State Senator Lowe Finney Endorses Padgett For U.S. Senate

By Kleinheider Posted on June 12, 2008 at 2:29 pm

Following up yesterday’s endorsement list which featured Shelby County Commisioner Sidney Chism, the Mike Padgett for Senate campaign is showing a bit of West Tennessee shake and bake action with the endorsement of Jackson’s own State Senator Lowe Finney.

“Mike Padgett has visited 86 of the 95 counties in this state, showing Tennesseans what the people of Knox County already know,” Finney said. “That Mike is a public servant in the truest sense of the word – their concerns will be his mandate in the U.S. Senate.

“Mike has heard the people of rural Tennessee talk about the struggles they face, and he has responded with a sound, innovative roadmap to put prosperity again within their reach.”

For the East Tennessean Padgett to show these kinds of endorsements in West Tennessee is significant. In an a statewide primary with Bob Tuke, if Padgett can turn them out strong in his native East Tennessee and Chism and Finney can get out the African Americans of Memphis and the rural yellow dog whites of West Tennessee respectively, Padgett can concede Tuke’s Middle Tennessee base and still come out golden.

Senator Lowe Finney, a cousin to the McWherter family, was the incumbent slayer of 2006, taking out the party switching Don McCleary which was crucial in assuring that Democrats maintained an even split in the state Senate.

Finney’s campaign manager in that effort was Jed Brewer who currently manages the campaign of Mike Padgett.

Along with this endorsement, the Padgett campaign released its policy paper for rural Tennessee called “TN 2.0: Rebuilding, From the Farm to the Front Porch.”

The plan, populist in nature, contains a request for an $8.40 “living wage” while calling for tax relief and “eliminat[ing] the estate tax for 99.7 percent of estates.”

Padgett also pushes something called the “New Homestead Economic Opportunity Act” would help entrepreneurs starting a business in a rural area in population decline a federal match on money to start a small business.

The plan pushes nuclear power as the campaign did in its energy plan but not as path to energy independence but as an avenue to good paying jobs for rural Tennesseans.

As expected from an economic nationalist like Padgett, the plan explicitly decries our current trade deals calling for their renegotiation and offers the promise of rewards for companies who do not offshore or outsource although specifics seem to be lacking on this point.

Will incentives to outsource just be removed or incentives to stay incountry be instituted? What would those be? The plan doesn’t say.

The plan does say that do to the current rate of displacement in rural area that unemployment benefit period would be extended and that the family farm needs protection.

Padgett would enforce country-of-origin laws that require labels to show where food was raised and he would limit farm subsidies to $300,000 per person to prevent agribusiness from horning it.

A rather ambitious proposal, all in all, for a fiscally conservative electorate.

UPDATE: The Brainstem analysis of “The Plan.”

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Tags: Big Shelby, Bob Tuke, Grand Divisions, Jackson, Jed Brewer, Lowe Finney, Mike Padgett, Ned Mcwherter, Sidney Chism, West Tennessee  

Benjamin Not About The Benjamins: Tuke Campaign Manager Works For Free

By Kleinheider Posted on June 6, 2008 at 8:22 pm

In an interview with Post Politics earlier today Ben Chao, Campaign Manager for U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Bob Tuke, revealed that he is taking no salary for his efforts on behalf of the Tuke campaign.

Responding to questions prompted by speculation that the Tuke campaign was a scam to pad to the bank accounts of Chao and the political consulting firm of Fletcher Rowley Chao Riddle, Inc., Chao stated emphatically, “Anyone who thinks that this campaign is about money for Ben Chao is seriously misguided.”

Chao also told Post Politics that neither he nor his firm accepted a retainer nor are they contracted to receive a win bonus in the event of victory in either the primary or the general. In addition, Fletcher Rowley Chao Riddle, Inc. will be taking only a 6.5% commission from media buys as opposed to the “industry standard” of 15%.

Jed Brewer, Campaign Manager for Tuke’s primary opposition Mike Padgett, tells Post Politics that his firm, Blue Solutions,works on a monthly contract negotiated with the candidate prior to entrance in the race. Blue Solutions is not a media company so it stands to receive no commissions from media buys.

Brewer added, “I think its a slight conflict of interest when your campaign manager, who controls your budget, is also the person who stands to make more based on how much they choose to spend on TV.”

Speaking further on the subject of money, Tuke Campaign Manager Ben Chao stated that much less would be needed to take on Lamar Alexander in the current modern political environment than one would think. Although Chao does have a “number” in mind (a number he would not disclose) that he thinks is needed to wage the most effective campaign against Alexander he doesn’t believe that reaching the number, which he wouldn’t characterize as “a goal”, is a necessity.

Campaigns of the past, Chao explained, were cost prohibitive because of the focus on the “air war.” Buying television is no longer as important because people are so fed up with this administration, high gas prices, and the war that they are paying more attention to politics than unusual.

“Voters are angry and actively seeking information like never before,” Chao explained.

While Chao was dismissive of contentions Lamar Alexander would need to be matched dollar for dollar in any way by a Democratic challenger, Chao charitably revealed to Post Politics that the Tuke campaign has money waiting in the wings.

Chao would not discuss what kind of figures the campaign would be reporting on June 30th, but what he did offer is that the Tuke campaign has donors committed to helping Tuke — after he wins the primary.

Chao tells Post Politics that a figure “in the seven digits” will flow into Tuke for Tennessee as soon as the general election begins. Chao explains that many donors have declined “on principle” to contribute during a contested primary but would “be there for Bob” as soon as the race is between Alexander and Tuke.

Chao is also not convinced that Lamar Alexander’s iconic status translates into electoral gold. Political observers, Chao argues, fail to understand that some 50 odd percent of the current electorate either were born or did not live in Tennessee when Lamar Alexander was Governor.

Barack Obama’s capture of the Democratic Presidential nomination also will not not hurt a general election campaign against Lamar Alexander as far as Chao is concerned. Chao asserts that Barack Obama expands the electorate bringing new voters to the polls and excites “dormant” voters who haven’t elected to exercise their franchise recently.

When asked about the how the campaign would deal with the tattoo-on-your-forehead rule in Tennessee politics that Democrats have to dominate in West Tennessee to overcome GOP strength in East Tennessee, Chao, while believing Tuke could turnout both rural West Tennessee voters as well as the Memphis urban core in record numbers, stated plainly that the anger in the electorate “transcends all traditional political strategies.”

“East Tennessee voters are just as upset about gas prices, just as upset about the war as any traditional Democratic voter.”

In the final analysis, Chao contends, this election will be won on the issues.

“If one were to look up career politician in the dictionary they’d have a pretty good chance of Lamar Alexander being one of the pictures they’d see,” said Chao.

“Bob Tuke does not tremble in fear of running against a career politician in this electorate. Ideas will matter.”

For the candidate’s views go to Tuke for Tennessee.

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Tags: Ben Chao, Bill Fletcher, Bob Tuke, Fletcher Rowley Chao Riddle Inc., Grand Divisions, Jed Brewer, Lamar Alexander, Mike Padgett