Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee (AFP-TN) on Wednesday announced a new seven-figure investment in television and digital advertisements highlighting Phil Bredesen’s record as a big spender and supporter of higher taxes.
Americans for Prosperity is spending $2 million on the new ad that is hitting the airwaves statewide today. The ad is available to view here.
The ad exposes the Democrat’s support of higher taxes and out-of-control spending while governor.
Bredesen is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Bob Corker, who is retiring.
AFP-TN announced it has mobilized its activists and launched grassroots activities in support of U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who is running for the Senate seat on the Republican ticket.
AFP-Tennessee State Director Tori Venable said, “Phil Bredesen’s rhetoric of fiscal responsibility won’t fool Tennesseans; his record speaks for itself. During his time in office, Bredesen supported tax and fee increases that hurt Tennesseans while times were tough and our economy was in a tailspin. And despite Bredesen’s claims to be fiscally responsible, there’s nothing responsible about lavishing nearly $9 million taxpayer dollars on a renovation to the governor’s mansion. Tennesseans don’t want a senator who says one thing and then does another, but that is what they’ll get with Phil Bredesen.”
The ad says, “And while we struggled through a recession, Bredesen wasted nine million taxpayer dollars upgrading his Governor’s mansion. Four million on a party cave, gilded bathrooms and a kitchen worth two Tennessee homes. Phil Bredesen lived the life. We paid the bill.”
Perhaps Bredesen feels like sophisticated digs are his due. While he recently said other Democrats are “too elitist,” he owns five homes and is part-owner of a jet, and would become one of the richest members of Congress.
Bredesen also told the Times Free Press earlier this month that he is more sophisticated than rural citizens.
Bredesen has tried to cast himself as moderate.
“I think for this campaign Bredesen has taken a more moderate stance, but I think at the end of the day he identifies with the more liberal stances,” supporter Rachel Trammell told The Tennessee Star.
Meanwhile, Blackburn said Bredesen has a powerful backer who is not moderate — U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“Chuck Schumer has said Phil Bredesen is his number one recruit,” Blackburn told the crowd of about 200 people.
AFP-Tennessee made these additional statements about Bredesen’s record as governor:
- While Bredesen Was governor, taxes and fees grew by almost $1 billion. The organization quoted a Times Free Press story from 2010.
- In 2003, Bredesen said the gas tax may increase “a couple of pennies.”
- In 2009, Bredesen increased employer taxes by $245 million for the unemployment trust fund program.
- Taxpayers covered much of a $9 million party bunker at the governor’s mansion, The Associated Press said. “The facility was derided by some as the ‘Bredesen Bunker,’ because of the scope, cost and noise of the project under the front lawn of the mansion. Private donors accounted for about $5 million of the $9 million project officially dubbed Conservation Hall. The complex can seat up to 160 dining guests — big enough for all 132 lawmakers and the governor’s cabinet — or about double that capacity for standing receptions. It has its own kitchen and entrance from the compound’s driveway.”
I have not lived in TN long enough to be familiar with Bredeson’s history so I have to go by his current campaign. What I’ve noticed is that even so he claims to be for the Tennessee values, he never actually states what he feels Tennessee values ARE.
I’m an independent and what I know is this. Blackburn states her beliefs boldly. Bredeson is leaving it to the viewer to fill in the blanks about his. I think I’d rather go with the devil I know.
If you are going to make such claims as this article has then please back it up with cited sources so people can review it on a factual basis. From everything I have researched not a single claim in the ad is true and makes AFP-TN look foolish for making such claims. I’m a republican and I am tired of hearing about “fake news” when all it takes is a couple minutes of research to see this is just an attack ad with no facts meant to deceive Tennesseans. Bredesen has run a truly clean campaign and in November I will stray from my party and vote for someone with integrity and honesty, something Blackburn wouldn’t know a thing about. I urge my fellow republicans to review Blackburn’s record and vote for the future of our country, a conservative Democrat is better than the snake oil selling republican that Blackburn is.
Did Bredesen live in the governor’s mansion while he was governor? How long if yes?
Bresden never lived in the governors mansion, Haslam does, Bresden never raised the gas tax, Haslam did, the old mansion was about to fall down and needed renovation
Bredesen’s attempts to out-conservative and out-G.O.P. the Republican Party could backfire on him in November by not only failing to woo enough conservatives over to the Democratic Party, but by actually ALIENATING the core progressive block of voters in Tennessee into either sitting out the election or into voting for either a third-party or even a Republican candidate as a way of showing their justified anger at Bredesen’s arrogant decision to take their votes for granted. These conservative Democrats assume that the small number of liberals and leftists in Tennessee have nowhere else to go except the Democrat Party.
I have news for Bredesen, by neglecting his home base and showing disrespect for them while as governor by cutting off 200,000 Tennesseans from TennCare for example could come back to haunt him. Does Bredesen realize that he will still need their votes this November? If so, what is Bredesen doing to mend fences with them? I don’t see him doing that. Does Bredesen think he no longer needs any black, labor, liberal, leftist, environmentalist, etc. vote in order to beat Blackburn?
Other conservative Democrats like Frank Clement in 1966, Ray Blanton in 1972, Jake Butcher in 1978, Randy Tyree in 1982, Jim Cooper in 1994, and Harold Ford, Jr. in 2006 all learned this the hard way. Ford, Jr. arrogantly disrespected his fellow poor people and Memphis gays, all of whom abandoned him to Bob Corker. Even otherwise liberal candidates like the late Albert Gore, Sr., made the fatal mistake of taking their liberal base for granted when he supported the construction of I-40 into major black neighborhoods thus causing otherwise progressive blacks into deserting him in 1970, thus allowing Bill Brock to win.
If Bredesen keeps up his attempts to be Marsha Blackburn lite, he not only will fail to woo enough conservatives over to his side but will loose most the liberal votes as well.
If Bredesen looses either barely or heavily to Marsha Blackburn this November, it will serve him right.
If you want to pay higher taxes, vote for Phil. Phil loves to spend OPM (other peoples money).
Bresden did a great job as governor , Haslam raised the gas tax
Lies. Bredesen didn’t do any of the crap stated in the article or the attack ad by blackburn and the koch bros.