Today we will get an accurate count on the people voting in the Republican primary, and the results could be surprising. That’s because Corker’s juggernaut has stalled. Corker, for all his money, has evidently hired the worst opposition researcher working in politics. His negative ads against Bryant and Hilleary are stupid, wrong, and more importantly in politics, they do not pass the smell test. …

But the real meat of Cagle’s analysis lies in looking ahead to the race against Ford:

However, if Corker should win the primary, how much credibility will he have running ads about Congressman Harold Ford Jr.’s voting record? …

Corker will no longer be running against conservative Republicans. He will be running against a well-funded, confident and poised candidate: the hottest thing in Tennessee as well as the national media. Congressman Harold Ford Jr. is the political story of the year, in-state and nationally: Will he be the first black Southern senator since Reconstruction? A young man from a scandal-ridden family overcoming adversity and winning over Southern rednecks is an irresistible story line. Junior will be earning “free media” on network and cable television, and you can expect glowing profiles in national magazines and newspapers.

Junior will also have the money to answer Corker on television. Those niggling little accusations and stories about Corker will suddenly get legs with a push from the Democrats and a sympathetic candidate. Those tax returns no one seemed to care about in the primary may become sought-after items. Those illegal aliens hired by a Mud Island subcontractor will have their life stories told.

I have had conservatives tell me recently they don’t see any difference between Corker and Ford and they may vote for Ford to “pay back” the Republican establishment for “buying” the nomination. Tennessee Right to Life leaders have already said they will not endorse Corker in the general.

Vote for Ed Bryant today.

[HT to Blogging for Bryant]

My friends, it is time to toss Van:

1. Going into early voting, Ed was ahead of Van in the polls.
2. Shelby County is Ed’s back yard and the number of voters that turned out for early voting set a new record.
3. On the average, there was light voting across the rest of the state, which is bad news for Van. He cannot win.
4. The light voting across the rest of the state is also bad for Corker. The unique combination of voting patterns gives me hope for the first time that Ed can beat Corker in spite of the money Corker is throwing at the election.

At this point, Van is out. A vote for Van is a vote for Corker who, incidentally polls the worst against Ford.

And really, in the end, there’s just not that much difference between Corker and Ford.

The decision is clear. Vote Ed Bryant, the true conservative in the race. Don’t believe me? Read Enduring Faith, Personal Integrity, Conservative Values by one who worked closely with Ed for almost three years.

And if anyone is looking for guidance as to how to vote for the forty county judicial races or 27 state judical confirmations take a look at my recommendations. Hours of research so you don’t have to!

Download and print the Complete AlphaPatriot’s Shelby County Voter’s Guide. Take it with you to the polls. Pass it out to your friends!

<⁄end shameless self-promotion>

Technorati Tags: Ed Bryant,
Van Hilleary,
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Tennessee Senate Race,
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In the poll released by UT this week, the margin of error was 7 points when looking at the Republican Senate Primary. When you subtract that out of the lead of Bob Corker over Ed Bryant, then Corker only leads by 4 points.

Poor Bob. All that money spent, and only a 4 point lead.

And, I heard at lunch hour a radio ad by Corker touting his missionary trip to Haiti and his belief that each life is precious. That may be true. A line or two later, the announcer states something along the lines that many Pro Life Leaders in TN support Bob Corker. That statement is false. Many do not. One or two might. Brian Harris of TN Right to Life has said that that organization will not support Bob Corker even if he wins the primary. TN Right to Life is the big dog among the right to life groups.

For the Corker campaign to air such an ad, they either don’t care that they are misleading you, or they don’t think it will matter – that, come election time, enough barely informed voters will vote for Corker without knowing the details.

No offense to Van, but he cannot win at this point and is only splitting the conservative vote.

Ed Bryant can win this race, Ed Bryant is a rock solid conservative, and we need to each look at our calendars and carve out time to go do campaign work for Ed.

This is exactly right. Liberal Bob Corker raised the most money and even kicked in a bunch of his own in a blatent attempt to buy this election. When the voters of conservative-trending Tennessee didn’t go for that, he began resorting to attack ads and misrepresentations of his positions.

Ed Bryant has the TN Right to Life endorsement because he is the true conservative in this race. AND he is our best bet to beat Ford Jr.

Former Congressman Ed Bryant,
candidate for Senator from Tennessee

I’ll cover the canned speech a little later, but first I must tell you that immediately after Ed’s (first) talk I walked up to shake his hand. He looked at me carefully, reached out to shake my hand and said, “It’s good to see you again.“

As far as I can recall, I have met Mr. Bryant exactly one time: over a year ago on February 24, 2005. Why can’t I have a memory like that?

After a few pleasantries, I told Ed that I was glad to hear that he believed that the 2nd Amendment allows citizens to carry weapons for self protection. I then swept back my sports jacket on my side and showed him my belt, saying, “I wear this empty holster so that every day I am reminded that our freedoms are being taken away. Not just the Second Amendment, but all our rights. So that issue is very important to me.“

We then talked about the importance of protecting our rights and the need for real conservatives on the Judiciary Committee (which, given his background, I believe he would be chosen to serve on).

As to his speech, I actually heard Ed Bryant twice tonight: at a small “meet and greet” and then (after a short walk down the hall to a larger room) at the local Bartlett chapter of the GOP. So the following is the paraphrasing of a compilation of the two talks. Basically, Ed said:

• He participated in setting up a Healthcare Task Force to help control costs. While such measures cannot fully mitigate the exploding costs of health care, they keep wasteful spending down.
• As a U.S. Attorney, Ed Bryant sought to prosecute felons under Operation Triggerlock. [Note: while I support such programs in spirit, I am appalled by the excesses that "mandatory" prosecutions and sentencing inevitably lead to.]
• Illegal Immigration, or as he likes to call it ‘people who are illegally crossing our border’, because they are not here to immigrate and do not plan to assimilate. This is a problem that could lead to the Balkinazation of our country. We must stop the bleeding and so must post troops on the border (whether it is the National Guard or regular troops) to send a clear message to the Mexican government. These troops should be given enforcement power, not put in a supportive capacity like the President wants.
• A Manhattan Style project must be established to develop alternative energy cars within five years. Rather than going to Mars, we should partner with academia and private industry to develop cars that can compete with gas-powered cars. America should continue to be the country of innovation. In the meantime we should control prices by drilling in ANWR and off the coast as well as build more refineries.
• A great deal of every congressional session is spent battling over the budget. There should be one budget every two years. The extra time should be spent overseeing the spending and controlling waste.
• The world changed on Sept. 11. We cannot afford to put people in office or on a court who we have to guess how they will vote.
• Bryant answered a question about the super-trade pact that Bush is establishing behind the scenes. Bryant says that it smacks of the EU and that the Senate needs to pay attention and should be involved. It doesn’t make sense to enter into a local trade union; we need to be in a global trade union.
• Bryant said that he is not willing to concede an inch of sovereignty to the UN, but thinks that it does some good. However, while in the House he voted to slow UN funding to protest bad behavior.

Cross posted AlphaPatriot.com.

Technorati Tags: Ed Bryant,
Tennessee Politics,
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