Van Fans

Van Hilleary running STRONG

2006-03-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Coxe
March 27, 2006 615-556-7940

Hilleary Continues to Dominate Straw Poll ContestsAdds Another Victory in Middle Tennessee

NASHVILLE, TN - Republican frontrunner for the U.S. Senate Van Hilleary continues to dominate straw poll contests racking up another win Sunday at a Chili Cook-off in Murfreesboro. Van Hilleary received 132 votes, Ed Bryant received 83 votes and Bob Corker garnered 26 votes.

Sunday's win comes on the heels of straw poll victories in Bledsoe, Wilson, Coffee and Rutherford Counties. Van Hilleary has one five of the seven straw polls conducted this year in the hotly contested Senate primary.

Last Saturday, Van Hilleary won a straw poll conducted at the first South Middle Tennessee Republican Men's Club (SMTRMC) Banquet of the campaign season. The dinner meeting was attended by more than 120 grassroots Republican activists representing more than nine counties across the state. Van Hilleary garnered 51 first choice votes compared to 35 for Ed Bryant and two for Bob Corker.

Van Hilleary recently posted another impressive win in Wilson County where he received 136 votes, besting his closest primary opponent- Ed Bryant- by 75 votes. Bob Corker received less than 10 votes and came in a distant fourth behind Jeff Moder who recently withdrew form the Senate race.

Van Hilleary's straw poll victories are a reflection of the broad support that Van Hilleary enjoys from Republicans all across the state. Without exception, every independent poll and campaign analysis over the last six months shows Van Hilleary with a 10+ point lead over Ed Bryant and a 20+ point lead over Bob Corker.

Lebanon Democrat: "...The sharp response by Ford may be an indication the Democrat favorite is focusing more on the Republican (Hilleary) his campaign believes may be his likely opponent in the fall. Heretofore, former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker has been the focus of Tennessee Democrats and Washington D.C. Observers who see Corker's fund-raising advantage over the rest of the GOP field as insurmountable.

That school of thought may be changing as internal polling swirling around Tennessee Democratic Party circles show Hilleary with a commanding lead in the primary- and leading Corker by more than 20 points and fellow GOP traveler and primary opponent Ed Bryant by as much as 16 points. Those numbers are in line with Hilleary's own polling, which the Bryant camp has attacked vigorously. More fire trained on Hilleary by Ford and Democrats may mean the legend of Bob Corker's money does not mean as much as it used to now with only six months until the primary." (The Lebanon Democrat, Hilleary's stock rising..., Brewer, February 23, 2006)

Knoxville News Sentinel: "Only U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., a Democrat, and former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, a Republican, were known by more than half of the more than 800 registered voters polled by SurveyUSA for WBIR Channel 10... Eighty percent of respondents said they are familiar with Ford, while 78 percent knew something about Hilleary. Of the other Republicans, 54 percent of respondents said they're unfamiliar with former U.S. Rep. Ed Bryant, who lost out to Lamar Alexander in the 2002 GOP primary for the state's other Senate seat. Six in 10 are unfamiliar with former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker. ...

The poll also breaks down the impressions respondents have of each candidate by age, race, party affiliation, ideology, region and geography. ... Among Republicans, Hilleary has the highest "favorable" rating with all respondents, with 30 percent having a good impression of him. Bryant got a 15 percent favorable rating, while Corker brought up the rear with 7 percent. ... Hilleary .... also has the highest favorable rating among Republicans - 40 percent to Bryant's 23 percent and Corker's 10 percent. (Knoxville News Sentinel, Running below Radar , Scott Barker, January 21, 2006)

The Tennessee Journal"Standings. Everyone agrees that Corker is in third place in the polls, but Hilleary has polls showing him well ahead of Bryant, and Bryant has polls showing that he leads Hilleary. It may be late winter or early spring before an independent poll sheds some light on the dispute. Based on knowledge of several surveys and other factors, The Tennessee Journal believes Hilleary does in fact have a lead. Rounding down for Hilleary and perhaps up for Corker, the standings likely are something in the neighborhood of Hilleary 30%, Bryant 20%, and Corker 10%." (The Tennessee Journal, Volume 31No. 38, November 28, 2005)

Wilson County and Bryant Team getting strained

2006-03-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

More good (although not unexpected) news last night. Van won the Wilson County straw poll
with 62+% of the vote. It's amazing how Ed and Bob lose ground when nobody buses in college kids to vote. Vote totals:

Van: 136
Bryant: 61
Moder: 13
Corker: 9

Apparently Ed and company are having a coniption over some of Van's recent endorsements and the reason they endorsed Van over Ed. As noted previously, Dr. Cannon, Mayor Shutts and Ron Stallings were denied help by Ed Bryant in an area where his assistance could have been enough to give their campaigns that extra edge needed to win against very entrenched, crooked democrats. For some reason, Ed not only didn't help them. He resisted helping them in such a public way that many of us noticed.

