Real Clear Politics interviews Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen on a wide range of electoral topics. There are some interesting remarks that the GOP will wring out in the spin cycle. But overall, Bredesen shows once again he is one of the "adults" who knows the score and how the game is played (even when he's not hitting for our team).

(By way of Knoxville Talks.)

Sean Braisted: Obama Gets Sweetheart Deal!!!

I suppose the question is, can we afford to take a gamble on a Presidential candidate who negotiates a good deal on his home mortgage? Shouldn't we instead go with the guy who racks up tens of thousands in credit card debt and fails to pay property taxes on his oceanfront property? Because really, that is more in line with our current Government policies towards debt.

From the Tuke Campaign:

My campaign conducted an 800 sample statewide poll last week and it showed that all our hard work is paying off. The most important finding in the poll was about the primary. We asked the following question:

In the Democratic primary for US Senate, the candidates are: Leonard Ladner, Kenneth Eaton, Gary Davis, Mike Clayton, Mike Padgett and Bob Tuke. Which one would you vote for if the election were held today?

Bob Tuke 38%
Mike Padgett 8%
Other 4%
Undecided 57%

Simply put, we're well on our way to a big win in the primary. But there is more good news to report on the primary numbers. Our pollster (the same pollster Gov. Ned McWherter, Congressman John Tanner and Harold Ford, Jr. used) pointed out that we lead Padgett in all of Tennessee's major media markets including Knoxville.

That's an impressive showing for Tuke. It's also a pretty big undecided number at this point.

UPDATE: Tuke campaign issues a correction:

Today's Tuesdays with Tuke had a typographical error for which I take full responsibility. The correct polling results are as follows:

Bob Tuke 32%
Mike Padgett 8%
Others 4%
Undecided 57%

Ben Chao

If the Obama campaign doesn't focus on Tennessee, Gov. Phil Bredesen says "I probably would put my attention on the other races," adding that he "doesn't tilt at windmills."

The "shoot 'em if you got 'em while Big Brother watches" edition of the random interval Tennessee progressive blog roundup with a look at what the best Tennessee bloggers are talking about.

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Wordless Wednesday

• Tiny Cat Pants: Will Campfield ever realize the bitter poetic injustice of his being a servant of the people of Tennessee while at the same time working to deny legal personhood to some of those people?

• Carole Borges: Understanding how these girls think might actually spur people to make changes that would help problem teens. Usually it's easier to just condemn them.

• The Crone Speaks: The average campaign contribution payoff is around $9000 for those dems that changed their vote to support retroactive immunity. Maplight has the list of who made how much. Plus: Countrywide taken to court by the Illinois AG.

• Cup Of Joe Powell: Interview With Congressional Candidate Rob Russell, plus: Super Giant Exxxtreeeeeme Summer Edition Madhouse Marathon... quite possibly the best movie blog of all time and space

• Don Williams: Tell me you don’t believe Barack Obama’s a secret Muslim, or that the "fist bump" thing he and Michelle do contains terrorist overtones. Evidently thousands or millions of people believe such nonsense..., plus: Activists, priests, scholars, artists, musicians, writers, teachers, environmentalists and others from a range of spiritual traditions accomplished much June 21 and 22 as they initiated Peace On and With the Earth, a conference to explore the relationship between peace and the environment.

• TNDP: a new religious left movement?

• Enclave: ...Ben puts words into the mouths of Social Gospelers that they never would have uttered because it is politically expedient for the anti-revenue mob to discredit mobilized progressive Christians with half-truths about who they are and what they want to "steal." Plus, judicial activists legislating from the bench, Part I and Part II.

