Corker, R Sen

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NO MERRI

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN): He was not overly alarmed, recalling that in any earlier climate cycle potatoes were grown in Greenland and that it had gotten its name for a reason. [source]

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A Washington Post report Wednesday included four possible candidates for secretary of state, and Rohrabacher was not among them. In addition to Giuliani and Bolton, the newspaper named Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House, and Tennessee Sen.Bob Corker.

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Leaked documents obtained by Nashville TV station NewsChannel 5 WVTF reveal communications between the employees of two Tennessee Republicans—Sen. Bob Corker and Gov. Bill Haslam—and a network of prominent anti-union professionals during the United Auto Workers' union drive at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga earlier this year.

Sen. Corker and Gov. Haslam have been blamed by the union for contributing to the drive’s defeat by making public statements against the UAW. Prior to the election, Corker claimed that the plant would add an additional SUV assembly line if workers voted against the union, while Haslam implied that businesses had told him that they might not relocate to Tennessee if workers at Volkswagen voted to join the UAW.

There was no direct evidence, however, that these politicians were coordinating with the various anti-union forces that had gathered in Chattanooga to oppose the drive, although In These Times reported in November 2013 that Washington, D.C.-based anti-union campaigner Matt Patterson had bragged about developing anti-UAW messaging with “politician [sic] and businessmen” in Tennessee. The documents by NewsChannel 5 provide the first direct proof of such coordination. In addition, In These Times magazine has obtained documents and conducted interviews with a top anti-union consultant that shed new light on the origins of the anti-union videos referenced in the communications.

Chain of evidence

The documents released by NewsChannel 5 show that, just before the union election, Sen. Corker’s chief of staff and one of Gov. Haslam’s cabinet members were part of an email chain with both Chattanooga-based and national anti-union consultants about efforts to draw attention to three videos produced to fight the UAW at Volkswagen. The videos feature testimonials from workers at previous UAW plants claiming that the UAW destroyed Detroit and led to the closure of a former Volkswagen auto plant in Westmoreland County, Pa. (Full disclosure: This author’s mother worked at the Westmoreland County Volkswagen plant until it closed, and was a member of UAW.)

In a February 10 email with the subject line “Video views so far today,” Peter List, the CEO of the anti-union labor-relations consultant group Kulture LLC and editor and chief blogger of LaborUnionReport.com, boasted of the videos’ web traffic. The email was addressed to, among others, Sen. Corker’s chief of staff, Tony Womack; Maury Nicely, the head of the local Chattanooga anti-union group Southern Momentum; Charleston, S.C.-based anti-union consultant Jim Gray; and former Volkswagen plant manager Don Jackson, whose role in campaigning against the UAW has been previously detailed by In These Times. Also on the chain was Tim Spires, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers’ Association, which promoted anti-UAW events, and Ron Harr, president and  CEO of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.

The next day, Corker’s Chief of Staff Todd Womack forwarded List’s email to Tennessee economic and community development commissioner Bill Hagerty—a member of Gov. Haslam’s cabinet—and Hagerty’s chief of staff Will Alexander (who is the son of U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander) with a message saying “If you would, please don’t forward this version, but this is the video I mentioned. Thanks much, Todd.”

Womack did not return request for comment about what level of coordination Senator Corker’s office had with anti-union consultants. Likewise, Peter List refused to answer questions about why he was emailing Senator Corker’s staff, stating in an email toIn These Times, “It seems you've fallen into the trap that people actually pay attention to what politicians say

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NORMAN ORNSTEIN: Let me just offer a bit of a caveat here on two fronts. First, we're not saying Democrats are angels here. Plenty of flaws there. But I also hold out still some hope for the Senate. You have a number of Republicans in the Senate, and this has less to do with ideology than with focus. Are you there to solve problems, or are you there either to pursue a radical agenda or to gain political advantage? Everybody's going to look for political advantage.

