Image Credit: Washington County GOP & Canva
Tennessee Conservative News [By David Seal] –
Danielle Goodrich is Washington County, Tennessee’s firebrand Republican Party Chair, a leader like Northeast Tennessee has never experienced. She was elected to shake up the establishment apple cart and make people think.
Goodrich expects Republicans to act like Republicans.
Her commentary reflects the sentiments of many constitutional conservatives that expect government to act on behalf of individual citizens rather than well-funded special interests, a principle that our founding fathers wove into the fabric of our constitutional republic.
Of significance, Goodrich and her territory is located near Sycamore Shoals, the muster point of the Overmountain Men that traveled to Kings Mountain and ambushed the British Loyalists, a battle that helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War in favor of the Patriots.
Goodrich is leading a revolution of her own and her comments are as follows:
“What Their Supporters Say About Tennessee’s Gubernatorial Candidates in Northeast Tennessee, an interesting political divide is emerging in the Republican gubernatorial primary — and it says less about campaign slogans and more about the people and organizations lining up behind each candidate.
Supporters matter. Coalitions matter. Who a candidate welcomes into the room — and who gets excluded — tells voters a great deal about what kind of governor they are likely to be.
Recently, Senator Marsha Blackburn visited Northeast Tennessee. But rather than holding a public town hall or open forum where any Republican voter could attend and ask questions, the gathering was reportedly invite-only.
Who was there?
Area political leaders who recently raised property taxes while approving expensive taxpayer-funded projects like a controversial aquatic center at a time when many families are struggling just to afford groceries and basic necessities. Political figures who see Blackburn as the likely winner and want to align themselves with the winning side — even if they privately disagree with some of the policies being pushed in Nashville.
Also present were establishment figures, including leadership tied to the much-disliked Ballad Health monopoly, along with influential Republican insiders and federated groups.
Who was missing?
Many of the people who actually fought for Republican principles when it mattered.
Those opposed to unconstitutional school voucher expansion. School board members concerned about state control over education. Grassroots conservatives who might ask difficult questions about government growth, corporate welfare, spending, healthcare monopolies, or constitutional limits on power.
The divide is becoming increasingly clear: there is a difference between people who campaign on Republican principles and people willing to govern by them.
Many establishment Republicans still talk about limited government, fiscal conservatism, and constitutional rights. Yet too often, their voting records tell a different story. They support corporate welfare packages worth millions for politically connected corporations. They grow entitlement-style dependency programs in the name of economic development. They expand government while claiming to oppose socialism, not realizing that dependency on government subsidies is simply a softer version of the same problem.
Then there is Representative Monty Fritts.
Who supports him?
The people who stood up during COVID when standing up carried real personal risk. The people who believe Republican principles are not just talking points for campaign season, but standards that should still apply when pressure mounts.
Grassroots freedom groups. Constitutional conservatives. Second Amendment advocates. Property rights supporters. Independent conservative media outlets like The Tennessee Informer and The Tennessee Conservative that cover stories much of the corporate press ignores. These are the voters who believe liberty is not negotiable.
And then there is Congressman John Rose.
Rose appears to attract voters who are dissatisfied with Blackburn and who generally support conservative principles, but who were less willing to actively resist government overreach during the COVID era. Many are traditional conservatives, farmers, and business-minded Republicans who still trust longstanding institutions like the Tennessee Farm Bureau and believe reform should happen cautiously and within existing systems.
If we were to compare today’s political divide to 1776, the coalitions become easier to understand.
The Blackburn coalition resembles the loyalists — those who aligned themselves with established political power because they believed it was safer, more stable, and more likely to win. They accepted increasing government control in exchange for promises of security and order.
The Rose coalition resembles the fence sitters — people uncomfortable with growing government power, but hesitant to resist it until circumstances forced them to choose a side.
The Fritts coalition resembles the patriots — people willing to risk reputations, careers, and comfort in defense of what they believe are God-given constitutional liberties.
That may sound dramatic to some, but history repeatedly teaches the same lesson: freedom is rarely preserved by people seeking comfort, safety, or political convenience.
The real question moving forward is not simply who wins an election.
It is whether the fence sitters ultimately choose liberty over comfort — and whether the loyalists eventually realize that trading freedom for security never ends where governments promise it will.
Because once a people become accustomed to surrendering liberty for the promise of safety, government rarely stops asking for more.
Only citizens willing to consistently defend liberty can preserve it. – said Danielle Goodrich
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
They’re not going to do it. No one is going to take away the joy in my heart that comes from looking forward to January when, after 24 years of being governed by the centrist/tepid conservatism nothingness of the Bredesen-Haslam-Lee administration, Tennessee will have an honest-to-goodness conservative governor in Marsha Blackburn (Heritage-88%, Club For Growth 90%).
That frees me up to be worried about the 6th congressional district race when voters may choose to go from being represented by John Rose (Heritage-100%!) to Johnny Garrett (TLRC-79%/B-) when they should have chosen Van Hilleary who always scored in the 90’s% during his previous stint in congress. Then there’s my new 9th congressional district where we have the prospect of going from being represented by Andy Ogles (100%!) to being represented by Brent Taylor (79%/B-) instead of Todd Warner (100%/A+). Potential conservative dilution of Tennessee’s congressional delegation is what is worrying.