Free Republic

Last week, I wrote on efforts by House GOP members to draw attention to the fact that Nancy Pelosi sent House members home for the summer without a vote on domestic oil drilling. The American people want it, and the GOP House members are fighting for it. I also wrote on how big the energy issue is. It could be THE issue of the upcoming elections... an issue upon which Republicans could run AND win. However, this is a new week, and whenever too much time passes, there is bound to be a new effort by the GOP to stall...

Still, it was probably too much to assume every Republican would work out that their side was winning this issue. And so, last Friday, in stumbled Sens. Lindsey Graham, John Thune, Saxby Chambliss, Bob Corker and Johnny Isakson -- alongside five Senate Democrats. This "Gang of 10" announced a "sweeping" and "bipartisan" energy plan to break Washington's energy "stalemate." What they did was throw every vulnerable Democrat, and Mr. Obama, a life preserver.

Other senators touted the plan's affordability to U.S. taxpayers and its efforts to provide energy in environmentally friendly ways. The plan is estimated to cost $85 billion, but would be offset with "loophole closers and other revenues," including money from the new leases and from closing a oil industry manufacturing tax credit. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said the oil drilling portion of the plan would open up areas of the eastern Gulf of Mexico as well as areas off the eastern United States. He said the plan calls for a 50-mile buffer zone. Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia...

In the Senate, it nowadays apparently takes a self-appointed, biparitsan "gang" of senators to get past the partisan gridlock. For instance, there was the Gang of 14 group of senators who helped the Senate get beyond an impasse on judicial appointments a few years ago. Today, a new group of senators calling itself the Gang of Ten, announced that it had arrived at a compromise energy proposal meant to break the partisan logjam that exists on the issue. The group's members are: Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Mary Landrieu...

July 5, 2007 Mr. Schmerel Dear Mr. Schmerel, Thank you for contacting my office to share your concerns about comprehensive immigration reform. You wrote me recently to express your opposition to the immigration legislation being considered in the Senate. As you know, I opposed this bill and it did not pass. On June 28th, along with 53 other Senators, I voted against cloture to end debate on the immigration bill and as a result of this vote the bill died. Given our government's track record, our citizens have lost confidence in our ability to do what we say we will...

Next week, the U.S. Senate will vote on closing off the debate and consider an immigration bill. Senator Bob Corker says he will vote against bringing the bill up for a final vote. Here is his statement on Friday: “I plan to vote against cloture on the immigration bill, as I have already done twice during this debate. I believe a better approach would be a more modest bill that focuses on border security, employer identification, and putting systems in place that will put us in a position to actually enforce a new immigration policy. “We have lost credibility in...

Anticipating a cloture vote on the immigration bill on Tuesday, U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) today said he will be in opposition. He said, “I plan to vote against cloture on the immigration bill, as I have already done twice during this debate. I believe a better approach would be a more modest bill that focuses on border security, employer identification, and putting systems in place that will put us in a position to actually enforce a new immigration policy. Sen. Lamar Alexander said he will also vote against cloture.

Sen. Bob Corker gave three reasons Monday for supporting Fred Thompson for president. "Fred is very thoughtful," the Chattanooga Republican said after a luncheon briefing about University of Tennessee initiatives. "He's very independent. And we need a great communicator to not just lead our people, but to lead the world. I think people want to follow Fred." Corker, the only new Republican elected to the Senate in the Democratic takeover last year, said he remained neutral in the presidential race until three days ago, when Thompson formed an exploratory committee. "If Fred ends up being a candidate, and I'm sure...

Evangelicals that turned out to vote for the marriage amendment made the difference in the senate race.

Democrat Harold Ford Jr. looked for votes in his opponent's hometown Monday while Republican Bob Corker planned to visit every major Tennessee city on the last full day before the election. Ford started his day meeting with Chattanooga public works employees in the city where his opponent was mayor until last year. He vowed to improve health care for working people, and then declared: "Let's go beat this little guy!" - a reference to Corker's height, which Corker says is 5-feet-6 1/2 inches. Corker campaigned with Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Bill Frist and Lamar...

In the hotly contested contest for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker has jumped into a double-digit lead over Rep. Harold Ford Jr., according to a Zogby poll. The race had been a statistical tie in a number of recent polls, but Corker’s 10-point lead in the new Zogby survey follows several gaffes by Ford, including an attempt to confront Corker at a press conference and an attack on the religious values of Republicans. As Of Monday, Corker led by 53 percent to Ford's 43 percent in the...

