John Rodgers of The Nashville City Paper has been absolutely tireless in covering local races, such as Senate 23, and has been especially impressive in covering the Republican US Senate primary. It’s as if he’s got at least one, if not two pieces, written and ready on a daily basis. Today is no exception.

This time, though, Mr. Rodgers helps clarify the admirable optimism of a soon-to-put-out-its-misery campaign

“Corker’s peaked,” Bryant spokesman Andrew Shulman maintained while defending his campaign’s advertising claim that Corker avoided paying his own taxes twice. FactCheck.org called Bryant’s assertion “false.”

Oh yes, in addition to his campaign now registering as “equestrian” on the political treatment chart, we ought not forget the absolute fakery surrounding Ed’s attacks on Bob Corker, and the hypocrisy that comes with it. It’s become clearer and clearer that campaign headquarters in Brentwood rest on a foundation of glass.
But Ed isn’t the only trailing but adorably optimistic candidate. Having finished stumping for Ed Bryant last month, Van Hilleary campaign manager Jennifer Coxe weighs in with her own assessment

Jennifer Coxe, Hilleary’s campaign manager, disagrees that her candidate is in third place behind Bryant. Coxe says the Hilleary campaign has internal polling that show the candidate is in second place. Coxe said Hilleary will be aided through the “strongest and broadest grassroots organization in this state,” which also includes pro-lifers, home schoolers and National Rifle Association members.

We’re in second! I’m not sure they adequately test marketed that rallying cry. Just in case, though, someone ought to explain to the Van folks some rather key distinctions between winner-take-all and parliamentary systems.

Meanwhile, the silver medal is awaitin’.

Former State Senator Bob Rochelle’s new campaign motto - “Just Trust Me”

Democrat Bob Rochelle, a former state senator from Lebanon running to reclaim his old seat, recently started airing a television ad that touts his record in the state Senate and what he plans to do if he returns.

“Bob Rochelle will fight to cut the cost of health care and prescription drugs, and he will support an increase in the minimum wage,” the Rochelle ad states.

Then, Rochelle pipes in: “It takes experience to get things done. I will fight for you.”

Rochelle makes no mention, however, of his most controversial stance — support for a state income tax along with other tax reform measures while he served in the state Senate.

He has said that the income tax is a “dead issue.

Gee, Bob. I didn’t know the Tennessee Constitution had been amended to add a Taxpayers Bill of Rights provision, or that the Copeland Cap had been enhanced to require a super-majority, or that Jimmy Naifeh wasn’t speaker anymore.

Or that you were out of politics.

Maybe Bob Rochelle is a prophet - perhaps all these things could come to pass, and the income tax will be dead.  Of course, that also means he’s a prophet of his own demise, because to see it fulfilled, you’ve got to vote Republican.

Van Hilleary is apparently having a press event at Legislative Plaza as I write this. I presume he’s a) not withdrawing from the US Senate race - it’s too late to do Ed Bryant any good, or b) he’s announcing he’s running for governor as a write-in candidate in 2006.

Unfortunately, when on the topic of Van, neither seems all that far from a reachable reality.

The Muslim killing and injuring of innocent Jews in Seattle is noted by CNN here. The stated reason by the perpetrator is that he responded to Israel airstrikes in Lebanon by killing Jews in Seattle.

Not terribly peculiar, but certainly perplexing in its rationality. Fortunately for Naveed Afzal Haq and his relations, American Jews don’t go around shooting up Mosques every time Arabs bomb a school or bus station. This is a hate crime - by its own standards, The New York Times ought to give it more than one day of coverage. We shall see.

Blogging for Bryant is giving me as much ammunition and material these days as the Tennessee Gorilla Women do the rest of the time. From a recent post, citing a TownHall article

Mark Alexander, writing at TownHall.com, backs Bryant and says Bob Corker represents “What’s wrong with the Republican Party.”

By all means, go read the rest of the linked-to article. It’s actually quite complimentary of Corker, noting his fiscal conservatism in governing Chattanooga and the character associated with this rise and success (note that little tidbit has been left on the Blogging for Bryant cutting room floor). But still, the main difference noted by Alexander in that TownHall piece is that Ed Bryant has a track record and Bob Corker doesn’t. I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing. Ed would make a fine senator. Bob Corker would make a superior one.

Besides, since when have self-made men been persona non grata in the Republican Party?

