Where He’s Going He’s Gonna Need Roads
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 5:27 pmDemocratic U. S. Senate candidate Mike Padgett discusses how to preserve Tennessee manufacturing:
“We don’t know how our community is going to survive,” they told me. With manufacturing gone and little road access to draw new industry to Hancock County, there are no jobs to keep future generations around. When the 50- and 60- somethings begin to pass on, well … who knows?
I hear this same worry so many places. It just underscores the need to aim our resources, our tax dollars at aggressive, innovative ways to create new jobs. There are communities that are dying for lack of them, and the status quo in Washington doesn’t seem to get it.
Well, I do, and I am willing to take the problem on as a U.S. Senator. A big part of the task will be in infrastructure – building roads that can accommodate a 21st century distribution network. (Makes more sense than spending billions to rebuild Baghdad.)
Rogersville, our second stop today, is a good case in point. The roads into town are good, and manufacturing has survived there. It is a more vibrant community economically than a lot I have seen. It can happen elsewhere, with the right kind of leadership.
Bredesen On The Budget
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 5:12 pmThe Governor is presently speaking on the budget and his vision for it before a joint assembly of the legislature. See the entire press package including the prepared text of the speech here.
SEE ALSO:
Tom Humphrey
John Rodgers
Andy Sher
Bill Hobbs
Cara Kumari
Associated Press
Audio
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Grass Is Always Greener
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 5:04 pmThe State of Washington is in a position diametrically opposed to that of Tennessee when it comes to judges.
Where many in Tennessee are upset with the current system of of selection and retention and looking at the possibility of electing judges by direct popular election (as the state constitution proscribes), Washington has those elections and is looking for a better solution:
[A]fter years like 2004 and 2006, where we had a couple high-profile, expensive, and acerbic races, much ado is made about campaign money and special interests tainting the election of officers to what’s supposed to be a politically independent branch of government.
Hence a gravitational pull amongst some bar leaders toward ideas like public financing of judicial campaigns and “merit selection,” a form of selecting judges that a number of other states employ. It goes something like this: a citizen’s commission interviews and endorses a slate of nominees to the Governor who makes an appointment to the bench. The judge then runs, on an up or down retention basis, after a given term of service. Last month’s issue of the Washington State Bar News is devoted to a debate on the merits of merit selection, with the “majority report” of a Judicial Selection Task Force arguing decidedly for a merit selection approach to seating Washington judges.Which is all a long introduction to a short piece in today’s WSJ about Tennessee. They’ve had merit selection in place for awhile. And the results confirm the fears of those who favor elections rather than appointments
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The Map
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 4:43 pmMarc Ambinder games out the likely race for President concludes with this electoral ote breakdown:
McCain’s base states + his leaners: 245 electoral votes.
Obama’s base states + his leaners: 221 electoral votes.
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Sumner County Bound?
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 4:34 pmThe Nashville Sounds seem to taking a hard look at moving outside Davidson County:
Channel 4 reporter Aaron Solomon asked Sounds general manager Glenn Yaeger, “At what point do you explore possibilities outside Davidson County?”"We’re getting close to that point because of the pressure we’re getting from major league and minor league baseball,” said Yaeger.That may be music to the ears of officials in the suburbs.
Ron Paul Thinks Some Of His Supporters Are A Bit Misguided As Well
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 4:04 pmRon Paul, the inspiration for Paulville a community by and for libertarians, has spoken out against the project:
“I don’t think that’s the solution,” says the still-running Republican presidential candidate. “You want to spread out and be as pervasive as possible.”
The driving idea behind Paulville — that likeminded lovers of liberty should band together — is not a new one. In 2003, thousands of libertarians vowed to move to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. Paul was no more sanguine on that effort, saying that population spillover from Massachusetts had overwhelmed it.
“They outnumbered us, the liberals leaving Massachusetts,” he says. “They wanted to pay less taxes, but then again, they wanted more government and they outnumbered the ones who wanted less government.”
