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TN Department of Education Announces School Counselor InstituteEducating the Whole ChildNASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education is proud to announce the fifth annual Tennessee School Counselor and Administrator Leadership Institute beginning next week in Murfreesboro. This year’s theme, “The 360 Approach: Educating the Whole Child,” addresses the critical need of ensuring that our students are both college- and career-ready. read more [Link]
Governor Bredesen, Commissioner Kisber Announce Expansion of VW Supplier in TennesseeSL Tennessee, LLC to Invest $35 Million and Create 300 New Jobs in Clinton NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber today joined with executives of SL America to announce a $35 million expansion of SL Tennessee, LLC, a company subsidiary operating in Clinton, Tenn.. The expansion will create 300 new jobs and add ... [Link]
Devaney Statement on Tennessee Democrat Reps Voting to Raise U.S. Debt Limit Another $1.9 TrillionNASHVILLE, TN – Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney issued the following statement after Tennessee Democrats voted to raise America’s debt limit by $1.9 trillion which follows a vote in December to raise the debt limit by $290 billion: “Tennessee Democrats just don’t get it,” said Devaney. “Once again, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi have won out over hard-working families ... [Link]
Recreation Initiative Program Grant Cycle Announced; Workshop Slated for March 3NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is soliciting Tennessee Recreation Initiative Program grant applications from local governments that do not currently have parks or recreation departments. TRIP grants help communities create recreation opportunities for citizens by assisting with the establishment of a parks department. Applications are due April 15, 2010, and award recipients will be announced in ... [Link]
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Jun
11
LA Times discovers TN GOP, Bill Hobbs
By John Rodgers | Filed Under Presidential Race
The Los Angeles Times does the “is or should Michelle Obama be an issue” story for their front page today, and the Tennessee Republican Party and its spokesman, Bill Hobbs, get their required coverage:
It was an unscripted remark as she spoke in February about the enthusiastic response to his message of hope that set off conservatives: “And let me tell you something,” she told a Wisconsin crowd. “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country.”
The Obama campaign clarified her remarks right away: “What she meant is that she’s really proud at this moment because for the first time in a long time, thousands of Americans who’ve never participated in politics before are coming out in record numbers to build a grass-roots movement for change.”
But conservatives pressed the attack. John Podhoretz, editor of Commentary, wrote that she had inadvertently revealed “the pseudo-messianic nature of the Obama candidacy.”
The issue has shown no signs of going away.
In what could be seen as a test run for future attacks, the Tennessee Republican Party last month posted a Web video crosscutting her gaffe with declarations from average folks about how they’ve always been proud of their country.
Bill Hobbs, spokesman for the Tennessee GOP, said the party was stunned and delighted by the national publicity garnered by the cheaply made video, which coincided with a fundraising visit to the state by Michelle Obama.
“Our goal was to get the local media to play that clip of what she said back in February,” Hobbs said. “The amazing thing was this thing blew up nationally before any local media even covered it.”
A few days later, the candidate took umbrage.
“These folks should lay off my wife,” said Sen. Barack Obama, as she sat beside him on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “She loves this country, and for them to try to distort or play snippets of her remarks in ways unflattering to her I think is just low-class.”
The TN GOP’s video is generally regarded in the article as a harbinger of future Obama attacks.
In the current campaign, said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, Bill Clinton’s heated remarks alienated many black voters. (The former president implied that Obama’s win in South Carolina was unimportant since Jesse Jackson had also won the state in 1988, and accused the Obama campaign of “playing the race card” on him.)
“That’s a really good example of a candidate paying the price for the things a spouse said and did,” Walsh said.
She regards the Tennessee GOP video as a warning to the Obama campaign. “This is the kind of thing that’s coming,” she said, “so it’s time to be careful.”
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