NASHVILLE - In the first television ad of his gubernatorial campaign effort, Republican Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey is promising to give the federal government "the boot" if officials dislike how things are done in Tennessee.
The 30-second ad is running on broadcast and cable television in several parts of the state. It shows Lt. Gov. Ramsey, the state Senate speaker, walking up the steps inside the Tennessee Capitol, comparing the "Washington way" of doing business - which he defines as "more spending, more taxes and more debt" - with the "Tennessee way."
In the Tennessee way, he says, you "tighten your belt, be conservative, live within your means."
The ad urges Tennessee voters to "hang tough with me" to keep "keep running our state the Tennessee way. If those guys in Washington don't like it, well, we'll give them the boot."
The ad ends with a camera focused on Mr. Ramsey's left boot-clad foot slapping down on a step.
The ad does not mention Ramsey GOP primary opponents Zach Wamp, a Chattanooga congressman, or Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam.
But in a statement, Wamp spokesman Sam Edelen sharply criticized Lt. Gov. Ramsey, saying, "Ron Ramsey obviously is trying to rewrite history. The ad fails to mention that state spending has nearly tripled since he joined the Legislature, from $11 billion to $29 billion a year, and state government has added more than 10,000 workers to the payroll on his watch."