The following is a letter from a retired Shelby County Schools Teacher:
Republicans, Independents, and Undecideds in the 9th District,
You have an extremely important decision to make beginning Friday the 13 and ending Aug 2.
You will need to select the person who will:
1. Represent your values and ideals in the US Congress.
2. Stand firm in the face of ridicule and pressure to do otherwise
3. Attract voters from both parties plus independents and undecided voters
4. Have the best chance to defeat the present incumbent.
Do not take this decision lightly. Do not vote for a candidate because you heard their name before or they are young or rich or black or white. Learn what they stand for and the experience that they will bring to the job you are hiring them for.
The facts are these:
- We probably live in one of the most divided districts in the nation.
- There is a long history of distrust among the various groups and factions of this community.
- The decisions and policies in district 9 affect neighboring districts and TN in positive and negative ways.
None of these facts are news to anyone who has followed Memphis politics for any length of time.
Out of the three candidates running in the Republican Primary, I am convinced that Charlotte Bergmann is the one GOP candidate that is able to cross the dividing line between our fractured community and win this congressional seat from Steve Cohen.
She has gone into skeptical ,and occasionally hostile, groups and won supporters by the very strength of her convictions and her unshakable faith. People all across the 9th know who she is and are listening and responding. I have seen it time and time again and so have others that are working with her.
Although, sadly, our local media, TV, Radio, and Print, is ignoring all of our GOP candidates. Charlotte was able to break through the Memphis media "wall of silence" and attract support throughout the nation as a result of her racist encounter with a local talk show host early in the year. That encounter enraged the nation and filtered back (via internet) to the local community who were appalled at her treatment no matter their political views.
She has been active in local Republican politics for many years beginning in 1987 when she actively in promoted the Better Schools Program of then Gov. Lamar Alexander. In the last three years she has attended several national conservative events and is known and respected by many of the movers and shakers of the party.
Locally, she works tirelessly in many capacities to bring changes to this community through church, business, and community organizations:
Kiwanis International
Republican Women Of Purpose Member
Shelby County Republican Women Member
2008 VP Publication - PMI Memphis
National Federation of Independent Business Member
Careers in Transition - Local Community Support Group for the Unemployed
Chamber of Commerce Member
National Federation of Independence Business (NFIB) Member
Chairman of PMI Memphis Nomination Committee 2005-2006
Phi Theta Kappa HONORS Program - President
Christian Brothers University Alumni
Congressional Business Woman of the Year Award 2003 TN - awarded by Congressman Tom Reynolds, Chairman NRCC
Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and Lector at Incarnation Catholic Church
Lately, someone posed this question to me. "She ran against Steve Cohen last time and didn't win, what makes her think that she will this time?"
This person was ignoring or was unaware of the fact that in the time between the last congressional election in 2010 and this one, the demographics of TN9 has changed radically. This district has almost doubled in size by the addition of suburb communities to the east and north of the old 9th district.
The people living in the "New 9th" are mostly conservative, are likely voters, are paying attention. They are very responsive to Charlotte Bergman's conservative, common sense message. I know, I live there.
Even with the change in district boundaries, no Republican candidate can win in the new 9th without support from a portion of the Democratic voters in the old and new 9th district. in this election cycle, many of those same voters are disenchanted with the policies of the current leadership and are ready to go in a different direction.
Charlotte ran in the 9th district in 2010 and received over 33,000 votes in a majority democratic district. No other Republican has ever come that close in recent years.
It all boils down to this:In this race,
At this time,
In this district,
Charlotte Bergmann has the very best chance of defeating Steve Cohen in the general election.
This election could very well be the biggest upset in the nation.
In a nutshell, that's all that needs to be said. If the GOP has any sense left at all they will recognize that especially here in this district, we have never seen the likes of a candidate like this. We Need her values. We need her detirmination. We need her moral courage. Polarization is not even in her vocabulary. Charlotte is a true revolutionary candidate with fire in the belly! I have never seen her give up on people, ALL people. No color, no party dims her vision for us all as a free people who deserve to be set loose to achieve wonders if she is elected in November. Only by stopping this radically oppressive govt. from restricting that energy and punishing achievement will this country begin fulfilling its promise of peace and prosperity for every citizen in this distric and our nation.
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