You Will Observe Regular Order Mutha...

Anthony Weiner must've had a bad honeymoon because he certainly did not come back relaxed and refreshed. The Congressman from New York goes off on his colleagues for failing to suspend the rules and pass (a motion that requires 2/3rds of the House) an amendment to "provide up to $7.4 billion in health care aid to rescue and recovery workers who have faced health problems since their work in the wake of the September 11 attacks."



The measure had the support of 12 Republicans and was opposed by 4 Democrats, one of whom was our fine Congressman Jim Cooper.

(Via TPM)

See Also: Anthony Wiener and Peter King going at it on Fox News. Money quote, "How's that cracker jack Peter King whip organization working out?"

The Case for McWherter

If you are like me and think having a clear primary field merits the Governorship...vote McWherter:



Via Woods

Yarbro Releases Numbers, Outraises Henry Again

Jeff Yarbro's campaign put out a statement claiming to have raised more in the past month than Sen. Henry:

Between July 1 and 26, the Yarbro Campaign raised $43,280. The incumbent, Sen. Douglas Henry, raised $31,050 during the same timeframe. Sen. Henry has made an additional $100,000 loan to his campaign to finance the misleading, personal attack ad currently airing and has now invested $300,000 of his family fortune in his bid to win an 11th term. The Henry Campaign disclosure also reveals that he has raised the $75,000 statutory maximum from political action committees for his primary campaign.

The report still isn't posted on the TREF's website, so I don't know how this is all split up. I checked with the campaign though and they said of the amount they raised about 5% was earmarked towards the general election. In comparison, Sen. Henry's take includes a lot of money, about 50% of his July haul, that is earmarked for the general in the event that he should win.

Of interest, Sen. Henry also got a boost from the National Health Corp PAC to the tune of about $500 ($1,000 total). That would be the same company Sen. Henry attacked Yarbro over because the firm he works for represents them.

Update:

The report is up, it shows what I wrote up there plus that Yarbro spent $153K and ended the period with about $80K in the bank. About $3,400 of the $43K raised in July was earmarked for the general election.

Republicans All Hat No Cattle

Sen. Eric Stewart is none too pleased with the pander-fest that is taking place tomorrow as Republican lawmakers leave their districts to go down to Arizona in order to present a non-binding resolution (worthless piece of paper) to Governor Jan Brewer:

Amid soaring unemployment in their districts and pleas from voters to focus on jobs and the economy, Tennessee Republican lawmakers are flying to Arizona on Friday to present a do-nothing resolution to Arizona’s governor.

“Apparently Tennessee Republicans think political junkets to Arizona are more important than unemployment in their own districts,” said state Sen. Eric Stewart of Belvidere. “I get angry when lawmakers take the people they represent for fools and just downright lie to them about the facts.

“Make no mistake: this trip is all about politics and pandering. The resolution commends Arizona’s immigration law, but does absolutely nothing to address Tennessee’s illegal immigration issues.”

Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro, Rep. Joe Carr of Lascassas and Rep. Tony Shipley of Kingsport will be among Republican lawmakers going to Arizona on Friday to present a nonbinding resolution that cost Tennessee taxpayers $500.

The Other District 21 Primary

The Scene has an extensive write-up of the 21st Senate Republican primary race and an exciting behind the scenes look at James Chesser's big break onto public access television.

Henry Drops Another $100K on Primary Race

The pre-primary financial disclosures are trickling in and first up is Senatuh Douglas Henry who can't outraise his challenger Jeff Yarbro but he can sure outwealth him.

Sen. Henry has loaned his campaign an additional $100K on top of the $200K he loaned himself earlier this year. The money was spent largely on polling of the district and his television ad blitz featuring Governor Bredesen with cameo by Douglas Henry, and needlessly amateurish video of Jeff Yarbro.

Yarbro's finance reports aren't up yet, but at his last hurrah fundraiser this past Tuesday he announced to the crowd that he will have raised over $300,000 over the course of the campaign.

Update:

Mike Byrd reports that Henry "volunteers" may be getting paid to support the Senatuh. I'm not seeing it reflected in the financial report, but that doesn't mean its not happening.

McWherter Feels Your Pain

After Zach Wamp made another in a series of dumb ass comments, Mike McWherter is standing up for the little guy:

“As I have travelled to all 95 counties, people tell me over and over again they want to work,” said Mike McWherter. “They need jobs, not lectures and attacks from Congressman Wamp. My goal is simple we have to put Tennesseans back to work, not blame them for being unemployed.”

If you like what you just read, they'd love to have some of your money...

Primary Turnout Update

Early voting increased in every location yesterday compared to Monday, and more people were picking up GOP ballots than Democratic ones.

2,581 people picked up a GOP ballot compared with 1,998 people choosing the Democratic ballot yesterday, thus increasing GOP primary vote total to about 500 above the Democrats. This may very well be the first time in Davidson County history that more people will have voted in a Republican primary than a Democratic one (just a hunch, too lazy to investigate that one).

Does this mean that there are now more Republicans? Not necessarily. I've talked to a few people who, like me, chose the Republican ballot because they live in uncontested Democratic districts and are scared of Angry Smurf and Yosemite Sam.

But short of going through each and every voter profile, its hard to tell how big the pattern of normally Democratic voters switching primaries is. While I'm still fairly confident that David Smith is going to win, unless you are comfortable seeing the five words, "Juvenile Court Clerk Eric Crafton," I suggest you go out and vote even if you may not have much of anything worthwhile going on in your legislative districts.

Bucket o' Beer, Bowl of Wings, and Tim Lee All In One Place

Gary Odom challenger Tim Lee is throwing a little shindig at Buffalo Wild Wings and what used to be Weck, and wants you to come out. Contributions aren't necessary to attend, but will probably be necessary if he has any shot in Hades of picking off the Democratic Leader of the House.

Luckily for Lee though, his fundraising challenge isn't as great as it might have seemed back in April of this year, as Gary Odom has blown through about $55K between April and July 1st.

According to TREF reports, Odom has one of the most well fed campaign teams in the business, spending over $2K on various campaign committee/planning/fundraising/worker meetings. He's also managed to keep his campaign staff walking the district in style, what with the $540 spent at Tiffany and Co. for campaign worker gifts.

Not that I'm hating here...by all means, campaign staff keep politicos in office, and they deserve all the spoils they might get. Odom has also managed to spread the wealth around to various charitable groups to the tune of about $27,500. Or roughly 50% of his overall expenditures.

Even with all that spending, Tim Lee still has quite a bit of a deficit to make up, as he ended the last quarter with less than $200 in his account compared to over $8K for Leader Odom.

