Senator Pete Hegseth of Tennessee?

"Senator" Pete Hegseth?

by Rod Williams, Oct. 27, 2026- There is a lot of speculation and interest around who will be appointed to fill Marsha Blackburn's Senate seat, assuming she is elected governor. The election is November 3, and swearing-in of the governor is the first Saturday after January 14 following the gubernatorial election.

In Tennessee, if a U.S. Senate vacancy occurs and it would deny Tennessee full representation anytime Congress is in session, then the governor must temporarily appoint a replacement until a special election is held for US Senator at the next regularly scheduled November general election.

This is the decision of the governor alone and does not have to be confirmed by the State legislature. So, under normal circumstances, assuming Marsha is elected governor, she would resign her seat in Congress, and Governor Lee would appoint her successor. The governor could very well appoint himself. That is not unusual. However, I do not read anything or hear anything from anyone who thinks Lee wants to go to Washington. I can understand why. Being a Republican in the Senate with a lame-duck Donald Trump as president does not sound like a lot of fun.  

From people I have talked to, Marsha does not want Governor Lee to pick her replacement; she wants to pick her own. A person cannot be serving as both governor and senator at the same time, so technically Marsha could not wait until after she is sworn in as governor to resign as senator, but I guess that could happen almost simultaneously. I don't know how contentious this disagreement is between the Lee and Blackburn, and I assume the dispute will not become more public.  More than likely, this dispute will work itself out behind closed doors. Since Marsha Blackburn is such a Trump sycophant and has Trump in her corner, I suspect Lee will acquiesce and let Blackburn pick her own successor. 

Speculation abounds as to who the next senator from Tennessee will be. A knowledgeable, well-connected Republican recently gave me the names of two people I had never heard of who were being promoted in some circles as Marsha's replacement.  If Lee were picking Marsha's successor, he would likely pick one of these two prominent Tennessee businessmen. Both are assumed to be capable and qualified. One is associated with Core Civic, and I do not recall the other's association.

There are a couple of prominent politicians being mentioned and rejected for one reason or the other. One is Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, and the other is the U.S. Congressman from Knoxville, Tim Burchett.  It looks like Jacobs is more wishful thinking than on any short list, but he has his supporters. 

Tim Burchett, I thought, would be a lead candidate. He is almost as big a Trump sycophant as Marsha, and he has that unfiltered folksy persona that seems to be popular among much of the MAGA electorate. He appears authentic, which is to say, he occasionally says some really dumb things, which is highly valued these days. Much of the electorate likes people who say what they think, and they don't want to elect people who may be smarter than they are, and Tim Burchett fits that bill. 

Tim Burchett has some drawbacks, however. He cares about the Epstein files and still wants everything released and apparently is not happy with the perceived cover-up. Trump does not want to elevate a voice harping on the Epstein files. Another possible negative for Burchett is that Burchett is a deficit hawk. Under Trump, the national debt has ballooned. Of the national debt, 30% accrued during Donald Trump's two terms. While Burchett may stay quiet about it, he is enough of a maverick that he may become a voice for fiscal sanity as Trump's presidency weakens. 

A major contender for Marsha's replacement is Secretary of Defense (aka Secretary of War) Pete Hegseth. Pete Hegseth spends most of his time in Washington but moved to Sumner County, Tennessee in 2022. 

If Pete Hegseth were to be appointed Senator, that would favorably resolve a big headache facing the Trump administration. There is little doubt that the House will move to impeach Pete Hegseth when Congress convenes. He will be the number one target. There are plenty of grounds for removing him, ranging from the Signal Gate chat and other incidents of endangering national security, to the conduct of the war in Iran, to the murder of alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers in international waters, to the selective demotion and failure to promote Black and female officers, to his politicizing the military and general mismanagement of the Pentagon.  

Remember that when Pete Hegseth was appointed Secretary of Defense, it took J. D. Vance breaking a tie vote to get him confirmed. He is less popular now than then. An impeachment effort from U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) led to House Speaker Mike Johnson sending lawmakers home a day early to avoid a vote on an impeachment resolution. Massie has vowed to resume his campaign to remove Hegseth from office when Congress returns next month. When Congress returns, Republicans will be in the minority, and an impeachment resolution would likely pass. It may even succeed in the Senate and lead to removal. Even if it does not lead to removal, President Trump and other Trump loyalists would not want weeks of embarrassing public testimony.   

