They have a profile on the sheriff's race between J.J. Jones and Randy Tyree. This time could be even more interesting than last time, when Tyree almost beat Hutchison.

Election day is Aug. 7th, and features local races to elect temporarily permanent replacements for the replacements who replaced the Black Wednesday term limit replacements. Oh, and there are also state and federal primaries.

Early voting starts in less than two weeks, on Jan. 18. The last day to register to vote is Tuesday, July 8th. Better do it in person if you haven't already.

Here's the sample ballot. Here are financial disclosures for local candidates.

Here's the KnoxViews database/directory of all local candidates. Here's the TennViews database/directory of all state and federal primary candidates.

McCain in Columbia:

"The free trade is an important issue, not only for Colombia but I believe for the economy of the world and, as you know, for the United States economy."

McCain: "Without privatization, I don't see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits."

Here's the video, courtesy of the DNC.

(Memo to the GOP: We already have "voluntary private retirement savings accounts." They're called 401Ks, IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, etc. Why not raise limits so people can put away meaningful tax-deferred savings for retirement?)

We're all thrilled with the surge in voter turnout during the Democratic primary, and all the new registrations and young voters coming out.

But keep in mind that Obama got 18 million votes. More than 121 million people voted int he 2004 general election, which Bush won 62 million to Kerry's 59 million. Even if you add in Clinton's primary votes and all the others, we're still only looking at about 37 million votes.

There's lots of work to be done. Now is not the time to get cocky.

OK, then. Carry on.

Are Democrats like perpetual hippies? Like, wow, man, we're holding a convention. Let's get it together.

According to an analysis by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, St. Paul and the Republicans are better organized and have a better plan in 5 out of 8 categories. The Democrats are good when it comes to Volunteers, Environmental Friendliness, and, of course, Star Power. We got the Hollywood types. Can we win an election though?

Speaking of Environmental Friendliness, one other thing the Democrats are doing is promoting healthy eating. There will be no fried food available through the convention. This doesn't seem very hospitable to us Southerners. I mean, what are you going to serve us? Tomatoes?

Obama will participate in an open forum dialogue with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) National Convention at the Washington D.C. Hilton on July 8th.

Sen. Obama said "Families across America, particularly in Hispanic communities, are feeling the affects of an economy that has not been kind to the middle class. I look forward to meeting the members of LULAC and working with them to change the direction of this country and fight for policies that will put the American Dream within reach of every family in this country."

McCain, will address conference-goers Tuesday, July 8th at a Diversity Luncheon.

The League of United Latin American Citizens is the largest and oldest Hispanic Organization in the United States with thousands of volunteer members providing community-based programs through more than 700 local LULAC councils nationwide.

More information about the LULAC convention.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee has endorsed Obama.

The 80,000-member organization, which has members in all 50 states, cited "a stark distinction between Sen. Obama and Sen. John McCain on major fundamental issues facing the American people today, especially in reforming our broken healthcare system, repairing our collapsing economy, and restoring workplace protections and rights for American workers."

They note, however, that Obama's plan alone is not enough, and that "the only effective solution is a fundamental transformation with a single-payer, improved Medicare-for-all system." They also cite McCain's poor record on health care and labor issues.

(The Tennessee chapter recently issued a report on why Frist is "not fit to be governor of Tennessee.")

Read the CNA/NNOC's full Obama endorsement after the jump...

From On the Issues:

McCain favors outlawing cheaply made handguns called Saturday night specials, and favors mandating safety locks on certain guns. (Source: Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press Aug 17, 1999)

McCain said he was open to voting for an assault weapon ban, depending on the details. (Source: Los Angeles Times, Aug 17, 1999)

In Congress, McCain pressured his colleagues to require background checks for buyers at guns shows, and he supported a requirement that trigger locks be sold with handguns. (Source: Todd S. Purdum, New York Times, p. A14 Aug 17, 1999)

RNC press release: "The Supreme Court Rules Against Obama's Anti-Gun Views On D.C. Gun Ban, Further Demonstrating Obama Is Most Anti-Gun Presidential Candidate In History"

That didn't take long. When did Hobbs go to work for the RNC?

UPDATE: Obama corrects inaccurate Chicago Tribune reporting of his statements on D.C. Gun Law

When Obama has been asked on multiple occasions to weigh in on the D.C. gun case he has regularly maintained that the Second Amendment provides an individual right while at the same time saying that right is not absolute and that the Constitution does not prevent local governments from enacting what Obama calls "common sense laws."

Which is exactly what the Supreme Court said.

A caller on an Orlando talk radio this afternoon said that the Everglades conservation purchase was a quid pro quo between McCain and FL Gov. Charlie Crist.

According to the caller, who said he is related to principals in the deal and has known about it since January, McCain contacted Crist and told him he needed to do "something big" if he wanted to be considered for the VP spot.

That's about as unsubstantiated as it gets, but it wouldn't surprise me. At least Crist did something beneficial for the State of Florida. There was some discussion, however, that it was also a bail out for the sugar company, which is in a financial squeeze and facing some costly environmental issues.

