In the wake of the retirement’s of conservative Blue Dogs Rep. John Tanner and Rep. Bart Gordon speculation has naturally turned to Rep. Lincoln Davis. Will he hang it up or stick it out one more time?
Davis is a Blue Dog just like Tanner and Gordon and, unlike [...]
A CQ report on the race to replace Rep. Bart Gordon:
Tracy had already hired Nashville-area political strategist Mike McCrady, who has worked on Tennessee state legislative races and in the 2008 cycle worked for Florida 22nd district GOP nominee Allen West. McCrady said Monday that internal polling had shown [...]
Rep. Stacey Campfield reports:
I spoke with former US Rep and Republican gubernatorial nominee Van Hillary and he said he will not interested in seeking the US seat held by Bart Gordon at this time. Van has moved into the district a few years ago and has been getting calls [...]
Some say it’s a bit weak:
The GOP source compared this to the other open Democratic seat in Tennessee, where Rep. John Tanner is retiring and where Dems immediately recruited state Sen. Roy Herron, saying that there isn’t a truly strong Democratic candidate here. “Unlike TN-08 [the Tanner seat], you [...]
From the Daily News:
Kyle isn’t ready to roll out his specific plan to freeze tuition levels for college students. That, he told The Daily News, will come later in the campaign.
Kyle said he stands by the pledge despite worsening economic conditions and the promise of budget problems taking center [...]
Mike Byrd is making an exception:
Mayor Dean has motivated me to do something I never thought I would do: support a referendum on an individual Metro budget item, albeit the largest capital project in Nashville history. I’m going to sign the petition that with enough signatures could leverage public [...]
Voters are buying into the argument:
More Americans believe steps taken to reduce global warming pollution will help the U.S. economy than say such measures will hurt it. It’s a sign the public is showing more faith in President Barack Obama’s economic arguments for limiting heat-trapping gases than in Republican [...]
Joey Garrison reports it:
In October, Crafton proposed legislation that would have given voters the final say on issuing bonds for all projects in excess of $250 million not considered “necessities.” The six-member Charter Revision Commission disapproved the resolution unanimously, and the bill was deferred indefinitely last month.
The councilman’s latest [...]
Campfield reminds his fellow conservatives what Democratic retirements mean in the short term:
While many are excited by the probable pickup of two new Republican seats in the US house of reps from Tennessee, there is one little problem with Tanner and Gordon deciding not to face the voters again…….
They [...]
Operatives are upset that their elected are running for the hills:
“Democrats fought 12 years to win back the majority. Now at the first sign of a fight some members want to waive the white flag?” one Dem leadership aide asked incredulously. “It’s time to buck up, roll up our [...]
Hotline on the Republican tune-up we are about to receive:
TN has been in need of a “recalibration” for a while now. Dems hold five of the state’s nine CDs, even though John Kerry and Pres. Obama barely broke into the 40’s there. This isn’t to say Dems will certainly [...]
Phil Williams looks into the process:
The Court of the Judiciary is composed of 16 people — all but three of them lawyers and judges — who sit in judgment of the ethical conduct of other judges.
“When you decide between a public reprimand or a private reprimand, you’re going down [...]
But there’s a rumor out there that State Sen. Mae Beavers is thinking about mounting a congressional run. Is it for Bart’s seat? Or Cooper’s?
I heard a rumor from another credible source that State Senator Mae Beavers, champion of firearms freedom in Tennessee, might be considering a run. This [...]
Three Nashville postal stations have been dropped from consideration for closing, according to a list released by the Postal Service on Monday.
Only two Tennessee stations, one in Memphis and one in Chattanooga, remain among the sites being considered. The November list of 241 sites was trimmed to fewer [...]
Lou Ann Zelenik bought some negative ads she wishes she could take back:
On my way home from work this evening I heard three Lou Ann Zelenik ads on two different radio stations. In each ad, Ms. Lou Ann was talkin’ ’bout how she was going to hand it [...]
A group of citizens plan to deliver a few coathangers to Nashville’s congressman.
[...]From Jackson Sun:
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood, today announced her appointment of Anthony Hulen as her chief of staff.