Election officials say Tennessee’s tight U.S. Senate race and proposed constitutional amendments for elderly tax relief and banning samesex marriage have drawn voters to the polls in relatively high volume during the first few days of early voting. Through Saturday, more than 159,000 people had cast early and absentee votes statewide, according to the Tennessee Division of Elections. State Election Coordinator Brook Thompson said Tuesday that early voting turnout is at a higher pace than 2002, the last comparable statewide election. However, it is hard to determine if there will be a greater total turnout for the Nov. 7 election...

The mudslide in the Smoky Mountains continued all weekend in the Tennessee Senate race, to the point where Representative Harold Ford Jr., the Democrat, bus-stormed a news conference by his Republican opponent, Bob Corker, to complain about advertisements aimed at his family’s political troubles and now at himself. Last Friday the Corker campaign tried to distance itself from a Republican National Committee commercial that juxtaposes women and men talking about Mr. Ford’s good looks with suggestions that he took money from pornographers, was seen at a Playboy function and at the end, has a white blonde asking him to call...

Video: Harold Ford, Unhinged What a moron. What is going on down there in Tennessee that this guy even registers over 30%? Immature liberal whacko.

The Bob Corker for U.S. Senate campaign today denounced a new Republican National Committee ad that began airing today which, the campaign says, is “over the top, tacky and is not reflective of the kind of campaign we are running.” “The new RNC ad we have just seen on our local broadcast outlets is tacky, over the top and is not reflective of the kind of campaign we are running,” said Tom Ingram, campaign chairman for the Corker campaign. “While we cannot legally communicate directly with the RNC regarding ads of this nature, we can certainly do so through the...

In an unscripted, unscheduled moment in an intense campaign for the U.S. Senate Friday, Democrat Harold Ford Jr. confronted Republican Bob Corker on a Memphis parking lot outside where Corker had scheduled a press conference on lobbying reform and ethics. "It's good to see you," Ford shouted as Corker approached him outside the Wilson Air offices, a tape of the encounter provided by WREG-TV shows. "I'd love to debate you on this Iraq thing." Ford, continuing to walk toward Corker with camera crews in tow, then tells Corker that, although Corker dismissed plans to partition Iraq into three semi-autonomous enclaves...

KINGSPORT - Allandale Mansion's front portico became the pulpit Wednesday for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and a host of Republican leaders to rally support for U.S. Senate GOP nominee Bob Corker in his ultra-tight race against Democrat Harold Ford Jr. "This is as important as any election in the United States," Frist told about 500 Northeast Tennessee Republicans of the Corker-Ford race that could tilt control of the Senate to Democrats. One day after his Chattanooga debate with Ford, Corker continued to make the case that he is the best candidate to take Frist's Senate seat in Washington....

One of this fall’s biggest controversies over mixing politics and religion came courtesy of Tennessee Democratic Rep. Harold Ford. No, he wasn’t the one yelling about the inappropriate expropriation of faith for political ends, as you would expect of most Democrats. He’s the alleged offender. This fact alone goes a long way toward explaining why Ford could win a race for a Republican-held Senate seat in Tennessee and help tip control of the body to the Democrats. Ford’s ad had him walking between pews in Mount Moriah East Baptist Church, where he was baptized as a child. It prompted howls...

SurveyUSA has two new polls out tonight one in the House and one in the Senate that show Republicans Bob Corker in Tennessee and Rep. Geoff Davis in KY-4 actually picking up support since their previous polls in September. In Tennessee in polling taken all post-Foley (Oct 7-9) Bob Corker is now ahead of Rep. Harold Ford (Corker 48% - Ford 46%) in the battle for the seat held by retiring Majority Leader Bill Frist. That is a 5-point turnaround for Corker since SurveyUSA's last poll. In Kentucky's 4th congressional district Rep. Geoff Davis has seen a seven-point swing since...

There are more than five weeks to go before the midterm elections, and I'm already sick of the ubiquitous Senate campaign ads on TV -- especially those from the Johnny one-note former Chattanooga mayor Bob Corker. I know, I know, he's just doing the Republicans' well-practiced three-step shuffle -- repeating buzz words, labeling Democrats as evil people and ignoring the massive failures of the last six years. The spots that feature Corker's overbearing mother are quickly becoming as annoying as the "Head-On! Apply directly to the forehead!" ads. For this voter, who isn't exactly a fan of the Democratic candidate,...

