Ron Ramsey Says Nation Needs Fred Thompson

  • Monday, August 20, 2007

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey told the Chattanooga Pachyderm Club on Monday that the nation needs Fred Thompson as president.

Lt. Gov. Ramsey said, "I have seen the excitement this man generates when this man walks into a room. There is a void out there just waiting for him to fill the void."

He said, "If it's Hillary Clinton versus Fred Thompson, just watch out. We're going to wipe them up."

The speaker said Republicans "are just four seats short" of taking over the state House, and he said having former Sen. Thompson on the ticket would help achieve that.

He said the Senate this last legislative session passed a number of conservative measures that did not get through the House.

Lt. Gov. Ramsey said as soon as he became the first GOP lieutenant government in 140 years, Democrats began talking about having voters choose the holder of that office.

He said he has no problem with that and would like to have other offices, including secretary of state, filled by voters.

Lt. Gov. Ramsey said in the last session, legislators were told there was a $400 million surplus and the higher cigarette tax would bring in another $219 million. He said they then learned of an additional $300 million surplus.

He said, "All of that extra money is coming from the taxpayers."

He said GOP leaders were distressed about "over-collecting" on taxes, but he said Democrats were saying, "Think what we can do with all that money."

Lt. Gov. Ramsey said Republicans insisted that $250 million of the extra money be put into the state's rainy day fund - boosting it to $750 million.

He said he placed more conservative members on two key committees - finance and commerce.

Breaking News
Another Development Planned On Narrow Snow Hill Road
  • 3/31/2025

Another development with 132 single-family homes is being proposed along narrow Snow Hill Road. Kenneth and Deborah Scarbrough, of Birmingham, Ala., want the zoning changed from A-1 to R-1. ... more

Get Emailed Headlines From Chattanoogan.com; Like Us On Facebook, X For Instant News
  • 3/31/2025

We send out headlines each week day of the latest Chattanooga news. Our news headlines have links that take you to the stories with a click. We also send out special emails if there ... more

Gas Prices Rise 17.4 Cents In Chattanooga
  • 3/31/2025

Average gasoline prices in Chattanooga have risen 17.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.71 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy's survey of 170 stations in Chattanooga. ... more