Zach Bates for mayor.

[doggie]

Will Zach even be able to work with female officials or city workers? I think on TWOP, I saw a comment from a woman who lives in the Bates' area and worked in a hardware store that they used during the renovations. Whenever Gil came in, he refused to talk with female employees and would only work with male employees and supervisors.

so he is really a Muslim fundie??? afraid his penis will jump out of his pants and attack the woman? this would be very bad for a public figure.

[formergothardite]

so he is really a Muslim fundie??? afraid his penis will jump out of his pants and attack the woman? this would be very bad for a public figure.

I wonder if he was a Muslim fundie who has a history of using political positions to push his religious beliefs if Sunshine would still be wishing him luck? :roll:

So according to Kelly he would amaze people with his political discussions? It would be lovely if he has to debate someone because I highly doubt he can do anything except mindlessly repeat what he has been taught by his parents. And writing tracts when he was five? I was mapping out how I was going to be a missionary at that age. It doesn't mean that I would be a good political leader, it just means that at five I was believing what my parents told me. Most five year olds do that.

[doggie]

what they are calling politics is really the christian version of sharia law. he has had that beaten into him since he was a baby so he knows it well.

[snarkopolis]

Relax and take a breath people. Running and winning are two different things. Sure Zach can run. And if he is making 72k if he wins you can bet your bippy that even CONSERVATIVES will want to know he he plans on spending their tax dollars. It is one thing to like people to have your viewpoint, it is another to vote for some kid who has no experience in anything and have them screw your pooch. I would bet that any potential opponents are going to beat him over the head with his lack of ANY WORLD experience (budget, life, etc.) as a reason for him NOT to be in charge.

[Coconut Flan]

The mayor of that county is the CFO of the county. Right. Zach who is probably just now coming to terms with a household budget for two of two or three thousand a month if they are lucky is going to comprehend the financial operation of a county?

[salex]

Basically, Anderson County primaries are May 6. The general election is Aug. 7. If Zach wins the primary election in May, he will have to go against another opponent, a Democrat usually, in August for the mayor position. Does that make sense or answer your question? Elections are different around the country, so it can be all very confusing. Frank came in because the mayor before her, Rex Lynch, was a criminal. He pleaded guilty to tax fraud along with several other charges. Big mess. Big, big mess.

Sort of, but I'll be more clear. In his county, if he wins the republican primary, is there a serious race between republicans and democrats in the general election, or is one party or the other so strong that while there is indeed a general election, it never goes to anyone but whomever is the dem or republican candidate.

In the last election, my congressional district could not find a Democrat to run for congress. So, yes, we had a general election, for whatever it was worth.

[Mecca]

Sort of, but I'll be more clear. In his county, if he wins the republican primary, is there a serious race between republicans and democrats in the general election, or is one party or the other so strong that while there is indeed a general election, it never goes to anyone but whomever is the dem or republican candidate.

In the last election, my congressional district could not find a Democrat to run for congress. So, yes, we had a general election, for whatever it was worth.

From what I can remember, there has always been an opponent for the mayoral race. With that being said, Lynch, the mayor before Frank, was on his fourth term as mayor when he was indicted. He was a conservative republican. Frank was then elected on a conservative republican platform. I would say that the area swings more Republican now, so I would not count Zach out just yet if he makes it to the general election.

After talking to some of my peeps back in that area, Zach throwing his hat into the ring was out of left field and last minute. As I mentioned earlier, Frank has pissed many people off over the last year, some of those people are commissioners. She was tangled in a lawsuit with the Sheriff and was recently accused of doing something shady with funds for her travel expenses. Some people love her, many people hate her. Zach actually reps for the biggest district. Granted, not too many people typically turn out of those types of elections, but he did win a seat on the commission by a wide margin and represents the biggest territory. Anderson County also has a history of electing young officials. Kinda makes me nervous. :lol:

[Becket70]

I live in a city of 17,000. We have a mayor and four city council members, all of whom rotate every year so each one gets to be mayor for a year. Except for one person, they all have advanced degrees. All the male members have served in a branch of the armed forces. They all attended prestigious universities. All have been successful in their chosen professions before being elected to their positions. Where does Zach get off thinking he is qualified in any way to run a local government and represent all the people in his community? The hubris takes my breath away.

[Mecca]

Relax and take a breath people. Running and winning are two different things. Sure Zach can run. And if he is making 72k if he wins you can bet your bippy that even CONSERVATIVES will want to know he he plans on spending their tax dollars. It is one thing to like people to have your viewpoint, it is another to vote for some kid who has no experience in anything and have them screw your pooch. I would bet that any potential opponents are going to beat him over the head with his lack of ANY WORLD experience (budget, life, etc.) as a reason for him NOT to be in charge.