News from the State Senate 23 primary to replace Jim Bryson - it is worth noting that Chip Throckmorton was the only candidate present at Phil Valentine’s immigration town hall in Franklin on Thursday.

Why the other candidates in the race (there are four more) don’t consider illegal immigration an important enough issue is beyond me. Perhaps someone out there should ask them.

The Blogging for Bryant cabal continues to peddle the laudenum that Ed Bryant is most equipped to beat Harold Ford, Jr. The latest evidence is this piece, from the Memphis Commercial Appeal

In the Aug. 3 GOP primary, former congressman Ed Bryant needs a huge vote in his Shelby and West Tennessee base to counter Bob Corker and Van Hilleary elsewhere.

In the Nov. 7 general election, Democrat Harold Ford Jr. must roll up a huge Democratic margin in Memphis to have a chance of becoming Tennessee’s first African-American U.S. senator.

A Tennessee Poll released last week by the University of Tennessee drives home both points, particularly in the GOP primary. It shows Bryant doing his best in West Tennessee, where he served as U.S. Attorney and congressman.

Ahem, emphasis certainly not mine.

Yeah, let’s latch onto that same UT poll whose methodology would make George Michael look like he had things straightened out. The missing variables to the equation are, well - the other two Grand Divisions. As in, a Van Hilleary / Ed Bryant type candidate would not be able to carry East Tennessee like Bob Corker, who owns that part of the state in this election. Or Middle Tennessee, for that matter. The last I saw, Ed Bryant was losing Williamson County.

Essentially, Ed Bryant’s best hopes are that he can carry a couple more votes in State Senator John Ford’s old district than Bob Corker.

To my friends drinking the Kool-Ed…I think it’s time to call it a day.

I finally got around to voting today, figuring that I’d be too busy on August 3rd to make time to reach my polling location. As everyone across the state knows, turnout has been light. At the Hermitage Library in eastern Davidson County, the line to vote had snaked around the stacks by the time I got there at 11:15 am. I finally voted at 11:45 am. I thought it a rather significant presence of voters, considering the reports of low turnout up to this point.

Anecdotal at best, I’m not sure my experience reflects anything real. I thought about it, and the first Saturday of early voting, polls closed at noon. This Saturday, the polls stay open later, and people may not have realized it and were willing to stand in line in lieu of voting on Thursday. We’ll see what the final early voting numbers are on Monday, and we’ll get our answer.

I’m referring to the movie, not the concept. In common is the conceptual belief that God is a woman - and, of course, they’re both really funny. Here is one of the finest and latest missives from the Tennessee Gorilla Women

I may have mentioned before that the conflict surrounding Israel scares the shit out of me. Even if we had a reasonable government, I’d be worried about the building war between Israel and Hezbollah. Unfortunately, we’re living in Bizzarro Amerikkka, where the worst possible person for any position in the administration is the very person who has the job in question. If we survive the Bush years, we will truly know that Goddess is on our side, because I don’t see any possible way we’re getting out of this mess with our country intact. Our Democracy is on the roof waiting for the boats to come rescue it, and Mike Brown is still working for FEMA. Let’s pray Lady Liberty can swim.

What scares me is that in some circles, what you just read above qualifies as deep and meaningful. And cogent. In the real world, where people know that the KKK does not control the American government, such hyperbole gets sent to the kiddy table (or the college campus, whichever is most appropriate). But, alas, “The Goddess” does not stop there (using their logic, would that be the same as me calling myself “The Christ”? A little heretical, no?)

Now, the trick is, we take away all of the bombs. They get guns and bullets, only. They fight it out hand to hand or not at all. All transportation in or out ceases, so that they have to stay there and deal with the mess they’ve created. No electricity, no communications of any kind, just them, the desert, guns and their unshakable faith that Jesus will be back at any minute or whatever they think is going to happen. The rest of the world will go on with its life, knowing that they have no bombs and can only hurt each other. We’ll have guards around the perimeter so no one gets out. When they’ve all died out from whatever, we’ll reward the border guards with trips to Aruba, and we start working on Africa. We keep going until there’s peace on the planet, and anyone who wants to fight about anything gets shipped off to Antarctica.

I’m sorry. I was laughing so hard I dropped a Three Mile Island chicken wing in my lap. I can tolerate individuals who cling to pacifism due to religious beliefs. I have no patience for a pacifist who reasons that it works.

Being a fan of limited government, I cannot call for the FCC to conduct SAT-style tests for anyone wanting to blog. But at the very least, let’s see a little self regulation.

