August 07, 2008
A Walk In Memphis
Despite, or because of, all of the attention ’06 candidate Nikki Tinker’s (D) ads brought this race in the last week, Rep. Steve Cohen (D) won in a walk tonight, defeating Tinker 79-19%. Three others collected the remainder. Cohen will face no GOP opposition.
While Tinker’s two very controversial ads in the last week were the attention grabbers, this race has always been about, well, race. Many thought Cohen’s ’06 victory was a fluke, as he collected 31% to win a 15-way primary. Many thought a Jewish white man could not hold on to a CD that was 60% African-American.
And indeed, on his road to win re-election, Cohen encountered several roadbumps.
Earlier this year, a pastor from outside of the CD distributed flyers that read, “Steve Cohen and the Jews hate Jesus.” Cohen immediately blasted the ads, and Tinker distanced herself from them.
Cohen later ran into difficulty with many members of the CBC, an org he attempted to join in ’07 but was eventually denied entry. In addition, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH 11) endorsed Tinker, a move that Cohen thought went against the tradition of incumbents supporting other Reps.
Next, in late May, Tinker won the support of the pro-choice EMILY’s List. Cohen, who has a solid pro-choice record, was livid at the org’s endorsement of Tinker.
But this week encapsulated all of Cohen’s difficulties in this race. Tinker’s first ad hit Cohen for voting against removing a KKK co-founder/Confederate general’s remains out of a Memphis park. The Memphis Flyer reported that Cohen, then a Memphis Councilor, acknowledged that he "didn't favor the removal of Forrest's remains as the best way of redressing the past." The ad included images of a Klansman standing in front of a burning cross.
A second ad that followed a few days later featured a child praying, interspersed with a narrator saying, “While he's in our churches, clapping his hands and tapping his feet…He is the only senator who thought our kids shouldn't be allowed to pray in school.”
Many thought that was an attack on Cohen’s Jewish faith, and the TV ad was roundly denounced. Barack Obama and EMILY’s List both came out and criticized the ads and Tinker, with Obama saying, “These incendiary and personal attacks have no place in our politics and will do nothing to help the good people of Tennessee.” Tinker’s camp eventually removed both ads from YouTube.
Cohen released a poll in Apr. that showed him leading Tinker by an overwhelming 63-11% score. Tinker’s racial and religious-themed ads at the end of the race confirmed that the race wasn’t close, and were her Hail Mary passes at the end of the race. At the end of the day, they clearly didn’t work.
(TIM SAHD)
Posted at 10:36 PM
Comments
Post a comment
The Watergate · 600 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-739-8400 · fax 202-833-8069
NationalJournal.com is an Atlantic Media publication.
