Zach & Whitney Bates Wedding - Part 2

[GeoBQn]

Judging by the picture in the article, Whitney hasn't quite mastered the "stare adoringly at politician husband" gaze.

[Dandruff]

I'm assuming his good friends, the Duggars, will show up to help him campaign. I don't think his opponent has much to worry about.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Let's also remember how often he screws up your/you're.

[DarkAnts]

At least Zach has aspirations of being better then his parents. I hope that he uses those aspirations to break free from the cycle his parents have him trapped in. Perhaps he will learn that he needs to go to school to get ahead in politics.

[anjulibai]

Oh I hope he loses spectacularly.

[EmiGirl]

Do Mayors in TN make a lot of money? I always thought mayors make next to nothing but it is city managers that make the big bucks. We just had a very heated mayoral election in southern Utah(ousting a 20+ year religious tyrant) and it was known that the city manager made 100k+ but the mayor made under 10k a year, in fact in smaller cities it is unpaid except for expenses.

I lived in small towns in new England growing up. My family was very involved in politics and at young ages as well as my friends parents. The big difference was most were recent law school grads, or college grads with military experience. Being a mayor, selectman , or alderman of a small town was a stepping stone for a lot of younger 25-35 year old lawyers. While I believe Zach has good intentions, he lacks any real form of life experience or education.

No, the mayor makes next to nothing.I know the mayor of our city also runs cell phone stores.

[singsingsing]

Oh, I just assumed they'd make close to a living wage at least. So this is his idea of supporting his family? What's his game? Loved how he wouldn't say what changes he wanted to make because he wanted to 'keep the campaign positive'. Apparently people don't need a reason to vote for him. He's just that special.

[marmalade]

I'm assuming his good friends, the Duggars, will show up to help him campaign. I don't think his opponent has much to worry about.

Yup, the Duggars showing up would be the kiss of death for young master Bates. Bring on that bus of doom!

[Dandruff]

Oh I hope he loses spectacularly.

Me too. I see him as just another version of Jim Bob & Josh getting involved in politics to push the ultra-fundie agenda. No thanks.

[GeoBQn]

I assume that he wants to be mayor so he can start his illustrious one-issue political career of banning abortion, but what is he going to do? Ban abortions within the limits of his tiny town?

[laila_lea]

If you search for 'Bates' on the same website you can find quite a number of articles referring to Zach and his work as a county commissioner. I'm linking to an example below, but many more can be found if others are interested. There wasn't anything too interesting that I saw - just typical small town business.

http://oakridgetoday.com/2014/01/21/and ... more-34537

[Aurora rising]

Judging by the picture in the article, Whitney hasn't quite mastered the "stare adoringly at politician husband" gaze.

Erin looks very pissed as well. :)

[formergothardite]

Oh, I just assumed they'd make close to a living wage at least. So this is his idea of supporting his family? What's his game? Loved how he wouldn't say what changes he wanted to make because he wanted to 'keep the campaign positive'. Apparently people don't need a reason to vote for him. He's just that special.

Exactly, "Vote for me, but I'm not going to tell you what I'm doing after you elect me." I also am amused that he says he isn't running against any individual, he feels "burdened" to see honest, integrity and diligence in the office. That sounds like a passive aggressive way to say that Terry Frank isn't those things.

I also hope he loses spectacularly because if he wins their going to most likely have a Gothard puppet as their mayor and then it might be a stepping stone to him getting higher political positions. It will also cement in the minds of the Bates and their fans that this sort of lifestyle works.

[Tangy Bee]

I don't know folks. I HATE to admit that he might have a chance. There are a lot of fundies in their area of TN who I imagine have children who are of voting age. We know fundies have A LOT of kids. Especially country fundies! We go to Pigeon Forge, TN twice a year. See a lot of long skirts and hair all over the place! There is no ABC store there so we had to drive to Gatlinburg which is about 10 minutes away. I don't think the Bates live too far from Pigeon Forge. Plus TN is a VERY conservative state. Does anyone know if this Terry chic is Demo or Republic?

[mausi]

Judging by the picture in the article, Whitney hasn't quite mastered the "stare adoringly at politician husband" gaze.

I don't think it is a flattering photo for anyone in the group. Everyone in the background looks bored or confused (the little girl looks particularly bored :)) and Whitney and Zach look much older than they are (although that is probably a plus for this situation).

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I don't know folks. I HATE to admit that he might have a chance. There are a lot of fundies in their area of TN who I imagine have children who are of voting age. We know fundies have A LOT of kids. Especially country fundies! We go to Pigeon Forge, TN twice a year. See a lot of long skirts and hair all over the place! There is no ABC store there so we had to drive to Gatlinburg which is about 10 minutes away. I don't think the Bates live too far from Pigeon Forge. Plus TN is a VERY conservative state. Does anyone know if this Terry chic is Demo or Republic?

She is a republican and a Christian .

[anjulibai]

I'm not seeing this group picture - all I see is a cropped photo of Zach. Can someone post a direct link?

[nokidsmom]

Certainly interesting news about Zach. He won't make the big bucks though and shouldn't quit the day job. All the mayors of my town had other jobs.

Being conservative TN and a fundie area to boot, I can see that he might have a chance. Maybe the Duggars will show up and jinx the whole thing. I don't see Zach saying no to them.

[uber frau]

I wouldn't be surprised if this is just a practice run for him. I get the feeling this is a longer term goal for him, he's really aiming for a couple of elections down the track.

[singsingsing]

I wouldn't be surprised if this is just a practice run for him. I get the feeling this is a longer term goal for him, he's really aiming for a couple of elections down the track.

Interesting. But I wonder how much of his own money he's going to have to spend on his campaign?

[nokidsmom]

Interesting. But I wonder how much of his own money he's going to have to spend on his campaign?

Good question. I imagine he and Whit are going to hold on to any money they get especially if she starts with the babies. I guess he can solicit donations. Or his dad, who's the master of grifting.

[scc12]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/01 ... ess-world/

if he's thinking of starting his own biz if that doesn't work,then I found this one about how 'easy' it is in the US.something for fundies to ponder.

[Ellimenopy]

Interesting. But I wonder how much of his own money he's going to have to spend on his campaign?

Right. I mean, these people can't even pay for their own weddings. In the very recent past, they haven't always been able to pay for their own food. How do they keep spending money for influence in politics and culture if they're so destitute? A friend spent tens of thousands of dollars on a local election a few years ago (and still lost). How do they continue to pay for such shenanigans?

[Dandruff]

Interesting. But I wonder how much of his own money he's going to have to spend on his campaign?

No idea, though it wouldn't surprise me if money appeared from somewhere. Let's also keep in mind that the family attends or at least visits multiple churches in the area and probably interacts with lots of people through the tree/lawn businesses (plenty of networking opportunities).

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

Great, that's all we need - more uneducated, smug fundamentalist idiots in office.