We Told You So
Remember I told you Tony Shipley and Dale Ford
would be exonerated:
Indeed, the evidence that the so-called investigation into Shipley and Ford was really a witch-hunt mounted as then-Health Commissioner Susan Cooper and former legislative aide to the Governor Dale Kelly were dismissed under rather mysterious circumstances. Both of those individuals had a hand in seeing to it that the nurses in question were given their licenses back. The Examiner was able to pose the hard questions to one of those nurses, Bob Reynolds, who put himself at some risk to bring us the truth of the case
and of the politicized nature of certain officialdom at the Tennessee
Bureau of Investigation to light. All along, this writer maintained that
Reps. Shipley (R-Kingsport) and Ford (R-Jonesborough) were victims of a hatchet job, and were being used as political fall guys for the failure of the Board of Nursing to do its job correctly.
Labels: Elections, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Would You Like Cheese With That Whine?
The Democrats are already
whining about redistricting:
This new district map essentially does the reverse, and insures that
cities, which are losing population, are not overrepresented in the next
General Assembly, hence the real source of the Democrats' concern.
There was very little in the way of complaint from Democrats about
under-representation of rural Tennessee and East Tennessee back when
they drew the districts and drew them to manufacture Democratic
majorities that were padded at best and an outright fabrication of
reality at worst. Now that it is time to administer the medication to
the patient-Tennessee's electoral system-that Democrats made sick with
years of neglect and taking their majorities for granted, Tennessee
Democrats do not want to take their medicine. As they know very well
from experience, the party that runs the General Assembly calls the tune
in Tennessee-see how we felt all those years?
Labels: Conservatism, Elections, Local politics, Tennessee politics
If Tennessee wants a say in the Republican nominating process, South Carolina
had better save the day:
Contrary to popular belief, the Republican nomination is far from
decided in reality. After South Carolina, the series of States which
vote on what this year will be Super Tuesday, March 6th, will all have
their delegate counts decided on a proportional basis, most by
congressional district. That means that if candidates were to campaign
well, they could still challenge Mitt Romney for the Republican
nomination. The practical reality is that if Tennesseans want a real say
in who will be the Republican nominee, it would appear that South
Carolina is going to have to be the contest where someone defeats Mitt
Romney, because at some point, money becomes a factor for those
candidates who would otherwise have a chance to be nominated.
Labels: Conservatism, Elections, Local politics, Presidential Election, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Just Make Sure You Do the Business
Talk of early adjournment of the Tennessee General Assembly
is a very good thing:
The Tennessee General Assembly convenes its second session today and gets underway in a matter of minutes as this column is being written. Indeed, by the time we go to press, session will almost certainly be underway in both Houses. Just as the General Assembly gets underway today, there is already talk of when the session will end, with the leadership of both Houses eager to get on with business and get out of Nashville as quickly as possible. Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey hinted during today's Senate session in an exchange with Senate Democratic Leader Jim Kyle (D-Memphis) as this column is being written that he was hoping for adjournment as soon as late April.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
The New Congressional Order
East Tennessee will soon have a
new Congressional configuration:
With the Tennessee General Assembly set to open tomorrow, Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell and Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey releasing the likely Tennessee Congressional District map late last week, the the proposal set to become finalized early in the new session of the General Assembly. One thing that doesn't change is the compsition of the First Congressional District, in which this writer lives. Congressman Phil Roe's (R-Johnson City) will remain virtually the same, including taking in the 3rd civil district of Jefferson County (White Pine Precinct). The remaining 2/3rds of Jefferson County, however, won't be in the 3rd Congressional District represented by Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (R-Chattanooga) any longer, but will join Grainger, Claibourne, and part of Campbell Counties in a refomed 2nd Congressional District anchored in Knox County and represented by Tennessee's senior Member of Congress, John J. Duncan Jr. (R-Knoxville).
