SJR127 Story Time Over
Posted on May 11, 2009 at 5:06 pmHouse Clerk Burney Durham read SJR0127 tonight without incident or debate. The second of three required readings of he controversial amendment is scheduled for Thursday.
UPDATE: Rep. Gary Odom says to expect some amendment propositions:
“When you’ve got a more complex proposal for a constitutional amendment, it’s very appropriate for the legislature to add more specific language dealing with the relative subject matter,” Odom said. “I think exceptions are something that should be discussed, and I believe they will be.”
permalink | Comment on this post
SJR 127 Trucks Along
Posted on May 5, 2009 at 2:06 pmLiberadio(!) reports on the progress of the controversial abortion resolution:
SJR127 passes out of House Finance, Ways & Means Committee and on to Calendar & Rules. One more step before it gets to the House floor.
Getting A Bit Dramatical On SJR 127
Posted on at 7:35 amThe Tennessee Guerilla Women don’t want anyone telling them what to do with their bodies but if someone does have to have a vote on their reproductive health they want them to be well-read:
The House Finance, Ways & Means Committee votes on SJR127 today. The rabid male-dominated Senate has already passed the measure. If it passes in the House too, it will then require super majority votes next year, and then Tennessee women will experience the indignity of having virtually every illiterate fool in the state get to vote on our right to control our bodies.
SJR127 Rolls Out Of Budget Sub
Posted on April 29, 2009 at 11:56 amMary Mancini reports that everyone’s favorite anti-choice resolution is moving to the floor:
SJR127 just passed out of House Budget Subcommittee to full committee. Only Rep. Armstrong and Rep. Shaw recorded “No” votes.
Getting All Misty-Eyed
Posted on April 9, 2009 at 7:11 pmFormer Senator David Fowler shares his thoughts on the progress of constitutional amendment he first proposed eight years ago:
As the original sponsor of SJR 127 back in 2001, it was particularly gratifying to seeing the Resolution take its first big step toward passage by the full House. It was a privilege to be a part of this process over the years and to work with so many wonderful organizations like Eagle Forum of Tennessee and Tennessee Right to Life. And since my retirement the matter has been ably handled in the Senate by Senator Diane Black (R-Gallatin) and today by both Representatives Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville) and Charlie Curtiss (D-Sparta). It was a great to see a Republican and Democrat, man and woman, sitting together in the Health Committee as key House sponsors.
Though these sponsors have done a great job and are to be commended, no legislation moves forward without the support of fellow legislators. We extend our thanks to the following Representatives who voted in favor of SJR 127: Joey Hensley (Vice Chair), Curt Cobb, Jim Cobb, Charles Curtiss, Vince Dean, John DeBerry, Vance Dennis, Joshua Evans, Dennis Ferguson, Dale Ford, Mike Harrison, Curtis Halford, Debra Maggart, Jason Mumpower, Bob Ramsey, Barrett Rich, David Shepard, Tony Shipley, and Mike Turner.
If you would like to send them an email, individually or collectively, to thank them for their vote, the format for their email addresses are all the same: first name.last name@capitol.tn.gov. For example, joey.hensley@capitol.tn.gov. Simply saying, “Thank you for voting for SJR 127,” is sufficient.
You Get The Next One: Secretary Of State Offers To Pick Up The Tab For SJR 127 Notification
Posted on April 8, 2009 at 3:57 pmSecretary of State Tre Hargett has apparently stepped in and removed a potential roadblock to the passage of SJR127, the constitutional amendment which would allow the legislature more power to regulate abortions in Tennessee.
In a memo obtained by NashvillePost.com addressed to leaders in both parties and both chambers of the legislature, Secretary of State Tre Hargett states that his office will fund the constitutionally mandated printed public notification required of all constitutional amendments (at an estimated cost of $20,000) regardless of whether a traditional appropriation is provided for in the budget.
“[B]ecause the Department of State is obligated by the constitution to publish a proposed amendment to the constitution, we will do so even without the appropriation of additional funds,” states Hargett in the memo.
If the Department of State does have to “front” the funds needed for the publication of the notifications, however, it will be a one time-only type deal.
“The ability to absorb publication expense is not without limit. After the publication of SJR127, the publication of any additional amendments would be subject to having adequate funding,” warns the Secretary of State.
This action is not without precedent.