Update:

Pre-primary numbers are in and Gary Odom has apparently gone to a policy of dutch treat, and he's raised about $6.5K and spent $1.75K largely on the Democratic party. Tim Lee's got enough money in his account to host a party at CeCe's Pizza for his supporters...about $30.

A Shot and a Shot

Hey, what do you now, Tennesseans love the hell out of some guns, but not at their local Applebees....

Seven in 10 voters said they oppose the law passed earlier this year that lets holders of handgun-carry permits take their weapons into any establishment that sells alcohol. Supporters of the gun law say it will make the state safer, but voters said in interviews that the prospect of guns mixing with alcohol is too dangerous.

Rep. Curry Todd complains that the poll isn't fair because it doesn't make clear the fact that restaurants can opt out of their patrons packing heat...but that doesn't really matter because the initial reaction of voters is what makes the difference. If you poll the individual elements of the health care reform package, people generally are favorable...ask them about Obamacare or just the Health Care reform act, and you get different numbers.

Frankly, I'm a bit surprised by these numbers. I don't really have that much of a problem with the bill. After all, its still illegal to drink and carry your weapon, and those who do drink and carry their gun were probably already going into bars and restaurants before the law. What it allows is for those paranoid white people who have visions of shit popping off at the most random times the comfort and security of knowing that if a terrorist decides to take O'Charley's hostage...they'll be prepared to stop 'em.

Having said that, if this bill, out of all the right-wingery emanating from the legislature the past two years, is the one that can shave off a few votes here and there to put the Democrats in charge of the House...so be it.

(h/t JR)

Henry's Got The "Fastest Mind In The Senate"

Betty Nixon loves her some Sen. Douglas Henry and thinks he's got the fastest mind in the Senate:



We've even got a great example of him thinking on his feet...

Republicans Close Gap in Early Voting

With the first day in from the start of expanded early voting polling sites, it looks as if Republicans have all but eliminated the early voting lead held by Democrats in the first week of early voting.

Over 4,000 people voted yesterday alone, bringing the total from 2,529 to 6,625. Of those, 3,305 chose a Democratic ballot compared to 3,279 getting voting in the Republican primary. If those trends continue, it is likely that more people will have voted in a GOP primary in early voting than they have in the Democratic primary.

Here is the breakdown of where people voted yesterday. It would appear to be highest in the areas encompassing the 21st Senate district and 60th House District. I don't have a breakdown by primary though.

METRO OFFICE		237
Belle Meade UMC		557
Bellevue Com Center		496
Bordeaux Library		303
Edmondson Pike Library		578
Green Hills Library		698
Hermitage Library		635
Living Word Church		136
Madison Library		456

48% of Tennesseans Think Poorly of Obama

The Tennessean has released more of that Mason Dixon poll and we find, shockingly, that President Obama is less than popular with Tennesseans. About 48% of the people of our fine state think he's done a poor job, and only 34% think he's done a good or excellent job.

As per usual, old white folk hate the hell out of some Obama, while the younger crowd is generally more favorable:

Two-thirds of respondents 65 and older, such as Keeton, gave Obama a poor grade. Support for Obama was highest among respondents ages 18 to 34, nearly half of whom viewed the president favorably.

In the Department of Phil, Republicans actually like the Democratic governor more than Democrats do. With an overall good/excellent rating of 74% and "poor" markings from only 7% of the class.

Hartline Poll Puts Cooper 15 Points Ahead of Generic Republican

The Hartline campaign released results from a poll conducted by the Republican firm Wilson Research Strategies which shows that Cooper garners 48% of the vote against a no-name Republican, with 33% going GOP and the rest presumably undecided or other.

The poll also suggests that if given a slew of negatively charged descriptions of Rep. Cooper's votes, his support drops down to 38%.

According to the campaign there are no head-to-head numbers to be given. Kind of curious why a campaign would commission a poll like this without polling the GOP primary as well...

Update:

Stupid, stupid, stupid...I keep forgetting to take a microscope to everything coming from the Republicans.

From a helpful commenter over at Post Politics we find that the poll in question was conducted way back in March 22-23, 2010. Right around the peak of all the furor over health care. It was also paid for by former GOP candidate Finucane and given to the Hartline campaign as an in-kind gift.

Unwholesome Places

Harold Ford Jr. is about to start promoting his new book, "More Davids Than Goliaths," and the Memphis Daily News has a preview of the book. According to Ford, he almost went to a bad place in the 2006 election because of the "Call Me" ads:

As a plan B, Ford considered an attack ad that would charge Corker had hired illegal immigrant construction workers.

“Your mind goes to unwholesome places when your opponent abandons all morality,” Ford wrote.

He didn’t do the attack ad, but the allegation found its way into the campaign. Corker denied any wrongdoing.

Its a good thing Ford didn't do that, it would've been wrong of him to stoop to that level. But, lets assume he had...what do you think that ad would've looked like? Oh, that's right, we don't have to guess:



Granted, he didn't do that in response to the RNC "Call Me" ad, he did it long before.

Henry Campaign Lies To Scare Away Yarbro Voters

In 2008 there was a Senior Senator from Arizona who had built a reputation over the years as a "straight-talker" and a "maverick" who put "country over party". Over the course of his campaign against a younger upstart he slowly but surely whittled away his credibility through a series of desperate cynical actions. I'm afraid we are seeing a repeat of that in the race for the nomination in the 21st Senate District.

Jeff Yarbro's campaign has learned of a negative attack ad from Sen. Douglas Henry's camp which makes false allegations about Yarbro:

“I’m sad and disappointed that Sen. Henry—or at least Sen. Henry’s campaign—has resorted to personal attacks and distortion rather than focusing on the issues facing Tennessee families. This is exactly what’s wrong with the legislature today,” Yarbro said. “From the outset, Sen. Henry has promised that he would not engage in personal attack politics, a promise he affirmed just last Tuesday. Either he broke his word or he didn’t know what was happening in his own campaign, and I’m not sure which is more troubling.”

In the attack ad, the Henry Campaign falsely suggests that Yarbro is a lobbyist and falsely insinuates that his law firm lobbies for BP, desperately exploiting the recent tragedy in the Gulf.

Yarbro works for Bass Berry & Sims, a large law firm which has 214 attorneys, two of which (J. Richard Lodge and Erica Bell Vick) are registered lobbyists. You can look up their client lists here, none of them appear to be BP.

I wish I could see the ad for myself, but that is the other part of the story. While Henry's campaign might complain that "Yarbro went negative first," all of his contrast ads were released to the press and his supporters. He hasn't done anything he should have to feel ashamed of. Clearly, Sen. Henry and his staff are ashamed of this ad because they haven't sent it out to the press or their supporters. They want to make the hits but not have to answer questions about them.

