Spin Cycle
The Sunday Tennessean has a hilarious editorial endorsing Phil Bredesen for governor. Along with the expected touchy-feely liberal blather that Bredesen "did not build buildings, he built community," the paper offers this amazing bit of misleading spin:

"Unable to shake Bredesen's vow that he would oppose an income tax over the next four years of a term, Hilleary has said he would oppose the tax not just for one term but for a second term..."

The sentence makes it sound as if Bredesen's vow came first, and that Hilleary is playing catch-up on the issue. It also makes it sound as if Bredesen's vow is rock solid. Neither is true. First, Hilleary long ago defined himself as the anti-income tax candidate and it is Bredesen who has played "me-too" on the issue for the entire campaign. Second, Bredesen's vow is not rock solid. He's only said he does not think the income tax is the "solution" to the state's budget situation, not that he would veto the income tax if one is passed by the Legislature.

But, says the same editorial, "The legislature won't bring up the income tax again any time soon." Thus does the Tennessean editorial board ask you to ignore another story in the same paper on the same day, this story reporting that some legislators are already mentioning the income tax as the way to fund equalization of public school teachers' salaries across the state, as ordered by the state Supreme Court. The paper even mischaracterizes that as a "Supreme Court order to raise rural teachers' pay" in its editorial cartoon today, when in fact all the court said was pay must be equitable, which can be achieved without raising rural teachers' pay. But the paper sees the order as an opening to force the Legislature to adopt a plan backed by the state teachers' union that would raise all teachers' pay statewide to the average of a group of Southeastern states.

The truth is, Bredesen doesn't really oppose the income tax, he just knows he can't get elected by telling the truth. The truth is, as mayor of Nashville he built buildings on a foundation of increasing city debt, three tax increases and multi-million-dollar giveaways to well-heeled corporations and ultra-wealthy business men. (As one wag noted recently on the Teddy Bart's Round Table radio show, Bredesen's approach to improving Nashville economy was to "build a building and give it to someone from Texas.")

The truth is, Phil Bredesen is a serial tax increaser and spree spender who is not philosophically opposed to the income tax. That's why The Tennessean wants him to be your next governor.