FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 May 2008
CONTACT: Wade Munday
615.477.2009
TNDP Chairman Gray Sasser calls on TNGOP to cease "grotesque" campaign
tactics
National Republicans ashamed of Tennessee brand
Nashville- Sen. Bob Corker today dubbed his own 2006 campaign advertisements
against U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. "grotesque." Now, do the junior and senior senators from Tennessee have the
courage to halt the Tennessee Republican Party's deplorable tactics asked Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Gray
Sasser.
"TNGOP Chairwoman Robin Smith and company have tarnished the reputation of the entire state with their
grotesque political attacks: they have perpetuated lies about a candidate's religion, they have attacked a candidate's wife, they have equated the war
in Iraq to a religious crusade, and they have defied the request of Senator Lamar Alexander to remove at least one of those claims
from their website," Sasser continued.
"It's high time for Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander to put a stop to the Tennessee
Republican Party's shameful tactics; they are beneath the dignity of voters- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents- in the state of Tennessee."
"The Tennessee Republican Party has issued time and again false rumors which have been condemned by RNC
chairman Mike Duncan, Sens. John McCain, Lamar Alexander, and even Karl Rove. The American
people even reject these tactics," Sasser went on to say.
"In the last three Congressional special elections, voters in Illinois, Louisiana, and Mississippi have rejected these
tactics. Now is the time for Tennessee's senators to do the same," Sasser concluded.
-30-
TNGOP attacks:
"I think people of faith see this battle completely differently, she (Robin Smith) said from her Nashville office
this week. "Its not a battle over resources. This is a war that puts the Christian faith in direct opposition to the Muslim faith."
[The Culture Beat, Johnson City Press, "Faith in Iowa, Hope in Tennessee, but where's the Love?", http://www.theculturebeat.com/?p=407, Aug.
18, 2007]
"One day after McCain said it was inappropriate to use Obama's middle name, state Republican Chairwoman Robin Smith
said early Wednesday that she stands by the release and that the state GOP would continue to refer to the Democratic candidate as 'Barack Hussein
Obama' . . . 'John McCain has to be elected. Robin Smith doesn't,' she added. 'We have a duty to inform the Republican base.'" [Knoxville News
Sentinel, "TNGOP chair defends release about Obama," Feb. 27, 2008]
"The same state party that got in trouble with the RNC and McCain camp back in February for dropping the "Hussein"
bomb now 'welcomes' Michelle Obama to Tennessee with a YouTube juxtapoxing (sic) her comments about pride in America with those of other
Volunteer Staters explaining why they love America." [Politico.com, Jonathan Martin, "Tennessee GOP plays patriotism card against Michelle
Obama," http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0508/Tennessee_GOP_plays_patriotism_card_against_Michelle_Obama_.html, May 15,
2008]
Republicans critical of Tennessee Republican Party attacks:
KARL ROVE (FOX NEWS)
"Rove said that the use of 'Barack Hussein Obama' would perpetuate the notion that Republicans were bigoted and would
hurt the party." [Marc Ambinder, TheAtlantic.com, "Rove: Don't 'Hussein' Obama", http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/19584, Feb. 27, 2008]
SEN LAMAR ALEXANDER (R-TN)
"Senator Alexander has talked wih Robin Smith, and she is removing the release and the photo from
the website. She and the senator agreed it could be easily misinterpreted, taken out of context and considered inappropriate."
[VolunteerVoters.com, WKRN, "Alexander Drops the Hammer on TNGOP Romper Room," http://www.news2wkrn.com/vv/2008/02/27/alexander-drops-the-hammer-on-tngop-romper-room, Feb. 27, 2008]
SEN JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ)
"Senator McCain has made clear that he rejects these sort of tactics and will campaign on his
record." [NashvillePost.com, "McCain apology raises questions about state GOP," http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2008/2/27/mccain_gop, Feb. 27, 2008]
CHAIRMAN MIKE DUNCAN (REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE)
"The RNC has notified the Tennessee GOP that they do not support nor agree with their
approach. If they don't agree to refrain from doing so, they will be publicly repudiated by the Republican National Committee."
[Jonathan Martin, Politico.com, "RNC warns Tenn. GOP on 'Hussein," http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0208/RNC_warns_Tenn_GOP_on_Hussein.html, Feb. 27, 2008]
SEN BOB CORKER (R-TN)
"'They were grotesque,' Corker said of his own ads in an interview this week. 'It was just
the same old stuff.' . . . The senator has advised Republican colleagues in tough races this year to resist national party ads that mention their
opponents.'" [Washington Post, E.J. Dionne, "Brand on the Run," Feb. 27, 2008]