Sen. Henry should ask himself, if he has to run a campaign he can't be proud of to win re-election, is it worth it? To ruin the reputation he's built over these past 40 years would be a shame, and its unfortunate to hear his campaign is pushing him to do it.

See Also: Woods

Update: Even in defending their attack ad, the campaign distorts the facts...from Michael Cass:

Yarbro just responded to the Henry campaign’s state­ment about its ad. He said he’s never rep­re­sented BP in a fed­eral case. He said his only con­nec­tion to any­thing involv­ing the oil com­pany was a court fil­ing he made on Bass Berry & Sims’ behalf in a BP case in which the law firm’s billing records were sub­poe­naed. BP was a Bass Berry client at one point, but not when he wrote the fil­ing, Yarbro said.

So, basically, Yarbro's name was on a document that had the letters B and P and so the Henry campaign thought it was fair game to make erroneous ties to Jeff and the oil company? Shameless.

Update II:

Woods got a copy of the video in question (posted below) and also says that he agrees with the assumption (well, because his blog post was quoted in the video) that Yarbro would have an ethical cloud hanging over him if elected and he still works for Bass Berry.

A couple points. First, the ad claims that Yarbro works for a "lobbying firm". Bass Berry has 214 lawyers on staff according to their website, and a whopping two are lobbyists...that's less than 1%, and they represent about 12 clients...I think its a stretch to call that a "lobbying firm".

Should Yarbro recuse himself from those matters pertaining to the firm's lobbying interests? Probably so, but that doesn't necessitate leaving a law firm where the vast majority of the work comes from non-lobbying work.

Yarbro, as with any member of the legislature, should be liberal in either not voting for a matter that he has a potential conflict of interest, or in disclosing the matter as outlined in Article II, Section 2AI.

State of the Race - District 5

The numbers are coming in for the race to face Jim Cooper in the 5th district. The Republicans are unloading their campaign war chests in a battle to win the GOP nomination, and if you go by financial figures alone, it would appear that Hartline and Mama Grizzly Heil are the top two contenders (with Hartline raising and spending more). The numbers are between July 1st and 16th, with additional 48-hour notices for money raised.

CeCe "Mama Grizzly" Noland-Heil:

Raised = $12,363
Spent = $27,319
COH 7/16 = $15,369
Additional $7,200 in 48-hr report including $5,000 from Campaign for Working Families

Jeff Hartline:

Raised = $10,240
Spent = $59,107
COH 7/16 = $54,916
Additional $14,600 raised and reported since cutoff.

Hartline received another $4,358 salary payment on July 1st, but I checked with the campaign and they said that is the only one he'd be getting for this month (thus altering the $105K annual salary the initial monthly payments worked out to).

He also took in $2,511 in travel reimbursements for what the campaign said was made locally and included reimbursements from May and June travel in addition to July.

On the Democratic side Jim Cooper still has a lot more money, raising $44K, spending $31K with $677K COH and an additional $27.5K raised after the July 16th cutoff.

Update: Just for the record, David Hall hasn't filed a pre-primary report as of this posting, and his July 1st quarterly is, for lack of a better term, a fucking train-wreck...though it appears he's entirely self-funding. Vijay Kumar still hasn't posted any report that I can find, and Bob Schwartz hasn't raised or spent much of anything.

Difference Between Cult and Religion is the Number of Adherents

Speaker Ron Ramsey thinks the Constitution protects religious freedom...and of course as we all know the only "religion" is protestant Christianity, all others are apparently cults and not worthy of protection:

"Now, you could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, cult whatever you want to call it," Ramsey said. "Now certainly we do protect our religions, but at the same time this is something we are going to have to face."

Well fuck a duck...you know, he isn't entirely wrong. Islam is a "way of life" for many, dare I say, most Muslims. As far as the "nationality" goes, there is a lot of sectarianism among Muslims, Sharia Shia versus Sunni, those two versus the Nation of Islam. However, one could argue that the same applies for, well, just about every other religion in existence.

For instance, there are more sects of Christianity than cowboy boots in Ramsey's closet. Some take on "cult" like beliefs that require removal from society, abandonment of western values, strict modest dress codes and the like...the Amish would be just one example. Or hell, for that matter, I'm sure many of Ramsey's conservative christian home-schooling followers dress their kids like they are auditioning for Little Home on the Prairie and try to keep a distance from modern American culture. Does that mean they are less deserving of constitutional protection?

I admire Ramsey's aversion to conservative sects of the Islamic religion...I too share the same aversion. However, the problem is that Ramsey would seem to be focusing too much on that speck in his neighbor's eye all the while ignoring the planks in his and his fellow Christian's eyes. I'm all for the mainlining of religious beliefs in America, I think we'd be better off if they did, however, I don't see Ramsey, et al, paving the way for a more secularized America.

Ku Klux Klan to the Rescue!

Someone apparently forgot to tell the white supremacists that the immigration issue has nothing to do with race:

A white supremacist group known for wearing black fatigues and flying swastika flags is expected to rally in downtown Knoxville next month as a show of support for a tougher state immigration law.

I've managed to obtain some video of the impending rally...

McWherter Introduces Himself To Voters

De facto democratic nominee Mike McWherter has his first television ad cut in which we learn that he is a real man of the people who will work on his four wheeler, walk through factories, eat dinner with his family on the table in his covered patio all whilst cutting taxes, vetoing non-existent income tax proposals, and cut "wasteful spending" as Governor.



Altogether its a fine ad for him. Generic in the Haslam sense that it could work equally well for a Conservative Democrat or Moderate Republican.

Tennessee Newspaper Poll Shows Higher Undecided

Various Tennessee newspapers, including the Tennessean, combined their efforts to purchase a poll conducted by Mason Dixon to gauge the mood of voters going into the primary and general election. Based on a sample of 400 registered Republicans the poll finds what has been thought to be the case all along, Haslam leads with 36%, followed by Wamp with 25% and Ramsey with 20%. The placing is similar in terms of placement to a poll commissioned by WSMV earlier this month which showed 32% for Haslam, 21% for Wamp and 11% for Ramsey.

Its not a terribly good idea to read trend lines into these two polls because they are different firms, but given the relatively higher bounce for Ramsey, it may be an indication that there is a closer race for Haslam's second place than we had before. This poll was commissioned prior to Wamp's secessionist talk, so there is no indication of how (if at all) its impacted the race.

On the general election side the Mason-Dixon poll has a much higher undecided number in Dem-Rep matchups than the WSMV poll. Whereas the latter poll showed a 26 and 24 point lead for Haslam and Wamp respectively, this new poll shows a closer margin with fewer voters with their mind made up.

