Wamp Thinks Corker A Contender In 2012
Posted on May 18, 2009 at 1:55 pmThe congressman and gubernatorial candidate says that South Carolina’s decision to pick Sen. Corker as the keynote for their annual dinner speaks volumes about Corker potential as a presidential candidate:
Rep. Zach Wamp told members of the Chattanooga Pachyderm Club on Monday that Sen. Bob Corker is gaining clout around the country as a potential presidential candidate.
He noted that Sen. Corker was chosen to deliver Friday night’s Silver Elephant Banquet speech at the convention of the South Carolina Republican Party.
Rep. Wamp said, “They could have had Palin, but they chose Corker. That is a big, big deal. It is a landmark beginning into the national political environment for our senator.”
He said the choice of Sen. Corker for the speech “was a high compliment and shows the stature that many around the country now regard him.”
As GOP 12 notes, Palin actually was chosen first.
Van Hilleary Represents Ramsey At Cumberland County Lincoln Day Dinner
Posted on April 29, 2009 at 9:30 amFrom the Crossville Chronicle:
Three of the four candidates for governor were in attendance and gave their respective stump speeches. Congressman Zach Wamp of Chattanooga, Attorney General Bill Gibbons of Memphis and Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam all agreed that experience in balancing budgets, job creation and K-12 education are the major issues facing Tennessee. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey of Blountville was unable to attend and was represented by former Congressman Hilleary.
The Gubernatorial Battleground
Posted on April 13, 2009 at 8:00 amWe’re right in the middle of it:
“The growth of our party in the last 20 years has very much been in this collar around Nashville,” said Rep. Wamp, a declared candidate, of the socalled “collar counties” around the state capital. “Without a candidate in the Republican Party at this point from (Middle Tennessee), it’s a real battleground.” East Tennessee counties remain Republicans’ main base with Chattanooga, Knoxville and Tri-cities media markets reaching some 49 percent of the GOP primary vote in Republicans’ 2006 U.S. Senate primary, according to election returns.
Lt. Gov. Ramsey, R-Blountville, the state Senate speaker who is testing the waters for a bid, said conventional wisdom holds that he, the congressman and Mr. Haslam would split East Tennessee since each has power bases there.
The declared candidate from West Tennessee, District Attorney Gibbons, likely will take the Shelby County area, he said.
“So the two most important areas in this gubernatorial race in my opinion are the collar counties around Nashville… and rural West Tennessee including Jackson,” Lt. Gov. Ramsey said.
The Middle Tennessee collar counties include Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Sumner, Robertson and Cheatham. Once largely rural, they have exploded in growth in recent years. And many of their new voters are Republican. “All of us understand that Middle Tennessee is going to be a major battleground on the Republican side,” said District Attorney Gibbons. “At this point there’s no candidate from Middle Tennessee. My guess is there won’t be.” Mayor Haslam, also a declared candidate, said he intends to compete in all areas of the state but noted, “Middle Tennessee is an essential part of that.”
(FT: Woods)
Bredesen (And His Polling) On The Governor’s Race
Posted on March 29, 2009 at 4:02 pmHank Hayes reports:
“There have been Democratic candidates come call on me just to introduce themselves, and everybody knows I’m not going to get involved in a primary,” Bredesen said. “On the Republican side there’s a lot of interest and excitement and competitiveness there. I don’t have a read on those things.
“I do a little bit of polling now and then to touch base and see where things are. Nobody has got any statewide name recognition out there. (U.S. Rep.) Zach Wamp is known very well in his district, and the same is true of Ron. In the end it will come down to who can line up the people who can provide that recognition with both money and well-known people.”
Bredesen indicated he still favors a statewide election of the lieutenant governor, who is now elected by the state Senate.
But a statewide election of the state attorney general, Bredesen said, would be a total disaster
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Wamp, Here’s My Team
Posted on March 25, 2009 at 11:10 amThe congressman and gubernatorial candidate announces a staffing up:
Congressman Zach Wamp announced today an impressive group of highly-experienced advisors to help lead and guide his statewide campaign for Governor of Tennessee:
· Bob Davis, Nashville public affairs executive, former Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party and longtime top aide to former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson, will serve as Campaign Chairman;
· Bill Baxter, Knoxville business leader, former Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority and former Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, will serve as State Finance Chairman;
· John Crisp, Nashville public affairs executive, veteran campaign consultant and a longtime top aide to former Tennessee Governor and now U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, will serve as Campaign Strategist and Communications Consultant;
· Ed Goeas, national pollster, veteran campaign consultant and longtime campaign advisor to Congressman Wamp, will serve as General Consultant and Pollster for the campaign.
