Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Little Bob courts the GOP
The City Paper's Bill Harless reports that former U.S. Rep. Bob Clement, aka Little Bob, is actively seeking the help of prominent Nashville Republicans as he gears up to run for mayor. Clement, who recently had a sit-down meeting with Republican State Rep. Beth Harwell, had this t'say:
"'I’ve been a lifelong Democrat, but from the first day of this campaign I wanted to reach out to everyone,' Clement said in the statement. 'This is a non-partisan race and Nashville needs a leader who will represent every part of this community. I was a moderate in Congress.'"
Clement tried to pass himself off as a right-leaning moderate during his 2002 campaign for U.S. Senate, which he lost to Lamar Alexander. During that campaign, I had conversations with several fellow Republicans during which it was suggested that a Senator Clement might not be such a bad thing. Each time I heard such, I asked the following question: "If Clement's so conservative, how did he manage to win re-election to the U.S. House six times from a district that's dominated by public and private sector unions?" It's a question that deserves to be pondered - nay, answered - as Clement, who received a lifetime rating of 30 from the American Conservative Union, again tries to pass himself off as a "moderate."
My biggest beef with Bob Clement isn't his campaign, if you will, to re-cast himself as another Zell Miller. No, my biggest beef with Clement is the fact that he's a tad, well, ignorant when it comes to basic economic principles. For example:
In 1992 Clement ran a television commercial in which he said, "Government cannot be all things to all people. What government can do is create jobs." Now, anybody who's spent five minutes studying an introductory economics text should choke upon reading that statement. The government can create conditions conducive to job creation; but actually creating jobs is not something the government in and of itself can actually do. Clement should've known better.
The prospect of a social-crusading, property tax-raising mayor, see At-Large Councilman David Briley, will no doubt lead some Republicans to support Bob Clement. Most of that support, however, will be monetary. Indeed, don't look for there to be roving bands of Republicans for Clement activists knocking on doors and manning phone banks at any point during next year's mayoral campaign.
"'I’ve been a lifelong Democrat, but from the first day of this campaign I wanted to reach out to everyone,' Clement said in the statement. 'This is a non-partisan race and Nashville needs a leader who will represent every part of this community. I was a moderate in Congress.'"
Clement tried to pass himself off as a right-leaning moderate during his 2002 campaign for U.S. Senate, which he lost to Lamar Alexander. During that campaign, I had conversations with several fellow Republicans during which it was suggested that a Senator Clement might not be such a bad thing. Each time I heard such, I asked the following question: "If Clement's so conservative, how did he manage to win re-election to the U.S. House six times from a district that's dominated by public and private sector unions?" It's a question that deserves to be pondered - nay, answered - as Clement, who received a lifetime rating of 30 from the American Conservative Union, again tries to pass himself off as a "moderate."
My biggest beef with Bob Clement isn't his campaign, if you will, to re-cast himself as another Zell Miller. No, my biggest beef with Clement is the fact that he's a tad, well, ignorant when it comes to basic economic principles. For example:
In 1992 Clement ran a television commercial in which he said, "Government cannot be all things to all people. What government can do is create jobs." Now, anybody who's spent five minutes studying an introductory economics text should choke upon reading that statement. The government can create conditions conducive to job creation; but actually creating jobs is not something the government in and of itself can actually do. Clement should've known better.
The prospect of a social-crusading, property tax-raising mayor, see At-Large Councilman David Briley, will no doubt lead some Republicans to support Bob Clement. Most of that support, however, will be monetary. Indeed, don't look for there to be roving bands of Republicans for Clement activists knocking on doors and manning phone banks at any point during next year's mayoral campaign.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, January 03, 2007 
