NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee - Capitol View Commentary: Feb. 22

Capitol View Commentary: Feb. 22

CAPITOL VIEW

By Pat Nolan, Senior Vice President, DVL Public Relations

February 22, 2008

Nashville attorney and former Democratic State Party Chair Bob Tuke seems to have changed his mind.

In an exclusive interview on my INSIDE POLITICS show this week, he tells me he is now "determined" to seek the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Lamar Alexander, with a formal announcement of his plans to be made in the next week or two. 

Tuke is running his first race for office, and he admits his earlier indecision will make it more difficult for him to raise the money (millions of dollars) and the support he will need to defeat a Tennessee political legend like Alexander. But as a former Marine, Tuke says, he is committed to moving ahead with whatever money and support he can muster.

It is quite a task ahead of Tuke. Can he convince the national Democratic Senatorial Committee to make his race one of their priorities? That kind of support, particularly financially, could make a big difference. And what about getting support from former Governor Ned McWherter or current Governor Phil Bredesen? Both have made previous comments all but conceding the political battlefield to Alexander this year.

And then, there's a news release put out by the Alexander re-election campaign within hours of my interview with Tuke (although I doubt they were aware of that timing, especially since it originally was marked embargoed until Sunday, before the story broke anyway).

The Alexander release announces still more prominent Democrats and Independents who are supporting the Senator for re-election. That includes such well-known political names as former U.S. Attorney Hal Hardin, former State Attorney General Paul Summers, prominent Nashville political figures such as lawyer Bill Willis, contractor Ray Bell, restaurant businessmen Mike Kelly and Randy Rayburn, as well as a long-time aide to former Governor McWherter, Jim Hall of Chattanooga, and former Shelby County Mayor Bill Morris.

Add all these folks to the previous list of "Tennesseans for Alexander" and you can see not only what an uphill battle Bob Tuke faces, but what a mess Democrats have created by waiting so long to get any possibly credible candidate into the race against Alexander. Tuke even faces what would appear to be nominal opposition in the Democratic primary from former Knox County Clerk, Mike Padgett. Tuke will be the clear favorite to win the nomination, but he will still likely have to spend significant time and money on doing that, instead of completely focusing his efforts on the major task ahead in the fall of taking on Tennessee's Senior Senator.

Not surprisingly, as a Democrat, one of Tuke's major campaign messages is that we need "change in Washington." Tuke says Senator Alexander is too closely tied to the failed Bush administration and his Republican cohorts on Capitol Hill. But Alexander has been working hard for months to shelter himself from such criticism. Even in his "Tennesseans for Alexander" news release, the Senator seems to be running right next to Tuke on the issue of change. "It's time to change the way Washington does business." Alexander said. "It's time for elected officials to set aside petty partisan politics and solve the major problems facing our country. The only way for that to happen is for Republicans, Democrats and Independents to work together."

That's sure not giving much for even a former Marine to take a good shot at politically. In what appears to be a Democratic-leaning year, at least nationwide, can Bob Tuke get the money and support  to build a case for electing him to U.S. Senate and sending Senator Alexander home? Doubtful I would say, right now, but then Campaign 2008 has already been a political cycle full of surprises.

INSIDE POLITICS

My other guest on INSIDE POLITICS this week is Tennessee's other United States Senator, Bob Corker. In our interview we talk about how tornado relief efforts are going across the state, as well the Senator's continued opposition to the recently approved economic stimulus package for the nation.

It seems to me the longer he stays in Washington, the more outspoken Senator Corker has become. But maybe not on all issues, it seems.

I asked the Senator to offer any further comments about whether he thinks likely GOP Presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, has the right temperament to be President. Corker didn't directly respond to that question when it came up recently on a national political talk show on FOX (Hannity & Colmes), and frankly he didn't offer much more in our interview. You can judge for yourself what that may mean.

Senator Corker also talks about how much he now enjoys his legislative job in Washington although he admits it took some getting used to after spending years on the executive side of life, both as a private businessman as well as being State Finance Commissioner and Mayor of Chattanooga. By the way, he and Bob Tuke are pretty good friends and have spent some time together over the past few years hiking in the Appalachian Mountains. You never know where the trails cross in politics, now do you?

