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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, today outlined a plan that should be adopted before any loan to the U.S. auto industry is discussed or contemplated. The hearing, the second in a series examining the industry, included testimony from UAW (United Automobile Workers union) President Ron Gettelfinger, Ford Motor Company President and CEO Alan Mulally, Chrysler Chairman and CEO Bob Nardelli, and General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner. “At today's hearing I suggested a number of very specific and rigorous measures that should be in place...

Against the odds, GOP candidates in the state of Tennessee experienced a historic win. In addition to delivering the state to John McCain, Republicans won both chambers of the state legislature. And, as the Wall Street Journal reported, "Sen. Lamar Alexander became the first Republican to carry all but one county in his re-election win -- even taking a quarter of Tennessee's black votes." NPR was not so generous to Republicans in its reportage. Given the opportunity to traffic in the 'Republicans as racists' trope or do some honest journalism, well, with NPR involved, you can probably guess which way...

Will wonders never cease?! Hank Williams Jr. says he will run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican candidate during the next primary election. It is my understanding that Hank has already talked with Sen. Lamar Alexander and former Sen. Bill Frist -- both Republicans -- regarding his candidacy. Those of you who keep up with country music news by reading this weekly column are already aware that Hank spent a lot of time on the campaign trail with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's vice presidential running mate.

When voters consign political parties to minority status, circular firing squads usually follow. But Tennessee Democratic leaders and campaign operatives aren't blaming each other for the party's stunning losses in last week's legislative elections. They're blaming racism. Barack Obama changed the political map with the biggest Democratic victory since LBJ, but the election made a different kind of history in the alternate universe known as Tennessee. John McCain not only won the state by 15 points, he took some rural counties by 40 points or more, and those mind-boggling margins poured down the ballot to give Republicans majorities in both...

KNOXVILLE — Groups representing Hispanic immigrants in East Tennessee joined together Friday in downtown Knoxville to explain their missions and outline their goals to members of other civic-minded groups in the community. It is safe to say everyone present had an accent — the native East Tennesseans as well as the Hispanics. The meeting was sponsored by the East Tennessee Foundation and initiated by Gladys Pineda, chair of the Latino Task Force of CEDnet (Community Economic Development Network of East Tennessee). The Latino Task Force is dedicated to linking Hispanics with businesses and organizations in hopes of unifying to create...

Tennessee Republicans served notice Wednesday that the legislature is under new management, all but promising to replace the three state constitutional officers and challenging Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen to open talks on state budget issues. Although Republicans won a one-vote majority in the state Senate two years ago, they built it to a 19-14 margin Tuesday and, unexpectedly, won a 50-49 majority in the House, which Democrats held 53-46 until Election Day. Legislative historian Eddie Weeks confirmed it's the first time the GOP has held a majority of both chambers since 1869, during Reconstruction after the Civil War. Both parties...

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Republicans can flex newfound muscle and shake the Tennessee Capitol to its foundation when they take control of the General Assembly in January. The seismic change the election is bringing to the political power structure comes as the state faces its worst economic crisis in decades. And a Republican leader in the House — where Democratic Speaker Jimmy Naifeh of Covington has thwarted GOP measures for the last 18 years — should clear the way for measures limiting abortion rights and loosening gun restrictions. Republicans could also determine the future of the state's judicial selection process and...

Tennessee Republicans won a 19-to-14 state Senate majority in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial voting totals, while House Republicans appeared to have gained a 50-to-49 margin in that chamber, giving them control of it for the first time since 1971. For the first time since post-Civil War Reconstruction, the GOP holds majorities in both chambers, Republicans said. House and Senate Republicans also have enough votes — 69 — to capture the three constitutional offices of secretary of state, comptroller and treasurer. The state’s 132 legislators elect the constitutional officers, and it takes 67 votes to win. Unofficial returns showed Republican...

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain picked up a trio of red states early in the night Tuesday, with multiple media outlets projecting a GOP victory in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. All three were polling fairly strongly for McCain, although there was some indication that the race had been tightening in South Carolina. The states are mid-weights in the Electoral College, with Oklahoma adding 7, Tennessee 11, and South Carolina 8, adding 26 votes to McCain's total. McCain's victory in South Carolina eliminates the possibility that rival Democrat Barack Obama could sweep the Atlantic seaboard. Obama was down by 10...