Joe Powell has an excellent interview with Rob Russell, the Democratic candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in the Tennessee First Congressional District. The seat is currently held by Republican Rep. David Davis.

There's a lot of talk about whether a Democrat can compete in this district, which Republicans have controlled since 1881. Davis is finishing up his first term, but faces a credible Republican primary challenger, Phil Rowe, who has raised a lot of money.

(See here for a list of all the candidates.)

Davis hasn't accomplished much, and he has a lot of ties to special interests, including the pharmaceutical industry. Last year, his office was caught "scrubbing" Davis' Wikipedia page to remove information about his ties to King Pharmaceuticals. And now there are accusations that the staffer got a bonus for his efforts.

King Pharmaceuticals was involved in a 2005 $124 million settlement with the DOJ regarding "allegations that it underpaid rebates owed under the Medicaid program [including TennCare] and overcharged various federal and state governmental entities for its drug products." There is also controversy surrounding campaign contributions and PACs operated by the company's CEO.

Davis also came under fire for voting in support of dog fighting.

According to GovTrac.us, "David Davis has sponsored 18 bills since Jan 4, 2007, of which 16 haven't made it out of committee." None were successfully enacted. Among the bills Davis sponsored are designation of "American Eagle Day" and expressing support of "National Carriage Driving Month." His first bill, "To enhance the integrity of the United States against the threat of terrorism," would have provided Homeland Security funds to state and local law enforcement for immigration enforcement. The rest of his bills appear to be related to import duties on chemicals used in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Davis is endorsed by the National Right to Life and gets an "A" rating from the NRA.

While it's conceivable that Davis could be kicked out in the primary, it will be a tough row to hoe for Democrats in the general. But go read Joe Powell's interview with Rob Russell, and ask yourself, why not a Democrat, and why not now? That's the question for voters in the Tennessee 1st Congressional District. Do they want more of the same, or is it time to try something different?

Campfield: Anchor babies and state laws

The amendment to the constitution that is so confusing was put in place for descendants of slaves so they could become US citizens. Not to say the slave trade was good, but the slaves were brought in the country under legal (at the time) means. They were under our jurisdiction so they and their descendants could become citizens. Not so for illegals, they are similar to an invading military and are not, and in my opinion should not, be given the same rights and privileges as citizens or visitors. In many cases their rights are already restricted.

Interesting. Does this stuff actually sell in the 18th TN House district?

Speaking of the fightin' 18th, did you see Georgiana Vines' recent column re. the contest? Sounds like the grownup Republicans are throwing Campfield under the bus. It's a lot like what's going on over here in Blount Co. with Sen. Raymond Finney v. challenger Rep. Doug Overbey. Apparently the local GOP establishments are looking to push some loose cannons overboard.

Obama has opted out of the public campaign finance system.

The last day to register to vote in the August 7th county general and state primary elections is July 8th. Early voting starts July 18th and continues through August 2nd.

• Knox County 2008 election schedule
• Knox County general election candidates
• State primary candidates

From WhitesCreek Steve over at TennViews, Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee member Fred Hobbs says Obama "...may be terrorist connected for all I can tell. It sounds kind of like he may be."

Wow. With friends like that... Maybe the other Hobbs could use an assistant over at the TNGOP.

UPDATE: By way of ACK, the TNDP rejects and renounces the remarks:

“The Tennessee Democratic Party is united behind our party’s nominee, Senator Barack Obama. Mr. [Fred] Hobbs is obviously misinformed, and his statement highlights the perpetual efforts of the Republican Party, especially here in Tennessee, to turn internet smears and highly offensive gossip into their party’s message against Senator Barack Obama as we head into the General Election. Instead of debating the issues, the Tennessee Republican Party continues to rely upon slanderous and salacious tall tales. They are borrowing from the playbook first written by Richard Nixon and employed in the race against Congressman Harold Ford Jr. Tennesseans of every political persuasion are tired of these tactics.”

That was quick.

Poliltico: Obama moves DNC operations to Chicago

The DNC's key role in coordinating political operations with state parties is expected to largely be taken over and overseen by Obama's senior staff in Chicago, state party officials said.

[..]

People familiar with the plan said that state party staffers paid for under Howard Dean's 50 State Program would be shifted to working for the presidential campaign, at least in targeted battleground states.

The move reflects Obama's desire to maintain an unusually streamlined campaign, as well as his swift and complete takeover of a Democratic Party that isn't always known for its unity. The move may also save the campaign money...

Knox County Administrator of Elections Greg Mackay notes that the ballot order for local elections has been set for the August 7th county general and state primary election. (Early voting begins July 18th!)

He also notes that the ballot will have two charter amendment referendums for the county and one for the city.

• County: Recall amendment to Charter

• County: Lower number of signatures required Charter amendment

• City: Amend charter to allow property qualified voters to vote only by mail (City of Knoxville voters only)

Greg suggests that voters study the above referendums before coming to the polls. The exact "yes/no" ballot wording has not yet been provided for the county referendums. The ballot wording for the city referendum is contained within the ordinance linked above.

