Like What Ya Did There
Posted on May 16, 2008 at 12:05 pmThe Tennessee Democratic Part deftly melds Bob Corker’s admissions about his 2006 Senate campaign with the actions of the Tennessee Republican Party yesterday in a nifty little release:
Sen. Bob Corker today dubbed his own 2006 campaign advertisements against U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. “grotesque.” Now, do the junior and senior senators from Tennessee have the courage to halt the Tennessee Republican Party’s deplorable tactics asked Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Gray Sasser.
“TNGOP Chairwoman Robin Smith and company have tarnished the reputation of the entire state with their grotesque political attacks: they have perpetuated lies about a candidate’s religion, they have attacked a candidate’s wife, they have equated the war in Iraq to a religious crusade, and they have defied the request of Senator Lamar Alexander to remove at least one of those claims from their website,” Sasser continued.
“It’s high time for Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander to put a stop to the Tennessee Republican Party’s shameful tactics; they are beneath the dignity of voters- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents- in the state of Tennessee.”
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Going Against The Way Things Go Down
Posted on at 9:25 amKatie Allison Granju wonders whether Bill Hobbs is making a mess of things by mixing his roles as insurgent neoconservative blogger with that of of his day job — Communications Director of the Tennessee Republican Party:
My guess is that state GOP insiders are getting increasingly uncomfortable with this stuff. After all, everyone knows there’s a role inside political parties and campaigns for the Karl Rove guy - that guy who quietly and stealthily drops the bombs on behalf of the party or campaign, without getting party leaders’ hands too dirty by tying their names directly to the attacks. But that guy generally keeps a very low profile. You probably don’t know his name, or even where his office is located. He’s the party hitman, and like all good hitmen, he keeps his head down and moves through crowds unnoticed.
Bill Hobbs certainly breaks the mold of the traditional party spokesman and there is no doubt that he has his detractors who hold true to the old ways but there is one thing you must admire about Hobbs: his stubborn resistance to conformity.
Let’s face it, most of us, in the face of criticism, when confronted by the disdain of the “powers that be”, will back down. We will relent. We will conform. We will adapt to the wishes of those more powerful than us.
Even if we believe we are doing right, even if we are confident that the path we have chosen is the one of ultimate success, that twinge of doubt along with the cacophony of criticism will cause our confidence to wilt. We will go with the flow, we will not buck. We will convince ourselves that the reward is simply not worth the risk.
There is a well-worn, traditional way to be a party spokesman. We all know what it is. Bill Hobbs knows what it is. But Hobbs, he has a different way. And when people tell him he is doing it wrong and that he cannot go against the “way things work” he says, “Screw that mess” and follows his own path.
Say what you want about the man’s ideology, say what you want about the man’s tactics, both of which may be abhorrent to you but what you cannot say is that the man lacks courage. Bill Hobbs has looked into the face of adversity and power and risked annihilation because he believes he has a job to do and he’s gonna do it, no matter what anyone says.
How many amongst us have done that? Not many, I imagine.
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Tennessee U.S. Senate Candidate Willing To Sacrifice Senate Majority Leader Over Nuclear Power
Posted on at 7:02 amDemocratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Padgett is apparently not afraid to take maverick stances and buck his own party when he needs to. According to Joe Lance, Padgett believes in nuclear power and also believes in taking on the Democratic Majority Leader in order to create workable plans for its expansion:
He also indicated a preference to keep nuclear power at the forefront of our ongoing plans—and not a little distaste for Nevada Senator Harry Reid’s efforts to keep radioactive by-products from being deposited under Yucca Mountain. “This issue is bigger than Harry Reid; it’s the nation. If it takes the (elimination) of a man of my own party [from the Senate],” he flatly declared, “then we don’t have a choice.”
Yucca Mountain, a ridge line in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Nevada, is located in a desert on federal land adjacent to the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada.
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada opposes the Yucca Mountain Repository, a U.S. Department of Energy deep geological repository storage facility for spent nuclear reactor fuel and other radioactive waste, which sits on the land. Since he has become Majority Leader, Reid has used his considerable power to block any progress in nuclear waste storage at the Repository.
Mike Padgett, a former Knox County Clerk, is running against Former Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Bob Tuke and five other candidates in the Democratic primary in order to face off against Senator Lamar Alexander in the fall.
