Why re-electing Lamar Alexander may well lead to GOVERNOR Ron Ramsey

I know what you're going to say after reading the headline; put the pipe down, Cracker.

You may say it's crazy (and of course, the GOP will deny this so fast it will make your head spin), but hear me out.  LAMAR! will turn 74 years old on July 3, which means that if he were to be A) re-elected and B) serve out a full term, he would be 80 years old at the end of that term.  Sure, he looks to be in good shape, but does anything he's done in the last few years make you think that he is ENJOYING what he's doing?

He left GOP Senate leadership because he was tired of dealing with the Tea Party wing of the GOP, watching them cost the GOP Senate seats around the country.  That's one reason he is running this year, to crush Joe Carr, who has gotten NO traction whatsoever.  Maybe if the Club For Growth thought Carr had a chance to knock off Alexander, they would have gotten behind Carr.  They haven't, and Alexander will cruise to victory in the GOP Primary on August 7.

Especially if the GOP can't capture the Senate in November, it's really hard to see why LAMAR! would want to stay in Washington if he can't get anything done.  So, why did he run?  To have a say in who replaces him, that's why.

Enter Bill Haslam.

Haslam, with his gazillions, is considered to be a prohibitive favorite for re-election in November simply based on money and the fact that most Democrats seem to be waiting for 2018 when the seat will be open again (coughKarlDeancough).  Haslam, too, is tired of dealing with the crazies in his party in Nashville, and would like to move up sooner rather than later.  It's true, he could wait until the end of a 2nd term, when many think he and Senator Bob Corker will attempt to swap seats; Corker has had his eyes on the Mansion for a while, I hear.

However, Corker has enough money to run in 2018 no matter what, and if Haslam really is beginning to hate his job, why SHOULDN'T Haslam cut a deal with Ron Ramsey?  (Don't think Speaker Harwell hasn't had nightmares about THIS possibility.  It's one thing to have Ramsey as an equal, it's quite another to have him as the BOSS.)

Um, what?

Let's follow this to its logical conclusion.  Alexander runs for and obtains re-election, and announces in the middle of 2015 that, for private and family reasons, he has decided to resign his seat.  A day or two later, Bill Haslam announces that he wants that seat, will resign as Governor and newly-ascendant GOVERNOR Ron Ramsey appoints his benefactor as the new US Senator.  So what if Haslam has to run in a 2016 Special Election?  Do you think Jim Cooper would challenge him?  Who on our side of the aisle could raise enough to do that?

And Tennessee is left with ole Bootsy himself to officially run the state he has been UN-officially running since he became Lt. Governor.   Rather a frightening thought, eh?  I think so too.

Which is why the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate now takes on a more important light.  The three people in the race are Nashville's Larry Crim (who couldn't even fend off Mark Clayton two years ago), and two men from Knoxville, attorney Terry Adams and attorney Gordon Ball.

I have heard both speak, but like better what I am hearing from Terry Adams.  Adams is younger, more energetic, FAR more progressive, and seems to have a better plan for winning a ground game than does Ball.  Ball did well to hire Kemba Ford as a front person for his Shelby County campaign; she has been everywhere representing him. He also seems to have gotten a lot of the SCDP helping him, by promising to help Shelby Democrats in the fall.  That, of course, is not a bad thing at all, until you realize that there is only ONE legislative seat in Big Shelby that COULD change hands; that would be House 96, where my political godfather, Dwayne Thompson, is challenging Steve McManus.

Ball, while a nice guy, has given more money at the national level to Democrats, has also given more money at the STATE level to the GOP.  Six years ago, Ball endorsed the fellow he is challenging now, and was a DEMOCRAT FOR HASLAM in 2010. Ball has also stated that he supports a 15% FLAT TAX, which he has tried to back away from and dance around.

Since I always tend to back the Progressives, I am supporting Terry Adams for this race, you can find him online here, and on Facebook here.  When it's a Democratic primary, I support the person who speaks my language, and that's why I like Terry Adams.  It doesn't matter to me how much money Ball happens to have, it's about what they are likely to do when they get to DC.  Every thing that I have seen from both men leads me to support Terry Adams, and I hope that you will, as well.

As a Democrat, I would support Ball in the event he wins the primary.  As a private citizen, I intend to see that that doesn't happen and that Terry Adams is nominated and then ELECTED to the United States Senate.

Of course, if you LIKE the idea of Senator Bill Haslam and Governor Ron Ramsey, you can vote for Lamar Alexander's re-election, if you choose.  However, I suspect that, if you liked that idea, you probably wouldn't be reading this blog.

:)

What a great beginning for our new Governor!

I'm not really sure why I am surprised at this, but our new Governor, Bill Haslam, doesn't think you have any business in knowing just how money he or his aides make in outside income.  Um, conflict of interest?

Even the New York Times has noted how the Pilot Oil heir moved quickly to gut financial disclosure requirements put in by his predecessor, Phil Bredesen, who was no poor fella himself.

(Um, did I just say something NICE about Bredesen? Wow, times change quickly, don't they?)

