TN-SEN: Return of the Bredi

[Cactus Jack]

Well I'll be goddamned, I didn't think he'd actually take the leap. Even if it's a longshot, we should still seriously contest this seat on the grounds that a complete lunatic might win the Republican nomination.

[Cactus Jack]

Looking at the potential Democratic nominees, I'm actually very impressed by James Mackler, the only serious candidate currently declared. Military backgrounds always play well in the South.

[Cactus Jack]

I'm going to hold out hope for Mackler until that hope is ripped away.

[Cactus Jack]

James Meckler, the strongest D running so far.. strongest endorsement is the producer of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. So Berke will probably run.

And it's possible Carr or something gives it a shot. But I'd be very surprised if Blackburn didn't win this seat (from what I've seen, not being a Tennessean myself)

Mackler was endorsed by former state party chair and Senate nominee Bob Tuke. Not known widely but certainly by Democratic insiders and activists here. Looks like he got an iron workers union endorsement today. Not to negate your point, but insider peeps are starting to get on board and while his low name recognition is a big obstacle, he's running this like a pro. I've been impressed. Now if T Bone's wife (who created and produced Nashville the TV show- that would be more noteworthy than her husband's endorsement.

But yeah, it's completely Marsha's to lose.

What would you rate his chances? Better or worse than Jones and O'Rourke? Also, isn't Blackburn prone to ridiculous gaffes?

[Cactus Jack]

Matt Kisber or Mike McWherter would be good Democratic nominees.

Last time he was the Democratic nominee, Mike McWherter got 33% to Haslam's 65%.

He was running against Bill Haslam without any funding from the DNC. If he’d moderate his views on SSM and abortion(arguing for, say, even a 16-20 week ban), I could see him winning against Blackburn.

Honestly, Mackler is the only candidate I see with a legitimate chance against Batty Blackburn. He's young, he's a veteran, and he's an outsider, and he seems to be running a pretty populist campaign. His focus on education can only help him, too, given Tennessee's new free college program.

[Cactus Jack]

Fincher in.

Perfect. If Fincher wins the primary, Corker is replaced by somebody semi-sane. If Blackburn wins it, she'll come out looking worse than ever and in a perfect spot for a Democratic upset.

EDIT: Never mind, Fincher is known for being corrupt. Even better.

[Cactus Jack]

Fincher in.

Perfect. If Fincher wins the primary, Corker is replaced by somebody semi-sane. If Blackburn wins it, she'll come out looking worse than ever and in a perfect spot for a Democratic upset.

EDIT: Never mind, Fincher is known for being corrupt. Even better.

Sane but corrupt vs nut job who is AFAIK clean. Ugh why didn’t Haslam run

Clearly there's only one man in whom we can put our hopes.

Can't smackler the Mackler.

[Cactus Jack]

Let's have Bredesen run, have Bayh and Strickland primary Donnelly and Brown, bring back Mark Pryor in AR. It can be the 90s again, folks!


While we're at it, I think Siegelman could make an EXCELLENT AL Gov candidate. He was framed, after all.

Better yet: Democrats should run far-left candidates in literally every district, especially business-inclined, pro-life districts. That'll get you a majority for sure!

Even better: purge everyone who isn't the equivalent of Bernie Sanders or Lee Carter or anywhere else to the left. We know that anyone to the right of those two is basically Francisco Franco.

Seriously, it's a big-tent party. Learn to work with it.

I'm fine with a big tent. What I'm not fine with is assuming that dredging up people who haven't run a campaign since ARPANET was a thing is The Magic Bullet.

It's without question by far the best shot we got.

I'd put more faith in James Mackler than I would in Bredesen, at this point. New faces are the Democratic Party's only way forward.

[Cactus Jack]

Sweet s**t. Here's hoping he turns out a better bet than Strickland.

[Cactus Jack]

The GOP is finished

Indeed. This race still likely R though. I want to see polling with him over 50% first.

Nice to see a PNM post that isn't forecasting Armageddon.

[Cactus Jack]

Blackburn will bring up abortion all the time in the race. In fact she'll probably try to make it issue #1.

She runs the risk of saying something Todd Akin-level dumb on it (or worse), that's for sure. And Bredesen has the credibility to take advantage of that. Possibly even better than McCaskill, given his nominal pro-life stance.

Bredesen might do well to take up Richard Ojeda's populist tactic on the issue: "I'm pro-life. Y'all are just pro-birth."

[Cactus Jack]

Bredesen's introductory video

What a perfect contrast to a raging, firebreathing nutcracker like Blackburn.

Also, I'm with PNM. Something major had to have convinced Bredesen to pull the trigger.

[Cactus Jack]

Mackler out. GOP majority is finished!

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Good news. I hope he runs for a state senate seat or something. I could see him being a good gubernatorial candidate if he waits a cycle or two.

Anyone know where Mackler lives? If he's in TN-05, he'd be a good bet to run when Cooper retires.

[Cactus Jack]

If Bredesen is really exceeding expectations, I'll be more than happy to have him in the Senate regardless of his age.

[Cactus Jack]

Let’s be real; Bredesen is too low-energy to go for the jugular.

That may be what he needs going up against a firebreathing lunatic like Blackburn. Also, I don't think we should underestimate him; we all thought Doug Jones was squishy and unassuming right up until he tore Moore's throat out in his last two weeks' worth of ads.