Labels: Congress, Conservatism, Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Redistricting Is Here
The Tennessee House and Senate redistricting
plans have arrived:
The real changes appear to be coming in the Tennessee House of
Representatives, especially for those of us in East Tennessee. What
amounts to three new districts will be created in Knox County, including
(if the map
is correct) an 89th District in West Knox County. We won't ask for
details on how 89 is consecutive with 13 through 19. Representative
Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) won't represent any part of
Knox County anymore, but he will have around 2/3rds of Jefferson and
roughly the northern third of Sevier County as his new 17th District.
Labels: Congress, Conservatism, Elections, Federal politics, Local politics, Presidential Election, Radio show
Wow...
Sometimes that is the only word that comes to mind when the
impossible becomes political reality:
There are times when watching a political result that all you can say
is "wow." Last night's Iowa Caucuses were such a moment. This writer
prays his wife will forgive him for being up until after 4:00am awaiting
the final result. We've been up all night to await election outcomes
before, but I can't recall the last time I was up all night awaiting an
outcome during primary and caucus season.
When the final result came in, even though the numbers showed former
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at the top literally by just a few
votes, it is former Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania) who can be
the one to claim victory. Within a matter of a month, he came from
around 3% of the vote to effectively tie at the top of the caucus
margins.
Labels: Conservatism, Elections, Federal politics, Local politics, Presidential Election, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Boehner's the Deal-Breaker
Apparently, the Chattanooga Tea Party won't endorse Chuck Fleischmann because House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)
showed up at his fundraiser:
When we have said in the past that many local Tennessee Tea Party
leaders strike us as not knowing the first thing about the game of
politics, this is an example of how this writer and others have come to
that conclusion. Political parties in any political system anywhere in
the world are coalitions which exist in part to gain power over
government bodies. Once they have that power, their first and primary
goal is to do what it takes to keep that power, and in our political
system, that means raising money. A Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives normally wants to raise money for all of his
candidates to help them stay in office, and he or she will appear at as
many fundraisers as they possibly can for them. Appearance at such a
fundraiser is not necessarily indicative that candidate X always sees
eye-to-eye with the Speaker, it just means that the Speaker is doing
what he has to do politicaly to make sure that a seat stays in
his party's hands. If Weston Wamp or Jean Howard-Hill were to win the
Republican nomination instead of Fleischmann, it would not be the least
bit surprising to see John Boehner at a fundraiser for either of them in
the future.
Labels: Congress, Conservatism, Elections, Federal politics, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Haslam and Voter ID
Does he just
walk the way the wind blows?:
We understand that in Tennessee, a Governor's veto is essentially
worthless, since a veto can be over-ridden by a simple majority in both
Houses of the General Assembly. However, Governors have used vetos
before in order to make a public statement about their objection to some
particular piece of legislation that came to them from the General
Assembly. If Haslam has such an objection to the provisions of the Voter
ID law, wouldn't the appropriate time to voice those issues be when the
bill comes to his desk for his required signature, and he has a public
news conference and says "I just can't abide this and I am going to veto
it, you all worry about it if you decide to over-ride me?" Haslam
didn't do that, in fact he didn't even veto the legislation without
public fanfare. What did Governor Haslam do to voice his supposed
objections to the Voter ID Law? He signed the bill, and with little public comment.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
If Not Now, When?
If Tennessee taxes will not be cut now,
when will they be cut?:
Despite Haslam's admission that these taxes do not represent long-term
good or a pro-growth economic policy for Tennessee, the Governor claims
that we can't afford to cut or eliminate them, or for that matter to
abolish Tennessee's tax on groceries, which hurts the poorest citizens
of our State. Haslam says we are still in an economic pinch and need to
conserve every penny, and if these taxes were reduced or eliminated,
that neither he nor the General Assembly has a strategy to replace the
lost revenue that would result. Perhaps the Governor and the General
Assembly need to come up with such a strategy so that these taxes can be cut for the benefit of all Tennesseans. Governments always come up with some excuse why they can't really
cut taxes or reduce their size, and at some point when economic times
are a bit better, it still isn't likely that either Haslam or a future
Governor of either party will be beating the doors to the House and
Senate Chambers down to demand passage of a major tax reduction. As is
currently the case, a group of legislators will have to take the
initiative, and we will again hear excuses from all quarters about why
it can't be done or shouldn't be done now.
