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« "Respect" | Main | Ethics Lapse » July 6, 2005CorkedIt's been almost two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Kelo v. New London that has made it possible for your local government to take your private property - your home or your business or your church - and give it to a developer who will build something that will generate more tax dollars. The day that ruling came out I posted a list of questions and emailed those questions to each of the six candidates currently running for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee. Four candidates - Republicans former U.S. Rep. Ed Bryant, former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, and state Rep. Beth Harwell and Democrat state Sen. Rosalind Kurita - all sent answers, which I posted verbatim here at BillHobbs.com the online magazine. They all condemned the decision and support strengthening private property rights. A fifth candidate, Democrat Harold Ford Jr., didn't answer, but did give his opinion of Kelo on a Nashville radio show. Short version: He likes it and thinks its good that cities can now more easily take private property. (Last week, Ford demonstrated his lack of commitment to too protecting your private property rights by voting against a bill that would have denied the use of federal dollars for projects where private property is taken for private development.) Only Bob Corker, currently running as a Republican, has not answered the questions or, as best as I can tell, made any public statement about the Kelo decision. Corker, a former mayor of Chattanooga, is a wealth real estate developer. As mayor of Chattanooga, he led the city government's efforts to redevelop the city's waterfont. If there is any one of the six candidates who, given their background, really ought to be answering questions about where they stand regarding the Kelo decision, private property rights, and whether it is good or bad that cities can now more easily take private property and give it to wealthy real estate developers, it is Bob Corker. Yet he remains silent. Why? Posted in 2006 TN Senate Race
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Corker doesn't seem to want to talk about any issues in this campaign. He was the first candidate to announce he was running, doing so before the '04 election, but he's the candidate who's said the least about where he stands and why he's running. I listen regularly to Teddy Bart's Roundtable out of Nashville. The other day Bart lamented that he wished they could get Corker to come on the show. Every other candidate for U.S. Senate has been on the show several times. Not Corker. The only media coverage of Corker's campaign seems to revolve around the fundraising aspect of it. The man is still a mystery to most Tennesseans. At some point, Corker is going to have to answer questions, not just about Kelo and private property rights, but about his apparent flip flop on abortion, his record of raising taxes in Chattanooga and his solicitation of campaign cash from big labor and high profile Democrats. Tennessee Republicans are anxiously awaiting his response. Posted by: JB at July 6, 2005 02:28 PMI think this is fuss over nothing. I suspect that Tennesseans will hear from Bob Corker, on all of the topics, all in due time. Posted by: joe at July 6, 2005 07:36 PMIt is more than a year away from the election. Corker jumped in early and is raising a lot of money while spending little and saying even less. Bryant was forced to jump out early too. Since he won't be able to come even close to raising the money Corker will, he will be running out of money by the time Corker starts spending. It's politics, it's tough, and if Ed can't keep up he'll lose. Van will probably outpace Ed in the next disclosure. It will be interesting to see if Ed (who unfortunately has been screwed twice) will have the courage and insight to bow out gracefully and give conservatives one choice. Same goes for Van if Ed begins to show strength. Posted by: Yawn at July 6, 2005 07:48 PMPolitics is tough, and if Corker doesn't provide some answers to legitimate questions about his record -- he's the one who'll lose. I find it outrageous that Corker, a so-called "conservative" hasn't spoken out against Kelo. His silence tells me where he stands on the decision. Corker's no different than Harold Ford Jr. If Corker is the Republican nominee, I'm voting libertarian. Posted by: Ben at July 6, 2005 10:17 PMThere is a very real concern that Van and Ed will split the conservative vote in the primary and that Corker will become the nominee. What a horrible thought! While Van is a nice guy and has all the conservative bona fides, I think Ed is a better choice. Van did horribly against Bredesen. What concerns me most was his inability to do well in strongly Republican counties in East Tennessee. Posted by: Mike at July 7, 2005 08:56 AMI, too, would like to hear Mr. Corker's stands on the issues. Kelo and other issues need to be addressed by him and his campaign. I'd also like to hear Mr. Bryant answer honestly some questions about his past ties to Pat Robertson and the so-called Christian Coalition. That he hasn't publicly repudiated Robertson's religious and political extremism is troubling to more than a few people who are conservative and believers.I Posted by: Evangelist at July 7, 2005 01:48 PMPost a comment
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