Hulen was formerly the White House liaison and director of external and intergovernmental affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hulen also has served as chief of staff for Rep. Randy [...]
Lou Ann Zelenik welcomes the newbies in the GOP race for the Sixth District:
“Our democracy succeeds with more ideas and viewpoints,” Zelenik said. “I have had the great opportunity to meet with and listen to voters across the Sixth District since my entry into the race in October and [...]
The liberal radio talker asserts that Republicans actually want Democrats to ignore and/or gloss over progressive ideals:
Tennessee Republicans want nothing better than for Tennessee Democrats to continue to run to the right using the extremist positions on social issues. And they think they can bully us into doing so. [...]
From a press release:
Nashville State Community College announced today that Senator Doug Jackson has agreed to teach a class at the college’s Dickson site for the spring 2010 semester. The evening class, American National Government, will be at the Renaissance Center in Dickson, and marks the first time Senator Jackson [...]
Robin Smith’s not saying that the recent collapse of the Tennessee Democratic Party is completely her doing — but she has come to claim her share of the credit:
The recent rash of announcements that prominent Tennessee Democrats are retiring from Congress or ending their campaigns are the fruits of the [...]
Your friends are all jumping off the bridge before they were pushed off in 2012. You’ve always been more of a follower than a leader, and the rumors have been flying that your campaign coffers are as dry as our federal government’s.
There’s no time like the present. [...]
In conversations over the weekend, Gibbons expressed disappointment in what he considered lack of zeal by members of the media in seeking answers to such questions, which he had previously raised. He noted that conflict-of-interest issues had loomed large in government and politics in recent years.
Among [...]
Yet another statement:
Senator Mae Beavers, who has represented parts of nine counties within the 6th Congressional District since 1990, today wanted to wish Rep. Gordon well with his eventual retirement.
“I have been able to serve the same constituents as Rep. Gordon for many years now in both the State House [...]
From Tiny Cat Pants:
The fact is that the conservatives in this state are fractured, too. And our running to the right has provided enough pressure that those fissures have stayed somewhat closed. But they’re there. The libertarian-inclined folks and the nutjob faction sit together very uneasily. You think libertarians, [...]
Politico reports:
Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) didn’t mention his political predicament in his retirement announcement, but Republican polling in his middle Tennessee district showed that he would have faced one of the toughest races in his career if he stuck around.
A November poll conducted by the GOP firm Public Opinion [...]
From an emailed statement:
“A full campaign kick-off event will be coming after the first of the year, but in light of Bart Gordon’s retirement we felt it was necessary to announce we’re fully in this race and we’re committed to winning.
The people of Middle Tennessee need a Congressman with [...]
Sen. Bill Ketron told Post Politics in a phone call that he’s taking a look at running for Congress in TN-06:
We’ll take a look at it. Of course, there’s always been an interest there [in the congressional seat]. But today is Bart’s day, a day to celebrate and recognize [...]
Bill Mason, director of community affairs for Gov. Phil Bredesen, has told NashvillePost.com’s Ken Whitehouse that he is considering a run for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Bart Gordon.
Mason is a native of Rutherford County, lives in Robertson County, and worked in congress for 22 years [...]
Metro Councilman Duane Dominy has formally announced his Republican primary campaign for Democratic state Rep. Sherry Jones’ House District 59 seat.
“For a number of years, residents have asked me to run because I’ve been involved in the community. They’re not pleased with the representation they’ve had,” Dominy [...]
From a Gannett satellite office:
“I am giving it some consideration. It is something I have thought about for a number of years.”
(FT: GiT)
[...]From the desk of the State Democratic Party chair:
“Congressman Bart Gordon has served his district admirably for 25 years. He is a true statesman who votes his convictions and for the best interests of his district. Congressman Gordon had an important impact on working families in Tennessee by helping [...]
Jeff Woods has sources close to Rep. Bart Gordon:
“We would have won this race,” this source says. “But it would have been ugly, divisive for the community and for the whole district. The problem then is basically you’ve probably gotten yourself two more years. You’ve put everybody through that [...]
