Free Republic

The dust has barely settled since Sen. Lamar Alexander beat back a strong challenge from Joe Carr in Tennessee’s Republican primary. Yet here he is, once again, talking up the need for a “comprehensive immigration reform” bill. In other words, amnesty. Via Breitbart.com: “I don’t know how it will affect our politics in the near term,” Alexander told Politico of a comprehensive immigration bill. “I think it’s embarrassing for us not to deal with the problem, and I think we should do it in the next two years.” And though Alexander claimed that he won the primary because he did...

While the election results were heartbreaking, there is much to be encouraged, and yes, even energized about. We did not win, but we are winning. Senator Lamar Alexander did not run away with this election, as most predicted he would. He was forced to buy the election, spending $7 million. He resorted to last minute robo-calls in which he falsely claimed his vote for Senate Bill 744 was a vote against amnesty. In spite of all of this, he could only capture 49.7% of the vote. The award for the tackiest campaign commercial goes to Mike Huckabee, who had nerve...

Today, in Tennessee, the tea party has its last-best chance to beat an incumbent senator in a race that’s a marquee match-up with the GOP establishment. After millions of dollars, the tea party failed to topple incumbent senators in Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi, and most recently earlier this week in Kansas. If Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander beats back his tea party challenger state Rep. Joe Carr, this will be the first cycle since 2008 when no incumbent GOP Senator has lost a re-nomination fight. snip FiveThirtyEight’s Take: Polling Past polling in Tennessee primaries has not been terribly accurate. Errors of...

NASHVILLE - Republican U.S. Senate hopeful George Flinn is now aiming his fire at state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascasas, the other challenger to Sen. Lamar Alexander in the GOP primary election. Flinn says in a new release issued this morning that like Alexander, Carr has a "history of flip-flopping on important issues, dodging key votes, and being involved in backdoor deals that don’t benefit Tennesseans but himself." “Every voter should demand transparency from candidates and research their records before voting," Flinn says of Carr, a favorite of many in-state Tea Party groups. "Joe Carr, like Lamar has flip-flopped on issues...

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) - In Decision 2014, it is a Republican Primary with many hotly-contested races. One lured two-term US Senator Lamar Alexander to town for a campaign stop at the Brainerd Road Rib & Loin Tuesday evening. Alexander faces six challengers in the August vote with State Representative Joe Carr thought to be the strongest among them. A group of Carr campaigners set up camp in the adjacent parking lot, trying to make their voices heard. "We are here because Lamar Alexander won't answer our questions," said Michael Patrick Leahy, co-founder of the 'Beat Lamar' group. "He won't debate...

Lamar Alexander, the two-term Republican senator from Tennessee, is in a strong position to win reelection this November. But only if he can get through his August 7 primary. Polling has been scarce in the race between Alexander and his GOP primary challenger, state representative Joe Carr, though the incumbent enjoys advantages in fundraising and name recognition (Alexander twice served as governor in the 1980s). An independent poll in January found Carr down by 40 points. But with Carr getting somewhat of a boost from endorsements by radio host Laura Ingraham and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, an independent outside...

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is planning a 35-stop bus tour of Tennessee ahead of the Aug. 7 primary, his campaign announced this morning. ( You know, cuz he has this election locked up right?) Alexander said in a press release that the tour is inspired by his political mentor, former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, who toured the state by train and bus during his re-election campaign. (I think while I am reading this I will look for inspiration from Steve Martin's Planes, Trains, & Automobiles which will be waaaay more inspiring than Lamar's bus tour) "I learned from Howard...

On Wednesday, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin endorsed conservative Tennessee state representative Joe Carr in his primary bid to oust incumbent Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN). Carr has been hammering Alexander before the August 7th primary for voting for the Senate's Gang of Eight comprehensive amnesty bill even after he was warned by law enforcement officials that it would exacerbate the border crisis. Even Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) voted against the final bill. Palin thanked Alexander for his service and then promptly said it is time for new leaders who will have the guts to tell the Obama administration, "no mas."...

Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham endorsed Joe Carr, the Republican Senate challenger to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), as a new poll shows that he is gaining significant support in his campaign. A new poll conducted by Triton Polling, shows that Carr has jumped sixteen points in his race against Alexander in Tennessee since May. Alexander now leads Carr 43-36 percent. The results show that 6.7 percent of voters chose long shot candidate George Flinn, four percent chose another candidate and 10.1 percent were not sure. In May the same poll showed Alexander leading by 44-20. The new results show that...

