Thursday, September 29, 2011
Politics Haslam Denies Scheming with Lamar on Senate Future
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Sep 29, 2011 at 8:38 AM
Absent that statement, at least three Republican exploratory committees would appear next week. And Democrats would have 36 months to find a whisper of some sort of viable candidate. Alexander shut all that down, for now.
But while freezing Blackburn, Wamp, Ramsey, et al, Alexander managed to touch off wild speculation just the same. According to the hypothesis making the rounds of political junkies, he would run again—not to serve another Senate term—but only to resign after he wins. That way, he essentially could choose his own successor. The senator is 71, after all. If he runs again and wins, he’d be nearly 80 by the time his third term ended. Surely, he doesn’t want to spend his 70s wasting away in Washington.
The speculation is that Alexander would resign and let Gov. Bill Haslam—the son of one of Alexander’s biggest financial supporters—appoint himself to fill the unexpired term. That would set up Haslam to run as the nearly unbeatable incumbent in the next general election and keep the seat out of the hands of any annoying right-wing kooks.
Haslam thinks all this is pretty funny, it turns out. We asked him about it at his media avail yesterday and, as he chortled, here is what he said:
First of all, I hope Lamar does run again and I hope he serves his full six years. I’m biased but I think he’s a terrific senator. Second, you know, I have no intention at all to do that, I really don’t, mainly because I love the job I have and while being senator is really important, I love the fit of being governor, so I have zero anticipation of doing that.
Comments (22)
Showing 1-22 of 22
"The speculation is that Alexander would resign and let Gov. Bill Haslam—the son of one of Alexander’s biggest financial supporters—appoint himself to fill the unexpired term."
Does Bill Haslam really have that kind of chutzpah?
like
dislikeMin,
I think the current junior Senator from West VA did that. It is hardly unprecedented.
And don't forget that Governor Haslam would have to run in 2016 in a special election giving the Democrats two years to find an opponent. Of course, given that the TN Democrats' bench is filled with single A talent, they might have a quality opponent for Senator Haslam's 2020 reelection bid.
Well we know that both Haslem and Alexander are RINO's and have nothing but contempt for Blackburn, Ramsey, and Wamp (who are real American's by the way), it wouldn't surprise me one iota if this was the case! In fact, for once, Woods may be right! Their goal is to keep real conservatives away from that Senate seat and will go to any means necessary to achieve it! It's already common knowledge that the only reason RINO Bill Haslem won the governor seat, was because he planted evidence that Ron Ramsey and Zach Wamp were partners in a meth scheme and were one time lovers! This man knows no shame!
AWP,
Thanks for proving what I have always believed, to wit {or in your case, too witless}, that you are really a Democrat posing as a Republican.
What are your qualifications for determining who is or isn't a Republican? Aside from access to a computer and some ill-formed, if not utterly insane' opinions, why should anyone believe that you are not an enemy of Republicans trying to divide the party? Little of anything I have ever read by you bears any resemblance to the Republican Party of Lincoln and Roosevelt and Buckley and Reagan.
I am heartily sick and tired of people {speaking very liberally in your case} trying to inflate their own sense of importance by demanding an ever-more irrational adherence to isolated ideas rather than looking at those ideas in context of other ideas.
More likely you are some junior staffer at the TN democratic party {since even the less rational Democratic posters here like 'Small d Democrat' make more sense than you} assigned to stir up trouble on the blogs. If you want to help Republicans, I suggest you join the TN Democrats. That way both parties' would get smarter.
Mark Rogers, I think you're a RINO! To paraphrase the great Gilbert Martin, nothing that you have done or will ever do makes you qualified to determine who is qualified to call someone a RINO!
And I would rather be employed as a rickshaw driver in Calcutta than work at the TN Democratic Party! LOL! Have you not read my postings! I think Dumbocrats are the scourge of our society! Good Lord, if my goal was to divide the Republicans, why would I waste my time at The Scene! My only goal here is to throw verbal bombs at all the Scenester libtards hanging around here! My belief is the best way to defeat libtard ideas, and to bury them so far into the ground that they can never come back to life, is to carpet bomb libtard blogs! Ask Brother Gast, he'll confirm the strategy!
"Surely, he doesn’t want to spend his 70s wasting away in Washington."
Why the hell not? He wouldn't be the first or only septuagenarian in the U.S. Senate. In fact, nearly half the U.S. senate is age 70 or older, and a few are in their 80s.
Good point, SB. What was I thinking? Of course, we're not talking about a normal human being who might have a real life. This is a politician.
Come on, Mark. AWP is giving us a parody, and he does a damn good job of it. Get with the program, and lighten up.
