Former State Senator Counsels A “No” Vote On Every Judicial Retention Ballot Line
Posted on August 4, 2008 at 3:54 pmFrom Rob Shearer:
David Fowler of the Family Action Council of TN has circulated an email announcing his personal decision to vote “no” on the question of retaining the Tennessee Supreme Court and Appellate Court judges.
Why is he doing this? Fowler calls it a “personal declaration of independence.”
The issue is the sham process by which judges in Tennessee are selected by a screening group dominated by special interests, then appointed by the Governor (who can only choose among the three names submitted to him by the screening group), and then finally, submitted to the voters at the next general election (invariably the lower-turnout August election) for a yes-or-no retention vote.
Naifeh Republican Comes Back On Conservative Critics
Posted on July 22, 2008 at 8:52 amAdam Groves reports that Naifeh Republican Kent Williams has struck back against his conservative colleagues who came out with a press release castigating him for accepting a donation from Assistant Democratic House Caucus Leader John Litz.:
Williams turned to criticizing the lawmakers who criticized the donation, saying about Reps Chris Crider, Eric Swafford and Mike Bell that, “they haven’t accomplished very much in their home districts. It’s people like this who are killing our Republican Party … I dare say that if a Democrat introduced legislation to give every one in the state a goose that laid the golden egg, these three would vote against it.”
Groves reports additionally that Williams has also run “afowl” of a former conservative legislator for his unauthorized use of letter thanking him for an anti-abortion vote. Go get your daily dose here.
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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
Slow Train Coming
Posted on at 9:04 amAndy Sher gets the money quote from House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh after his decision that Rep. Bill Dunn was out of order was overruled by a vote of the full General Assembly.
“If we can’t stick together on that (a subsequent procedural vote), we may just as well let Mumpower start presiding,” the powerful speaker told fellow Democrats at a hastily convened party caucus meeting, referring to Minority Leader Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol.
Adding insult to injury, of course, was the later admission by Dunn that he was, in fact, out of order. Five Democrats voted with Dunn and the Republicans resulting in the historic overrule.
Jimmy Naifeh Gets Overruled: The Video
Posted on May 1, 2008 at 2:22 pmRead the play by play and the definitive account at NashvillePost.com. (video courtesy of Ben Cunningham)
Naifeh Overruled
Posted on at 10:48 amBig news on SJR 127 today in the legislature. Rep. Gary Odom made a motion to suspend the rules to vote on a resolution regarding the House schedule, an issue unrelated to SJR 127.
Rep. Bill Dunn then made a motion to amend that motion to suspend so that SJR 127 could be brought up for its first of three readings.
Dunn was then ruled out of order by House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh.
The House Republicans then objected to that ruling. A vote was called to overrule. House Republicans won that vote by 1. A recess was then called for.
The House is now back in session and Dunn has renewed his motion.
UPDATE: Representative Dunn’s motion prevailed 51-43. Odom then withdrew his original motion. Objections were made. A motion was made to adjourn the session and recess until Tuesday. It failed. Session continues…
UPDATE II: Quarreling over the rules has lead to a microphones off discussion between Naifeh, Odom and Republican leaders.
UPDATE III: Odom’s motion to withdraw was voted down 45-51. Dunn’s amendment was thus adopted. The House then voted on whether to suspend the rules in order to bring SJR 127 to the floor. Bringing the resolution to the floor bypassing the committee process requires a two-thirds majority. The vote failed, and SJR 127 was not brought to the floor for a vote.
The two-thirds majority required to bring the resolution to the floor bypassing the committee process was not reached. SJR 127 was not brought to the floor for a vote.
Rep. Moore then called for a moment of prayer and silence for “what just went on here today.” Republican Glen Casada praised the motion and the events of the day as a true expression of representative democracy.
NashvillePost.com political reporter Ken Whitehouse was in the chamber for the events and has a full and complete blow by blow and explanation of what happened right here.
SEE ALSO:
VIDEO: Ben Cunningham
Stacey Campfield (II)
Cara Kumari blog
Crone Speaks
Michael Silence
WSMV Report
Sean Braisted
Nathan Moore
R. Neal
Rob Huddleston
Life News
David Oatney
WPLN
Knox Trivia
Tom Humphrey
First, You Hit The Hot Button Issue, Then, You Get The Votes And Then You Get The Redistricting Pen
Posted on April 23, 2008 at 4:22 pmJeff Woods puts his finger on what the Family Action Council of TN and the Republican Party’s real aim is when pushing SJR 127, a resolution which would put before the voters an amendment to the state constitution giving the legislature more latitude on the issue of abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned:
What it’s really all about is politics. Republicans would love to stick an abortion referendum on the 2010 ballot to boost turnout for the next governor’s election.
The boost is critical not due to just wanting to recapture the Governor’s mansion (which surely they do) but because 2010 is when redistricting would traditionally occur and whomever controls the legislature holds the pen that draws the districts.
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