Henry To Continue To Support Environment, So Far As Senate Tradition Allows

Last week when Jeff Yarbro issued his still unanswered call for a series of debates and forums with Sen. Douglas Henry, he mentioned a few specific topics, one of which was Henry's vote against debating a mountaintop mining bill:

* On the last day of session, Sen. Henry was one of only two Democrats to oppose bringing the ban on mountaintop removal coal mining to the Senate floor for a vote. He stated his opposition was due to his respect for the tradition of only addressing bills that are passed by a Senate committee. I would have voted the other way. Republican leaders are abusing the committee system to block common sense legislation on behalf of the coal industry, which employs fewer than 400 people in Tennessee.

In a press release out today, Sen. Henry pushed back on the issue noting his long-standing support for the environment:

“We were able to make sure that money set aside for our parks and wetlands will not be tapped into for other purposes,” Senator Henry said. “Also, we took action that will keep Hill Forest in Warner Park pristine and untouched for future generations.”

On key environmental issues this legislative session, Senator Henry:

* Argued successfully that the proceeds from the real estate transfer fee must go exclusively to parks and wetlands. The fee was originally established for that purpose, and Senator Henry helped hold off efforts this year to use the funds for other expenses.
* Wrote the law to preserve Hill Forest, protecting it from any future development. The old-growth forest is more than two centuries old and is now part of Warner Park.
* Continued his long-time opposition to relaxing the regulation of strip mining.

“I expect the strip-mining bill will come up again next session, and I will persist in opposing it.”

If they won't debate in person, at least we can enjoy a healthy back-and-forth via emails and press releases.

Update:

Kris Murphy in the comments notes that Sen. Henry has received the endorsements of the Sierra Club and Tennessee Conservation Voters PACS. According to TCV's website, Sen. Henry scored just below Andy Berke, and above Sens. Harper and Haynes on their scorecard for 2009. Could we do better? Well, looking at the Memphis Senate and Davidson County House delegations I'd say we probably could, whether Yarbro would be remains to be seen.

Update II:

Regarding the TNCV PAC, Executive Director of the Conservation Voters Chris Ford had this to say:

Conservation Action PAC endorsed Senator Douglas Henry. Tennessee Conservation Voters has traditionally not endorsed candidates.

The political action committee made its endorsements based on criteria that it developed and executed consistent with it's manner of conducting a thorough review of both the candidate's positions and when applicable, the incumbents career record. Both of the gentlemen in Senate District 21 present positive opportunities and passion for environmental issues and this particular endorsement received a great deal of thoughtful consideration.

Amateurish Fund-raising Plea Claims Polling News

The Hartline for District 5 campaign sent out a fund-raising plea to supporters which, while very poorly constructed by what appears to be a 3rd grader, claims that Rep. Cooper is on the ropes based on a new poll:

For JIM Cooper individually, We have a Poll that proves that his "Hard Reelect Rate"
is ONLY 23%!
The Polling Company Told Me They HAVE NEVER seen an Incumbent get REELECTED
with a number that low!

I enjoy intentionally vague claims as much as the next guy, but if such a glorious poll exists, why not release it to the public? My guess is that while Cooper's supporters may not be fired up and ready to go, they are far from wanting a teabagger as their next Congressman. Also, I wonder what this poll showed about the GOP primary electorate?

Assuming they aren't pulling these numbers out of their ass, "strong" and "hard" support numbers are very easily influenced by the wording of questions to potential voters.

I look very much forward to seeing the open and honest Hartline campaign releasing the full polling report for the public's edification.

Dept. of Better Late than Never

It sort of went without much notice, but a couple weeks ago some folks got together to throw Steven Turner a fundraiser. While not quite newsworthy in and of itself, two names on the bill sort of ring out. Councilman Mike Jameson, whose 6th district splits between Rep. Stewart and incumbent Rep. Pruitt who Turner is running against. And Will Pinkston, a long-time Bredesen aide who was the Governor's right-hand man at the Capitol and who has since gone to work for an education non-profit. Does Pinkston's appearance on this host committee indicate a willingness by Team Bredesen to support a primary challenger against Rep. Pruitt?

