The Republican National Committee (RNC) unleashed a blistering and detailed attack on Democrat candidate for the US Senate from Tennessee Phil Bredesen this week, the kind of attack that will likely keep on leaving a mark even as the campaign rolls through the Summer and into the Fall.
The RNC again points out that Bredesen was “personally courted” by DC Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to run for the Tennessee U.S. Senate seat now held by retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), and reminded voters that Bredesen has donated significant amounts of money to Trump’s 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton, in the past.
Additionally, they emphasized that during Bredesen’s tenure as governor of Tennessee, the unemployment rate increased from 5.1 percent to 9.5 percent and the number of unemployed Tennesseans increased by 98 percent.
The GOP took on several other aspects of Bredesen’s political history, as well and there is undoubtedly much more to come. One gets the sense that the onslaught against Bredresen from the GOP is just getting started. And with Trump appearing to go all in for Republican Marsha Blackburn, including rallying for her in the state, it will be interesting to see what, if any, impact all this GOP activity has on future polling.
When Bredesen was governor, taxes and fees in Tennessee skyrocketed to close to $1 billion; now Bredesen has criticized The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for providing “crumbs” even as thousands of workers in his state are reaping the benefits of the bill in the form of bonuses and pay raises.
Bredesen has claimed that Obamacare was “better” because more people have coverage; but in fact, in the years since its enactment, Tennesseans have faced crushing premiums, lost coverage, costly taxes, and fewer options on the state’s insurance marketplace.
While governor, Bredesen defended a disastrous policy allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driving certificates, a policy which ended after federal investigations revealed applicants using fraud and bribery to obtain driving privileges.
Bredesen has supported limitations on Second Amendment rights, and stated we need to “get reasonable” about gun control.
They also went on to point out just how many liberal elites and progressive dollars are behind Bredesen’s campaign in Tennessee.
In December 2017, Former Governor Phil Bredesen (D-TN) Officially Announced His Candidacy For The U.S. Senate. “Former Gov. Phil Bredesen is planning to run for U.S. Senate. Bredesen officially announced his candidacy on Thursday. Sen. Bob Corker announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election in 2018.” (“Phil Bredesen Announces Run For U.S. Senate,” WSMV , 12/21/17)
Democrats Had Been “Strenuously Wooing” Bredesen To Run, For Senate With Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Personally Courting Him. “In the Senate, too, Democrats are seeking to expand the map. Facing a narrow path to a majority, they are strenuously wooing Phil Bredesen, a former Tennessee governor, to run for the seat that Senator Bob Corker is vacating. Mr. Bredesen has been courted personally by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, as well as several former governors who now serve in the Senate, including Mark Warner of Virginia, according to Democrats briefed on the overtures. And the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee commissioned a poll aimed at coaxing Mr. Bredesen to run.” (Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin, “Suburbs Rebel Against Trump, Threatening Republicans In Congress,” The New York Times , 11/8/17)