UPDATE: The Padgett campaign issues a clarifying statement on the candidate’s views regarding Yucca Mountain and Senator Harry Reid:
“Nuclear power is but one of our energy options, and it shouldn’t be ruled out as long as it is economical and safe, U.S. Senate Candidate Mike Padgett said Friday.
“But a big part of the safety question is how to dispose of the waste, and I don’t feel like Yucca Mountain should be off the table,” Padgett said. “I respectfully disagree with Leader Harry Reid on this, but that is a far cry from calling for his head.
“As we try to do what’s best for the American people, there’s always room for respectful debate among Democrats, and I look forward to being part of that debate and to working with Senator Reid.”
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Mike Padgett’s Unveils “Energy 2.0″
Posted on May 9, 2008 at 2:25 pmIn the wake of Lamar Alexander’s speech this morning announcing a new “Manhattan Project” for energy independence, one of Alexander’s Democratic opponents, former Knox County Clerk Mike Padgett, has released his own plan called “Energy 2.0.”
Like Alexander, Padgett discusses expanding the use of nuclear power and finding ways to burn coal cleaner. Absent in Padgett’s 10 point plan, however, there is in depth discussion of and heavy reliance on plug-in cars.
Padgett, always the populist, calls for Detroit to build more efficient hybrid vehicles. “We know electric-hybrid technology can reach in the neighborhood of 48 mpg already. In the nation that produced Henry Ford and Bill Gates, we can find a way.”
Padgett also calls for using the tax code to reward energy innovators and punish those wedded to the old ways, “Eliminate the $17 billion in tax breaks previously given to Big Oil companies and set those tax dollars aside in a trust fund to invest in renewable and efficient energy. Levy a windfall profit tax on the oil industry to help fill the trust fund.”
Padgett plan also calls for companies to buy pollutions credits so that polluters can pay for developing more renewables and making them “part of the power grid.”
See the whole plan here.
Energizing Education
Posted on May 7, 2008 at 7:19 amBettina Chavanne warns that Lamar Alexander’s Manhattan project on energy only works if we have enough educated brainpower to concentrate:
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said the time has come for a “new Manhattan Project.” In 1942, he said, the world feared the country to develop the first atomic bomb could blackmail everyone else. “Today, countries that supply oil and natural gas can blackmail the rest of the world,” he said. “We need to guarantee victory over that kind of extortion. Concentrating brainpower to that kind of idea isn’t new.” But that brainpower can only come if it’s fostered and encouraged from an early age.
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Internet Geeks Have Blogs, Mike Padgett Has A Journal
Posted on May 1, 2008 at 7:23 pmU.S. Senate candidate Mike Padgett, taking on Bob Tuke in the Democratic primary (among others) to face Lamar Alexander in fall, has started a blog called “The View From The Front Porch.” From the first posting:
What can you do, one fellow asked me, about the lack of discipline in schools? Schools were on my mind because I had spoken with a young wife, a working mom, just before we got there. Unlike so many of our young people, she had chosen to stay here in the community where her folks are, but she, like my friend at lunch, is frustrated with the public schools. She has enrolled her kids in private school.
Well, I offered the same answer to both of them: We need to think outside the box about schooling. And we might want to take a cue from home-schoolers.
Actually, according to the email announcement, “The View From the Front Porch” is not a blog. The word blog is not used. Sure, there will be dated entries, internally they are using some sort of blogging software and the url says “/blog” but its not a blog, it’s a journal.
Whatever it takes, I suppose. Welcome to the party, Mr. Padgett.
Lamar Alexander’s Manhattan Project For Clean Energy
Posted on April 29, 2008 at 11:50 amKAG opines on our senior senator’s five year plan to energy independence:
Changing our nation’s energy production and consumption patterns will take bold, aggressive leadership, and a monumental commitment of resources - similar to how we approached putting a man on the moon, and building the first atomic weapon.
But unlike our space race, or the Manhattan Project, any suggestion that we undertake truly bold action on clean energy development will be met with a lot of resistance from extremely powerful forces opposing real change. Nobody (as in Exxon et al) stood to lose money if we made it to the moon in five years.