Labels: Conservatism, Economy, Elections, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Open Meetings Act
Revisions to the Tennessee Open Meetings Act should be done sparingly and
handled with great care:
It is true that the chief proposal, which comes out of Williamson County
and is being sponsored in the Tennessee House in the next session by
former House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada (R-Franklin). The
legislation was apparently brought to Casada by the Williamson County
Commission. The proposed change would allow closed-door discussions
among commissioners and other local officials so long as a quorum is not
present. The problem with this approach is that it could too easily be
used to circumvent public input simply by setting up two separate
non-quorum meetings, quietly coming to agreement behind closed doors,
and taking a vote at the public meeting without recourse to free, open,
or public debate. Such a maneuver-however well-intentioned-is a serious
danger to free government wherever it exists and should be discouraged
at all costs.
Labels: Blogging, Conservatism, Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
NAACCCP
Watch it, if Tennessee doesn't repeal our voter ID law, our friends at the
NAACP are going to bring in the UN!:
Suppose that the United Nations Human Rights Commission decides that
Tennessee is violating the human rights of voters by requiring them to
identify themselves. How would the U.N. correct the problem? Would the
United Nations attempt to tell the U.S. Justice Department how to
interpret constitutional law? If the Justicew Department or the federal
government did not intervene in Tennessee, does the NAACP propose that
the U.N. send in multinational troops to enforce its will on the people
of the State of Tennessee?
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Duh, Elections, Federal politics, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
The Ballot Is Fixed
The ballot for Tennessee's
March 6th Presidential primary is fixed:
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett announced the names
of the candidates who will appear on the ballot Tennessee's scheduled
March 6th, 2012 Republican Presidential Preference Primary yesterday.
The Republican candidates that Tennesseans will have to choose from in
March are Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson,
Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Charles “Buddy” Roemer, Mitt Romney and Rick
Santorum.
Labels: Elections, Presidential Election, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Super Tuesday?
Tennessee's influence in the presidential race
may just have increased:
If Cain endorses Gingrich, he may throw more conservative support in Tennessee behind Newt, even as we know that Haslam family money and political push
are behind Mitt Romney. That kind of political pull may wield results
in Statewide races, but in 2008, we saw a clear backlash from social
conservatives against the prevailing establishment wisdom when they
chose Mike Huckabee in the Tennessee primary over John McCain or Mitt
Romney. If more conservative primary voters are in that kind of mood in
2012, and they see Gingrich as their only option against a former
Massachusetts Governor with a liberal record who can't even decide if he
is pro-life this week, they may choose Gingrich as well.
Just as the 2012 presidential campaign is very fluid at this point,
so is the primary race in Tennessee itself. Perhaps the biggest question
for interested Tennesseans may be what kind of role Tennessee will end
up playing in the nomination process. In 2008, Tennessee ended up having
a quasi-major role in keeping former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in
the campaign for as long as he was. According to the current schedule
of primaries and caucuses, Tennessee appears to be set to vote on March
6th, which-if there are no major changes in the primary calendar before
that date-will be Super Tuesday.
Labels: Conservatism, Elections, Local politics, Presidential Election, Tennessee politics
The Not-quite Endorsement
Governor Bill Haslam has a favorite, he
just isn't making it official:
Well, let's see, Governor Haslam's father, brother, and a great many
of his closest political friends-people we might consider to be
Haslam's "inner circle" have all made a choice, and their pick is former
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney-you know, the one who was pro-choice
and became pro-life when it was politically expedient-hed who becomes a
lot of things when it is politically expedient.
