Bredesen in Retreat on HSS: 'I Was Mugged'

[BlueJessamine]

Source: The Nashville Scene

Gov. Phil Bredesen acknowledged this afternoon there's "a relatively low probability" he'll be named health and human services secretary. What was his first clue? He blamed attacks from liberal health-care advocacy groups for derailing his candidacy.

"It's been startling to me," the governor told reporters. "You have a spotlight shined on you and then come along and get mugged, and then the spotlight goes away."

He added: "As I say, I certainly have some detractors and some baggage, and some of those detractors are part of the core of support of President Obama. If I were in his shoes, I'd be thinking long and hard about that as well. I learned a long time ago there's nothing about politics that's fair."

He gave legislative leaders this news this morning at their weekly breakfast meeting because he said some of them were so excited about his Cabinet prospects that they were discussing new office arrangements. We assume Bredesen was referring mainly to Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who would become governor if Bredesen departs and seems unable to surrender his vision of grandeur.

Bredesen made his remarks even as he was taking yet another beating. MoveOn was emailing supporters with an attack on the governor for the second straight day.

Jeff Woods Q&A with Bredesen:



Read more: http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2009/02/bredesen_in_retreat_in_bid_for.php#more

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Phil Bredesen: The Dick Cheney of Health Care -

Bredesen's Own Words Sabotage His Health Care Reform Pitch


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x424386

[FLAprogressive]

1. good riddance.

[SharonAnn]

8. He's actually been a good governer here, but I don't think he's right for HHS.

He's a good guy and has done a lot of good things for Tennessee.

Yes, he cut the TennCare rolls and it hurt people. But you have to remember that most Tennesseans don't want to pay taxes so there was no revenue to provide the care. Hold Tennesseans accountable, and I do, but the governor can only spend according to a budget whose revenue comes from taxpayer.

A governor can't run a deficit so Tenncare, a good program, was reduced to avoid and tax increases.

Tennesseans amaze me. They're the first ones to line up wanting "government money" and also the first ones to start demonstrations and even rock-throwing if there's consideration of taxes.

The Republican mayor of our county said about a Federal grant that had to be matched by county funds that at least the Federal money wasn't "taxpayer money".

Sometimes one hardly knows what to say, so I usually don't say much.

[eilen]

21. I remember the protests in downtown Nashville

when he brought up the spector of a state income tax. People in their trucks driving and honking their horns in front of the capital, yelling, etc. The kicker is that the people protesting it didn't make enough to pay the income tax and it would have released the pressure of the sales tax on food.

[eleny]

2. boo-hoo

[yurbud]

3. excellent news! Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out

[NashVegas]

4. Welcome to the World Beyond Nashville, Gov.

The one where HCA has a counter-weight.

[Robbien]

5. When the left shines a light on one, one gets hit with the facts

When the right shines a light on one, one gets inundated with death threats.

So the man should count himself lucky, take his capitalistic health care plans and go home.

[Enrique]

6. we don't need a big baby in that position anyway

:cry:

[ingac70]

7. No tears shed by this Tennessean...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFPYnOyZb78

[sasquatch]

9. Fuck you, confederate douchebag

[Tsiyu]

11. I think Bredesen was born in New Jersey n/t

[sasquatch]

13. Then he's a wanna be confederate from the North like GWB

[Cambist]

14. Mr. Bredesen has been very good for our state.

He is no idiot. He made his fortune honestly in the healthcare industry before entering in to politics. He has a degree in physics as well. I believe he has been great for our state and would be an excellent HHS Secretary. I don't pretend to know him personally but he has always been very cordial and respectful to me. I believe the nation is missing out on a great opportunity.

[GeorgeGist]

17. Note to the wise:

It's impossible to make a fortune honestly. It requires theft; most often by profit.

[Fly by night]

20. Four (other) things about Bredesen that disturb me:

1) He refused to support John Kerry's candidacy in 2004. When I asked him "why?", he said that he had to be the Governor of all 95 TN counties, whatever that means.

2) He refused to support Barack Obama's candidacy in 2008. (By support, I mean actually campaign for or speak in favor of Obama.) Reason: see #1 above.

3) He refused to support the TN Voter Confidence Act as it was being debated in our legislature. That bill, which passed overwhelmingly last year, will ban DREs by 2010 and replace them with paper ballots/opscans AND mandatory random manual audits IF we can keep the Rethugs -- who demanded that our 2008 votes be cast on the "faith-based" DREs and who subsequently took control of both houses of our legislature for the first time since Reconstruction (having "won" every open legislative seat in the face of a national Blue tidal wave) -- from repealing the bill (which the Rethugs list as one of their three top legislative priorities).

4) Bredesen consistently polls higher among TN Rethugligans than TN Democrats. Who says DINOs are extinct?

None of these factors speak to the problems with appointing this healthcare fox to guard our healthcare chickens. But all of them are sufficient to prevent his appointment, IMNSHO.

[Demeter]

10. Not Mugged---Exposed! Shown to Be Damaged Goods

[rpannier]

12. ...an attack on the governor for the second straight day.

What they mean is "Shining the light on his lack of qualifications for the job"

[politicalmajority]

15. Howard Dean for HHS Secretary!!!

If President Obama can live with Judd Gregg in his cabinet, why can't he live with Howard Dean? Not having Howard Dean in his cabinet for whatever reasons, e.g., Rahm Emanuel, while having three Republican cabinet members in his administration is absurd. If Obama can put the partisan difference aside with some Republicans he can definitely work with Howard Dean.

[JanusAscending]

16. I agree with you,

but don't be totally surprised if it turns out to be Rosa DeLauro from Ct. The house can spare her, and we'll miss her in Ct., but
she'll be a "mother tiger" for health care. she's got a great track record. Ya don't mess with Rosa's cubs!!!

[Delphinus]

19. What's her position

on single payer health care?

[No Elephants]

18. This is disturbing in that the Obama admin should have known about

Bredesen and should have predicted that a health careinsider who cut Medicaid would not be acceptable to many Democrats. Health care was a key in the primary and the election. Do they not have Google in the WH, or do they have a tin ear, or both?

[w4rma]

22. His reaction assures me that he would have been a horrible pick. (nt)