Apparently Ed doesn't like it that his history is becoming public and has accused Van Hilleary of not helping Terry Roland and Mary Ann McNeil in their recent elections. Having a small part in both campaigns, I can wholeheartedly say that Ed is lying again. In addition to being a large donor for Terry, Van made numerous calls to his supporters in the region asking them to support both campaigns.

Ed Bryant is desperate to cover up his history of working against conservative grassroots candidates in West Tennessee. Too late Ed. Helping two candidates last year after a decade of working against others Republicans looks more like a PR effort than anything else.

Ed is losing ground fast in West TN.

Van strong at home and in other candidate's back yard!

2006-03-02T21:41:00.000-08:00

NUMBERS FROM THE VAN WAGON:

"Hilleary Wins Straw Poll""...There was also a "straw poll" of attendees and Ruben Watkins, the County Chairman has provided us with the results in the category of the Republican Primary for U.S. Senate:
Van Hilleary 59% (104 votes)
Bob Corker 28% (51 votes)
Ed Bryant 12% (21 votes) "

Van Hilleary winning in his old district is not a shock or big news. Even Ed Bryant did fairly decent since, I was told by a Bledsonean, Ed Bryant has never stepped foot into Bledsoe County. It would be likely that Ed Bryant would do very well in his home area of Madison County

But, keep reading below, Ed Bryant may be getting his hat handed to him in the rest of West Tennessee. Even Bob corker would not want Camp Ed to fall apart in West Tennessee leaving those votes for Van Hilleary. It looks like the other two campaigns may not have any choice!

What if Van ran first out of the west-state area?

Can you smell what the Vaniacs are cookin?

Van Hilleary gaining ground in West TN!

2006-03-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Coxe
March 2, 2005 615-556-7940

Courage Under Fire: That’s why West Tennessee

leaders back Van Hilleary

NASHVILLE, TN – Past West Tennessee Republican challengers to Lt. Governor John Wilder and Speaker Jimmy Naifeh today endorsed Van Hilleary, the Republican frontrunner for Tennessee’s open U.S. Senate seat on the Steve Gill show. Ron Stallings, Savannah Mayor Bob Shutt and Dr. Jesse Cannon said that Van’s leadership and his willingness to fight for conservative principles sets him apart from his primary opponents. They believe that Van is the type of senator we need in Washington fighting for our conservative values.

Cannon, Stallings and Shutt all hail from West Tennessee and have thrown their support behind Hilleary, an East Tennessee native, because they know Hilleary to be a solid conservative who is not afraid to stand up and fight for conservative principles even when it is not the easy thing to do. Hilleary is the only person running for the U.S. Senate who had the courage of his conservative convictions to stand up to the powerful pro-income tax Democrat Lt. Governor and Speaker of the Tennessee House and work for the election of their conservative Republican challengers.

In 2000, when Savannah Mayor Bob Shutt challenged the powerful pro-income tax Lt. Governor John Wilder Hilleary was willing to stand up to Lt. Governor Wilder and work for Shutt’s election. Shutt is endorsing Hillary because he believes Van is the only candidate with the courage of his convictions to stand up to the liberals in Washington.

“Folks in West Tennessee saw the fighter in Van when he trekked over to West Tennessee and work hard for me in my race against Lt. Governor Wilder. It wasn’t easy and he didn’t have to do it but Van believed in me and he believes in conservative principles enough to work hard to defeat the pro-income tax Wilder,” said Shutt. “Van differs from Bob Corker in that Van is a solid sincere conservative and Bob Corker is a left leaning Republican. The difference between Van and Ed Bryant isn’t ideology it is style and courage. Van stood up to John Wilder, and Ed Bryant refused to help me. My concern with Ed Bryant is that if you can’t stand up to John Wilder then how can we expect you to stand up to Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate.”

