Golden Boy from Tennessee
About this episode
Lamar Alexander discusses his life, political career, and reflections on the current state of the GOP.
To quote my introduction, Lamar Alexander is one of these golden children: Eagle Scout; president of his high-school class; governor of Boys State; editor of the college newspaper; Phi Beta Kappa; governor, which is to say real governor; university president; cabinet member; U.S. senator; presidential candidate. The presidency, by my calculation, is the only thing that ever eluded Mr. Alexander. He is a Republican. At the outset of our conversation, I suggest to him that he could not get anywhere in GOP politics today. His credentials and abilities would work against him. “Am I cynical or realistic?” “I hope you’re not realistic,” Alexander says. He has written his memoirs: The Education of a Senator: From JFK to Trump . Alexander is a seventh-generation Tennessean, a native of a mountain district that was Lincolnite. It was a Union area. When asked about his politics, Alexander’s great-grandfather would say, “I’m a Republican. I fought with the Union, and I vote like I shot.” Today, you can see Confederate flags in that district, as you can in my home state of Michigan—including way up north, in the Upper Peninsula. Curious phenomenon. In our podcast, Alexander and I discuss it…
People in this episode
Host: Jay Nordlinger
Guest: Lamar Alexander
Topics covered
- politics
- memoirs
- Republican Party
- Tennessee history
- personal anecdotes
Keywords
- Lamar Alexander
- Republican
- Tennessee
- politics
- memoir
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Education of a Senator: From JFK to Trump
Places: Tennessee, Michigan
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- The Rule of Law, a.k.a. the Ballgame
- Political Worlds, Old and New
- Freedom on Her Face
- A Man of Letters
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