INSIDE POLITICS can seen each weekend on NEWSCHANNEL 5 PLUS, Comcast Channel 50. On Friday evenings (February 22) the show airs at 7PM. Saturdays (February 23) we are on at 5AM and 5:30PM. Sundays (February 24) we are back at 5 AM again and at 12:30 PM.

This is one of our better shows this week, so don't miss it. For those out of town or without Comcast service, don't forget you can go to the NewsChannel5 website (www.newschannel5.com) next week and find excerpts from this week's show and other previous INSIDE POLITICS shows posted there.

THE CHICKEN ROOST

With the wonderful restoration that been done to the historic Metro Courthouse in downtown Nashville, no one could call it a barn. But, nevertheless, the political and financial chickens are starting to come home to roost there, even if some of our politicians, editorial writers and business leaders seem to want to ignore that.

The first big chicken came back home a few days ago, when one of the major national bond rating houses lowered the city's credit rating on its water sewer bonds. That means the city and rate payers will have to deal with higher interest costs when we borrow money. It's also an indication of how well (or maybe not so well) the city is doing in handling its financial affairs.

There used to be a time in the not-too-distant past when even the hint that the city's credit rating was in jeopardy or--- God forbid, being actually downgraded--- would have given Council leaders and editorial writers a heart attack. Not anymore apparently, and not even local business leaders are saying much publicly.

I do expect there will be quite an outcry, at least from the public, when the other shoe drops in this matter....a double digit water sewer rate hike that is likely coming before city leaders for approval very soon.  Add it to all the new TVA rate hikes and fuel surcharges for electricity, and it makes you wonder when the next consumer crusader, like the late former Metro Property Assessor and Congressman Clifford Allen, will emerge.  J 

It's true: Nashville has not had a rate hike since 1997, so maybe an adjustment is in order. But what about all the money out of water sewer "surplus" funds that has been spent to fund the city's NFL football stadium starting under the administration of Governor Phil Bresdesen? And what about the millions of dollars used to fund storm water projects under Mayor Bill Purcell, even though some question whether that is a legitimate use of bond monies sold strictly for water sewer projects (and those are not the same kind of things)?

The Metro Council and the mayoral administration then in office  (Purcell) have known for at least two years there was a problem with water sewer funding, but refused to act (other than approving a few temporary band aid solutions). Now there seems to be little choice. But it is outrageous for Council members and editorial writers to claim the city has always had the right priorities in its water sewer spending and that waiting until 2008 to deal with this matter is the right thing to do. I could not disagree more.

And there are still more chickens coming home to roost. While Metro's bond rating for general obligation bonds has not been changed, there are a lot of long nights being put in at the Metro Courthouse by city finance officials trying to figure how to pay for the capital improvement projects already approved by the Metro Council. Frankly, it probably can't be done and some already approved projects will have to put on indefinite hold. Even paying for what is already under construction won't be easy, as it is likely Mayor Karl Dean and the new Metro Council will be faced with either cutting property tax pennies and programs out of the operating budget (this coming year or next year) in order to pay the increased debt service or (gulp) raising property taxes (and likely having to go to the voters for approval in a referendum).   

Now none of this is the fault of the new Dean administration or those Council members just elected to office. Nevertheless, a lot of finger-pointing is not likely to get us anywhere either, in terms solving these challenges. So we should remember we are all piled together in the same pot on this.   

But is that fried chicken or a cooked political goose I smell coming from the Courthouse? The next few months will tell us.

 THE HILL

If you've noticed I have written next to nothing about the General Assembly the last few weeks in this column. That's because that's all our lawmakers have accomplished while here in Nashville: "next to nothing."

Part of the inaction is normal. The Legislature rarely gets much done in its first month or two. Oh, a lot of committee hearings are held and a lot of legislation (some good, some bad, some just plain crazy) is debated, but as far as any final approvals, that's fairly rare.

Things could be even more difficult this year I think, especially since Governor Bredesen doesn't seem to have the votes in the Republican-controlled State Senate for several of the things he wants done (lottery changes and pre-k expansion come to mind).

