February 20, 2008

Looking For a Fresh Angle on the Ballroom Story?

A challenge to the press corps down at Legislative Plaza in Nashville: Poll the members of the legislature, Republican and Democrats, to find out how many of them are opposed to the ballroom project. Let your readers or viewers know how many lawmakers - and how many Republican lawmakers and Democrat lawmakers - favor or oppose the multi-million dollar underground ballroom that Gov. Phil Bredesen is insisting be constructed at the Tennessee governor's mansion at great expense to Tennessee taxpayers.

Incumbent Democrats who want Gov. Bredesen to help in their re-election fund-raising and campaigning later this year will obviously be reluctant to go on the record with opposition to the project, so to get an accurate count you should make it just a head-count poll, with no legislators' names attached to opposition to or support for the project.

It shouldn't take more than a couple hours to get an answer from most of the 132 legislators.

The people of Tennessee have a right to know.