Tag: Phil Bredesen

Tennessee Democratic Spokesman Calls Evangelical Christians Racist

Jason M. Reynolds
Mark Brown

The Daily Caller is calling out Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Mark Brown’s offensive language against Republicans, evangelical Christians who support President Donald Trump and even country music. Brown also serves as spokesman for Phil Bredesen’s U.S. Senate campaign. “Many of Brown’s most offensive tweets have been deleted but have been documented with screensaver captures,” David Krayden writes for the Daily Caller, and lists several instances. “On October 31, 2017, Brown, who is trying to get Democratic candidates elected in the Bible Belt, tweeted out an article from the LA Times entitled, ‘Under Trump, Evangelicals show their true racist colors.” Brown, who lives in the heart of the country music capital, also tweeted, “If forced to pick my favorite mainstream country act, I would gouge out my eardrums with a f—ing icepick.” Scott Golden, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman, said in a statement, “For him to attack people of faith for supporting the President is truly a new low. Such hateful vitriol is always a bad look, but Phil Bredesen and his followers continue to double down on their disdain for Tennesseans.” Brown has been cursing up a storm. Brown, who has been promoting Bredesen’s campaign in his role as a spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic…

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Phil Bredesen Supporters at Controversial Fundraiser Say He’s More Liberal Than He Lets On

Chris Butler

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–The best way for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen to win over most voters in deep red Tennessee is best summed up by one of his supporters, Rachel Trammell of Nashville. “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,” Trammell told The Tennessee Star. “He is not taking that ultra-ultra far left view. I think that is why he can appeal to a larger swath than he would as a more progressive candidate.” Trammell made her remarks Monday night at a controversial Bredesen fundraiser at Marathon Music Works in Nashville. Singers Jason Isbell and Ben Folds headlined with their music and their progressive political and social commentary. Trammell described herself as “part of the huge millennial population in Nashville” that Bredesen wants to woo over for votes. Bredesen portrays himself as an example of someone who practices bipartisanship and can work across the political divide. Indeed, organizers of Monday night’s event described it as an outreach to Tennesseans of “all political stripes.” But self-described Republicans were neither seen nor heard. Nashville Democrat Lee Martin said, of course, “there…

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Bredesen Fundraiser Features Anti-Trumper Who Condemns Christians That Support the President

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Phil Bredesen, Jason Isbell, Ben Folds

Despite his claims to be a different kind of Democrat who will work with President Donald Trump when it helps Tennessee and oppose the partisanship that divides Washington DC along political lines, Phil Bredesen continues to align himself with the most partisan and extremist elements of the Democratic Party. Bredesen has accepted donations from Tom Steyer, a California billionaire who is spending $100 million in an effort to impeach President Trump. And he has made over $460,000 in contributions himself to liberal Democratic candidates across the country, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and the Presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. Yet, his campaign continues to promote him as an example of bi-partisanship and working across the political divide. Monday evening Bredesen is holding a fundraiser featuring singer-songwriters Jason Isbell and Ben Folds at the Marathon Music Works in Nashville in what is billed as outreach to Tennesseans of “all political stripes.” Neither of the headliners for the event have any history of political activism that is not limited to liberal and progressive causes. Folds endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.  Clinton trounced Sanders in the Tennessee presidential primary contest; she was then soundly defeated by Trump by a…

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Bredesen’s Bipartisan Policy Council Pushes Discredited Leftist Narrative That ‘Refugees Most Vetted Travelers to U.S.’

Chris Alto
Phil Bredesen

  After serving his last term as governor of Tennessee, Bredesen dabbled in “partisan politicking” and working to help other Democrats get elected: As a loyal Democrat, Bredesen this year declared his support for President Obama’s re-election, endorsed the party’s 4th Congressional District nominee, Eric Stewart, and did “robo-calls” supporting a handful of legislative candidates such as former Rep. Eddie Yokley, D-Greeneville, who lost this week to Republican David Hawk. Bredesen also chose to serve on the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Governors Council. The mission statement of the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), a think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., suggests that bipartisan analysis and consensus-based decision-making results in obviating any political bias from the BPC’s policy proposals. On the issue of the United State’s refugee resettlement program, however, BPC analysts have repeatedly pushed the left’s narrative that “[r]efugees seeking admission to the United States undergo the most stringent security screening process for anyone entering the country.” Three refugees living in the U.S. arrested last week for falsifying information in their immigration applications make claims about stringent refugee vetting less credible even though federal agencies have been aware of vetting obstacles for years. As far back as 2008, the State Department discovered through random DNA testing…

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New Video Clarifies ‘Phony Phil’s’ Claims

Jason M. Reynolds
Phil Bredesen

The Tennessee Republican Party is having fun with “Phony Phil” Bredesen’s latest campaign ad filmed outside his grandmother’s American-flag-clad house in New York state. “Phil Bredesen’s most recent campaign ad left out some crucial details, so we decided to make our own video that gives Tennesseans some helpful context,” the Tennessee GOP said in a press release. The GOP took the U.S. Senate candidate’s campaign video and inserted comments clarifying the Harvard graduate’s claims to be a regular guy who wants to stop Washington, D.C., Democrats from telling others how to live. The GOP added comical music and sound effects to complete the experience. Watch the GOP’s video is available to watch: Scott Golden, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman, said, “The lack of self-awareness in Phony Phil’s new ad is truly remarkable. Phil complains about ‘educated, secure people who love telling the rest of us how to live’, but he’s only describing himself: a Harvard-educated, limousine liberal who owns a private plane and describes himself as ‘more sophisticated’ than regular Tennesseans. Phony Phil doesn’t pass the smell test, and Tennesseans will let him know this November.” The Chattanooga Times Free Press filmed a video interview with Bredesen in which he said…

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Blackburn, Bredesen Reveal Stark Differences on Judges, Obamacare at NFIB Forum

Chris Butler
Phil Bredesen, Marsha Blackburn

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Tennessee U.S. Senate Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) said, if elected, she’ll vote to appoint federal judges based on whether they abide by what’s in the U.S. Constitution. Her opponent, Democrat Phil Bredesen, said voting to appoint a judge really boils down to his or her qualifications and temperament. When it comes to the debate over health insurance and Obamacare, Blackburn said she wants laws changed to allow Tennesseans to buy health insurance across state lines. That would create more competition and lower costs. Bredesen, when pressed for his opinion on the matter, said he favors Medicaid expansion in Tennessee. These were among some of the insights members of the Tennessee business community could glean from both candidates at a forum Wednesday at Lipscomb University in Nashville. The Tennessee chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business sponsored the event, along with the Tennessee Business Roundtable, and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Per the rules, both candidates spoke separately, and neither of them could discuss their opponent. In her opening remarks, Blackburn told the audience the U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorses her candidacy. “They feel I will bring the best ideas. I will help remove the obstacles…

