Food Stamp Increase
Posted on April 1, 2009 at 2:54 pmVia Dru’s Vues:
Starting April 1st, all participants will see a 13.6 percent increase in their monthly Food Stamp allotments. Those dollars are 100 percent federally funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and they will directly benefit local businesses as participants buy groceries to feed their families. In general, a household of one will see a maximum increase of $24 per month, and a family of four will receive an $80 per month boost in benefits
The Nashville Tea Party
Posted on February 27, 2009 at 2:21 pmDru reports on the remarks of Ben Cunningham:
If they are not willing to fight for us we will turn them out. Jim Cooper, I had great hopes for him, his rhetoric was good, he said he was against deficit spending, but he caved. We’ve got to make sure that Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker fight for us. We don’t need a tepid response. We don’t need a maybe. We need them in there fighting so that we don’t lose our country. This budget is a fairy tale. This budget was the last straw. This budget shows trillion dollar deficits as far as you can see. There will come a point in time when taxpayers simply cannot bear the burden of debt. Barack Obama didn’t borrow this money. Nancy Pelosi didn’t borrow this money. They used our credit worthiness to borrow this money. At some point, the people who buy the debt will say, look, the American taxpayer has too much debt. They can’t pay all this debt. They are not going to buy our debt. We are going to be bankrupt. We have got to stop before we reach that point. We have got to have elected representatives who will fight for us.”
SEE ALSO:
Colby Sledge
Moore Thoughts
Sarah Moore
Bob Krumm
Pictures
Kay Brooks
Fired Up, Ready To Go
Posted on December 11, 2008 at 7:59 amTennessee is ready for its federal stimulus help:
Gov. Phil Bredesen says Tennessee has close to $1 billion in road and bridge projects that are ready to go and may qualify for the massive public-works stimulus package proposed by President-elect Barack Obama.
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The Next Time Someone Says Tennessee Is Corrupt
Posted on December 10, 2008 at 11:44 amYou tell them we ain’t even in the top ten.
Breakin’ The Law
Posted on November 28, 2008 at 6:22 pmOut of state purchases by Tennesseans are not supposed to be tax-free:
The Revenue Department has programs in place to share information with other states about the sale of aircraft, boats, ATVs and jewelry, according to Joan Cagle, tax audit supervisor for Tennessee. The department also has worked with several furniture and carpet dealers in other states to help track out-of-state sales.
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The Need For Speed
Posted on at 6:02 pmThe turnkey aspect of Chattanooga’s site was the determining factor in bringing Volkswagen to Tennessee:
The key issue was speed. Volkswagen wants the plant to be up and running by the end of 2010.
The Chattanooga site was essentially ready to go in terms of infrastructure. The state and local governments began the process of issuing permits for construction before the decision had even been made, a move that shaved weeks off the schedule. The company’s officials were also pleased to see a clearly bipartisan show of support for the plant. Kisber says that helped them feel that if problems were to arise, there would be a strong team effort to find solutions quickly.
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Mike Faulk Makes Clear What His Campaign Is Really About
Posted on October 9, 2008 at 10:06 amThe battle for control of the Senate is about holding the redistricting pen:
Today, we are in another important battle and its outcome may also be a turning point in the direction taken by the State of Tennessee. Tennessee’s Senate is divided with 16 Republicans, 16 Democrats and 1 Independent.
The outcome of the election for Senate District 4 will likely determine for years to come the direction taken by our party and our state. In fact, the winner of this State Senate election may very well determine whose hand holds the pen used to draw the lines for redistricting every State House and State Senate seat and the lines for each of Tennessee’s Congressional Districts.
RELATED: Mike Slater
No Voter Registration Record In Tennessee
Posted on October 5, 2008 at 2:15 pmNew voter applications are down from this time in 2004 in Tennessee:
Tennessee registered more than 291,000 new voters between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, which is down from four years ago from the same period a year.
“Last time was huge,” State Election Coordinator Brook Thompson said. “But this time is huge, too.”
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2004, Tennessee saw more than 344,500 people register, according to numbers provided by Thompson. The deadline for registering to vote in the upcoming presidential election is Monday.