Anyway, I'm not the only one not thrilled about this nose-thumbing at the public interest.  One of my favorite Republicans, Jenci Spradlin (and there's not a lot of them, frankly, but there ARE some), noted at MODERATELY MARVELOUS the proper question to ask:

Could those advising Governor Haslam not anticipate how this would be perceived by the public and media, or did they just not care?  Either way, it’s an interesting way to define what many hoped would be a new renaissance for Republicans in Tennessee.

Good question.  Makes you wonder how the meeting went where that decision was made, doesn't it?  (Terrorist Fist Bump to Charlton for the idea).

McWherter Comments on Haslam's Endorsement of Wild West-Style Gun Laws

Bill Haslam Will Work to Legalize Carrying Guns Anywhere

Pledges Support for Total Firearm Deregulation

NASHVILLE – At a meeting of the Tennessee Firearm Association, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam told a crowd he would sign a bill legalizing the carrying of firearms in all public areas. After shortly being pressed by members, Bill Haslam committed to signing a bill to allow citizens to carry a concealed firearm without a permit and said, “If the legislature passed it and brought that to me, I said I would sign it.”

Official statement from Mike McWherter
"While I am a strong supporter of second amendment rights, I am shocked at Bill Haslam's lack of common sense and total disregard for public safety. This is irresponsible” said Mike McWherter. “Bill Haslam is willing to put the safety of Tennessee families in jeopardy, this speaks to the core of his character."

Won't You Come Clean, Bill Haslam

a little birdie sent me this one...

Looky ! Another Bill Haslam PARODY video

And what have we learned? Parody is PROTECTED!  Enjoy!

This is going to be a different kind of post

One in which I criticize a Democratic Congressman from my own state (but NOT Steve) and compliment a Republican Gubernatorial candidate.

First things first. As you know, Jim Cooper did more to kill the 1993 healthcare reform bill than anyone when he was representing what is now Lincoln Davis' district. I came thisclose to voting for Fred Thompson in the Senate race that year; didn't matter, Fred rewarded his Blue Doggishness with a country ass-whipping, reminding every one of what Harry Truman used to say: If you only give people a choice between a pseudo-Republican and a real Republican, they'll take the real one every time. I wish more of the Democratic office-holders understood that, and stopped being so damned scared of Valentine and Gill; there's only so many Ty Cobbs to go around.

Well, concerned that Jim Cooper, who now "represents" Nashville from TN-05, would sink the public option, Kos and another national group, Accountability Now, began to see what it might take to get Cooper primaried, because he CLEARLY votes to the right of his district.

Kos took a poll that showed DEMOCRATS in his district were upset with him on the healthcare issue. THE GREAT ORANGE SATAN was pilloried by the local and state Democratic establishment, who circled the wagons because they were probably afraid Phil Valentine might say something nasty about them. Note: he always will, folks!

Then, blindsiding everyone (including the local progressive blogosphere, more on that in a minute), here comes Accountability Now with their Cooper Uncovered website, which exposed Cooper for the DINO that he is. Then they put out the word that they were going to find a primary challenger for Cooper.

Let me tell you, I WANT Cooper primaried. If someone who actually IS a Democrat, like Steve Cohen, can be primaried, then so can this DINO.

However, a great many in the progressive blogosphere of Nashville were, not surprisingly, pissed off, and with some good reason. No one appreciates the implication that something like this has to be done from the OUTSIDE, because we're from DC and we know better. Some had real fears that someone to the left of Cooper might win the primary but lose the general; however, I don't see that happening with the numbers for TN-05.

It was at this point I was contacted by Ben Tribbett of Accountability Now, with whom I met this week. Yes, he gave me the name of the candidate, and yes, I was impressed. No, I'm not telling you, because the candidate will make that announcement him/herself when the time is right. Let's just say that Cooper will have to change his underwear when he hears who it is.

I also emailed and talked to some of the Nashville folks, and put Ben in touch with one of them, and the crisis level has dropped below DefCon1, so we're OK. Since the filing deadline is not until April, you're just going to have to wait, sorry.

Now, to the other part of the post. Say what you want about Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, he may be rich, he may be the leading GOP candidate for Governor, but he's got COJONES for days. Despite how gun-crazy the GOP base in Tennessee has become, he essentially told them to get over themselves by standing up in support of a gun ban in Knoxville parks.

Now, it would be one thing for, say Bill Gibbons to do that, but Haslam? In the middle of East Tennessee? When he's running for Governor as a REPUBLICAN? Wow. Seriously, this liberal gun owner stands and applauds Bill Haslam for LEADING on this subject and not pandering to the gun-nut base of his party. It shows that there are Republicans who realize that the gun lobby has gone too far and are willing to say so.

Great job, Mayor Haslam, let's hope this sets a new trend!

UPDATE! Well, well, well. Once word got out that there was at least one candidate willing to take on the candidate of Big Health, now I hear that there are more asking around about it and taking a serious look at it. I expected this; the blood is in the water now.