Democratic U.S. Congressional Candidate for Tennessee’s 1st District Doubts the GOP Candidates Understand voters
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Democratic U.S. Congressional Candidate for Tennessee’s 1st District Doubts the GOP Candidates Understand voters Following the Kingsport Chamber Commerce debate on Thursday, July 23, which excluded a number of 1st District candidates, Blair Walsingham spoke on the issues.
Eidson, TN. July 24, 2020. Democratic candidate Blair Walsingham was not invited to participate in the debate despite being the only democrat actively pursuing the 1st Congressional seat in November's election to replace Phil Roe. Her campaign leadership requested inclusion, and Blair noted, “Tennessee has open primaries. A Republican only debate is an obstacle in affording voters of both parties to hear the views of all candidates, but I respect the decision and look forward to the eventual debate between me and the Republican nominee after August 6.” On August 6, voters will choose from among 16 candidates on the Republican ballot. Walsingham remarked, “The GOP candidates have nearly identical platforms.” She asked, “If they can’t work in unity with members of their own party right here in Tennessee to put aside ego and present a smaller slate of candidates, how can we count on them to heal the divisiveness and represent all Americans in Congress?”
Walsingham had a lot to say about the focus on money during the debate. She said that candidates seemed to “conveniently boast” about the financial strength of Tennessee when it involved investment in corporations, but that on bread and butter issues, “suddenly they are all concerned with fiscal responsibility.” Walsingham says that her platform focuses on building up communities from within.
“In conversations about the Tennessee Valley Authority, not one candidate addressed the recent plans to outsource a large number of jobs,” the candidate said. She argues that the district needs to attract high skilled employees from other areas of the United States to address the short term needs of the TVA, but also establish a partnership with the TVA to foster internships and vocational training so that young people in the district will have the skills to fill those jobs. “We keep looking at corporate tax breaks and incentives that come out of taxpayer dollars to incentivize economic development instead of focusing on the people here and how to give them the education and training they need to allow our communities from within.” Walsingham said that the district will never be successful in attracting a high income workforce to the district unless schools in the area are seen as desirable to potential residents. “We continue to fuel a low wage workforce by ignoring what drives migration to a region, and when you are talking about bringing in educated and high income earners, they don’t want to move to an area that ranks in the bottom ten in education.”
Walsingham also said that the conservative candidates’ plans favor business over taxpayers. “They advocate throwing tax dollars at corporations to incentivize them to do right by the American people rather than placing the moral burden on corporate leadership. Clearly, they don’t trust corporations to make decisions that are good for Americans, and their answer is to keep throwing our hard earned dollars at them as motivation.” She said that at the same time, the Republican candidates are telling the American people that solving our social and racial issues should depend on an individual sense of moral responsibility. “Isn’t it time for us to tell our businesses to make the patriotic choice not because it’s cheaper, but because if we are going to say America first, that means putting our people before profits.” She proposes that businesses are so used to getting subsidies and tax breaks that it works in their favor to depend on “government handouts” to incentivize them to bring businesses back to America.
Walsingham also said that while keeping certain technology and manufacturing in the United States is crucial for our defense, both from a military and a medical point of view, many of the jobs the administration is trying to return to the United States are likely to soon be automated. Instead, Walsingham says that America should focus on building up new industries including hemp and renewable energy, and advocates that spending more money on education so that our workforce is coveted internationally would help provide opportunity for generations to come.
To read Walsingham’s complete comments, including responses to all the questions asked during the debate, she encourages readers to visit blairforcongress.com.
Tennessee 1st Congressional District candidate for U.S. House Blair Walsingham is endorsed by key community and national organizations, including former presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Blair is running on a platform of health, freedom, and financial security. She is a veteran, a mother of four, small business owner, and homesteader. Blair entered the military at the age of seventeen and served for six years. After an honorable discharge, she returned to civilian life, and now lives in rural Hawkins County, with her husband and four children. Blair is laser-focused on putting people first, and pursuing policies that will lead to reduced government interference into the lives of Americans.
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