Black skipped gubernatorial forum to attend fundraiser

U.S. Rep. Diane Black, who cited a scheduling conflict in declining an invitation to join other gubernatorial candidates at a Tuesday evening forum on education issues, attended a fundraiser instead, reports The Tennessean.

Tennessee gubernatorial candidates talk education during SCORE event at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, January 23, 2018. (Photo credit: Belmont University)

According to an invitation obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee, she was attending a campaign reception at Southeast Venture, a development firm near 100 Oaks, that cost $250 per couple to attend and included hors d’oeuvres.

The Black campaign did not return repeated requests for comment on her schedule for the evening.

What else was the Republican congressman up to on Tuesday? Here are some clues from her campaign’s Twitter account.

She tweeted from Giles County in the morning, where she visited the circuit court clerk. Later, she had kind words for a local leather store offering “leather goods handcrafted by local craftsmen.”

In the afternoon, she threw out some red meat for her conservative base. She blasted an edited version of “Saving Private Ryan” that removed men from the World War II epic. (Note: For more on that matter, see Tennessee Star’s report HERE.) Then she blasted NFL players who took a knee during the national anthem to protest racism as “pathetic.”

The three Republican candidates at the forum declined to take shots at Black for not attending, instead referring inquires to the congressman’s campaign.