State Democrats are trying to accuse Republicans and conservatives of denying people their right to vote, when it is really they who are now about to pay the political price for years of turning a blind eye to vote fraud and political padding:
No one is out to purge the voting rolls of those who are legally entitled to vote under the laws and Constitution of this sovereign State. The reality is that those who are complaining about "issues" are the same people who for years have either openly encouraged unlawful voting fraud or (as is much more common) turned a blind eye while it was occurring.
The shoe is on the other foot, so now the crap hits the political fan...
Clement O'Brien was the first woman ever to serve as Chairman of a Tennessee Senate Committee, she would chair both the Senate Education and Transportation Committees during her tenure. In 1982, she ran for Governor, but lost the Democratic Primary to then-Knoxville MayorRandy Tyree. Tyree was handily defeated by incumbentLamar Alexanderin that year's General Election.
Miss Anna Belle, as she came to be known, could really be an extremely partisan Democrat. However, she is largely remembered today as a Lady and a Stateswoman because she did not allow her partisanship to last past adjournment, and was willing to broker deals with Republicans when she knew it was in Tennessee's best interest. She also is remembered for her genteel manner with the people who she both served and worked with.
Today's Examiner column calls Tennessee Democrats back to reality after their "Jackson Day" dinner with Bill Clinton and Al Gore:
Democratic unity does occur-when voting with Republicans in the Legislature. Major portions of the Republican agenda this past session frequently passed with 18, 19, 20 Democratic votes or more, leaving a 20-22 vote liberal rump as the holdouts. The Democrats crooning about "unity" and decrying the conservative Republican agenda need to remember that much of it passed with Democratic votes.
So why don't more States stand up for their rights, since the States are the creators of the federal government, and without them, the federal apparatus has no historical or constitutional reason to exist? Largely because the federal bohemoth has become far greator than its creators, the child, as it were, lording its authority over its parents.
Unlike certain liberals and Washington elites, a few of us have come to understand that the idea of States' rights and true federalism help preserve all of that diversity in America that our friends on the Left are so fond of chiming on and on about.
Would Kent Williams havemade a dealto be elected Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives if Republican legislators had not campaigned against in such a public way in his 2008 primary?
Of course it is difficult to read anyone's mind, let alone Kent Williams, but legislators getting too involved in primaries can create some on-the-job acrimony where none need exist.
In today's Examiner column I rehash the Paul Stanley intern scandal. The column first appeared here on this blog, and I republished it for The Examiner with some slight reworking to try and put the Tennessee Capitol in context for new readers in advance of the January Legislative session.
A conservative journal of social, cultural, and ecclesiatical affairs grounded in a realistic Catholic Christian worldview. It is my hope that this site will be a reflection of Christ,the teachings of His Holy Church, and of the basic vision of a Christian social morality.
