Talk of Bredesen for President

[Clark2008]

Could Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen be a presidential candidate? Some political pundits are floating Bredesen's name for a Presidential run in 2008.When Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton launched their Presidential bids, they were obscure Southern governors who were considered extreme long-shots in the Presidential derby.

But both men made it to the White House.

Now another unknown southern governor may be on the Presidential horizon: Tennessee's own Phil Bredesen.

Phil Bredesen wasn't born here, but he can keep time to Rocky Top like a natural-born son of the South. That's when he's not signing ethics bills and balancing the state budget.

The question is, can those skills and his political ambition carry him to the White House?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8308416/

Personally, a Clark/Bredesen ticket (Arkansas/Tennessee together again) whets my whistle. :D

[the_spectator]

1. Could never happen...

Never heard of the man myself, but here's why he could never make it:
"President Bredersen" is one tough tongue-twister. Seriously. Try to say it. The TV reporters of the MSM would treat kill his chances, just to avoid 4 (or 8) years of having to say "President Bredersen" over and over again in front of millions of viewers.

[FreedomAngel82]

3. Oh brother

So you'd not vote for someone because of his last name??? :eyes: Last year he created 32 million new jobs in Tennessee and a month or so ago he created 600 new one's. He is having trouble with TennCare but there are other things too.

[patricia92243]

6. He's a Democrat. The MSM would not e using the term President very often.

Bill Clinton was always "Clinton" Bush is "President Bush" - have to be a Republican to deserve the title. GAG

[FreedomAngel82]

7. How disgusting

And disrespectful. They would expect us to call him "President Bush".

[FreedomAngel82]

2. Nice

And on MSNBC too! I'd go for Bredesen/Clark or Bredesen/Edwards. :D

[patricia92243]

4. Do you have a picture of him? n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

5. I'll get one

He was my avatar but here's one:

[wakeme2008]

8. And here

[newswolf56]

9. Bredesen is already in too much trouble...

...over the failure of TennCare to ever achieve presidential stature, but would nevertheless be an asset to a new Democratic administration.

As to the 2008 ticket, I think it will probably be Clinton/Edwards. Then we could have Bill Clinton as secretary of state and Bredesen as secretary of Health and Human Services.

[Clark2008]

10. Clinton/Edwards??

Oh gag.

Sorry, but that absolutely would make me vote third-party.

[newswolf56]

12. Both candidates are 'way too anti-gun for my taste...

...Hillary Clinton venomously so (note her ruinously fanatical attempt to tie the forcible disarmament of civilians to health care reform), but I nevertheless think that's who'll be on the national ticket.

As to a third party, what we need in this country -- especially now that BushCo is making Marx again relevant -- is a genuine labor party. But things will have to get a lot worse before the American public wakes up -- and even then there's a huge danger the public may go fascist instead (just as it is already doing via Christofascism).

Until there is a third party that is genuinely representative of working-family interests, any third party vote is a squandered vote, which is why I'll stick with the Democrats -- even though they are entirely too often more DemoPublican (and thus supportive of the plutocracy) than truly Democratic.

[Clark2008]

13. Thing about it is, if that was the ticket, my piddly vote

really wouldn't matter in Tennessee. That ticket would lose by a 20-point margin; whereas, the Kerry/Edwards ticket lost with a 15-point margin.

I'd have to throw my hands up in the air, vote my conscious and pray I'd have enough money to move to Europe, at that point.

And their gun stance isn't what bothers me: it's their corporate agendas.

[newswolf56]

14. Agree they would lose; agree also on the problem of...

...what you term "the corporate agendas," which I as an old (and now reborn) Lefty merely regard as "monopolist malevolence" and "the (class) war on working families." (Note my comment above about DemoPublicans and plutocrats, also the renewed relevance of Marx and the crying need for a genuine labor party.)

Alas, the prospect of loss was not sufficient to block the nomination of John Kerry last year -- a classic example of angry defiance trumping reason -- and probably will not be sufficient to prevent a repeat performance in 2008.

What we truly need is another FDR. That said, who do you think would make the best 2008 candidates?