In 2004, Ron Stallings, who hails from Fayette County, challenged the powerful Lt. Governor John Wilder nearly defeating the powerful pro-income tax Democrat. Stallings is endorsing Hilleary because he saw first hand Van’s commitment to the conservative cause and his willingness to stand up and fight for what he believes in. Stallings cited an instance at the end of the campaign that illustrates the difference between Hilleary and fellow conservative Ed Bryant who were both campaigning for President Bush on a bus tour through West Tennessee in 2004. Bryant got off the bus when it went through Lt. Governor Wilder’s district declining to campaign for Stallings. Hilleary, Congressman Blackburn and former Governor Winfield Dunn stayed on the bus and campaigned for Stallings as they had throughout the entire campaign.

“I have seen first hand Van Hilleary’s mettle. I have seen him stand up and fight for what he believes in when others would not. Spending in Washington is out of control, we have failed to address the illegal immigration crisis and we are fighting the War on Terror. We need more senators in Washington who will stand up to liberals and fight for our conservative values,” said Stallings. “We need a Senator who won’t get off the bus when going gets tough but someone who will stand up and fight for our values in Washington. I know that Van is the only candidate in this race who possesses those leadership qualities and that is why I am endorsing him. Van is more than a conservative vote –he is a conservative leader.”

Dr. Jesse Cannon, a well regarded West Tennessee physician, hails from Tipton County and is no stranger to tough political battles having challenged the powerful pro-income tax Speaker of the House Jimmy Naifeh in 2004. Cannon endorsed Hilleary because he believes that Van is a fighter who will stand up to liberals in Washington and fight for conservative values.

“Middle and East Tennesseans know that Van is a fighter because of his leadership in helping to defeat a state income tax. Over the years West Tennesseans have seen Van’s commitment to the conservative cause time and time again when he would travel across the state working to build the Republican Party in the once solidly democrat West Tennessee. Van’s integrity and his courage are what I admire about him and are qualities that will make him a great Senator,” said Cannon. “Tennesseans can count on Van to fight for what he believes in, not because it is politically correct, but because it is the right thing to do. We need more Republican leaders in Washington who will refuse to take the path of least resistance –men who have the courage of their convictions. Van stood by my side and worked to help defeat the powerful Speaker Naifeh and I know that we can count on him to stand up to liberals like Hilleary Clinton and Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate.”

PAID FOR BY HILLEARY FOR SENATE Van Hilleary, a Desert Storm veteran and a four-term Congressman has built a reputation as a straight-talking sincere conservative who stands his ground. In Washington, he was a leader in Class of '94, which enacted a conservative agenda that lowered taxes, reformed welfare and balanced the federal budget for the first time in a generation. Van opposed President Clinton's left-wing agenda on the Budget and Armed Services Committees. Van has always been an advocate of private property rights and of the pro-life cause. At home in Tennessee, Hilleary has been one of the state's leading and most outspoken conservatives - standing up to Don Sundquist and Jimmy Naifeh when they tried to impose a state income tax, even as many other prominent Republicans stood by in silence. Van is a long-time grass-roots party leader. He campaigned for legislative challengers across the state, including challengers to Democrat leaders John Wilder and Jimmy Naifeh, while other leading Republicans refused to help in those tough races.Hilleary starts out the race in the strongest political position. Scientifically sound polling conducted on August 15, 2005 shows Hilleary at 33%, Ed Bryant 15%, and Bob Corker 4% in the GOP primary race.

STOP THE PRESSES: Van Hilleary leading the pack

2006-02-17T11:09:00.000-08:00

February 17, 2006

Hilleary's stock rising with Dems

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK
By CLINT BREWER
Managing Editor
The Lebanon Democrat

It appears the warm fuzzies are over between Congressman Harold Ford Jr. and former Congressman Van Hilleary.
The dust-up between the two former House colleagues began this week after Ford sent a letter to Hilleary over his use of the word “waltz” in a press release earlier in the month on Ford's abortion and tax records.
Hilleary is part of the Republican field challenging for the right to face Ford, the likely Democratic nominee, in the U.S. Senate race in November.
The two men appeared down right amiable at the first full-blown candidate forum of the campaign season in the Senate race.
Ford, however, took the “waltz” line to be a reference to his family's legal troubles, namely the federal Tennessee Waltz probe of the Tennessee General Assembly and his uncle John Ford's resignation from the State Senate amid federal criminal charges.Hilleary shot back later in the week, echoing his campaign manager Jennifer Coxe who called the original release a “substantive criticism” of Ford’s record on abortion and taxes.
“I agree this campaign should be about issues and records,” Hilleary said in his response letter. “Go back and read the release. It is a substantive criticism of your liberal record. I am proud of my conservative congressional record. You too should be proud of your liberal record.”
The sharp response by Ford may be an indication the Democrat favorite is focusing more on the Republican his campaign believes may be his likely opponent in the fall.Heretofore, former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker has been the focus of Tennessee Democrats and Washington D.C. observers who see Corker's fund-raising advantage over the rest of the GOP field as insurmountable.
That school of thought may be changing as internal polling swirling around Tennessee Democratic Party circles show Hilleary with a commanding lead in the primary and leading Corker by more than 20 points and fellow GOP traveler and primary opponent Ed Bryant by as much as 16 points.
Those numbers are in line with Hilleary’s own polling, which the Bryant camp has attacked vigorously. More fire trained on Hilleary by Ford and Democrats may mean the legend of Bob Corker’s money does not mean as much as it used to now with only six months until the primary.

