I apologize for the brevity but wanted to get this out there.
Representative Zach Wamp (R-TN) is currently running for Governor of Tennessee, facing a primary challenge against Bill Haslam, Knoxville Mayor and Ron Ramsey, Lt. Governor of Tennessee on August 5th.
As reported in The Washington Post, Zach is so outraged by the passage of healthcare reform, he thinks the voters only two choices are Republicans or secession.
Rep. Zack Wamp (R-Tenn.), in an interview with Hotline on Call, was the latest to raise the idea. "I hope that the American people will go to the ballot box in 2010 and 2012 so that states are not forced to consider separation from this government," he said.
In a vain attempt to try to look like a reasonable guy with more than two brain cells, he couched it with:
Wamp didn't go so far as to say he would push for secession if re-elected. Instead, he vowed to pressure Democrats via other means, telling Hotline he would "work with other governors and use the leverage that other governors have under the 10th amendment to basically let the White House and the executive branch and the congress know states are tired of being run over."
Haslam's spokesperson responded thusly:
When asked if Haslam is opposed to secession, his spokesperson David Smith said, "Yeah." Ramsey, in an e-mail to Hotline OnCall, wrote, "Rep. Wamp's trademark over-the-top temperament and overheated, sometimes crazy rhetoric, along with his 16 year Washington record of supporting hundreds of billions in deficit spending, like the Wall Street bailout, and hundreds of outrageous earmarks, like the notorious bridge to nowhere, is why Tennessee Republicans prefer my sincere, but seasoned and experienced conservative approach to leading our state."
Haslam currently leads in polls at 32% to Wamp's 21%, with Ramsey trailing a distant third at 11%.
Democrat Mike McWherter is unchallenged for the primary but has a snowball's chance in hell of beating any Republican challenger in the general election.
Per NBC:
In a Haslam-McWherter match-up, 60 percent of respondents chose Haslam, with 34 percent choosing McWherter and 6 percent undecided.
In a Wamp-McWherter race, 59 percent of those surveyed chose Wamp, compared to 35 percent for McWherter and 6 percent undecided.
In a Ramsey-McWherter race, 51 percent of those polled chose Ramsey, with 41 percent choosing McWherter, and 8 percent undecided.