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Lamar Gets The Fedgov To Break Down Its Energy Subsidies
Posted on April 25, 2008 at 4:38 pmAbout one year ago, Senator Lamar Alexander requested Energy Information Administration conduct an analysis of federal energy subsides and, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the EIA has come through with the request:
Since 1999, federal energy subsidies have more than doubled—from $8.2 billion to $16.6 billion in 2007. Who gets the most? “Renewables” landed $4.8 billion last year, but that includes $3.25 billion for ethanol and other biofuels. Coal and cleaner-burning “refined” coal took home $3.3 billion, while the nuclear power industry got $1.3 billion. In all, about 40% of the energy subsidy pie went toward electricity production; the rest for things like alternative fuels and energy conservation.
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The Service Of Their Fathers
Posted on April 23, 2008 at 5:17 pmAn interesting press release from the Lamar Alexander people today. The Senator has progressed in his work towards a new GI Bill and one of the most interesting aspects of his new proposal is the ability to transfer the benefit to a loved one. The Army has a small pilot program which does this but Alexander would expand it drastically:
The Enhancement of Recruitment, Retention and Readjustment Through Education Act helps military personnel attend college debt-free and supports military recruitment and retention efforts. In addition, it ensures that Tennessee veterans receive the same level of education funding as veterans in other states and allows them to transfer education benefits to their spouse or children.
The release goes on to state that after at least six years of service, a soldier would be able to transfer half his education benefits to a spouse, children, or both. After twelve years provide up to $72,000 toward a dependent’s education.
What do you think about this proposal? Should servicemen be able to transfer their GI bill to their kids?
ADDENDUM: The Helping Heroes Act, a state level version of the GI Bill using lottery funds, passed through the state House Education committee today after passing the Senate committee earlier this month. While initially a Democratic effort a survey of the co-sponsor list indicates the legislation is now thoroughly bipartisan.
Lamar Alexander On The Temper Of John McCain
Posted on at 7:25 amFrom Jackson Baker:
For what it’s worth, one of McCain’s Republican colleagues in the Senate, Tennessee’s own Lamar Alexander, was asked, on the occasion of his recent visit to the Flyer, if he had ever been on the receiving end of one of McCain’s outbursts.
“Yes, I have,” the senator nodded gravely, going on to say, “There are very few of us who haven’t.
Of course, there is no love lost between our senior senator and John McCain due to McCain’s instrumental role in Alexander’s embarrassing loss to Trent Lott for Majority Whip:
One Lott ally said McCain was instrumental in persuading Warner to switch his support to Lott. Lott also held a long meeting with Warner.
Lamar Alexander On the Flat Tax In 1996: “[I]t would be a disaster for America”
Posted on April 21, 2008 at 9:57 amTom Humphrey points out that Lamar Alexander’s recent embrace of a flat income tax goes against his previous stances on the issue:
During an unsuccessful campaign for president in 1996, Alexander was quoted as calling the flat-tax proposal advanced by Steve Forbes “a nutty idea.”
Mirrorball
Posted on April 18, 2008 at 6:54 amFrom the Commercial Appeal:
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander told military leaders in Millington on Thursday that better benefits and education opportunities are the key to successful Navy recruitment and retention.
I could’ve sworn I’d just heard about somebody talking about stuff like this.
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How To Get Great Press Coverage For Your Boss For The Foreseeable Future By Lee Pitts
Posted on at 6:21 amMichael Silence points to a remarkable story out of Washington involving a Chattanooga Times-Free Press reporter and a Senate spokesperson:
The attacker tied Wang’s hands with an electric cord from a hairdryer and bound his legs with the cord from a curling iron. He gagged Wang by stuffing a sock in his mouth, tying another cord around his head and covering his head with a sweater.
Wang heard the man rummage through the house, downstairs and upstairs. Then he heard him call someone else on the phone. “I’m at the address. I’ve got the guy tied up,” Wang overheard.
The man came back upstairs and asked Wang which key would let him out the front door. “I tried to tell him as best I could with a sock in my mouth [that] it’s not on that key chain. He went out through the basement,” Wang said.
Before leaving, the man told Wang, “If you move, there’s going to be trouble. The guy will be here any minute.”
