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Tennessee Republicans at RNC impressed with GOP veep choice By: Ken Whitehouse, NashvillePost.com Other than that, members of Tennessee’s delegation to the Republican National Convention don’t know much about her and are still learning who she is and what she stands for. Tennesseans got a giant assist here when they ended up sharing a hotel with the delegation from Alaska. If the response from Tennessee Republicans is any indication, Palin may be just what is needed to get conservatives energized about a ticket led by McCain — someone who frequently strays from the conservative playbook. “Our No. 2 is better than their No. 1,” State Sen. Mark Norris of Collierville said plainly. Impressing Franklin Arguably, there is no other city in Tennessee more representative of the post-1994 brand of conservative GOP politics than the monied, suburban enclave of Franklin. That city’s politicians in attendance were gushing about Palin’s addition to the ticket. When asked about the pick of Palin, State Sen. Jack Johnson of Franklin said Palin joining the GOP ticket is a bonus for Republicans that were lukewarm about McCain. “I love it, I absolutely love it, I think she is fabulous,” Johnson told The City Paper. “She will attract members of our party, myself included, that previously had reservations about McCain. She is strong with fiscal and social conservatives.” One area that Palin has challenged her own party and is being discussed throughout the city was her willingness to go against fellow Republican and longtime incumbent Alaskan Congressman Don Young and endorse his challenger in the primary. Young was one of the sponsors of the infamous “bridge to nowhere” legislation. “I think McCain wanted someone he could work with, someone willing to take on their own party,” Johnson said when asked if he thought Palin was the best pick. “She has fought corruption in her home state and what I have really learned about McCain is that he is an outside of the box thinker. Palin has been a renegade and a reformer in her own right, she thinks outside of the box too, which is a great compliment to McCain.” State Rep. Glen Casada of Franklin told The City Paper that in the short time that he has been at the convention that Alaskans are telling him that she is “one of us” and as been very accessible to them before being thrust on the national stage. “I like her, I like the choice, she has got energy experience, which is what we will need.” Casada was likely referring to the fact that seemingly all discussion for the past few years on oil prices has also discussed drilling in Alaska. As governor of Alaska, Palin has been front and center and advocating for more drilling in her region. She also served two years as chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, appointed by then-Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski. Mountain Republicans approve At a morning breakfast for Tennessee Republicans on Monday, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey warned his colleagues that they probably wouldn’t see much of Palin or McCain in the Volunteer State in the coming months. “We have a 24-point lead for McCain in Tennessee,” Ramsey said. “The largest in the country, which means we won’t see much of them because they will need to be in places like Pennsylvania and Ohio.” “I am excited,” Ramsey told The City Paper later. “Obviously I don’t know much about her, but from what I do know she seems to have those East Tennessee values.” The intensely political Ramsey added, “I think she also neutralizes the fact that the other party has a minority at the top of the ticket and she is very much pro-life.” At the morning breakfast, some delegates who politely asked not to be recognized said that while they didn’t know much about Palin, one of them had never heard of her until Saturday, they were liking what they learning. Not in that group was Jim Braden of Knoxville, who is not a delegate but attending with his wife who is a delegate, said that he has family members working on the McCain campaign and that he had been hoping for the pick for a long time. “I think it was a good pick,” said Braden, “She was a perfect fit for McCain even before the Hillary thing. … She shakes it up, anything that gets a rise out of the pundits is a good thing.” He then pointed to her willingness to sue the federal government over the designation by President George W. Bush that polar bears are an endangered species. Braden then said he was frustrated with national media organizations that questioned her qualifications for the job of vice president and possibly president. Asked about the arguments that have been central to Republican leaders about Obama’s experience. “I don’t have any problems with Obama’s experience. I have enough other reasons not to like him. What I mean is that you don’t have to have a law degree, be inside the beltway, or have gone to Harvard. John and Mary Beer Can can have a chance to show that they can run the country well.” Of all the speeches that may or may not happen this week, due to Hurricane Gustav, the one speech that John and Mary Beer Can and pundits alike are anxious to see in St. Paul is that of Palin’s. Braden observed that as long as she can get her speech in, he believes that the rest of the country sees what he likes so much about her. |
