NASHVILLE - The Haslam for governor campaign is touting a "major endorsement announcement" for Wednesday morning -- at Joslin & Son Signs, 630 Murfreesboro Road, in Nashville. The campaign won't say whether the endorsement is by the National Federation of Independent Business, which already lists its endorsment of Haslam on its website.
UPDATE: Surprise, surprise: it WAS the NFIB.
Twelve years ago, NFIB used the same business -- its owner is an NFIB leader -- for its endorsement of then-governor Don Sundquist's re-election. The federation, which primarily represents small businesses, rolled out a huge sign - "NFIB Loves Sundquist!" - at that 1998 event.
A few months later - after Republican Sundquist defeated the hapless John Jay Hooker and was inaugurated to his second term - the NFIB was expressing major disappointment in its endorsee for asking the state legislature to approve a new tax on businesses based on employee compensation. That plan soon morphed into a state income tax proposal, which was eventually defeated in favor of a sales tax increase.
"Gov. Sundquist has been a friend to small business in the past," NFIB's Tennessee spokesman at the time, Matt King, said in early 1999. "Our feeling is, this is the wrong direction. This is going to devastate some small businesses." (King is now Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey's top aide.)
The NFIB endorsed Republican Van Hilleary over Democrat Phil Bredesen in the 2002 governor's race.
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