State House Candidate’s Website Featured A Pic Of McKensie Morrison

By Kleinheider Posted on January 24, 2010 at 1:43 pm

McKensie Morrison. That’s a name you probably didn’t expect to hear again in connection with any politician in Tennessee other than Sen. Paul Stanley. But Brett Ramsey, who has pulled papers to run for Rep. Curtis Johnson’s seat, had a picture of her on his website until it was pointed out by Post Politics.

The website, which is devoted to selling T-shirts to benefit a company that sells carbon offsets, has a section where people who have bought the shirts can send in a picture of themselves wearing the shirt to be displayed. The one and only photo that appeared in that section until Saturday was that of McKensie Morrison, the intern who brought down Sen. Stanley.

Ramsey is currently a full-time instructor at Austin Peay, the school Morrison was attending while doing her internship at the legislature. Ramsey told Post Politics that Morrison was a student of his and had expressed interest in the mission of the site and offered up her photo for the section.

“That site was a side project of mine at the time. McKensie saw it and asked me about it after class one day,” says Ramsey. “After the end of that semester, she bought a shirt and e-mailed that picture of her wearing it.”

Ramsey said that Morrison did “extremely well” as a student in his class which led to his decision to recommend her for the internship at the legislature. In hindsight, of course, he wishes his decision had been different.

“Obviously, she wasn’t quite as forthright about her background as we know now and it’s a shame what ended up happening,” said Ramsey.

Ramsey reports that his wife actually reminded him about the picture once Morrison made the news back in July and counseled him to remove it. He never got around to it.

Ramsey, while himself a political neophyte, boasts an impressive pedigree. It turns out Ramsey is not only the grandson of former Gov. Ned McWherter but also a cousin to Rep. John Tanner.

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Tags: Brett Ramsey, Curtis Johnson, McKensie Morrison, Paul Stanley, state legislature  

Rep. John Litz Will Not Seek Reelection In ‘10

By Kleinheider Posted on June 20, 2009 at 11:35 pm

Litz was integral in the process that led to the elevation of Rep. Kent Williams to the position of Speaker of the House. Litz, a Democrat, has been consistently elected in a conservative district in East Tennessee:

State Rep. John Litz (D-Morristown) announced Friday that 2010 will be his last year as a state legislator and that he will retire from the Tennessee House of Representatives.

“It has been one of my greatest honors serving the people of Morristown, Hamblen County and the people of Tennessee as a state representative,” said Litz. “I want to thank all of my supporters, especially those that voted for me, and let you know that I look forward to continuing to serve you in new ways.”

Litz says he expects to make a formal announcement about his future plans in the coming days.

UPDATE: In the comments, Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Mike Turner tells Democrats not to worry — he’s got this:

John Litz is a valuable member of our Democratic Leadership Team. He has represented the people of Morristown and Hamblen County with Honor and he will be Missed by me. He has made a personel family decision and will again serve the people of Hamblen County. We have known since January of John’s decision and have found a great candidate for that district and I look forward to the announcement.

SEE ALSO: Tom Humphrey with backstory on the seat.

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Tags: John Litz, Mike Turner, state legislature  

MTSU POLL: One In Six Tennesseans Admit To Telling Racist Jokes About The President

By Kleinheider Posted on March 3, 2009 at 11:58 am

The 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

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Tags: abortion, Barack Obama, MTSU, MTSU Poll, MTSU survey, Phil Bredesen, President Obama, racial politics, racist jokes, State income tax, state legislature, wine in grocery stores