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Former governor brings senate campaign to UTM


“America is a work in progress.” says Josh Holly, the Deputy Press Secretary for Lamar Alexander.

Congressman Ed Bryant used three words to describe Alexander who is the Republican candidate for Senate; prepared, committed, and trustworthy.

Alexander, who is the former Secretary of Education, said that one of his major focuses as Senator will be education. With his strong background in education, he knows that higher education funding is essential.

During his time as Governor of Tennessee, he spent 51% of tax revenue on schools. If elected Senator, he promises to fund local schools even more, find more funds for university grant research, and to provide more money for grants and loans for college students.

Alexander's platform also includes fighting for the permanent tax cut, which President Bush has planned. He also would like to repeal the death tax, double the child care tax, and to balance the budget of 2006.

After Alexander's speech he took inquiries from the audience.

During this time he informed the audience that he is Pro-Life and that he supports the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Another question that was posed was whether or not he supported gay and lesbian unions. Alexander said that he did not support bills that created special benefits to groups of citizens. He reminisced of his times at Vanderbilt when he fought for the segregation ban to be lifted from their admissions, but then related how he voted against making a minority scholarship. His reasoning is that all are created equal and everyone should be able to apply for a scholarship.

Alexander believes that creating a scholarship for minorities would be a violation of the Constitution.

"I thought that former Gov. Alexander and Congressman Bryant’s stop at UT Martin was very insightful. Mr. Alexander and Mr. Bryant covered a vast array of issues that affect the students of UT Martin as well as the country. It is also nice to see a candidate who will take the time to visit with students. It is an honor for UTM to host an event for two of Tennessee Great Statesmen. We look foward to having them back before the November Elections," said senior Political Science/Biology major from Alamo, Tenn.

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Brian Davis