NASHVILLE, TN - The Tennessee Republican Party is growing increasingly concerned by the failure of Tennessee Democrats to take seriously the attempt by the state of Georgia to take Tennessee’s water by shifting the state’s 190-year-old border northward into Tennessee territory.

“Georgia is serious in its attempt to find some legal loophole to give it access to the Tennessee River – they clearly are not playing games,” said Robin Smith, Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party. “Whether it’s Democrat state Sen. Andy Berke of Chattanooga joking about settling the dispute with a football game, or Democrat Gov. Phil Bredesen telling the media he thinks the whole thing is a joke, or statehouse Democrats filing cleverly written but ultimately powerless resolutions, it suggests that Tennessee Democrats do not understand that Georgia is serious – and, therefore, are not preparing to meet the challenge.”

The Georgia border dispute isn’t the only challenge Tennessee faces. The Bredesen administration has been AWOL on a serious case in which the state of Mississippi sued the city of Memphis, alleging it has pumped too much water from the Memphis Aquifer, which flows beneath Memphis and part of northern Mississippi.

The case - in which Mississippi is seeking $1 billion from Memphis - was pending before a Mississippi federal judge in a Mississippi federal court, giving Mississippi a home court advantage. Under the U.S. constitution, legal disputes between states automatically go to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Bredesen administration could have forced the case to the Supreme Court by joining Memphis as a party to the case.

“Tennessee dodged a bullet when the Mississippi judge did the right thing and dismissed the case, saying it should go to the Supreme Court, but this administration didn’t do all it could to protect Memphis and the state from Mississippi’s attempt to use the legal system to grab Tennessee water,” Smith said.

“Tennessee needs a coherent strategy to protect Tennessee’s vital water resources from outside assaults,” Smith said. “So far, thanks to Gov. Bredesen and his Democratic allies, it doesn’t have one.”