GIVE FLEISCHMANN A FIFTH TERM
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., told the Times Free Press in June he originally ran for Congress in 2010 because he wanted to fix things. He said he now had an “established record” that demonstrates his effectiveness in representing the people of Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District.
In other words, if you liked the way he voted, send him back to Washington, D.C., for a fifth term in Congress. If you didn’t like the way he voted, he was unlikely to radically change.
“The people of Tennessee give me my report card,” the Chattanooga attorney says.
Fleischmann, 56, largely has been the fiscal and social conservative House member he pledged he would be when he first ran eight years ago. And while not changing his stripes, we believe he has lost some of the stridency he had in his first few years on the job and has learned the value of working with colleagues across the aisle on issues important to the state and to this district.
Because we feel his beliefs and his votes match most of the constituents in his district, which stretches vertically from the Kentucky border to the Georgia border, we endorse him for another term.
His Democratic opponent, Dr. Danielle Mitchell, 41, a family physician, has a compelling back story about growing up poor in Oregon, working hard to become a doctor, losing 100 pounds and participating in seven Ironman competitions. But we believe many of the things she advocates, from national health care and (consideration of) free college education to doing away with lifetime appointments for judges and exempting unions from a repeal of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision are not what 3rd District voters want.
Mitchell acknowledges the Affordable Care Act is not perfect. She relies on the program for her own health care and, quite naturally, wants to sustain it as her “life depends on it,” she says. Fleischmann has frequently voted against the ACA, citing its increasing costs and the power it gives to the federal government. He prefers more competition, patient choice and free market solutions.
The four-term congressman has properly kept his eye as a member of the House Appropriations Committee on funding for district assets, including the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the replacement Chickamauga lock. He also has worked toward the reality of a Veterans Administration nursing home in Bradley County, the return of former Tennessee Valley Authority land to the Cherokee Indians and the proper disposition of nuclear waste material through the House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus.
“I believe I’ve been effective in bringing people together to get things done,” Fleischmann said.
On the whole, we believe the congressman has demonstrated a willingness to fight for the district, the state and the conservative values he shares with many of his constituents. We hope he’ll continue to do that and, as importantly, give those who disagree with him a fair hearing.