• Fletch: Tuesday Afternoon

• KnoxViews: Supreme Court rules against Obama!, plus: Authorities shut down largest known TN puppy mill operation

• Lean Left: Heller Open Thread

• Left of the Dial: Should marijuana smoking be allowed in airports before one takes a flight? ...who would you rather sit next to on a flight: a drunk or a stoner? Plus: George Carlin’s Legacy

• LeftWingCracker: You know, two years ago, Harold Ford Junior thought he had HIS race won, too; that didn't work out so well, did it? Obama needs to tighten up, and fast. Plus: George Carlin: Baseball v. Football

• Liberadio(!) interviews David Sirota

• Newscoma: They are creating holes when it comes to civil liberties. And I’m with much of the progressive blogosphere when we see that Barack Obama said he would filibuster this bill last year and he didn’t. I ain’t happy, campers. Obama simply blew it. Bonus: I Need To Start My Own Hippie Newspaper

• A Pesky Fly Must Read: The Top Five Reasons Why The Republican Party is Good for Democrats

• Progressive Nashville: Who's getting stimulated here?, Bonus: A Bill Gates memo to staff re. Windows usability

• Resonance: 2008 Cherohala Challenge Photo Ride Report, plus $7 gas and public transportation.

• RoaneViews: Handguns flying off the shelves, severe drought, working on exceptional, and off road vehicles v. the environment.

• Russ McBee: I suppose it's possible that the crippling of a census program which improves the accuracy of counting minorities is just a coincidence., plus: Feingold on FISA

• Sean Braisted: While everyone is focused on Heller, another important ruling was issued, this in regards to campaign finance reform.

• Sharon Cobb: Who's your daddy, Hillary?, and Cohen:Conscience of the Freshman Class, plus Why is Luke Russert on my TV?

• Silence Isn't Golden: In summation: Mike Stewart, good. David Sirota, wrong. Matt Pulle, full of shit. (Click the link and read why.) Also read this.

• Southern Beale: Hell Freezes, I Thank The NRA - Why? Because they just took away the trusty old standby argument they’ve used against every Democratic candidate since forever... Plus: Supreme Court hands ExxonMobil a Big Payday, and Bobby Jindal? Really?, bonus: Nashville welcomes Cher

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: You might have thought that after eight long years of the Bush trainwreck, we could have gotten an actual liberal candidate. As the Hillary corner of the lefty blogosphere has repeatedly warned, Obama is no liberal. Is it time to say, we told you so, yet? Plus: Lusty Senators Larry Craig & David Vitter Sponsor Anti Gay Marriage Amendment: Suffice it to say, the Marriage Protection Amendment does not read: Thou shalt not publicly humiliate your wife by coveting another man in a bathroom stall. Nor does it read: Thou shalt not publicly humiliate your wife by fooling around with prostitutes.

• TennViews (Chris Lugo): Big brother is watching you and his name is AT&T. Sometimes he goes by the name of BellSouth and at other times he is known as AOL-Time-Warner. Big brother goes by a lot of names. He is listening to you while you talk and watching you while you type and everything you say could be recorded so he can look at it somewhere down the line.

• Vibinc: People seeking an office should be comfortable enough with themselves and their positions to take criticism of these topics constructively. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

• WhitesCreek Journal: Barack Obama is attempting to do something radical and dangerous for a Presidential candidate...Speak intelligently about religion...

• Women’s Health News: Seriously, what better way to proclaim that a lack of proper sex ed or lack of contraceptive availability has no bearing on these pregnancies than to suggest that the girls were sneakily and deliberately trying to become pregnant?

Tennessee Conservation Voters has recognized Sen. Rosalind Kurita, Sen. Raymond Finney, and Sen. Bill Ketron as the top environmental supporters in the Tennessee Senate for 2008.

The full scorecard (9MB PDF!) is here.

(Sen. John Wilder scored near the bottom with a -1.)

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that State Sen. and former Lt. Gov. John Wilder is campaigning for State Sen. and Speaker Pro Tem Rosalind Kurita's opponent in the upcoming Democratic primary.

Sen. Kurita cast the deciding vote that handed Republican Sen. Ron Ramsey the Lt. Gov. and Senate Speaker post. There are still some hard feelings among Democrats.

Kleinheider has more.

Bob Tuke, candidate for U.S. Senate, released the following statement today regarding the United States Supreme Court ruling on the Washington, D.C. gun ban case.

"The Second Amendment provides for a constitutional right of responsible gun ownership, and I support the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the absolute gun ban that had been enacted in our nation's capital. If elected to the U.S. Senate, I will remain vigilant in upholding the right to bear arms of law abiding citizens of the United States."

