Daily Dose for July 02, 2007

Thompson in TN Raises $700,000

Thompson in TN Raises $700,000 -- While the Nashville City Paper is noting that Fred Thompson has peeled off lots of big name Mitt Romney supporters (but not noted GOP fundraiser Ted Welch), today's Washington Post gives a guestimate of how much money Fred raised at the Nashville fundraiser that he was mum on last week - $700K. In the Post, some of Fred's advisors say they won't be using the red truck, a ploy that worked so well for Fred's races in Tennessee, but there are some advisors who say it is the right image. There is a lot riding on Thompson's campaign. Newt Gingrich says he won't jump in the race for President unless Thompson's campaign falters. Fred will host another fundraiser on Friday in Atlanta. Rudy Guilliani will also apparently be in Georgia that day. [Ed. Note: Edited this portion to clarify a split decision among Thompson advisors about the red truck, per the Post article.]

Bredesen Gets 3 Spots on UT Board -- Some of the best political appointments a Governor can make are to the UT Board of Trustees. The trustees get free football tickets and get to chart the future direction of the University both in Knoxville and the other UT-affiliated schools across the state. Gov. Bredesen gets three appointments with Jim Haslam, Susan Richardson-Williams and William B. Stokely III, all Republicans are set go off the board. The list of possible replacements include: Donald Bosch, Gregory P. Isaacs, Pamela Reeves, Charles Anderson, Kevin Clayton, Doug Horne, Bob Talbott, Bob Petrone, and Mintha Roach, CEO of KUB. Talbott would be somewhat of a wildcard. He's a a known Republican who has been a strong Bredesen supporter.

Alexander's Immigration Position Explored -- The Tennessean does a feature story in which they explore Sen. Lamar Alexander's position on immigration. Alexander sums up his position philosophically: "People fear we are losing our national identity ... We have more pluribus and not enough unum." To that end, he's sponsored bills to make English the national language and offer citizenship courses for immigrants. That's drawn praise for effort from the National Council of La Raza, the largest Hispanic advocacy group in the country, but others criticized Alexander's fear of multiculturalism.

CoverTN Signs Up Smokers -- Two months after the state started offering low-cost health insurance to uninsured Tennesseans who work for small businesses - dubbed CoverTN, a high percentage of smokers have signed up for the taxpayer-supported plan, state data collected from participants show. That's probably a reaction to higher insurance rates for smokers seeking to enroll in private plans. Perhaps part of the state's plan is to collect more money back from these smokers in the form of the increased tobacco tax the Legislature passed this year.

City Paper's New Look -- The Nashville City Paper has launched a new website - we're on a cool new feature that seems to round-up local political blogs. It looks like it will be a draw. The City Paper has also added some new blogs, including one we'll be proud to add to our list - Clint Brewer seems to be the biggest contributor to a tag-team blog called Political Animals.

Posted by Adam Groves | Email This |