“I cannot think of a stronger or more experienced management team to help guide and lead my campaign as we attract and organize support all across Tennessee,” Wamp said. “This is a winning team that collectively has more than 100 years of direct experience in campaign consulting, government and public service. They are first-rate, and they are just one more reason why we are going to win in 2010.’”
To help support the legal and accounting operations of his campaign, Wamp also announced that:
· Dan Johnson, a long-time business, political and civic leader in Chattanooga, current Chief of Staff to Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield and the founder of a well-respected Chattanooga accounting firm, will serve as Campaign Treasurer;
· Ammon Smartt, an attorney with the Nashville law firm of Waller Lansden, will serve as Legal Counsel for the Wamp campaign.Wamp said this core team of advisors will be supported by thousands of other volunteers and seasoned campaigners across the state. He said more announcements will be made soon about other key advisors, volunteers and vendors for the Zach Wamp for Governor campaign.
SEE ALSO: Whitehouse
So, Gun To Your Head, Will Wamp Be On The Ballot For Guv in 2010?
Posted on March 22, 2009 at 9:24 pmSo it appears that the AP has picked up on Andy Sher’s article about the 3rd District Congressional race which reveals that only on Republican has out and out said they are running.
Of course, the subtext of the article is why? If the Third District seat, a solid Republican seat, is truly open then why haven’t more serious candidates for the spot announced or at least strongly implied an announcement is all but a formality?
Are some Republicans still waiting to see if Zach Wamp is truly committed to the Governor’s race? Of course, he has denied he will ever drop out and stated emphatically that his congressional over. Do some folks remain unconvinced?
Loading ...The Outliers
Posted on March 11, 2009 at 7:04 amJackson Baker discusses two gubernatorial candidates on either side of the aisle. One, a Democrat, who supports gay adoption and doesn’t go running and screaming from the word socialism, and the other a Republican who talks about raising gas taxes and wants to see Tennessee reclaim its sovereignty:
Where Wamp sounds most different from other candidates, though, is on issues like state sovereignty and immigration.
The federal government is “upside down,” revenue-wise, he says. Consequently, “The states need to start learning to say no to Washington, and we’re not going to give you our money. We’re going to have to almost establish the sovereignty of the state of Tennessee under the 10th amendment. We’re going to do XYZ and we want to go forward more on our own. We’re going to raise the money for it, and we don’t want your help, and we don’t want your mandates.”
Wamp would attempt to “close our borders” to illegal immigrants. How? By employing the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system to identify illegals and to “make sure illegal immigrant parents do not have a job.” That would ultimately spare the state the expense of providing education and health care to such migrants.
Zach Wamp Is The Master Of His Own Twitter
Posted on March 8, 2009 at 6:31 pmJohn Scott reports from Jackson, Tennessee:
Congressman Zach Wamp was asked about his use of technology. Specifically asked whether the tweets on the Twitter account that bears his name came from a staff member or from him, he joking answered, “every word - I don’t trust anybody else well enough to send 140 characters on my behalf”.
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Defending Wamp
Posted on at 6:28 pmLes Jones agrees with congressman that health care is not a right:
In the American system, you have the right to freedom of speech and therefore a free press, but that doesn’t mean the government has to buy you a newspaper. You have the right to practice your religion without interference from the government, but the government won’t build you a church.
Likewise with healthcare. You have the right to seek healthcare, but no right to expect that other people will spend years in medical school and then come to work every day to provide you with their medical services for free, or for the government to pay for it with taxes. (Medicare is different in that it’s at least partialy paid for out of income withholdings.)
SEE ALSO:
Citizen Netmom
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Unrepentant
Posted on March 5, 2009 at 9:44 pmRep. Zach Wamp is apparently not embarrassed in the slightest by his performance on MSNBC earlier today:
I stand against the lefts drive to socialism. They scream, raise taxes for universal coverage. Nash , Memph Fri and Sat. Tn GOP rocks.
SEE ALSO: A defense of Wamp
Third District Congressional Candidate Wants To Build An Immigration Fence
Posted on March 2, 2009 at 3:12 pmAnd thinks the stimulus is “European-style socialism”:
Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble told the Pachyderm Club on Monday that he would have voted against federal financial bailouts, saying it “moves us so much closer to European-style socialism.”
The candidate for the Third District seat in Congress being vacated by Zach Wamp also came out strongly against illegal immigration.