NASHVILLE -- Democratic senatorial candidate Harold Ford Jr. charged Friday that opponent Bob Corker's new statewide TV ad saying that Ford voted against reauthorizing the USA Patriot Act is a "lie." The Memphis congressman's remarks followed a news conference at the Tennessee Vietnam Veterans Memorial here where he and about two dozen military veterans announced formation of a Veterans for Ford group. Ford rejected claims by Republican Corker that he has a "weak record in protecting America," including the charge in a new Corker TV ad that Ford voted against renewing the Patriot Act. The anti-terrorism law originally passed following...

The latest Rasmussen Reports election survey shows U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. closing in on Bob Corker in what has become one of the country’s marquee Senate races. Ford now trails Corker by a single point, 44% to 45% (see crosstabs). Last month’s poll showed him down by six; he trailed by 12 in July. Throughout Election 2006, Democrats have felt competitive in five races featuring incumbent Republicans—Pennsylvania, Montana, Rhode Island, Missouri, and Ohio. However, they need a net gain of six seats to take control of the Senate. Tennessee may now be on the radar screen as the potential...

The president hit the campaign trail, traveling from Texas to Arkansas to support gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson, then to Loews Vanderbilt Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee (news and video), where he’ll attend a fundraiser for Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Bob Corker. Laura Bush was in Bellevue, WA, to help raise funds for Senate candidate Mike Mike McGavick.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. is virtually tied with Republican opponent Bob Corker, according to internal poll results released by the Ford campaign. Rep. Ford, a U.S. congressman from Memphis, leads the former Chattanooga mayor 44 percent to 42 percent in the poll of 1,118 likely Tennessee voters. Thirteen percent of respondents were undecided in the head-to-head matchup. The poll was taken Aug. 10-15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.93 percent.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. is virtually tied with Republican opponent Bob Corker, according to internal poll results released by the Ford campaign. Rep. Ford, a U.S. congressman from Memphis, leads the former Chattanooga mayor 44 percent to 42 percent in the poll of 1,118 likely Tennessee voters. Thirteen percent of respondents were undecided in the head-to-head matchup. The poll was taken Aug. 10-15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.93 percent. Ford campaign senior adviser Michael Powell said during a Tuesday morning conference call that Mr. Corker was hurt during the fierce Republican...

The Congressman who is running to replace retiring Bill Frist as Senator from Tennessee has voted to outlaw gay marriage and to repeal the estate tax, and wants to amend the Constitution to ban flag burning. He supports getting rid of the handgun ban in the nation's capital and says the Ten Commandments should be posted in courtrooms around his state. He favors school prayer, argues that more troops should have been sent to Iraq and wants to seal the border with Mexico. He likes to tell a story about the time he campaigned at a bar called the Little...

Ford Jr. (Mr. Slick) was jeered, while Dr. Frist was cheered in Nashville.

In Tennessee's U.S. Senate campaign, a new Chattanooga Times Free Press poll shows Bob Corker (R) leading in the Republican primary with 39%, trailed by Ed Bryant (R) at 23% and Van Hilleary (R) at 22%. In the general election, Corker leads Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN), 49% to 36%.

Bob Corker's major opponents in the Republican U.S. Senate primary are questioning whether the wealthy businessman is trying to hide something by refusing to release details of his federal income tax returns.

Poll gives Bob Corker 38%, Van Hilleary 28%, and Ed Bryant 23%.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ed Bryant on Thursday called on former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker "to explain his reported lack of action in responding to then-city councilman Ron Littlefield’s reports of 'lavish spending' and fraud by Chattanooga city employees while Corker was mayor." The Bryant campaign cited reports that while on the City Council, current Mayor Ron Littlefield warned Mayor Bob Corker of “lavish spending” and fraud in city government.

Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) is expected to announce next week that he will run for the Senate, seeking to replace Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) when he retires in 2006. Ford’s office declined to comment on his senatorial plans, but three sources close to Ford said that he has decided to run and that an announcement will be made soon. One informed source said, “He will absolutely, 100 percent, run for the Senate. He wants that seat.” Ford -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ford will be traveling in the Middle East later this week, according to those sources, and is scheduled to...