Jackson Baker on the reaction of some Democrats to the retirements of John Tanner and Bart Gordon:
Some Democrats — especially in the blogging fraternity — have reacted to the withdrawals of Tanner and Gordon by saying, in effect, Good riddance, these weren’t real red-blooded Democrats anyhow.
That, of course, is [...]
On the Democratic side, state Rep. Henry Fincher, a Harvard-educated attorney from Cookeville, said he is considering joining the race.
“I’m sure I have a lot of company in mulling it over,” he said.
Fincher, who has been a vocal supporter of gun rights and an opponent of abortion [...]
A list of conservative Dems in Congress who may be looking to get out of the ‘critter race.
[...]From the senior senator:
“Bart Gordon’s leadership on science, technology, and education has been hugely important to the Tennessee Valley and to our country. I have especially valued working with him to enact the ‘America COMPETES’ legislation, which will help create good new jobs for our future. Bart should be proud [...]
From the desk of Chris Devaney:
“Like John Tanner, Bart Gordon can see the writing on the wall in 2010 and has chosen to step aside,” said Devaney. “Tennesseans are struggling with 10.5 percent unemployment and are looking to their elected leaders for common-sense solutions that will put help [...]
The statement:
“For more than 24 years, Bart has been an honest and thoughtful voice for Middle Tennessee. As Chairmen of the Science and Technology Committee and dean of the Tennessee delegation, he has been a leader for good ideas and common-sense legislation. His work with Oak Ridge National Labs to [...]
A Facebook movement to draft the former state Democratic Party spokesman for the seat being vacated by Bart Gordon has begun. From the page:
Wade is a Gallatin boy at heart. While currently in Boston to help little kids or something like that, Wade will always [...]
State Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) will officially announce his candidacy for the 6th Congressional District later today.
Tracy said he will file papers this week and a press release is forth coming relating to his decision to run for the seat currently held by Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Murfreesboro).
“It [...]
One of the already announced Republican opponents for the seat shares her thoughts:
“I applaud Congressman Gordon for his years of service to the people of Tennessee and for his willingness to accept the changes within our state. When Congressman Gordon came to office, the Sixth District was a very [...]
From David Wasserman:
If there is any upside here for Democrats, Gordon’s departure may save the DCCC from having to spend money defending a seat where national Democratic performance has fallen off a cliff. As House Science Committee Chair, Gordon is a widely respected figure, perhaps the House’s fastest [...]
“Of course they are all quitting. They can fight and maybe remain for two more years and then get redistricted out or they can leave gracefully now.”
[...]From Aaron Blake:
Gordon joins Reps. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.), John Tanner (D-Tenn.) and Brian Baird (D-Wash.) in announcing his retirement in recent weeks. Also, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) announced Friday that he will resign early to run for governor.
[...]Tom Humphrey reports:
This would seem to confirm rumors reaching Tennessee from Washington insider types during recent weeks. Basically, they are that Gordon saw a difficult reelection campaign coming and has a potentially lucrative congressional lobbying position lined up. Supposedly, according to the gossip, he was waiting only to help [...]
A few from Ken Whitehouse:
Several Republicans have been actively campaigning for the seat and state Sen. Jim Tracy had indicated he would likely join the race as well. Other Republican’s that might throw their hat in the ring are state Sen. Bill Ketron and Hendersonville state Sen. Diane [...]
Writing before Gordon’s announcement, the group noted that Gordon had won handily in the last three elections and wouldn’t be starved for resources this time around, with more than $1.1 million in the bank at the end of the third quarter.
Tennessee state Sen. Jim Tracy (R) is set to announce his candidacy for Rep. Bart Gordon’s (D-Tenn.) seat, according to a source with knowledge of his plans.
The source said Tracy plans to make his announcement Monday. Gordon announced moments ago that he would not seek reelection. Tracy [...]
From the inbox:
“Tennessee is now the place where Democrat congressional candidacies go to die. Within a matter of weeks, four Volunteer State Democrats have abandoned their campaigns for Congress because voters there are rejecting the Obama-Pelosi agenda. The retirement of 25-year veteran Bart Gordon – who supported every major piece [...]