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Marsha Blackburn Blasts Phil Bredesen, Who Was in the Audience, for Not Calling Out Steve Cohen for Bridge Jumping Comments

Jason M. Reynolds
Phil Bredesen

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) spoke to Fox & Friends Wednesday about her Democratic counterpart Steve Cohen’s violent remarks about wishing she would jump off a bridge. The interview is available here. Ainsley Earhardt played the Huffington Post’s audio of U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) saying he wished President Donald Trump would tell Blackburn, a U.S. Senate candidate, to jump off the Harahan Bridge in Memphis. The Tennessee Star reported that Cohen made the remarks last month at a prayer breakfast at Broadway Baptist Church in Memphis that was hosted by Democrat Phil Bredesen’s campaign for the U.S. Senate. Cohen said, “The big orange president. He’s going to come down here and he is going to endorse Marsha Blackburn. Because Marsha Blackburn, if he says, ‘jump off the Harahan Bridge,’ she’ll jump off the Harahan Bridge. I wish he’d say that.” Blackburn told Earhardt, “I thought surely he really didn’t say this and surely there was not laughter. You’d expect that with Phil Bredesen, my opponent, in the audience, he would have said, ‘We don’t say things like that. We don’t wish someone’s demise or death.’ “But Ainsley, I’ll tell you, I believe in what Matthew 5 commands us — that…

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Gov. Phil Bredesen Cut Elderly, Sick and Disabled From TennCare While Enrolling Refugees

Chris Alto
Phil Bredesen

Phil Bredesen, the health insurance executive turned governor, had an antidote to contain the spiraling costs of the state’s Medicaid program – disenroll elderly, sick and disabled Tennesseans from TennCare. According to Gordon Bonnyman, co-founder of the Tennessee Justice Center, two years into Bredesen’s first term as governor, “[a]pproximately 200,000 of [TennCare’s] costliest patients lost their coverage over a four-month period in late 2005.”  Bonnyman characterized this group as the “sickest subgroup of the TennCare population.” The TNReport calculated that by the time Bredesen left office in 2011, approximately 350,000 Tennesseans were cut from TennCare which included an estimated 100,000 people with disabilities. At the same time that Tennesseans were losing their TennCare coverage, refugees being resettled in the state were being assisted by refugee resettlement contractors to enroll into TennCare. A spokesman for State Senator Bill Ketron’s office confirmed to The Tennessee Star that Holly Johnson, director of Catholic Charities’ Tennessee (CCTN) Office for Refugees (TOR) provided data requested by the Senator which included the number of arriving refugees being enrolled into TennCare. Senator Ketron’s office shared that data with The Star. Bredesen’s action several years earlier of withdrawing Tennessee from administering the federal refugee program created the opportunity for…

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Gravis Poll Says Lee Leading Dean by 11; Blackburn Over Bredesen by 4

Steve Gill
Phil Bredesen, Marsha Blackburn, Bill Lee, Karl Dean

A new post-primary poll conducted by Gravis Marketing shows the Tennessee Republican candidates for Governor and Senate leading their Democratic Party opponents. The poll of likely November voters indicates that Bill Lee has an 11 point margin over Karl Dean, with 9% uncertain, in the Governor’s race. In the Senate battle to fill the seat of retiring Senator Bob Corker, Marsha Blackburn leads Phil Bredesen by a 48-44 margin with 8% uncertain. [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/GRAVITAS_Tennessee-August-12-2018-v2.pdf”] The poll surveyed surveyed 620 likely voters between Aug. 9 and 11. Polls by Gravis Marketing have not always been considered among the most reliable in political circles. In fact, they have been identified as the worst polling company in America by some. Based upon the relatively low approval numbers for President Donald Trump in this poll, 54% approval in a state he carried with over 60% of the vote, and 79% approval among Tennessee Republicans when other state and national polls have shown him with approval ratings in the mid to high 80s among his party, the Gravis Poll may be showing less support for the Republican candidates than they actually have. Nevertheless, there are some interesting tidbits within the data. Both Blackburn and Lee…

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Bredesen Claims He Is More ‘Sophisticated’ Than Rural Americans

Jason M. Reynolds
Phil Bredesen

U.S. Sen. candidate Phil Bredesen released a campaign ad on Tuesday that was filmed outside his grandmother’s American flag-clad house touting his humble roots growing up among “secretaries, nurses, factory workers, and small business owners.” He pledged to stop educated Washington elites from telling Tennesseans how to live. Last week, in a video interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Bredesen said he is more “sophisticated” than rural voters. A clip shows him saying that when he attends family reunions in his native Upstate New York, he experiences “a culture that is different.” The Harvard graduate estimates 70 percent of his extended family voted for Trump but “are not crazy or anything.” Around the 1 minute mark, he says he has one foot planted in that world and one foot in a “more sophisticated” world. He touts his experience at an Ivy League college and his work as mayor, governor and CEO of a public company. Bredesen, the former Nashville mayor and Tennessee governor, is running for retiring Sen. Bob Corker’s seat. He will face U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) on Nov. 6. The Tennessee Star reported recently that while Bredesen claims to be a working stiff, he would become…

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Socialists Very Active in Tennessee Democrat Party Politics

Chris Butler
Julie Gautreau

Socialists in Tennessee apparently have even more influence over the Tennessee Democratic Party than previously believed, including at the state level. Julie Gautreau (pictured), who represents the Knoxville chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, said as much to The Tennessee Star Tuesday. “A lot of DSA members are members of political parties,” Gautreau said. “I don’t have the statistics, but a lot of them are Democrats. We have members of our DSA chapter who are very active in the local Democratic Party and also in state Democratic Party politics.” Gautreau did not name names. The Knoxville chapter has about 165 members, she said. Gautreau said she did not know how many DSA members Tennessee has statewide. The DSA, she went on, came into existence in April 2016. Even though many members support Democrats it is still a non-partisan organization, she said. Members of the Tennessee Democratic Party did not return a request for comment Tuesday. Neither did anyone from the campaigns of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen or Democratic gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean. A recent press release from the Tennessee Republican Party, however, had something to say about this new breed of Democrat. “Democrats Karl Dean and Phil…

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Democrats Double Down on Personal Attacks Against Marsha Blackburn: She ‘Can Swim’

