I am a Chattanooga resident originally from Appleton, Wis. I moved to Clarksville, Tn., after being offered a volleyball scholarship at Austin Peay State University.
Upon graduation, I moved to Chattanooga and have lived here for several years. I got a job as a server/bartender while applying for jobs in the health and wellness field.
My hopes and aspirations were raised when it was announced that VW was opening a plant in Chattanooga. I applied for a job through a company that does contract work for VW and was very fortunate enough to have been offered a position utilizing my degree in health and wellness promotion. I am very thankful to our leaders who worked day and night to ensure VW established their plant in Chattanooga.
With the upcoming governor’s race, I would like to see Congressman Zach Wamp elected as Tennessee’s next governor. He has accomplished a lot with his 15-plus years of dedicated service in Congress. He was influential and played a big role in bringing VW to Chattanooga. I have studied his 20/20 vision and a couple of things stand out - making Tennessee a healthier state, something that I do on a daily basis as a contractor for VW - and job creation. He will truly be a jobs governor.
Zach Wamp has the experience, vision and leadership skills and hence the reason I support him. I am one of the couple of thousand who will attest that our leaders had a vision for job creation with VW establishing its plant in Chattanooga.
Amber Stein
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The local newspaper praised the "leadership" demonstrated by our current representative Zach Wamp. They should re-think their position. I really can't imagine anyone that has bothered to inform themselves would vote for Wamp.
Naturally, running for governor takes all his time, so he can't be blamed for missing so many votes in the house of Congress this year. I bet he hasn't bothered to return all the monthly paychecks he has been receiving in spite of not even being in Washington. His vote wouldn't make much difference anyway. He has been voting along party lines on every vote. He even voted against funding our defense.
Our eight-term congressman recently spoke at a Tennessee Tea Party convention in Gatlinburg. That is where we found out what his 20/20 vision for our future consists of. Zach wants to lead us all back to God. His statement was, "If
Tennessee will only outlaw abortion, God will give our state new jobs and a booming economy." I just don't recall his plan to ban abortion in Tennessee being mentioned in his television ads. I wonder if Wamp recognizes that Tennessee can't ban abortions without the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Good old Zach went on to tell the convention, "Let me tell you one of the reasons why Chattanooga is a very blessed city. We have new economic development and we're an anointed city. That's because there are no abortion clinics in Chattanooga. We decided a long time ago that we were going to work as a community to not allow abortion clinics in our city, and I got to tell you we're trying to be after God's own heart. People that seek righteousness and do the right thing are blessed and anointed." I wonder if he is saying he is the anointed one to serve as governor?
Congressman Wamp went on to state at another forum that he is going to be a "Rick Perry kind of governor, and we need that as we go forward." Remember Rick Perry? He is the Texas governor that suggested that Texas could secede from the Union. He also rejected hundreds of millions of dollars in stimulus money for the jobless. But, Wamp is comfortable in his "George Wallace shoes." At every campaign stop he tries to incite armed rebellion, and threatens to "meet President Obama at the border to personally stop him from confiscating our guns." It doesn't matter that President Obama has never mentioned taking away any firearms. Wamp evidently thinks it makes a good soundbite for the uneducated and uninformed.
Wamp stated at the Tea Party convention that he sleeps with a gun next to his head. One has to wonder if he wears an aluminum foil nightcap also. He went on to state that "there are tough times coming. Don't elect some sissy wannabe as your governor."
My favorite statement coming from Wamp concerned the environment. He said, "It's good for wildlife for coal companies to blow the tops off the tops of Tennessee's mountains." I guess those mountaintops are obstructing the wildlife's view of the countryside. Gosh, will we be able to see North Carolina when we get those old pesky "Smoky Mountains" leveled?
He went on to make fun of climate change because it was cold outside this winter. Guess he never noticed the weather in the southern hemisphere set new records for heat waves. Of course, he may not know that our winter is their summer.
Zach Wamp was the least effective congressional representative we have ever had serve in our stead. From what I have heard from those in the know, Wamp had absolutely no impact on VW locating here. He just served as a "tag-along" trying to bask in the glory. There is no reason to think he would be an effective governor. But, he does have 20/20 vision.
Rod Dagnan
Chattanooga
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I have heard Bill Haslam and Zach Wamp. I do not trust anyone who claims they have left Bloombergs group of anti-gun mayors and that guns are good recreation.
Guns are not recreation. The 2nd Amendment is not about recreation. It is about the ability to overthrow the federal government. I remember Zach Wamp created gun ranges where none had existed in parks that otherwise would not have had these facilities.
I respect and like Zach Wamp and that is worth $10 million of slick ads.
Vote Zach Wamp for governor and you will not go wrong. Zach is a brave man willing to look you in the eye and tell you the bad news, as well as the good. God bless him.
David Carver
Lupton City
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When Zach Wamp was running for Congress his first term his platform was "I will only serve three terms." Zach has lied. He has served six terms.
He also vilified his opponent for taking PAC money and said, "I will never take PAC money." Another lie. He takes all he can get and has for years.
This man also belongs to an organization and lived at a building called the "Family" in Washington, D.C. It is a Christian group who of late has been in the news for its members who live on the dark side of morality.
Why did Zach Wamp vote for $150 million of TARP funds for a whiskey company in Puerto Rico as an bailout to assist the mortgage industry? They make whiskey. They do not build homes.
In December 1968, Karl Barth in the New York Times said, "Man can certainly keep on lying (and does), but he cannot make truth falsehood." Mr. Barth must have known a Zach Wamp was to come along the political trail with that kind of vision.
Zach Wamp questions his opponent about being open with his tax returns. The man has provided all required by law and he is a successful businessman, not a product of what's wrong with America. Zack Wamp is part of the problems with our Nation and as governor of Tennessee we would go backward if Zach Wamp were to be elected.
Chuck Mehan
East Ridge
cbm2006@comcast.net