the Scene (popular among younger liberal voters) attacking you as weak and timid probably isn't gonna help.
3 comments:
I have the opposite advice.
Pulle has to quit trying to bully Bob into an interview.
If someone ridiculed me publicly on a regular basis, I might not return their calls, either.
When did journalists become bullies? O'Reilly and others at Fox are the best at it...calling people cowards who choose not to appear on their shows.
I don't respond well to bullies, and I can't imagine a former marine responding well to a bully, either.
Better to nip this in the bud now than to let it fester and possibly effect votes in August. I don't know what kind of sway the Nashville Scene has, but in an election where name recognition will be minimal, bad press isn't going to help.
When it comes to the Scene, I would grant them more editorial license as they have no pretenses to being a newspaper, rather a weekly free magazine, in a similar vein to something like the Nation, though the Scene's ideological tendencies are less pronounced.
Sean, we still have a four months before the primary. I don't think now is the time for us to cover this race seriously and in-depth when no one is really paying attention.
Also to the wonderful Sharon Cobb, who I have long admired-- I'm not trying to bully Bob. I don't think I have that kind of power. I'm just poking fun of the fact that he is trying to evade a difficult question so he can stick to his tightly-scripted talking points. I would think that if you're a serious candidate in this race you would have a real opinion about one of the more controversial decisions your opponent has made since he took office.
But when I am compared to Bill O'Reilly, it's probably time to take a long, hard look in the mirror. Man, that was cold.
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