All in All, I figure the next Governor of Tennessee will be crucial in shaping our state for decades to come. Whoever it will be, they will need superior leadership capabilities. The list of possibles just dropped a big name off the list...Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell is leaving Tennessee.

Link...

Mike Padgett has visited all 95 counties in Tennessee in his bid for U.S. Senate, and found people across the state "struggling to buy a few gallons of gas or a sackful of groceries." Read his thoughts in the presser after the jump...

As promised, 1st District Congressional candidate Rob Russell, a Democrat, agreed to answer a few questions on issues and campaigning in East Tennessee. My first question was on the fact that the East Tennessee media really has done little other than to provide coverage to the incumbent Republican David Davis and his GOP challenger Phil Roe. And after reading his responses to all the questions I submitted, I think I see why he gets such little coverage -- his message could easily win many voters and end 130 years of Republican rule in East Tennessee.

My thanks to Mr. Russell for his time and for his work to respond and if you wish to visit his website, go here.

1. Have any of the East TN media even contacted you for any stories or coverage of your campaign? Has this hampered your campaign efforts?

In comparison to the amount of coverage the Roe and Davis campaigns have received – almost daily coverage in the major local newspapers, such as the Kingsport Times-News (which is the local paper I subscribe to) -- the coverage has been slight. The absence of coverage from the Times-News has been particularly stinging, since when the paper covers political events, such as the NETAR Candidates' Breakfast on June 13, it fails to mention that I was even there (and I spoke directly after Dr. Roe).

My thanks go out to the Greeneville Sun, who has managed to cover me both times I've spoken in Greeneville. I've had singular mentions in Morristown's Citizen-Tribune, The Johnson City Press, and the Bristol Herald-Courier, so I'd like to thank them, as well. I was asked to appear on WBIR-TV's "Inside Tennessee" (based in Knoxville, WBIR reaches about 1/3, the western end, of the First District), and did so, but neither Roe nor Davis showed. No TV stations that are actually in the First District have contacted me at all.

America is in the midst of a recession largely attributable to the economic policies of the Bush administration and the Republican party. As a result of this recession, millions of hard working Americans have been put out of work. Almost every family in this country has been touched by the current recession. On top of this consumers are being forced to pay record high gas prices and hundreds of thousands of people have lost their homes due to foreclosure. Now is not the time to cut tax paying American citizens off of their unemployment benefits.

Since the beginning of this year nearly 325,000 people have lost their jobs and the unemployment rate is rising. As of May the unemployment rate stands at 5.5%, up nine percent just since April. With the cost of gas, food and medicine many families are suffering. As a candidate for federal office I support House Resolution 5749, the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act, which will provide an additional thirteen weeks of extended unemployment benefits in most states. This means that 3.8 million citizens will continue to receive benefits through March of 2009.

I fully support the intentions of this legislation and would support companion legislation in the US Senate if elected to public office. It is only the first step towards a clear path out of the current economic recession, but it is a sign to the American people that our representatives and those candidates who are running for office believe that the government is there to serve the people. We know that families are suffering right now under the high cost of food, medicine, fuel, housing and other basic goods.

The reason that we are in this economic crisis is clear. The Bush tax cuts which provided tax breaks for billionaires and wall street bailouts have broken the back of the American treasury. Hundreds of billions of dollars thrown down a hole in Iraq has not helped the situation any further and the mushrooming federal deficit, which currently stands at nine trillion dollars, have all played their role in the current situation. It is clear that what is needed are policies and legislation which supports working families and puts Americans to work.

Now is not the time to take away unemployment benefits for people who have worked hard and contributed. The cost of extended these benefits is just a sliver of the billions we are wasting on death and destruction in Iraq. Let's reinvest in America and let' start by investing in the American people. By doing so we will ensure a more secure and prosperous future for everyone.

For more information on HR 5749 please visit: Link...

William Morris
Canopic Jar: Eland, 1995
blown glass
Collection of the artist

The Hunter Museum in Chattanooga Opens Today, Monday, June 23, William Morris: Myth, Object and the Animal. Visit the Hunter Museum page on Art Museum Touring.com (Link...). Internationally known glass sculptor William Morris transforms molten glass into sculptural installations resembling unearthed artifacts, animals and ancestral peoples. The exhibition runs through Sept. 28.

