Tennessee, that is.
Former State Senator and Income-Taxer-In-Chief Bob Rochelle has been polling his old district, according to The Lebanon Democrat. The moves appears to be an effort to gauge interest in a resurrection of his political career that was ended after the contentious income tax wars of a few years ago. The poll is said to be comprehensive and included the entire sprawling 17th Senatorial district.
Sen. Mae Beavers, who now occupies Rochelle's old district, was slighted by Lt. Gov. John Wilder when committee assignments were doled out earlier this year. Some have speculated that this might have been done to diminish her standing in the Senate and weaken her chances at re-election. Given Wilder's close relationship with Rochelle, one might begin to wonder if this were no accident. Rochelle still has $200,000 in his campaign account and plenty of folks, even if they support Beavers, will hedge their bets, thus allowing him raise substantial sums of cash. With the power in the Senate hanging in the balance, a Beavers/Rochelle matchup may be the most intriguing Tennessee race to watch.
I think I know what Sen. Beavers' response to a Rochelle challenge would be..."Bring him on."
Click on the link below to read The Lebanon Democrat's article by their intrepid managing editor Clint Brewer. He asks the critical question that Rochelle will have to answer:
[T]he most difficult decision has to be made by Rochelle, who
has enjoyed nearly four years out of the fish-eyed lens of the General
Assembly. A brilliant and deceptively complex man, Rochelle must decide
if he wants to try to rejoin state politics, and more importantly, why.