The well-financed campaign of Haslam — who started television ads much earlier than Ramsey or Wamp — has the widest margin, with a 49 percent to 31 percent advantage when he goes head on with McWherter, the son of a popular former Democratic governor.

Wamp leads the Democrat 45 percent to 38 percent, and Ramsey's lead is 43 percent to 38 percent. In each of those head-to-head matchups in the general election about one in five voters is still undecided.

Again, while reading trend lines into the two polls isn't really a great idea, one could take away from this poll that more Democratic voters would lean towards voting for Republican Haslam in a general election, whereas they'd be more likely to come home to McWherter if its Wamp or Ramsey.

"Robin's Rant"

I just got an email about this, not sure what the big deal is, can't really hear much over that loud Foreigner soundtrack. Either way, at first I thought it was Robin Smith getting into it with some Fleischman college intern, then I went to his website and realized that it wasn't some nerdy young kid but the candidate himself...

No Mistake, Ben West Likes Him Some Republicans

While there was some conjecture on my part that Ben West's endorsement of CeCe Heil was more his wife than he...it appears that is not the case. JR Lind has a statement form the outgoing Democratic State Rep. which indicates he's fallen in love with the teabagger message:

[My wife and I] are of the opinion that this country has been heading in the wrong direction; and that our voices have not been heard by our current representation regarding Congressional legislation. After looking at all the candidates in this race, it became abundantly clear that CeCe has the leadership skills and the moral character needed today to be a leader in this country. She is a strong Constitution Conservative and successful business owner, a devoted wife and mother, and Christian. She believes in smaller government and lower taxes to boost this failing economy, so more people can be put on the payroll, rather than on unemployment rolls. She is opposed to ObamaCare and Government take over of Private industry; and so are we.

I went back and re-watched the video from 2007 that I shot in which he wondered what the hell a Hispanic Republican was, to see what he (if anything) said about Jim Cooper. Ben West said at the time, "Jim Cooper is our Congressman and will be until whatever time he decides to quit..." I guess West no longer wants it to be his decision.

Regardless, it will be interesting to see if he backs the Democratic nominee to replace him or if he turns his back on his fellow House Caucus members and endorses Jim Gotto.

Social Workers for Henry

The Senatuh has received the endorsement of the National Association of Social Workers' political action committee NASW TN-PACE. In a letter to their members the group said:

Senator Henry’s commitment to children and families has been demonstrated throughout his legislative service. He additionally demonstrated his understanding of the accountability and need for improved professional recognition of social workers as one of three Senate co-sponsors introducing Multi-level Social Worker Licensure legislation at the request of NASW, Tennessee Chapter.

Democrat Ben West Hosts Party for CeCe "Mama Grizzly" Heil

Didn't expect to see this one coming...it appears that Ben West Jr. is supporting (or at least helping) the campaign of CeCe Heil, candidate for the GOP nomination to run against Jim Cooper.

YOU'RE INVITED TO AN OLD FASHIONED

BACKYARD ICE CREAM SOCIAL AT THE

HISTORICAL BUCHANAN LOG HOUSE

2910 Elm Hill Pike Donelson, TN 37214 (near the airport)

Sunday, July 25^th

2:00 pm - 6:00 pm

IN HONOR OF CECE HEIL

Congressional Candidate 5^th District Tennessee

LIVE MUSIC! Free Admission

HOSTED BY

Phyllis and Ben West, Jr. Ron and Judy Sharpe Paul and Diana Harper

Glen and Gayna Hughes J.B. and Ann Loring Julie and Ket West, II

Councilman Duane Dominy

LET'S SEND CECE T0 DC!

Not sure what to really say about this...hopefully some more information will come to light in the near future. Is there some rivalry between the Coopers and the Wests that I'm unaware of?

Ben West Jr. is retiring from the House this year and his seat will be hotly contested by the eventual Democratic primary winner and Councilman Jim Gotto.

Update:

It could be more Phyllis than Ben West judging by her facebook page which has these under "interests":

Marsha Blackburn, Michelle Malkin for Senate 2010, Scott Brown, Sarah Palin, Michelle Malkin, Sean Hannity, Shepard Smith, Glenn Beck, CeCe for CONGRESS, Meg Whitman, Save U.S. Energy Jobs, Brown Bailout, Choose Freedom -- STOP ObamaCare, Governor Jan Brewer, American Majority, FreedomWorks, Donelson Hermitage Neighborhood Association, Tennessee Tea Party, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Americans for Prosperity, Roane County for Ron Ramsey, Jim Gotto, Move America Forward, Conservative, The Heritage Foundation, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, Pampered Pets, Eric Cantor, Academy of Personal Protection and Security (A.P.P.S.), Michele Bachmann

Update II:

From what I understand Rep. West was at a recent debate for the Republican running for the nomination. I know he wasn't at the DHNA candidate forum a week prior for those candidates seeking to replace him for district 60. Maybe Ben West is following in a long line of "Democrats" who vote Dem in local elections and support Republicans on federal issues...

Whitey Can't Catch a Break

Somewhere Pat Buchanan is creaming his pants whilst reading this article by Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. Basically, its a condemnation of policies designed to help minorities that he feels have now gone on to hurt the white underclass. Mr. Webb has long [recently] been the Senate's biggest champion of the Scotch-Irish in the Appalachian region, and he now feels the time has come to end the un-named federal programs designed to give people of color a leg up over the white man:

Forty years ago, as the United States experienced the civil rights movement, the supposed monolith of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant dominance served as the whipping post for almost every debate about power and status in America. After a full generation of such debate, WASP elites have fallen by the wayside and a plethora of government-enforced diversity policies have marginalized many white workers. The time has come to cease the false arguments and allow every American the benefit of a fair chance at the future.

Cracka say what? I'm sure these anti-white policies exist because, well, they just must. But where are they represented? In the Federal workforce? I thinks not...according to a 2006 survey, the Federal Workforce consists of 67.9% White people, 17.2% Black, 7.5% Hispanic, 5.3% Asian, 2.1% Amerindian, and a handful of others. According to the ol' Wikipedia, America as a whole is 65.4% Non-Hispanic White, 15.4% Hispanic, 12.4% Black, and 4.4% Asian.

So when Sen. Webb says, "the extrapolation of [Affirmative Action] to all "people of color"—especially since 1965, when new immigration laws dramatically altered the demographic makeup of the U.S.—moved affirmative action away from remediation and toward discrimination, this time against whites." It forgets that, at least in terms of the Federal Workforce, the area the Government has the most control over employment, his ideal of what affirmative action should mean exists. Whites over-represent the federal workplace by a small fraction, but African-Americans are the largest percentage of federal workers even though Hispanic Americans comprise a larger percentage of the population.