If you go to the Hunter's to see Morris' work, you will, also, have the opportunity to see their other exhibition, “Women’s Work,” that examines the work of Lilly Martin Spencer. This show closes this coming Sunday June 29.

Support your local galleries and museums! They are economic engines for your community.

Sherrie

The "Summer Solstice" (Copyright (C) Associated Press, All Rights Including Yours Reserved) edition of the weekly unpredictable Tennessee progressive blog roundup with a look at what the best Tennessee bloggers are talking about.

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: with Democrats like these, who needs Republicans?

• 55-40 Memphis: We could achieve more progress in the coming months than in all of the 40 years since Martin died.

• Tiny Cat Pants: I’m sure "We’re still pissed about things that happened before you were born" will make a stirring campaign slogan for the Republicans this fall.

• BlountViews: Swiftboating a local judge candidate

• Carole Borges: Prescription drugs are becoming a menace to society and patients don't know who to trust anymore.

• The Crone Speaks: We all know, that for years, Jeb is being "groomed" to follow in daddy’s footsteps. [..] Corporations, especially the oil companies, want a Bush in office.

• Cup Of Joe Powell: The first rule about Congressional Elections in the 1st District is - You don't talk about Congressional Elections in the 1st District. Plus: Rep. Davis Dodges Debate

• Don Williams: ...this is about electric moon spiders and giant rainbows that wade ocean waters in order to show you the whole round realness of wonder that only a vacation can provide by reminding you of who you were before you became what you do...

• TNDP: Tennessee Young Dems look to capture 5,000, plus TNDP Chairman Gray Sasser: Lamar Alexander is wrong on energy

• Enclave: It would be a shame if the next President was more of an advocate for programs that support Metro Nashville than our own elected representative.

• Fletch: Realization

• KnoxViews (Rocketsquirrel): Currently, oil and gas companies hold leases on nearly 68 million acres of federal land (both onshore and under OCS waters) that they are not developing.

• Lean Left: If the President tells a company it’s legal, it’s legal.

• Left of the Dial: "Staycation" is the new buzzword for the summer of 2008.

• LeftWingCracker: I can see THAT now: LOOK HOW SAFE I'VE MADE SHELBY COUNTY! That's a winner, bubba, I'd take that and really run with it if I were you. Oy. Next, other than the Baker-Alexander-Thompson tribe, who knows Gibbons outside of Big Shelby? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? I digress.

• Liberadio(!): ...tonight’s 500 foot swim, which is scheduled for 5:00pm at Riverfront Park, has already served its purpose - prompting Nashvillians to start chattering about the state of the river and its environs.

• Newscoma: wish just once that Tanner voted the way I wanted him to vote. Cohen just may be the only lifeline that Tennessee has for calling foul on this sort of stuff. This isn’t about warrantless wiretapping. It’s about saving corporations money.

• The Pesky Fly: The real traitor here is Steny Hoyer. And Nancy Pelosi.

• Progressive Nashville: ...a brief overview of some of McCain's 2007 votes on children's issues..., plus: What does it take to get fired in Memphis?

• Resonance: I was not at all surprised to see Senator McCain flip-flop with yesterday's announcement that he now opposes the federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling. I expect more politicians to follow this path as public pressure to do something about the energy crisis builds.

• RoaneViews: Here's a "Predict the Race" spreadsheet for the Ruppe-Yager Senate race.

• Russ McBee: Just like their recent obstruction of the carbon reduction bill, today's actions show that the GOP have no intention of doing anything meaningful about our most pressing environmental and energy issues.

• Sean Braisted: ...I still don't get the argument by some against immunity. There seem to be two thoughts.

• Sharon Cobb: I can tell you I know first hand Obama has been in and out of Nashville visiting Al Gore during the past year, and Gore advised him, as he did other candidates.

• Silence Isn't Golden: Everyone's buzzing about the new Quinnipiac poll numbers that show Obama not only handily winning in the swing states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, but also have him up in Florida.

• Southern Beale: Isn’t that special! The four largest Western oil companies are preparing to sign no-bid contracts in Iraq, bringing them back to a position they had 36 years ago. Is that some long-range planning or what!