[Clark2008]

15. Well, it's obvious from my name I like Clark.

I know he gets a bad rap sometimes on this and other left-wing blogs because of his military background, but I don't think of that as a hinderance (especially living in the red south. I know A LOT of great vets who aren't Republicans - never have been).
He's very much a free-thinker and had the least amount of corporate donations of all the Dem candidates in 2004, yet he still out-raised Dean in money during the last quarter of 2003 (which was the first full quarter in which Clark was in the race).
I like Feingold a lot. He's honest, fair and has moments of pure "ballsiness." I only worry that his divorce would hurt him in a general election.
I liked Warner - and still think he has a shot - but his Bilderberg attendance bothered me to no end. I'm TIRED of corporate agendas. What about the PEOPLE'S agenda?
Bredesen's a decent guy. I'll defend him because I know that most of what he's having to go through with TennCare was 8 years of Republican mismanagement and a Republican Senate.
Richardson... eh... he's OK. Too sloppy, in my book, to win in the age of TV.
Biden, I respect, but he's owned by MBNA.

I fully believe we have to win back some of the red states.
Part of the problem, of course, is the media we have here. We have some good newspapers, but the rural voters traveling into the cities to work are only hearing 24/7 right-wing bullcrap. That's what turned the state from blue to red - not any Republican "agenda," but what is perceived as the Republican agenda.
I bet if you actually stopped and quizzed some of these hard-workers, you'd find they had more in common with the Dems and THEY would be surprised to learn that, too.
Maybe we should pass out blind platforms. Mark out the obvious (abortion, homosexual marriage, etc.) and just let them read the economic packages and foreign policy agendas and decide.
Would be interesting.

[FreedomAngel82]

16. The thing I like about Bredesen

is how he appeals to across the isle too. Some people say that you should worry about that but I don't think so. There's also rumors of various alligations with Bredesen and/or his cabinet but those are just rumors. And the TennCare stuff doesn't help much but other than that I think he's doing a fine job. If he can get re-elected next year and clean up TennCare and he does to run in 2008 I think he would do okay depending on who his VP choice is (why I choose Clark if he does run). I haven't heard anything official with Bredesen running. I read a Jacksonville, Florida paper back in January on a blog and they asked someone who worked for Bredesen and asked him about him running in 2008 and the guy said Bredesen wasn't interested but anything could happen. It would be good on his resume for being a two-time mayor of a red city and a red state. I only wonder if he would win Tennessee. Gore only lost the state by four percent according to electoral-vote.com But with Bredesen he last year created 32 million new jobs and recently 600. Here's what he's done recently:

http://www.tennessee.gov/governor/viewArticleContent.do?id=554

[Clark2008]

18. Nashville is not a "red" city.

It went "blue" - the whole of Davidson County went "blue" in 2004.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/TN/P/00/map.html

That slight blue in the middle of all those pinks and reds - that's Davisdon County: Kerry, 132,737 55 percent; Bush, 107,839 45 percent.

[FreedomAngel82]

19. The east side of the state

is pretty red though. My town can go either way too. In 1997-2001 we had a democratic mayor, 2001-2005 we had republican Bob Corker and now we have an indie named Ron Littlefield (who I voted for). It's still impressive he's a governor of a "red" state. I don't think we're that red personally.

[Flirtus]

26. Ron is one of Ward's boys, no indie!

While I agree heartily that Chattanooga has good Democrat strength that forces Republicans like Corker to the middle, the Repubs are more organized. But I'm just astonished at you! There's no way that Ron can be considered an 'indie'! He's thick as, ahem, thieves with Crutchfield, etc, and has that born-again thing going on just for confusion. He is lying low as mayor so far, except, like Dubya, he's brought back all kinds of old regime bit players. How I would love to live long enough to see the next generation take over.

[nashville_brook]

30. it doesn't get red until you drive down to Cool Things

Franklin, etc.

[V. Kid]

37. How exactly could've have created 32 million new jobs?

That's mathematically impossible.

