Cannon County Democrats attended the Mike McWherter Kick Off Rally at the Hall of Fame Park in Nashville on Thursday, Sept. 9. Some attending were Charlie and Dell Harrell, Sue Patrick, Shirley Turney, Barbara Tenpenny, Jimmy Bryson and Virginia Young.
Former President Bill Clinton came to fire up the governor's race and Democrats.
Clinton urged everyone to talk about the governor's race and get people out to vote. He reminded Democrats there of the surplus when he left office and the deficit when George W. Bush departed office.
Clinton noted President Barack Obama has been in office only 21 months, which is not enough time to clean up the mess he inherited. Clinton stated the recession was due to the actions of Bush and the Republican majority in Congress for much of the 2000s.
The former president and governor said Tennessee needs a governor who will get jobs to Tennessee, as current Governor Phil Bredesen has worked to do.
"The Tennessee governor's race needs to be about what we are going to do and who is more likely to do it."
Thousands of enthusiastic supporters descended on downtown Nashville and gathered on the lawn of the Hall of Fame Park to join Clinton at the rally.
Despite an overcast sky and periodic sprinkles, enthusiastic voters flocked by the thousands and listened to leaders like Congressman John Tanner, Mayor Karl Dean, Governor Phil Bredesen, Representative John DeBerry, McWherter, and of course, former President Clinton.
Following several speeches and an opening prayer by Rep. John DeBerry, Governor Bredesen introduced Mike with a speech in which he asked, “Why would you want to change course now? Trim the sails maybe, but turn the ship completely around? That doesn’t make sense.”
Upon taking the stage, Mike McWherter recounted his storied relationship with Bill Clinton and thanked him for his support. He also took the opportunity to highlight his opponent’s price-gouging in the wake of Hurricane Ike by stating, “In Nashville and throughout Tennessee, natural disasters are a time to help your neighbors and come together. For Bill Haslam and Pilot Oil, natural disasters mean only dollar signs.”
After an introduction by McWherter, Clinton took the stage and delivered an electrifying speech identifying obstacles Democrats must overcome to succeed in this election cycle. "There are three things we have too much of — too much apathy, too much anger, too much amnesia," said Clinton.
Clinton discussed his long relationship with the McWherter family and identified Mike as "the only candidate that's actually got a plan to increase the assistance to help small business expand" and build “on all the things Phil Bredesen has done.”
Clinton reminded attendees Bush’s economic policies generated “only 1 million more jobs before the recession” and that it took him “8 years to balance the budget and eliminate the deficit, which my predecessor had quadrupled before I took office and my successor[George W. Bush] doubled after I left.”