Well it's finally happened, a Democrat to the left of Zell Miller has come to Tennessee. For Dems and progressivs who live in a state routinely shunned by the national party this is quite a day.
Okay, so our so-called Democratic Governor won't be there to welcome the DNC Chair to the state. And apparently, Dean will not be met by a TN Congressional delegation. But considering that these are the same yahoos that couldn't bring themselves to pronounce the name K E R R Y during the entire presidential campaign, well, their democratic credentials are every bit as impressive as the state's literacy rate.
All of this will add yet more fuel to the fire of resentment that is already simmering in the TN democratic base, due to the Gov's increasingly rethuglican mode of operation. Bredesen is apparently planning to be re-elected by the rethugs.
Only thing is, even some of the rethugs don't like his Lizzie Borden Plan to 'Fix' TennCare - the state's healthcare plan for the poor. (330,000 Tennesseans will lose healthcare if the democratic? Gov has his way.)
Phil Bredesen's Lizzie Borden Plan to 'Fix' TennCare
Phil Bredesen took an axe,
He gave TennCare enrollees 40 wacks,
When he saw what he had done,
He gave prescription benefits 41
Scroll down for the details on the TN GOP's adolescent campaign (cheap labor) to make Dr. Dean think he's entering the 19th century confederacy. No wonder so many people prefer Mississippi.
According to the 'Dean in TN' discussion over at MYDD, spinelss dems have also been spotted in Kansas and Mississippi.
Dean will be at Tennessee State University in the morning (3-23-05, 11:30-1:30, Humanities Bldg.). It's free; I hope to see some of you there. Bring your Dean signs (mine's still in the yard). I'll post about it tomorrow.
Here's more on Dr. Dean's visit to Spineless Dem Country, from the Knox News Sentinel:
Dean begins a two-day visit to Nashville this afternoon with an appearance before a Vanderbilt University political science class, followed by a later speech on the campus. On Wednesday, he will attend a breakfast fund-raiser for the state Democratic Party and then go to a "town hall meeting" at Tennessee State University.
Asked how he deals in Tennessee with the perception that he is a "liberal Yankee elitist," Dean replied, "I actually don't believe there is a perception like that.
"It's Republican propaganda," said Dean, adding that he was consistently given an "A" rating by the National Rifle Association as Vermont governor and that he shares Vice President Dick Cheney's views on gay marriage and civil unions.
"If I'm liberal, so is he," said Dean.
The Dean trip to Tennessee is part of a nationwide tour by the new Democratic National Committee of states where the party fared poorly in the 2004 presidential race.
"I think we made a big mistake in the Democratic Party by giving up on any state," he said. "I would like to see a resurgence of the Democratic Party in Tennessee."
He said federal spending deficits under President George W. Bush and Bush's attempt to "dismantle Social Security and turn it over to the people who run Enron" would be selling points for the party in Tennessee.
Asked about speculation that Gov. Phil Bredesen might someday become a presidential candidate, Dean said Bredesen was "a terrific governor" and "if he decided to do that, he would be an outstanding candidate."
Dean said he and Bredesen have met several times and he considers the governor "a good friend." The two men will not see each other during the current trip, with Dean explaining the governor would be "in Memphis."
Bredesen's schedule shows him in Milan this afternoon though returning for Wednesday morning speeches in Smyrna and Nashville. Bredesen said last week that he would be willing to meet with Dean if requested and if his schedule permitted.
read the whole thing
