Joel Ebert

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

As Tennessee Republicans gathered in Nashville on Friday for their annual fundraiser, they largely remained mum on the party’s presumptive presidential nominee while highlighting the party’s successes and outlining their vision of the future for the state and the country.





Around 1,200 Republicans flocked to the Music City Center to attend the Tennessee Republican Party’s Statesmen’s Dinner, which featured South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley as the keynote speaker.

In her speech, which covered a variety of topics ranging from education and employment to last year’s shooting in Charleston that left nine dead, Haley urged the importance of listening to all citizens. Haley, who was born to Indian Sikh parents, stressed the need for tackling difficult issues such as racial discrimination to help the “new South” move forward and to invite new people into the Republican Party.

Haley shared a story about a time when she and her father, who was wearing a turban, were shopping at a local store when she was a child. The store owner called the police, who watched her father closely. Although nothing came of the event, Haley said the incident and her election prove a point.

“A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that the South is still like that today,” she said noting that her election is proof that South Carolina and the Republican Party are not intolerant. Haley said although the “new South” is different in many ways and it still has some issues, it is a place to “look toward” rather than away from when it comes to race relations.

Pointing out that her state, as well as Tennessee, are now homes to major automotive companies instead of the textile operations that they used to be known for, Haley suggested part of the South’s reformation has been due to providing job and education opportunities to everyone.

Highlighting several controversial issues she has faced in just the last year, Haley discussed how South Carolina lawmakers passed a law requiring body cameras on police after authorities killed Walter Scott in 2015. She also focused heavily on the tragic shooting in Charleston and her decision to order the removal of the Confederate flag on the South Carolina Capitol grounds. Admitting that the decision to remove the flag was difficult, Haley said she knew it had to be done because not everyone could be comfortable with calling the statehouse their own if the flag remained.

“One of the lessons of the flag controversy is if we stop shouting and start listening, we get more accomplished,” she said. “We should all listen to each other. We will benefit from walking in someone else’s shoes.”

Although the Republican fundraiser came just over a week after Donald Trump became the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, few of the speakers at the event, which also featured addresses from Gov. Bill Haslam, U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, mentioned the real estate mogul by name.

The only real reference to Trump came when state party chairman Ryan Haynes, who kicked off the event, said he was confident the billionaire would “fire Hillary Clinton once and for all” while against the prospect of the Democratic frontrunner becoming president.

In a written statement, Democratic Party Chair Mary Mancini blasted Republicans and Trump, saying the party is “crumbling right before our eyes.”

“Because of their failed policies and practices, hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans are still without health care, the state is losing millions of dollars due to a newly passed discriminatory law, and they fought hard to give tax breaks to the top wage earners while doing nothing to address the fact that Tennessee has the highest percent of low-wage workers in the nation,” she said.

While introducing Haley, Haslam took several jabs at the state’s Democrats. “About a week ago the Democrats had a dinner that was just like this; it just had a lot fewer people,” Haslam said, taking issue with claims from Democrats who have said the state is not accomplishing anything for Tennessee. He noted that the next year’s budget includes significant investments in education, while pointing out that Tennessee has the lowest debt per person in the country.

Last week’s Democratic Jackson Day Dinner reportedly had 750 in attendance. About 1,200 Republicans were part of Friday’s gathering, Haynes said.

In his speech, Corker said the Republican Party will need to take the next two or three months to have policy discussions about the major issues facing the country, which he said included the national debt, the economy and America’s role in the world.

All throughout the evening the Republicans paid honor to the late former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson, whose wife Jeri, was in attendance, as well as several moments to thank Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who announced his retirement earlier this year, for his years of service.

Reach Joel Ebert at 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.

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