Paulville, meanwhile, is much less likely than New Hampshire to attract Massachusetts liberals. But it does boast some green possibilities that a Northeast liberal might like. Snuggled deep into West Texas, the plot, according to Paulville.org, was chosen for its high amount of sunshine — the better to power solar panels and keep off the grid.
The community is structured as a co-op; freedom-loving denizens can purchase plots as small as one acre and are not required to use the co-op’s water or energy supply.
But dropping out and creating an isolated community isn’t the answer, says Paul, a congressman from Texas. “You don’t want the ideas to be centered in one place,” he says. “But it shows how desperate people are for freedom.”
Either/Or
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 3:34 pmPhil Ayres with a totally original argument against voting for Bob Barr, the presumptive Libertarian nominee for President:
It is not like he is dynamic or even remotely impressive. I hear ya’. McCain is not - by any stretch - a conservative. But, I ask you, is he more conservative than Barack Obama? Because those are your choices.
And, in reality, do you think there is any way in hell that Bob Barr can get elected? So, effectively, if you vote for Bob Barr, you might as well be throwing in a ballot for Obama, Reverend Wright, and all of his supporters.
Setting the bar rather low for Republicans aren’t we? I mean if you tell the Republicans all they have to do to get your vote is simply be less offputting than the Democratic candidate that is exactly what they are going to do. Every time.
Sanitizing Phil
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 3:01 pmVia P. J. Tobia, we discover that former Tennessean political columnist Tim Chavez has a blog. In one of his first postings, he argues that former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell should run for Governor because he needs to do for Tennessee what he did for Nashville — clean up after Phil Bredesen:
Purcell will run because someone will be needed to repair the state Democratic Party after Gov. Phil Bredesen destroys what’s left of its core values with his upcoming budget cuts. The fact that GOP legislators are more in favor of his proposed budget than Dem legislators shows how deep the destruction will go.
Purcell is used to cleaning up Bredesen’s messes and excesses. He had to repair Nashville after Bredesen’s tenure as mayor. His big deals with millionaires — including one topped by the falsehood that the arena would be making a profit — left the city in tough financial straits when it came to meeting the needs of ordinary people and their neighborhoods. Nashville now must first commit more than $20 million annually to pro sports and its facilities before getting to the rest of the city’s needs.
Someone will have to return Tennessee government to the ordinary people after Bredesen finishes with his budget cutting. His tired contention that the state should be run as a business does not induce confidence.
Incurring Debix
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 2:27 pmMichael Cass has the final numbers on the registered voters who signed up for identity protection services after laptops containing voter identification information were stolen form the Davidson County Election Commission:
The final tally of Debix participants was 57,097, said Janel Lacy, Mayor Karl Dean’s press secretary. Two laptops containing about 337,000 voters’ Social Security numbers were stolen from the Davidson County Election Commission’s offices in the days before Christmas, prompting Dean to offer the identity-theft protection service on the city’s dime for one year. Police found the computers on Jan. 17.
Metro is paying a discounted rate of $9.75 for each of the first 20,000 voters to sign up and $9.25 for all others. At those rates, the city will pay $538,147.25 from a special insurance fund designed for an unforeseen event. Austin, Texas-based Debix usually charges its customers $99 a year.
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Where Is Dee Love?
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 1:57 pmSenate Democratic Caucus spokesman Mark Brown comments on the attempt to unseat GOP State Senator Jim Tracy in the Shelbyville Times Gazette:
“We have an A-list candidate in Jean Ann Rogers,” said Mark Brown, communications director for the Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus. “We feel that this is a winnable seat. It’s a swing district…. Frankly, we feel like the people of Senate District 16 are looking for a change.”
Problem here, of course, is that there are TWO candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in this race. Both Rodgers and a woman named Dee Butler filed to run in the Democratic primary. Butler, in these times of racially divisive Democratic politics, also happens to be an African-American candidate.
