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Tennessee: Bredesen looks to end party rift

By: Matt Wilson
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Waiting until after the final presidential primaries in June to endorse a candidate is “perfectly appropriate,” but Gov. Phil Bredesen warned if Democrats take longer to choose a nominee, the party may be split beyond repair.

The tone of the primary contest between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has gotten more divisive in the past several months, and time is needed to close the rift, Tennessee’s Democratic governor said.

“We’ve gone since the beginning of the year from, ‘Isn’t it great we’ve got two great candidates. One of them’s going to be president,’ and ‘Isn’t it a great time to be a Democrat?’ to ‘I will never vote for that person over there,’ ” he said.

But Robin Smith, chairwoman of the Tennessee Republican Party, said time is not in the Democrats’ favor.

The divisions in the Democratic Party seem more cultural than political, and it may be tough to change those, she said.

Gov. Bredesen, an uncommitted superdelegate, said the party can reconcile those differences, but the summer will be needed to get there.

“We can’t do it starting in August,” he said. The Democratic National Convention in Denver in late August should be “the beginning of the endgame,” Gov. Bredesen said.

The superdelegates likely will decide the nomination, according to analysts. Superdelegates are party officials and elected officials, such as Gov. Bredesen, who are not required to commit to a candidate based on primary and caucus results.

Sen. Obama of Illinois leads Sen. Clinton of New York in pledged delegates and endorsements from superdelegates, according to The Associated Press, but he doesn’t have enough to clinch the nomination.

Sen. Clinton won the Tennessee primary.

Political analysts said working class white voters who support Sen. Clinton may have a hard time supporting Sen. Obama if he is the nominee.

And after her 2-1 win in last week’s West Virginia primary, Sen. Clinton seemed anything but conciliatory.

“I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had their chance to make their voices heard,” she told supporters.

Dr. Bruce Oppenheimer, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, said time is not the issue. He said the party’s well-being depends more on whether the candidate who loses the nomination will campaign for the nominee after the primaries end.

“There’s plenty of time to deal with (the infighting),” Dr. Oppenheimer said. The race for the nomination should be winding down by the end of the primaries in early June, he said.

Dr. Oppenheimer suggested Gov. Bredesen could help end the stand-off by endorsing a candidate.

“If you’re so undecided and you’re a superdelegate, why don’t you push it toward a conclusion and make a decision?” he said.

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