But some counties are seeing record registration this year.
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House Passes Bailout
Posted on October 3, 2008 at 12:34 pmBy a vote of 263-171.
A majority of GOPers again opposed the plan. Ninety one House Republicans voted for it, and 108 voted against, again casting doubt on McCain’s ability to rally members of his own party behind a measure that he suggested was necessary to rescue the Republic from doom.
Zach Wamp was the only TN member to change his vote from Monday. Everyone else stays put.
So Wamp and the Democrats in favor, Lincoln Davis and the Republicans in opposition.
Interesting that the two most likely (I’m not counting Blackburn, yet) Gubernatorial candidates in the delegation are the two bucking their party on this.
REACTIONS:
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New MTSU Poll: 22% Of Hillary Supporters Will Vote For McCain
Posted on September 29, 2008 at 11:39 amAccording to a new poll, in a state which Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary by a commanding percentage and which includes a large swath of those conservative Appalachian voters, Barack Obama still has trouble in the race against John McCain:
The McCain campaign seems to have had modest success at attracting supporters of former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, whom 22 percent of Tennesseans say they voted for in the Democratic primary. A quarter of those who voted for the junior senator from New York in Tennessee’s Democratic presidential primary say that they would now vote for McCain and Palin in the general election. However, 56 percent of those who report that they voted for Clinton in the primary say that they would now vote for Obama and Biden. The rest of Clinton’s supporters remain undecided at this point or say they would vote for someone other than McCain or Obama.
In state politics, Republican also enjoy an advantage:
Fully 47 percent of Tennesseans are satisfied with the direction the state is going, but only 34 percent of Democrats are satisfied compared with 59 percent of Republicans and independents.
Lamar Alexander, as expected, polls well in his race versus Bob Tuke:
Republican incumbent Sen. Lamar Alexander outpolls Democratic challenger Bob Tuke 50 percent to 26 percent among likely voters in Tennessee’s race for U.S. Senate, but about a fourth (23 percent) say they aren’t yet sure whom they favor.
A plurality of Tennesseans want more church in their state:
Fully 41 percent of Tennesseans think politicians say too little about religion, while 26 percent say the amount is about right, and 23 percent say there is too much religious talk.
View entire report here. Press release available here.
SEE ALSO: Grantham is Talking
New Poll: McCain Still Has Big Lead In Tennessee
Posted on at 6:38 amAndy Sher reports:
The Sept. 22-24 poll shows Sen. McCain leading Sen. Obama by 55 percent to 39 percent. Six percent remain undecided. The telephone survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
“McCain’s got a double-digit lead in Tennessee and there doesn’t seem to be any indication that’s going to flip,” said Brad Coker, managing director of the Washington, D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc., which conducted the poll for the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
More on the poll here.
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The Ole Miss Presidential Debate: The Reaction
Posted on September 27, 2008 at 2:26 pmThe first presidential debate looked like a draw to me, but then I fell asleep a couple of times.
One sign that McCain was really not happy with Obama, or at least was afraid of him, is that he would not attempt eye contact. He just stood there, all clinched up like a sailor’s knot. There was no ease about him. He stumbled over names and he looked nervous, that that made people nervous.
It is the “people” that count, as two polls I saw last night, a CNN and a CBS poll showed that most believed Obama won this debate. Most important was the CBS poll taken of undecided voters. Ouch.
One of the most important questions that could be asked by Jim Lehrer is not being asked: “What exactly is victory in Iraq?” Since the candidates can talk to each other, perhaps Senator Obama will ask the question?
I went out after the debate and was surprised that no one I talked to had similar reactions to mine. Although I thought Barack Obama held his own, John McCain continued to go on the attack and put Obama on the defensive again and again. I haven’t taken the time to verify the truth of McCain’s attacks, and I should note that Obama consistently rebutted McCain’s charges. But that doesn’t strike me as the place Obama wanted to be.
