NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Corker was featured speaker Thursday at a foreign policy discussion in Nashville.
The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition sponsored the event. Former Gov. Phil Bredesen and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist are both members.
Corker is top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In his speech, Corker noted that the economic downturn has resulted in new isolationist tendencies in American politics.
“I heard another Senator say last Sunday morning on one of these programs that all of us participate in that we’re giving aid to a country and they don’t even like us. Well, that’s not why we do what we do. I mean, the reason that we are involved around the world, and the reason that we do the things that we do around the world is because it’s in our own interest.”
Gov. Bill Haslam introduced Corker. The Governor noted Tennessee’s dependence on international exports. One in five jobs in the state is tied to overseas customers.