The Elusive Wisdom of Lamar Alexander

Sen. Alexander carried the water for his Senate GOP leadership by going to the White House to say we shouldn't talk about what they got together to talk about...

“The priority should be fixing the oil spill,” Alexander told the President, according to the source. “That’s what any meeting about energy should be about.”

But when Alexander tried to interject the BP leak into the meeting, the source said, the President told the senator, “That’s just your talking point.”

Retorted Alexander, “No, it’s my opinion.”

Quite frankly, I think this was a failure on the President's part. Instead of dismissing Sen. Alexander, he should have opened the floor to him so as to give a solution to this oil spill that has eluded all the relevant parties working to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf. Obviously Sen. Alexander wouldn't want to devote all the meeting to talking about the oil spill unless he had tangible solutions to fix the problem, so this was a prime opportunity missed by Obama.

Unless...well, I shudder to even think it, but there is the remote possibility that LAMAR! had nothing really constructive to add to the conversation about the oil spill or energy policy in general and just wanted to delay and obfuscate any attempt to come up with a comprehensive solution to our addiction to fossil fuels? Nah, that couldn't be.

Alexander and Corker Vote Against Sales Tax Deduction

On June 24th the Senate Republicans successfully blocked a bill to extend many tax cuts and deductions, as well as the Federal flood insurance program and unemployment benefits. One measure that was successfully blocked by the GOP was the Local and State Sales Tax deduction for states that don't have an income tax. Without extension, 2010 sales taxes will not be deductible.

The Conservative Desire for Perpetual War

I don't quite get it, but it seems as if Bill Kristol, godfather of neo-conservative hawks, is positively gleeful at the possibility that we won't be able to reduce troop presence in Afghanistan a year from now:

The only thing Obama could have done to more dramatically minimize the significance of the July 2011 date would have been explicitly to repudiate it. He should do that, and in a few months he may...

...with the timetable mostly de-fanged, with July 2011 as the beginning of a “transition phase,” with Petraeus in charge and more changes to come—Emanuel and the antiwar forces within the administration have lost. As a result, Afghanistan can now be won.

First off, I don't read into the President's statements what Kristol does...Obama generally likes to keep pledges and promises as open-ended as possible, especially having been burned by Congressional Democrats over things like Guantanamo Bay.

But let's assume Kristol is right, and the President won't begin a draw down by July of 2011...why is this cause for celebration? Republicans always like to say "nobody likes war...but," however I can't help but detect a sense of joy coming from the Kristol camp at the chance of not achieving mission success sooner rather than later.

I mean, I know Conservatives have taken to hating America...given their constant and incessant glee at every bit of negative news about America, from the deficit to the US losing the World Cup, but I thought they were supposed to love them some American military? If so, why the burning desire for them to be stuck in limbo in Afghanistan forever?

Henry Camp Praises DCYD Elections

Sen. Douglas Henry's campaign sent out an email in which they praised their intern, John Kerr, for being elected as the new DCYD President:

John Kerr, one of our campaign interns, was elected President Tuesday of the Davidson County Young Democrats. This great group made an outstanding choice. John, who attends Belmont University and graduated from Hume Fogg High School, is as hard a worker as you’ll find anywhere, and he has a multitude of campaign experience. Congratulations, John!

I too congratulate John along with the rest of the new DCYD Board: John Haubenreich - Vice President, Chris Murphy - Secretary, Samantha Yeargin - Treasurer, Ronald Douglas and Cyrus Shick - At-Large Members, and Matia Powell - Immediate Past President. The new board shows a lot of promise and will be good stewards of the organization.

