Some Tennessee Republicans claim Governor Bill Haslam is not conservative enough. At least two local GOP chapters have passed resolutions calling on state party leaders to sanction him. GOP leaders tell the Tennessean newspaper the resolutions were initiated by Tea Party activists and passed by members at recent party meetings in Stewart and Carroll counties in rural west Tennessee.
The resolutions condemn the republican governor for policies that include the hiring of democrats, gay individuals, and a Muslim-American lawyer. Each resolution says Haslam’s actions “have forced this GOP organization to lose confidence in our governor during an election year.” Governor Haslam serves as the volunteer state’s top spokesman for republican candidates, including presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
The governor’s spokesman David Smith downplayed the resolutions, claiming that a recent poll shows that 79-percent of conservative Republicans approve of the job he’s doing.