In 2004, in a time of similar budgetary constraints, then-Secretary of State Riley Darnell picked up the tab for the notification for two proposed constitutional amendments, one banning gay marriage and other providing a property tax break for elderly homeowners.
The Secretary’s memo gives SJR127 the wide berth conservatives had been hoping for. While $20,000 fiscal note attached to SJR127 had been jettisoned in favor of a provision to publish notification online, some legislators balked at the notion of an internet-only notification in deference to constituents without convenient and reliable internet access.
An amendment to ban a state income tax was “put behind the budget” and effectively killed in the House Budget Subcommittee last week over similar internet-only notification concerns.
A Bit Unfair
Posted on at 12:22 pmAunt B. takes on Rep. Vince Dean for passing the buck for his support for SJR127 onto his constituents:
According to Dean, if you have an abortion and it kills you, that’s a knowable and acceptable outcome to him and the people that vote for him.
One wonders, of course. Really? If a 15 year old girl’s step dad is raping her and she gets pregnant and self-aborts and dies, that’s okay? She basically deserved it? If a stay-at-home mom with three kids discovers she’s pregnant at the same time her husband loses her job, we’re all fine with her dying and leaving him with no job and three kids to raise on his own?
This is the pro-life position in this state? “Well, if some women have to die so that there aren’t any legal abortions happening, that’s okay”?
That’s the pro-life position? “Eh, so some women die. That’s okay with my constituents.”
Hello?! “Pro-life”=”some dead women”?!
SJR 127: Principle Or Payback
Posted on at 7:50 amFrom Andy Sher:
During debate on the resolution, Rep. Favors, who noted she has been in health care for 40 years, said, “I was there when the women came in … dead on arrival or hemorrhaging.” She called the resolution a “political ploy.”
Rep. Vince Dean, R-East Ridge, and Rep. Jim Cobb, R-Spring City, voted for the resolution. Rep. Favors voted no.
“I respect her opinion,” Rep. Dean said. “I have my position. And my position is in line with the wishes of my constituency.”
Avoiding The Note
Posted on April 7, 2009 at 2:16 pmHow SJR 127 can manage to escape a fiscal note:
A resolution to amend the Tennessee Constitution, tightening restrictions on abortions, could for the first time allow the state to notify citizens about a proposed change on government Web sites.
By going to the online-only notification, the state would save an estimated $20,000 needed to pay for the traditional notification in statewide newspapers.
Making Note Of The Note
Posted on at 12:24 pmAs the controversial abortion bill SJR127 passed the House Health & Human Resources committee today in the legislature, Jeff Woods makes clear that the rest of the road may not be all that easy:
Next stop for the resolution is the most critical. It carries a $20,000 fiscal note to pay for notifying voters if the issue ever makes it onto the ballot. That sends it to the House budget subcommittee, where opponents will probably try to kill it. That’s what happened to Rep. Brian Kelsey’s anti-income tax resolution last week.
UPDATE: The fiscal note reads a bit different on the legislature’s website
This Oughta Be Fun
Posted on April 2, 2009 at 7:18 pmPresident Obama to bring pro-life and pro-choice forces together to reduce abortion:
I’ve learned that the White House will kick off its much-discussed plan to reduce abortions tomorrow morning with a conference call to religious leaders and abortion-rights advocates that will feature key White House aides. The call reflects the White House plan to bring faith-based groups, including conservative ones, together with pro-abortion rights organizations to reduce demand for abortion. Until now, those two camps have frequently been at loggerheads.
The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, tasked with reducing demand for abortion, had been waiting for the launch of the White House Council on Women and Girls to start in earnest on its abortion reduction strategy. The Women and Girls Council was formally rolled out a few weeks ago.
permalink | Comment on this post
Surrendering The Cause
Posted on March 31, 2009 at 7:42 amMary Mancini thinks pro-lifers should just give up trying to pass a constitutional amendment giving the legislature more power to regulate abortion in the event of an overturn of Roe v. Wade:
If the members of the Tennessee legislature wanted real solutions, they would do two things. First, they’d be honest and admit that there are already a number of Tennessee laws which regulate abortion - including parental consent, a ban on late-term abortions and patient informed consent. Then, they would focus on researching and providing the most effective education and resources that would actually, you know, reduce - or completely eliminate - unintended pregnancies.
