Baker Boys Back Each Other

By Kleinheider Posted on June 12, 2008 at 6:55 pm

Senator Lamar Alexander defends John McCain’s Veep Vetter, Arthur Culvahouse:

A request for comment from the McCain campaign directly was not answered.

But other Republicans rushed to Culvahouse’s defense. Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who has known Culvahouse since the two native Tennesseans worked for Sen. Howard Baker (R-Tenn.), said Culvahouse is “one of America’s best-respected and most able lawyers.”

Culvahouse’s counsel to Reagan during the Iran-Contra hearings also should not harm McCain, Alexander said.

“That’s what lawyers do, they help clients deal with problems and President Reagan had a problem,” Alexander said. “If he was President Reagan’s lawyer in 1987 and 1988 and he was not involved in Iran-Contra, he should have been fired for malpractice.”

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Tags: Arthur B. Culvahouse, Arthur Culvahouse, Jr., Veep Vetter  

Post Politics: 4 April 2008

By Kleinheider Posted on April 8, 2008 at 9:49 am

Blogger Mick Wright decides to take the plunge and files a petition to oppose his Republican state Representative Curry Todd in the Republican primary.

On the anniversary of his death, many bloggers embed the YouTube of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final speech.

Harold Ford, Jr. suggests there is “evidence” Republicans will use to show Barack Obama lacks sufficient patriotism.

Shelby County has already more than double the number of handgun permit holders compared to the rest of Tennessee’s counties.

Frank Cagle explains that “the idea that a private communication between a constituent and a public official should be a public record is media run amok.”

One of the first Governors in the nation to endorse Hillary Clinton for President says that the superdelegates should not vote to overturn the popular vote in the Democratic primary.

Radio talker and NashvillePost.com internet strategist Freddie O’Connell shares thoughts on his former campaign manager’s race for school board and the entry of former Councilman John Summers into the race and discusses whether winning the seat is Summers’ only motive for getting in the game.

A bill enabling a special committee studying the administration of the state’s death penalty to continue its work until October 1, 2009 passed a House subcommittee recently to the joy of one blogger.

Former Howard Gentry for Mayor communications man, Evans Donnell, celebrates the entry of Gentry’s wife into a race for school board.

A conservative blogger doesn’t seem broken up that state Senator Jamie Woodson has drawn opposition this year.

A former East Tennessee Congressman gets his name on a medical building.

A bill seeking the limitation of frivolous medical malpractice lawsuit passed the state house yesterday.

At a conference devoted to wireless technology, former Presidential candidates and Senators Fred Thompson and John Edwards talk about anything but the stated topic.

Blogger Angelia cannot seem to find video on the legislative website of the now infamous recall of the bill which would have closed gun permit records to the general public.

Tennessee Republican Party Communications Director Bill Hobbs has made a public records request for the database on the state’s handgun carry permit holders, information that the TNGOP does not believe should be public. The sponsor of that bill which sparked so much controversy is optimistic for the future of the initiative.

Blogger David Oatney discusses the possibility of a 269-269 electoral vote tie in the upcoming Presidential election.

A tax reform group that has in the past favored a state income tax wants to cut the sales tax on food and close a loophole that allows companies operating in Tennessee to shuffle money around between subsidiaries to avoid high tax bills.

Bellevue native and Cornell student Ilissa Gold notes the last gasps of the Ron Paul campaign on her Ivy League campus.

Katie Allison Granju notes that members of Congress have as much as $196 million collectively invested in companies doing business with the Defense Department.

Metro cop Juan “El Protector” Borges will once again challenge Nashville political scion Ben West, Jr. and intends to make West’s controversial comments on Hispanics last year an issue in the race.

Betty Bean profiles the iconoclastic retiring State Rep. Frank Buck in a piece in MetroPulse.

Despite recent election results showing Democratic strength in the district, a prominent political name decides against taking on former TNGOP chair and State Representative Beth Harwell.

Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announces on his political action committee’s blog that he is “devoting significant energy” to achieving a Republican majority in the state legislature. Frist is rumored to be exploring a 2010 run for Governor of Tennessee.

Finally, if you are not a general peruser of the front page of NashvillePost.com you may have missed ace political reporter Ken Whitehouse churning out as much copy from his office down at the Plaza yesterday as many a fully-staffed newsroom. Click here and scroll for the impressive display.

Can’t see the full stories? That means you are not a subscriber. You can remedy that here.

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Tags: Beth Harwell, Bill Frist, Fred Thompson, Harold Ford, Jr., Juan Borges  

Post Politics: 3 April 2008

By Kleinheider Posted on at 9:47 am

Just one week after announcing her intention to seek the 71st District State House seat currently held by the retiring Rep. Randy Rinks, Dwana Pusser-Garrison, daughter of legendary McNairy County lawman Buford Pusser, has withdrawn from the race citing health concerns. Pusser-Garrison has multiple sclerosis.

Harold Ford, Jr. schedules his engagement party in Memphis on the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Church Hill attorney Mike Faulk celebrates his Scots-Irish heritage and cites a book by a Democratic U.S. Senator in officially announcing his intention to seek the Republican nomination for the Tennessee Senate’s Fourth District. The Senate’s lone independent, Senator Mike Williams, currently holds the seat.

A blog dedicated to bringing retailer Trader Joes to Nashville claims victory.

Former Democratic candidate for president turned Libertarian Mike Gravel covers the Beatles’ Helter Skelter on YouTube.

Jackson Baker reports that a recent poll conducted by Ethridge and Associates shows Congressman Steve Cohen in good position for reelection despite announced opposition from Democrat Nikki Tinker and independent Jake Ford.

Terry Heaton links up to panel discussion involving Al Gore, John Siegenthaler and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

Media Bistro discusses the ideological diversity of the talking heads on the cornucopia of political chat shows on the cable news networks.

A magnanimous Barack Obama tells reporters that he would be more than happy to hire revered former Vice President Al Gore for a high level cabinet post.

Knoxville TV blogger Katie Granju wonders who exactly is in favor of “mountaintop removal” mining.

Both of Tennessee’s U.S. Senators praise a tentative bipartisan agreement on a bill to alleviate the mortgage “crisis.”

A Zip Code breakdown of Mayor Karl Dean’s submitted list of Metro Board and Commission appointees shows the mayor following through on his goal of geographical diversity.

61 year-old Ed Lawhorn, a Vietnam veteran and political independent, announces his intention to run for U.S. Senate versus Lamar Alexander. He will join Green Party member Chris Lugo on the general election ballot. Democrats Bob Tuke, a former party chairman, and former Knox County Clerk Mike Padgett are currently vying for the Democratic nomination for the seat.

In an increasingly digital world, Ben Cunningham warns that reliance on email rather than face to face meetings make relationships fragile in the face of conflict.

Nashville Scene editor Liz Garrigan announces a retooling of the alt-weekly’s blog Pith In The Wind and shows off some great artist renderings of political and media reporters Jeff Woods and Matt Pulle.

Deft political maneuvering in the state house Criminal Practice Subcommittee yesterday insures that the state’s gun permit records shall remain open until at least 2012. The bill created a Class E felony of unauthorized publication of permit information or records. An attorney general’s opinion stated that the bill might have been vulnerable on First Amendment grounds. Angelia Gibson-Herrell discusses.

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Tags: Dwana Pusser-Garrison, Ed Lawhon, Harold Ford, Jimmy Naifeh, Jr., Mike Faulk, Mike Gravel, Steve Cohen