Terry Frank already came out and said Zach was a nice kid, but had no experience and was too young to hold that office. Problem is, many do not like Frank, so Zach could be a real threat to her position. This is going to be interesting to watch. Zach claims he want a clean race without personal attacks, but while saying that he said something backhanded about Frank. :think:

[Tangy Bee]

Terry Frank already came out and said Zach was a nice kid, but had no experience and was too young to hold that office. Problem is, many do not like Frank, so Zach could be a real threat to her position. This is going to be interesting to watch. Zach claims he want a clean race without personal attacks, but while saying that he said something backhanded about Frank. :think:

I agree! We simply can't under estimate this guy. People might feel sorry for him if Terry makes him look like a victim.

[formergothardite]

For people from that area, do you think he would get voted in if people knew about his connection to Gothard? Gothard is anti-woman, anti-military, anti-education, anti-cabbage patch dolls, and pro-fake medication.

With just a shallow look he appears to be a simple Christian country boy and I can see that getting him voted in. I am not picking up the vibe that he is turning away from Gothard or his parents. I think getting him in politics is probably another way to keep him in the fold, especially if he wins. If he loses I can see that doing a lot more to make him rethink the values he has been taught.

[salex]

He also refused to go into detail about what he actually plans to accomplish in office. Does he think that people just want to elect someone, then be surprised about what they do?

It worked for my state rep. He had three paragraphs that were used on all his mailers were the sum total of his web page and he had no history and I searched. A divorce 25 years ag one business related lawsuit a decade ago and no history of holding office. No job. Self employed for a while but owned a medical building. No info at all and now he is our state rep. Because he was not the moderate incumbent.

[PennySycamore]

For people from that area, do you think he would get voted in if people knew about his connection to Gothard? Gothard is anti-woman, anti-military, anti-education, anti-cabbage patch dolls, and pro-fake medication.

With just a shallow look he appears to be a simple Christian country boy and I can see that getting him voted in. I am not picking up the vibe that he is turning away from Gothard or his parents. I think getting him in politics is probably another way to keep him in the fold, especially if he wins. If he loses I can see that doing a lot more to make him rethink the values he has been taught.

Should we make his connection to Gothard known to Ms. Frank?

[docmom]

I wonder (and, boy, do I hope) if being in office would change Zach's outlook somewhat. It's easy to be a ridiculously conservative, anti-women working, no taxes, anti-public school until you are forced to deal with the real issues of society. He'd almost certainly have to work with women and may find it's not a bad thing. He'll work with people who went to public school and know way more than he does about just about everything. Roads will need fixed, fire stations will need ambulances and fire trucks, and poor people will need health care and he'll have to use tax dollars to fix them. He won't be able to sit at the back of the room and object to everything the way he can as a mere councillor (or whatever he is now). He'll have to make the decisions.

[formergothardite]

Should we make his connection to Gothard known to Ms. Frank?

I have actually considered doing that. Gothard plays in politics by not getting involved himself but by getting his cult members involved. And despite him finding his own wife and Gothard not being at his wedding, I think Zach is very, very much still involved in IBLP and will do what Gothard tells him to do.

Here is a blog post that shows some of Gothard's political power:

heresyintheheartland.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-political-reach-of-gothard.html

[mausi]

Should we make his connection to Gothard known to Ms. Frank?

I wonder if she reads here. I haven't tried it, but I imagine we are pretty high up on the internet search hits for 'Zach Bates', 'Zach Bates mayor' and the like, and I bet she googled him.

Agree with the posters who don't see any sign that Z+W are leaving the Gothard fold or loosening up from 'The Big Bates Family' worldview. He won't be financing this campaign on Whitney's part-time Sonic pay check, so where is he getting the funding? Not his father. Probably not from his brother's CD earnings. Gothard? I wouldn't be surprised...

[nokidsmom]

Regarding Zach running for this office:

He can run like probably anyone can, but winning is a whole other thing. He would have to win two elections and I suspect that what he might encounter during the campaign is going to be an eye opener as far as being criticized / attacked by the opposition. He really has no idea. And in the event he does get into office, he will be making decisions for the county and will face even more criticism. It's how it always goes, you can't please everybody no matter who you are.

He could win but it's not going to be easy for him. If he thinks this will be the same deal as being councilman, he's in for a big surprise. So the job pays $72K but he will be expected to really work for it and show something to his constituents for it. If they don't like what he's doing because he's going what he thinks should be done based on his belief system rather than what has to be done, he will be out. Or he will change.

So let him run. If he loses, he gets a big life lesson. If he wins, he gets a big life lesson.

[Ralar]

If he wins, his next run may be for Governor, and then he'll take aim for the White House. Before we know it, we'll be in the United States of Bates.

[OddlyAmused]

I wonder if she reads here. I haven't tried it, but I imagine we are pretty high up on the internet search hits for 'Zach Bates', 'Zach Bates mayor' and the like, and I bet she googled him.