From an emailed statement:
Bart Gordon, my friend and colleague, has been a trusted, humble, and astute public servant for his Middle Tennessee district for over two decades. A visionary, Bart’s desire and passion were to serve the greater good through the advancement of science, education, math, and technology and [...]
Boom goes the press release:
After more than a quarter-century of public service to his home state of Tennessee, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon announced his plans to retire from Congress when his current term ends in 2010.
“I feel honored that the people of Middle Tennessee have allowed me to serve them [...]
For some the election of Barack Obama as president wasn’t what they thought it would be:
Barack Obama ran for president as a man of the people, standing up to Wall Street as the global economy melted down in that fateful fall of 2008. He pushed a tax plan to [...]
Whatever of you think of the man, how he wins election and gets crossways with both parties establishments is kinda of admirable.
[...]At least he is in Copenhagen this week:
As international climate talks appeared in danger of disintegrating, Al Gore arrived to a rock star’s welcome in Copenhagen today.
If Copenhagen is the enviros’ Woodstock, then Gore is The Who, the Grateful Dead and Creedence Clearwater Revival as a one-man band. [...]
Workplace rights advocates are closely following a California case now before the Supreme Court in which employees for the first time won a constitutional right to privacy in their text messages, even when the messages were sexually explicit comments to co-workers.
Last year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court [...]
Chas Sisk on the campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor:
Kyle can also tap family connections. His wife, Sara, is a member of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority and the niece of former Gov. Frank Clement, who held office in the 1950s and ’60s.
Kyle touts polling figures that show him [...]
From Fox News:
President Barack Obama, in an interview that aired Sunday, gave himself “a good solid B-plus” grade for his first year in office.
Speaking with fellow Chicagoan Oprah Winfrey, the president claimed progress on economic and international fronts.
Obama said the only thing that stands in the way of [...]
Not the best idea says Rex Noseworthy:
Compton thought twice enough about the whole thing to obfuscate on Haslam’s campaign Web site: Instead of Compton’s name being associated with his Metro Government job, it lists his professional affiliation with “TC Enterprises.”
“I said it would be inappropriate to list my name [...]
Robin Smith, candidate for Congress in Tennessee’s Third District today criticized the proposal by House Democrats to raise the national debt ceiling by an additional $1.8 trillion, adding to the $12.1 trillion in current United States debt.
“The fiscal irresponsibility of this congress and the president is staggering,” [...]
From the Chicago Sun-Times:
Rod Blagojevich’s lawyers want the FBI to give up details of interviews conducted last year of President Obama, his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, White House adviser Valerie Jarrett and others as part of the investigation into the former governor.
In a Friday filing, Blagojevich attorneys also [...]
The conservative blogger explains why she put down the mic:
I’m confident we made the right decision. I can’t lie and say it doesn’t hurt. Of course it does. Our program had heart and soul. Our listeners have the same. And our guests never stopped complimenting the activism of our [...]
Andrew Sullivan’s cover gets blown by one of his assistants:
As always, it a pleasure to step in while Andrew gets some much needed rest. Guest-blogging is not all that different than my day-to-day activities on the Dish – 24 of the 50 posts currently on the front page were [...]
The Chattanooga Times asks for an income tax:
Gov. Bredesen is about to lead the state further in the hole of deeper cuts because he and unwitting Republican conservatives refuse to be fair about reducing the sales tax and imposing an upper-level income tax that would actually be fairer, more [...]
According to Dan Balz, they are gonna have to:
The last time Republicans rose from the ashes, the public face of their restoration to power was Newt Gingrich, the flame-throwing speaker of the House who himself eventually flamed out. But the intellectual ballast came from the ranks of the governors, [...]
From the Memphis Flyer:
Michael Steele of Maryland, the chairman of the National Republican Party and the first African American to head the Republican National Committee, will be keynote speaker for the Shelby County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day dinner next year. The dinner, preeminent event on the Republicans’ social [...]
From John Carney & Brian Mosely:
Last month, Shelbyville’s treasurer Gary Cantrell said that the biggest contributor to the city’s recent revenue shortfall is business taxes, which are off 45 percent — $51,458 out of the $114,579 budgeted.