Jason M. Reynolds

Marsha Blackburn “can swim,” a Democratic consultant said Sunday in response to U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen’s violent remark about wanting President Donald Trump to tell the Senate candidate to jump off a bridge. Cohen (D-TN-09) made the remark last month to a group of pastors at a prayer breakfast meant to increase Democratic turnout for the Aug. 2 elections. The breakfast was held at Broadway Baptist Church in Memphis and was hosted by Democrat Phil Bredesen’s campaign for the U.S. Senate. “The big orange president …. He’s going to come down here and he is going to endorse Marsha Blackburn, because Marsha Blackburn, if he says, ‘Jump off the Harahan Bridge,’ she’ll jump off the Harahan Bridge,” he said in the audio obtained by The Huffington Post. “I wish he’d say that,” Cohen said. Democratic consultant John Rowley added to the violent attacks on Rep. Blackburn (R-TN-07). He told Fox 17 Nashville In Focus on Sunday that Cohen’s remark was “totally inbounds” because “Steve Cohen knows Marsha Blackburn can swim.” You can watch the clip here. Rowley said the incitement to violence was “nothing.” “It could be a good publicity stunt for the city of Memphis,” he added. “You never…

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Letter to the Editor: Phil Bredesen Is No Conservative

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Phil Bredesen

Dear Tennessee Star, Just as a reminder to Tennessee that Phil Bredesen was brought out of retirement by Chuck Schumer to flip the Senate.  This means Bredesen is a “died in the wool” Democrat.  He looked good as a Governor by smiling and “glad handing” because after Sunquist, anyone would have but underneath it all he was actually carrying on like a Democrat. He was a small player in the Clinton Cartel and set up ObamaCare so he could amass his fortune in insurance.  He also secretly have illegals driver’s licenses by calling them certificates. (Same thing).  He donated $500,000 to the election of Democrat contenders this year; not a penny to Republicans. He didn’t retire here; he built two mansions in other states and lives in Oregon. Tennessee must not be the “flip state” to the Democrats. Sincerely, Nancy P, Oak Ridge, TN          To submit your Letter to the Editor, click here.  

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Gov. Phil Bredesen Increased Refugee Resettlement in Tennessee by Thousands, Bringing Big Money to ‘Non-Profits’ Catholic Charities and World Relief

Chris Alto
Phil Bredesen

When he was governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011, Phil Bredesen set the state up to receive a dramatically higher number of refugees – an increase well into the thousands – bringing with it significant financial benefit to federal refugee contractors like Catholic Charities of Tennessee and World Relief. Early into Bredesen’s second term as governor, he withdrew Tennessee from the federal refugee resettlement program writing to the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) that “refugee-specific service providers” could better meet the needs of arriving refugees. By taking this step, Bredesen created the opportunity for the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to hand over running of the state’s program to Catholic Charities of Tennessee (CCTN) but without any accountability to the state legislature or the state budget. The first full year during which CCTN administered the program in Tennessee, refugees arriving to the state increased from 847 to 1,492, despite a decline in refugee arrivals on a national level. By 2010, with the new designation from the U.S. ORR and more federal funding, CCTN expanded its refugee operations and established its Tennessee Office for Refugees (TOR). This department was set-up to coordinate all refugee resettlement agencies operating in the state. CCTN’s…

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PAC Releases New Ad in Support of Marsha Blackburn

Chris Butler
Marsha Blackburn

A Super PAC that has the stated goal of protecting the people from “an army of left-wing activists” has a new commercial endorsing Marsha Blackburn for the U.S. Senate. That PAC, called the Senate Leadership Fund, released their commercial this week. According to the PAC’s website, the organization is devoted to protecting and expanding the Republican Senate majority. Members of the organization also say they want to stop the likes of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Chuck Schumer from gaining more power. “The $1.3 million ad buy will run statewide on a combination of broadcast and cable television, radio and digital,” according to a press release the organization put out this week. No one at the Senate Leadership Fund returned a request for comment Friday. The ad about Blackburn, entited “Tenacity,” highlights Blackburn’s working class background, along with President Trump’s full support of her candidacy. “Phil Bredesen is a liberal elitist who will oppose President Trump’s agenda at every turn,” said Chris Pack, spokesman for the Senate Leadership Fund. “Marsha Blackburn has the support of President Trump and is the only candidate who can be trusted to carry out his agenda that has the economy roaring back to life.” The ad describes…

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Bredesen ‘Masquerading as a Moderate’ and Used ‘Deceptive Advertising’ in New Commercial

Chris Butler

Tennessee Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen is apparently resorting to less than honorable tactics to win Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-TN) U.S. Senate Seat. Bredesen will face off against Republican Marsha Blackburn on Nov. 6. Corker is retiring from the U.S. Senate. In an emailed statement to The Tennessee Star, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said Bredesen is masquerading as a moderate. “Phony Phil Bredesen can pretend to be Republican-lite all he wants, but he can’t escape his liberal record. Phil donated $33,400 to Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” Golden wrote. “Phil admitted he’s Chuck Schumer’s handpicked candidate. Phil’s campaign called Trump voters ‘idiots.’ And now he’s relying on Bernie Sanders supporters to raise him money. Tennesseans aren’t fooled by Phil’s attempts to manipulate Republicans’ words to serve his own political purposes.” In a new Chattanooga Times Free Press column, Clint Cooper called out Bredesen for using what he described as “deceptive advertising” in a new commercial. “On Monday, the campaign, which had previously employed well-done ads in which the former Tennessee governor talked moderately and said earnestly he was ‘applying for the job,’ released a commercial in which some Republicans who don’t support him are shown saying kind things about him,” Cooper wrote. Among them — Corker, U.S.…

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Vietnam Veteran: ‘Marsha’ Has Always Fought For Our Veterans

Jason M. Reynolds
Marsha Blackburn

A Chattanooga veteran of the Vietnam War said, “No one has fought harder for our active duty military and our veterans than Marsha Blackburn. We need to elect her to the Senate because the issues with the VA are far from solved.” Terry Thomas wrote a column for the Times Free Press supporting Republican Marsha Blackburn in her U.S. Senate campaign against Democrat Phil Bredesen. “I served in combat on the rivers in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy, and now I serve my fellow veterans as the quartermaster of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1289 here in Chattanooga. We have about 400 members, all of whom have served our country faithfully over the past several decades. “Too often, our members find themselves unable to receive the care they need — the same care they have earned and were promised. Your heart will break hearing about what our veterans have to go through to get care from a dysfunctional Veterans Administration. President Trump is working to make the necessary changes that the Obama administration put off for too long, but he cannot do it alone. He needs senators and congressmen who are willing to work with him to get the job…