The perfect way to avoid a Pete Hegseth impeachment is for Trump to replace him. That, however, would look like weakness on the part of President Trump, and he does not want to look weak. The best solution is for Pete Hegseth to resign, not in disgrace, but resign in order to serve in the U.S. Senate. He would be a loud pro-Trump voice in the new Senate. Also, there is talk of Pete Hegseth running for President in 2028. He seems much more like someone to take the Trump mantle than either Marco Rubio or J. D. Vance. Pete Hegseth has that macho bravado and don't-give-a-damn, crude and rude fighter attitude that Trump supporters seem to love.

Appointing Pete Hegseth to the Senate would relieve Trump of a big headache and embarrassment and boost Hegseth's chances of becoming the leader of the MAGA movement. I'm thinking Pete Hegseth will be our next Tennessee Senator. 

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Bringing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to Tennessee to Campaign for Jerri Green was not a Smart Move.

Mark Rogers

by Mark Rogers, Facebook, Oct. 27, 2026 - Tennessee Democrats, what is wrong with you? You were doing so well this year. You had a favorable election climate and a divided (not to mention demoralized) Republican Party. You fought your natural inclination and nominated some attractive center-left candidates instead of a collection of choices that would only appeal to moderates in Berkley or Seattle. You were doing so well. 

And now THIS? Tim Walz? Really? TIM WALZ? 

What happened? Could you just not control your urge to prove your disassociation from the realities of Tennessee politics?

Did anyone involved in making this 'Screw the ice reports. Take the Titanic to maximum speed.' idea even think about the downsides to this? No one? 

Buehler? Buehler? Buehler?

Walz is the poster boy for the massive failure of Minnesota government to investigate and stop the welfare fraud involving members of the Somali community? 

Tim Walz Backs Jerri Green in Address to Nashville Democrats

As VP Harris' choice for her VP, Walz is inextricably tied to her disastrous campaign. He is tied to her support for President Biden's disastrous immigration policies. He is tied to her support for Biden's massive debt increase even as he claimed the US economy was going wonderfully. He is tied to her support for Biden's divisive plan to void student debt for pro-Democratic young and educated voters even as he left large numbers of Americans (of all ages and political views) with crushing medical debt on the side of the road and breathing his dust. 

How many Democrats did Walz add to your vote totals? How many independent or swing voters did his presence alienate from your candidates? 

This is the worst 'Tennessee Walz' for Democrats since the FBI arrested five of your Senators.

Mark Rogers has long been active in Republican Party politics and is an astute observer of political trends and events and Republican politics.  He is well known as a successful Republican campaign manager and political consultant. He has also served in government and the non-profit sector. He is currently exiled from the Republican Party. He lives in Nashville.

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Regarding President Trump Calling Norway a "S**t House Country'

 by Rod Williams, Oct. 26, 2026- Can you believe it? I have never conceived of anyone so childish and narcissistic as the president of the United States. Some of the president's actions threaten world peace and stability.  Some are leading us toward an economic disaster, and instead of breaking, he is accelerating. Some actions are authoritarian and destructive to our democracy. Some are self-enriching and corrupt. Some are cruel, and others are bullying, and others are just in poor taste.  And then there are the things that remind one of a three-year-old throwing a tantrum because he does not get his way.  His reaction to Norway is in the three-year-old temper-tantrum category. 

On Sunday, at a political rally in Port Huron, Michigan, ahead of next week's midterm, President Trump went on a rant against Norway because he again did not get the Nobel Peace Prize. He called Norway a "shit house country" and said Norwegian immigrants were not welcome in the United States because the Nobel committee, based in the capital Oslo, had not awarded him a Peace Prize. Of course, as most informed people know, and I assume Trump knows, the Nobel Committee is independent and is not controlled by the Norwegian government. 

Trump had previously reserved the term "shit house country" or "shit hole country" for third world countries experiencing crisis such as Haiti, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Norway is not in that category of country, but I guess that is the best he could come up with. 

You would think the President could come up with a better insult than "shit house country" for his insult of Norway. I'm going to give him some suggestions for future insults:

• Norway, you have boogers in your nose.
• Norway, your mamma wears diapers.
• Norway is as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike
• Norway uses cheap toilet paper
• Norway has cooties.
• Norway should take a long walk off a short pier

Those may not be the best insults and maybe you can come up with better ones, but the above suggestions are better than saying "shit house country' to describe Norway.  I find it unacceptable and rude to call any nation a "shit house country," but when he says it about Haiti, I get the point. Haiti and a few other countries are failed states plagued by violence, crime, and famine, disease, and all manner of problems. Life is hell in some of these countries, and while crude, "shit house countries" describes them. It does not describe Norway.