Agree with the posters who don't see any sign that Z+W are leaving the Gothard fold or loosening up from 'The Big Bates Family' worldview. He won't be financing this campaign on Whitney's part-time Sonic pay check, so where is he getting the funding? Not his father. Probably not from his brother's CD earnings. Gothard? I wouldn't be surprised...

If she hasn't googled his name/read here, someone on her campaign staff almost certainly has.

[salex]

I wonder (and, boy, do I hope) if being in office would change Zach's outlook somewhat. It's easy to be a ridiculously conservative, anti-women working, no taxes, anti-public school until you are forced to deal with the real issues of society. He'd almost certainly have to work with women and may find it's not a bad thing. He'll work with people who went to public school and know way more than he does about just about everything. Roads will need fixed, fire stations will need ambulances and fire trucks, and poor people will need health care and he'll have to use tax dollars to fix them. He won't be able to sit at the back of the room and object to everything the way he can as a mere councillor (or whatever he is now). He'll have to make the decisions.

I don't think we can ever assume that being forced to deal with the real issues of society will make him change his outlook. There is too much evidence to the contrary among the politicians in my state (Kansas) where seeing the poor makes some of our "leaders" blame the poor more and more for their own poverty. For people who tend to think every answer to every question is "Jesus" , especially the more and more common idea that "general" sins of unbelievers and beleivers alike are causing us all to be punished, the bad economy is not because some economic concept he never heard of is at play, it is because his county allowed a massage parlor to go in and divorce is too easy to get.

[PennySycamore]

Regarding Zach running for this office:

He can run like probably anyone can, but winning is a whole other thing. He would have to win two elections and I suspect that what he might encounter during the campaign is going to be an eye opener as far as being criticized / attacked by the opposition. He really has no idea. And in the event he does get into office, he will be making decisions for the county and will face even more criticism. It's how it always goes, you can't please everybody no matter who you are.

He could win but it's not going to be easy for him. If he thinks this will be the same deal as being councilman, he's in for a big surprise. So the job pays $72K but he will be expected to really work for it and show something to his constituents for it. If they don't like what he's doing because he's going what he thinks should be done based on his belief system rather than what has to be done, he will be out. Or he will change.

So let him run. If he loses, he gets a big life lesson. If he wins, he gets a big life lesson.

I agree that he'd learn a big life lesson if he wins, but do the people of Anderson County really deserve to be governed by someone who has a buttload of life lessons to learn?

[nokidsmom]

I agree that he'd learn a big life lesson if he wins, but do the people of Anderson County really deserve to be governed by someone who has a buttload of life lessons to learn?

RE: the bold, agreed that no, they don't deserve that and as mentioned upthread Zach should not be learning these life lessons on the County's dime either. Taxpayers should not have to subsidize him to overcome his sheltered upbringing which is why any opponent should point to his lack of any real education and any real life/work experience (that would be typical for his age) and run with it as much as possible, IMHO. And also go after his main "qualification" as being on UBofA.

[mausi]

I don't think we can ever assume that being forced to deal with the real issues of society will make him change his outlook. There is too much evidence to the contrary among the politicians in my state (Kansas) where seeing the poor makes some of our "leaders" blame the poor more and more for their own poverty. For people who tend to think every answer to every question is "Jesus" , especially the more and more common idea that "general" sins of unbelievers and beleivers alike are causing us all to be punished, the bad economy is not because some economic concept he never heard of is at play, it is because his county allowed a massage parlor to go in and divorce is too easy to get.

Agreed. He (and by extension his abhorrent outlook) would have 'won'. What incentive is there in winning to make one reconsider their positions?

I think all a Zach victory would do is make him more smug than Smuggar.

[lizziesmom]

I wonder (and, boy, do I hope) if being in office would change Zach's outlook somewhat. It's easy to be a ridiculously conservative, anti-women working, no taxes, anti-public school until you are forced to deal with the real issues of society. He'd almost certainly have to work with women and may find it's not a bad thing. He'll work with people who went to public school and know way more than he does about just about everything. Roads will need fixed, fire stations will need ambulances and fire trucks, and poor people will need health care and he'll have to use tax dollars to fix them. He won't be able to sit at the back of the room and object to everything the way he can as a mere councillor (or whatever he is now). He'll have to make the decisions.

I can't see that daily interaction with people who are different from Josh Duggar has changed his outlook much. It appears he's as narrow minded as always. I would not want anyone raised in the ATI doctrine making decisions that affected me.

[formergothardite]

If she hasn't googled his name/read here, someone on her campaign staff almost certainly has.

If her campaign staff are worth anything they will have googled, found out his connection to a cult and will run with it. Shining a light on IBLP might end up being a good thing.