Posted on 08/02/2006 2:10:21 PM PDT by Sybeck1
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. -- Ed Bryant called on supporters in the pro-life, home-school and other conservative groups to help turn out a large vote for him in Thursday's Republican primary, warning that GOP control of Congress is at stake.
"Go out and go the extra mile for this campaign and make sure we finish in first place. We're going to win. Carry the message out there that we literally could lose control of the United States Senate if we don't win in Tennessee.
"And we won't win in Tennessee -- we'll lose this race to Congressman Ford, the Democrat -- if we don't send out the strongest and the best candidate from the Republican primary day after tomorrow. We know we can beat Congressman Ford," Bryant told a rally in this suburb north of Nashville Tuesday morning.
If Bryant beats GOP opponents Bob Corker and Van Hilleary, he said he can credit the efforts of hundreds of grassroots conservative activists like Michelle Hall, the home-schooling mother of five children who attended the rally and is working in a huge get-out-the-vote effort.
Corker and Hilleary also say they're the strongest candidates to take on Democrat Harold Ford Jr. in the general election battle for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Bill Frist. All three have get-out-the-vote efforts and brigades of supporters.
Bryant's is a highly organized network of home-school families and anti-abortion activists working in a 72-hour project to hang placards proclaiming Bryant as "The Real Conservative" on the doors of at least 75,000 homes.
Hall, of nearby Goodlettsville, said her family is part of a national program called "Generation Joshua" that she said has been active in campaigns across the country. "We lose very few races," she said.
Bryant said hundreds of the group's 11- to 19-year-olds and their parents from out of state are in Tennessee this week working on his behalf. Its Web site says "Generation Joshua is designed for Christian youth who want to become a force in the civic and political arenas" and whose goal is "to ignite a vision in young people to help America return to her Judeo-Christian foundations."
Hall, 37, said she and other home-schoolers she knows are working for Bryant because "he's the candidate that represents what's passionate for our families, which is right to life and fiscal conservatism."
Saying he believes oil prices will continue to rise, Bryant also renewed his call for a project -- as strong he said as World War II's Manhattan Project and President Kennedy's push for a moon landing -- that would "commit America to developing and (mass-)producing alternative-fuel vehicles in five years."
He called for transferring money allocated to developing a manned trip to Mars to the alternative fuels project, and a federal government partnership with the private sector. He also called for more drilling off-shore and in the Arctic, loosening regulations to permit faster opening of new refineries, and energy conservation.
Bryant told reporters he believes he would be stronger against Ford because Corker's "record is not going to be that distinguishable from Harold Ford's record and what we have to have in this race is a clear contrast. Bob can say all he wants to that he has the sharpest contrast, but this is a mayor who raised taxes. Democrats raise taxes. A person who's had a record of being pro choice. Democrats are pro choice.
"And this issue of immigration, I think Harold Ford will be to the right of him on that" -- because, Bryant said, of the well-publicized 1988 arrest of four illegal aliens working for a subcontractor on a Memphis job site of Corker's construction company.
But Bryant said his ultimate key to victory is geography: "I have the strongest base of support" in West Tennessee, while Corker and Hilleary will split votes in East Tennessee.
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The Air War
Factcheck.org, a political ad watch project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, issued another report Tuesday taking issue with a Bob Corker campaign ad:
"We find that his current ad misleads by falsely implying that he lowered taxes in Chattanooga when he was mayor. Actually, real-estate tax levies rose by nearly one third during his four-year tenure."
Corker strongly defended the ad Monday, rejecting any suggestion that it implies he lowered property taxes as Chattanooga mayor:
"I have never said that. What I've said very meticulously is that we controlled spending and because our fourth budget was only one percent higher than our first -- because property reappraisals take place every four years and we had $2.1 billion worth of investment while I was mayor -- our property tax rates in Chattanooga are the lowest since the 1950s. That is a fact, an undeniable fact."
Copyright 2006, commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN. All Rights Reserved
Tennessee is defintely a state to watch this election. No matter who wins the primary, I hope the Reps. can put it behind them and unite behind the winner. Republicans must hold on to this seat!
I voted for Bryant, but I think it's all over except for the crying.
Corker is going to face Ford in the general election.
Corker will probably win, but it will be closer than it should be.
Corker will be an annoying RINO when he gets to Washington, but not an bad as Bryant's supporters think.
You will need a a SWAT Team to get Corker out of Washington once he gets there.
Is it just me - or does anyone else find it weird that Tennessee holds their primary on a Thursday?
I thought their primaries were on Tuesday like everyone else - except Louisiana.
PING!!!
"...because property reappraisals take place every four years and we had $2.1 billion worth of investment while I was mayor -- our property tax rates in Chattanooga are the lowest since the 1950s. That is a fact, an undeniable fact."
Figures don't lie, but liars sure can figure....
Is it too late for Bryant? I certainly hope not.
It's important to remember, there was early voting in Tennessee and Ed Bryant was the front-runner during much of that time. Bob Corker peaked not long ago and Van Hilleary was a last-minute entry.
In other words, there's still hope that Bryant can win this thing.
Whatever happens, Bryant has my vote (I already voted absentee), and that of my folks, and will STILL have it in November. I paid my dues to the RINO with Lamar! 4 years ago and, quote the raven, "Never more."
Van Hilleary should have dropped out.
The only positive about Corker is that his daughters are mega-hot.
You're right about Van Hilleary, his candidacy accomplished nothing positive.
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