Mr. Smith Tried to Go to Nashville

Groucho Marx is reputed to have said that he did not want to belong to any club that would have him as a member. I have the opposite problem. Last month, I ran as a write-in candidate for the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee in District 2—a position that no one else wanted—and garnered over 300 votes by GOP primary voters on election day.  Over a month later, on September 7, I discovered that the “club” doesn’t want me as a member. The SEC, sitting as the “State Primary Board,” purported to nullify my election, after the votes were cast on August 4 and certified by the Secretary of State on September 1. Retroactive nullification of elections–a hallmark of banana republics—is common in the Third World but not a typical feature of American politics. Read Full Article »