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New Blackburn Ad Touts President Trump’s Support

Jason M. Reynolds
Donald Trump, Marsha Blackburn

Republican Senatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn’s campaign launched an ad featuring President Donald Trump supporting her at a May rally. The digital and statewide TV ad that launched Tuesday shows footage from a Nashville rally in May when Trump boosted Blackburn, WREG reports. The ad touts Trump’s endorsement and Blackburn’s commitment to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, repeal the Affordable Care Act and keep tax cuts permanent. Rep. Blackburn is in a tight race against Democratic ex-Gov. Phil Bredesen. In the ad, the president says, “We need Marsha Blackburn. We need Marsha in the Senate to continue the progress and work that we’ve done over the last year and a half.” Blackburn says in the video, “Tennessee needs a senator who is going to support President Donald Trump. I am going to be there to stand with President Donald Trump and take your Tennessee values to Washington, D.C. to fight with him to get the job done. I am Marsha Blackburn, and I approve this message.” Speaking about the ad, Blackburn campaign manager Kevin Golden said, “Tennesseans from all walks of life support the president’s work to cut taxes, rebuild the military, care for our veterans, and nominate constitutionalist justices and…

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Phil Bredesen Claims Fellow Democrats ‘Too Elitist,’ While Owning 5 Homes, Private Jet

Jason M. Reynolds
Phil Bredesen

Phil Bredesen wants the voters to know he’s one of them, a working-class guy just working to earn a living — but that’s far from the truth. The former governor who hopes to flip Bob Corker’s seat from Republican to Democrat shares one thing besides friendship with the former Chattanooga mayor: they’re both extremely rich. Bredesen has reported assets between $88.9 million and $358 million, The Washington Free Beacon said. CBS News reported that Corker is one of the wealthiest senators, with an average net worth of $50.7 million. In replacing Corker, Bredesen would also become one of the richest members of Congress. Public records show he is the owner of five homes—two homes in Nashville, two lakefront properties in upstate New York, and a five-bedroom home in Jackson, Wyoming. Like finding a place to hang his hat at night, traveling is no issue for Bredesen: He is one of the registered owners of an Embraer Phenom 300 private jet, according to Federal Aviation Association records. The Embraer Phenom 300 sells for $10 million, according to CNBC. And yet Bredesen says the Democratic Party is  “too elitist and too distant from the concerns of the very down to Earth people that…

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Bredesen Makes His Case for Republican Votes in New Ad Featuring Favorable Republican Comments

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Scottie Hughes, Phil Bredesen

A new sixty second digital ad from the Phil Bredesen campaign is targeting Republican votes by promoting carefully selective clips of Republicans saying good things about his time as Governor. The ad features comments from former Trump surrogate and conservative commentator Scottie Hughes, Tennessee Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03), frequent Trump critic Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), lobbyist and former Hendersonville State Representative Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville), and lobbyist Bill Phillips (who served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor under Democrat Mayor of Nashville, Bill Purcell). Phil Bredesen ad “Republicans” transcript: Scottie Hughes: “Folks do not realize this, a lot of Trump supporters are also Phil Bredesen supporters. And we have two Republican Governors who fought for an income tax and fought for a gas tax but you never saw a tax being fought for by Phil Bredesen.” Bob Corker: “Phil Bredesen is a friend of mine. I mean, OK. I have worked with him for 23 years. We worked together to bring the Titans to our state. When I became a Senator and he was Governor we worked to bring Volkswagen to our state. He was a very good Mayor; very good Governor; very good business person.” Chuck Fleischmann: “He had…

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Anti-ICE Protest Strains Nashville Police, While Bredesen Stays Quiet on Threat To City Where He Was Once Mayor

Jason M. Reynolds
CoreCivic protesting ICE

The Metro Nashville Police Department reported it arrested 20 anti-ICE protesters Monday, pulling officers away from their regular duties. Meanwhile, Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen has been silent about the public safety issue. Dozens of protesters descended on the Green Hills headquarters of private prison company CoreCivic and blocked the entrance, the department said in a press release. Ten of those arrested had chained themselves together. Five of those arrested were from Nashville. Those charged are named in the press release. CoreCivic has contracts with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Nashville Scene said. Jeannie Alexander of the No Exceptions Prison Collective, told the Scene that the group is protesting in solidarity with others occupying ICE offices across the country. “But what’s unique about Nashville is that we’re the only city in the United States that has the headquarters of CoreCivic,” Alexander told the Scene. “ICE is their biggest customer. And the way the prison industrial complex continues to grow and [what makes] targeting immigrant families so much easier is that corporations like CoreCivic are building internment camps and they’re profiting off of it.” While Alexander’s group spent its time protesting, Nashville’s police force spent its resources protecting the…

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Marsha Blackburn Launches Her General Election Bid for US Senate, Declares 2018 Will Be About Security

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Brian Wilson, Marsha Blackburn

U.S. Senate hopeful Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) appeared on WTN’s Nashville Morning News with Brian Wilson Thursday morning to discuss her reaction to the fallout from the foul-mouthed Democratic spokesman Mark Brown, as well as her plans for her campaign going forward in the general election against Phil Bredesen. After opening nicities, Brian Wilson asked, “So tell me, where does election day find you this morning? Where are you?” Rep Blackburn answered, “I’m going to be all over Middle Tennessee. Yesterday I was over in East Tennessee, and then today I’ll be in Middle Tennessee, I’m going to go vote – and looking forward to doing that – and then visit with volunteers as we get ready to go through this day. Looking forward to the results tonight.” BW: Well, this is really sort of the kickoff for you, because you are just starting your TV ads. Phil Bredesen has been out there for a while, trying to reach out to, you know, the moderate voters or some of the Trump supporters. He’s saying he can work with President Trump and he’s coming across – reaching out across the aisle – looking for voters on the other side. And yet…

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Marsha Blackburn: Democrat Mark Brown Cursing ‘Reveals The True Nature of What They Think About Trump Voters’

