Former Tennessee congressman Zach Wamp, who recently endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Manny Sethi, on Saturday posted — and deleted — a tweet accusing Sethi’s opponent, Bill Hagerty, of using young female volunteers “in short shorts” to attract votes.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), upon reading Wamp’s tweet, reprimanded the former congressman and suggested he doesn’t respect women.
Note to @ZachWamp: now we know what you think of young conservative women who show up to campaign and be involved in the political process. It’s disgraceful that in 2020 conservative women are still fighting such bias. https://t.co/R8xUbUwT9E
— Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) August 2, 2020
“Note to @ZachWamp: now we know what you think of young conservative women who show up to campaign and be involved in the political process,” Blackburn tweeted.
“It’s disgraceful that in 2020 conservative women are still fighting such bias.”
This started when Wamp tweeted a response to Chattanooga-based TV news manager Mike Costa and Wamp’s son Weston about modern-day pollsters and whether they were reliable.
Wamp, according to the now-deleted tweet, said the following:
“In 2010 race for Governor, I won virtually every straw poll across the state+got beat soundly on Election Day. Same thing will happen to @BillHagertyTN on Thursday. He hires young girls to show up in short shorts. Pitiful campaign. Vote @DrMannySenate.”
Blackburn, in a separate tweet, told Wamp to “show these young women some respect equal to the respect you would want shown to your wonderful wife and daughter.”
.@zachwamp, show these young women some respect equal to the respect you would want shown to your wonderful wife and daughter.
— Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) August 2, 2020
Blackburn, as reported, endorsed Hagerty for the U.S. Senate last month.
Wamp, responding to Blackburn, tweeted that “this personal assault is typical of @BillHagertyTN campaign.”
.@VoteMarsha -this personal assault is typical of @BillHagertyTN campaign. My attorney,conservative daughter+my daughter-in-law were at this dinner dressed appropriately empowered by our family to do what’s right. Vote @DrMannySenate #HONOR.
— Zach Wamp (@zachwamp) August 2, 2020
“My attorney,conservative daughter+my daughter-in-law were at this dinner dressed appropriately empowered by our family to do what’s right,” Wamp added, although he did not provide more details about said dinner.
Wamp, in another tweet, admitted he deleted his post about Hagerty’s female volunteers. Wamp then referred to Hagerty’s campaign activity in Chattanooga, which he described as “unbecoming + undignified.” He did not specify when Hagerty campaigned in Chattanooga, why he thought it was undignified, or whether Hagerty’s female volunteers had anything to do with it.
The @BillHagertyTN campaign activity in Chattanooga was unbecoming + undignified. I pulled the tweet only because I didn’t want my personal opinion here to distract from today’s campaign news. https://t.co/kdvKtdV70M
— Zach Wamp (@zachwamp) August 2, 2020
“I pulled the tweet only because I didn’t want my personal opinion here to distract from today’s campaign news,” Wamp tweeted, possibly referring to Christian entertainer Michael W. Smith endorsing Sethi.
Sethi and Hagerty, both Republicans, are competing against one another to replace the retiring U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander. Tennessee officials have scheduled the GOP primary election for Thursday.
Wamp tweeted last week that Hagerty “has run a shameful, nasty campaign.”
“@DrMannySenate is Tennessee’s choice-positive vision+solutions instead of swampy insider deals,” Wamp said.
Wamp served in Congress, representing Tennessee’s Third District from 1995 through 2011.
As The Tennessee Star reported in June, Wamp, in endorsing Sethi, said “he is the true conservative in this race, and he will stand for fiscal responsibility when so many others have buckled.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Senator Marsha, becoming quite the DC insider, learning from her senior citizen TN mentor, Lamar, how to become a multi-multi-millionaire working the $wamp, attending DC extravaganzas and living the high-life that most people could never imagine. Only in DC were The DC Insider Cub life-long benefits never go away, taxpayers pay and pay, and where the words “term limits” will never be spoken.
Manny 2020
I guaranty on her first day as a Senator, Marsha was called into McConnell’s office and told what she had better do if she wanted to keep her newly elected seat. Freshman Senators have no power. They have to tow the line if they want money and support when they are up for re-election. By bowing to this, Marsha exposes herself to be the empty suit I always new she was.
Oh Marsha, stop with the feigned outrage! Nobody really cares what you think, especially since you’d do it too, if that’s what it took to get reelected. How sad and pathetic.
Swamp Queen Marsha! Please file a bill to take away federal funding to liberal Schools like Vanderbilt that radicalize our children, do not teach American history, silent voices on campus that do not support the far left’s, BLM and ANTIFAs agenda. Please not just talk the talk breakout from Mitch McConnell’s bench! He is a RINO, and we need new GOP senate leadership. Please don’t promote John Thune and his followers. You were elected to be our Senator, not to tell us to Vote for RINO Hagerty! You have been a disappointment. Please Bench Mitch. The optics are not good we have tired GOP senate leadership.