Look, I know discrimination against white people exists because I've been told numerous times by gainfully employed white people who make more than I do that white people are disadvantaged. Despite the fact that I've never once been denied employment for a job I sought (without the aide of a college degree), I understand that we are constantly pushed aside for minorities...its rough. Unfortunately, I'm just having trouble finding it in the numbers and data. I mean, we all know that well qualified White applicants have been pushed aside for less qualified minorities, but save a few anecdotal examples, I'm just not seeing it on a macro level.

Turner on the Radio

Steven Turner went on the airwaves with this spot running on local radio stations.

He Was For It Before He Was Against It

The Jeff Yarbro campaign is a little surprised to find Sen. Henry claiming that he opposed the efforts of the Teabaggers in the State Senate to pass legislation nullifying the federal health care law:

“Frankly, I was surprised to learn that the Henry Campaign is telling District 21 residents he ‘voted against frivolous attempts to sidestep federal laws that address the problems of health care and immigration’,” Yarbro said. “Legislative records show that before he cast his final vote against the so-called Health Freedom Act, Sen. Henry supported that and similar legislation numerous times throughout the session.”

On February 17, Sen. Henry voted “aye” on the merits of SB3498, the original Health Freedom Act, sponsored by Sen. Beavers. On April 12, there was a second opportunity to oppose the legislature’s pointless opposition to health reform, but Sen. Henry merely voted “present” on SJR0897, a statement of intent urging the Attorney General to contest health care reform. On June 3, he voted “aye” on HJR0704, a resolution sponsored by Rep. Lynn, which she described as expressing “opposition to the federal takeover of healthcare.” Sen. Henry also supported that resolution in committee on May 25. Finally, on June 9, the last day of the session, he voted “no” on HB2622, an unprecedented, but ultimately successful, effort by Republicans to bring the Health Freedom Act back to the floor for a vote. On the Senate floor, he expressed opposition to the use of the procedural maneuvering but not to the merits of the bill.

Henry's vote "against" the bill is similar to his vote against a bill restricting mountaintop removal. Its not that he had a problem with the bill (just like he didn't oppose the mountaintop bill) its that he didn't like the way in which it was being brought to the floor. It offended his Senatorial sensibilities.

The truth is, while Sen. Henry's votes are mixed, he's been an ally to the teabaggers in the legislature. He has a tendency to support their cause of opposing federal action on matters pertinent to the American people. Just like when he co-chaired was the token Democrat on a legislative summer committee with Susan Lynn and said the Democratic party has been a greater enemy to the states than the Republicans, and inaudibly had a back-handed comment directed at President Abraham Lincoln:

Get Used to the Outdoor Sauna

Maybe its ironic in the Alanis Morissette sort of way, but I do find it funny that the region of the United States most dismissive towards science and skeptical of anthropogenic climate change is also perhaps the most in danger from it:

The Southeast is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, and the effects could include more heat waves, shrinking wildlife populations and damage to trees, according to a draft of a new report from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Last year was the second-warmest on record for the planet, and this year is now on par to be the planet's hottest since people started keeping records, according to climatologists. Locally, temperatures are above normal and expected to stay that way for the next several months.

The report acknowledges that over the past century the temperature has been relatively stable, but since 1970 there has been about a 2°F in the Southeast with a projected increase of 4.5°F to 9°F seventy years from now.

Getting Away From Those Damned Liberal Elites

NewsChannel5 and has announced that they will hold the first (and probably only) post-primary Gubernatorial debate at Tennessee Tech located in "The Highlands". If, by chance, you were like me and wondered, "what the fuck is that?" Well...

The Highlands is a regional public/private sector initiative between Overton, Putnam, and White Counties. Launched in 2006, the program has achieved several economic evelopment successes due to unprecedented levels of collaboration and regional cooperation among community leaders.

According to the press release this is the first time a televised debate will occur outside of either Nashville, Memphis, or Knoxville.

The debate is set for September 14th at 7PM.

All Elections Are About The Future

News Channel 5 did a profile of the Yarbro/Henry race and has video of the two candidates meeting at the Election Commission office campaigning for votes. Sen. Henry called Yarbro a "vigorous candidate" and said of the choice voters face is that "the main thing thing is what you're going to do in the future".

Something I'm sure both candidates can agree on.

Palin Should've Endorsed Hartline

I know he's not a "Mama Grizzly," but based on this exchange with Vijay "Stop Universal Jihad NOW" Kumar and Jeff "One for you, One for me" Hartline, it would appear that Jeff has the victimology thing down pat.

After Hartline's exorbitant salary came to light, Vijay Kumar posted a blog entry about it calling Hartline out. In response, Hartline responded with his press release giving vague and misleading arguments citing FEC regulations which no member of the campaign has yet to actually show exists. He also played the victim card saying, " [p]erhaps you should spend more time campaigning rather than meeting with the "Hate Jeff" alliance and formulating plans to sink me."

The "Hate Jeff" alliance? That is too rich. Fact is, nobody really gave two shits about Jeff Hartline, they simply saw the outrageously large monthly payments he gave to himself and had a pretty much universal visceral reaction.

What is really funny about all of this, is that nobody outside of a few bloggers and a radio talker seemed to pay it any notice. The print media has ignored it, and unless there are some television investigations under way, so has that medium. Instead of he and his flack B-ho emailing and insulting people who comment or report on the story, he should've just left well enough alone and let it go into the ether.

Republicans Concerned Over Potential Yarbro Win

The Republicans are getting a little nervous about the potential for new blood in the 21st Senate district and so it looks as if they are trying to pressure Democratic voters into backing Henry so as to save off a "strong" Republican challenge in the general election:

“We’re going to fight hard to win the seat regard­less, but if this Yarbro guy wins the pri­mary then we are all in,” John­son said. “We know how tough it will be to win against Sen. Henry. This Yarbro guy is run­ning so far to the left, that we will come after it hard.”

Republicans know that the worst thing for them would be to have Jeff Yarbro win this seat, because after redistricting, it would be much easier to win an open election than against an incumbent who has spent the last four years building relationships and serving the district.

Fact is, they don't have a serious challenger in that district to go up against Yarbro. Neither Chesser or Dickerson have the money or the name recognition to pick off this seat in a district that went for Obama in 2008. The only person who had a shot was probably Beth Harwell and she didn't jump in.

As far as Yarbro being "far to the left," I suppose Jack Johnson thinks anyone who believes in expanding health insurance coverage and the ability of a woman to make decisions for herself is a radical leftist...but I don't think the people of the 21st will agree with the senator from Brentwood.

Democrats Lead in Early Voting

Bad news for Eric Crafton, so far, it appears the fears of a higher Republican to Democrat ratio in the primary hasn't panned out.