“I figured if they’re going to come back to settle some gambling debt, I better try to escape,” he said. Wang worked the cords off. Although the intruder had taken Wang’s phones and his laptop, he’d left behind Wang’s wife’s computer, which was buried under a bunch of papers.
Wang crawled to the master bedroom, hid behind the bed and tried to think of who might have a BlackBerry on hand. The obvious answer: a Hill staffer like Pitts.
“I was just robbed at home by two burglars,” reads the e-mail Wang got off. “Laptop, phones and wallet all taken. They missed my wife’s laptop. I dont’ [sic] know if they’re still around the house. Please call 911 and ask them to send police.”
“Calling now,” wrote Pitts at 4:16 p.m., a minute after Wang’s e-mail came in.
“Thanks, I am in upstairs bedroom,” Wang wrote at 4:18.
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Alexander Tax Plan Falls Flat With Opponents
Posted on April 17, 2008 at 6:37 pmU.S. Senate Candidate Bob Tuke calls out Senator Lamar Alexander today in a posting on the national blog Huffington Post:
Senator Alexander, I want to give you the benefit of the doubt. I’m hoping that this is not a tawdry political stunt.
To put this perception to rest, I propose that you show us your budget for your new tax plan.
Show us how you fund our troops, care for our veterans, fully fund a sensible GI Bill and pay down the massive debt you’ve run up.
Show us how you will protect Social Security and Medicare.
Show us how the thousands Tennessee families keep homeowner exemptions at tax time.
Tell us what you would cut. Education? Health care? Social Security? Homeland Security? Student Loans? Corporate welfare for big oil companies?
Senator Alexander this is your chance to put me in my place. Prove to me this isn’t an election year gimmick.
Better yet, let’s schedule a public meeting to discuss it. Bring your plan. We will invite the media and have a calm chat about your plan.
I’m calling your bluff. I want to see your hole card.
Mike Padgett just hours later had a few words to share with our senior Senator on the falt tax as well:
“If Senator Alexander were serious about lifting some of the load off of the working class, he would not have voted at least a dozen times to block tax cuts that were targeted for middle- and lower-income taxpayers,” Padgett said.
“What about tax cuts that would really make a difference in the working family’s budget – a tuition tax credit equal to 50 percent of college costs, for example, or a first-time homeowner tax credit? How about doubling the tax credit for child-care expenses?
Post Politics: 11 April 2008 - Afternoon Edition
Posted on April 11, 2008 at 3:09 pmThe Knoxville News-Sentinel reports this morning that former U.S. Representative and mayoral candidate Bob Clement will join up with Knoxville real estate heavyweight Coldwell Banker Commercial Wallace & Wallace. Clement will remain based in Nashville and will not be working in real estate full-time. Clement in January launched Clement & Associates, a lobbying and public affairs group, with offices in Knoxville, Nashville and Washington and joined up with the GOP-heavy Washington lobby shop, The Livingston Group, shortly thereafter.Bill Clinton decides to remind everyone about his wife’s various gaffes on the campaign trail in the hopes of promoting a narrative pitting Hillary against a hostile media.
The Tennessee Holocaust Commission, Sen. Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga) and Rep. Mark Maddox (D-Dresden) will host the Days of Remembrance Ceremony on April 14 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Old Supreme Court Chamber.
Don Williams breaks down the Presidential race using America’s National Pastime.
U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Bob Tuke accuses Sen. Lamar Alexander for being in bed with the Oil Lobby while talking up energy independence and the environment.
Blake Fontenay gets confused as to which Columbia is being referred to in a Marsha Blackburn press release.
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Post Politics: 10 April 2008
Posted on at 3:00 pmA transformational shift in the way news is delivered in Nashville is coming.
Hinting by White House operatives that a housing bill may face Presidential veto provokes Republican leaders in Congress, Lamar Alexander among them, to question the maturity of those on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Ken Whitehouse reports that independent state Senator Mike Williams will not withdraw his petition to run for re-election.
Think Progress chastises national media for painting congressional hearing on Iraq as explicitly partisan.
Lawmakers push to have “huffing” included in state’s DUI law.
Changes to open records legislation in the legislature would allow record keepers more time to respond to public requests and retain the ability to charge for the service.