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: What with Michelle's dangerously feminist habit of speaking her mind, or sounding altogether too much like First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, extreme stepford, um, I mean steps are being taken.

• TennViews (Chris Lugo): Abstinence only until marriage curricula is censorship, pure and simple. Any school program that withholds scientifically valid information does not present young people with the full range of options they will actually face in life.

• Vibinc: Ahh, but constituents aren’t good at Change™ either. They want to balance their household budgets while owning the biggest big screen HDTV with 4 picture in pictures and total immersion surround sound. They want rock solid abs after a mere 20 minute workout and to eat that carton of Twinkies in one sitting. It’s a startling contradiction.

• WhitesCreek Journal: A message to Tennessee Democrats, "Get on the Love Train now, cause the good seats are going fast."

• Women’s Health News: Thoughts on the AMA Homebirth "Ban," Ricki Lake, and Midwifery

BONUS ROUND: The AP v. blogger dustup - a sampling...

• Enclave: At the Risk of Violating Rexblog's Fair Use Policy

• The Crone Speaks: Ass.Press’s Desire to Re-write Fair Use

• Newscoma: Connecting The Dots

• Newscoma: The AP vs. Bloggers

• KnoxViews: AP, bloggers, and the fair use controversy

• Russ McBee : AP follows RIAA and MPAA into the gutter

• The Crone Speaks: Heavy Hand of the AP

DOUBLE BONUS ROUND: The Hobbs (no not that one, the other one) controversy...

• TennViews (WhitesCreek): Fred Hobbs Seems intent on destroying Lincoln Davis Gubernatorial chances

• KnoxViews: Obama connected

• The Pesky Fly: Just Speechless

• Silence Isn't Golden: What The Hell Is Going On Here?

• LeftWingCracker: Feel Good Friday this is NOT, not today

• Sean Braisted: Benefit of the Doubt

• Sean Braisted: The Wheels On The Bus Go Round and Round

• Silence Isn't Golden: Here's How It's Done

• Sean Braisted: Fred Hobbs Apologizes

• Sean Braisted: Glass Houses

• Sean Braisted: More on the Hobbs/Terrorist-Gate

• Sean Braisted: The Commish Says Fire Hobbs

Foreclosure
Marcus Antonius Jansen

The Yeiser Art Center in Paducah's new exhibition opening today, June 21, features the paintings of Marcus Antonius Jansen. He works in a Modern Urban-Expressionistic style, which is inspired greatly by his time living in New York and among the abundant graffiti.

There is an opening reception Saturday afternoon. See Events page for details (Link...).

Support your local galleries and museums! They are economic engines for your community.

Sherrie

Major legislation from Obama and John Kerry has closed loopholes that allowed Dick Cheney's company to avoid paying Social Security to employees in Iraq.

Link...

Congressman Zach Wamp: I have more money than the disclosure forms indicate...but not much.

Congressman Lincoln Davis: The forms are about right.

Senator Alexander: After a life of public service to the people of Tennessee...I'm loaded.

Senator Corker: I don't know. First I was really rich and then I was broke...I need more time to fill out the forms.

According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least one in four teenage girls nationwide have a sexually transmitted disease. Clearly abstinence only school programs do not deter young people from sexual activity, but in fact this direction actually deters young adults from access to information that they need to make responsible and safe choices. We must act immediately to withdraw funding for this program and allow teachers to present sensible sexual education curriculum.

Progressive Nashville takes a look at McCain's record on progressive children's issues. Basically, he's against everything. (Except war, of course.)

The Nashville City Paper profiles young Nashville progressives turned political activists, including two bloggers you may be familiar with.

Sean Braisted has the details.

Hobbs (no, not that one, the other one) admits getting talking points from Fox News and not being "as well prepared" as he "should have been" for reporter's questions.

OK, then.

UPDATE: Braisted says in comments at his post: "He said he's sorry, promised to support the nominee, and I see no reason to take it further."

OK, then.

Post Politics has the results from this weekend's Davidson Co. Republican Party Picnic Fundraiser straw poll. Nashville Republicans like Mitt Romney for VP and Bill Frist for Governor in 2010. There are some other interesting results.

RELATED: ACK also has an interesting sitdown with Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam re. the 2010 governor's race.

