Keel Hunt

Columnist

Marsha Blackburn should call out the lies about Phil Bredesen spread by Americans for Prosperity.

Keel Hunt is an author and USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee columnist.

The slimy depths to which our national politics has sunk became grossly clear this past week, right here in Tennessee.

The latest episode came from Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-funded political action committee legally separate from the U.S. Senate campaign of Republican Marsha Blackburn, though she benefits from it.

Such PACs also promote her Democratic opponent, Phil Bredesen, true enough, but AFP appears desperate in its zeal to boost Blackburn — the truth be damned.

No one who follows Tennessee politics was surprised to see the fallacious AFP gambit.

More than that, it was another exhausting reminder that this is how we live now.

Anyone connected to this stunt ought to be ashamed, but they won’t be. Instead, they are probably slapping each other on the backs, smug and privately boastful in their backrooms.

The smugness is one more reason the rest of us should go vote this fall.

I see no good reason to repeat the lies here. Repetition is how the dark money works its skullduggery. The discussion should be what can be done about them — especially by Blackburn herself now, if she will.

Here is how dark money works: A willing friend sets up an “unaffiliated” PAC, then accepts money from donors who don’t want to be named. The cash is spent to print ads and put them on TV and the internet.

When the lying begins, candidates themselves get to hide behind the dark screen. It’s a bad practice all around.

Apart from news coverage exposing the lies, as happened this week, the only other possible check is when the candidate it clumsily helps shows the integrity to set things right. In this case, Blackburn ought to separate herself from the falsehoods about Bredesen.

Why Marsha Blackburn should repudiate the lie

I hoped that for truth’s sake Blackburn would repudiate the lie, separate herself from this sleaze and put her race on a better, less-Washingtonian footing. In other words, talk straight to Tennesseans about lies, lying and liars.

I have not seen that statement so far. On Wednesday I phoned the Blackburn campaign and asked the spokesperson, Abbi Sigler, two questions:

Has Ms. Blackburn made any public statement this week separating herself from the AFP lies? Will she repudiate them now?

What I got in return was the following generic reply, full of Washington talking points:

“Phil Bredesen has been running for office since Marsha was a senior in high school. Chuck Schumer has made it clear he has already bought and paid for Bredesen’s vote. Bredesen supported Hillary Clinton for president, and even donated $33,400 to elect her. Tennesseans, on the other hand, overwhelmingly elected President Trump, and they fear Phil Bredesen will not work with him or represent their values.”

Can you spot a straight yes-or-no answer there? I cannot. That paragraph has no connection to what AFP published, which related to Bredesen’s time as governor, not Washington partisanship.

I suspect Blackburn’s handlers will not let her just say “Yes” or “No” to either of those questions. (No show of weakness now, move along.) That might feed their deepest fear — that a win for Bredesen in Tennessee might cost the GOP its razor-thin Senate majority.

We need more straight talk

I miss straight talk. I also miss Sen. John McCain.

What the McCain memorials brought into focus this past week was how in American history the low road is usually the wrong road, and how leaders can be moved to speak from their hearts to call out bad behavior.

Maybe McCain’s death brought some people back to church. Not just to the sanctuary at National Cathedral but back to our right minds about what’s true and about good conduct in the public realm.

Tennesseans are smart enough to see through dodgy lies, Washington-speak and weasel words. We can make up our own minds, thank you, and we tend to choose leaders who are in charge of themselves.

Keel Hunt is a USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee columnist and has a new book coming in October, "Crossing the Aisle: How Bipartisanship Brought Tennessee into the 21st Century and Could Save America." Reach him at Keel@TSGNashville.com.