Conservatives for Corker

Well, its official, Bob Corker is the choice of just about every paper in the state. From "liberal" papers like the Tennessean, to more Conservative ones like the Nashville City Paper, Bob Corker is just racking up the endorsements. This is likely because of backlash to the tag-team war waged by Brilleary against Corker. The problem with this campaign, is that the attacks were just so over the top that they made Bryant and Hilleary look ridiculous. The cherry on the cake was the last televised debate when Van Hilleary asked Ed Bryant to tell the audience in what way he found Bob Corker to be "obscene". The city paper talks about the attacks on Bob Corker in their endorsement.

Corker has been the subject of attacks from the left and the right on these issues [taxes in Chattanooga], particularly the hard choices he had to make as mayor. The truth of the matter is that hard choices are often part of governing. Doing what is politically expedient is rarely if ever the best solution for tax payers and constituents, no matter the office. Bob Corker has proven he can lead by making those decisions, and we believe he will bring that kind of decisiveness and leadership to the U.S. Senate above the rest of the GOP primary field.

In the endorsement by the City Paper, there was no mention of the GOP bread and butter issues such as Immigration or Abortion, instead they seem to focus on character and "leadership" qualities. Personally, I don't care what type of character my elected officials have, if they are wrong on a the issues, than I don't have any use for them. But, in a primary campaign with not a whole lot of difference on the issues, character can be the deciding factor. Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant lost that edge (well, Van never really had a leg to stand on) when they decided to go so negative, so soon.