According to Election Administrator Ray Barrett, the breakdown for the 1,098 votes cast between Friday and Monday are Democrats - 647 (59%), Republicans - 444 (40%), and general election only 7 - (<1%). I know very well that total of Republicans includes some Democrats in non-competitive districts who wanted a say in who our next Governor will be...

This is still down from the normal GOP-DEM split though. In 2006, after all the votes were cast, there was about a 63% turnout for the Democratic primary compared to about 36% for Republicans. I don't have the early voting split on that though.

Hartline Doesn't Heart Unemployed

Yeah, seriously folks...those lazy good for nothings should just run for Congress and ask their friends for money instead of relying on their unemployment benefits:

Really, its hard to escape the hilarity of all this. While Mr. Hartline's campaign staff has been running around on the blogs trying to justify him taking over $8,500 a month in campaign salary in May and June, he's out there tweeting about how awful it is for the President to want to help those unemployed by the Bush recession? So, between calls he's making begging people to give his campaign money so he can pay himself, he's pissed off that the President cares about making sure those who can't find a job aren't homeless and hungry?

Mr. Hartline, do you know how much an unemployment payment in Tennessee is on a weekly basis? At best, its $300 a week, and its only that high because those evil liberals in Washington passed a $25 bump through the evil stimulus package. $300 a week...that's $1,200 a month, or about 1/4 of the $4,500 Hartline makes a month from his campaign if you believe the story that his $8500+ payments were just back-pay from the previous quarter.

So the President is a "demagogue" for trying to get Congress to help out struggling Americans who need to get by while the global economy rebounds? Oh, Republicans...

Steve Gill Lays Into Hartline

Radio talker Steve Gill picked up on the Jeff Hartline story from Friday and calls the situation "slimy". After a few minutes of Gill tearing into Hartline, the candidate himself calls in and things get interesting. A snippet of the audio relating to the salary issue is posted in the Youtube clip below , hear the full audio (third segment for July 19th) at his website.



The argument from Hartline seems to be this notion that the FEC says you can take salary for a year, but can't accept payment until after the 1st of April. This is a rather liberal interpretation of the regulation which pretty much just says a candidate can take a salary that doesn't exceed his/her earned income in the previous year and it must be below the salary for members of Congress. It says you can't take it before the filing deadline for the primary, or January 1st if your state doesn't have a primary, and you can't take it after your election is over. Beyond that, there isn't any provision for paying yourself for months before these dates.

Just because Jeff Hartline quit his job in January and couldn't get paid until April doesn't mean he "deserved" or was "owed" pay for those three months. That was his decision to take the pay, and its therefore his decision to take this heat. This isn't a question of legality unless over the course of the next few months Hartline takes in more than he did last year in earned income. Nobody claimed that he did.

(h/t to Bill Hobbs for informing us all of this little episode, couldn't have found it without him)

Ain't No Shame In His Upper-Middle Class Game

Jeff Hartline defends his exorbitant campaign salary as "middle-class" and says he'll continue to take his $8,500K* (or maybe $4,500) a month salary.

If people want to criticize me for being firmly in the middle class, so be it. But I understand the issues facing most Americans today. I know the everyday impact of the damaging policies coming out of Washington. I know how the enormous debts currently being amassed will affect my children and their children. I believe that perspective needs a seat in Congress and that voice needs to be heard. I will continue to take enough from my campaign to pay normal household bills and devote the rest, and all of my time, to making sure that conservatives like me gain a seat in Congress.

Middle-class, top 15%, same difference I suppose. Either way, its not about him becoming rich off of this campaign, its that he's spending his donors money not on defeating an incumbent Congressman, but lining his pockets. A great many candidates have been running longer and more active campaigns over the past few months and haven't been taking that kind of campaign kick-back. Ultimately though, as long as his donors are fine with it, more power to him. If he wins the primary, I think he deserves a bonus!

Update:

Also, the campaign is miffed at the $105K annual figure I came up with, seeing as Mr. Hartline didn't take an exorbitant salary in the first quarter filings. But I never said he had taken $105K or would, just that his salary as paid on a bi-weekly basis of a static amount of $4358.99 would work out to be an annual salary of about $105K.

The campaign is claiming that these payments included back-pay for the first quarter when they didn't have the money to pay Mr. Hartline and/or couldn't pay him under FEC rules. So now (after the salary amount has become public) his campaign payments to himself will drop down and his annual salary figure would be a more reasonable $54,000 a year.

Whether this was the plan all along, or its a result of criticism, I don't know, can't know, probably won't ever know. So, going forward, Mr. Hartline will be taking less of his campaign money, and legally he could have taken more. For those who care, there you go.

Update II:

The FEC regulation § 113.1 (I) states that candidates can't receive a salary until after the filing deadline for the primary, and that the salary can't exceed the annual salary for the prior year. It doesn't really say anything about issuing back-pay for the months prior to the filing deadline, so in that respect, it was a decision made by the Hartline campaign.

Time To Like Mike

Randy Neal makes the case for Democrats to get behind Mike McWherter:

McWherter has kept his media powder dry, while Haslam has spent over $7 million trying to convince Republicans and teabaggers that he's just as crazy as Wamp or Ramsey. That's more than Gov. Bredesen spent on his primary and general election campaigns combined in 2006. And Haslam' only just getting warmed up.

McWherter has a head start and is using it to his advantage. The more I learn about him the more I like him. (See Tom Humphrey's "day on the campaign trail" article from yesterday.) Sure, he's said some things that don't sit well with progressives. Just like Harold Ford Jr. But our advice to Democrats is to put away the knives and get behind our guy. Unless you want a less qualified, less accomplished Bob Corker clone running the state.

I'm not sure of the inherent wisdom in sitting on the campaign cash and letting Republicans soak up all the media for the past few months, but I'm not a campaign strategist.

Hartline Thinks Very Highly of Himself

Well, I mentioned earlier that Jeff Hartline raised a lot of money, now we see that he has to in order to pay himself a campaign salary that works out to an annual wage of about $105,000 dollars [UPDATE: Hartline campaign claims its $54K annual]. YUP, not a typo. Hartline is kicking himself back over $8,500 a month, or roughly 10% of his overall take in the last quarter.

Now, this type of salary in an of itself for this type of congressional campaign is higher than average...even for an experienced applicant with a record of success. For a political neophyte with no record of achievement? Unheard of.

Now, I don't begrudge a candidate for taking a little something-something to help make ends meet when you aren't working, but a hundred and five thousand dollars a year? Seriously? That is just scandalous. But wait you say, running a campaign is expensive, there are expenses and what not...oh, don't worry kiddos, because Mr. Hartline also got reimbursed for every dime he spent trying to get elected. Yup, he collected another $2,400 in Expenses.

