Democrat Bredesen doesn’t plan anti-Trump Senate campaign

NASHVILLE – While former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen’s Democratic bid for the U.S. Senate will focus on “fixing the mess” in Washington, he doesn’t plan to talk about Republican President Donald Trump all that much.

Bredesen said in an interview Friday that he would deal with Trump the same way he did with former Democratic President Barack Obama: support him when he agrees with his proposals and oppose him when he doesn’t. He says senators shouldn’t be “foot soldiers” for a president or for partisan reasons.

State Republicans have long been fond of quoting Bredesen’s initial assessment of Obama’s health care proposal as the “mother of all unfunded mandates.” Bredesen’s views on the law evolved after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Medicaid expansion would be voluntary for the states.