One step ahead of a conservative uprising, Rep. Bart Gordon bows out gracefully—but it may be his critics' worst nightmare
by Jeff Woods
He survived Newt Gingrich's Republican Revolution, narrowly defeating a brash young challenger named Steve Gill in 1994. But a new uprising of angry conservatives, this time spurred by opposition to President Obama, finally has managed to chase Bart Gordon out of Congress.
Gordon, the dean of the Tennessee congressional delegation, surprised even many of his closest supporters this week by announcing that he's calling it quits after a quarter-century representing Middle Tennessee's 6th District.
He portrayed his decision wistfully like the not-entirely-unexpected retirement of a trusted and longtime employee, albeit a bit early at age 60:
"When I was elected, I was the youngest member of the Tennessee congressional delegation," he said in his statement. "Now, I'm one of the oldest. In fact, I have members of my staff who weren't even born when I took office. That tells me it's time for a new chapter."
But Republicans crowed that another vulnerable Democrat was running for cover rather than facing the voters in 2010. Gordon joins another Tennessee member of Congress' Blue Dog Coalition—22-year incumbent John Tanner—in heading for the exits in only the past month. It's no secret Obama is wildly unpopular in Tennessee, and as 2010 approaches, Republicans up and down the ballot are energized and hoping to ride a wave of anti-Washington rage to victory.
Only hours after Gordon's announcement, the respected Cook Political Report rated his seat as a "likely Republican" pickup. Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, jumped into the race right away, and other prominent Republicans were thinking about it.
"Like John Tanner, Bart Gordon can see the writing on the wall in 2010 and has chosen to step aside," state GOP chair Chris Devaney boasts. "Representative Gordon's decision is further proof that Democrats are sensing the mounting discontent among voters and know they are facing a potentially significant backlash in next year's elections."
"Tennessee is now the place where Democrat congressional candidacies go to die," chimes in Andy Seré, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Even Democrats close to Gordon haven't tried to conceal his true reasons for retiring. They acknowledge he lacks the stomach for the savage campaign that looms ahead in the district that went for John McCain by more than 20 points in 2008.
In his own polling, Gordon was running ahead of his potential challengers, one source says, with a solid majority seeing the congressman as part of the solution in Washington rather than part of the problem. So Gordon believed he could survive this election. But according to his friends, he thought he'd probably lose in 2012 anyway.
If, as expected, Republicans retain control of the state legislature after next year's elections, they will redraw his district and try to gerrymander Gordon out of Congress.
"We would have won this race," one source close to Gordon says. "But it would have been ugly, divisive for the community and for the whole district. The problem then is basically you've probably gotten yourself two more years. You've put everybody through that and then you more than likely are redistricted out of office. You're in a different district and you're fighting it all over again."
Gordon's decision, coming so soon after Tanner's, angered some Democrats who say they felt he was deserting the beleaguered state party in its time of need.
"I figure he said, 'Screw it. Hell, I've served my 13 terms in Congress. It's time for me to sit back and relax and enjoy my time with my kids and my wife.' It shocked me when I got the call this morning," one insider says. "I thought, 'Why hell, I might as well throw my hands up, too, and say screw it.' It's got me a little discombobulated. I'm here trying to fight the good fight, and all the people I thought I looked up to are starting to say to hell with it, we're done."
But Gordon actually might have done his party a favor by giving way. Whoever runs in his place almost certainly will carry less baggage. With his votes this year for climate change legislation and abortion coverage in health care reform, he's become a lightning rod of conservative outrage.
At one of last summer's town hall brawls, Tea Party activists hissed and yelled "Shame on you!" as Gordon appeared, then proceeded to shout him down as he tried to speak. They booed almost his every comment, even when he mentioned that his mother and father used to teach at public schools in his district.
"I'm sorry if you can't hear me," an exasperated Gordon said at one point. "There are some folks making it hard."
Afterward, he seemed happy to have emerged unscathed. "Quite frankly," he said, "I didn't want to see anybody get hurt or anything happen."
Perversely for his critics, Gordon's retirement could help health care reform and other Obama initiatives. Gordon has been forced to straddle the fence for all his political life. In his last year in Congress, with crucial Democratic issues and Obama's presidency on the line, he finally should feel free to vote his conscience.
Email editor@nashvillescene.com.
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