VOLuntarilyConservative

It has been the policy of this site not to link to TeamEgo, as much of what has come from there this year has been fabricated. However, on this occasion, there is a post from State Representative Chris Clem that cannot be overlooked.

Clem lays down the law on Bob Corker's past, including the following:

Corker has consistently used his influence in the past to oppose the conservative positions and the conservative candidates. If you don't believe this article then ask the nearest republican state legislator about Bob Corker. The few items I mentioned are only a few of the hundreds of stories that republicans in Nashville tell about Bob Corker's last 12 years of political involvement.

Clem concludes by encouraging all conservatives to support the Republican nominee because even "Corker is better than Harold Ford." At this point is where I depart from Rep. Clem. I don't see the difference Clem sees. Both Corker and Ford are proven to be adept as the art of being election year conservatives. Does having the "R" or the "D" after one's name matter that much to earn one's vote? I would gladly take John Breaux or Zell Miller over Lincoln Chafee and Olympia Snowe any day.

Also, it is easy to see why voters are becoming distrustful of Republican spinmeisters if conservatives who have done nothing but tell the citizenry how liberal Bob Corker is over the past 16 months turn around and support him in the general election. In my eyes, those people may not be much better than Corker and Ford, because they are being disingenuous to Tennessee voters.

I certainly hope that it doesn't come down to this, that conservatives unite behind Ed Bryant and look forward to a tough race with Harold Ford in the general election. In fact, with Ed's strong support in West Tennessee and surging support amongst the people of Northeast Tennessee, I am confident that this will all be moot come August 4th.

Some people will have to cross the bridge - whether or not to support the Republican nominee - but I don't believe it's going to the Bryant supporters.

MORE: In a post a few days back, A.C. at Volunteer Voters put out a position opposing mine, basically stating that conservatives were more loyal to the party than to their ideology at the end of the day. He's surely right on some counts, and I am surely right on others. The tipping point for a possible Corker general election campaign in November could be which one of us is more right than the other.