From Bill Freeman

CEO of the conservative Tennessee Star and host of the Tennessee Star Report Michael Patrick Leahy recently interviewed 5th Congressional District candidate Morgan Ortagus. In the interview, Ortagus struggled to answer some easy questions about the district that former President Donald Trump thinks she should represent.

For Ortagus’ effort, the Tennessee Star was kind enough to label her responses as “limited knowledge.” Suffice it to say, Ortagus should feel completely embarrassed about her performance, though she has downplayed it instead. The questions Leahy posed were not even in softball range — ones that your average Tennessee grade-school student would answer correctly. Is Ortagus smarter than a fifth-grader? I’ll let you decide. What kind of representation would the 5th District be faced with if its representative doesn’t know anything about Tennesseans, the roads we drive on, our history, our businesses, our sports, our music or even who has been responsible for our government?

Among Leahy’s questions: “What three interstate highways are located in the 5th Congressional District?” As Occupy Democrats has pointed out, if Ortagus won both the primary and the general election, she would likely vote on the transportation bills that fund federal highways. She should know them — I-65, I-24 and I-40 — but she did not.

Leahy also asked: “A country music superstar, a famous, multi-Grammy-Award-winning performer, has a popular winery in the center of the 5th district in Arrington, Tenn. Who owns it?” The answer was Kix Brooks. Ortagus didn’t know.

“Who was Brig. Gen. Robert Reese Neyland?” She didn’t know, nor did she know that the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium was named for the legendary football coach. 

“One of the most famous NASCAR drivers living today lives in the 5th District and has a large auto dealership in Franklin. Who is that?” She didn’t know. (It’s Darrell Waltrip.)

“There are four previous Republican governors who are still living, and live in Tennessee. Can you name them?” Ortagus named Bill Haslam, but had no knowledge of Winfield Dunn, Don Sundquist or Lamar Alexander.

“Who was the only Tennessee governor who ever served time in prison for crimes committed while in office?” She didn’t know. (Democrat Ray Blanton.) 

“A rather well-known Confederate general — one whose name and history have been a source of enormous controversy in Tennessee the last few years — was born and raised in the community of Chapel Hill, in the 5th District. Who was he?” She didn’t know. (Nathan Bedford Forrest.) Particularly disappointing was the fact that Ortagus had no knowledge of Forrest or his impact on our community — even though the question was posed in a way that should have reminded her of multiple recent controversies surrounding statues of the early KKK leader. 

Her defense is even more disappointing. Ortagus said, “Voters in this district trust President Trump’s judgment and they trust him whenever he says that I’m the right person in this race.” Does that mean she thinks there’s no need to learn just a few noteworthy things about our district and state? When asked in a separate interview by Tennessee Star’s Leahy about whether or not she was a “carpetbagger” — i.e., a politician who takes up residence in a place and runs for office without strong ties to the area — Ortagus said: “Absolutely not. I’m not a politician. I’ve never run for office before.”

She’s also not been a Tennessean before. She registered to vote here in November. We love the folks who move to our great state, but we expect them to learn at least a little bit about the area they claim they are “committed to,” as Ortagus told The Tennessean when she announced her candidacy. Perhaps, as Tennessee Star reporter Aaron Gulbransen speculates, it’s “a move by some national leaders in the Republican Party towards a British Parliamentary style of selecting candidates [wherein] the party leadership selects candidates for seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom to represent geographic areas who have no ties to those areas but are perceived to be loyal to party leadership.” This is not normally how America does things. 

It raises the question: Will conservative Tennesseans tolerate someone being pushed on them who has no knowledge of them, their needs or the place they live?

There are multiple other candidates seeking the GOP nomination in the Aug. 4 primary. Former state House Speaker Beth Harwell, who already has a record of service in Tennessee, is running. California native and music video director Robby Starbuck, businessman Baxter Lee, former Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead and Natisha Brooks are all running. There could be other candidates entering the race too.

There is a small possibility that Ortagus will not make the ballot. Last week, a bill from Sen. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) passed in the state Senate on a 32-1 vote requiring a three-year Tennessee residency for congressional candidates when they enter a primary election. In the House, however, sponsor Rep. Dave Wright (R-Knoxville) is amending the bill to postpone the effective date until after the November election, which would allow Ortagus to run. 

Whatever happens, we should all be concerned. Tennesseans are a strong people dedicated to their cities, their communities, their neighbors and their history. Any candidate should at least demonstrate the same. 

Bill Freeman

Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and Home Page Media Group in Williamson County.