Mark Brown, via email, explains his oversight in the third person:
The Caucus spokesperson isn’t the brightest bulb in the pack. The reporter asked him about Jean Anne Rogers and he responded as reported, without thinking that he should add that Dee Butler is an a-list candidate, too. One of many moments of idiocy from this spokesperson.
Rogers and Butler are both A-list candidates. The Democratic nominee for SD16 will be a strong candidate, regardless of who wins the primary.
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The Key To A Clinton Victory
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 1:44 pmSadcox believes that Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the White House in 2012 has already started:
Can [Obama] win the black vote? Obviously. Can he win the upper class liberal white vote? Absolutely–there seems to be an abundance of feelings of guilt about slavery and romantic novelty of his nomination. Young college kids? If they’re still gung ho about doing the opposite of what their parents do by November. But what about Hispanics? Please, be serious. What about working class white voters? They’re likely to see their choices as a moderate war hero who looks like them and a guy with a funny name who doesn’t. And what about the middle class soccer moms and t-ball dads? They are the meaty part of the bell curve–moderate, just like McCain.
This whole scenario is working out perfectly for the Republicans, at least for this election. The problem is, they have probably won the battle and lost the war. That feeling of frustration about the direction of the Party is not going to go away. Which leads us to…
Hillary Clinton in 2012. The longer Hillary Clinton drags this fight out, the worse Obama’s chances. Think she’s sticking around to be Vice President? Nah–she’s already had that job. Right now her best chance to get to the White House is good ol’ John McCain.
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A Message From The Medium
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 1:37 pmC.L. discusses the difference between journalists and bloggers:
I just read a blog from a guy who was touting that he was a “real” journalist because his blog “broke a story.” Then he chided an actual newspaper for “claiming to break the story.
Puhleeze.
The “story” that was broken was a link. No details — just here it is, folks.
The newspaper, on the other hand, had a reporter who actually made phone calls and dug for facts. Furthermore, the reporter’s name — his REAL name — was at the top of the story. Not some pseudonym or cutesy screen name to hide behind and to abandon when the heat’s too hot in the kitchen.
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Barack Obama Walks The Fine Line
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 1:33 pmBarack Obama talks about his relationships with Jews in his political life:
The other irony in this whole process is that in my early political life in Chicago, one of the raps against me in the black community is that I was too close to the Jews. When I ran against Bobby Rush [for Congress], the perception was that I was Hyde Park, I’m University of Chicago, I’ve got all these Jewish friends. When I started organizing, the two fellow organizers in Chicago were Jews, and I was attacked for associating with them. So I’ve been in the foxhole with my Jewish friends, so when I find on the national level my commitment being questioned, it’s curious.
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The Left Versus Coop
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 1:23 pmJeff Woods notes a leftist blogger who has little use for our fair congressman of the Fighting 5th:
Jim Cooper is a right-wing Democrat, about as bad as they come. Of the 234 Democratic members of Congress with a rating in Progressive Punch, Jim Cooper ranks as the 215th most progressive. He is a Blue Dog, a term that was coined for Democrats who were supposedly “”choked blue” by those “extreme” Democrats, from the left.” He is also a Bush Dog, voting both to continue funding the war with a blank check and to grant warrantless spying powers on American citizens via FISA. And he does this all from a blue-leaning district, TN-05, a D +6 district won by the likes of Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakais. To put this in perspective, he ranks just above Leonard Boswell, who is 216th on progressive punch, despite being in a far more Democratic district than Boswell. And Boswell’s district leans blue. Mike Lux wrote an important piece about Cooper back in February.
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Bredesen To Be Bare Bones On The Buyout
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 1:10 pmCara Kumari liveblogged the Governor’s comments to the press in the lead up to his discussion of the budget tonight before a joint session of the legislature. She reports that details tonight on the buyouts may be scant and that dipping into the rainy day fund is not an advisable option:
-”The general assembly unless they want to stay a lot longer is not going to have the details of the buyouts.”