[sweetladybug]

11. newswolf56 you could be right on the Clinton/Edwards ticket BUT

I think Al Gore will run for re-election in 2008. I'm thinking maybe a Gore/Richardson ticket. And wouldn't it be great to have Bill Clinton as secretary of state? As far as Bredesen goes, I hope he win re-election in 2006 and he stays in TN. He's doing great things for our state and I'm hoping he can find someway to help the folks out that are going to get cut off of TN Care.

[FreedomAngel82]

17. Me too

Hopefully people will vote for him again. I think him being two-term mayor of Nashville gives me hope of him being re-elected of our state.

[FreedomAngel82]

20. Gore's running again?

I remember earlier in the year hearing rumors. I would love that!!! He deserves it and I would love to vote for him. I adored him and Clinton together. If Gore did run again he could really turn this country around (he's so brilliant).

[bigendian]

24. Hear, Hear!

Let Al lose on all those damn Republicans.

[nashville_brook]

29. do you think? i'm such a fan of gore -- i simply love him to death

i wanted him to run 2004 b/c a REVENGE of the NERD would be a winning story to tell.

our democratic handlers at the highest levels have a problem with the vision thing. it would have been a no-brainer (in my little imagination, at least.)

on Gov B -- he's going to put a band-aid on TN Care and HAVE to form a coalition to tackle our tax problem. but that's many plays downfield.

[Geek_Girl]

21. That would be a sweet ticket

n/t

[NashVegas]

22. Bredesen Must Fix TennCare With a Reasonable Compromise

Before he can even think about running for Pres.

[brimill68]

23. No, no, no, no, no Bredesen... BAD idea!

Bredesen has hijacked the Democratic Party in Tennessee and made any kind of progressive change next to impossible. In practice, he's basically a Republican in Democratic clothing.

He has alienated much of the Democratic base here. I don't know anyone in the County Party who likes the guy... especially after three years of budget cuts to higher ed, environment, health care, and more. He has attacked workmans comp laws, cut hundreds of thousands off health care, and poo-pooed any kind of progressive tax reform.

Yeah, sure he's a fiscal conservative. He'll he'd make Bush look like a druken sailor. Bredesen is leading a state that is 49th in state and local taxes per capita, 49th in education spending, 48th in high school graduation rates, 50th in home and community based care for seniors... It's an embarassment! Worse yet, he has no plan for doing anything about it.

If that's the price of getting a Democrat in office, what's the point?

If he is nominated, I for one as a Tennessean will actively encourage folks in other states to vote NO on Bredesen.

[Celebration]

25. no control over that

Tennessee cannot spend money on social services without an income tax. And the legislature did not (and will not any time soon) enact an income tax. It is just a fact. I doubt if he deserves to be president, though. But he would be way better than what we have at present (as would most psychiatric cases). As for Tenn Care, I am for preserving it, but as I understand it big pharma may be standing in the way. Behind the scenes they may be insisting on coverage of all drugs, rather than just generic. Not an easy job to be governor of Tennessee.

[nashville_brook]

28. bush = drunken ? sailor

i'm with you on the progressivity factor.

[drumz4hire]

31. I'm with ya on this...

I don't think I can vote for the man who is
throwing me off of Tenncare...

I'll vote Green or sit it out, I voted for Bredesen
because I thought he would at least make an all out
effort to save Tenncare, might as well have voted for
the repuke for all the good it's done.

Hard being poor anywhere, but being poor in Tennessee
is going to be a whole lot tougher from now on.

[Egalia]

38. He's a DINO

and has no chance on a national ticket; if he wants to run as a Republican, I think he's have a chance at the nomination.

[nashville_brook]

27. i've thought he's an obvious presidential candidate since the beginning

of his governor's campaign... right about the time the Republican's for Bredesen people formed.

one caveat -- does he remind anyone else of Mayor Quimby?

[FreedomAngel82]

32. Not really on Quimby

:shrug: If anybody does it's Ted Kennedy cause of his voice. Is anybody running against Bredesen? I haven't heard. :shrug: He's up next year right? I like him pretty well. I just don't like the TennCare situation. But apparently the previous governor was a republican and left things in a mess.