MTSU POLL: One In Six Tennesseans Admit To Telling Racist Jokes About The President
Posted on March 3, 2009 at 11:58 amThe newest poll on state and national issues in Tennessee is out from our friends over at Middle Tennessee State University complete with charts and graphs. Some of the more interesting findings below.
THE LEGISLATURE: “Meanwhile, the proportion of Tennesseans who approve of the state Legislature’s job performance has slid from 39% in the fall to 34%. The last time the Legislature’s approval rating sank this low was in fall 2005 and spring 2006, when Tennesseans were absorbing news of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “Operation Tennessee Waltz” sting that led to the arrests of several legislators on bribery charges….The best predictor of disapproval is frequent newspaper reading.”
RACIST JOKES: “Nearly one in six Tennesseans has told a joke about Barack Obama’s race, and three-fourths say they’ve heard or read at least one, even though only 15 percent of Tennesseans say they would find such a joke funny.”
IRAQ: “Just over half (53 percent) of Tennesseans say sending troops to Iraq was “a mistake,” while 38 percent say the move was not a mistake, and the rest aren’t sure.”
WINE IN GROCERY STORES: “Sixty-two percent of state residents say grocery stores should be allowed to sell wine, while just over a quarter (26%) disagree, and 12% don’t know.”
BREDESEN: “Gov. Phil Bredesen’s approval rating has slipped to 52%, down from 58% in the fall and well below his tenure’s high of 72% in Spring 2004.”
“Among demographic factors, education makes the biggest difference, with under half (45%) of Tennesseans without a college degree expressing approval of Bredesen compared with nearly two-thirds (64%) of those with a college degree.”
STATE INCOME TAX: When asked to choose between the two statements: “Tennessee should amend its constitution to forbid the state from ever introducing a tax on personal income” and “Tennessee should introduce a tax on personal income to lower sales taxes and eliminate taxes on groceries,” 46% of Tennesseans support constitutionally banning a state income tax, and 40% support introducing a state income tax with cuts in sales and food taxes.
ABORTION: A majority of Tennesseans (52%) say abortion “should be legal under some circumstances, but not others.” Smaller percentages say either that abortion should be illegal under all circumstances (25%) or legal under all circumstances (19%).
OBAMA: Fifty-three percent of Tennesseans say that they approve of how President Barack Obama has done his job so far, and only 27% of Tennesseans disapprove. In the 2008 election, 57% of Tennessee voters cast their ballots for Obama’s Republican rival, John McCain, while only 42% voted for Obama
SEE ALSO:
Sean Braisted
R. Neal
Good Luck With That
Posted on March 2, 2009 at 1:56 pmAn attempt to solve the abortion problem:
If most people in this country, including me, aren’t willing to ban abortions (check), and if you can’t stop people from having sex (check), and if contraception is the only other way to prevent pregnancy (check), and if providing access to contraception hasn’t solved the problem (check), then the remaining factor is human failure to use the contraception. Target that problem.
permalink | Comment on this post
Pro-Life State Senate Candidate Accused Of Advising Abortion
Posted on October 20, 2008 at 6:08 pmThe letter writing campaign against 26th District state Senate candidate Randy Camp does not appear to be letting up in the least out in West Tennessee. The candidate who was revealed in August to have committed adultery in his marriage now stands accused by his ex-wife of counseling a woman to have an abortion.
The first volley in this letter-writing campaign (which all participants assure Post Politics has come without direction from the Republican Party or the campaign of Camp’s opponent, State Rep. Dolores Gresham) was lobbed by Randy Camp’s former brother-in-law, Tommy Roland.
In a letter, distributed this summer to “some folks around the district” and motivated by a “country-boy” urge to defend his sister, Roland got into the nitty-gritty of Randy Camp’s divorce of his wife, Lisa. A copy of the divorce records where Camp admitted to adultery in his marriage were enclosed.
The next letter was sent by Camp’s former mother-in-law. In her letter, the grandmother of young Catherine and Leigh Camp documents her pleading in correspondence to candidate Camp that he not use his daughters in a political fashion. Camp declined.
Now, in the most salacious chapter, Lisa Roland Camp, Randy Camp’s ex-wife, has penned her own letter bearing her own signature.