Norway is among the world's highest-income countries as measured by GDP per capita. According to International Monetary Fund data, Norway ranks number five and the US ranks number eight.

Norway ranks among the world’s highest for quality of life, with strong public services, safety, and income. According to World Population Review 2026, Norway ranks tenth best in the world, and the US comes in at number 30. 

A recent study by The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania considered several factors when deciding which countries offer their residents the best quality of life.  Norway came in at number nine on the list, and the US came in at 27th. The US had fallen ten places since the last ranking in 2018.

Other rankings from other organizations show similar rankings. I have not looked at all of the criteria for the various rankings, and some rankings involve a value judgment, but Norway is not one of the hell holes of the earth. Calling it a "shit house country" shows a lack of imagination. I have never liked Donald Trump, but he is entertaining and can be humorous if you like insult humor. I never cared for it.  I think he is slipping. Does he not have speechwriters? Maybe his staff needs to go to day care centers and find a smart-mouthed three-year-old and hire him to help the President with his insults. 

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Trump’s Capitulation to Putin Is Undermining U.S. National Security

by Rod Williams, Oct. 24, 2026- I am totally disgusted at seeing the   US switch sides in the Ukraine War. If I had not seen it coming, it would be hard to believe. Despite public policy disputes and failures, I have always thought that we were on the right side in the world. I believed that we were a force for good in the world. We believed democracy was worth defending and that might did not make right and aggression should not be rewarded.

Instead of pressuring Zelensky to surrender, Trump should be pressuring Putin to stop Russia's invasion.  If Ukrainians stop resisting, they are eliminated from the face of the earth. The way to peace is for Russia to stop its aggression, not for Ukraine to stop defending itself.

What we are seeing from Trump is disgusting and shameful. If this were the eve of World War II, Trump would be saying, "Hitler I can work with. I get along fine with Hitler; that Winston Chruchhill is just unreasonable."

Many have speculated as to the reason Trump is so pro-Putin. Maybe Putin does really have something on Trump, but I suspect it is simpler than that. Trump sees his role not as leader of the free world, but as a crime boss, relating to another crime boss. He wants his share of grift. I don't think Trump cares one iota about Democracy or justice, but sees all relationships as transactional and respects ruthless, powerful people. Trump sees those with total and near-total authority, and he wants to be a member of the big boys' club.  I don't think he is capable of seeing national interest, or sacrifice, or the value of democracy or human rights. He likes winners. He respects power. He looks at Putin, or Xi, or Kim Jong Un and admires their might. He also sees an opportunity to do business deals with Russia, and that is more important than any concern for humanity and decency. 

Trump is making the world a much less safe place, destroying the world order that has kept tyranny at bay since the end of World War II, and he is undermining US national Security. In the article below, Michael McFaul explains how Trump went from expressions of affinity for Putin in his first term to now actually adopting policies that strengthen and aid Putin's hand in his war against Ukraine and his threat to the rest of Europe. 

Michael McFaul is a professor of political science and senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute and the Hoover Institution, both at Stanford University. His latest book is Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder. He also served as U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. He has just published an article in The Dispatch explaining how Trump's capitulation to Putin is undermining U. S. national security. Below are excerpts.

Trump’s Capitulation to Putin Is Undermining U.S. National Security

 Donald Trump has never hidden his admiration for Russia’s imperial dictator, Vladimir Putin. ...These expressions of affinity for Putin were shocking at the time, but crucially, they did not produce consequential shifts in U.S. foreign policy. The first Trump administration included many senior national security officials who had a different, more accurate assessment of how Putin’s policies threatened American national interests. ....

No longer constrained by Gens. H.R. McMaster or Jim Mattis, Trump has gradually but consistently turned his effusive admiration for Putin into the most radical shift in American foreign policy in the last century—and maybe ever. Today, under Trump, the United States—a country that once was considered the leader of the free world—is now openly and shamelessly supporting an imperial dictatorship in Russia. 

This tragic pivot started slowly after Trump returned to the White House for a second term. ... This month, Trump’s pivot toward Putin became more pronounced, with real-world negative consequences for Ukraine. He eased sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing Moscow to release millions of barrels of fuel onto the global market. He then signed an executive order waiving most of the new sanctions and tariffs against Russia under the Lindsey O. Graham Act, two days before they were to take effect. Then, most damagingly of all, came the restrictions on SpaceX’s satellite communications service, which Ukraine relies on for battlefield communications and drone operations. 