Now we all know it is a long time until August, this is stupendous news for Camp Hilleary! With the WBIR poll showing a HUGE lead in name ID and now a Democrat poll that apparently shows Hilleary with a solid lead over other rivals Corker and Bryant nearly tied for a distant second, it ia great day to a VAN FAN!

Van Hilleary's statement on Bill Jenkins

2006-02-15T19:42:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Coxe
February 15, 2006 615-556-7940

Hilleary Statement on the Retirement of Congressman Jenkins

Murfreesboro, TN - Former Congressman and frontrunner for Tennessee's open U.S. Senate seat Van Hilleary today issued the following statement regarding the retirement of Congressman Bill Jenkins:

"For decades Bill Jenkins has served his community from the Courthouse, to the State House, to the U.S. House. He has had a distinguished career and is a true public servant. Tennesseans have benefited from his service and sacrifice. Our Party will continue to benefit from his leadership and counsel. After a life time of service he and Kathryn deserve to spend time enjoying their wonderful children and grandchildren. Meredith and I thank them for their service and wish the entire Jenkins family the best."

Van Hilleary, a Desert Storm veteran and a four-term Congressman has built a reputation as a straight-talking sincere conservative who stands his ground. In Washington, he was a leader in Class of '94, which enacted a conservative agenda that lowered taxes, reformed welfare and balanced the federal budget for the first time in a generation. Van opposed President Clinton's left-wing agenda on the Budget and Armed Services Committees. Van has always been an advocate of private property rights and of the pro-life cause.

At home in Tennessee, Hilleary has been one of the state's leading and most outspoken conservatives - standing up to Don Sundquist and Jimmy Naifeh when they tried to impose a state income tax, even as many other prominent Republicans stood by in silence. Van is a long-time grass-roots party leader. He campaigned for legislative challengers across the state, including challengers to Democrat leaders John Wilder and Jimmy Naifeh, while other leading Republicans refused to help in those tough races.

Hilleary starts out the race in the strongest political position. Scientifically sound polling conducted on August 15, 2005 shows Hilleary at 33%, Ed Bryant 15%, and Bob Corker 4% in the GOP primary race.

Hilleary ahead in the polls, ahead on the stump

2006-02-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

MORE GOOD NEWS FROM CAMP HILLEARY:

In Case You Missed It...Hilleary ahead in the polls, ahead on the stump.

In case you missed it below is the Tennessee Journal's take on the last week's Associated Press Forum in Nashville. It was the first time all five candidates for the United States Senate have appeared together.

From the Tennessee Journal (February 13, 2006):

"Despite a few shots here and there, some of them subtle, the candidates were relatively cordial. Ford and Republican Van Hilleary were perhaps the most comfortable and polished in the event's question-and-answer format, but all five acquitted themselves well. Ed Bryant took a swipe at fellow Republican Bob Corker in his closing statement by remarking that one Republican candidate missed President Bush's recent visit to Nashville because he was in Washington for a fund-raiser hosted by lobbyists. What was billed as a 'meet-and-greet' reception for Corker, not a fund-raiser, was hosted that day by Tennessee Eastman lobbyist Charley Poe and two others. Bryant presented his comment as a response to 'talk' he'd heard about candidates and lobbyists - an apparent reference to the fact that both he and Hilleary lobbied after leaving Congress."

"All five candidates said they would support a military strike against Iran as a last resort to eliminate nuclear weapons capabilities. Corker said he was 'pleased to see that with multilateral talks' the matter had been referred to the United Nations Security Council and was hopeful for a diplomatic solution. Hilleary said he too hoped diplomacy would work but added that 'the U.N. is not exactly the paragon of efficiency and boldness in this process."

