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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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Jul
12
This just in from the Grassy Knoll….
By Clint Brewer | Filed Under Miscellaneous
Chancellor Gordon Gee’s departure from Vanderbilt University for The Ohio State University was a shocker yesterday. Perhaps even more surprising is the man being mentioned by Vanderbilt professorial types to replace him – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander.
Well placed Nashville sources in both the Republican and Democratic Party say Alexander’s name is being bandied about largely by Vanderbilt staff as a possible replacement for Gee. Let me stress that does not mean Alexander has even mentioned it but that people at the school are talking his name up.
Here is the logic behind the chatter. Alexander is a Tennessee native, a Vandy grad, a former U.S. Secretary of Education and a former University of Tennessee President. That is just on the education side of the ledger. He is of course also a two-time governor and a sitting U.S. Senator. He has the distinction to lead the South’s most prestigious private university but is also a very familiar native of the state. There would be no “get to know you” period.
It is likely a great deal of wishful thinking on the part of factions on both sides of the political aisle.
Tennessee Democrats would LOVE to have an open U.S. Senate seat in the state in 2008 for Harold Ford Jr. to seek and salvage his once promising political career. He could even be appointed to an open seat by Gov. Phil Bredesen to fill the remainder of Alexander’s term, running with the title “Senator” in front of his name. It would be like Christmas coming early for Tennessee Democrats.
Conservative Republicans in the state – the Ed Bryant/Van Hilleary crowd – have always been suspicious of Alexander, who is cut from more moderate, and arguably more reasonable East Tennessee GOP cloth. This set within the Grand Old Party have been publicly swapping paint with Alexander over immigration and other issues. They would probably love yet another chance to put a “real conservative” as they like to say in one of Tennessee’s Senate seats. Say, Marsha Blackburn?
Here is why I don’t think any of this will ever happen. If one knows Alexander’s history, he does not need the princely sum being chancellor of Vanderbilt pays – somewhere over $1 million annually. Alexander has done well for himself in between public service gigs.
Furthermore, it is doubtful Alexander would do that to his party at a time when the GOP is in a very transitional state in Tennessee. Sen. Bob Corker’s win was razor thin, and the GOP here needs to run up the score a bit to get back to its former state of dominance. Alexander is a Howard Baker man, and one thing about the old set of Tennessee Republicans is that they are, if nothing else, team players.
Finally, and here is the best reason, Alexander has unlimited potential should another Republican land in the White House – a real possibility considering the blood bath that will be the Democratic Primary. In a Fred Thompson administration, Alexander could fill any number of cabinet positions. And should a Northerner like Rudy Giuiliani or Mitt Romney be able to make it through the primary gauntlet, Alexander with his pedigree, intellect and Southern base is one of the best dark horse choices for Vice President for every potential GOP contender out there other than Thompson. He probably can’t do that coming from a university chancellor’s chair.
We are told Alexander’s office is preparing to issue a statement on the Vanderbilt speculation. As they say, this story is developing…..
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13 Responses to “This just in from the Grassy Knoll….”
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[...] Clint Brewer is hearing that the name Lamar Alexander is being bandied about as one who could replace Gordon Gee as Vanderbilt Chancellor. [...]
Better idea: let Harold Ford, Jr, go to Vanderbilt, and become the Chancellor.
That would get him out of Politics, and back into a University…after all, he needs to go back; having failed to secure his law degree…
And, Vanderbilt needs another left-wing Liberal on campus…
Vanderbilt is “the South’s most prestigious private university”??? Vandy is a great school, but it’s not in the same league as Duke.
It’s hard not be amused by serr8d’s deployment of the phrase “left-wing liberal.” Is this intended to distinguish Mr. Ford from all the right-wing liberals out there? Hardly. Like a six-year-old in a sandbox denouncing his playmate as a “dirty yucky poopyhead,” serr8d thinks that redundancy makes you seem emphatic, when in fact all it does is make you seem illiterate.