-The governor will give lawmakers an idea of how much total money he wants to spend on the buyouts, but they are going to have to do it without the details.
-The governor says dipping into the rainy day fund is the type of stuff that leads to income tax proposals and all of those things.
SEE ALSO:
Ken Whitehouse
John Rodgers
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Paying The Hall Tax
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 12:24 pmKay Brooks reports on Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Haynes’ Republican opponent:
I just got an email from Michelle this morning letting me know that David’s website is up and they’re ready to get volunteers lined up in preparation for what I’m sure is going to be a hard push back from Sen. Haynes. You’ll find some of David’s positions at his ‘Return to Common Sense‘ page. His children have created DemocracyMeetTheHalls.com which is their e-book about their dad.
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Harold And Emily
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 12:14 pmThrough the miracle of photo-sharing, we find some intimate photos from the wedding of Harold Ford, Jr. and Emily Threlkeld.
Libertarians: A Cleavage
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 11:38 amGlenn “Instapundit” Reynolds reviews Ron Paul’s The Revolution: A Manifesto for Pajamas Media:
My biggest disagreement, and that of many libertarians with Paul, involves national security. Paul and I are both libertarians, but of different varieties. Paul is an old-fashioned Rothbardian. I’m more of a Heinleinian libertarian and we, like the Randian libertarians, tend to view national defense as more important than the Rothbardians do. Paul’s view, essentially, is that if we quit sending troops abroad, other people and countries would quit wanting to kill us. I’m not particularly persuaded by this. First, even during the minimal-government era of Thomas Jefferson we wound up at war with the Barbary Pirates (in many ways, the spiritual antecedents of today’s Islamic terrorists). And second, Paul is not an isolationist - he favors much more commercial and cultural engagement with foreign countries, something which, if experience is any guide, is as likely to anger Islamic fundamentalists and other varieties of terrorists and tyrants as is the establishment of foreign bases.
David Scobey, RIP
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 11:30 amLongtime Nashville Vice-Mayor David Scobey has died:
“David Scobey was my first political mentor,” said Gov. Phil Bredesen, who worked with him as mayor of Nashville for eight years.
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Wearing A Coat While Dealing With A Politician
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 11:16 amJohn Rodgers reports on a coalition of concerned citizens who will be attempting relay a message to Governor Phil Bredesen:
A coalition of advocates for various causes, from K-12 education to fair taxation, will be donning rain coats to encourage Bredesen and legislators to dip into the state’s $750 million rainy day fund.
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Yes, We Can Reply All
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 11:10 amMary Mancini, the Nashville radio host who declared that everyone she knew voted for Obama, urges people not to dismissively discard the emails you receive about Barack Obama’s religious heritage.
Yet Another Ford Trial
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 10:44 amVia Adam Groves:
The FBI has another trail against a member of the Ford family on its hands. This time it’s former City Councilman Edmund Ford. In “Operation Main Street Sweeper,” a relatively short undercover investigation that yielded several indictments, the feds nabbed Ford accepting a bribe to remove a billboard moritorium. The sting netted Ford and fellow Councilman Rickey Peete along with longtime local political operative Joe Cooper. Ford, a two-term council member, did not run for re-election and in January was succeeded on the council by his son, Edmund Ford Jr.
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Ralph Nader 2.0
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 10:42 amFormer Republican congressman Bob Barr has announced that he will, in fact, seek the Libertarian nomination for President giving conservatives, libertarians, Ron Paul supporters and members of the “Leave Me Alone” coalition an outlet to express their disappointment with John McCain.
Republicans have been urgent imploring Barr not to run and now Ron Paul, Mother Jones states, has some decisions to make.
SEE ALSO: Ron Paul supporters plan a ruckus for John McCain to deal with at the Republican National Convention.