In the letter Lisa Camp accuses her pro-life candidate ex-husband, Randy Camp, of counseling an unnamed woman to have an abortion.
I am ashamed that I have watched [Randy Camp] tell voters lie and after lie after lie and said nothing. But when I saw him use our daughters in an effort to portray himself as pro-life, I knew I couldn’t remain silent any longer.
Randy Camp is not pro-life. He may tell you that in an effort to get your vote but when confronted with an inconvenient pregnancy, he counseled abortion. I know. Fortunately, the woman did not listen.
When contacted by Post Politics Lisa Camp confirmed that she was the author of the letter. She said that the letter had been sent out to “a bunch” of people around the district and that her reasons for writing were simple.
“All these years I’ve lived with Randy Camp, I know he is not pro-life,” Camp explained. “I was gonna stay out of it. Really, I was. But after I saw that commercial with my girls saying he was pro-life, I just couldn’t stay out of it anymore.”
Lisa Camp refused to comment on whether she had been present for the abortion counseling or if she had heard it from the person counseled.
When asked how she could assure Post Politics that Randy Camp had counseled a woman to get an abortion Camp responded matter-of-factly.
“You’re just gonna have to take my word for it,” Camp explained, “I just know.”
Speaking for Randy Camp, State Senate Democratic Caucus Political Director Mark Brown says that Camp “flatly denies” these allegations.
Brown says that Camp has “never advised anyone to have an abortion and has no idea what incident [Ms. Camp] writes about.”
The campaign also released the following statement by Mark Brown:
“Everyone that knows Randy Camp knows that he is pro-life and pro-traditional values. He and [Rep. Gresham] agree on that.
Where they disagree is on her belief that government should work for her and not for the people. [Rep. Gresham] and her supporters can try to distract voters from her record with accusations and innuendo, but it won’t work.
The fact of the matter is that the only two accomplishments of Dolores Gresham’s legislative career have been to raise her own pay and to give herself thousands of dollars of taxpayer money in farm grants. She and her supporters just don’t get that they can’t obscure that fact.”
Is The New Democratic Nominee In State Senate District 22 Pro-Life Or Pro-Choice?
Posted on September 21, 2008 at 11:39 amTim Barnes explains his stance on abortion:
Barnes was candid about the fact that his law practice is heavily vested in adoption and family law, and admitted that particularly “some forms of abortion” (i.e. partial birth abortion) is something he does not personally favor. Personally, “I recognize that it is the woman’s right to choose.” The Supreme Court ruled that this decision rests solely with the woman, and “I respect that right.” He personally falls on the side of life, but said candidly that this issue of choice is not one to be made at the state level by state legislators. Barnes cited the Supreme Court as the arbiter and said that “choice” was the law of the land, and that law had to be respected. He indicated he would like to work for feasible alternatives to abortion, not the least of which is adoption, but added that “choice” is the law and the right of each individual woman.
Roe Removal
Posted on August 29, 2008 at 7:17 amSharon Cobb thinks she has a pretty good idea who will be announced as John McCain’s running mate today — Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison:
I read her official bio from her Senate page before writing my post, and in it, she said that Roe vs Wade was the right decision.
I decided I better copy and paste her bio in case she removed her pro choice activities in case she’s McCain’s choice, and guess what? Her pro choice activities have been removed since midnight!!!!
That doesn’t prove she’s McCain’s VEEP choice, but it sure points in that direction!
permalink | Comment on this post
Capital Hill Chaos: Speaker Jimmy Naifeh Overruled [VIDEO]
Posted on May 2, 2008 at 6:27 pmPosted above, for your perusal and enjoyment and that of posterity, is a video of the recent unpleasantness that took place on the floor of the General Assembly yesterday.
It is still lengthy but, in light of the considerable confusion over the controversey, I thought it best to leave as much of the events intact as possible.
PREVIOUSLY:
Naifeh Overruled
Capitol Hill Chaos
Wanted: Dead Or Alive
Slow Train Coming
Recent Comments
I’d say it’s more because we’ve waited...
Hmmm… wonder if...
Glad Cooper came on-board. What’s up with Bart?
Vote YES, BART. Do it! Your people NEED health...
yeah, and Bart’s not one....
LOL … no. No...
Maybe Mike Williams?
I’m not interested in your arguments because I’ve...
Thank you Tanner!!!
Exactly….