Trouble in Paradise? (Part 2)
Part 1 of my introductory post explained how the liberals in Blount County are out-organizing and out-working the Silent Majority of conservatives. They are certainly trying to gain a toehold in eastern Tennessee, but are they making any progress? The answer is, Yes. Here are three examples:
1. Democratic voter registration in Blount County is increasing, narrowing the margin enjoyed by the Republican majority. The Democrats’ energetic network of activity and communication is also boosting their voter turnout, especially with early voting. The Democrats are fielding candidates against many of our Republican incumbents, hoping that our complacency will enable them to score an upset. We can’t afford to let this happen. My next post will talk about things you can do to prevent this.
2. Behind the scenes, the “progressive” element in Blount County is constantly stirring the pot, using the local paper, the Daily Times, as its propaganda organ. The leftist website East Tennessee Enlightener (possibly with the complicity of writers and editors at the Daily Times) encourages local activists to make “spontaneous” comments on the Daily Times’ Facebook page, opposing conservative viewpoints. Here is an example, in connection with the Daily Times’ promotion of the pro-Black Lives Matter “Let Justice Ring” rally held on June 7:
Rev. Dr. Willa Estell is an agent for human rights in the Blount County Community. She is NAACP President, Blount County United Chairperson, Pastor of St. Paul AME Zion Church in Blount County, Presiding Elder of Maryville District AME Zion Church.
The (Maryville) Daily Times published a front-page article on the rally. Locals in opposition to the coverage are voicing their displeasure to the writer and the editor. You are urged you to visit The Daily Times Facebook page and voice your thanks. If you are not on FB, you can email or call them via this link or send an email directly to the author of the story (Melanie Tucker) at melt@thedailytimes.com.
Another left-wing internet forum encourages local activists to subscribe to the Daily Times, write emails thanking editor Todd Foster for his helpful advocacy, and to submit letters to the editor to magnify the influence of the vocal minority.
3. With the help of the Daily Times and several progressive churches in the area, which vigorously promoted the event, a June 7 protest organized by the local NAACP chapter and “Blount County United” drew a large crowd (estimated at between several hundred and a thousand people) in downtown Maryville. The event, styled a “Let Justice Ring” rally at the Blount County Courthouse following a march from the MLK Center in Alcoa, was “supposed” to encourage racial healing and unity. It was the opposite. Many signs supported the radical Black Lives Matter movement. I saw one poster proclaiming that “You Can’t Loot on Looted Land #BLM.” Another sign said “Black Trans Lives Matter.” One of the speakers was a UT Chattanooga student, Delali Gadzekpo, a local activist whom the event organizers may be grooming to be a future leader. She espoused the most provocative rhetoric at the event, quoted in the Daily Times coverage of the event: “We need radical change, and we need it now.”
The noisy agitators in Blount County aren’t hiding their intentions. They want to bring radical change, and they want it now.
The question is, will the Silent Majority of Blount County conservatives allow this to happen?
