Clarksville-Montgomery County just came out of an interesting election season with last years Kurita vs Barnes State Senate Campaign, and the Obama vs McCain Presidential Race. As such one would expect that the next election cycle would be well, more laid back. Well you can forget that right now. Greg Rabidoux has declared his intent to run for the Democratic nomination to face Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn in the upcoming 2010 elections for the 7th district seat. This promises to be one interesting race.

The initial exchange hints at the future intensity in store for this campaign.

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Marsha Blackburn’s office released this statement:

November 2010 is a long way off. Between now and then, Marsha is focused on an ambitious agenda on behalf of her 7th District constituents.She will gladly defend her record against whomever emerges from the Democratic primary.

This is Dr. Rabidoux’s response:

I appreciate that Marsha Blackburn has already indicated that she will gladly defend her record during this campaign. We welcome her willingness to do so and will provide her with ample opportunities to defend her record. We only hope that she does not choose to defend her record solely through her spokesperson or scripted press releases. The people of the 7th District, especially in these critical economic times deserve to see for themselves, up close and personal, who is best qualified to lead them to the future.

He was most emphatic on this point, “We need a moderate voice, we need a reasonable voice, one that will bring more effective leadership, and lets face it, to work with the majority in the House and Senate, and our President so that as Tennesseans, we are not on the outside looking in, but we have a seat and a voice at the table, when key decisions are made.”

Hollywood Politicos, Then and Now

Dr. Rabidoux is the author of Hollywood Politicos, Then and Now: Who They Are, What They Want, Why It Matters (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009). His book takes a look at the political activism of Hollywood celebrities and associated organizations.

It covers early Hollywood unionism like the creation of the Screen Actors Guild and the Screen Writers Guild, as well as the actors and directors who organized against Nazism and Franco’s Spanish activists during World War II. The author discusses the special role that Hollywood played during the war years and then moves on to “celebrity-centered” activism, with the notable examples during the 1960s and 1970s of Charlton Heston, Marlon Brando, Barbara Streisand, Warren Beatty, and Jane Fonda. The main portion of the book profiles contemporary activism by current Hollywood stars, including Angelina Jolie, Michael J. Fox, Ashley Judd, and George Clooney. The author examines their political agendas and activism, as well as their impact on today’s American political landscape and policy-making in Washington, D.C. Using facts, figures, lighthearted commentary and trivia, this book provides a political and historical perspective on the nature of our society’s reverence for stars and what it may say about us as a democratic society. – University Press of America

It definitely should be on any politics junkie’s reading list.

About Greg Rabidoux

Dr. Rabidoux is the youngest of three children. He and his wife Mara have one son, Valentin. Dr Rabidoux is currently a professor at Austin Peay State University where he teaches politics and law, and heads up the university’s pre law program. His wife Mara, a former NCAA Division I All-American tennis player, teaches Spanish at APSU.

For most of his adult life, he worked full-time while attending school at nights. He received his B.A. from the University of Connecticut in political science and journalism, his Masters degree from American University in Washington DC in public policy. He earned his PH.D from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in American Government, and his JD from Marquette University Law School. He has practiced law and is a certified professional mediator, having mediated for the US EEOC. After completing his M.A. degree he worked for a US House of Representatives Member and later for the United Nations in New York.

Rabidoux writes a regular weekly column on politics for The All State Newspaper and on-line editions, and has been published in such publications as The National Jurist, USA Today and Reader’s Digest. He is a lifelong Democrat and currently a member of the Montgomery/Clarksville Democratic Party and State of Tennessee Democratic Party. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Arts and Heritage Development Council of Clarksville, Tennessee which sponsors this year’s (Summer 2009) Writers Conference and Tobacco Heritage Tour. Greg and Mara are Christian, and members of the Clarksville YMCA.

Contact the campaign

You can find more information on the Rabidoux campaign at his web site. You can email him, follow his campaign via twitter, or facebook, and make campaign contributions via his Act Blue Page. You can also contact them via postal mail:

Rabdidoux4Congress

P.O. Box 3173

Clarksville, TN 37043

Related Stories

Sections

Topics