Jason M. Reynolds

Republican U.S. Sen. candidate Marsha Blackburn spoke Tuesday with Charles Payne on Fox Business about the “incivility crisis” in America, especially as incited by the Tennessee Democratic Party against Trump supporters. You can watch the interview here. Payne asked U.S. Rep. Blackburn (R-TN-07) about comments made by Mark Brown, a Tennessee Democratic Party communications official who is serving as spokesman for Democratic U.S. Sen. candidate Phil Bredesen, a former governor. “We know that there was a comment about “F— reaching out to Trump voters,” by the candidate and spokesman himself, calling them ‘idiots,’” Payne asked Blackburn. “This is remarkable. Right now, your campaign is on center stage. The whole country is watching. In fact, many think it may actually determine the outcome of power in Washington, D.C., in November. Can you believe this?” Blackburn said, “We were very, we were stunned to hear this, but you know what Charles? It reveals the true nature of what they think and how they think about Trump voters, and through his spokesman, Phil Bredesen is revealing this, and of course, it was bad enough when his friend Hillary Clinton, who he gave $33,400 to, called us all deplorables, and now we’re hearing they think we’re morons…

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Tennesseans Are Speaking Out Over Bredesen-Backing Democratic Spokesman Mark Brown’s Cursing Rants Against Trump Supporters

Jason M. Reynolds
Tennesseans

Members of the Tennessee Republican Party have plenty to say about Democrat Mark Brown’s vulgar comments. Brown, a spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic Party, has been saying a variety of four-letter words and other unsavory things regarding President Donald Trump, his supporters, conservatives and Republicans, The Tennessee Star reported Tuesday. He said those who voted for Trump are “idiots.” One past tweet was “f*** ‘reaching out’ to Trump voters. The idiots aren’t listening.” Brown also has been serving as a spokesman for Phil Bredesen’s U.S. Senate run. Bredesen expressed outrage over Vice President Mike Pence calling him a “liberal.” Bredesen said that was “name-calling.” Republicans, understandably, are not happy. The Tennessee Republican Party issued a press release with the reactions of Republicans and other Tennesseans: Lt. Governor Randy McNally: “Writing off the forgotten men & women who rose up on November 8, 2016 is the height of political ignorance. Over one million Tennesseans voted for @POTUS. If you are attempting to reach them, you need to listen to them, not talk down to them. Unacceptable.” (Twitter, 7/30/18) State Rep. Ron Gant, 94th District: “Unhinged comments from @TNDP spokesman Mark Brown @Gilgamark . Out of touch and out of line. #CanYouPhilIt” (Twitter, 7/30/18) State Sen. Jack Johnson, 23rd District: “Remember this…

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Phil Bredesen Fails to Disavow Tennessee Democratic Party Spokesman Who Said ‘F*** Reaching Out to Trump Voters. The Idiots Aren’t Listening’

Jason M. Reynolds
Mark Brown

Republicans are raising a ruckus over a spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic Party’s use of foul language and name-calling, especially since that spokesman has been vigorously promoting the candidacy of Democrat Phil Bredesen for the U.S. Senate, who has expressed outrage at being called a “liberal.” The former governor, who is running in the U.S. Senate race against Rep. Marsh Blackburn (R-TN-07), said last week it was “name-calling” when Vice President Mike Pence said he is a “liberal.” However, Tennessee Republicans say Bredesen is deaf when it comes to the many imprecations uttered by state Democratic communications official Mark Brown, the Washington Free Beacon said. Brown, who has been promoting Bredesen’s campaign in his role as a spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic Party, in the past has tweeted “f*** ‘reaching out’ to Trump voters. The idiots aren’t listening.” The Tennessee Star reached out to the Bredesen campaign to ask if the former governor disavowed the Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Mark Brown, or his foul-mouthed comments about the 1.5 million Trump voters in Tennessee. The Bredesen campaign did not respond. Bredesen’s failure to disavow Brown’s vulgar comments is not expected to sit well with Tennesseans, who are well known for their civility…

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EXCLUSIVE: Marsha Blackburn Tells The Tennessee Star ‘Chuck Schumer Has Bought and Paid For Phil Bredesen’s Vote’

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Steve Gill, Marsha Blackburn

In an exclusive interview with Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill on Friday, U.S. Senate hopeful Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) hit her Democratic opponent square in the jaw, calling him out over one of his greatest vulnerablities. “Chuck Schumer has bought and paid for Phil Bredesen’s vote,” Blackburn told Gill. Senator Schumer (D-NY)- who is currently the Senate Minority Leader and is poised to become Senate Majority Leader should the Democrats’ “blue wave” come to the U.S. Senate in this November’s midterm elections – is said to have personally recruited Bredesen out of retirement to run when Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) opted not to run for a third term “When you look at the Senate race that you’re in the midst of, what we hear from Phil Bredesen is that he’s going to be a different kind of Democrat – but you don’t see different kinds of Democrats in the Senate. And when we look at what Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are saying – Chuck Schumer has recruited Phil Bredesen into this race – they want to raise taxes if they get back in control of the Senate and the House,” Gill noted. Blackburn made it clear Bredesen is…

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Tennessee Senate Candidate Phil Bredesen Accused of Falling Straight Into Chuck Schumer’s Pocket

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Phil Bredesen, Chuck Schumer

by Grace Carr   Tennessee Democratic senatorial candidate Phil Bredesen has wavered on issues from abortion to campaign financing throughout his political career, leaving some critical about what he will offer to Tennesseans if elected in November. “Tennesseans can’t get a straight answer out of Phil Bredesen,” National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) spokesman Michael McAdams told The Daily Caller News Foundation Monday. “The only thing voters can count on is when push comes to shove, Phil Bredesen is going to be in the pocket of Chuck Schumer and will be a rubber stamp for Democrats’ radical agenda of open borders and higher taxes.” New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer is the Democratic Party’s minority leader, after replacing Harry Reid in November 2016. Bredesen, Tennessee’s former governor, has expressed opposition to abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), giving a flat “no” to the agency’s destruction, according to the Times Free Press on July 10. Despite his claims that he doesn’t support abolishing the agency, he accepted $5,000 from Empire PAC, an affiliated PAC of New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Gillibrand has been one of the leading voices calling for the abolition of ICE. “I don’t think ICE today is working as intended … it has become a deportation…

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Is Bredesen Running Away From President Trump?

