Nathan Moore's Thoughts
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Time is getting close as far as filing deadlines go here in Tennessee. Rumors still abound that State Senator Jim Bryson will announce his candidacy for governor at any moment. If he does, he will have to give up his Senate seat (District 23). Already I’m getting phone calls from individuals ready to run. There’s a heavyweight waiting in the wings, whose support structure will be nearly unbeatable.
If Bryson announces, I’ll have the rundown here.
March 30th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Don’t they have to turn in nominating petitions? Have Bryson and others been getting them filled out?
March 30th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Sean,
Yes, they do, but that shouldn’t be that big of a problem to do by April 6th. Especially since it only requires 25 signatures.
March 30th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
Nevermind, its only 25 votes for the nominating petition, I thought it was a lot more.
March 30th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
Argh. I love the idea of Bryson being governor, but I can’t see him beating Brede$en, who will spend whatever it takes of his own money to win, even if it is illegal (just like he did four years ago).
Plus, Bryson doesn’t have the statewide name recognition.
And if he loses, we won’t have Bryson in the state Senate, and the spending-control amendment likely will die. No one else in the state legislature understands the spending-control amendment as well, nor explains it as simply and populistically, as Bryson does.
This is a tough call for me. Much as I want Bredesen out of there, I’m going to urge Bryson not to run. But know this - if Bryson runs, I’m going to work like hell to get him elected.
March 30th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
P.S. And if he decides to run, I want to be one of the first 25 names on his nominating petition, just to honor all he has done and fought for.
March 30th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
Why won’t you guys just embrace the candidate you already have. Carl “Two Feathers” Whitaker is a dedicated conservative who has just as good a shot to beat Bredesen as Sen. Bryson does.
March 30th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
Sean,
Senator Bryson is the sort of principled and thoughtful legislator that you should thank your lucky stars every morning that we have. He will be a far more formidable candidate than you suggest.
I remember 1994 when people like you said that three term Senator Jim Sasser with his name-recognition and fundraising was a mortal lock for re-election.
I also remember that in January of 1994 Jim Cooper was something like 20 points ahead of his likely rival. Poor what-was-his-name? And we all know how that ended. If that had been a boxing match, it would have been called a TKO in September.
Don’t count your victories before the election is over.
Senator Bryson is one of the best legislators Tennessee has ever seen. And he is incredibly ethical.
Regards.
Mark
To be bi-partisan, I hope Senator Cohen does run for Congress because he is also the sort of intelligent and principled leader we need.
March 30th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
So are you saying the Carl Whitaker isn’t an intelligent and principled leader? And wasn’t Jim Cooper running for an open seat? Jim Bryson is running against a popular Governor (more popular with Republicans than Democrats according to this SUSA poll), so I’m not sure where you are getting the comparison between the two. I’m sure this race will depend on what policies the candidates will bring to the table, and I’m not sure what radically different policies Bryson will bring that Bredesen hasn’t already offered.
March 30th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
Sean,
Senator Bryson is a state senator. That makes him a leader with a record of achievement in government. Carl Whitaker is barely known in Republican circles and therefore fails to meet my definition of ‘leader’ in the context of potential candidates for Governor.
If Senator Bryson runs, he will certainly be formidable. The same cannot be said of the 1998 Democrat candidate for Governor or the 1996 Democrat candidate for US Senate or the 2000 Democrat candidate for Senate.
And, by the way, your comment “I’m not sure what radically different policies Bryson will bring that Bredesen hasn’t already offered” suggests that we Republicans can declare Victory. To assert that a Democrat Governor and a Conservative Republican State Senator are close on policy says more about who the people prefer overall than any poll could.
Thanks, Sean.
I am very pleased with your enlightenment.
Somewhere Ronald Reagan is looking down and smiling broadly.
March 30th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
Mark, Have you ever seen me say that Tennesseans prefer a Liberal over a Conservative??? Its no shocking revelation to say that the reason Phil Bredesen is so popular is because he has maintained a conservative administration over the past 4 years. I don’t love Bredesen, nor have I ever claimed to, but that doesn’t divorce myself from the reality that, short of some intervention by Jesus on behalf of the Republican party, it will be very unlikely for Bredesen to lose in 2006.
March 30th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
Sean,
I was having a bit of fun with you. A jest, a jape, a knave’s trick if you will. You are that rare liberal with a sense of humor and I appreciate that.
Just don’t be so dismissive of Senator Bryson. You will find that he is a very different sort of candidate than you might imagine.
Senator Bryson’s integrity (and I suggest no lack of integrity on the part of the Governor) as well as his principled approach to government will resonate with a populace that is weary of issues like ‘Tennessee Waltz.’
March 30th, 2006 at 5:49 pm
I’ll give him this, Jim does have a hell of a chin, kinda reminds me of the Stan Smith on American Dad. I’m just not sure how much Tennessee Waltz will have an effect on the governers race, perhaps the legislature, but I think Bredesen has managed to keep himself fairly secluded from that controvery.
March 30th, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Don’t worry, Bill - TABOR won’t die if Bryson leaves the Senate. I like the idea of Governor Bryson, too.
March 31st, 2006 at 12:06 pm
It’s all fruitless. Bredesen is a lock.
April 1st, 2006 at 4:32 pm
Brittney,
With all respect to my favorite Blog-goddess, in my considerable time working in campaigns I have learned that when the candidates are comparable in quality, one can never be certain.
To be sure, Senator Bryson has a long road ahead. He will need money to build state-wide name recognition and he will need an excellent strategy.
However, the state is trending more Republican and the Governor’s positions that have gained him favorable rating on the Right have cost him support on the Left.
How many Republicans will vote for the Governor? How many Democrats on the Left will refuse to vote for the Governor over TennCare or worker’s comp? Those are questions that cannot be answered now.
However it is too early to be so certain that this election is decided.
The Governor is no further ahead of Senator Bryson today that Congressman Cooper was ahead of Fred Thompson in 1994. The same is true of Senator Sasser’s lead on Dr. Frist.
That is the fun of elections.
February 4th, 2007 at 6:51 am
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