Bredesen Signs Guns In Parks

By Kleinheider Posted on June 12, 2009 at 5:20 pm

As reported by the Lebanon Democrat’s J.R. Lind on Twitter, Gov. Phil Bredesen has signed a bill that many feared he would veto.

Rep. Frank Niceley reported to have had a deal with the Bredesen administration to “clean up some language” in the bill to avoid a veto in exchange for consideration on other gun bills.

That deal fell through when Bredesen stated in a press conference that he had made no deal.

The Senate sponsor, Sen. Mae Beavers, then refused to recall the bill making the Niceley recall essentially null and void.

Bredesen had til midnight tonight to sign the legislation or it would become law without his signature and he did so late today.

However, his message to Speaker Kent Williams reveals he is not completely happy about the legislation.

“I continue to have concerns about the inclusion of local parks in this bill. The suggestion made by the sponsor to remove these local parks was good, and I’m sorry he withdrew it.

I do want to urge local governments to exercise the opt-out provisions of this bill to remove parks from its effect where they are located close to schools and other places where large numbers of children gather,” Bredesen said in the letter.

SEE ALSO:
Richard Locker
Andy Sher
AP

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Tags: Frank Niceley, guns in parks, J.R. Lind, Kent Williams, Mae Beavers, Phil Bredesen  

Right And Left Agree On Williams Ouster

By Kleinheider Posted on February 10, 2009 at 7:33 am

Tom Humphrey notes that two legislators who fought against each other in hard scrabble race for GOP House Caucus Chair late last year both agree that Robin Smith could have handled “the Williams situation” differently:

Others expressing misgivings about Smith’s action included Rep. Steve McDaniel of Parker’s Crossroads, who was appointed to the post of deputy speaker by Williams and who is generally regarded as a moderate, and Rep. Frank Niceley of Strawberry Plains, a staunch conservative.

“We’re elected as a legislative body. We don’t need another body second-guessing how we vote,” said Niceley.

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Tags: Frank Niceley, Kent Williams, Robin Smith, Speaker booted, Steve McDaniel, TNGOP  

Be Wery, Wery Qwiet, They’re Hunting WRINOs

By Kleinheider Posted on December 10, 2008 at 6:13 pm

UPDATE: Rep. Bill Dunn states in the comments that he is not a member of any group of the type described below and Rep. Brian Kelsey has posted on the original article the following:

This is Rep. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown). The statement that I am a member of any so-called “RINO Hunters” group is 100% false. Please remove my name from this posting immediately. I don’t have anything to do with this group (if it even exists) and haven’t been contacted even once by anybody who does.

A group of Tennessee conservatives are reportedly getting together to pool their money in the pursuit of taking down a few moderates:

The group is attempting to find 15 founding donors good for $20,000 each for each election cycle ($10,000 annual) and other donors to achieve a $375,000 annual budget. The acting chair of the group is Steve Gill, a Nashville radio talk show host. The group also includes major Republican Party donors like Lee Beaman, A.J. McCall, Jimmy Wallace, and James Peach. Legislative members include Republican state Reps. Bill Dunn, Frank Niceley, Brian Kelsey, Donna Rowland, Glen Casada, and Bill Ketron, among others.

The group has a list of 18 conservative positions having to do with opposition to a state income tax, Second Amendment protections, pro-life, traditional marriage, pro-business, repeal of the Hall Income Tax, strict border enforcement, and pro-drilling for energy independence.

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Tags: Bill Dunn, Brian Kelsey, Conservatives, Frank Niceley, Jimmy Wallace, moderates, RINOS, Steve Gill  

Deal Or No Deal?

By Kleinheider Posted on December 2, 2008 at 7:07 am

Rep. Frank Niceley makes it plain that he believes that the price of Rep. Steve McDaniel’s vote for a Republican Speaker was the GOP caucus’ nomination for Speaker Pro Tempore:

Mumpower and McDaniel both denied rumors that a deal had been made to assure McDaniel the No. 2 position, so long as he and allies agreed to back Mumpower in the top position.

Niceley, however, voiced skepticism about the situation after the voting. He said some fellow Republicans had urged him to bow out of the race and let McDaniel run unopposed.

“Basically, they said, ‘There is no deal, but if you don’t get out, you’re going to mess up the deal,’ ” Niceley said.

UPDATE: Rep. Jason Mumpower on the alleged deal:

“That’s not for me to have anything to say anything about,” he said. “I’m for us being in the majority. The elections are over.”

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Tags: Frank Niceley, Jason Mumpower, Steve McDaniel  

Seen All He Needs

By Kleinheider Posted on November 29, 2008 at 1:11 pm

David Oatney doesn’t need to see any not-so-incriminating emails from Rep. Steve McDaniel to make a decision about whether the man should be Speaker Pro Tem:

I do not believe much more incrimination is needed other than that Steve McDaniel voted for the income tax and for Jimmy Naifeh for Speaker of the House. We might like to find even more juicy tidbits that prove McDaniel’s lack of conservatism or party loyalty to a greater degree because, as many are quick to point out, we need these Republican short-shrifters who voted for Naifeh to vote with us for House Speaker. I have no problem thowing these folks some nice meaty bones,but leadership posts should go to conservatives and to loyal Republicans who have worked for this day. Standing with the GOP through thick and thin needs to be rewarded when the political situation is truly at its thickest point for Tennessee Republicans.

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Tags: Frank Niceley, Steve McDaniel