The Chattanooga Times-Free Press editorializes about some of the more recent shenanigans of TeamAntiCorker

By contrast, the Republican group that calls itself TeamGOP offers this simplistic recommendation: Vote against retention of any judge appointed by a Democratic governor.

That is preposterous. It would be equally preposterous if Democrats were urging ouster of judges simply because they were appointed by Republicans. The party affiliation of the appointing governor tells you nothing about a judge’s performance.

Perhaps TeamGOP is ignorant of the lengths to which Tennesseans have gone to filter politics out of the selection of appellate and supreme court judges.

Well, I’ve got a newsflash for the Times-Free Press - this judicial ploy is by no means indicative of any limitation on TeamGOP’s ignorance. To be honest with you, though, I seldom take what the group says seriously anymore. The documented evidence not to is simply overwhelming. The garbage they do locally in Tipton County proves an unfortunate lack of integrity, not to mention the random character assassination attempts on Frank Boehm and Chip Throckmorton. Then add to that an avowed lack of concern for real issues. The “approved judge” list was nothing more than a publicity stunt.

I was standing in line at Publix today preparing to pay for my groceries.  I was already in a less-than-congenial mood because all I had eaten up to that point was a scrambled egg and half of a sandwich (I really needed to get some groceries!) and it was 5:00pm.  The woman in line behind me started to snap her gum.  And, it wasn’t an accidential one-time snap.  This was a repetitive snap done with force and purpose.  This has to be one of the most horrible sounds in the world.  She coupled the snap with the shuffling flip-flop sound (lift your feet when you are walking, people!), and I was beside myself with consuming irritation.
My very proper grandma (who will be 96 in November and is still going strong … she’s awesome) doesn’t care for chewing gum at all.  She compares its use, especially by a woman, to a cow chewing her cud.   I’m sure her analysis of the gum snapping, flip-flop wearing woman would be less than flattering.

Chip’s latest ad must be great, if for no other reason that two prominent resident liberal bloggers think it’s the worst ad of the campaign season. (Brit and Sean, respectively - ladies first, of course).

AC Kleinheider sums things up nicely

People will continue to opine that this is evidence of a fear. A fear that Ed Bryant is stronger than the polls presently show. I really don’t think this is the case. I believe strongly that the Corker people are confident as to their victory.

This is a move to move funds into his campaign before the general election so that Harold Ford is precluded from the higher individual contributions limits that are now available to Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant.

Corker is looking to run up the score. Winning is a relative thing. If Corker wins narrowly, he can be seen as weak as not supported by his party. This makes him vulnerable in the general.

Bob Corker is no longer running in the primary, even if it looks like he is. He is running in the general.

And part of winning the general election is winning the primary by the greatest margin possible.

Ayup.

UPDATE Check that, Roger Abramson gives AC a run for summing things up nicely

Really? Bob Corker’s pumping some cash into his campaign in the final primary election days?

Well, despite what your star closer in the ninth inning to protect a lead. He’s slamming the door.

Or trying to anyway. We’ll see. In any case, anyone who thinks Bob Corker’s somehow getting desperate is officially divorced from reality.

Further, ayup.

Here’s an article from the Capitol Hill paper Roll Call (subscription required) on the Tennessee Republican US Senate primary. It’s not a heartening analysis if you’re supporting anyone but Bob Corker.

In other but related news, it’s worth noting that there’s absolutely no evidence anywhere that either Ed or Van is gaining on Bob Corker in this race

Corker Is GOP Favorite

July 25, 2006

By Lauren W. Whittington, Roll Call Staff

Bryant, Hilleary Not Giving Up the Fight

In a contest that conservatives are likely to eventually lament as an
opportunity squandered, former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker (R) appears
headed for a relatively easy victory in next week’s GOP Senate primary
in Tennessee.

Former Reps. Ed Bryant (R) and Van Hilleary (R) have attempted to paint
Corker as the moderate in the three-way race - most notably on the issue
of abortion - but they have also attacked one another in an effort to
brandish their conservative credentials.

(more…)

For all that harping and gnawing and whining about Bob Corker not having fully released his tax returns, we can be certain that Van Hilleary’s finances are an open book.

Oh wait, they’re not

Republican Senate candidate Van Hilleary has missed another self-imposed deadline to file his personal financial disclosure, a requirement the other candidates fulfilled in May.