.... we have now learned that Putin has floated the idea to Trump of a meeting among China, Russia, and the United States to deal with the “Ukraine crisis,” just as imperial powers used to do in the 18th and 19th centuries. 

... I want my country to be against imperialism and for sovereignty, to stand against dictatorship and for democracy, to aid those fighting for independence and against occupation. ...  it’s also the pragmatic thing to do. Let’s be realistic. Putin is not going to abandon his autocratic partners in China, Iran, and North Korea just because Trump offers him concessions. 

.... Trump is also weakening America’s relationships with our democratic allies and partners in Europe. In this new era of great power competition with China and Russia, our democratic allies are America’s greatest comparative advantage. Together, the free world has far greater economic power and military strength than autocracies, and our democratic values and ideals have significantly more global appeal than those of autocracies. But Trump’s embrace of Putin and his abandonment of Ukraine are weakening these ties. 

... Xi must increasingly believe that Trump will show similar indifference when it comes to defending Taiwan. 

... In embracing Putin and abandoning Ukrainians, Trump is out of step with American society. Hopefully, more emboldened and courageous leadership in the U.S. Congress next year will realign American actions regarding Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine with the will of the American people.

Read the full article at this link.

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How to Buy a Trump Pardon

by Rod Williams, Oct.21, 2026- Do you remember Ray Blanton? 

Ray Blanton, a Democrat, was Tennessee’s governor from 1975 to 1979.  He became infamous for a “cash‑for‑clemency” scandal in which pardons and commutations were sold, ultimately leading to his early removal from office.

His scheme of selling pardons came to light when Marie Ragghianti, chair of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, was fired in 1977 after refusing to release prisoners who had bribed officials. The 1985 film Marie is a biographical drama starring Sissy Spacek that tells this story and is worth watching.

Marie, after being removed from her position, sued the State and won a legal judgment. In December 1978, the FBI raided the state capitol and seized the office of Blanton’s legal advisor, securing evidence of the scheme. It was revealed that in 1979, Blanton issued 52 pardons and commutations, including 20 convicted murderers and individuals tied to political allies 

Due to concern that Blanton planned to issue many more pardons before he left office, legislative leaders used constitutional ambiguity to swear in Governor‑elect Lamar Alexander three days early, effectively removing Blanton from power. Although Blanton was never charged directly for selling pardons, several aides were convicted, and Blanton himself was later convicted of mail fraud, conspiracy, and extortion for selling liquor licenses and served 22 months in federal prison.

Compared to Donald Trump, Ray Blanton was minor league. Of all of the outrageous and despicable things Trump has done, one that gets scant attention is his selling of pardons. The article below from today's New York Times tells the story of how one such deal worked.

When Democrats retake the House, I hope there is a serious investigation of the pardon scandal. When Ray Blanton was selling pardons, Tennessee Democrats joined Republicans in condemning the action, investigating the scandal, seeking justice, and preventing even more of the same. Republicans in the Trump era seem uninterested in Trump corruption of any kind. This includes not only members of Congress but everyday Trump supporters, including people I know and family. Republicans have lost their moral compass.

A Billionaire Wanted a Trump Pardon. His Family Gave Alina Habba a $50 Million Deal.

By Tyler Pager, New York Times, Oct. 21, 2026- Julio Herrera Velutini really wanted a pardon.

A billionaire banker from a prominent Venezuelan family, Mr. Herrera faced felony bribery charges in the United States and struck an unusually lenient plea deal in August 2025 for a misdemeanor campaign finance violation. But he felt that reduced charge was still a stain on his record.

So Mr. Herrera deployed his lawyer, Christopher M. Kise, the former Florida solicitor general who was on President Trump’s personal legal team, to help with a plea for clemency. .... 

... In Mr. Trump’s second term, a pardon industry has sprouted up, with wealthy criminals paying well-connected lawyers, fixers and lobbyists to appeal to the administration and its allies in an effort to secure pardons. Many pardon seekers have come to the conclusion that supporting Mr. Trump and his political agenda is the fastest way to secure clemency.

Some people looking for pardons have reported paying hundreds of thousands of dollars or even $1 million to hire people promising access to the president or influence over the pardon process. (read it all)

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