There are problem-solvers in the Senate. They are flawed ones, as we saw with the gun bill. You know, people like Lamar Alexander or Bob Corker, who joined with most of their colleagues. But I've talked to them when it comes to either reforming the nomination process, doing something in a larger fiscal sense that will include revenues, acting on immigration. I think you've got some opportunities here. Those opportunities will go to the House, and the only way they'll pass is with far more Democrats than Republicans. And they may not make it through. But we don't have a lost cause yet in the Senate.

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Bob Corker, is the Junior Senator for the state of Tennessee. He is a Republican and was first elected in 2006. (map)

Record and controversies

General information about important bills and votes for can be found in Congresspedia's articles on legislation. You can add information you find on how Bob Corker voted by clicking the "[edit]" link to the right and typing it in. Remember to cite your sources!

Iraq War

For more information see the chart of U.S. Senate votes on the Iraq War.

Environmental record

For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

The sale of protected wetlands

In 2003, Corker's real estate company sold protected wetlands near South Chickamauga Creek in Chattanooga to Wal-Mart for $4.6 million while he was mayor of Chattanooga. According to Joe Prochaska, an attorney representing the Tennessee Environmental Council, "What they did was outrageous. They just ran roughshod over this public property for private gain."[14] Environmental educator Sandy Kurtz filed suit in 2003 to stop the land deal, but the lawsuit was dismissed.

On September 18, 2006 a Memphis, Tennesse newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, reported that Corker's attorneys acquired city authorization to cut a road through the protected property owned by Corker in July 2003 while Corker was mayor.[1] City records show that Corker's attorneys won concessions from the city as details of the deal were worked out, much of which was done in private.:{[2]:(style="background-color:#fff200"):}:

Corker's campaign manager has said that a blind trust kept Corker from the details of the project.[3]

On October 13, 2006, lawyers involved in the case announced a settlement agreement. Details of the settlement were not announced, but court records indicate that a portion of the settlement involved a 45 day option for the Tennessee Environmental Council to purchase over thirteen acres of the land in dispute that the Council hopes to dedicate for public use.[4]

Playboy Advertisements

The Republican National Committee began airing a controversial ad against Corker's opponent in the final month of the race. The ad featured a scantily-clad white actress asking Ford, who is black, to call her after a night at a Playboy party. The ad was immediately denounced as racist for appealing to images of interracial dating and sexual contact.

Corker denounced the ad but said he could not ask for it to be removed from the air. Former Republican Senator of Maine William Cohen stated that the ad was "a very serious appeal to a racist sentiment."[5] RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman denied that the ad was racist and stated that he had no control over pulling the ad.[6]

One day after Mehlman denied having control over the advertising operation at the RNC the ad was pulled for having “run its course.”[7]

Missing papers

On September 9, 2006 The Commercial Appeal reported that official records from both Corker's 2001 to 2005 service as mayor and his 1996 service as state finance commissioner are missing.[8] The missing records include letters written and received by Corker during a six month period in 1996 and e-mails written and received by Corker in his official capacity as mayor between 2001 and 2005.[9]

Some of the e-mails were discovered on his former assistant's computer by The Commercial Appeal in October.[10]

Blind trust

On October 11, 2006, The Commercial Appeal reported that the blind trust that Corker set up to run his businesses to avoid conflicts of interest while he was mayor "may not have been all that blind".[18] According to e-mails discovered by the Appeal (some of which had previously presumed to be lost):

"Corker met often with employees from his private companies while mayor from 2001 to 2005, and he shared business tips with others. Corker also got help organizing his 2001 mayoral campaign from City Hall, where a government secretary passed on voting lists and set up meetings for the millionaire commercial real estate developer."[11]

The e-mails show that Corker often met with officials from his private company, the Corker Group, which was part of the blind trust, while he was mayor.[12] When asked about these e-mails by the Appeal, Corker said that he thought the blind trust had "worked very well" and that he had sold most of his business holdings so that he could avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest in the Senate.[13]

Biography

Raised in Chattanooga, Tenn., Corker graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1974 with a degree in industrial management. After working four years as a construction superintendent, he started his own construction company, Bencor, which he sold in 1990.