Hilleary starts out the race in the strongest political position. Recently, the Knoxville News Sentinel and WBIR the Knoxville NBC affiliate released a poll showing that Van Hilleary remains the most popular candidate in this U.S. Senate race. The results of the independent poll as reported confirm an August OnMessage Inc, poll that showed Van Hilleary with a 29-point lead over left leaning Bob Corker and an 18-point lead over his closest conservative competitor Ed Bryant.

It is a great day to a Van Fan!!!!!!!

BOOM! go the reality checks

2006-02-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

Charles Badger at The Van Wagon wrote

Pro-Ford Blogger Chris Jackson called Bob Corker "pro-abortion, pro-taxes on
middle class families, and weak on security." He went on to label Corker
"pro-illegal immigration. "Fun is also poked at Corker's polling, "You can tell
that their third place status in their primary is really getting to them."
Ouch.

Jeff Ward at TeamGOP discussed recent history:

There is some evidence in my pro-Hilleary contention. In 2002 the Chairman
of the Republican Senatorial Committee, a fine man named Bill Frist, traveled to
a private home to recruit former Governor Lamar Alexander to run for the US
Senate for fear of losing the seat to a Democrat when another Republican,
Congressman Ed Bryant, who was deemed unviable, was already in the race.
(Alexander told this story at the Madison County Lincoln Day in 2004)
Van Hilleary lost to Phil Bredesen in 2002 and he has to take his lumps for that reality, but at least Van Hilleary was on the first string.

From our friends at TeamGOP.org

2006-02-02T05:49:00.000-08:00

Second poll: More good news for Hilleary
by Sarah Gentry
For the second time in two weeks a poll have been released showing Van Hilleary leading in the Republican field to defeat Democrat Harold Ford Jr., the likely Democrat nominee. The first poll released 11 days ago was conducted by WBIR and showed Hilleary with a 32 point advantage in name identification over his closest rival.
The newest poll is by Rasmussen and shows Hilleary the only candidate with a lead outside the margin of error. Ed Bryant had had a slight lead in the poll for the last few months until this latest one was released.
Election 2006 - Tennessee SenateVan Hilleary (R) 43%Harold Ford (D) 37%
Election 2006 - Tennessee SenateEd Bryant (R) 42%Harold Ford (D) 40%
Election 2006 - Tennessee SenateBob Corker (R) 42%Harold Ford (D) 40%
RasmussenReports.com
The telephone survey of 500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports January 17, 2005. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 4.5 percentage points at the midpoint with a 95% level of confidence (see Methodology).

Van Hilleary Says Ford is Out of Touch with Tennessee Values

2006-01-31T17:26:00.000-08:00

Van Hilleary Says Ford is Out of Touch with Tennessee Values
Close Vote Demonstrates Need for More Solid Conservatives in the U.S. Senate
Murfreesboro, TN - Former Congressman and frontrunner for Tennessee's open U.S. Senate seat Van Hilleary today lauded Judge Alito's confirmation and said that Harold Ford, Jr's. opposition to Judge Alito's confirmation is out of touch with Tennessee values.
"Today was a good day for America and Tennessee. Judge Alito is an excellent choice to sit on the Supreme Court; he is highly respected and extremely well qualified. He has a record of interpreting the Constitution and not legislating from the bench," said Hilleary. "The confirmation of Judge Alito and Judge Roberts to the Supreme Court will begin to stem the liberal tide of judicial activism in this country."
Democrat candidate for Tennessee's open U.S. Senate seat Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., today issued a statement indicating that he would have voted against the confirmation of Judge Alito. Hilleary said that this is just further evidence that Harold Ford, Jr. is too liberal for Tennessee.
"Today Harold Ford, Jr., stood on the far left side of the aisle with his liberal friends Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy in his opposition to Judge Alito. This is just further evidence that Harold Ford does not share our vales and he is just too liberal for Tennesseans," commented Hilleary.
Today's 58-42 Senate vote confirming Judge Alito to the Supreme Court was the closest vote on a Supreme Court nominee since Clarence Thomas. Republican Lincoln Chafee sided with Senate Democrats and voted to defeat Judge Alito.
"The Supreme Court has a real impact on our day to day lives and who we appoint does matter. It is imperative that we elect U.S. Senators who share our values and who will fight to confirm people who will interpret the Constitution instead of using the bench to push through their liberal agenda," concluded Hilleary.