John Bryant
Donald Trump, Phil Bredesen

Left-leaning Vanity Fair has a feature item up on the Tennessee U.S. Senate race featuring Marsha Blackbrun vs. Phil Bredesen. The item appears to confirm everything  people have been saying about Bredesen, from his playing “duck and cover” on issues, to his simply not being willing to take a real stand on anything. Bredesen is making personal and political blandness the theme of his Senate campaign. He has come out against the president’s tariffs, but he has otherwise cannily refused to make the race a referendum on Trump. “Look, I’m not running against Donald Trump. I’m running for a Senate seat to represent the people of Tennessee,” he says in a campaign TV ad. In the wake of Robert Mueller’s indictment of 12 Russians for hacking into Clinton’s e-mails, Bredesen was asked if the president should cancel his meeting with Vladimir Putin. “I don’t think that the actions of those indictments rise to the level that somebody ought to interfere with the president’s right to meet with whom they choose and when they choose, and so on,” he said. When Democratic Party leaders quickly denounced Trump’s choice for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, Bredesen went defiantly anodyne: “I’ll be watching the…

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Blackburn Campaign: Phil Bredesen Will Go Down for the Count This November in ‘Death by 10,000 Cuts’

John Bryant
Ward Baker, Phil Bredesen

Republican Marsha Blackburn campaign strategist Ward Baker predicted Democrat Phil Bredesen will lose to Rep. Marsha Blackburn in November by “death by 10,000 cuts,” also comparing Bredesen to a punch drunk boxer “who won’t survive the punches coming before the November election,” according to reports. “I believe when the TV ads are out, and we lay out our case, I think some of them will come back. And the ones that don’t, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that they have trouble living in the future,” Baker reportedly said by  way of a joke aimed at Republicans who might cross party lines to support the Democrat. Baker supposedly called Bredesen “Phantom Phil,” citing his “disappearing act on the campaign trail” we’ve previously characterized as “duck and cover Phil.” Baker also hinted  at a potential controversy to come that would dog Bredesen and set him apart from Blackburn as a candidate. He offered no further details. “We’re going to make sure that he is in a corner, and we are going to constantly punch him in his face over and over and over again. This race will not be won by death by a thousand cuts. It’s going…

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Democrat SuperPAC Releases Poll (Lacking Backup) Showing Phil Bredesen with a 44-41 Lead Over Marsha Blackburn

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Phil Bredesen, Marsha Blackburn

Duty and Country PAC, a Washington DC based political action committee that is aligned with the Democratic Party, has released a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling that shows Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen with a narrow 3 point lead over his Republican opponent Marsha Blackburn. The poll was conducted among 583 likely voters June 10-11 and has a margin of error of 4 points, placing Bredesen’s lead within that margin of error. The poll indicates that Bredesen leads Blackburn 44 percent to 41 percent with 15 percent undecided. In the release, Duty and Country PAC did not include a topline summary providing data in the demographic and political affiliations of poll respondents, which is customary among most professional polling firms. Nor did they include a detailed description of the poll’s methodology, which is also customary, or more detailed crosstabs, which is a common practice among professional polling firms. The poll stands in marked contrast to the Axios-Survey Monkey Poll released earlier this week that shows Blackburn leading Bredesen by 14 points, 55 percent to 41 percent. Duty and Country PAC has raised about $2 million this year according to their latest Federal Election Commission filings.  Their latest report…

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Tennessee GOP Increases Heat on Bredesen Over His Party’s Stand Against ICE

John Bryant
Phil Bredesen

Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen has finally broken his silence on where  he stands as regards the loud and growing calls from his Democrat colleagues to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); however, his response was thin at best and did little to stop the attacks on him over the issue from Tennessee Republicans, as the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports: U.S. Senate Democratic hopeful Phil Bredesen says he wants no part of efforts by some national progressives to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency that’s become a flash point for liberals as they rally against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. “No,” the former Tennessee governor said in a one-word statement to the Times Free Press on the question of whether he favored abolishing the agency. Some U.S. Senate Democrats, including potential 2020 presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand, want Congress to to abolish ICE. Warren said it should be replaced “with something that reflects our morality.” That Democrats in Red and even Purple states are either ducking the issue as Bredesen had been, or are now giving short answers to what is actually a more complex question comes as no surprise. Just…

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Poll: Marsha Blackburn Leads Phil Bredesen by 14 in Senate Race, 55 to 41

Tennessee Star Staff
Phil Bredesen, Marsha Blackburn

A poll released by Axios-Survey Monkey on Tuesday shows that Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) leads Democrat Phil Bredesen by 14 points in the U.S. Senate general election, 55 percent to 41 percent among registered voters. Among likely voters, Blackburn’s lead over Bredesen is even greater, 58 percent to 40 percent. Axios-Survey Monkey conducted similar polls in 13 states where contested Senate races are underway. The overall polling reveals that Democrats will have an uphill climb in attempting to capture control of the U.S. Senate in the midterm 2018 election cycle. Democrats are hampered in their Senate races by having to retain seats in 10 states that President Donald Trump carried in 2016, including five that he carried by double digits. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill said that he is somewhat skeptical of the poll results due to the fact that the survey was conducted over a nearly three week period while typical polling is concluded over 3-4 days. “Nevertheless,” Gill noted, “it appears that Blackburn and Bredesen are both consolidating their party base, with each capturing over 90 percent support from those identifying as Republicans and Democrats respectively.” “Tennessee is a red state that Donald Trump carried handily in 2016 so…

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Phil ‘Duck and Cover’ Bredesen Playing Games with Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee?

John Bryant
Brett Kavanaugh, Chuck Schumer, Phil Bredesen

The Tennessee Republican Party is calling Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen to task for his lack of candor in dealing with President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Along with asking if Democrat Chuck Schumer’s “Tennessee recruit” Phil Bredesen will oppose President Trump’s latest Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the way Schumer is,  they’re also going after him for playing a game of duck and cover on the issue. “Chuck Schumer recruiting Phil Bredesen to run for the Senate has, without a doubt, always been a part of his plan for a full frontal partisan attack against any nominee from President Trump. His ‘everything he’s got’ would 100% include Phil Bredesen if elected. While Phil Bredesen can pretend he would give serious consideration to any Supreme Court nominee from President Trump, you have ask, with Chuck Schumer and liberal Democratic PACs committing millions of dollars to the Senate race in Tennessee, would Phil Bredesen even have a choice?,” says their latest release. In effect, they also accuse Bredesen of being dishonest with voters on the issue. Instead of being honest with voters about President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Phil Bredesen is playing a game of political…

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Big Government Bredesen Wants TVA in the Internet Business

