[ListeningLady]

You are right on the H-1B visa point--but I do think Bryant is conservative on most other issues. There are other possible candidates that I am sure would probably line up better for our cause on every single issue than Ed Bryant.

The point I am making, however, is that, positively and without a doubt, Ed Bryant would be a better senator than either Al Gore or Harold Ford, Jr. And, if Bryant turns out to be the Republican candidate running against a typical liberal Tennessee Democrat, then I and my family will use whatever influence we have to support Bryant's efforts.

[JoeMomma]

It's probably because Bryant's unprincipled (and CEO-cash-influenced) stance on H-1B is one that directly affects my trade -- computer programming. I'm not a particularly conservative fellow, but I'm not at all liberal either (I did vote for Bush and the entire GOP ticket in 2000). Lamar Alexander is running too, so it'll be a conservative vs moderate showdown. Alexander is the best fit for Tennessee, but I think given the current state of the GOP in Tennessee, Bryant would (sadly) win a primary.

On the Democratic side, Gore's already stated he's not running. Harold Ford Jr is not a liberal in the sense of his father or even Al Gore. Ford is actually a pretty centrist politician (one of the Blue Dogs, like Tanner) -- economically moderate/conservative and socially liberal/libertarian. It's unfortunate that his last name is Ford, because he's actually nothing like his family in terms of politics and character.