Our condolences to the family and friends of Tim Russert, and his extended family at the NBC Washington Bureau and beyond.

Presser after the jump...

KEY FINDINGS

1. David Davis enjoys a very strong image rating among Republican primary voters (65% favorable - 12% unfavorable). In a very encouraging finding, Davis’ image numbers are considerably better with core Republicans primary voter groups.

	Favorable	Unfavorable
Very Conservative/Strong Republicans	78%	7%
Religious Conservatives	74%	9%
Strong Republicans	71%	10%
Republican Seniors	71%	13%

2. David Davis is in solid shape on the primary ballot, leading Phil Roe by a three-to-one margin (61% Davis - 20% Roe). Here again, the Congressman does noticeably better with those core Republicans primary voter groups:

	Davis	Roe
Very Conservative/Strong Republicans	74%	16%
Strong Republicans	71%	17%
Republican Seniors	71%	13%

Public Opinion Stategies, 300 likely 2008 Republican primary voters in the 1st Congressional District, telephone survey conducted May 2008, margin of error 5.66%

Gun Owners of America House Ratings For The 110th Congress

TENNESSEE

1 DAVIS A
2 DUNCAN A
3 WAMP B
4 DAVIS A-
5 COOPER A-
6 GORDON B-
7 BLACKBURN A-
8 TANNER B-
9 COHEN B

From the (thanks for the correction) Nashville City Paper:

...Meanwhile, Davis has gubernatorial ambitions for 2010, in which Tennessee political history strongly suggests the Democratic strongholds of Shelby and Davidson counties with their large groups of black voters are a must for his or any Democrat’s aspirations for statewide office.

Fred Hobbs, a state Democratic Party Executive Committee member representing part of Davis’ district, said he understands why Davis is not endorsing Obama and is “skeptical” of the Illinois senator himself.

“Maybe [it’s] the same reason I don’t want to — I don’t exactly approve of a lot of the things he stands for and I’m not sure we know enough about him,” Hobbs said when asked why he thought Davis wasn’t endorsing Obama. “He’s got some bad connections, and he may be terrorist connected for all I can tell. It sounds kind of like he may be.”

Link...

Update: Beecher Frasier stands firm that he was misquoted:

"No one in their right mind, including me, believes Senator Obama has ties to terrorism. It is truly ridiculous for anyone to try to make hay out of these comments."

So there's the fact that President Bush's first business partner was Osama bin Laden's big brother. Is that a terrorist connection?

The Maryville Daily Times reports that incumbent State Sen. Raymond Finney (R-Maryville) and primary challenger State Rep. Doug Overbey (R-Maryville) debated abortion at a Right to Life forum last night. They are both against abortion. Imagine that.

They also both support SJR127 outlawing abortion. The article notes, however, that the reason it didn't pass is the only nuance on which they differ.

Independent candidate Ira Lapides was there to say the government shouldn't be involved in the issue.

If Finney and Overbey are in lockstep on the number one issue for Tennessee Republicans, why is Overby challenging his own party's incumbent? Did you want vanilla or vanilla?

The Tennessee Chapter of the National Nurses Organizing Committee has released their report on why Bill Frist is not fit to be the Governor of Tennessee. It covers:

• TennCare and Frist’s Failure

• Frist’s Financial Ties to HCA and the Healthcare Industry’s Corporate Donors

• Frist’s Voting Record Favors Donors over Patients and Healthcare Reform

The report concludes:

Bill Frist has not used his power and influence to propose or enact any healthcare reform programs while in office.In fact, he has done quite the opposite. He sat idly by while TennCare, a model program, was destroyed and 200,000 patients lost health coverage, in some instances resulting in their deaths. He founded his political career with proceeds from one healthcare corporation and then extended it with help from many others. Ultimately, time and time again, he disregarded patients’ interests in favor of the health care industry.

Tennessee deserves better. Our people are suffering from a historic healthcare crisis. We need leaders committed to solving it.

Bill Frist’s record makes it clear that that he is not committed to resolving our healthcare crisis—and that he is not fit to govern Tennessee.

The full, thoroughly footnoted report is attached.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn is apparently running her own economic stimulus program. For her family.