Good news for everybody but Ford (and Ed)

2006-01-31T14:05:00.000-08:00

Rasmussen released new numbers today showing Van Hilleary as the only Republican ahead of Ford outside of the margin of error Corker was able to catch up with Ed and beat Ford , but within the margin of error.
Check out the Van Wagon for more

Summary:

Van beats Ford by 6 points
Corker beats Ford by 2 points
Bryant beats Ford by 2 points

*********
Election 2006
Tennessee Senate
Bob Corker (R) 42%
Harold Ford (D) 40%

Election 2006
Tennessee Senate
Ed Bryant (R) 42%
Harold Ford (D) 40%

Election 2006
Tennessee Senate
Van Hilleary (R) 43%
Harold Ford (D) 37%

RasmussenReports.com

BRYANT BLOGGER BUSTED

2006-01-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

Running a scam on conservative blogs/websites just doesn't seem like the smart thing to do, much less make other Bryant supporters mad.

Maybe Blogging for Bogus will come up tomorrow night at the debate!

TeamGOP caught Bryant blogger with multiple personalities

Ed's burning through more money!

2006-01-30T18:14:00.000-08:00

or "Fake it till you make it, Bryant style..."

In an email forwarded this evening, Ed Bryant is announcing a state wide air extravaganza!

Apparently concerned about the 52% of Republican voters that don't know who he is, Ed's taking his show on the tarmac, stopping in at 5 airport lobbies and the occasional courthouse. When asked about Ed's sudden spending splurge, my favorite Ed Fan stated, "What the #$%*$@! is Ed thinking?" - we expect to have him converted shortly...

Several Van Fans suggested the timing seemed interesting as that's when we were expecting Ed's financial disclosures to finally become available.

The hope must be they get a ton of PR out of this. Apparently the 43,678 press releases sent so far aren't doing the trick. Can't wait to see Ed's release on this one...

"Ed Bryant- "fiscal conservative" spends a month worth of fundraising touring Tennessee airports during weekday work hours."

- might need a little polishing, but not too bad for a rookie.

Bryant's history of fundraising woes

2006-01-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

The Van Wagon: Inept Fundraising is Nothing New For Ed Bryant written after the nonpartisan Blogging for Reality opened up a can of ... on the Bryant campaign.

"Bryant was forced to lower his fundraising target in 1994, because of his inability to raise money: "

“Bryant desperately needs money to build name recognition and get his message out, particularly in East Tennessee.... Bryant's best hope is to keep attacking Alexander from the right and hope his strategy catches on.”

"Bryant must continue to find ways to draw attention to his campaign, which seems to have little chance of raising the money."

After months of Bryant supporters calling Van Hilleary names and debasing his right to run for public office, a little dose of truth by some Vaniacs is just what the doctor ordered.

Ed Bryant is a good and decent man, he is just not a good candidate for U.S. Senate.

It's dishonest, but Ed doesn't care.

2006-01-28T05:56:00.000-08:00

I'm wondering if Ed Bryant has any scruples left? His campaign has been petty and mean spirited from the beginning, but the farther they fall behind, the more willing they are to stretch and distort the truth. I'm almost positive they've got a liberal generating their strategy due to their total lack of concern for the truth.

My favorite Ed strategy is the "release and clip" where Ed sends out a message to the media saying "Ed is 10 feet tall and bullet proof" and when it gets picked up in the process of writing an article, "Meanwhile, in spite of the fact Bryant is well below Van Hilleary in name recognition and cash on hand, his campaign claims Bryant is teen feet tall and bullet proof"

What happens next? Ed sends out a press release saying "the Times Free Press wrote 'Bryant is teen feet tall and bullet proof' in yesterday's paper"...

It's dishonest, but Ed doesn't care.

Bryant does the same thing with his polling results. Get strange, obviously out of line numbers, send it out to the press. Then Ed says in the last 12 polls Ed was ahead. How does that add up? Vans polling has been consistent and the Knoxville Sentinel polling matches Van's. Harold Ford Jr.'s campaign admitted the polling Ed trumpets is inaccurate, but Ed continues on with this blind mans bluff.

If everyone - including the Fords - admit a poll was inaccurate, unscientific and unweighted, you'd think Ed would catch on that something is amiss.

Camp Ed is either being incredibly ignorant or incredibly deceitful.

Neither is a character trait we need in our next senator.

Camp Ed is weak and getting desperate. So short on cash they won't release their numbers, so far behind in name id they act as if it doesn't matter. So concerned that their candiadte is fading fast that they'll say and do anything - even if it permanently tarnishes what was Ed's good name. Ed's going to have to have raised $400k last quarter and at least - at least $500k every quarter from here on out to be able to win second in the primary. That is just the truth. Ed can't raise that kind of money therefore Ed can't win.