[brimill68]

33. Is Bredesen really a Republican? Check out these polls...

For those outside of Tennessee to really understand how
furious the Democratic Party base is with Bredesen, you have
to look at the polls below. Bottom line, his job approval
rating is far better among Republicans than Democrats. I would
not be surprised if we hear an announcement of a party change
at some point.

At this point, if Bredesen runs for President, it would be
highly devisive and distructive to the Party base. Remember
that giant sucking sound Perot talked about years ago? We'd
hear it again, but it would be the sound of Democratic Party
volunteers walking away.

--------------------------------------------------
This is from the Nashville Scene...

So He Really Is a Republican

Posted by Bruce Barry (05.13.05, 8:29 AM)

The Survey USA News Poll of approval ratings of all 50 state
governors released this week has some interesting numbers on
Phil Bredesen. His overall approval rating of 52% is way down
from where it once was (a Mason-Dixon poll in early 2004 had
it above 70%), presumably an artifact of turmoil over TennCare
and the state budget. But the really interesting numbers are
the demographic breakdowns, which if you didn't know otherwise
would convince you the guy is a Republican. For example:

Survey question: Do you approve or disapprove of the job Phil
Bredesen is doing as governor?

REPUBLICANS: 61% approve; 30% disapprove
DEMOCRATS: 49% approve; 43% disapprove
INDEPENDENTS: 45% approve; 48% disapprove

BLACKS: 39% approve; 50% disapprove
WHITES: 55% approve; 38% disapprove
HISPANICS: 29% approve; 66% disapprove

If that's not vulnerability to a primary challenge in 2006,
I'm not sure what is. (The poll has Ohio governor Bob Taft
with a 19% approval rating, with just 30% favorable in his own
party. Now that's popularity!)

--------------------------------------------------
To real all the posts and comments to this Scene piece, visit
http://www.nashvillescene.com/blog/pitw/archives/00000295.htm

[Jackson4Gore]

34. No he is not

And here are updated poll numbers:

Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Gov. Bredesen's Popularity Evaporates - Especially Among Democrats

Survey USA has the July approval ratings for all 50 governors. As expected, the popularity of Governor Bredesen (D) continues to evaporate. The Tennessee Governor is currently making the largest cuts to health care in the history of the country. Disabled and sick protesters have been camped out in his office suite inside the state Capitol for three weeks now.

The Democratic Governor is liked best by White Republicans.

Bredesen's disapproval rating is highest among Democrats and minorities.

Survey USA Approval Rating for Governor Phil Bredesen, July 2005

Do you approve or disapprove of the job Bredesen is doing?

All
Approve 48%
Disapprove 44%

That’s down from an approval rating of 53% just one month ago and up from a disapproval rating of 40%.

Democrat
Approve 45%
Disapprove 48%

Independent
Approve 44%
Disapprove 47%

Republican
Approve 55%
Disapprove 37%

At this rate, the Governor will be lucky if there are any Blacks or Hispanics who can stand him come election day.

Black
Approve 36%
Disapprove 54%

Hispanic
Approve 32%
Disapprove 68%

White
Approve: 51%
Disapprove 42%

[brimill68]

35. Yet another poll showing Repubs like Bredesen more than Southern Dems

Even Southern Democrats from Tennessee only give Bredesen 47% approval ratings while the Republicans from Tennessee give him 53% approval ratings in the latest polls. This man in on a downhill slope as a Dem...

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=b90242a0-0298-4a25-a671-cee7d1330375

[FreedomAngel82]

36. I think it's probably all the health care stuff

Which is quite sad. :( Is he going to run for re-election next year and if not who on the democratic ticket will? :shrug:

[levitatingdonkey]

39. Bredesen is 49th in own-party job approval

I saw this dialogue going one about Bredesen's job approval ratings and thought I'd pitch in my two cents. Below is a variation of a post that I put recently on http://www.democracyfortennessee.org/ - Right now it is still at the top of the page, but could drift down with time. In case that link get's lost, the direct link is http://democracyfortennessee.smartcampaigns.com/index.php?q=node/view/376 ...I think.

