Posted on 07/26/2006 7:39:49 AM PDT by SmithL
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker traveled to Washington on Tuesday to collect contributions from political action committees and others, prompting opponents in both political parties to accuse him of hypocrisy.
As campaigns of both major primary foes noted, Corker has made a theme of referring to Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary - former congressmen who have both served as lobbyists - as "Washington insiders" and "career politicians."
U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., the presumptive Democratic Senate nominee, said Corker "has been the loudest" of all Republicans in criticizing him for raising money outside of Tennessee.
"Hypocrisy, thy name is Bob Corker," proclaimed the headline on a statement from Bryant's campaign about Tuesday's Washington trip by Corker. The comments were similar from the Ford and Hilleary campaigns.
Corker's campaign scheduled a Tuesday evening fund-raiser at the offices of Capitol Decisions, a lobbying firm. An invitation shows that admission for PAC representatives was $1,000 each, $250 for others attending.
Today, Corker was to attend a "meet and greet" event hosted by an official of the Independent Petroleum Producers Association, which represents domestic oil and natural gas producers in lobbying Washington. Contributions will be accepted but are not required, the invitation indicates.
"It's ludicrous that Bob Corker is critical of Van Hilleary's congressional experience when he's the Washington insider and candidate of choice for D.C. lobbyists," said Jennifer Coxe, Hilleary's campaign manager.
"It's so hypocritical," she said. "He is going to spend lobbyist money to mislead voters about his record."
Coxe said the trip was at least the fourth journey to Washington by Corker.
Bryant spokesman Andrew Shulman said Corker was "going to Washington, backslapping with lobbyists, taking their money, and singing their praises" while criticizing lobbying in TV ads. He said a review of campaign finance disclosures shows Corker has taken more than $364,000 from lawyer-lobbyists in his campaign.
Ben Mitchell, Corker's campaign manager, said "there is a huge difference" between Corker's fund-raising as compared to Bryant and Hilleary "cashing in" on their congressional experience to become lobbyists.
"Bob Corker is in Washington to look for support from those who are interested in assuring that Tennessee continues to be represented by a common-sense conservative leader in the United States Senate," said Mitchell.
Ford, who campaigned Tuesday in Chattanooga, said in a telephone interview that Corker "has every right to go and raise money wherever he wants to raise it, but I think he ought to end the hypocrisy."
Ford said Corker's event with a lobbying arm of the oil industry showed "a different approach" than his own concern with higher gasoline prices.
"No doubt Congressman Ford hopes to divert attention from the hundreds of thousands of dollars his liberal Washington friends like Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Kerry are raising for him," said Mitchell. "But his assertions and allegations about Bob Corker are without merit."
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Corker has revised the wording of a television ad that accuses his primary opponents, Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary, of voting to raise their own pay as congressmen.
The original version simply says they voted to raise their own pay. The new version says they "voted for a bill that the press said provided a $3,800 pay raise for themselves."
The Bryant and Hilleary campaigns were not exactly pleased with the revision, which marks the latest round of a sniping match that began last week.
"They tried to correct the lie but they didn't even do it right," said Coxe. "It's still not true. Corker has replaced one lie with another."
Shulman offered a similar assessment.
"What kind of man gets caught in a lie, but is not big enough to admit it, and instead repackages the lie into a new attack ad that tells the same lie? Bob Corker," said Shulman.
Mitchell said the original version of the ad continues to run in Knoxville and Nashville, but the revised version is being run on Memphis television.
"What we have done is strengthened and re-asserted the fact that Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant have voted for a bill that raised their pay by $3,800 (per year)," he said.
News reports cited by the Corker campaign - from Newsday, The Boston Globe and the Associated Press - mention that the 2000 omnibus bill that Bryant and Hilleary backed would mean that representatives got a pay raise that year. The AP story said the bill "paves the way" for a pay raise.
The bill, however, does not mention the pay raise. Under previously enacted law, congressional pay raises are automatic each year unless specifically prohibited. Since the bill in question closed out the 2000 session without a specific prohibition, it meant the pay raise went into effect.
Bryant and Hilleary contend they repeatedly voted for blocking pay raises in other votes and Corker's characterization of the omnibus bill vote is - in Shulman's phrase - "a bald-faced lie."
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Another poll in the Republican Senate primary was released Tuesday that shows Corker ahead of his rivals.
The SurveyUSA poll, conducted for WBIR, Channel 10 in Knoxville,
sigh
I can't help but wonder what the numbers would look like if Van Hilleary withdrew. But then, early voting has been going on for a while.
It looks like the handwriting is on the wall ping.
Indeed.
I don't think the worst predictions about Corker are true, I don't think he'll be a bad Senator, but it does seem to me Bryant would be a better one, but unless Hilleary drops out, I don't see how that's possible.
I`m like you believing Corker won`t be that bad
I early voted for Bryant,could live with Corker
The thought of Ford being my Senator makes me ill.
My friends are moving to Ohio from Clarksville. I tried to get them to stay until after the election so they could vote against Ford. God forbid he get elected!!
Early voting has been going on, so I still hold out hope for a Bryant victory.
You are being a bit rediculous. There is no way in hell Corker will be like Chafee or Jeffords. He won't even be a DeWine. At worst, he'll be a Dick Luger/Trent Lott Good'ole Boy type go-along-get-along. At best he'll be a pretty good Senator in the John Cornyn/Richard Burr relm.
I'd rather Bryant, I think he's more of a sure thing and it seems like he'll be at least as electable, but you really are way outside the realm of possibility in terms of how bad he'll be.
I live in Chattanooga. Corker cannot be trusted.
Clinton moved up his visit to election day as they are having some function at LP field. His visit was going to be the day after the election. All this according to the Tennessean yesterday.
I wonder why it was moved up? Hard to do any campaigning the day after or pretty much the day of isn't it? Or maybe they just want to party?
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