One usually thinks of cities as more liberal than rural areas, and this is also true in NY, where I am. NY may be a blue state, but that's because of NYC. Upstate tends to be more Republican and I live in a largely Republican area. Most of the local offices tend to be decided in the Republican primaries. *sigh*
We finally voted in a great Democratic congresswoman in 2006 (got to see President Clinton when he campaigned for her!
), Kirsten Gillibrand, who's now senator. But after she left, we had her hand-picked Democratic successor (who I worked for) for one and a half terms, until he was defeated by a teabagger. 
I'm interested in Tennessee since my grandmother retired to Western NC, so I've spent a lot of time there, and my cousin moved to Eastern Tennessee (Dandridge, Jefferson County) a few years back when she married a really great guy who originally came from there. Over time, I've seen her views changing, have gotten e-mails from her advocating prayer in schools, so I've wondered.
The Republicans, and not just in Tennessee, have really become proactive in suppressing the Democratic vote, targeting poor and mostly black areas which tend to vote Democratic, and don't seem to care who knows it. Sounds like the Republicans are now targeting Memphis. Glad to hear that the locals are fighting back, but we've seen (Wisconsin, Florida) that they can be incredibly persistent. 
Thanks for all the details, since you have a front row seat, just wish that most voters were as aware as you are, but my work for my former congressman taught me that few are. I went door-to-door and made GOTV calls and we have a lot of one-issue voters (guns, abortion, DADT) here, too. I just hope I was able to educate a few... 
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