Labels: Conservatism, Elections, Federal politics, Local politics, Presidential Election, Tennessee politics
The Grand Design
The supercommittee that was designed to fail
did what it was designed to do:
No Democrat on that committee was going to agree to cut entitlements to the degree needed to restore the full faith and credit of the United States because it will undermine the Democrats' core constituency groups. No Republican would agree to tax increases without significant cuts and reform to entitlement spending, nor should they. The even numbers on the committee in light of those realities insured that the process would fail before it even began. The President likely wanted it that way, because now he can cut national defenses so deeply that he will make this country a weakling and a by-word in the earth, but he'll find ways to increase entitlement spending if Obama should, God forbid, remain in office. Failure is what the President wanted all along, since failure is what his administration is all about.
.
Labels: Congress, Conservatism, Democrats, Duh, Economy, Elections, Federal politics, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Occupy the Tea
The Tennessee Tea Party has the potential to do geat things politically, if they would organize in the way that
successful political movements do:
The problems with the Tea Party in Tennessee are why longtime conservative activists like Bill Hemrick, who gave an excellent interview in The Tennessean, seem to be more disenchanted with the movement in this State. The Tea Party has had opportunities handed to its activists and they cannot unite, and they don't seem to know (and it sometimes seems that some do not care) how to organize a successful Statewide political movement. So-called "Tea Party" candidates can't win Statewide races, and as we saw in the Governor's race, the consevative vote not only divided, but so did supposed Tea Party support.
The Tea Party in Tennessee still has an opportunity to be a major force in State politics, but they need clear goals and objectives and leaders who everyone in the movement reconizes as such and are willing to follow-sound familiar?
Labels: Conservatism, Elections, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Occupy the Ash Heap?
Is Occupy Nashville
slowly dying?:
Belief that the constitutional rights of the people who are sitting in on Legislative Plaza are sacrosanct, and agreement with the ideas that many of the protesters are promoting are two different things, however, and this writer has been clear that his sympathies lie with the Constitution, not with this political movement. One of the problems with the so-called Occupy Movement is that-especially in Nashville-even its supporters do not know what its clear goals are, and no one from Occupy Nashville has laid out a clear program for the Tennessee General Assembly in the next session that focuses on their agenda. This may be because they have no real agenda and no leader-Occupy Nashville has given us some idea of what they are against, but they cannot tell us what they are in favor of it change the things that they believe are dysfunctional. Even people who are otherwise inclined to support the Occupiers admit this is a problem.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Duh, Elections, Local politics, Miscellany, Tennessee politics
Apathy Day in Knoxville
An important election where very few people vote:
Voting has reportedly increased somewhat since this morning, but turnout has still been very low (it
is being reported on "the Twitter"-to borrow a phrase from Senator Doug
Henry-that some Knoxville precincts haven't even seen 80 voters today),
and that is somewhat depressing. Local elections like those taking
place in Knoxville and part of Knox County today are the ones that do
more to impact people's daily lives than national elections do, or
probably ever will. Presidents and Congresses do not pave streets, cover
bridges, lay sidewalk concrete, decide property or sales tax rates, or
enforce building and zoning codes. City and county officials and State
legislators decide when and how much of that kind of work-the daily
grunt work of government to provide the services we need to live
our daily lives-gets done. Knowing that, you would think that a whole
lot more people would want to make their voice heard.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Tennessee politics
Hard Knox for Padgett
There are two choices for Mayor of Knoxville, but one has a much better chance than the other of
not driving the city straight into the ground:
Mark Padgett is far from a perfect candidate, and it is true that the odds of a victory for Mr. Padgett tomorrow are very long indeed. He is, however, by far the best of the two remaining candidates. We might not agree with his family politics at our house, but it can't be argued that the Padgett fasmily has a love and a passion for Knoxville and Knox County that can scarcely be equalled. People in Knoxville have two choices in for Mayor tomorrow-one of those choices might not make the city into a total wreck, but the other one almost certainly will not, and that person would be Mark Padgett.
Labels: Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Tennessee politics