The basic summary is that if the Gov. Bredesen is in big trouble with his own party base. Many folks may already have heard about the September 2005 polls done by SurveyUSA that shows the Governor's job approval rating now at 48%. Even more compelling, is disapproval rate matches his approval rate of 48%.

This only scratches the surface of his real problem though. If you delve deeper into the poll data available at http://www.surveyusa.com/50State2005/50StateGovernorApproval0905SortedbyState.htm ...Bredesen's real problems become much more apparent.

First, Gov. Bredesen is one of only two governors nationally that has less support within his own political party than the other major party (47% among Dems and 53% among Repubs). The other governor is Gov. Freudenthal of Wyoming who is at least liked by 65% of his own Democratic Party while the Republicans simply give him higher approval ratings of 72%.

Out of all 50 governors, Bredesen is tied for 49th nationally in job approval among his own party base. The only governor in the nation who has a lower job approval rating among his own party is Gov. Bob Taft (R-Ohio) who has pleaded guilty to numerous ethics violations.

Below is a full ranking I put together using the data from the Sept. 2005 SurveyUSA poll of all 50 governors and thier job approval ratings (Click on each state to see the job approval by party). Again, the data can be accessed at http://www.surveyusa.com/50State2005/50StateGovernorApproval0905SortedbyState.htm

The ranking is of their job approval rating amongst their own party base, whether Republican or Democrat. As you can see, Gov. Bredesen is right there at the bottom of the list, just above Gov. Taft.

1 - Gov. Jim Douglas (R-Vermont): 90%
2 - Gov. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota): 89%
3 - Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-Montana): 86%
4 - Gov. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota): 86%
5 - Gov. Sonny Perdue (R-Georgia): 81%
6 - Gov. Jon Huntsman (R-Utah): 81%
7 - Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts): 80%
8 - Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Florida): 79%
9 - Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minnesota): 79%
10 - Gov. Jodi Rell (R-Connecticut): 78%
11 - Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kansas): 78%
12 - Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Mississippi): 78%
13 - Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (R-Idaho): 75%
14 - Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-Iowa): 74%
15 - Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-Arizona): 73%
16 - Gov. Bill Owens (R-Colorado): 73%
17 - Gov. John Lynch (D-New Hampshire): 73%
18 - Gov. Christine Gregoire (D-Washington): 73%
19 - Gov. Bob Riley (R-Alabama): 72%
20 - Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas): 72%
21 - Gov. Mark Warner (D-Virginia): 72%
22 - Gov. Dave Heineman (R-Nebraska): 70%
23 - Gov. Michael Easley (D-North Carolina): 70%
24 - Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R-Maryland): 69%
25 - Gov. Mark Sanford (R-South Carolina): 69%
26 - Gov. Linda Lingle (R-Hawaii): 68%
27 - Gov. Bill Richardson (D-New Mexico): 68%
28 - Gov. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia): 66%
29 - Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D-Wyoming): 65%
30 - Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-Indiana): 64%
31 - Gov. Don Carcieri (R-Rhode Island): 64%
32 - Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas): 63%
33 - Gov. Brad Henry (D-Oklahoma): 62%
34 - Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D-Oregon): 62%
35 - Gov. Kenny Guinn (R-Nevada): 61%
36 - Gov. Jim Doyle (D-Wisconsin): 60%
37 - Gov. George Pataki (R-New York): 59%
38 - Gov. Matt Blunt (R-Missouri): 58%
39 - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-California): 57%
40 - Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D-Louisiana): 56%
41 - Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-Michigan): 55%
42 - Gov. Richard Codey (D-New Jersey): 54%
43 - Gov. Edward Rendell (D-Pennsylvania): 54%
44 - Gov. John Baldacci (D-Maine): 53%
45 - Gov. Ruth Minner (D-Delaware): 51%
46 - Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R-Kentucky): 49%
47 - Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Illinois): 48%
48 - Gov. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska): 47%
49 - Gov. Phil Bredesen (D-Tennessee): 47%
50 - Gov. Bob Taft (R-Ohio): 25%