Looks like the Mayor is in the race & got a real shot @ being elected governor.

There's no doubt in my mind that the Mayor will work very hard in the next 20 months to get nominated & I dont mean work at it with bread & circuses that money can buy but really get down to talking to folks in the hamlets & crossroads.

The Mayor is right when he says you dont get elected in TN by simply throwing your own money around.One reason is we dont like it.The other is nobody is invested in your campaign.Those $10 contributions gets folks behind you.

The thing about the Mayor is he fools people.You hear about his family name & money..so one expects a cocky rich boy.He's not.Then after meeting him one thinks he doesnt have the mettle to mix it up.He does.

The biggest deal about the Mayor is that he wants to get things done for the people.I know that sounds sappy but it's true & thats what comes thru clear as a bell..Bill Haslam is in this race to make Tn a better place.

Bill Haslam is nice guy that doesnt finish last.

The last guys from Knoxville selected for Governor were William Blount and then John Sevier and since that time, nobody from Knoxville has been elected governor and only a handful have tried.

Part of the problem is the simplistic political ways of the Knoxville community don't lend themselves to statewide politics (ask Jimmy Duncan about a statewide race) and the multitude of issues which affect the state as a whole.

For years, the TVA issues in Knoxville didn't amount to a hill of beans in Memphis or in Nashville. However, the recent struggles within the City of Knoxville should equip Billy Haslam and sensitize him to a number of issues which are faced across the state. As more and more homegrown Tennessee businesses, banks, and media outlets are bought up by out of state congomerates, the political landscape (unlike the economic landscape)is not tilted in favor of any particular candidate from any geographic reason.

He will have access to the Republican apparatus/tools/techniques of a number of Republican statewide office holders, particularly Fred Thompson, Bill Frist, Bob Corker, Howard Baker, and Lamar Alexander, although they will not provide an endorsement until very late in the primary or at the begining of the general election.

The balance he will bring to the Republican side of the process will be well received and he will be given the opportunity to see for himself what Tennessee is all about.

Tennessee is a better place with Billy Halsam in the race and Tennessee will be a better place with him as Governor, if he can carry his value structure to Nashville, implement it statewide, such that the state can survive, adapt, and thrive for the next 50.

and that is Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey. In fact, he's at the top of the list for the GOP, in his opinion, offered in today's Greeneville Sun:

"Asked if he believes there is a Republican "front-runner" at this point, Ramsey said no.

"I think there are three or four front-runners who will start almost even," he said.

Ramsey listed the front-runners as U.S. Rep. Zack Wamp, from the Chattanooga area; "myself"; and Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons."

Taking a page out of the Republicans play book, Tennessee does not need a Republican Governor, a majority Republican Senate and a majority Republican House.

I think Bill Haslam is a very decent guy who has, on the whole, been a very good mayor. He's by far the best of the Republican lot running for governor.

But Obama he's not. He's a social conservative (although, like Reagan, he probably won't spend a lot of political capital on those kinds of issues).

I can't see myself voting for him at state level. The differences in our politics, which don't matter much when you're dealing with local issues, WILL matter at the state level.

Her post is very good.Only bone I would pick is that most voters in Tn dont live in big cities & dont care much about them.

I worked in two big city mayor's campaigns Tyree & Fulton.Folks in Morristown didn't give a rat's ass about bringing a World's Fair to town or how cool Music City was.

Bredesen is the exception for big city mayors getting elected & he learned the hard way..got beat in '94.Ran alot different in '02.

I'm just saying adds featuring downtown Knoxville wont work because voters dont want their burg to be a big city.

If I was in the Haslam campaign I would strongly suggest filming & taking pictures @ every stop in small town Tn.

Then splice them together in a montage of I get it tv/web adds.Plus other than stock newspaper adds in small town papers I would put pictures of Bill in that town.

Howard Baker's prop was his signature/name, Lamar Alexander had the plaid shirt/plaid signs, Fred Thompson had the Red Truck, Bill Frist had the Flag Tie, I don't think billy haslam's prop will be a yellow/red Pilot Oil shirt or hat, particularly since gas went up 21 cents today.

Maybe Haslam's prop will a freshly minted Chevy from Spring Hill, Tennessee, passing out brochure's about Knoxville's ocnvention center. Who knows.

gas went up 21 cents today

They gotta fund the campaign somehow!

I don't vote for Republicans as a matter of principle. But Bill Haslam would be acceptable as Governor. I wouldn't vote for him, but I wouldn't loathe the man and be embarrassed of him.

The other GOP tools are worthless. Zach Wamp is a jerk. I know nothing about Gibbons. Ramsey is useless. Blackburn is the devil. So, if it's Haslam, I'll be cool with it.

Knoxville isn't seen by most as some sort of opressive big-city (You'd have to subtract CHR whack-jobs complaining about the liquor vote) and most people generally like the improvements. He ought to showcase it. He's been a great mayor and would make a good governor.

