A Message From a Former President of the U of M College Democrats

Ed. Note: At this point I’m not endorsing anyone for TNDP chair. However, the email that was released earlier today by Chairman Forrester regarding the College Democrats and Young Democrats endorsement of Wade Munday is very disturbing to me. What follows is an email I just received from a friend who served as President of the University of Memphis College Democrats.

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Executive Committee Members and Fellow Democrats,

As former President of the University of Memphis College Democrats and past Political Director of the Tennessee Federation of College Democrats, I felt obligated to write this letter in response to the attacks Chairman Forrester has recently made against TFCD President Cody Goodman and candidates for Chairman Matt Kuhn and Wade Munday. These attacks by Mr. Forrester demonstrate that he is no longer interested in uniting our party, but rather securing himself a job for the next 2 years. The TFCD and Young Democrats are organizations that the party should be completely focused on building and promoting rather than degrading when they disagree with your leadership.

The future of our party resides within the youth of our party. With the increasing apathy of my generation, the attacking of College Democrats only fosters the future demise of our party. The last few days, Chairman Forrester has promoted himself as the candidate who can reach across ideological lines and unite the party, yet he attacks the future generation of the TNDP. My question to Mr. Forrester is how can you build party unity when you attack anyone who questions your leadership?

Mr. Forrester’s letter also states that Matt Kuhn and Wade Munday lack the experience to conduct a statewide reorganization of the party; however, he neglects to mention that Matt is the former county chair of the largest and most diverse County in Tennessee, Shelby County. During his tenure as Chairman, Matt presided over their reorganization and therefore has the experience necessary to orchestrate a statewide reorganization.

As a life long Tennessean and Democrat, born and raised in Jackson and a graduate of The University of Memphis, I have experienced both urban and rural life in this great state. I have also had the opportunity of serving on numerous campaign staffs including Harold Ford Jr. for US Senate and Roy Herron for Congress, which has given me insight into the inner workings of Tennessee Politics. For this reason I believe there is one person who can rebuild our party and put us on the path of regaining our majority, that person is Matt Kuhn.

Having worked with Matt on both Jim Kyle’s bid for Governor and Roy Herron’s congressional campaign, I have gained the upmost respect for Matt both as a political leader and someone I am proud to call my friend. His resume and credentials speak volumes to his ability to move our party forward and begin the task of replacing what we have lost.

I ask that each member of the Executive Committee weigh the options placed before them on Saturday and ask yourselves which candidate will stand up for Tennessee Democrats and begin to unify our party, for me the answer is simple Matt Kuhn.

Sincerely,

Michael Lipe