No. 298: Drama in the Fifth

Good morning, everyone.

Can't help but notice lately how superior America's choice to follow the Standard System and measure the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit is.

For example, it's hot when it's 100ºF (as opposed to 37ºC) and the fastest a man appears able to throw a baseball is around 100 MPH (as opposed to 160 KPH).

Onward.

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⁕ LATEST IN TENNESSEE'S 5TH CONGRESSIONAL RACE

The drama of the Tennessee 5th district U.S. Congressional race has been legion this political season, and it seems the season finale is hardly in sight as we inch closer to the August 4th primary.

MUDSLINGING

The mudslinging is full throttle but, before we get into the details, it is worth noting that Middle Tennesseans have not demonstrated a consistent taste for mud dredged up in the final days of Republican primary campaigns. In fact, Senator Bill Hagerty’s campaign systematically launched attack ads against Manny Sethi during the final weeks of the 2020 primary race for the U.S. Senate seat that proved futile in key 5th district counties. Though Hagerty ultimately won almost every county in Tennessee, he notably lost Davidson, Williamson, Maury, and Wilson counties to Sethi.

When the clock struck twelve and early voting began in the 5th district, Cinderella's carriage turned into a pumpkin, attack ads flooded media outlets, and Middle Tennesseans have felt like they’re in need of a shower ever since. Perhaps all the mudslinging is a factor in the low early voting turnout of an otherwise highly-energized race.

GENERAL MUDSLINGING

Beth Harwell has been hit with ads regarding a bill she voted for that allowed illegal aliens to obtain drivers licenses in Tennessee.
Kurt Winstead has been targeted for voting Democrat.
The 31-cent property tax hike in Maury county that was vetoed by Mayor Andy Ogles (now running for the U.S. Congressional seat) was overridden by the Maury County Commission right around the first few days of early voting; a signal of dissent.

FINANCES

Finances have been released and it has sparked new controversy and distrust of favored candidates. While it is generally known that Kurt Winstead and Beth Harwell have the largest piggy banks in the race, the mystery of Andy Ogles’ campaign finances was only revealed 8 days after the July 15th deadline. His tardiness cost his campaign $7K in fines. The Tennessean also revealed that over half a million dollars were spent by dark money groups in support of Ogle’s campaign.

Calling out Kurt Winstead and Beth Harwell, Ogles filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Conservative PAC for defamation regarding payments of his property taxes. Interestingly, the same super PAC threatened to fund a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee in support of Morgan Ortagus regarding the new residency law back in March. This was before Ortagus was removed from the ballot. Ortagus reportedly supports the Winstead campaign and is currently appointed to his National Security Advisory Committee.

Sidenote: Due to Robby Starbuck not appearing on the ballot and instead running as a write-in, his campaign has gone noticeably unscathed. Starbuck has, himself, slung some mud in the past by denouncing Andy Ogles and Beth Harwell as corrupt establishment GOP. Another notable candidate, Jeff Beierlein, has also dodged the wrath of attack ads. He recently called out Beth Harwell for her vote to increase gas taxes to pay for Tennessee highways and Kurt Winstead for not showing up to the Epoch Times Debate stating it was the “first time in Tennessee history a General ran from a fight.”

Whew, are we done yet? No. More to come later this week.

HEADLINES

Gun Sales Are Collapsing In Tennessee (TCN) In Tennessee, gun sales are falling, but at a slower pace than the national decline. There were a total of 420,199 FBI firearm background checks in the state in the first half of 2022 compared to 501,372 in the first six months of 2021 — a 16.2% reduction and the 41st largest decline among states.
Nashville Seeks Injunction to Pause Lee's ESA Program (Scene) On Friday, Metro Nashville filed a motion for a temporary injunction that would pause the implementation of the state’s Education Savings Account program.
Tennessee's worker resignation rate ranks in the top 10 nationally (Center Square) Tennessee has a 3.4% resignation rate over the past month, tied for eighth highest in the U.S., while it had a 3.31% resignation rate over the past year, ranking it 13th overall. The two rankings combined to put Tennessee at 10th in the WalletHub rankings.
Does Nashville want a new Titans Stadium? (WSMV) The cost of a new enclosed stadium would be between $1.9-$2.2 billion. $500 million has been pledged by the state through revenue bonds, and the Titans ownership is committing $700 million. Ten years ago, Nihill said, the price would be half that because of inflation.

POLITICS

Ogles claimed he raised $453K in first 30 days, but collected only $247K in entire quarter (TNJ) Turns out Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles wasn’t being truthful when he announced in May he had raised $453,000 in the first 30 days of his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District. After missing Federal Election Commission’s disclosure deadline by more than a week, Ogles finally reported Saturday he had raised $247,087 throughout the entire quarter.

DEVELOPMENT

Salemtown property near Morgan Park sells for $6.95M (Post)
VUMC plans 15-story tower (Post)
The ‘Athena’ Condo Development To Join ‘Odyssey At The Park’ In West End Nashville (Now Next)
Ohio brewery taps downtown for outpost (Post)
Kings of Leon members buy south side warehouse (Post)
National Indoor RV Centers Breaks Ground Near Nashville Super Speedway In Lebanon (Now Next)

➫ A COUP FOR THE, BUT NOT FOR ME

Here's the New York Times on the recent coup in Sri Lanka:

I can’t help but compare this to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. This seemed much more peaceful.

Oh, yeah. I couldn’t help thinking of it either.

There were several differences. For one, these people were not armed. It was also a bit spontaneous, and there was no clear leader. They did not do it in association with any politician or political party.

But the big difference was that these protesters had widespread support. Ordinary Sri Lankans were applauding them and even participating. People who would otherwise never be involved in activism or protests were happily wandering around the properties, enjoying themselves and basking in the success of this movement.

Because Donald Trump didn't have widespread support, right?

Source: Sri Lanka’s Uprising
NYT, 24 July 2022, Read Online

✺ CHART OF THE DAY: EVOLUTION OF THE USA

⚔ MISSIVES ⚔

🏛 Former Trump White House aide Steve Bannon was found guilty Friday of two counts of contempt of Congress after a trial in federal court in Washington, D.C.
🇨🇳 Chinese investors were the most active buyers of US real estate last year among foreigners — spending a record $6.1 billion on homes mainly in Florida and California, according to the National Association of Realtors.
🇩🇪 The German government agreed on Friday to take an approximately 30 percent stake in Uniper, which is one of the country’s largest suppliers of natural gas and was on the brink of financial ruin, to keep energy supplies flowing and fend off potential chaos in Europe’s energy market.
💰 As the Federal Reserve prepares to meet this week, Wall Street investors are betting that officials will raise interest rates aggressively through the end of the year—and then turn around and start cutting them in six months.

THINGS TO DO

View our full event calendar here.

🍺 The Pamphleteer hosts Bar Hours on the third Thursday of every month (this Thursday) at Lucky's 3 Star Bar from 6-8 PM. The first ten guests get drinks on the company tab.

🎪 Check out our favorite driving distance festivals this summer.

👨🏻‍🌾 The Pamphleteer farmer's market guide.

⚔️ Knights in Armor at the Frist starting July 1st: European arms and armor from the renowned collection of the Museo Stibbert in Florence, Italy.

🎻 Kindling Arts Festival runs July 28-31. A variety of different performances, each held at a different venue.

🎼 Listen to The Pamphleteer's Picks, our playlist of bands playing in Nashville each week.