Hilleary spokeswoman Jennifer Coxe said last week the forms, which disclose candidates’ income sources and assets, would be ready Monday of this week. On Wednesday, Coxe told The Associated Press they were not ready. “It’s the last thing on my list of things to think about right now,” she said.

That’s understandable. In the grand scheme of things I couldn’t care less about Van’s disclosures, but if you’re going to slam someone else for not providing every inch of detail that you want, you best make sure your own house is in order.

I don’t get this

So how did our Tennessee delegation rank on Pork Busting? Well, you might be surprised to see that Congressman Gordon (D) and Congressman Zach Wamp(R) have the worst scores.

It’s understandable for Gordon, but what about Republican Zach Wamp, the Congressman who broke his pledge about term limiting himself? Please keep in mind Congressman Wamp’s love of pork when he’s out on the campaign trail campaigning for Bob Corker for U.S. Senate.

I’ve heard a lot of certifiably insane attacks on Bob Corker, but I hadn’t yet heard he was to blame for porking it up on Capitol Hill.

In the most shocking news of the millenium, Lance Bass, formerly of the boy band NSYNC, is coming out

“I knew that I was in this popular band and I had four other guys’ careers in my hand, and I knew that if I ever acted on it or even said (that I was gay), it would overpower everything,” says Bass, referring to bandmates Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake. “I didn’t know: Could that be the end of ‘N Sync? So I had that weight on me of like, ‘Wow, if I ever let anyone know, it’s bad.’ So I just never did,” he says speaking about his sexual orientation for the first time with PEOPLE.

“The Intern” over at the To the People blog headlined his post “One of the NSYNC Guys is Gay”. There’s a part of me that thinks that may be an understatement.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

The latest salvo launched by the Ed Bryant campaign is a case study in distortion. Here’s the summary (and interspersed accolades) from Jay Bush

Ed Bryant’s campaign for U.S. Senate began airing a new television ad today that takes Bob Corker to task for his dishonesty and hypocrisy in this race. The ad starts out quoting the Knox News Sentinel editorial that says Corker’s attack ad “tells a lie.” The Bryant ad then goes on to point out Corker’s hypocrisy when he says he “lowered taxes” by pointing out that Corker raised taxes and didn’t pay any income tax twice. When Corker says he’s going to get tough on illegal immigration, the ad also reminds voters that Corker employed illegal immigrants on his companies construction sites.

What can we take from this….first, it’s clear that Ed Bryant doesn’t like us taking advantange of the tax laws to pay lower taxes. So if you’re deducting interest from your home mortgage or student loans, Ed Bryant considers you a tax evader. Keen, really.

Another point in the ad distorts the truth regarding the two employees hired by a subcontractor. Either Ed knows absolutely nothing about business, or thinks that due diligence ought to take a lifetime. But since he is a lawyer, and knows better, perhaps it’s just a hackneyed and pathetic attack on the guy who’s beating his pants off.

Finally, Bob Corker’s governance of Chattanooga resulted in the city’s lowest tax rate since the Eisenhower administration. This is an indisputable fact. Corker has been clear about that from day one - Ed and Van have made it a point to claim he says he personally lowered the tax rates, which is reminiscent of Democrats clamoring that Bush said Iraq was an “imminent threat”. Neither was ever said, and neither was ever true. It appears that Van and Ed aren’t quite through taking a page out of Tom Daschle’s handbook - and we all know what happened to him.

UPDATE Ed Bryant’s chief cheerleader Jay Bush comes out against effective governance. The people of Chattanooga can rest easy that Ed Bryant was never their mayor.

Apparently, the Nashville City Paper must be liberal. At least according to the logic of commenters over at Blogging for Bryant

If Ed had received the endorsements we wouldn’t be calling them “leftwing media.” For Ed to be endorsed, however, the editorial boards would have to be conservative rather than liberal. So if a conservative newspaper (if one even exists) was to endorse Mr. Bryant, we would certainly hail the endorsement.

Did I say “logic”? I meant “illogic”. Of course, everyone actually knows the City Paper isn’t a liberal rag by any standard of observation. Perhaps the over-the-top attacks by Van-Ed have been, well, over-the-top. Sean Braisted notes

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.

There is quality negative and poorly conceived negative in campaigning for public office - the Ed and Van campaigns have mostly fallen square into the latter. In a way, this is what Republicans did to Bill Clinton, and what many on the far left are doing to George W. Bush now. The attacks get so frequent, and become so surreal, that no one takes them seriously anymore. I’m probably not alone in being glad this US Senate primary will be finished in another 8 days.