A former attorney who locked legal horns with embattled federal judge appointee Gus Puryear’s employer CCA is motivated to write a letter supportive of his former adversary after talking to Puryear hypercritic Matt Pulle.
Ilissa Gold takes issue with Elizabeth Edwards’ characterization of Barack Obama’s health care proposals.
Amid discussion over legislation which would return the crime of cockfighting to felony status, Tom Humphrey reports that cockfighting operators allege that they paid a former state representative to get the crime kicked back to a misdemeanor in the early 90s.
Interest rates may be good for America’s consumers but to seniors who depend on interest payments for income, the story is a bit different.
State Senator Tommy Kilby has withdrawn a bill which could have paved the way for large scale adoption of the toll road concept in Tennessee.
Michael Hooks, Jr. was sentenced to 30 days in federal prison yesterday for his role in a bogus-invoice scam in 2001 in the Juvenile Court Clerk’s Office.
Senator Lamar Alexander joins a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing legislation allowing any National Guardman or Reservist who served post-Sept 11 to be eligible for early retirement. Presently, National Guard and Reserve members are the only federal retirees who must wait until age 60 to collect retirement pay.
In related news, the Christian Science Monitor reports that reservists called up to active duty are increasingly finding the jobs they left gone after returning stateside.
Jackson Baker discusses racial politics in Memphis in the days surrounding the anniversary of the death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that Williamson County, Tennessee has posted some of the highest employment gain numbers in the county.
The Oak Hill Gazette interviews two candidates for Commissioner in the satellite city.
The Nashville Scene writes up a book by a Vandy Professor praising negative campaigning.
Tennessee’s two U.S. Senators are trying to get the first desegregated school in the South located in Clinton, Tennessee made part of the National Park System.
A new viral video by Moveon.org makes the rounds accusing George Bush and John McCain of giving us endless war “on the installment plan.”
Senator Lamar Alexander is leading the push inside the Republican Party to take issues of climate change seriously.
Colin Powell tells ABC News that the War in Afghanistan presents greater challenges to our military than our efforts in Iraq.
Mike Byrd doesn’t believe, as the TNGOP does, that Martin Luther King, Jr. would be a Republican were he alive today — but he’s not so sure he would be a Democrat either.
Former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney follows in the footsteps of Fred Thompson and agrees to guest host for radio great Paul Harvey.
Blount County political activist Sunny Day has filed an election commission complaint against State Rep. Doug Overbey. Overbey is Alcoa’s city attorney and sits as a city judge. Day asserts Overbey cannot serve in the judicial and legislative branches at the same time.
Overbey, a Republican legislator who voted for Democratic Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, is currently challenging incumbent Republican state Senator Raymond Finney for the Republican nomination in the Eight District.
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Post Politics: 4 April 2008 - Afternoon Edition
Posted on April 8, 2008 at 9:52 amArmy Reservist, former state Senate candidate and blogger of some repute, Bob Krumm, has been called up to active duty in Iraq. Krumm will serve a six month tour as an analyst while taking a leave of absence from his employer, D.F. Chase, Inc.
Brendan Loy comments on Hillary Clinton’s assertion that their is no such thing as a “pledged” delegate to the Democratic convention.
Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley shares some insight into how he became addicted to prescription drugs.
Sean Braisted tells Hillary Clinton that the last thing we need in government is another “Czar.”
One member of the gun rights community is none too pleased with the Tennessee Republican Party’s public request for a list of the state’s handgun carry permit holders.
Jeff Woods keeps a running tally on matters of state our governor isn’t all that motivate to engage.
Liberal activist Jim Grinstead sums up the persona of John McCain as “right-wing with moderate warps and maverick feints.”
Robert Kennedy announces the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968 on a campaign stop in Indiana.
Southern Beale notes the difference between John McCain’s impressions of Martin Luther King Jr. yesterday and today.
Steve Cohen suggests that his independent opponent, Ford family political scion Jake Ford, grab up a subscription to National Geographic.
And if you’d like to include a little politics in your weekend plans, Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Bob Tuke and Mike Padgett will both be participating in Mule Day celebrations Saturday in Columbia.
Republican incumbent Lamar Alexander with be there, too – appearing with Democratic Congressman Lincoln Davis, according to an Alexander press release. They will be discussing federal funds they procured for the historic James K. Polk home.
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