Tennessee's Governor's Race: Two Very Different Philosophies

Tennessee's Governor's Race: Two Very Different Philosophies

The question was simple: What are the differences between the candidates for Tennessee governor?

Here is how I see two fundamental differences between the conservative and liberal approaches.

OPTION 1: Conservative principles – Blackburn 

Believes individuals should have the freedom to make their own decisions, take responsibility for their actions, and support themselves and their families. Government should serve the people, not control their lives.

OPTION 2: Liberal principles– Green 

Places greater emphasis on government programs and intervention to provide people's needs. My concern is that expanding government dependency will result in reduction of individual responsibility and personal freedom. People will come to expect the government to supply all their needs.

Jerri Green points to her experience as a community organizer. That raises a fair question: What specific accomplishments from that work demonstrate that she is prepared to lead the entire state of Tennessee? And where have we heard that before?

Now let's talk about the death penalty.

Marsha Blackburn supports capital punishment for the most heinous crimes and has pledged to bring back the electric chair as an execution option if elected governor.

Jerri Green takes the opposite position. Following the failed execution attempt involving Christa Pike, Green called the death penalty "inhumane, expensive, and biased" and said she would impose a moratorium on future executions.

* The electric chair is an option in Tennessee, Pike chose lethal injection.

That is a fundamental disagreement about justice, punishment, and the role of government.

I believe there are crimes so horrific that the death penalty is an appropriate punishment. Voters deserve to understand what each candidate actually believes.

And if you want to understand why the Christa Pike case has provoked such strong reactions, consider the facts established in court.

In January 1995, 18-year-old Christa Pike participated in the brutal murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville, Tennessee. Pike was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.

According to the Tennessee Supreme Court's account of the evidence:

Slemmer was repeatedly beaten and cut during the attack.

Pike struck Slemmer's head with rocks or chunks of asphalt.

After the murder, Pike told fellow Job Corps students that she had kept a piece of Slemmer's skull as a souvenir.

Witnesses testified that Pike showed them the bone fragment, which was later recovered from her jacket and introduced as evidence at trial.

These details are documented in the Tennessee Supreme Court's decision in State v. Pike.

Read the court's account for yourself:

https://law.justia.com/cases/tennessee/supreme-court/1998/pike.html

The question for Tennessee voters is not whether this crime was horrific. The court record makes that clear. The question is whether the state should retain capital punishment for crimes of this nature and, if so, how it should be carried out.

I support the death penalty for monsters. I believe voters should examine the candidates' actual positions, consider the consequences of those positions, and decide which philosophy best represents their values.

That's why in Tennessee, US Senator Marsha Blackburn is favored to win, her odds are 95%. And Senator Blackburn gets my vote‼️

By: John Hames