Fri
Aug 6 2010
10:42 am
By: R. Neal
I give Bill Haslam a hard time, but he ran a pretty clean primary and fended off vicious attacks from a couple of crazies who would have been a lot worse for our state. So Mr. Haslam at least gets credit for that.
And he seems like such a nice fellow. The kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with sometime, except he probably doesn't drink beer.
He'll likely go on to beat McWherter like a rented mule in the general (which seems to have been the TNDP strategery all along for for some reason) so I guess I might as well make nice.
Somebody over there in Nashville better keep a close eye on TNInvestco and the ECD, though. Taxpayer money seems to have a way of leaking out of outfits like that into the pockets of wealthy, connected types.
Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that. The wheels of progress gotta be greased sometimes, I guess. And hey, maybe with Haslam in Nashville, some of it will make its way over here and trickle down on regular folks.
|
Topics:
|
|
Discussing:
- Mark Harmon journalism award (1 reply)
- Senior's fishing, hunting, sportsman license fees increase more than others (2 replies)
- Dolly Parton - we miss you already (1 reply)
- NW Indiana residents on 10th day without power (1 reply)
- Only Republicans moving to Florida? (1 reply)
- ballrooms, bankruptcy, and bulls-- (1 reply)
- SoKno what have you done? (2 replies)
- Vote! Thursday is election day. (4 replies)
- The Odyssey (3 replies)
- AI backlash - Justin Pearson (1 reply)
- U.S. Commerce Dept. Going Socialist? (2 replies)
- Publix Greenwise Organic Berry Recall (4 replies)
TN Progressive
- View from the Overlook (Whitescreek Journal)
- Alcoa property taxes will probably not go up (BlountViews)
- Smith & Wesson not a good fit for Blount County (BlountViews)
- Pellissippi Parkway extension delayed again (BlountViews)
- Blount County early voting record turnout (BlountViews)
- WATCH THIS SPACE. (Left Wing Cracker)
- America As It Is Right Now (RoaneViews)
- A friend sent this: From Captain McElwee's Tall Tales of Roane County (RoaneViews)
- The Meidas Touch (RoaneViews)
- Massive Security Breach Analysis (RoaneViews)
- (Whitescreek Journal)
- My choices in the August election (Left Wing Cracker)
TN Politics
- USPS whistleblower predicts ‘catastrophic’ effect on elections under Trump vote-by-mail order (TN Lookout)
- John Cole’s Tennessee: Meat grinder (TN Lookout)
- Bank downgrades Ferrovial stock over I-24 toll lane bid (TN Lookout)
- Homeland Security confirms 121 immigrant arrests in Memphis nightclub raid (TN Lookout)
- US House clears spending stopgap backed by Trump that averts government shutdown (TN Lookout)
- Alpha-gal syndrome is spreading rapidly. Arkansas may hold clues to what comes next. (TN Lookout)
Knox TN Today
- MIXED GREENS (Knox TN Today)
- The Second Iteration of the Dolly Moon – a lunar corona over the Asheville Watershed (Knox TN Today)
- Dr. Dan Watkins Honored as 2026 Tennessee Chiropractor of the Year (Knox TN Today)
- Daily Connections: Your East Tennessee Guide | September 3 (Knox TN Today)
- ArtBeat Weekly – Knoxville Area Events Sept. 3-9 (Knox TN Today)
- Everyday Genius: Kitchen hacks that prevent burns, spills and overflows (Knox TN Today)
- New Business Spotlight: VEG ER for Pets (Knox TN Today)
- Wallace Professionals Network brings agents together at August Meetup (Knox TN Today)
- The power of small financial habits (Knox TN Today)
- Bill Schmidt, former Olympian, dead at 78 (Knox TN Today)
- The Book Whisperer has a tear-jerker (Knox TN Today)
- Hero Kid 2026 fall campaign Sept. 1-Nov. 30 (Knox TN Today)
Local TV News
- Moment of silence held on floor of U.S. House in honor of Dolly Parton (WATE)
- Neyland Stadium gameday experience upgraded inside and out for 2026 season (WATE)
- Maryville fatal shooting: Why officers are trained to use deadly force against knife threats (WATE)
- Friendsville orders lakeside property to be cleaned up, but neighbors say little has changed (WATE)
- Investigation finds fire at Knox County apartment was intentional (WATE)
- Mother of man who died in Knoxville Police custody demands answers from City Council (WATE)
News Sentinel
State News
- Bulldogs ready to put their ‘hottest camp’ to use - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Heavy workload in opener no issue for UTC’s Lalin - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- QuoteWorthy: ‘I have never known a more gracious and kind human being’ - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Faith Focus: Musings from an American road trip - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
Wire Reports
- Stock futures are little changed after major averages snap three-day losing streaks: Live updates - CNBC (Business)
- World’s Unusually High Dollar Exposure Risks Fueling Selloff - Bloomberg.com (Business)
- 2 Killed and 2 Officers Shot at Minneapolis Apartment Building - The New York Times (US News)
- Lindsay Clancy jury deadlocked for second consecutive day - The Washington Post (US News)
- Pentagon cuts access to classified information amid Iran war concerns - The Washington Post (US News)