John Bryant
Phil Bredesen

Liberal Democrat Chuck Schumer’s handpicked U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen has said he wants to get the Tennessee Valley Authority “to help expand broadband internet access to rural areas if elected.” Bredesen made the remarks Tuesday in Clarksville, TN. There’s video of him speaking here. He said he is committed to having Congress amend the federal TVA Act to allow the government-owned electricity provider to bring broadband access to underserved rural areas in Tennessee. Bredesen says the “foundation” has been set by the TVA’s board approval in 2017 of $300 million to expand its network fiber capacity to improve the reliability of its transmission system— and by a law signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam last year giving electric cooperatives the authority to provide broadband service. His conservative Republican opponent, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, hit back immediately. The leading GOP candidate to replace Corker is U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn. In a statement Tuesday, Blackburn said “broadband as a utility is a big government solution that will raise taxes.” The focus should be on implementing the broadband access act signed by Haslam, Blackburn said. “TVA should stay focused on its core mission, which has served Tennesseans well for decades,” she said. This also…

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Phil Bredesen’s 4th of July Disappearing Act

John Bryant
Marsha Blackburn, Phil Bredesen

The Tennessee GOP took notice of Democrat Phil Bredesen’s disappearing act yesterday on the 4th of July, now they’re looking to set off some fireworks around it. “Phil Bredesen didn’t appear at any 4th of July celebrations over the past week, leaving Tennesseans to wonder where he spent Independence Day. Was he at his $2.4 million mansion in Jackson Hole, Wyoming? His $1.2 million waterfront home in New York? Or just taking the week off? We are all left wondering where’s Phil?,” read their statement. It seems Bredesen opted to confine his celebration to Twitter. I hope everyone has the opportunity to spend some time with friends and family today and reflect on the many freedoms we enjoy in this country. Happy 4th of July, Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/0ZMjNJzIR9 — Phil Bredesen (@PhilBredesen) July 4, 2018 That contrasted sharply  with Rep Marsha Blackburn, who opted to spend the bulk of Fourth of July celebration time out and about among Tennessee voters all across Tennessee. On the other hand, Marsha Blackburn participated in six Independence Day celebrations from Lancaster to Gatlinburg. She’s out talking with voters and working hard to earn every single vote. Once again- the contrast between these two candidates could…

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Globalist Phil Bredesen Cuts Commercial Attacking President Trump on Tariffs

John Bryant
Phil Bredesen

Chuck Schumer’s hand-picked Tennessee Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen went after President Donald Trump’s tariffs in a new television ad, “saying they hurt the state’s auto industry, farmers and exports like Jack Daniel’s whiskey,” according to this report. This may be the first time Bredesen has taken on Trump openly and in his own voice. Marsha Blackburn and the Republicans wasted no time in hitting back, pointing out that, no matter what Bredesen says in one ad, it’s inevitable that he becomes Schumer’s man in the Senate in the end. Schumer recruited him to run and helped him secure the backing of huge liberal donors, who will expect to see Bredesen deliver for the money they are spending attempting to elect him. There’s more here: Blackburn has said she’s “not a fan” of tariffs, high taxes or trade wars, but that she wants to find a way to “deal with this imbalance that we have when it comes to trade and our exports and imports.” The new Bredesen ad drew a quick response from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which pointed to Bredesen’s opposition of Trump’s tax cuts last year. “Phil Bredesen’s vehement opposition to the tax cuts contradicts…

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Far Left Democrats Launch Bigoted Religious Attacks on SCOTUS Candidate Amy Coney Barrett for Her Catholic Faith

John Bryant
Amy Coney Barrett

Our fellow Tennessean, David French, points out at National Review that progressives and far left Democrats are deploying “Religious Ignorance and Bigotry” to attack potential Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, a graduate of Tennessee’s Rhodes College, for her Catholic faith. “If you ever need much evidence that the growing “God gap” in American politics fosters an immense amount of ignorance and occasionally outright bigotry, look no farther than the concern — the alarm, even — that Amy Coney Barrett is on President Trump’s short list to replace Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court,” French wrote on Monday: The alarm isn’t about her credentials. She’s checked every box of excellence — law review, appellate-court clerkship, Supreme Court clerkship (with Justice Scalia), elite law-firm experience, law professor at an elite law school, and now experience as a federal judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She’s a young, brilliant woman at the apex of her profession. So, beyond her obvious originalist judicial philosophy (shared to varying degrees by every person on Trump’s list of potential nominees), what’s the problem with Judge Barrett. Why do some progressives single her out for particular scorn? It turns out that she’s a faithful Christian…

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Schumer Targets SCOTUS Contender Amy Coney Barrett on Abortion and Obamacare: Does Bredesen Agree?

John Bryant
Amy Coney Barrett, Chuck Schumer, Phil Bredesen

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took to Twitter on Monday to attack federal judge Amy Coney Barrett, a potential Trump pick for the Supreme Court. Barrett has ties to Tennessee. She was born in Louisiana, and lives in Indiana, but spent four college years in Tennessee, graduating from Rhodes College with a magna cum laude degree in English Literature, before going on to law school and a stellar legal career in practice, academia, and on the bench. Perhaps more importantly, with Democrat Phil Bredesen being Chuck Schumer’s man in Tennessee, with close ties not only to the man but the big liberal donor money behind him, the length Schumer seems intent on going to attack a leading contender to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the  Supreme Court should raise serious questions for Tennesseans as they contemplate where Bredesen’s loyalties will lie if he comes to represent Tennessee in the Senate next year. Barrett attacked the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act, which has helped millions of people secure health insurance coverage. https://t.co/JXJAbCmvN4 — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 2, 2018 Schumer didn’t stop there. Barrett also fought efforts to ensure that all women have access to contraceptives.…

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Phil Bredesen Likely to Support His Would-Be Liberal Senate Colleagues in Abolishing ICE?

John Bryant
Phil Bredesen

U.S. Senate Candidate Phil Bredesen is on record calling the policy that required children to be separated from their families “child abuse” and also voiced his support for the ongoing national  protests on behalf of illegal immigrants. Frankly, there seems to be little if any room between Bredesen and the most liberal of current Senate Democrats when it comes to illegal immigration. Video at link. Phil Bredesen on immigration separation policy U.S. Senate Candidate Phil Bredesen on the policy that required children to be separated from their families June 20, 2018 before President Trump repealed it. Now, Bredesen’s would be fellow Democrat Senators, should he win in November, are increasingly calling for the elimination of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) altogether. There’s more on that topic here. Clearly it’s a growing trend among Democrats, especially in the same Senate Democrat Bredesen longs to become a part of. As usual, he’s dodging the touch questions, as in, would he, or would he not support doing away with ICE. And a mostly Democrat friendly media is all too happy to let him get away with it. Given the manner in which Democrats tend to walk in lockstep once they get to Washington,…

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Conservative Talker Steve Gill Discusses Who’s Up, Who’s Down, and the State of the ‘Blue Wave’ Come November