To be sure, there are far more illustrious wingnuts than serr8d who indulge in this same rhetorical overkill. Famed sexual predator Bill O’Reilly refers to anything remotely left as “far left.” How there can be a “far left” in a world view that apparently perceives no “mid-left” or “near left” is something of a mystery to me. It inevitably leads O’Reilly to such embarrassments as describing the unadventurously liberal Boston Globe as “far left” — though to be sure, this is no more unhinged than characterizing the aggressively center-right Harold Ford as a “left-wing liberal.”
Of course, follow serr8d’s hyperlink, and all is explained — you will find yourself on the homepage of Frontpage.com, an institution so giddily extreme that one more step to the right and it would fall off the edge of the earth. To folks like that, who ISN’T a “left-wing liberal?”
The only reason Bob Corker defeated Harold Ford Jr. is because he ran a racist campaign ad against Ford which is no surprise to me because racial bigotry is still alive and well in Tennessee and the South. This will only change when the racist generation dies off and the offspring at least finish elementary school.
“the South’s most prestigious private university.” That gave me a good laugh. Durham is still technically part of the South…..
Replying to Mark’s comment “because racial bigotry is still alive and well in Tennessee and the South.”:
True enough, but it is alive and well in every corner of this country as well as the rest of the world.
Been to California lately?
Ever watched a European Cup game and listened to their cheers?
It is not as if the entire country or the rest of the world for that matter is really that enlightened about racial harmony. If you think Tennessee and the South have some kind of special problem then you haven’t been to many other places. And, if you have, you have not travelled them with your eyes wide open.
Your remark is based on a decades-old cliche’. Harold Ford Jr. won a lot more votes in that election than most white candidates have running a statewide in Tennessee on the losing end of an election. The vote was evenly split, with only a razor thin 3 percent between Ford and Corker. Look at the make-up of the rest of the sitting U.S. Senate. It is mostly lily white and predominately male. What does that say about the rest of the country? And what does it say about Tennessee that Ford won so many votes here?
Dont forget the possibility that LA Sen. David Vitter could resign and be replaced by a Democrat. So if Alexander bolts before the end of this year then theres the very real possibility that the GOP would be down 53-47. And thats before the 08 elections, which will be very tough for the GOP. I doubt Alexander does this to his party.
Bob, “I was for abortion before I was against it”, Corker is the one who should consider giving up his senate seat. The little man savaged his primary opponents, who were far more qualified than he was, while purchasing his senate title. BTW Corker spent the most money, and ran more ads, of all the senate campaigns in 2006. He won fair and square he outspent everyone.
[...] Well placed Nashville sources in both the Republican and Democratic Party say Alexander’s name is being bandied about largely by Vanderbilt staff as a possible replacement for Gee,” according to The Nashville City Paper. [...]
What Koolaide was this reporter drinking to wildly speculate on a Thompson administration?
Outside of the great state of Tennessee and certain closed panelled rooms, a tobacco lobbyist with an acting habit is not going to reclaim the Reagan image, especially if can’t get up the nerve to officially jump in the race until he’s promised the silver platter. Thompson would be the ‘rebound’ guy for Republicans who are over Bush, but no keeper.
I agree that Alexander will probably stay in the Senate, even though the state may be in flux. It would be nice to see the Southern gentleman model return to regional politics, and retire the grandstanding obstructionism being practiced by Graham, Lott, Mitchell.
If Republicans are interested in keeping the White House in 2008, heed Frank Luntz’ advice: instead of trying to recreate Reagan’s optimistic message, listen to voters and glean the best ideas for a new platform of ideas. Offer them real hope and reasonable ideas instead of old hash.
Ford Jr. would be a formidable candidate and more so than others recently mentioned here. If he could only get his relatives to behave.
Alexander has been edging away from W and wisely so, the Senate seat is probably his if he wants it and I see in later stories he is not interested in the Vandy job.
I am sure most Dems would love to see some far-right challenger to Alexander from within the party. Clint mentions Marsha Blackburn. A Blackburn candidacy would be manna from heaven for the Dems-she is not only far right from the mainstream but (let us charitably observe) ‘intellectually challenged’. Van Hilleary would also be welcomed on any ballot by Democrats throughout the state for the same reasons.
[...] take Lamar Alexander unless he gets caught in some scandal involving male pages. Safe. There are rumors that Lamar! may become the Chancellor of Vanderbilt University. Alexander does have $816k Cash on [...]