- Broadcom stock wavers as chipmaker's strong results 'not enough to keep investors happy' - Yahoo Finance (Business)
- Trump says he’ll campaign for Republicans in 35 races ahead of the midterms - NBC News (US News)
- Yen gets boost from hawkish BOJ repricing of rate expectations - reuters.com (Business)
- Snowflake signals FY 2027 product revenue of $6.07B with 14.5% non-GAAP operating margin guidance, driven by AI mix (NYSE:SNOW) - Seeking Alpha (Business)
- HPE Lifts Sales Forecast on AI Demand for Servers, Networking - Bloomberg.com (Business)
- Asian Stocks Set to Advance as Oil Pressures Ease: Markets Wrap - Bloomberg.com (Business)
- Chevron, Eni commit to expand oil projects in Venezuela under US eye - reuters.com (US News)
- Dutch central bank moves 86 tonnes of gold from U.S., Canada to London - KITCO (Business)
- USS Abraham Lincoln reaches Thailand after 9 months at sea - Al Jazeera (US News)
- Apple changes Lake Ontario name to 'Lake America' for US users of its Maps, following Trump's order - AP News (US News)
Local Media
Lost Medicaid Funding
To date, the failure to expand Medicaid/TennCare has cost the State of Tennessee ? in lost federal funding. (Source)
Search and Archives
TN Progressive
Nearby:
- Blount Dems
- Herston TN Family Law
- Inside of Knoxville
- Instapundit
- Jack Lail
- Jim Stovall
- Knox Dems
- MoxCarm Blue Streak
- Outdoor Knoxville
- Pittman Properties
- Reality Me
- Stop Alcoa Parkway
Beyond:
- Nashville Scene
- Nashville Post
- Smart City Memphis
- TN Dems
- TN Journal
- TN Lookout
- Bob Stepno
- Facing South
Endorsement II!
ZOMG! Progressiveville endorses Haslam again! ;^)
I have had this discussion before with some astute folk, one of whom pointed out to me that Bredesen might as well have hand-picked Haslam to succeed him.
Bash Bredesen's high-dollar donor list against Haslam's sometime. The name Frist appears more than once in both, e.g.
Listening to you guys, I
Listening to you guys, I might as well stay home in November. Poor old Mike doesn't have a chance..right??
I voted for him in the
I voted for him in the primary and will do so again in November. But you probably need to ask all those Democrats who voted for Haslam what they plan to do in November. :)
But you probably need to ask
But you probably need to ask all those Democrats who voted for Haslam what they plan to do in November
I'm one of them, and I don't know yet. I'm waiting to hear what McWherter has to say. So far he sounds like a Republican. If I'm going to have a moderate Republican as governor, I'd rather have one who I know can at least run a city.
If I'm going to have a
If I'm going to have a moderate Republican as governor, I'd rather have one who I know can at least run a city.
(Insert Haslam joke here) :~)
Insert away. Haslam has been
Insert away. Haslam has been a very good Mayor. And I say that as someone who worked passionately for Madeline Rogero.
I will concede that the two
I will concede that the two issues that have most directly affected me, junior golf and the TYP, under the Haslam administration, have been poorly handled.
I will also concede that I am probably not as involved in active process of government as I should be.
I will also concede that there are, and have been, many players in the local political scene that make being an effective mayor challenging.
I will also concede that under certain circumstances that average can look good.
Under those concessions, I will agree with your comment.
This election has been hard on me.
I will concede that the two
I will concede that the two issues that have most directly affected me, junior golf and the TYP, under the Haslam administration, have been poorly handled.
I know squat about junion golf. I agree the TYP has been poorly handled (although that really shouldn't reflect solely on Haslam; it's the county's program too).
On many other things - the south waterfront, downtown revitalization, City finances, general transparency in govt, a willingness to work with Council and stakeholders, to name a few - Haslam has done a great job.
Do I agree with everything he's done? Nope. Has he made mistakes? Sure. But in general he's done a very good job, and I think that's reflected in the vote of confidence he got from Knoxvillians yesterday.
Campaigning?
Campaigning?
No, just expressing my
No, just expressing my opinion on Haslam's term as Mayor. As I said earlier in this thread, I haven't decided yet who to vote for in the general. I'd like to vote for McWherter, but he needs to show me something.
One thing I've learned over
One thing I've learned over the course of the last few months is that , in politics, point of view is everything.
There was a time in my life when the achievements of this administration would have lead me to your opinion. As my life has changed, so have my priorities. Neighborhood and family friendly issues now trump development/entertainment type issues (not that they are not important, just not as important to me). I prefer Victor's parks and neighborhoods agenda over Bill's downtown and development.
That doesn't make Bill a bad guy. It just makes him someone I wouldn't reach out to vote for.
I'm looking forward to Madeline and merely hoping for the best at the state level.
