Marsha Blackburn

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Marsha Wedgeworth Blackburn
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Ed Bryant
Born	June 6, 1952 (1952-06-06) (age 57) Laurel, Mississippi
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Charles "Chuck" Blackburn
Children	Mary Morgan Ketchel Chad Blackburn
Residence	Brentwood, Tennessee
Alma mater	Mississippi State University
Occupation	retail marketing
Religion	Presbyterian

Marsha Wedgeworth Blackburn^[1] (born June 6, 1952) is a Tennessee politician. As member of the Republican Party, she represents Tennessee's 7th congressional district since 2003, which stretches from the suburbs of Nashville to the suburbs of Memphis.

[edit] Early career

Born Marsha Wedgeworth in Laurel, Mississippi, Blackburn attended Northeast Jones High School and graduated from Mississippi State University where she joined Chi Omega,^[2] and where she also spent a few summers working with the Southwestern Company. Blackburn now lives in Brentwood, a wealthy suburb of Nashville. She began her political career in 1977 as a founding member of the Williamson County Young Republicans. She served as chairwoman of the Williamson County Republican Party from 1989 to 1991.

Blackburn's elective political career began in 1992, when she won the Republican nomination for the 6th District, which at the time included her home in Brentwood. She lost by 16 percentage points to longtime congressman Bart Gordon. In 1995, she was appointed chairwoman of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission. She won elective office for the first time in 1998, when she was elected to the Tennessee State Senate, representing Williamson County and a sliver of Davidson County. She led efforts to prevent the passage of a state income tax championed by Governor Don Sundquist.

[edit] 2002 election to Congress

Redistricting after the 2000 Census moved Blackburn's home from the 6th District into the 7th District. This move was made to protect Gordon, who had faced some fairly close races in the 1990s due to the presence of Williamson County, the richest county in the state and the most Republican county in Middle Tennessee. It appeared that the General Assembly wanted to pack the already heavily Republican 7th with as many Republicans as possible. To make up for the increase in population from the addition of Williamson County, the General Assembly shifted some of the more Democratic parts of Clarksville to the nearby 8th District. The result was a district that, in some parts of Middle Tennessee, is only two miles wide.

In 2002, incumbent Congressman Ed Bryant decided to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Fred Thompson. Blackburn entered the Republican primary. The primary was watched very closely in Tennessee Republican circles. The 7th District is considered the state's most Republican district outside the state's traditional Republican heartland, East Tennessee. Republicans had held the 7th since 1972 by margins rivaling those usually scored by East Tennessee Republicans. It became generally accepted that whoever won the Republican primary would be the district's next representative.

Of the four serious candidates, Blackburn was the only one from the Nashville suburbs, while the other three were all from Memphis and its suburbs. The three Memphians split the vote in that area, allowing Blackburn to win the primary by 20 points. Blackburn's primary win was tantamount to election in November. She was the fourth woman elected to Congress from Tennessee, but the first not to serve as a stand-in for her husband. (Irene Bailey Baker and Louise Reece had served as caretakers after their husbands died in office, and Marilyn Lloyd replaced her husband on the ballot when he died after the primary election.) She is also the first Republican to represent part of Nashville itself since Reconstruction; a small portion of Nashville (roughly coextensive with the Davidson County portion of her State Senate district) was shifted from the heavily Democratic 5th District to the 7th District after the 2000 Census.

[edit] House career

She was unopposed for reelection in 2004, which is somewhat unusual for a freshman member of Congress, even from a district as heavily Republican as the 7th. Washingtonian's September 2004 Best and Worst of Congress, obtained from a survey of Congressional aides, identified Blackburn as one of the three best freshman members.

Blackburn is a staunch fiscal and social conservative, which is not surprising given the nature of her district. She was defeated in November 2007 for the position of Republican Conference chairman. Some had speculated she would run for Bill Frist's U.S. Senate seat in 2006; however, she chose to run for a third House term. Unlike most female Representatives, she prefers to be called "Congressman Blackburn."^[3] She has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for governor in 2010.

On January 5, 2009, Blackburn made a talk radio appearance on the Roger Hedgecock show. During the course of discussing infrastructure spending proposed to be included in the upcoming 2009 economic stimulus bill, she cited "bicycle paths" as an example of frivolous and wasteful public works spending, and implied they do not create a substantive economic or public benefit. However, according to the LegiStorm online database, Blackburn herself has requested over $3.4 million dollars in federal budget earmarks.^[4]

Given the 7th District's strong conservative tilt, it is not likely that Blackburn will face substantive opposition in the near future.

On June 26, 2009, Blackburn signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1503, the bill introduced as a reaction to conspiracy theories which claimed that U.S. President Barack Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen.^[5]

According to her campaign website, Blackburn has received the following honors:

• National Journal described Blackburn as a "freshman to watch" and a "top House conservative" in 2003 and 2004.
• Americans for Tax Reform called Blackburn a "taxpayer hero" in 2003.
• The Family Research Council gave Blackburn the "true blue" award for the first half of the 108th Congress.
• National Right to Life praised Blackburn for supporting the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act.

On May 31, 2006, Rep. Blackburn was named the “hottest woman in U.S. politics” in an online poll sponsored by Politics1.com.^[6]

Blackburn served as an assistant whip in the 108th and 109th Congress, and served as a deputy whip for the 110th Congress.^[7] Under new whip Eric Cantor, Blackburn continues her work as a deputy whip for the 111th Congress. During the 110th Congress she was the Communications Chairman for the Republican Study Committee. She is also serving as a member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee for third consecutive term.

In 2008 Blackburn coasted to victory in her GOP primary race by gaining 62 percent of the vote, despite an opposition from Shelby County register of deeds, and former fellow state senator, moderate Republican Tom Leatherwood.^[8][9]

Blackburn scored 100% on American Conservative Union’s 2007 Ratings of Congress.^[10]

[edit] Al Gore questioning

Blackburn is arguably most well-known for her April 2009 questioning of Tennessee-native Al Gore during an energy-related congressional hearing. The Independent, a London-based periodical, has credited her for "famously put[ting Gore] on the spot about his business interests in the [energy] industry" during this confrontation.^[11] Nonetheless, major media outlets like The New York Times and Los Angeles Times did not widely publicize the Blackburn-Gore exchange until November 2009 -- more than five months after its occurrence -- upon the revelation that Gore's investment firm had landed a $560 million taxpayer-funded contract from the U.S. government.^[12][13]

Citing the concerns of her Tennessee constituents, Blackburn's question to Gore was simply: "The legislation that we are discussing here today, is that something that you are going to personally benefit from?”^[14] Gore pointed out that "every penny that [he has] made" went into the Alliance for Climate Protection. The exchange ended with Gore stating "Do you think there is something wrong with being active in business in this country? . . . I am proud of it. I am proud of it."^[15] The full exchange is readily available on YouTube.

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

[edit] Party leadership and caucus memberships

• Deputy Whip
• Republican Study Committee (former Communications Chair)
• National Republican Congressional Committee (Communications Chair)
• Congressional Songwriters Caucus (Co-founder)

[edit] 2008 Presidential election

Congresswoman Blackburn initially backed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, joining his campaign as a senior advisor.^[16] On May 25, 2007, Blackburn resigned her position in the Romney campaign and endorsed former Senator Fred Thompson for President.^[17]

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marsha Blackburn

• U.S. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn official U.S. House website
• U.S. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com