GOP presidential candidate John McCain is expected to get a pre-Election Day message out in Tennessee and Virginia by campaigning at Tri-Cities Regional Airport on Monday. McCain’s appearance at Tri-City Aviation is scheduled to happen about 11 a.m., 1st Congressional District GOP nominee Phil Roe said. The McCain campaign hadn’t announced the event or its time Friday. The last time a GOP presidential nominee campaigned in the Tri-Cities was in October 2000 when George W. Bush did a stump speech at Tri-City Aviation about a month before defeating Democratic Vice President Al Gore. McCain’s timing caught Tennessee GOP leaders, including...

Tickets will be required to attend Monday’s Northeast Tennessee appearance of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain and are available online as well as through McCain campaign offices in Abingdon and other Southwest Virginia locations. McCain’s Road to Victory Rally is scheduled for Tri-Cities Regional Airport at Tri-City Aviation Inc., 253 Airport Circle, Blountville, Tenn. Doors will open at 9:45 a.m., according to a campaign e-mail. McCain is slated to appear in the late morning. The campaign e-mail, sent Saturday afternoon, asks that supporters of the McCain-Palin ticket “wear something RED to remind everyone to keep Virginia and Tennessee RED”...

Road to Victory Rally in Blountville, TN MONDAY, NOVEMBER 03, 2008 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM Address: Tri-Cities Regional Airport: Tri-City Aviation, Inc.- 253 Airport Circle Blountville, TN 37617 Please join Senator John McCain for a Road to Victory Rally in Blountville, TN Monday November 3rd Tri-Cities Regional Airport Tri-City Aviation, Inc. 253 Airport Circle Blountville, TN 37617 *Tri-Cities Regional Airport is located 3 miles off Interstate 81 at Exit 63. Doors Open at 8:30 a.m. Join John McCain for his final Road to Victory rally on Monday, November 3rd at Tri-Cities Regional Airport. This will be Senator McCain's last...

Early and Absentee Votes November 4, 2008

11 am, Tri-cities airport. Please pass on ... More info to follow........

John McCain now leads Barack Obama 54% to 42% in Tennessee, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state. The latest numbers represent a modest slip for the Republican, who led 58% to 39% in late September. However, McCain has held double-digit leads since tracking began in April, with his lowest level support at 51% in June.

A crush of voters swarmed the polls Wednesday as Tennessee began its 15-day early voting period. More than 4,200 people voted at three polling sites in Hamilton County, according to Hamilton County Election Commission workers at the sites. Voters waited for as little as a few minutes up to an hour to cast their ballots, workers said. Though there are a handful of races on some voters’ ballots, the huge turnout is due to the presidential race between Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., officials say. “I just had to cast my vote for Barack Obama today,” said...

Red State Update at Belmont Debate

Gloria Johnson, who heads up Democrat Barack Obama's local campaign for the presidency, says she and other supporters are undaunted by polls showing Republican John McCain strongly carrying Tennessee. Pollster.com, which provides analysis of all national and state polls, showed McCain at 57.4 percent of those polled and Obama at 37.3 percent in Tennessee on Friday. -Snip- Now she's planned a get-out-the-vote campaign that has a "staging" location and leaders in every Knox County Commission district, she said. Phone banks, canvassers, rides to the polls and poll-watching will be done at that level, she said. "This is what we did...

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Bradley County’s registered voter list will likely top 60,000 before early voting begins next week. A whirlwind month of voter registration was capped Monday with 407 new registrations, Elections Director Fran Green told county election commissioners Tuesday. In the August general election the county had about 54,000 registered voters. As of Tuesday, that number was 59,891. Ms. Green held up a tray of registrations and estimated about 500 were left to process. “That will put us over 60,000, “ she said. Election Commission Chairwoman Mary Frances Armstrong praised the office staff’s effort to handle the Monday mobs.....

The son of a Democratic Tennessee state lawmaker pleaded not guilty Wednesday to hacking the e-mail account of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. David Kernell, 20, of Knoxville, Tenn. entered the plea in federal court in Knoxville, the same day prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging him with intentionally accessing Palin's e-mail account... Kernell, an economics student ... was brought into court wearing handcuffs and shackles on his ankles. He was released without posting bond, but the court limited his computer use to checking his own e-mail and doing class work. Kernell's father is longtime state Rep. Mike Kernell of...