On August 7, Tennesseans will head to the polls in the Republican primary. Establishment GOP Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) faces a challenger in conservative Tennessee state representative Joe Carr. On radio this morning, Carr joined Glenn to talk about his campaign and the problem with the Republican establishment.
Carr currently has some momentum on his side. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R) endorsed Carr on Wednesday. He also enjoys the support of conservative commentator Laura Ingraham and many Tea Party groups.
Alexander was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2003, and he has made headlines for his questionable of support of legislation like the Gang of Eight immigration reform bill. Glenn asked Carr to outline why the people of Tennessee should vote for him over Alexander.
“Well, the Readers Digest version of that answer is that Lamar has been a United States senator for 12 years,” Carr said. “He was in the Bush White House as Education Secretary. He's ran for president, I don't know, two, three times… He's an old established Republican fixture on the national stage.”
“Unfortunately… the voters of Tennessee can't tell you anything that he's done – any laudable, notable achievement that he's done in the last 12 years unless you the fact he gave Tennesseans permission to fish below the dam,” he continued. “And I think Tennesseans, like a lot of Americans… are saying, ‘You know what? We have serious problems confronting our country, and we need serious people.’”
When it comes to immigration, Carr paints himself as the opposite of the incumbent and believes his track record speaks for itself.
“In the Tennessee General Assembly, I'm the author and architect of every major illegal immigration bill that’s currently on the books to the extent that Tennessee has some of the strongest, if not strongest, illegal immigration laws in the country at the state level,” Carr said. “I'm adamantly opposed and I find stand four square with men like [Sen.] Ted Cruz (R-TX), [Sen.] Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to deal with that problems, to assist the American worker and rule of law.”
Another area of concern is education. Alexander served as the United States Secretary of Education under President George H. W. Bush. The Senator has been outspoken in support of federal involvement in education. Carr said Alexander has largely deflected education and Common Core related questions on the campaign trail.
“[Alexander’s] audio would say - when we talk about Common Core - 'Let’s [not] talk about Common Core.' 'Let's talk about not having a national school board,'” Carr said. “So he obviously obfuscates the question and tries to deflect, but Tennesseans and Americans are wise to that kind of thing.”
Ultimately, Carr hopes Tennesseans will see Alexander’s “horrible record” and vote for a more conservative alternative.
You can learn more about Carr’s campaign HERE.