Oh, and don't worry, he's not the only one in the family enjoying the campaign largess. Hartline's son Wes also got paid to the tune of $4600 $2,450 [actually, it looks like $2,150 of that was listed as "in-kind" for writing...must be one damn good writer] , IN ONE MONTH! That's over $600 more than his political consultant Bill Hobbs (who, love him or hate him, has a lot of campaign experience) got in 3 months of the reporting period.

I gotta wonder, did Hartline's fund-raising letters and correspondence indicate that so much campaign money was going to give he and his son a cushy salary? Was that part of the campaign strategy? Any GOP donors out there a little miffed that their money is going to Hartline's pockets, and not towards pulling off the incredibly difficult job of unseating an incumbent Democrat in a heavily Democratic area?

UPDATE:

Sorry, I was under the impression that Hartline was his own campaign manager...but oh no, he has himself a campaign manager to take care of all that business, who makes considerably less than Mr. Hartline.

Straight Pimpin'

Update II: The explanation.
Also, I tried to make it clear in the edit that the initial $4,600 figure for Wes Hartline was wrong, but I've edited it further to accentuate the point. $2,150 of that number was "in-kind".

GOP Challenger Outraises Cooper in Q2

The July quarterly figures are out at the FEC for the Congressional races and it appears that Republican Jeff Hartline outraised incumbent Jim Cooper in the 2nd quarter by about $10K, or $210,172 to $221,905.

Cooper is still sitting on a $600K war-chest going into the general compared to about $100K for Hartline, but this is definitely shaping up to be the toughest GOP challenge in the 5th district, possibly ever.

So far as I can tell, CeCe Noland-Heil, the "Mama Grizzly" endorsed by Sarah Palin, has yet to file any reports with the FEC. So she's either self-funding or adopting the TNGOP's FEC accounting standards. UPDATE: Found her disclosure records...for some reason it doesn't show up in the District 5 candidates listing, but its under CeCe for Congress. She raised $58K and has $30K on hand.

Opinions Lacking in 58th District

Or, at least, that's the impression that one might get from a Nate Rau piece on the race between Steve Turner and Mary Pruitt in the 58th House District. The article quotes Jerry Maynard, Mike Byrd, and The Buffalo PAC...all of whom are outwardly undecided on who should be their State Representative.

But there are apparently opinions galore on the Tennessean editorial board as they endorse the Govenah's Senatuh in the 21st District over challenger Jeff Yarbro, citing Henry's many years of service to the district and his undiminished wits.

The Need for Change in the 58th

On the eve of early voting, I thought it was important to lay out the case for why Steve Turner should be elected to the House of Representatives in the 58th District. Before I get to Steve, I think its important to take a look at the incumbent, Mary Pruitt. In short, Rep. Pruitt is the least effective Representative in Davidson County, and one of the least effective in the State.

About 26 years ago, Mary Pruitt's husband, Charles Pruitt, died and she ran and won a special election to fill his seat. Since then she has been remarkably and inexplicably absent from the legislative process in any meaningful way.

Despite ranking 4th in seniority, Rep. Pruitt hasn't chaired a full committee or taken a leadership role within the Caucus.

Despite being a senior member of the Davidson County delegation Rep. Pruitt only introduced 12 bills in the last session, that is nearly 1/3 of Brenda Gilmore's total who introduced the 2nd least.

Despite actually representing the district which contains in it the legislature, Rep. Pruitt missed an astonishing 87 votes for final passage of bills in this past session.

Rep. Pruitt is unaccountable and largely unavailable to her district. Her proudest accomplishment in nearly 30 years is having a library named after her. She doesn't know or care that that her district has changed and grown throughout the years, and all indications are that if re-elected she will continue to treat her position as a nuisance rather than an honor.

All of this is evidenced by her incredibly anemic fund-raising numbers which are propped up by a couple of PACs and legislators who simply want one or two votes from her in the next session. Beyond that, she seems to have no real support or credibility from her colleagues at the Capitol.

With that in mind, there is a candidate running for the district 58th seat who does actually want to represent the district. Steve Turner is a young but accomplished fighter who is hungry to lead. He's dedicated himself over the past few years to engaging and registering young voters. He's worked to become a valued member of the community he lives in. And most importantly, he sees the needs of the district going forward. Steve's managed to get the support of local community activists like Freddie O'Connell, as well as establishment members of the community like Charles Robert Bone and Will Pinkston.

At the end of the day, even if a voter weren't sure about whether Steve was ready, the fact is it would be almost impossible to have a worse representative than Mary Pruitt. If there was anyone who reads this blog that is on the fence, I'd say that all Turner wants is the next two years to show he cares and is ready to lead...if after that time period you decide he isn't up to snuff, we have another election right around the corner.

Out and About Endorsements

Nashville's GLBT newspaper has released their endorsements for the upcoming August 5th elections. Out and About endorsed David Smith for Juvenile Court clerk because of his outreach to the community and because of Eric Crafton's hostility to equal rights in the workplace.

They endorsed Steven Turner and Jeff Yarbro citing their strong outreach to both their districts and the GLBT community. And they also endorsed Congressman Jim Cooper despite what they call his foot-dragging on health care and some other issues.

District 60 Candidates Speak Out

The other day I went to a Donelson-Hermitage Neighborhood Association forum which included the candidates for District 60 House of Representatives (sans Larry Crim) and the two candidates for Juvenile Court clerk.

The race itself is largely between three candidates, the Republican Councilman Jim Gotto, and his two most likely opponents...Tommy Bradley, former Metro Councilman, and Sam Coleman, current Metro Councilman. After July 1st Bradley is sitting on about $12K, Coleman a little over $6K, and Gotto over $22K. The district itself apparently went for Obama by 55% in 2008 (#'s aren't easy to come by in State legislative districts), but given the likelihood of lower Democratic turnout and higher Republican turnout this year, and Gotto's name recognition and fundraising effort, this is certainly a toss-up election.

Here is the video of the forum, you can decide for yourself who you like or dislike. On many of the questions there seemed to be a lot of agreement between the Democratic and Republican candidates, with Bradley and Coleman having slightly more qualified answers. All would oppose a state income tax, and all, head-scratchingly, said they wouldn't spend Federal money if its raised through deficit spending (which, it has been and will continue to be for many years). Bradley was forceful on opposing guns in bars, and Gotto hued to his conservative talking points pretty closely.

Opening Remarks

Question on Taxes

Question on Immigration

Question on the Environment

Question on Education

Question on Health Care

Question on Firearms

I wasn't able to stay for the whole two hour forum, but from what I understand there wasn't anything too exciting said in the last half-hour. I'll try to have video of the Juvenile Court clerk candidates later...

