Labels: Conservatism, Faith, Political correctness
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 2:05 AM
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While one set of candidates largely chose to abide by this unwritten tradition, another group saw their status as threatened because, God forbid, someone dared challenge their precious status as the anointed guardians of the Republican Party. Many who spent large amounts of money believe that they and they alone have the right to sit on the State Executive Committee, and they were and are quite comfortable with living in a universe where voters pay no attention to the internal workings of the Republican Party. This large expenditure of money was a way for the establishment to flex its muscle, and say with a loud political voice "...and stay out." Lest anyone think that we are bitter over not winning, readers should be reminded that the State Executive Committee is a completely volunteer position and that anyone running essentially agrees that they will incur all of the expenses related to the office. Those who run for the SEC need to be prepared to serve, oftentimes to be at the disposal of their local parties whenever they are needed far more so than being in Nashville once a quarter.
Labels: Conservatism, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 9:05 PM
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Ragsdale sent his minions to hack into e-mails of suspected political opponents, dig into medical records of public critics, and some say (granted without real proof) to try and have his opposition assassinated while keeping his hands clean. Ragsdale very likely didn't order Knoxville City Councilman Steve Hall to be killed, but it was awfully funny that an attempt to shoot Hall took place not only when Steve Hall was running against Mike Ragsdale in the 2006 Knox County Republican primary, but when Hall's candidacy was clearly the beginning of a long process of bringing the abuses of the Ragsdale Administration to light in Knox County.
Labels: Conservatism, Local politics, News Media, Tennessee politics
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 10:50 PM
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The Tennessee State Fair still faces difficulties that it cannot immediately address, however. Redevelopment of the fairgrounds is still on the agenda for the Nashville Metro Government, and that means that the fair board may only have use of the traditional site for this fair season. If the State Fair is to continue on a long-term basis, the grounds must either be bought from the Metro Government, or (more likely) a new venue will have to be found. In addition to difficulties with the place to hold the fair over the long-term, the biggest obstacle to the revenue generation and agricultural exhibits that keep a successful State fair going is timing. The dates for the State Fair put it in direct conflict with Knoxville's Tennessee Valley Fair, also held September 10th-19th, and the West Tennessee State Fair in Jackson (September 14th-19th).
Labels: Local politics, Miscellany, Tennessee politics
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 3:53 PM
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Democrats and those on the Left are good at raising taxes to deal with problems as though simply making the public pay more money to the government will solve our debt problem. The country needs to face hard truths and so does the Obama Administration, and the first truth is that we need to take a hard and painful look at how much money the federal government spends. Tennessee's Constitution requires a balanced budget. Perhaps the federal Constitution needs to be amended to hold the federal government to the same standard. If Bob Corker wants to make a lasting impact on history with his Senate tenure, perhaps he can lead the charge for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Labels: Congress, Conservatism, Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 5:04 PM
1 comments
To be fair to Haslam, he isn't the first Republican to paint McWherter in a positive light for a campaign promotion, Lamar Alexander did it in a 2008 U.S. Senate re-election promotion, pointing out how Alexander and McWherter reached across the aisle to work together on education reform and other issues. It seems that Haslam forgets who his Democratic opponent is, and that the man he is lauding in his latest advertisement is the father of his opposition, and is the driving force behind the Democrats' campaign. Is it Haslam's wish to give his opponent ammunition to be used late in the game, say, before the start of early voting?
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 4:21 PM
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Labels: Faith, Holy Mother Church, Music
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 2:39 PM
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