Unfortunately omitted from this e-mail was any mention of Jeff Yarbro's proposed debates/forums. Voters in the 21st deserve a chance to hear the candidates, side-by-side, on the issues to make the most informed choice possible. Hopefully Sen. Henry's love and support of our Democratic institution will lead him to accept Yarbro's proposal.

Governor Bredesen's Legendary Coat-tails Scare Republicans

TNDP Chairman Chip Forrester seems to think that the power of Bredesen's endorsements, as shown by the victories of Harold Ford Jr. and the 2008 State House and Senate candidates, has sent the TNGOP into a frenzy of pants-wetting...

"Gov. Bredesen has an overall approval rating of 75 percent across the state," Forrester said. "He has done an outstanding job for the state and voters realize that.

"His ringing endorsement of Mike McWherter means something to most Tennesseans. That is why Republicans are frantically trying to dismiss the endorsement. Gov. Bredesen knows more about leading a state than Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney ever will.

Still waiting to hear back from the TNDP Communication Director on where they got that 75% approval rating from...*Update: Apparently it was in the latest Rasmussen poll

Yarbro Brings The Heat

Yesterday Jeff Yarbro challenged Sen. Douglas Henry to a series of debates, today he mentions a few topics that he'd like to discuss:

* Sen. Henry sponsored SJR 127, which would amend Tennessee's Constitution to restrict women's reproductive rights even in instances of rape, incest, or when a woman's health is at risk. I oppose SJR 127 because I believe there are better ways to reduce the number of abortions than putting obstacles between women and their doctors.

* On the last day of session, Sen. Henry was one of only two Democrats to oppose bringing the ban on mountaintop removal coal mining to the Senate floor for a vote. He stated his opposition was due to his respect for the tradition of only addressing bills that are passed by a Senate committee. I would have voted the other way. Republican leaders are abusing the committee system to block common sense legislation on behalf of the coal industry, which employs fewer than 400 people in Tennessee.

* Sen. Henry voted for one of the health reform nullification bills, which sought to block the implementation of health care reform in Tennessee and use taxpayer funds to sue the federal government. Our state needs to focus on results rather than such futile opposition. We have to get to work on implementing health care reform in a way that strengthens the quality of care while reducing costs.

Anti-Parasite Parasite

Just like the welfare farmer Stephen Fincher, this guy is much more for talking than walking...

The Raytown farmer who posted a sign on a semi-truck trailer accusing Democrats of being the “Party of Parasites” received more than $1 million in federal crop subsidies since 1995.

This story has a similar feel to a new Gallup poll which shows that opposition to the new health care reforms comes largely from a senior citizen population that has a guaranteed right to health care paid for by the government.

Ethical Question

Just curious if there was anyone else out there in the same boat. I live in East Nashville, as such, this August I won't live in a district with a seriously contested Democratic race. So, is it wrong to vote in a GOP primary for the candidate I'd rather see as Governor if by some fluke Mike McWherter fails to win in November?

Based on §2-7-115 the answer is yes, it is wrong, as you are essentially pledging allegiance with the party you are casting a ballot with, and I'm not now nor do I ever plan to be a Republican. However, this rule is rarely if ever enforced...so would it be wrong to cast a ballot in another party's primary if your intentions are to have the best possible candidates?

The Young Whipper-Snapper Wants a Debate

Jeff Yarbro seems inclined towards giving the voters of the 21st Senate District a chance to hear, side-by-side, the differences or similarities in views between he and incumbent Sen. Douglas Henry:

“The citizens of the 21st District deserve the opportunity to make an informed choice on August 5th,” Yarbro said. “It is critical for voters to understand the different visions that Sen. Henry and I have for Tennessee’s future.”

In his letter, Yarbro proposed a minimum of three candidate forums or debates between now and the August 5 primary, but also agreed to answer questions from voters together however many times and for however long Sen. Henry is willing.

“Rather than limiting ourselves to discussing the future on television and at the mailbox, I believe that we should present our issues to the voters side-by-side,” Yarbro said.

