From Laurel, Mississippi's Leader-Call...Could a Jones native become McCain's running mate?
By Noah Lee Sanford, The News-Commercial
Tenn. Congressman Marsha Blackburn may very well be a part of history in the making when senator and presidential hopeful John McCain names his running mate.
Blackburn, 56, grew up in the Powers community outside of Laurel. Blackburn was an active member of the 4-H Club and graduated from Northeast Jones High School. She received a 4-H scholarship which she used to attend Mississippi State University, graduating in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Although she's surrounded by men in Congress, Blackburn refuses to use her gender as an issue.
"You always will have people who say gender is a hindrance or a help. I'm just privileged to serve with many great men and women. I hope more women will run for Congress," Blackburn said, noting that there aren't many conservative women serving with her.
She has held many positions within the Republican Congressional Caucus. With such a conservative record and strong fiscal and social credentials, many Republican leaders want her to run for higher office - possibly governor of Tennessee in 2010 - but Blackburn won't speculate. She's focused on her current office.
"I don't look at what will be potentially. Right now, I'm running for re-election and I'm looking toward that campaign," Blackburn said, noting that her future is "God's job."
For months now, as political pundits look through polling crosstabs and demographic breakdowns, analysts have come up with several names that would be good Vice-presidential choices for McCain, and Blackburn's name has been mentioned many times, most recently in the Los Angeles Times by well-known political journalist Jonah Goldberg.
Noted in the article was that Rep. Blackburn would "please the [conservative] base and put the gender card in play," that she was a "low-risk choice," and that if McCain wants to choose a woman, Blackburn would be the best choice. Although many pundits believe she has a shot, Blackburn disagrees.
"That's a hypothetical. It's always an honor to be considered for other offices, but it's not going to be me," Blackburn said, adding that she expects McCain to pick someone who can help him geographically by bringing a swing or normally Democratic state into the Republican column. "You'll see Senator McCain choose someone who can bring him a state. Tennessee is reliably Republican."
No matter where life takes her - to the Senate chambers, the Tennessee Governor's Mansion, or maybe even to the White House - it began in rural Mississippi, and Blackburn doesn't forget it.
God's job? If Congressman Blackburn's work is God's job, we're all screwed. Obviously there aren't many conservative women. Why would a woman want to work to strip herself of her rights? Maybe the fascist ladies of the House (Michele Bachmann, Marilyn Musgrave, Virginia Foxx, Candice Miller, Thelma Drake, Mary Fallin, Jean Schmidt, Sue Myrick, Jo Ann Emerson) could answer.
In a TN-07 Repub primary recap from the Memphis Commercial Appeal... As Thursday's results became evident, Leatherwood acknowledged that he faced a tough challenge in the race, not only overcoming Blackburn's incumbency, but her campaign spending, too. The last financial reports showed Leatherwood spending about $130,000, while Blackburn's reflected $1.1 million, but her campaign staff said they used about $600,000 in the run against Leatherwood.
That allowed Blackburn to send out a pair of mailers saying Leatherwood supported illegal immigration and taxpayer-funded health care for the immigrants. Her claim was based on Leatherwood favoring a bill providing more federal aid for the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. Blackburn voted against the measure.
"We had a lot of momentum built up at the end of June and the first of July, but those two mailers hurt us," Leatherwood said. "She knew I didn't have the resources to negate that untruthful information she put out."