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

On Friday’s Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville, conservative pundit and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill reflected on the players and issues influencing Tennessee’s candidates running for high office, and the important role the Volunteer State has to play on the national stage heading into November. “Bob Corker is not popular in Tennessee,” he said with a chuckle, as he described the political ‘field of play’ less than thirty days from primary election day. He continued: Donald Trump is very popular. President Trump announced today that he is going to be narrowing his list of 5 potential supreme court justices to about 5 choices. He may interview a couple of the next few days, but he plans to name his pick by July 9th, so we won’t have to wait long for the real war over that Supreme Court confirmation process to move ahead. Again, you have Marsha Blackburn making it clear that she will back a conservative, constitutionalist Supreme Court pick that Donal Trump nominates. And you’ve got Phil Bredensen, trying to kind of marginalize on the edges pretending that he might actually support a conservative that Donald Trump would pick, but nobody seriously…

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Bill Lee Donated $1,000 to Phil Bredesen in 2004, Nothing to Donald Trump in 2016

Tennessee Star Staff
Bill Lee

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee donated $1,000 to Phil Bredesen’s campaign in 2004, when the current Democrat candidate for U.S. Senator was gearing up to run for his second term as governor of Tennessee, and did not contribute to Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign, according to reports filed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance and the Federal Election Commission. A spokeseperson for the Lee campaign confirmed to The Tennessee Star that Lee donated $1,000 to Bredesen in 2004, but noted that Lee also donated $1,000 in 2006 to his Republican challenger that year, Jim Bryson. The spokesperson also confirmed what a review of Federal Election Commission records by The Star revealed: Lee did not contribute to Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign. The spokesperson was quick to add that Lee voted for Trump in 2016 and attended the January 2017 inaugural. Bredesen’s 2004 election finance report filed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance shows that William B. Lee of Franklin, Tennessee donated $1,000 to Phil Bredesen on October 5, 2004. (See image below).       This new revelation that Lee, who describes himself as an “outsider” and a “conservative,” donated $1,000 to the state’s most well-known Democrat and ultimate…

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Blackburn Distinguishes Self From Bredesen in Competing Statements on Retiring Justice Kennedy’s Replacement

John Bryant
Marsha Blackburn, Phil Bredesen

Both Tennessee candidates for U.S. Senate weighed in and the length of tone of their responses would appear to make it clear Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) sees this as a clear winning issue for her campaign. Bredesen’s statement was predictable political blather, at best. Bredesen said a candidate’s character and qualifications are more important than party lines. “I just think we have such a partisan mess in Washington right now,” Bredesen said Wednesday in Nashville. “This is a real chance to start unwinding that in something that is very visible and important to the country.” Blackburn also released a statement on Twitter, calling the confirmation of Supreme Court justices “one of the Senate’s most important responsibilities.” “As Tennessee’s next senator, I will be committed to confirming more judges, like Neil Gorsuch, who will honor and uphold our Constitution,” Blackburn said. “I will vote to confirm good constitutional justices who will not be activists and legislate from the bench.” In a statement Wednesday, Blackburn said that Tennesseans want a justice “who will respect both the Constitution and the rule of law.” “They do not want an activist Supreme Court Justice who will seek to legislate from the bench,” she said. “As…

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Phil Bredesen Afraid to Admit He’d Side With Schumer to Delay Vote on SCOTUS Nominee Until After Midterm Elections?

Chris Alto
Phil Bredesen, Chuck Schumer

On the heels of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announcing his retirement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), called for delaying the Senate vote on the President’s nominee until after the November mid-term elections. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), who is running to succeed Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), issued a statement shortly after Kennedy made his plans known and indicated her intent to support President Trump’s nominee. The Tennessee Star asked Democrat Phil Bredesen who is also running to succeed Corker, a simple question – “Do you agree with Chuck Schumer that no vote should be held on the SCOTUS nominee until after midterms?” Whether out of loyalty to Schumer who personally recruited Bredesen to run for the Senate, or because he is afraid to alienate potential votes, Bredesen had no response. Bredesen has gone out of his way to avoid giving direct answers to some of the more defining issues in the November elections including whether he would vote for a Constitutional originalist like Neil Gorsuch and whether he agrees with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding President Trump’s travel ban.          

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Will Pro-Abortion Bredesen Support Confirmation of a Pro-Life Justice to the Supreme Court?

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Phil Bredesen

On Wednesday Democrat Tennessee Senate Candidate Phil Bredesen issued a Twitter statement regarding the upcoming confirmation battle to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. “Not long ago, Senate judicial confirmations were free of openly partisan politics. Justices Scalia & Ginsburg each got 90+ votes. I’m going to vote for or against a nominee based solely on whether I believe them to be highly qualified & ethical, not based on partisan politics.” Not long ago, Senate judicial confirmations were free of openly partisan politics. Justices Scalia & Ginsburg each got 90+ votes. I'm going to vote for or against a nominee based solely on whether I believe them to be highly qualified & ethical, not based on partisan politics. pic.twitter.com/NgzGQC8E4K — Phil Bredesen (@PhilBredesen) June 27, 2018 Bredesen did not indicate whether ideological differences on certain issues would disqualify a nominee for a Federal judicial appointment from receiving his vote for confirmation if he is elected to the U.S. Senate. Since Bredesen tweeted his statement Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who recruited Bredesen to run for Corker’s Senate seat, has called on his fellow Democrats to reject any nominee who does not embrace abortion.  And although Trump has not…

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Bredesen Evasive About His Prospective Role in Contentious Supreme Court Confirmation Process for President Trump’s Nominee

Tennessee Star Staff
Phil Bredesen

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement on Wednesday has prompted an immediate confirmation battle heading into the Fall mid-terms and is already having an impact on Tennessee’s Senate race. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), who is running to succeed Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), issued a statement shortly after Kennedy made his plans known and indicated her intent to support President Donald Trump’s nominee. Blackburn called the confirmation of Supreme Court justices “one of the Senate’s most important responsibilities. As Tennessee’s next Senator, I will vote to confirm constitutional justices, who will follow the rule of law and do not legislate from the bench. It’s absolutely critical to confirm justices who understand the importance of upholding the Constitution, including the right to life.” Former Democrat Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, was more equivocal about his approach to the Supreme Court vacancy, saying a candidate’s character and qualifications are more important than party lines. “I just think we have such a partisan mess in Washington right now,” Bredesen said. “This is a real chance to start unwinding that in something that is very visible and important to the country.” Bredesen also issued a statement on Twitter on Wednesday, just hours after Kennedy announced his retirement.…

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