Cantrell said that Shelbyville had no notice of this move prior to adopting [...]
Have you ever wondered why corporations like Exxon Mobil have free speech “rights” under the Constitution when corporations can’t “speak,” and when the Constitution was written to protect “We the People” and never mentions “corporations”? Do you worry that maybe, just maybe, the Supreme Court is putting the [...]
From the LA Times:
Parker becomes the second woman to become mayor of Houston and the first lesbian to head a major American city. Houston is the fourth largest U.S. city.
Parker neither proclaimed nor sought to hide her sexual orientation and ran on a platform of firm fiscal conservatism and [...]
Tom Humphrey reveals this and more in his big Tennessee Newspaper Network sponsored story on the Democratic Gubernatorial candidates income disclosure:
Kyle’s “Schedule A” list of deductions shows he has been able to claim about $25,000 per year as a deduction for “unreimbursed employee expenses.” The senator said that most [...]
Former Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Wade Munday made the following statement on former TNGOP spokesman Bill Hobbs’s recent domestic assault arrest in response to a request from Post Politics:
“I pray for the Hobbs’ marriage, their health, and their happiness. I hope Bill receives counseling and forgiveness if, in fact, [...]
A prominent conservative blogger advises a course of action on health care reform:
The Senate, unlike the House of Representatives, has parliamentary rules and procedures that give the minority the ability to stall legislation. In fact, unlike the House, the minority have the ability to virtually paralyze the Senate. Doing [...]
From the Politico:
Blue Dog Democrats are threatening to derail any legislation that raises the debt ceiling if the bill does not include provisions that would constrain Congress from continuing to add to the nation’s debt.
House Democratic leaders plan to boost the debt ceiling to about $1.8 trillion on the [...]
That’s the word from Stephen Shirley:
What’s going to prove especially tricky for Gordon is that his fellow Blue Dog Lincoln Davis, who represents the equally conservative 4th district, has not been quite so resolute in supporting the Democrat agenda. On recent legislation, a partern has developed where Gordon and [...]
Two assistant U.S. attorneys from Nashville have been recognized by the Department of Justice for their part in the investigation and prosecution of former state Sen. John Ford.
Federal prosecutors David Rivera and Eli Richardson received awards at the annual Executive Office for United States Attorneys Director’s Awards [...]
Just a thought. State Rep. Phillip Johnson:
[T]he legislature spends a good deal of time each session “correcting bills we pass that don’t come out the way we intended.”
[...]From the Knoxville News Sentinel:
The Maryville Republican still believes climate change is real, that human activity is helping to cause the problem and that something must be done about it.
Even so, Alexander said the “Climategate” scandal - involving hacked e-mails and charges that scientists manipulated data to strengthen the [...]
Rep. Stacey Campfield breaks the news:
The conservative radio talk show “Lets talk Frank” abruptly ended yesterday after a multi year run. It came as a big surprise to all including the hosts of the show, Lee and Terry Frank.
The station that aired the show (AM 850 on the Horne [...]
“Washington Democrats want to impose a cap-and-trade national energy tax, a bureaucratic nightmare that would make households, small businesses and family farms pay higher prices for electricity, gasoline, food and virtually every product made in America,” she said.
Blackburn said she and other GOP lawmakers will travel to Copenhagen [...]
Robert Costa reports:
Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican and GOP conference chair, tells NRO that Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) is “all tied up in a knot.”
“All of the king’s horses and all of the king’s men may not be able to put 60 together again,” says [...]
R. Neal has how Tennessee’s congressional delegation voted on the just passed legislation.
[...]The chief had harsh words for the Tennessee General Assembly. “I would hope (the legislature) would focus as much attention on keeping criminals behind bars as letting people go in bars with guns,” he said about the possibility prison terms may be reduced to help balance the state [...]
Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish friends. As you begin the celebration of Hanukkah, I wanted to take a few minutes to wish you much joy and happiness as you enjoy the company of your loved ones. As you light the menorah and exchange gifts, I hope you [...]
