County Commissioner Curtis Adams is making national waves with his surprise switch to the Republican Party.
A limousine is set to come down from Knoxville on Wednesday evening and whisk him and his wife, Dot, to the Fox TV studio in Knoxville, where he will be the special guest on the popular Hannity & Colmes show at 9 p.m. The live broadcast will be on Channel 59 locally on the Fox News Network.
It won't be his first big interview of the day.
At 8 a.m., he is scheduled to be the guest of top-rated Nashville talk show host Steve Gill.
Then at 11:33 a.m., Commissioner Adams will be taking a call from Craig Allen of the Right Balance network. It has about 200 stations.
On Tuesday afternoon, he was featured on the talk show hosted by Michael Reagan, son of former President Ronald Reagan. The Los Angeles-based show is heard on some 350 stations.
Commissioner Adams said Michael Reagan started out his interview by saying, "I'm looking at a beautiful lady with a great big smile. I think she's smiling because she knows what her husband is getting ready to do." The picture was featured in Chattanoogan.com.
Commissioner Adams said in that interview that several factors led to his disenchantment with the Democratic Party, including its stances on homosexual rights and gay marriage.
He told of the ACLU suing Hamilton County over hanging of the Ten Commandments, noting the county was forced to pay $38,000 in legal fees for the group as well as take down the tablet.
Asked about Howard Dean being national chairman of the Democrats, Commissioner Adams said, "He'll take the party down all the way."
Commissioner Adams said he is surprised by all the national attention.
He said, "I'm just amazed. I don't know what makes it so important for a County Commissioner in Tennessee to be crossing over to the other party."
Commissioner Adams said he got a rousing reception from county Republicans when he announced his decision on Saturday morning.
He said a short time later he received a call from U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who welcomed him to the party.
Commissioner Adams said he has had only two critical phone calls and only one person has told him they disapprove.
He said, "When I was at Wally's on Sunday, I couldn't eat for people coming up shaking my hand and telling me how proud they were of me."