He said his office last year arrested 49 illegal aliens on other charges and turned them over to the INS for deportation. He said he expects the number will be as many or higher this year under a special program with the federal government.
Asked about building a fence along the border, he said, “If it takes a fence to close the border, let’s build it.”
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Ramsey Explains Why He Announced For Governor Over The Weekend
Posted on at 2:35 pmHank Hayes reports on the Lt. Governor’s effort to stop the Haslam momentum and the aggravation it caused Rep. Wamp:
Ramsey said he will announce on Wednesday that he is forming a campaign exploratory committee with the intention of running for governor and succeeding Democrat Gov. Phil Bredesen, who under Tennessee’s Constitution cannot run for a third term in office.
Besides Haslam and Ramsey, others seeking the GOP nomination include U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga and Shelby County District Attorney General Bill Gibbons.
But Ramsey said he clearly sees Haslam as his number one competitor.
“I wanted to wait (to announce) until after I got out of (legislative) session,” Ramsey said. “People were telling me I was losing five to 10 people a day with Haslam out there beating the bushes. I don’t think Zach is catching on. I don’t think Bill Gibbons is catching on, but Haslam is working harder plus he has the money…I just couldn’t wait any longer.”
…”I’m sure Bill Gibbons loved it because there are three (candidates) from East Tennessee and one from west,” Ramsey said. “Zach was halfway aggravated. He said ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this.’ It almost aggravated me. I said ‘Let me make sure I understand this Zach, I’ve been toiling in the state legislature for 17 years and took us three seats down to five seats up (Republicans went from the minority to the majority party in the state Senate)…and you’re going to be upset?’ “
Taking Advantage Of The Three Way Eastern Split
Posted on at 12:07 pmNathan Moore argues that the unknown candidate in the GOP Gubernatorial primary may benefit from his geography.
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Putting It Right Out There: Ramsey Says He’s Running For Governor
Posted on February 28, 2009 at 12:55 pmAt an annual Lincoln Day dinner out in Greene County yesterday, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, whose task was only to introduce the keynote speaker TNGOP Robin Smith, added a little something extra to his remarks: an announcement of his imminent campaign for Governor:
Ramsey noted that the three officials who had already spoken were “three great candidates for governor,” but he was enthusiastically applauded when he said, “I am here in Greene County to announce that I am going to be a candidate for governor” as well.
He said he and his wife of 29 years, Sindy, had “thought about this, prayed about this,” and decided to go ahead, “for the right reasons.”
Ramsey said Republicans engineered a 19-to-14 majority in the Senate in last year’s election, and elected the first Republican majority in the state House of Representatives “in the history of time,” because they “stuck to Republican principles.”
At a time when “Republicans in Washington stopped acting like Republicans, Tennessee didn’t,” he said.
Ramsey commended Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Smith, whom he said is “not afraid to stand up and say what she thinks.”
He brought her to the platform by saying that Republicans would not enjoy the majorities that they do “if it wasn’t for Robin Smith.”
Ken Whitehouse broke the news on Thursday that Ramsey acolytes were in the process of forming an exploratory committee.
SEE ALSO:
Jackson Baker
Associated Press
Mr. Turnbow
Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey Exploring A Run For Governor
Posted on February 26, 2009 at 12:48 pmAnd Ken Whitehouse says he’s looking to make it officially unofficial by setting up an exploratory committee:
According to state law, Ramsey is not allowed to raise campaign funds while the legislature is in session. But speculation would be that calls are being made now in order to encourage potential donors not to commit to any of the other Republican gubernatorial candidates.
Maybe It Was Just So Good You Didn’t Realize It
Posted on February 17, 2009 at 8:26 pmRep. Zach Wamp on President Obama’s reaching out to Republicans:
“This was not a drive-by P.R. stunt, and I actually thought it might be,” said Representative Zach Wamp, Republican of Tennessee. “It was a substantive, in-depth discussion with our conference, and he’s very effective.”
“He knows that the debt and the deficit are huge long-term problems as well,” Mr. Wamp said, “and he made a compelling case. He sounded, frankly, a lot like a Republican.”
Bredesen Goes To Washington And Your World And Mine Ain’t Gonna Be The Same
Posted on at 5:37 pmWhile Phil Bredesen may have succeeded in deflecting the spotlight that shown on him so brightly in the days after Tom Daschle removed himself from consideration for the position of Health and Human Services Secretary, the truth of the matter is that Tennessee still stands the very real possibility of losing its governor before his term ends.
Bredesen has been somewhat subtle about it but for those who can read between the lines it is quite clear Phil Bredesen would jump at the chance to serve the Obama Administration in Washington as either Secretary of Commerce or Health and Human Services.