Comer Knows How To Organize The Elite
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 10:21 amBob Davis’s public relations shop adds a new member. From the release:
The RJD Group, Inc. today announced the addition of State Representative James Comer of Tompkinsville, KY to the firm. Comer, who will serve as Government Relations Manager, will primarily focus on federal government relations, grasstops activity, and political consulting with an emphasis on policy development.
“James Comer is a seasoned state legislator with vast experience on policy and issue development and government relations. James is a rising star in Kentucky government and his common sense approach to public service is contagious,” said Bob Davis, President of RJD Group, Inc. and former chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party.
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Selections And Elections: The Tennessee Plan Controversy Goes National
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 9:03 amA Wall Street Journal editorial discussing how Tennessee picks it judges touches off a flurry of post from the right side of the blogosphere. From the editorial:
The decades-old Tennessee judicial selection plan is considered by many to be against state law. According to the state constitution, all judges must be elected by a direct vote of the people, a requirement that few consider legitimately met by Tennessee’s uncontested “retention” elections. Though lawmakers proposed amending the constitution to make the current selection method legal, Tennessee voters rejected the amendment in 1977.
The Tennessee plan was conceived as superior to the political brawls of states that elect their judges directly. But special interests have ended up more empowered than ever in a system less transparent and accountable. Trial lawyers are running the selection process behind closed doors. Isolating courts completely from the reach of politics is a pipe dream, but keeping judges democratically accountable (through election, or nomination and confirmation) is the best way to keep the system honest and serve all citizens.
SEE ALSO:
Bill Hobbs
Instapundit
Ned Williams
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The Passion Of The Phil
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 8:48 amA conservative blogger discusses the legacy of Governor Phil Bredesen and compares him to various unsavory characters from the Bible.
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Lamar Again Thrown In The Veep Talk Mix
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 8:46 amFor the second time in recent weeks, Lamar Alexander is mentioned as a possible Vice-Presidential nominee for John McCain:
On the Republican side, some of the stronger ones include Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former homeland security secretary Tom Ridge. Among the GOP senators warranting serious consideration are former education secretary Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina—not to mention Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a Democrat who often breaks with his party on issues such as Iraq.
As P-squared has mentioned before, while it is extremely unlikely such an offer would be extended to or accepted by Alexander it certainly would make Tennessee Republican politics quite interesting.
Don’t Just Say No, Say No Thank You
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 8:45 amA prominent left-leaning national blog tells its readship to “Just Say No” to U.S. District Court nominee Gus Puryear.
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Odom Calls “Technical Correction” A Tax Increase
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 8:44 amThe House Majority Leader has announced that he will be opposing a provision of the Bredesen Administration “technical corrections” bill, calling it a tax increase. Ben Cunningham opines:
This so-called technical corrections bill is NOT about technical corrections, it is about tax hikes, plain and simple. Governor Bredesen has already said ”I’m not going to ask for new taxes to solve this problem.” I call on Governor Bredesen to stand by the this no tax hike pledge and oppose these back door tax hikes.
Odom is, of course, rumored to have his eye on Speaker Jimmy Naifeh’s chair. This kind of bold move has to be seen with that in mind.
MORE: Bill Hobbs
Senator Corker Making His Own Rules
Posted on May 12, 2008 at 8:31 amThe Chattanooga Free Press reports on Tennessee’s junior senator’s independent streak:
He was among those who opposed the economic stimulus package, criticizing the IRS rebates as “political stimulus.”
He has labeled as “pandering” proposals to suspend the gas tax this summer — an idea advocated by Republican presidential nominee John McCain and Democratic contender Hillary Clinton.
He also is nearly alone in his outspoken opposition to a global warming cap-and-trade bill favored by Sens. McCain, Clinton and Barack Obama, saying some of his colleagues are caught up in “the romance of the idea.”
But if his tough talk has drawn the ire of his mates on Capitol Hill, Sen. Corker isn’t letting on.
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