However, NEITHER McCain or Obama took a stand on the current bailout bill. The American public is against it and both of the men avoided voicing their support like it was the plague
If you were paying attention to substance, I think this was a clear, decisive win for John McCain. On style points, it was probably a tie. Yet to be seen is how the media handles the response (my guess is they’ll chalk up a win for Obama), and that could have as big an impact on the polls as the debate itself.
As with most candidates from either political party, some of Obama’s answers were good from a debating standpoint, while some were just “bull” whether the Senator intended that ir not. It wasn’t Obama’s answers that may have lost him the debate-or at least not to perform as well as he might have hoped-but the fact that McCain had Obama on the defensive nearly all night.
That’s what we’ll all likely be saying in about six weeks from now given Obama’s debate performance tonight.
I think they both did poorly. For the first part of the debate, which focused on the financial crisis, they both threw together random strings of facts and quips hoping that something would stick. Neither one assured me that he had a strong grasp of the problem.
Obama was smart, too smart. McCain, on other hand, was firm. He gave no ground because the uninitiated will view acknowledgment as a sign of weakness. (And you better believe that the Republicans will have a video of Obama saying that he agreed with McCain before he disagreed.) He spoke in generalities just like Bush because he knew that viewers would not recall specifics.
In the end, the debate about the show, not substance. McCain put on a show.
Sen. John McCain was dazzling last night with more than a quarter century of experience in foreign policy and global travelling, making Sen. Barack Obama look and sound like Gov. Sarah Palin’s more knowledgeable brother in the presidential debate.
Xark:
I haven’t seen this mentioned in the debate reax this morning, but last night I kept thinking that there are a lot of already anxious white people in this country who could go either way in this election but harbor a basic discomfort (not hatred) with the black people in their lives. Hence: If McCain can succeed at coming across as roughly equal to Obama in other respects, being a white grandfather could get him the comfort-food vote.
The simple fact is, that on foreign policy, McCain showed us last night that he represents the past. We, as a country, truly need to move past a Cold War mentality. And this is why I felt Obama was far stronger on foreign policy.
Let’s be clear. If you are going to vote for John McCain, you think McCain won the debate. If you are going to vote for Barack Obama, you probably think Obama won the debate.
Interestingly, McCain was up several on InTrade right after the debate, but now he’s dropped a bit. I presume that means that traders who watched the debate thought that he’d done better than the ensuing spin suggested.
After tonight nobody on the right who wants to be taken seriously is going to be able to claim that Palin is more prepared to become president than Barack Obama is. She is no longer a factor in the presidential equation, unless her bumbling policy responses continue to be a drag on John McCain. Then comes the backlash against her 15 minutes of fame.
One major thing: Barack Hussein showed NO respect, calling McCain John (McCain called him Senator, or Senator Obama). He constantly interrupted, showing his lack of courtesy and manners. I guess his grandmother didn’t instill something as important as respect and manners
Tonight both Barack Obama and John McCain landed some punches, but neither delivered a knockout blow.
Obama always has to live within his skin, which is a lovely shade of brown. Because of America’s racism Obama cannot, even for one frame of video, look like an angry black man. If he gave McCain’s continuous distortions a deservingly hostile response, the McCain campaign would have immediate commercial fodder depicting Obama as an unstable black militant. Obama gets the clear win because he maintained his composure and McCain didn’t thrash him on content. Avoiding negative racial stereotypes is a continuous handicap for Obama and should never be forgotten.
In general though, I think this debate showed two serious (one a little more than the other, of course) individuals, at a serious time, debating serious matters, and the country is better for it.
“One of the most clarifying moments of the debate was when Sen. McCain and Barack Obama were asked proposals each man would have to cut to pay for the economic bailout legislation now being crafted on Capitol Hill. Sen. McCain continued his relentless focus on reducing spending and reducing taxes in order to grow the economy while Barack Obama who has promised more than $900 million in increased spending and higher taxes to pay for them - talked about programs he would like to increase spending on.”
McCain just said something to the effect that healthcare should be between the patient and the physician, not the federal government. Can I hold him to that on reproductive health and “conscience?”