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul made yet another appearance Monday with Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander, who is facing a Tea Party primary challenger. While considered one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate, Alexander has been working in recent months to look more conservative. Before anyone could ask, Alexander denied that he was trying to get political help from the Tea Party darling. “We’re not here to endorse each other,” he said, without prompting. “Rand hasn’t asked me to endorse me for the President of the United States, and I haven’t asked him to endorse me for the senate. We’re here...

That is again leading to speculation that Sen. Paul will endorse Sen. Alexander’s re-election bid, something he came short of doing in a previous joint media appearance to demonstrate their solidarity with fishermen facing Corp of Engineer restrictions that would keep them from fishing near dams. Given the pair's voting records, which show wide policy fissures, if Sen. Paul does endorse Alexander, it will invite reasonable suspicion that he cares more about Lamar’s ability to help him in his expected 2016 presidential run than he does about the biggest issues facing the country. I have culled, from the Heritage Action...

LASCASSAS, Tenn. — As Senator Thad Cochran eked out a victory over a conservative insurgent Tuesday night in Mississippi, Tea Party members here were making a bold — even defiant — proclamation: They will win the Senate seat in Tennessee. The activists hope a little-known state representative named Joe Carr, a self-described underdog who has attacked efforts to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws, can oust Lamar Alexander, 73, the Republican senator, former governor and two-time presidential candidate who began working on Capitol Hill in the late 1960s. “What’s next on the calendar? Joe Carr,” Mr. Carr declared, as a country...

A rally scheduled for Thursday night has all the makings of a political boon to Tennessee State Sen. Joe Carr, who's challenging Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in the Senate primary. Stars of the Tea Party, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, are headlining the event. It's being organized by the Servier County Tea Party, a group that hails from Rep. Phil Roe's (R-TN) R+25 congressional district. And the rally is scheduled for two days after the Mississippi runoff, which, if state senator Chris McDaniel wins, could give Carr additional political momentum. But Steve Osborn, the Chairman of the Sevier Country...

Country music star Kix Brooks has been recruited by Sen. Lamar Alexander for a new radio ad to defend his conservative record in the Senate. “I like having a United States Senator that stays true to his conservative roots, and keeps his feet on the ground here at home,” Brooks says. Brooks, one half of superstar country music duo Brooks & Dunn, is also the host of the popular radio show “American Country Countdown” and “Kickin’ It With Kix.” Brooks reminds Tennessee anglers that Alexander worked with Rand Paul to fight the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attempt to restrict...

Plenty of politicians promise on the campaign trail to restore an intangible "American Dream," but one outsider Senate candidate is putting his money where his mouth is and offering to make it a reality for a few lucky supporters. John King, a Knoxville businessman and long-shot candidate in Tennessee's Republican Senate primary, is looking to bring attention to his campaign to unseat incumbent Lamar Alexander with an "American Dream Giveaway." Conditional on a highly improbable King victory in the Aug. 7 primary, entrants into the contest could win one of 18 prizes, including a home-starter package, luxury SUVs, and 4x4...

The head of the Tennessee State Museum says that it was understood that Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) was not going to run for reelection, which is why she was not worried about the political ramifications of a traveling exhibit promoting his historic career. "When we first started talking about the exhibit, there was a general understanding that he probably wasn't going to run," museum head Lois Riggins-Ezzell told Tennessee’s NewsChannel5. But as was the case with Sen. Thad Cochran in Mississippi, that likelihood changed as supporters urged him to run again - keeping the seat safe for Republicans. Even though...

After Dave Brat's stunning upset over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) last week, Joe Carr, a Tennessee state representative who is challenging moderate Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in an August 7th primary, is seeing signs of momentum. Seven more Tennessee state representatives endorsed Carr on Monday, a week after Laura Ingraham, who helped propel Brat to his victory, praised Carr on her radio show. Middle Tennessee Representatives Sheila Butt (R-Columbia), Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), Courtney Rogers (R-Goodlettsville), Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna), Billy Spivey (R-Lewisburg), and Rick Womick (R-Rockvale) said Carr could repeat the successes of Brat and...

Does Joe Carr have what it takes to oust Lamar Alexander? - June 13, 2014

Just introduced Lamar! as "the Senator from Arizona."

Republicans want government to work like an iPhone while Democrats want to use government to tell you what to do. That’s the message Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) conveyed Saturday in this week’s Republican address. “Republicans want to enable you. We want to be the iPhone party. We believe government ought to be a platform that gives you opportunity and freedom to create a happier, more prosperous, and safer life,” Alexander said, drawing a sharp contrast between Republican and Democrat approaches to government. “Just imagine if instead of mandating things for you to do, your government became a platform, just like...