The World According to Oatney

Issues for Bryson

Senator Jim Bryson's campaign has been called "late-blooming," but he has been seen in East Tennessee quite a bit of late. A lot of folks have criticised Bryson for not yet naming his complete campaign team. However, since Bryson is a sitting State Senator, Tennessee law forbids him from raising any campaign funds prior to May 16th. In this State, it is hard to organize any reputable campaign for Statewide office without first raising money. People seem to forget that until mid-May, Bryson had a legal impediment from doing just that.

I do think that Bryson has a couple of issues to harp on that could prove to be effective the rest of the campaign season. The Tennessee Highway Patrol scandal is still on the minds of many voters and potential voters, and even among those who strongly support Bredesen there seems to be a feeling that the situation at the THP won't change significantly until Bredesen is gone. This is a major weakness that Bryson could really take political advantage of if he has any desire to actually win.

The other issue that Bryson says is on the minds of many voters is illegal immigration. Bredesen talks a good game, right up to offering to send the National Guard down to the border even without being formally asked. Trouble is, inside Tennessee he has yet to take a proactive approach to dealing with illegal immigration. If Bryson can successfully broach this issue, and then provide an alternative to Bredesen's lack of action on this important issue, we might still have a Governor's race in the fall.

posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 7:20 AM