Knoxville isn't seen by most as some sort of opressive big-city

This is true, but the flip side is that in a lot of places, especially the surrounding counties, Knoxville is seen as a town of snobs and white collar elitists. And that's probably due to the general dislike of urban and suburban areas by those in rural areas everywhere. That dislike has nothing to do with Mayor Haslam, but it could still hurt him.

If the Mayor makes his case in small towns with "We did it this way in Knoxville" the voters will tune him out because they think they are being treated like no nuthing hillbillys.Never forget these small town folks know how to get the last laugh..vote for somebody else.

Bredesen did a really smart thing in '02..he spent three consectutive days in small towns all across the state.That way you are not rushed to see everybody in a whirlwind campaign swing.In 3 days you can see about everybody you need to see.

One last thing..will the Knox County Republican Party get behind Haslam in the '10 state Republican primary & push the the turn-out to 50,000+? 40k is norm.

One last thing..will the Knox County Republican Party get behind Haslam in the '10 state Republican primary & push the the turn-out to 50,000+? 40k is norm.

That's a good question.

I get the feeling that a lot of political people are making a lot of assumptions about the future political and economic environment that may not be realized.

There's a number of Republicans that think the next two years will be a repeat of Clinton's first term including the 1994 elections.

My advice is: don't bet on that happening. I think that any type of backlash against Pres. Obama that Republicans are hoping will happen will not come to fruition.

And we're probably only half way through the mortgage crisis, which means the economic crisis still has a good ways to go.

It won't turn around in the next six months, and Republicans will have to accept that and deal with it, rather than simply casting themselves as opposing Pres. Obama.

I have yet to see a credible Republican plan to deal with the economy, other than Congressman Duncan's repetition of the word "no," along with the Sen. Corker.

That stuff will work when the crisis is mainly in Wall St., but as the crisis begins to spill over into the general economy, towing the party line will only bring the party base along with you, and it's a diminshed party at that.

Liberals will settle for Haslam and Conservatives will settle for Lincoln Davis.

Marsha Blackburn could upset the apple cart. I think Wamp will fold. Kim McMillian won't sell well in East Tennessee.

I don't see this as a cake walk for Haslam. Big Jim is on the record supporting an income tax and Bill Haslam is part of the Bloomberg Mayors Against Guns group.

In some ways this may be a perfect storm for Lincoln Davis. Especially if Blackburn sits out.

I'm thinking more from the ground game persective.Will Knox County Republicans from the sheriff on down to the ward level unite behind Haslam & push the vote for the primary?

My thought is yes they will.I dont know for sure but I think the Mayor's very popular in Knox County Republican circles.

In '82 Knox County Democrats were still fighting the bloody '78 primary between Butcher & Clement.Tyree was from the Butcher faction & Miss Anna Belle is a Clement.So it was hard for there to be a united Democratic front behind Tyree.

Ashe is Ashe & when he ran in '84 for US Senate some Republicans just were not going his way.

We also could not get Democrats around here to get behind Nichols in '02.

OTH I supported Nashville Mayor Dick Fulton for governor in '78 & '86.Both times we lost pretty badly BUT we won Nashville.

Like I said I think Haslam will do fine BUT Knox County sure doesnt have history of rallying around the local boy.

I'm thinking more from the ground game persective.Will Knox County Republicans from the sheriff on down to the ward level unite behind Haslam & push the vote for the primary?

I think it depends on the political environment.

If Republicans have a chance at a come-back in 2010 (and I know how the state went, but IMO, that was local politics and part of an Obama backlash)in relation to national offices then Republicans will support whoever seems to be the front runner.

Right now the Republican party, nationally, is in disarray. That will affect the state, especially if the state Republicans are seen as incompetent at handling the state's economy this year, since they'll be in charge. It's a year that will be fraught with more dangers than opportunities for the state GOP.

If there is no chance for the movement to make a comeback, then many of those who would easily choose to ride the wave will be looking out for themselves on an individual, self-interested basis, and that will relegate political support to the horse-trading, "what can you do for me" attitude that will shatter any party unity behind any one candidate.

sliding scale of conservatism

Yeah, well within the next six months, you may just be writing that as "the sliding of conservatism."

However much conservatives complain about the spending ways of the Obama administration, they're going to have to explain why "conservatism" (ie- deregulation and the lack of governmental intervention leading to huge [and unsustainable] inequalites of wealth distribution, spiraling cost of health care, and job insecurity) has any relevance at all to solving any of the problems we now face.

The Democrats aren't blaming anyone...yet, because they're going to wait until the 2010 elections.

In my opinion, how candidates measure up based on some "scale of conservatism," is going to matter very little, even in a primary, once the analyses expose how we got into this mess.