Bredesen, as he has proved time and time again, is not a party loyalist. He routinely criticized Barack Obama during the Presidential campaign and, by praising a man who decided to eschew a Senate race against Lamar Alexander, he essentially endorsed the Republican in that race.
Despite running two victorious statewide campaigns, the second time carrying all 95 counties, Phil Bredesen has not succeeded in building a strong Democratic Party in Tennessee. His political success story is a personal one. His success and his defeats are largely apart from the party.
So, Phil Bredesen’s party, to the extent you can even call it “his”, is in shambles. Democrats have lost the state Senate. They are hanging on to limited power in the House by the thread of a moderate Republican betrayer. And, just recently, have turned over their actual party apparatus to a man who seems to lack establishment support and largely relies on volunteers to run the day to day operations of the party (to the extent that there are any).
Turning over the executive residence to the Republican in this economy may end up giving the Party some increased advantage in 2010 but largely, whether Bredesen stays or goes, the Democratic Party will remain in essentially the same predicament it finds itself now.
What a Bredesen departure would affect is not the Democratic Party but the Republican Party. Point of fact, an early Bredesen departure would throw a big bad grenade into a smoldering intraparty civil war.
Wamp partisans (as well as Gibbons) can say what they like but, right now, the Republican nomination for governor is Haslam’s to lose. Yes, some movement conservatives and evangelicals don’t like him and his past positions on guns may be a bit scary to the Second Amendment crowd. But Haslam has two very powerful things: money and a well-oiled political machine.
Zach Wamp may be a Congressman but he has little money and no power base from which to mount a campaign. He will run a credible race, just like Ed Bryant did in 2002 against Lamar but ultimately he will lose.
The only candidate who would even have half a shot at taking down Haslam is Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey. Now, he doesn’t have the kind of personal wealth that Haslam does but he knows the state in way that Wamp doesn’t and most importantly, he knows the legislature — and the lobbyists who frequent it.
True, Ramsey can’t raise funds while the legislature is in session, but, just as soon as it’s out, he’s got a lot of people who are gonna want to give. After all, the man is the Lieutenant Governor. He’s gonna have people who want to be on his good side, no matter what he decides to do.
Of course, it would be difficult for Ramsey to defeat Haslam under present conditions — especially with Wamp in the race. Not impossible, but difficult. After all, Halam is backed with his big money and what is essentially Lamar Alexander’s political machine. That combination hasn’t lost many elections in Tennessee (see Bob Corker).
However, if Phil Bredesen were to leave for Washington. Lt. Gov. Ramsey would ascend to the governorship. Now, many folks talk about this as though its an unparalleled good for Republicans, and it is in many respects. However, Ron Ramsey as the incumbent governor running in 2010 could also very well ignite a serious intramural battle within the GOP.
If Bredesen does leave, Haslam will be faced with a choice: withdraw, pack up the machine he has put in motion to capture the executive residence and go home or continue on with the campaign and challenge a now incumbent Republican governor. Because, while Ramsey may be on the fence about running for governor, once he is governor, he doesn’t have a choice. The day Bredesen leaves is the day Ramsey stars his campaign to keep that office.
Might Haslam just drop out at that point? I suppose its possible but, like I said, the Howard Baker wing of the party doesn’t tend to lose primaries and while Ron Ramsey is not exactly a fire-breathing movement conservative ideologue he is close enough.
A Ramsey/Haslam primary with Ramsey as the incumbent would be the GOP primary to end all GOP primaries. Incumbents don’t usually lose but then again neither do millionaires with experienced political machines behind them either.
Haslam, who he is and what he represents, irks certain elements of the GOP. The new ideologues, the evangelicals, the gun nuts — they all are very suspicious of him. But without a little something extra they are powerless to stop him.
Ramsey in the race as an incumbent changes the game. With a Gov. Ramsey, the Right would have a credible candidate who could actually win a statewide primary.
It would be an epic struggle and, were it to take place, the result would likely settle more than a few intramural conflicts in the GOP once and for all.
Whether as member of either faction or as an observer, you have to be rooting for that.
Haslam Responds To Wamp
Posted on January 14, 2009 at 8:04 amThe Knoxville mayor responds to his gubentorial campaign opponent Rep. Zach Wamp’s assertion that the Republican standardbearer should not have ties to big oil:
“I am committed to making this campaign a discussion about who has the ideas and experience necessary to lead our state through these challenging times,” Mr. Haslam said in the statement.
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