Overall, my view of the debate is that it was at least a draw. Sure, I personally feel that Obama “owned” McCain in the substantive scoring, but all Obama really needed (from the independent voter) was a draw. A “draw” in a debate on foreign policy with John McCain is really a win for Obama
SEE ALSO:
A Chris Davis Video
Dan Lehr
Commercial Appeal
Henry Kissenger
Polling shows Obama wins
Kelly Vlahos
Bill Frist
Knox Views
Factchecking the debate
The Power Of Phil
Posted on September 14, 2008 at 9:05 pmAndy Sher reports how our Governor ranked in the Institutional Powers of the Governors index:
A top Bredesen aide, Will Pinkston, downplayed what the index says about Tennessee’s governor.
“It’s tough to realistically assign values to governing power,” Mr. Pinkston said in an e-mail. “Even if you pick a few categories to look at, there are still lots of intangible things to consider, like a governor’s ability to work across party lines or his management and life experience.”
Gov. Bredesen, a Democrat, earned 3.8 out of a possible 5 rating while Republicans Perdue and Riley respectively earned ratings of 3.2 and 2.8. The national average is 3.5.
McCain’s Coattails In Tennessee
Posted on at 1:26 pmYou know how we do:
If current polls are accurate and the situation does not change, it appears McCain could be poised to match the performance of his GOP predecessors in 1984, 1988 and 2004 with a percentage performance in the upper 50s.
And, if history repeats itself, that won’t make much difference in legislative races.
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Tennessee Not One Of Those Racist Places
Posted on August 24, 2008 at 8:42 pmSo says the chairman of our state’s Democratic Party:
Democrats have not won Tennessee in a presidential race since Bill Clinton and Gore in 1996, but party leaders and delegates are optimistic — based on enthusiasm the Obama campaign has generated and on the strong campaign by Harold Ford Jr., who is black, in his unsuccessful 2006 Senate race.
“Some people have a vision of Tennessee as one of the racist places,” said Gray Sasser, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party. “Harold Ford shows that is not true.”
Ford’s showing, Sasser said, was based on his relentless handshake-by-handshake retail campaigning. While Obama cannot do that in any single state, Sasser said the campaign will use community leaders and grass-roots organizers to testify in Obama’s behalf.
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Libertarians Submit Their Signatures For Bob Barr’s Ballot Access
Posted on August 19, 2008 at 6:50 amFrom the party:
On Monday, August 18, 2008, Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Bob Barr filed petitions with the Division of Elections in Nashville, Tennessee for inclusion on the November 4, 2008 Presidential Ballot in Tennessee. The petition drive was led by Libertarian Party of Tennessee Chairman, Tony Wall, who hand delivered petitions containing 487 signatures this morning, along with several other State Party members.
The State of Tennessee requires 275 signatures of registered Tennessee voters for ballot placement.
“This ballot drive was completed with an all volunteer effort led by Libertarian Party of Tennessee County Chairs and activists throughout the state,” stated Tony, “and I’d like to thank everyone for their efforts in helping to secure a place for Bob Barr on Tennessee’s ballot this November.” The Division of Elections will certify the petition signatures and should officially confirm Mr. Barr later this week.
Green Streets
Posted on August 14, 2008 at 7:04 amJohn Miglietta, Green Party candidate for Congress against Rep. Jim Cooper, is featured in a video produced by MTV’s ‘Street Team”:
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On Retention Elections Being Retained
Posted on July 30, 2008 at 7:44 amTom Humphrey reports on what may be the last year for judicial retention elections:
“Our state constitution says judges shall be ‘elected by the qualified voters.’ What we have is not an election, not the way our constitution intends it to be,” state Sen. Duane Bunch, R-Cleveland, sponsor of a failed bill to abolish the current system for picking judges.
For that reason, Bunch said, he plans to vote against retention of the judges, as he has in the past, even though knowing some are “quality people.”
The two Supreme Court justices on the current ballot are William C. Koch, 60, appointed by Bredesen in June of last year, and Gary R. Wade, 60, appointed in May 2006.
Both men said in interviews that they support the present system and might not even be candidates if faced with running in partisan, contested elections.
SEE ALSO: Joe Lance
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