Daily Dose for June 08, 2006

Daily Dose

Gay Marriage Amendment Legality Before State Supreme Court -- Arguments before the Tennessee Supreme Court on a fall referendum for a constitutional ban of gay marriage in the state may boil down to the definition of what constitutes a public notice in Tennessee. The ACLU is challenging the amendment on the assumption that the state did not meet a constitutional obligation to advertise the fact that the amendment would be on the ballot before when it was proposed. The Tennessee Secretary of State Office did not publish the text of the amendment in newspapers until June 20, 2004, more than a month after the six-month deadline. Tennessee Attorney General Paul Summers argued on behalf of the state that the text of the amendment was published on the Legislature’s Web site when the amendment was first proposed on March 17, 2004, well before the six-month deadline. Meanwhile Republican Rep. Eric Watson held a press conference on the steps of the Hamilton Co. courthouse with the simple message of "Let the voters decide." Watson's press conference was just one of the press conferences held across the state by Republican members of the General Assembly, including GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Bryson. Rep. David Davis, who is running for the First Congressional District seat also held a press conference.

Bredesen Hopeful About Winning Hamilton Co. -- Governor Bredesen lost Hamilton Co. four years ago, but this year says he hopes to capture the GOP stronghold. If Gov. Bredesen wins in Hamilton County, he would become only the second Democratic gubernatorial candidate to do so in 36 years, according to election informa- tion in the Tennessee Blue Book, a state-published compilation of facts and information. Bredesen was in Chattanooga yesterday for day two of his statewide campaign kickoff. The crowd there, according to Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, a Bredesen supporter, was bipartisan. In Cookeville, Bredesen's message centered on "patchy" statewide job growth. Meanwhile, a traveling protestor has shown up to several of Bredesen's rallys dressed as a bear - and protesting Bredesen's acceptance of campaign contributions from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Picking the First District -- Frank Cagle examines the race in the First Congressional District in far East Tennessee in the Knoxville alt-weekly MetroPulse. His prognostications puts the two County Mayors in the race at the helm: Sullivan County Mayor Richard Venable and Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters.

A Few Further Points on Media and the Senate Race -- In analysis last week, one of the things that I noted was a disconnect in terms of the degree to which 'Average Joes' would likely be involved in the U.S. Senate race. Here's two interesting items, one of which seems to provide some evidence, the other is a case example in perception.

One - In an article in TownHall.com, political reporter Dustin Hawkins covers the Tennessee Senate race once again. Hawkins has been a fairly regular commentator on the race - that's because he lives in Nashville. However, Hawkins used his article to tout the move towards conservatism of all the candidates, but took no space to mention the substance of the attacks of Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant on Bob Corker's conservatism.

I only point this out to say that this is the likely perception of even some of the more politically involved Tennesseans - they know that Bryant and Hilleary have leveled attacks on Bob Corker, but they don't know the substance of the attacks. In the process of media summation - a lot of the message is going to be lost. Bryant and Hilleary, especially as they begin launching television ads have the arduous task of becoming much more succinct before their message begins to hit hard among voters. Otherwise, they will continue to get only the net negative of being only known to have gone negative rather than knocking the other guy through the substance of the attack.

Two - Here's a great test case for perception. Bob Corker probably enjoyed seeing this article in the Chattanoogan this morning. The headline: "Frist, Alexander, Corker Lament Defeat Of Marriage Protection Amendment." There he is in the company of all of Tennessee's current Senators.

Posted by Adam Groves | Email This |