But there is a lot to this story. When Governor Emptysuit's daddy decides a U.S. Senator is more valuable to Pilot Oil than a governor ever could be, then his number two (in every way) son will dutifully run for the Senate. As for Lamar!, what else could he do but let everyone know he is planning on reelection? Do you think he wants to be a four-year lame duck? Plenty of time for health reasons/more time with the family/others can serve/pursuing other opportunities/I'm really sick of this crap and want to enjoy all the money I have gleaned from manipulating my elected positions/etc., etc., excuses he can devise.
I don't think the get reelected and resign scenario is really an option. Looks bad for all concerned. Expect Haslam for Senate and free-for-all for Governor in 2014.
AWP gives us too many parodies and none are funny. Not one. They are high schoolish.
It does seem the Repubs have won and can do what they please. Get used to it, they appear to be here a while.
As for Min and chutzpah, that funny looking picture of her says it all. I'd remove it. She looks a little bit like a Muslim maybe if the days of the Caliphate.
JW,
"Of course, we're not talking about a normal human being who might have a real life. This is a politician."
But would you say the same thing about some of those curious creatures that flock to Washington and take root like an alien weed? Bernie 'what's so bad about Stalin' Sanders or Charles 'why should I know the tax laws that I pass' Rangel or Barney 'what problems with Fannie Mae' Frank?
AWP,
I may disagree with Gilbert on some things but I respect Gilbert because he isn't a rabid nutcase or a fraud or both.
Perry,
The history of Governors who appoint themselves to the Senate is not promising. You are correct that an Alexander decision not to run in the spring of 2014 would be better strategery but I don't think it likely. Governor Haslam is an executive not a legislator. Think Phil Bredesen. Why would he want to be one of 100 instead of the CEO?
This story is bunk other than the unfortunate remark by Haslam in
stating "I think Lamar is a great Senator and that he runs again"!
The sad fact learned too late for many of us is that Ed Bryant would
have made a much better Senator in delivering representation for
this state than Lamar has! His self ambition versus voters expectations
has been shown since the first day he walked onto the Senate floor.
I wouldn't mind it if was the case. While Haslem is not a RINO, he is much more representative of the Republican party the way it was before being taken over by extremists. I may not agree with a lot of Corker's or Alexander's (or Haslems) political beliefs, but they are a hell of a lot more palatable to me than Marsha Blackburn or Ron Ramsey (or Ed Bryant) representing this state. And I think they've done a pretty good job. And if they can continue to not align themselves with the tea party and start drawing non-compromising lines in the sand, Tennessee will be lucky.
Well, I would rather be a Governor, too, Mark. But my point was that the Governor's daddy calls all the shots, and I am totally serious about the long-term benefits to that family being better with a U.S. Senator than with a Governor. Think of the Haslam family as a Tennessee version of the Kennedys, but daddy is not going to do his Governor son the favor of having a stroke, thus letting him make his own decisions.
Another problem with Whitehouse's scenario: If the goal of the corporate-owned country club GOP is to keep out "annoying right-wing kooks" from the sheet-wearing tea party GOP, then Haslam's resignation to take a Senate seat is not the answer. Look up "annoying right-wing kook" in the Dictionary of Tennessee Politics and you will see a picture of Ron Ramsey. Do you think they really want to put him in the Governor's office? I suspect not so much.
Perry,
Comparing an honest businessman like Jim Haslam to an associate of organized crime like Joe Kennedy is certainly unfair to Haslam. Hell, it would be unfair to fathers from Alexander VI to Charles Manson. The closest Haslam has come to a crime family is the Kiffins.
The price gouging engaged in by Pilot Oil during the hurricane might not be so very honest. Big Jim is already lobbying the General Assembly, as recent news items show, and that cannot help but be undue influence and a conflict of interest for his boy. But my point was not so much about Joe Kennedy's business dealings as much as his control over his sons, which is the same as Big Jim's total control over our empty suit Governor Bill (call me Bobby Ewing) Haslam.
Those value conscious citizens looking for somewhere to move, look no further than Nashville: http://content.kiplinger.com/slideshow/bes…
"AWP
Thanks for proving what I have always believed, to wit {or in your case, too witless}, that you are really a Democrat posing as a Republican. "
He is a liberal whose thinks he's the junior version of Steven Colbert. And he's not any funnier.
He is best ignored.
True, true, GM, I find the AWP's posts embarrassing. Not because he is a liberal pathetically masquerading as a conservative, but rather he probably thinks he is indeed truly funny. Makes me feel uncomfortable might be a better way to put it.
John, I would not expect him to be funny to you. He hits so close to home, it must make you terribly uncomfortable.
Since the Kennedy family was brought up for comparison, how many of you liberals know that old Joe, JFK's father, was ambassador to England and sent home because he was a Nazi sympathizer. Connecting the dots, that must mean JFK was a Nazi sympathizer, too. No, not really. But he was treated with kid gloves by the media, just as Obama is now.
AWP: Way to go. You've taken over the article. The thing about RINOs is the compromises they make are tearing the country down morally and economically, piece by piece, and as politicians they are just too nice to the opposition (Pelosi, Reid, et al).
