Club for Growth Action, a conservative Super PAC, has a message for former Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam: You’re not welcome in the 2020 Senate race.
Club for Growth Action last week released a 60-second digital ad, according to a press release here.
The video is available to watch here.
The PAC’s video shows what it alleges is a history of Haslam “profiting from his business interest, which had been infected with fraud, racist rants, and practices designed to exploit Hispanic and other customers,” according to the press release.
The transcript of the video reads:
Racist photos. Resignation refusals. Criminal allegations of rape and assault. Reprehensible slurs vile beyond belief.
Liberal Democrats are up to their knees in dirty laundry. And liberal RINO Bill Haslam…he’s dirty, too. Prosecutors say the Haslam family business was infected with fraud. Over a dozen company executives and employees convicted for a conspiracy to defraud mom and pop truckers. Haslam got filthy rich as company co-owner, lining his pockets on the backs of working people.
His campaigns for Governor fueled with fat contributions from the executive who masterminded the scheme, Haslam’s golfing buddy Mark Hazelwood. The same man caught on tape spewing racist, drunken rants at company meetings.
Disturbing and disgusting. Just imagine how they talked on the back nine of a golf course.
Bill Haslam, another politician soaked in scandal. The last guy Tennessee needs in the Senate.
The PAC also launched a new website that lists what the group says are his “company’s long history of discriminatory business practices and incarcerated friends.”
Haslam has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander in 2020.
In response to Haslam joining a list of Never-Trumpers as “spring fellows” instructors at American University’s Sine Institute of Politics, Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill said, “If Haslam does run for the Senate he is clearly preparing to do so as an anti-Trump successor to former Senators Flake and Corker. He’s already auditioning for the part for the Establishment DC crowd with an off-Hill appearance at American University,” Gill said. “He will definitely get rave reviews from the Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN and Buzzfeed.”
The Tennessee Journal: On the Hill published a story Monday that quoted Haslam as saying:
“Deciding to run for the United States Senate would be different than deciding if I am going to go work for this bank or that insurance company or whatever,” Haslam said a Freed-Hardeman University forum last week. “At the end of the day, for all of us, it’s about where can we be the most useful. Where can our gifts and the world’s needs intersect.”
David McIntosh, president of Club for Growth Action, responded to reports that Haslam said he does not know if he should run for the Senate. McIntosh said, “Governor, don’t run. You have a legacy as Governor and clearly don’t have the fire in the belly nor desire to serve in the US Senate.”
Club for Growth Action is not the only one criticizing Haslam.
Country music songwriter Stokes Nielson’s tweet about his podcast, “The Spirit of Humanity,” which raises questions about Haslam relative to gas tax increases, went viral with over a half million impressions within hours of its pre-release, The Star reported earlier this month.
As reported by The Star, Stokes launched a new issue advocacy initiative called Stokes For Tennessee Freedom to provide a two-way dialogue on issues that could impact Tennessee citizens.
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
[…] The vice president notwithstanding, Tennessee’s former governor may have worn out his welcome among conservatives. The Club for Growth Action, a conservative Super PAC, earlier in March released a video aimed at discouraging Haslam from running for Alexander’s seat, The Tennessee Star reported. […]
Can I come work for you Bill? I’ve taken care of that ankle-monitor incident.
Lamar Alexander is presently sitting in the Senate with a disgraceful Heritage Action lifetime score of 47%. Unfortunately, while Haslam might vault this very low bar, surely it won’t be by very much.
The desire of conservatives to improve on Haslam to the same extent that we improved on Corker is understandable. I would counsel caution however. With 100% name recognition and no firm convictions about anything to get the moderate and low information voter angry while sitting on all the money he will ever need to get his positives and his opponent’s negatives up, we must take a hard look as to whether Haslam is really beatable.
Mark Green is a very valuable persona to the conservative movement in Tennessee. Is a very long shot race against Haslam worth tarnishing Mark’s record of success and the loss of his House seat to boot? Ordinarily, I absolutely loath No Record Candidates running for high office but Dr. Manny Sethi seems to be pawing the ground, being restrained with difficulty by his trainers, in his excitement to take his place in the starting gate in order to make a race of it. If the polls look hopeless I think Manny might very well our answer so we can vote against Haslam in the primary while we keep Mark in the House, waiting for a better opportunity.
Haslam just needs to crawl into a dark hole and stay there.