Press Release by Brandon Lewis, Founder of The Tennessee Conservative:
Chattanooga, TN – In politics, rumors abound… only a fool believes half of them.
One such rumor is that I placed the yellow Esther Haynes-Helton signs pointing to HowEstherVotes.com in the Tennessee House District 30 race.
Well, it ain’t me my fellow Republicans. Though imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…
Daily, I’m accused of many things. Reporting falsely, curiously, is never one of them.
I admit having employed similar, effective tactics in the past, but not this time. My real strength is in the primary election, not “R” vs. “D.”
No, these are simply clever Democrats. They understand that many of Esther’s votes are less than Conservative. They are trying to hurt GOP turnout.
It’s common sense really – and the motive is easy enough to trace if you understand anything practical or useful about campaigns. Few do, apparently.
For the record: I would not support a Democrat over a Republican, yet I still expect Republicans to vote Conservatively in alignment with the base.
Esther unequivocally has my endorsement over the Democrat.
Yet, the truth still remains – and it is stubborn.
Many of the votes referenced are unpalatable – and I even reached out to Esther about them to tell her so… to no avail as her former constituent.
Many of the votes referenced are unpalatable – and I even reached out to Esther about them to tell her so… to no avail as her former constituent.
I do not think, for example, Democrats should be allowed to vote in Republican primaries – or that pro-life legislation should be watered down.
Nor do I agree with TN taxpayers footing the bill for millionaires and billionaires regarding the Tennessee Titans stadium corporate-welfare scheme. And schools should not be teaching critical race theory or exposing kids to sexual content.
We should not be giving woke Ford Motor Company $2 Billion dollars to build Green New Deal electric vehicles when they have lost $4 Billion dollars in the last 2 years alone.
Conservative Grassroots groups should not be censored to protect the RINO establishment.
Nonetheless, Esther has voted in support of all these positions. They are contrary to what GOP primary voters want. That’s the real problem no one even wants to discuss.
Esther knows this. They all know it. No one questions the truth of it. They seem only concerned with the consequences – and angry for the exposure.
The bed was made long before Democrats forced Esther to lie in it.
Frankly, it puzzles me that elected officials are surprised and outraged when their public voting records are shown to the people… as if their votes are some sort of private affair.
They never seem to think they are to blame for the consequences. It’s always someone else.
As the publisher of the Tennessee Conservative News, I have a duty to our subscribers to tell the unvarnished truth even when it makes me personally unpopular.
The truth has real power – and those in power often revile it.
Truth-telling is what has allowed us to grow and build trust with our supporters who keep up with policy. It allows us to be untethered from the left-leaning, corporate power structure in Tennessee that corrupts so many in our own party.
And I will never trade that trust for anything, regardless of the personal consequences. If I were to start telling lies, our readers would jump ship – they are too smart for that by half…
TNGOP leadership and many county parties leave Conservatives with no choice and no place at the table. Constituent concerns are not heard. Anyone who does anything other than clap like a seal and harrumph every word is a scurrilous traitor.
Conservatives are ostracized for disagreeing with their representative’s votes. Even when polling 100% affirms the GOP primary-voting base is strongly opposed to the vote the politician casts.
Later, local GOP leadership scratches their collective heads and wonder why talented people of ability people flee the party apparatus like Conservatives leaving California. Why challengers arise and incumbents fall.
A mystery for the ages…
It is my prediction that Esther will win this election handily. And I hope she does. I’ll even donate to her – if she’ll take it – as a mark of my sincerity.
If establishment folks in Hamilton County are looking for someone to be mad at here, there are only two logical targets for your ire: Democrats and candidates who vote in a fashion that makes them vulnerable to legitimate contrast tactics.
Hopefully this is a learning opportunity for those who serve GOP primary voters: Ask your base how they want you to vote – then do it.
It’s in everyone’s best long-term interest, including your own.
Yours in Freedom,
Brandon Lewis