Update: Here is the video from the Juvenile Court Clerk Candidates. I have to say, based solely on the answers its hard to disqualify either of them. A month or so back I had one of Crafton's fellow Council Members tell me it was important for Crafton to go down hard so as to send a message to the teabaggers. Honestly, as much as I dislike Crafton for his various stands on immigration and other matters, when it came to his answers, I didn't find anything to complain about.

Ultimately, I support David Smith and look forward to seeing him elected (there isn't a doubt in my mind that its going to happen), but I rather enjoy seeing Crafton speak without having my blood pressure rise.

56 Years Later, Its Time For change

Jeff Yarbro has a new television ad out which implores the Democrats of the 21st District that its time for a change after Sen. Douglas Henry's 56 years of service:

No Tennessean is proud of the fact that we're ranked 42nd in schools, 46th in health, 49th in obesity, 49th in infant mortality. We know we can reach higher, but our legislature simply seems incapable of addressing the serious challenges we face. The need for change is clear, as is the fact that the legislature is not going to change from within.

Early voting starts Friday.

Yarbro Snags Labor Backing

In a pretty surprising move, the Tennessee AFL-CIO has decided to go with Jeff Yarbro in the District 21 Senate Democratic Primary race against a nearly 40 year incumbent, Doug Henry:

Jeff Yarbro, Democratic candidate for Nashville’s 21st State Senate District, welcomed the support today of the Tennessee American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the Nashville Building and Construction Trades Council. With more than 4,000 member households in State Senate District 21, these unions represent thousands of working families.

“Jeff knows that working people in Tennessee are struggling,” said Jerry Lee, President of Tennessee AFL-CIO. “He is focused on honing the skills of Tennessee’s highly skilled workers who have lost their jobs at closed facilities. This retrained workforce will attract industries to our state to help rebuild our manufacturing base and our economy.”

This endorsement could be key in pushing Yarbro over the edge towards a victory in this race. While many endorsements are just for show, a labor endorsement could bring with it ground troops and financial resources...that will be key.

The Illegal Immigrant Invasion Hits The Convention Center

Apparently Rep. Mike Turner has gone through an evolutionary metamorphosis granting him a sixth sense enabling him to tell the difference between a documented and undocumented worker merely by looking at them.

Turner said he became aware of the issue because some workers on the project complained to him that illegal immigrants were also being used. Turner, who is a Metro firefighter, added that he was on the site earlier this week in response to an emergency call and he observed construction workers who he believed were illegal immigrants.

“I’ve been on the site and I’ve seen people I suspect are illegal and I’ve been told by some people working on the site they have illegals there,” Turner said.

I wouldn't be terribly surprised if some of the employees on this construction project have extra-legal status...its the nature of the business. However, I am curious as to what evidence has been gathered which leads Rep. Turner or the anonymous employees at the construction site to indicate a lack of legal status.

Update: Trace and Aunt B. are also perplexed at his uncanny detection abilities.

Obama Does The Right Thing

In response to a blatant race-baiting campaign by King Willie Herenton, it appears that the President is going to come out and endorse one of his strongest allies in the House, Steve Cohen.

Turner Outraises Pruitt

Steve Turner in his bid to replace Mary Pruitt as the district 58 Representative managed to outraise his opponent, $8,005 to $5,525...nearly all of Pruitt's haul came from fellow legislators and PACs, including a $500.00 gift from Rep. Mike Stewart here in the 52nd and $2,500 from the Nashville Firefighters.

But, none of that really matters, because so far as I can tell Pruitt doesn't seem inclined to spend that money. While Turner spent over $9K in his election effort, Pruitt has so far only spent $1,500, of which $500 was spent on a website which so far as I can tell doesn't exist.

Pruitt is still sitting on a $35,000 campaign chest, but when, how, or if she is going to spend it remains to be seen.

Yarbro Outraises Opponent Henry

In the race for the 21st District Senate Democratic nomination Jeff Yarbro outraised his incumbent opponent, Sen. Douglas Henry, by $20K, pulling in $46,301 to Henry's $26,449.

Luckily for Henry though...he's rich, so his $200,000 loan to his campaign has enabled him to far outspend Yarbro by nearly $100,000; $139,684 to $42,100. Looking deeper into the numbers it appears that Henry's campaign commissioned a rather costly $23,000 poll of the district, and seeing as we haven't seen a release from his campaign, that probably indicates not so great news. Also we see that Henry spent $2,180 last April to buy votes at the Davidson County Democratic Straw Poll...the one he lost by 87 votes.

Going into the final stretch both candidates are currently equally matched on the money front, Sen. Henry has $196K to Yarbro's $190K...which will be important for Yarbro if he is going to match Henry/Bredesen's massive media blitz and boost his name recognition within the district.

That Pause Is Where The Word "No" Should Go In

Bill Haslam thinks we should be like Arizona.



So, in a time of tough fiscal circumstances for our state, the solution is to spend more money to unilaterally deputize the entirety of our state's law enforcement apparatus to hold suspected unauthorized aliens in our jails, and to enable right-wing groups to sue the state and local law enforcement agencies when they think enough isn't being to done to get rid of the brown people from out state.

Genius!

Leave The Tough Stuff For The Next Guy

Governor Bredesen is displeased with the President over his insistence of focusing on important issues facing this country, rather than just throwing out the word "jobs" ad naseum.

“Universally the governors are saying, ‘We’ve got to talk about jobs,’ ” Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, a Democrat, said in an interview. “And all of a sudden we have immigration going on.”

He added, “It is such a toxic subject, such an important time for Democrats.”

The problem is that the only solutions for creating "jobs" that the President has available to him would involve expanding the federal deficit even further, a prospect that is increasingly displeasing to the American electorate. And I'm sure if the President proposed another large stimulus package, the Governor would be right there talking about a need to tighten our belts and stay within our means.

I understand that the topic is not something popular, especially in a Southeastern state like Tennessee, but lets face it, at this point anything the President does is going to be unpopular with a majority of the white electorate in Tennessee. Hell, he could award Jefferson Davis a posthumus Presidential Medal of Freedom and the next day you'd see Bubba's all over this state burning their Confederate flags.

We do still have a chance in some of the mountain states like Colorado and New Mexico that have large Hispanic populations. If the President were to let Arizona get away with violating Federal laws and jurisdiction, chances are that our popularity with that group would continue to diminish, and they'd sit on their hands in November. By supporting the law and the civil rights of Hispanic peoples, the President is likely energizing that part of the base. The rightwing xenophobes were already energized, this action isn't going to help or hurt that cause.