SHOUT OUT to TN Ticket

2006-01-27T20:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks to TennesseeTicket.com for adding us to his ever-growing blogroll. TT is one of the best East Tennessee Bloggers anywhere.

TT has the story about the rumblings over retiring State Rep. Chris Clem's 27th district seat. Both Pat Brown and Chip Baker may be looking at the seat.

Ed comes out strong against hamas, cancer and child abuse

2006-01-26T13:24:00.000-08:00

In a flury of more incredibly ground breaking emails, today, Ed Bryant has come out against terrorists and for Judge Sam Alito.

I mean really, who could have predicted such a groundbreaking, courageous stance on such divisive issues! Next thing you know, we'll be shocked to learn Ed doesn't favor child porn or taxation without representation. One wonders if Club Ed will push the envelope and come out against unemployment and illegal aliens next....

We are lucky to have folks like Ed wanting to represent us, but whoever is generating these press releases make Ed sound a little more play-doh than Plato and thats a shame. Kinda.

At least it makes it interesting...

2006-01-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

The most humorous ongoing wager I've got going is a pool on the content of each new "I did it first" type email from Club Ed.

I can't tell if it's supposed to be a diversionary tactic to distract from campaign realities or if they really think people care if Ed was the first Senate candidate to wake up on Tuesday the 19th or that Ed has more two dollar donors in the 4th precinct of Cocke county than anyone else.

I used to think there was a strategy behind these press releases, now I'm wondering if Van has somebody planted in Ed's campaign with the sole purpose of making Ed's campaign seem nutty. I'm mean really, people aren't that stupid Ed.

Another fun oddity is their constant catterwalling, hounding Van to disclose how many of his donors have maxed out to him for both the general and the primary. I guess Ed thinks that there are a bunch more folks that think enough of Van to go ahead and donate the most they can than would do the same for Ed. I suppose their logic is that if Van had more maxed out donors than Ed then Ed could potentially have more money available for use in the primary.
That's coming from the same crew that won't disclose how poorly Ed did this last cycle. Is that a double or triple standard?

They are also the same bunch that say money doesn't matter. They are also the same bunch that say that it doesn't matter that 52% of Republican voters don't know who Ed is. If Van's bank account were looted so he and Ed had the exact same amount of money, Van would still be way ahead because most people actually know who he is. Ed needs at least $2 million more than Van just to come up even.

Logic dictates that in order to be elected, you either have to be known or have enough money to facilitate a promotional campaign to become known. Let's see where we are now:

Corker: bunch of money, 25% name ID
Bryant: less than $ 1 mill on hand (assumption) and 48% name ID
Van: more than $1 mill on hand and 79% name ID

Corker has the money advantage, Van has the name ID, Bryant has neither.

There is supposed to be a point of diminishing returns regarding primary campaign spending. The thinking goes like this, if you are starting from nothing (Corker), it will cost about 9-10 million to completely saturate the market and get your name ID over 85%. If you have great ID going in (Van) it will cost considerably less to do the same with less chance of burning out the voter (hearing the same ads 20 times). I've heard smart people say Van needs 3 million. If you've got <50% name ID it seems you'd need more money than somebody at 79%

The bottom line is, one of the two mentioned factors has to increase dramatically in order for Ed to win. There might be someway he can get enough free media to boost his ID - maybe if he found a flying pig or something that would look good on tv...) otherwise, he's got to start rasing at least $750k each quarter. The fact that his fundraising ability drops each quarter isn't a good sign, neither is the lack of momentum his campaign is showing. Ed can't win.

Is Bryant joining the Van Fans?

2006-01-25T10:37:00.000-08:00

Ed Bryant:

It's an important seat, and we need a known quantity there

Associated Press:

Only U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., a Democrat, and former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, a Republican, were known by more than half of the nearly 800 registered voters polled by SurveyUSA for WBIR-TV in Knoxville.

I agree with Ed. We need a known quantity in the Senate. Since our choice is between Van and Harold, I'm going to go with Van.

Fifty-four percent said they're unfamiliar with Bryant, who lost to Lamar Alexander in the 2002 GOP primary for the state's other Senate seat. Six in 10 are unfamiliar with Corker.
"It's becoming clear by now that Van Hilleary is the only conservative candidate in a position to win, and this is just more evidence of that fact," said Hilleary spokeswoman Jennifer Coxe.

