The Tennessee Republican Party slammed Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), who was in Lebanon, Tennessee yesterday raising money for Phil Bredesen’s Senate campaign at the Tennessee Democratic Party’s annual Three Star Dinner.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Tennessee GOP said Jones’ fundraising activities for Bredesen should not “be surprising to anyone.”
“Doug Jones has been trying to hide his true liberal colors for months now. But actions speak louder than words. And Jones’ actions in Washington should be a warning to Tennesseeans listening to Bredesen’s phony bipartisan campaign pitch,” the statement continued, adding:
While Tennesseans are enjoying an economic boom, Doug Jones stood with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi in criticizing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Just like Jones, Bredesen has also criticized the middle-class tax cuts that have delivered the following benefits to Tennesseans calling its benefits “crumbs” –
• $3.2 billion in wage increases at FedEx in Memphis
• a $15 minimum wage at Unum in Chattanooga
• $1,000 bonuses for employees at McKee foods
“Under Republican leadership, Tennessee’s economy is roaring — thanks in large part to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” Tennessee Republican Party chairman Scott Golden said.
“Phil Bredesen, just like Doug Jones, likes to paint himself as a moderate Democrat who isn’t beholden to liberals like Chuck Schumer, but the reality is far different. If Bredesen and Jones had their way, there would have been no tax cuts, no bigger paychecks, and no bonuses. Tennesseans won’t be fooled by Phil Bredesen’s phony rhetoric,” Golden added.
As The Tennessee Star reported last week, the Tennessee Democratic Party’s Three Star Dinner “was formerly the Jackson Day Dinner until political correctness forced them to drop the reference to Andrew Jackson, the founder of the national party and one of three former Presidents from Tennessee.”
“In his race against conservative Republican Roy Moore in Alabama, Jones portrayed himself as a centrist/moderate in order to distance himself from the baggage of being a liberal Democrat in a dark red state. Bredesen is following the same strategy, as he faces conservative Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) in a state that President Donald Trump carried handily in 2016,” The Star reported, adding:
Once elected, Jones quickly revealed himself to be to the left of voters in Alabama. He immediately backed Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Washington liberals to oppose President Trump’s legislative initiatives. Jones has voted against funding the border wall, opposed CIA Director Gina Haspel’s nomination and voted against banning abortion after 5 months. In the event that Justice Anthony Kennedy retires from the U.S. Supreme Court at the end of the Court’s current session, as many expect him to do, then a contentious confirmation fight will put a spotlight on how Jones and his fellow Democratic Party Senators in states Trump carried will navigate that vote.
Bredesen has already signaled his left-leaning agenda should he be elected, having denounced the Trump tax cuts as “crumbs” for the middle class and denouncing Trump’s intention to construct a border wall with Mexico as “political theater.”
Neither Bredesen nor Blackburn face any significant opposition in the August 2 primaries of their respective parties, setting up a general election battle between the two in November.
