Conservatively Speaking
I'm proud to have such a hardcore conservative as my State Representative:
Georgiana Vines has stirred a tempest in a teapot by bringing up the fact that-perish the thought-State Representative Frank Niceley referred to Tennessee House Speaker-designate Beth Harwell as "a good lookin' woman." What Niceley actually said to Harwell was a number of years ago was "what you've got going for you is you're good lookin' but women don't hate you." Niceley is not only this writer's State Representative, but is a personal friend and a friend of the work done in this space, and one of the reasons Niceley is consistently re-elected with such large majorities is that unlike many people in politics, there is little to nothing that is phony or a false front about Frank Niceley. He tells you the truth as he sees it, and if you don't like it you don't have to like him. "You might as well be straight with people," Niceley once told this writer, "because there are just some people in politics who aren't going to like you no matter what you do."
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Local politics, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Not for Now
While I favor closed primaries in Tennessee, I seriously doubt that the issue is going anywhere anytime soon: Those of us who live in the ground in rural East Tennessee can attest that this stereotype isn’t necessarily true, as East Tennessee voters tend to be as conservative and sometimes more so than other parts of the State. One thing East Tennesseans are, however, is a stubborn lot, and they don’t like being told by someone in Nashville that they can’t do what they have always done. The very fact that Tennessee primaries have been fundamentally open for such a long time and that voters have been allowed to choose their primary without party registration is the very reason a lot of rural East Tennessee Republicans are saying they don’t like it. “Who the Hell are they to tell me which ballot I can choose and that I have to register? We’ve not done it that way before.”
Labels: Conservatism, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Ramsey and Mumpower
Haslam makes a key appointment as Mumpower moves over to the Comptroller's office:
As Haslam announces that a major figure in Chattanooga public life will join his administration, a noteworthy political figure from Upper East Tennessee is about to take a key role in overseeing the State's fiscal health. Outgoing House Republican Leader Jason Mumpower, who will be formally replaced this coming Wednesday, has been named Chief Deputy Comptroller under Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson. In that office Mumpower will serve as Wilson's chief liaison to the General Assembly, a role to which he is very well-suited. Mumpower must have known that he would be in line for a position in the new order, because he told this writer last June "you may see me up here, but in a different capacity." It was predicted in this space that Mumpower would probably not be leaving politics, merely that he was leaving the House.
Labels: Conservatism, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
States' rights Haslam?
Now is where the GOP rubber meets the road:
As Haslam himself has pointed out, he inherits a State that is in relatively good fiscal health when compared to its neighbors (all of whom, it should be pointed out, have State income taxes). However, to insure fiscal discipline in the future Haslam should slowly begin to wean Tennessee off of federal dependency. This isn't to say that we should take no federal money at all for schools, roads, or infrastructure, but we as a State and a people should find ways for our affairs to be less reliant on what Washington does with a budget and more concerned with what our elected representatives in Nashville are doing each spring.
Labels: Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Closing It Down
Closing Tennessee's party primaries is a good idea, but should be done with great care:
Democrats can and have used the crossover vote as a means to impact Republican primary elections, especially in areas where they know that a Democrat cannot win. Republicans, conversely, have been known to do the same in parts of West Tennessee when a Republican couldn't be elected. I've consistently written against the practice, especially since I have never in my life voted in a Democratic primary. I am not a Democrat, so I have never believed that I should have a say in nominating candidates for a political party whose core principles I do not share and to which I have no intention of ever belonging. I do not believe that it is morally or ethically right for Democrats to vote in Republican primaries for the same reason. One Democrat here in town told me "if I'm going to have a say in who is elected around here, I have to vote in the Republican primary, otherwise I have no say." It is actually a compelling argument because of the integrity of the ballot, but it may also be the best argument for closed primaries to be had.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
