Bredesen a Lawbreaker?
If I have to break state law to win, I'll probably do it, says Bredesen.

Tennessee state law bars a candidate from spending more than $250,000 of their own money on their campaign. The U.S. Supreme Court case Buckley v. Valeo says such limits are an unconstitutional abridgment of free speech. But here's the rub: Tennessee's law has never been challenged in court. So it is still the law. If Phil Bredesen spends a penny more than $250,000 of his own money on his campaign, he is breaking the law.

Two observations:

1. It will be interesting to see how newspapers like The Tennessean, which have long editorialized in favor of limits on campaign spending including restraint on spending by wealthy candidates, responds if Bredesen, their favored candidate, exceeds the state's limit.

2. If Bredesen disregards the law and spends more than $250,000 of his own money on the campaign before challenging the law in court, it will show him to be a man who considers himself above the law. There is a constitutional process in Tennessee for changing the law or challenging it. Bredesen could work to have the law changed legislatively - or he could file suit to test its constitutionality. Those are the only two acceptable choices for a law-abiding citizen, and only a law-abiding citizen deserves to be elected governor.