| − | On August 2, 2012, Clayton received his party's nomination with roughly 30 percent of the vote in a multi-candidate field. After the victory, the Tennessee Democratic Party disowned the nominee because of his [[conservative]] and [[libertarian]] philosophy.<ref name="tenn">{{cite news| url=http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120803/NEWS02/308030124/Senate-nominee-Mark-Clayton-disavowed-by-Tennessee-Democratic-Party-?odyssey=nav%7Chead| title=Tennessee Democratic Party disavows Senate nominee |newspaper=The Tennessean |date=August 3, 2012}}</ref> The Tennessee Democratic leadership also objects to Clayton's vice-presidency<ref name=clayton/> of the socially conservative [[interest group]], the Public Advocate of the United States, based in [[Washington, D.C.]] The Public Advocate has been designated a "hate group" by the [[Alabama]]-based [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], operated by [[Morris Dees]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Tenn. Dems disavow Senate nominee, cite hate group|url=http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/06/tenn-dems-disavow-senate-nominee-cite-hate-group/|accessdate=14 August 2012}}</ref> | + | On August 2, 2012, Clayton received his party's nomination with roughly 30 percent of the vote in a multi-candidate field. After the victory, the Tennessee Democratic Party disowned the nominee because of his [[conservative]] and [[libertarian]] philosophy.<ref name="tenn">{{cite news| url=http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120803/NEWS02/308030124/Senate-nominee-Mark-Clayton-disavowed-by-Tennessee-Democratic-Party-?odyssey=nav%7Chead| title=Tennessee Democratic Party disavows Senate nominee |newspaper=The Tennessean |date=August 3, 2012}}</ref> The Tennessee Democratic leadership also objects to Clayton's vice-presidency<ref name=clayton/> of the socially conservative [[interest group]], the Public Advocate of the United States, based in [[Washington, D.C.]] The Public Advocate has been designated a "hate group" by the [[Alabama]]-based [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], operated by [[Morris Dees]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Tenn. Dems disavow Senate nominee, cite hate group|url=https://dailycaller.com/2012/08/06/tenn-dems-disavow-senate-nominee-cite-hate-group/|accessdate=14 August 2012}}</ref> |
| − | In 2008, Clayton ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination to challenge Tennessee's other U.S. senator, Moderate Republican [[Lamar Alexander]], a former governor of Tennessee and an ex-[[United States Secretary of Education]] whom Clayton then described as a "[[neo-conservative]]".<ref name="mj">{{cite web| url=http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/08/mark-clayton-tennessee-democrats-senate|title=Dems Nominate Anti-Gay Conspiracy Theorist for Senate |work=Mother Jones}}</ref> | + | In 2008, Clayton ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination to challenge Tennessee's other U.S. senator, Moderate Republican [[Lamar Alexander]], a former governor of Tennessee and an ex-[[United States Secretary of Education]] whom Clayton then described as a "[[neo-conservative]]".<ref name="mj">{{cite web| url=https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/08/mark-clayton-tennessee-democrats-senate|title=Dems Nominate Anti-Gay Conspiracy Theorist for Senate |work=Mother Jones}}</ref> |
| | Clayton's political positions include opposition to the North American Union, the [[NAFTA]] superhighway, and the national ID card. He has warned that America faces a "godless "[[New World Order]]" and that Americans who speak out against the government run the risk of being sent to "prison camps" operated by the Federal Emergency Management Association. He has spoken out against [[China|Chinese]] oppression of the [[Tibet]]an people.<ref name="mj"/> | | Clayton's political positions include opposition to the North American Union, the [[NAFTA]] superhighway, and the national ID card. He has warned that America faces a "godless "[[New World Order]]" and that Americans who speak out against the government run the risk of being sent to "prison camps" operated by the Federal Emergency Management Association. He has spoken out against [[China|Chinese]] oppression of the [[Tibet]]an people.<ref name="mj"/> |