There is some hope on the distant horizon. Some lawmakers are talking about a mid-April adjournment date (so they can go home and raise money to get re-elected). Early April is also the qualifying deadline for legislative races, so our Representatives and Senators will know if they have any opposition for this summer and fall. It's amazing how all that can help focus our leaders and help build coalitions to pass legislation. So, if lawmakers hold to their schedule, (and don't decide to wait for the May state revenue estimates before final action on the budget), look for things to get more active and substantive as we head into March.

FIREWALL

As we speculated a few weeks back, for Democratic candidate Senator Hillary Clinton, it all comes down to the primary contests in Ohio and Texas on March 4. If she can win, and the more convincingly the better, she might be able to save her presidential bid, even after losing the last ten straight contests since Super Tuesday to her opponent, Senator Barack Obama.

Political firewalls can work. They saved Senator John McCain, the likely GOP nominee when he won the New Hampshire primary earlier this year and helped propel him to the front of the pack after being left for politically dead.

But political momentum can sometimes trump firewalls, and Senator Obama has lots of momentum. That's why I think if he wins, or comes close to winning, even one of the two main states up for grabs March 4 (Texas and Ohio), the political heat may grow too hot for Clinton to continue on in the race. Her support from super-delegates is probably going to be like what happens to snow when the sun comes out. It will just fade away if there are no strong primary results to support her efforts.

There is still the question of how to handle seating the Michigan and Florida delegations, but if one of these candidates fades to the background, that would likely work itself out. Still, both the Clinton and Obama campaigns are going full bore in their efforts. Clinton's charges of plagiarism against Obama is clearly an attempt to strike at his strongest political suit (his speeches seem to stir audiences like no one I have seen or heard since Robert Kennedy). But she may have overplayed her hand in the last debate when she used the "Xerox" line (and the crowd booed).

Still, Obama must realize that the other message Clinton is trying to send with her plagiarism charges is that the Illinois Senator is very vulnerable to suggestions that he is long on words, but short on specifics and actions, a charge that is also coming from McCain, (who ominously for Clinton, has quit criticizing her in his remarks). 

But then McCain has his own problems with THE NEW YORK TIMES article questioning his past relationship with a lobbyist. So far, McCain seems to be handling it well and trying to turn it to his advantage to raise money and build conservative support in the Republican Party. Even talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh were rushing (pardon the pun) to McCain's defense, which is something Democrats should keep in mind to temper any overconfidence for this fall.

And then there's the issue of whether McCain and Obama (if they are the nominees) will run their campaigns with public funding or continue to raise millions and millions on their own? Both candidates pledged at one time to join together with public financing. However, now that both have their nominations nearly in hand, there seem to be some second thoughts on both sides, especially for Obama in a rare year when Democrats are doing much better than Republicans in raising funds.

Campaign finance issues rarely charge up the electorate one way or another. But I have rarely, if ever, seen the public so engaged in a political process this early. So how the candidates handle this, and other hot issues, could become pivotal as the nominating process starts to head into its later stages.

CREDIT

Tennessee Congressman Lincoln Davis has a new bill in Congress. It wants to give credit card customers a "bill of rights."  

Now when I hear a phrase like that used to describe legislation, I usually start looking for a catch. After all, many times if Congress thinks it has the answer, maybe we need to make sure the right questions are being asked.

Nevertheless, Congressman Davis offers some interesting information about the credit card industry. He says those companies sent out 8 billion (with a "b") mail solicitations last year to American homes. That's 25 apiece for every man, woman and child in the country. That seems a bit excessive and expensive to the Congressman and who can really disagree.

Congressman Davis also has personal concerns after making a phone call to one of the credit card companies "in order to pay a debt so I would not be charged a late fee" only to be told he would still be charged a $29 fee for paying over the phone.  Davis says he found that "shocking" especially since the fee was almost 30% to 50% of what his entire account was with the credit card company.

I don't know what change, if any, this legislation has of passing in the Congress, but it might make for some at least some interesting committee hearings.

Comments about Capitol View should be sent to Pat Nolan directly via email at pat.nolan@dvl.com .