VAN HILLEARY WAY AHEAD IN POLL

2006-01-24T18:16:00.000-08:00

FROM THE VAN HILLEARY CAMPAIGN...

In Case You Missed It...

KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL REPORTS

VAN'S IN THE LEAD

On Saturday, the Knoxville News Sentinel and WBIR the Knoxville NBC affiliate released a poll showing that Van Hilleary remains the most popular candidate in this U.S. Senate race. The results of the independent poll as reported confirm an August OnMessage Inc, poll that showed Van Hilleary with a 29-point lead over left leaning Bob Corker and an 18-point lead over his closest conservative competitor.
The News Sentinel and WBIR reported that Van is the only candidate who is as well known as Harold Ford, Jr. - the presumptive democrat nominee. They also reported that Van is viewed more favorably than Harold Ford, Jr., Ed Bryant and Bob Corker.

The News Sentinel reported that over 50% of Tennesseans have no idea who Ed Bryant is, which poses a serious problem for his candidacy given the low sum of money he is raising. The poll reported by the News Sentinel confirms Ed Bryant will be unable to compete with fellow conservative Hilleary and the left leaning tax raising Bob Corker.

Bob Corker's dismal showing in the News Sentinel/WBIR poll indicates that he is going to need every penny that is being pumped into his campaign by the liberal pro-income tax Sundquist wing of the Party to compete with conservative frontrunner Van Hilleary.

Reporting from the News Sentinel on the poll is further proof that Van is the only conservative candidate positioned to defeat Bob Corker's liberal war chest. Tennesseans know that Van stands firm on his conservative principles and will not back down. Voters know that Van is the one candidate who has proven he will stand up and fight for Tennessee's principles, no matter who is against him.

That's why Van holds a commanding 29 point lead over Bob Corker, an 18 point lead over Ed Bryant and continues to raise more money than fellow conservative Ed Bryant.

Below are excerpts from Saturday's Knoxville News Sentinel story and the poll results:

Running below radar
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
January 21, 2006 Click here to read the entire article:

"Only U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., a Democrat, and former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, a Republican, were known by more than half of the more than 800 registered voters polled by SurveyUSA for WBIR Channel 10.

"Eighty percent of respondents said they are familiar with Ford, while 78 percent knew something about Hilleary.

Of the other Republicans, 54 percent of respondents said they're unfamiliar with former U.S. Rep. Ed Bryant, who lost out to Lamar Alexander in the 2002 GOP primary for the state's other Senate seat. Six in 10 are unfamiliar with former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker.

...The poll also breaks down the impressions respondents have of each candidate by age, race, party affiliation, ideology, region and geography...

The automated survey was conducted Wednesday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Republicans Among Republicans, Hilleary has the highest "favorable" rating with all respondents, with 30 percent having a good impression of him. Bryant got a 15 percent favorable rating, while Corker brought up the rear with 7 percent.

Hilleary... also has the highest favorable rating among Republicans - 40 percent to Bryant's 23 percent and Corker's 10 percent.

VAN FANS 2006

2006-01-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the 2006 unofficial Blog for future United States Senator Van Hilleary. We will be hard but fair in our reporting. We are happy to have this medium for a voice to say what we believe and give our opinions. We hold the same opinion of most rank and file Republicans with regard to former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker. We believe Congressman Ed Bryant is a fine man, but as he demonstrated in 2002, the public is not buying what he is selling.

While Van Hilleary is not a perfect man or a perfect candidate, he has endured attacks from some who have chosen to lie and distort.

Yes, Van Hilleary lost the closest Governor's race in Tennessee history in 2002 to a man who spent millions of his own dollars.

Yes, he is running second in fundraising to Bob Corker who has no name recognition and is being marginalized by grassroots republicans and other republican candidates.

Yes, Van is the only Republican candidate tough enough to take on the entire Ford clan.

Yes, it will be along and tough race and Van Hilleary will need every single Bryant and Corker voter in the November General Election to defeat Democrat Harold Ford Jr.

With the recent polling showing that Democrat Harold Ford Jr. and Van Hilleary are the two leading candidates for each of their parties, we will be focusing on those two mostly and answering the charges of other GOP candidates in the race.

On Sunday's Meet the Press Democrat Senator Barrack Obama repeated the adage "Politics ain't bean-bag." Words to remember for 2006, let the games begin.

IT IS A GREAT DAY TO BE A VAN FAN!