I prefer Victor's parks and
I prefer Victor's parks and neighborhoods agenda over Bill's downtown and development.
Victor certainly had a park agenda, and did a fine job with it too, especially in the last few years of his administration. But "neighborhood" agenda???? Most of the folks who have been toiling in the neighborhood arena for years would certainly dispute that one!
Victor had a top down approach. He wanted to be "the decider" and he had the votes on City Council tied up to do what he wanted. Carlene Malone and at the end Nick Pavlis struggled against that in vain.
For the most part, Bill prefers a collaborative approach. That's a good thing in itself, and it's a practical one as well, since term limits brought us an entirely new set of Council members with minds of their own.
It sounds to me like you don't like Haslam mainly because of the TYP. I prefer to look at the entirety of his 6 1/2 years in office rather than a single issue. Each to his/her own.
BTW, Madeline has supported the TYP also. So has Marilyn Roddy. Are you gonna be an Ivan Harmon supporter? Seriously?
You may find this hard to
You may find this hard to believe, but I've been on Victor's shit list as well.
Years ago, there was a series of fatal accidents at dead man's curve around the 3200 block of Kingston Pike. Victor scheduled a meeting with a small group of people and I got wind of it and took it upon myself to invite everyone I saw who might have a vested interest to said meeting. I wasn't going to be able to attend the meeting because of work, but based on the feedback I got Victor wasn't happy and the meeting was cancelled. He put up a flashing yellow light at the curve, along with some signage, and I don't believe there has been another fatality. Love him or hate him Victor was good at his job. I had my doubts about his solution, but it worked.
I actually like Bill Haslam but we just have different ideas about the direction of this city. Again, to each his own.
I'm not against the TYP and I'll venture that I have worked as hard as any independent citizen to educate myself and look for solutions to the problems at hand. My wife has threatened bodily harm if I ever say, "You know, that doesn't look like a bad place. I wonder if the bus line runs by here. It's not that far from the bike trail." one more time. I think Mayor Haslam has supported the TYP, I don't believe he is committed. The support of the city in the form of simple, basic, cheap,and smart infrastructure in this project is a no brainer, and to be honest, was all I expected or wanted. The administration hasn't budged. That is one of a plethora of problems the TYP is facing right now.
I believe that saying Bill Haslam has been a great Mayor is as unfair as saying he was a shitty one.
As for Madeline, I supported her publicly last time she ran, and assuming she doesn't tell me to keep my mouth shut and not put her sign in my yard (Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that's the smart move :-) ) I'll support her publicly again. I sincerely believe that Madeline Rogero's election is crucial to the successful future of this city. It's how we elect to pursue our goals that will ultimately determine what kind of town we live in.
I'm not going to comment on Roddy or Harmon. That being said.......
In both junior golf and the TYP issues I have spoken to Joe Bailey and spoke my mind on both issues. I've watched people from both sides of the TYP issue rip Joe simply because he can be an easy target. Every time I talk to Joe about an issue he presents the other side of the issue and promises to do nothing but give both sides consideration. I have then proceeded to watch him do what he felt was right on both issues. I haven't agreed with every single vote I've seen him cast, but I've really come to respect him. For my money, he is the most under rated politician in Knoxville. But I'm not an insider, just a voter and citizen.
I agree with you about Joe
I agree with you about Joe Bailey. We're not exactly on the same political wavelength, but I really think he has really grown in the job. That has impressed me a great deal.
BTW, I don't think I ever said Haslam was a great mayor. I said he was a very good one, who has been great on some issues.
And oh yeah, re: Victor's "shit list." That's another difference between him and Haslam. I've never seen any indication that Haslam has one.
We're not exactly on the same
We're not exactly on the same political wavelength,
"I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat."- Will Rogers
"I don't belong to an
"I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat."- Will Rogers
Unfortunately, that idea is as dead as Will Rogers. I really think anybody who is invested in either party as any kind of hope for the future is like a fly on a corpse.
I'm for Haslam
Haslam is moderate, respectful, and the guy has done a pretty good job of running our city. Furthermore, the Haslam's have done an unbelievable amount of work to help make Knoxville better and I feel that he should be rewarded for that.
On the other end, I just don't feel like McWherter is all that great a candidate. Honestly, to this point, he has acted as much, or more, Conservative than Wamp and Ramsey had during the primary process, so I think he is really a closet Republican anyway.
Republicans voted for Bredesen, Dems will vote for Haslam
Bredesen is more conservative than Haslam at this point in time and Bill will get pushed further to the right as he continues to talk about national issues which are going to be affecting Tennessee over the next 4 years, particularly immigration, 10th amendment, smaller government, unfunded federal mandates, etc.
Victor Ashe stagnated the city of Knoxville for 20 years, saddled in debt with a convention center which isn't even a break even operation year and continued to pander to issues which most american mayors punted away in favor of economic growth to create good jobs for its citizenry. While a debatable good mayor, during Ashe's tenure, Knoxville lost its position as the socioeconomic center of East Tennessee and we see the remnants of that development every day.