Regarding the city charter referendum for "property qualified" voters, Greg says:

State law and the City Charter allow nonresident property owners to vote in City elections. This amendment would provide that they would cast such ballots only by mail. It would only affect about 200 voters. Other cities, including Athens, do it this way. It greatly relieves confusion at the polling place.

Cartoonist Kenny Be at the Denver Westword alt-weekly writes:

I have been working on a web feature for Westword. It is part field guide and part travel guide for the upcoming 2008 Democratic National Convention to be held in Denver in August of 2008. It is a field guide to help Denver residents identify the delegates from the 56 states and territories of the US. It is part tour guide in that it helps delegates to find the Colorado bars, restaurants and day trips most like home. It is a project that allows me to make fun of/pay homage to everyone in America, while I make fun of/celebrate the city of Denver.

I started the project in July of 2007, and have added a delegation every week since then. The final delegation of Wyoming will appear two weeks before the convention begins.

The most recent entry is, you guessed it, Tennessee:

How to Recognize a Tennessee Delegate:

There is no greater state then Tennessee. America's fascination with the Volunteer state has been nothing short of all-encompassing and everlasting. Even the derogatory jokes -- duct tape is "Tennessee chrome," and fashions from Lane Bryant are "Tennessee shower curtains" -- are just the clumsy swats of envious Ohioans and Michiganders wishing to relocate. From Mountain Dew to Miley Ray Cyrus, every backwoods brainstorm that Tennessee touches turns to gold.

It gets better from there. And lest you think we're being singled out, start here and scroll down. Pretty funny stuff. And it actually might come in handy.

Check out the beta preview of our TennViews Convention Central page. It will aggregate convention coverage from KnoxViews and TennViews, all DNCC State Blogger Corps and General Pool blogs for which a working feed could be found, and also has the official DNCC blog and press release feeds.

We expect that most of our convention blogging will be here at KnoxViews, but the TennViews Convention Central page will provide one-stop-shopping information overload for all things convention blog related.

Michael Silence says Republicans should not take Tennessee for granted and that all Democrats need to do is believe. Hope he's right. We'll see.

P.S. Here's a cool interactive electoral map with background on every state. You can play out your own "what if" scenarios, starting from a variety of premises.

And here's another electoral map with projections based on the latest state-by-state polling data.

Note: Neither map shows Tennessee in play for Obama.

UPDATE: Political Wire summarizes Chuck Todd's electoral math. TN is in the McCain "base" column. Obama has no Southern states in his "base" or "leaning" column. Toss-ups are: CO, FL, IA, MI, NV, NM, NH, OH, PA, VA, WI.

18 million cracks in the glass ceiling...

UPDATE: Video here, transcript after the jump...

An "all hands on deck" e-mail alert from the Obama campaign says that McCain raised nearly $45 million in May, $21 million directly plus another $23.7 million from the RNC. Most of it is coming from PACs and special interest groups.

The Obama campaign is asking 10,000 first-time donors to give $25. They have lined up previous donors who have agreed to match individual donations. You can donate here:

https://donate.barackobama.com/match

Now that the field is set for November, it's a reminder that we are finally nearing the "end of an error." Here's a reminder of what's at stake.

(A KnoxViews production.)

Local attorney and friend of KnoxViews Chuck Young went up to Bristol for the Obama town hall rally and phoned in this report on his way back...

From a Clinton campaign e-mail to supporters:

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

Here's a fun clip from Talking Points Memo in which analysts dissect McCain's "speech trainwreck."

Heh.

At his blog, Stacey Campfield puts out a plea for readers to hit his Paypal button. He says his campaign has 20 cents in the bank and debt (to him) of $16K.

Campfield, running for reelection to State House District 18, drew two Republican challengers in the primary, and no Democratic opponents.

His primary opponents are Jonathan A. Katsiros and Ronald C. Leadbetter. Neither candidate is making any news, and neither appears to have a website or any other online presence.

The only thing I am able to find out about either one of them is that Leadbetter is a lawyer who recently retired as assistant general counsel for the University of Tennessee. Katsiros apparently turned up at a recent blog fest.

In her morning briefing with reporters, White House press secretary Dana Perino said the president congratulates Obama.
...
Perino said she does not anticipate Bush will call Obama. She said President Clinton did not call Bush when he clinched the Republican nomination in 2000.

The Democratic Party is happy now. The President has acknowledged the contender.

Here's a thoroughly researched and documented report that looks at caucus states v. primary states. It finds that caucuses suppress voter participation and create disproportionate results in terms of delegates.

The author is clearly a Clinton supporter (and jumps through some hoops to argue "electability"), but the numbers do not lie. Turnout in caucus states is as low as 2% and averages only 4.5%. Caucus states cast only about 3% of the total 33.5 million votes, but control more than 15% of the pledged delegates.

There will be lots of talk about "fixing" the primary process for 2012. Retiring the archaic caucus system would be a good start.