In 1999, he purchased the two largest real estate companies in Chattanooga, making him the largest private land owner in Hamilton County, Tennessee. He sold most of these holdings in 2006 to Henry Luken. His business successes have made Corker a multimillionare.

Corker first ran for the United States Senate in 1994, losing the Republican primary to eventual winner Bill Frist.

In 1995, he was appointed Commissioner of Finance and Administration for the State of Tennessee. In 2001, he successfully ran for mayor of Chattanooga. As mayor of Chattanooga from 2001 to 2005, Corker oversaw a $120 million renovation project, including an expansion of the Hunter Museum, a renovation of the Creative Discovery Museum, an expansion of Chattanooga's River Walk, and the addition of a new salt water building to the Tennessee Aquarium.[14] After announcing his intent to run for Senate, some of his actions in office as Mayor of Chattanooga have been scrutinized.

2006 Senate race

In 2004, Corker announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Senator Bill Frist, who is stepping down in 2007 after two terms. Corker faced two other Republicans in the August primary, Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary, which he won with 48% of the vote to Bryant's 34% and Hilleary's 17%. Bryant and Hilleary attacked Corker for not being conservative enough, hitting him for his previous pro-choice positions. His opponent's went so far as to say that Corker should be running as a Democrat.[15]

Corker invested $4.2 million in television advertising, focusing on the western portion of the state where he was relatively unknown before the primary.

Corker's campaign has focused on portraying his opponent, Harold Ford, as a career politician from Washington, Ford went to high school in Washington, while painting Corker, who moved to Tennessee when he was 11, as the true Tennessean. Corker has continuously tried to label Ford as a liberal on social and economic issues but has had little success. Ford's moderate to conservative record and rhetoric have partially immunized him from such attacks.

Corker is, by all counts, a mainstream Republican. He is pro-life, opposes embryonic stem cell research, supports President Bush and the war in Iraq, and favors further tax cuts. Corker also doubts the veracity of scientific studies showing the existence of global warming.[16]

Even though Corker has changed his initial pro-choice stance [17] to a pro-life stance Tennessee Right to Life refuses to call Corker a "pro-life politician". [18]

Corker defeated Ford 51-48% in the general election to capture the Senate seat. [19]

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. cid=N00027441&cycle=2006

• Revolving door profile for Bob Corker from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• 2006 privately funded travel profile for Bob Corker from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• Personal finance profile for Bob Corker from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.

Sector    Total    PACs    Indivs

Agribusiness    $624,557    $221,641    $402,916

Communications/Electronics    $768,139    $184,751    $583,388

Construction    $1,443,100    $144,750    $1,298,350

Defense    $120,900    $65,000    $55,900

Energy & Natural Resources    $1,014,608    $427,999    $586,609

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate    $6,495,611    $1,280,220    $5,215,391

Health    $2,065,282    $520,600    $1,544,682

Lawyers & Lobbyists    $1,613,907    $164,735    $1,449,172

Transportation    $892,425    $259,100    $633,325

Misc Business    $2,937,323    $652,665    $2,284,658

Labor    $50,000    $50,000    $0

Ideological/Single-Issue    $1,077,050    $815,001    $262,049

Other    $1,965,472    $1,500    $1,963,972

Committees and Affiliations

Committees

• Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Senate Special Committee on Aging
• Senate Committee on :{Energy and Natural Resources:(style="background-color:#fff200"):}:
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
  • Subcommittee on Energy
  • Subcommittee on National Parks

• Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on European Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs
  • Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance

More Background Data

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Bob_Corker

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Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.

“Yes, it’s happening. A lot of scientists say that it is.… I’m not a scientist, and I generally accept what the great body of scientists say.… But I don’t think there’s anything [in Congress] that’s going to be dealing with climate change in the near future.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.

“Is climate change happening? Yes. I don’t know how much [man-made emissions contribute], but the national academies of science of all the industrial countries say it’s a significant amount. So let me put it this way: If it were a house, I’d buy fire insurance.”