Three would be nice, I'd be surprised to see one though...

Bill Haslam Is Just Swell

You know, I was all ready to write a post critical of Bill Haslam's new ad which reveals the fact that a restaurant owner in East Tennessee likes him...but at the end of the day, it probably isn't all that bad of a strategy.



Fact is, nobody really knows much about any of the people running for Governor, and few voters are really terribly concerned with detailed policy prescriptions for the problems Tennessee faces. So how better to introduce yourself to voters than to have various people talk about your personality and what a swell person you are? Granted, it won't win the love and affection of conservative activists, bloggers, or the media...but for low-information voters who don't care all that much about specifics, I think its a better introduction to voters than Ron Ramsey's confrontational "boot" ads.

McChrystal Profile Wholly Depressing

After reading through the Rolling Stones profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal (.pdf) I can't help but become a little depressed about our prospects in Afghanistan. Not necessarily because he's in charge, but because it seems that much of our foreign policy in the area is mired in juvenile behavior. Its a mixture of ego and one-upmanship, personality conflicts, and back-biting all with the seemingly pointless purpose of being the alpha-male in the game.

Now, as a result of the article, it looks as if the President is summoning his commander in Afghanistan to Washington in order to re-assert his position as alpha-male of the situation. Instead of doing that, perhaps President Obama ought to go through the article and try to find a single glimmer of hope for us extracting ourselves from the position we're in...because I sure didn't see one.

One the one hand we're supposed to have this deep and abiding faith in the US military to accomplish the impossible, but then we get stuff like this which shows that the command in Afghanistan is as caddish and professional as a high school cheerleader group. That's not to say that McChrystal doesn't know his shit, I'm sure he does, but I just wonder if there is a certain level of responsibility in this life that people get to and realize they need to put aside petty differences for the good of "the mission"?

If there isn't that point, we ought to just get the hell out and save our troops from having to undergo another few years of political in-fighting and power struggles that distract us from the mission at hand.

Military Optimizations Hurt West Tennessee

The military released an environmental (in the broad sense of the term) impact study (pdf) on a plan by American Ordinance to relocate certain ammunition production from a plant in Milan, TN to one in Iowa, in exchange the Milan facility will increase their work in recycling Depleted Uranium shells. The study indicates a job loss for the region of around 500 positions, as a result, Sen. Lowe Finney and the Governor are not pleased:

Gov. Phil Bredesen said Tuesday that he would work with State Sen. Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) and other federal and state lawmakers to keep more than 500 ammunition production jobs at the Milan Arsenal.

“Gov. Bredesen has brought thousands of jobs to this state, and he told me today that he is just as intent in keeping them here,” Finney said after wrapping up a Monday afternoon conference call with Governor Phil Bredesen and other state officials regarding the arsenal.

This wouldn't be the first munitions facility to ship their jobs to the Iowa plant. Both the Kansas and Lone Star Ammunition Plants closed and moved production of their munitions to Iowa.

Ultimately, the question of whether or not to relocate the production of certain ammunition to Iowa comes down to how you view the military and its contractors. If you see them as a means to an end of protecting our country and/or accomplishing missions its been tasked with, then I don't see how we can justify blocking this move. If you see the military and its contractors as a jobs program, not tied to efficiency or military readiness but rather to the employment figures of various areas in the country, then by all means lets keep this and other facilities deemed redundant open for business.

As a long time critic of our bloated military budget, I can't see the justification for stopping this planned move unless someone can show how the military benefits from keeping it at the strength its currently operating at.

Duncan and Tanner Don't Back AIPAC

As of today, Rep. John Duncan (R-TN) and Rep. John Tanner (D-TN) are the only two members of the Tennessee congressional delegation not to have signed on to an AIPAC letter which lays all of the blame of the "floatilla" killings on those attempting to deliver goods to the residents of Gaza.

Those Who Murder Old Women Should Not Throw Stones

Maury Davis, Cornerstone's murderer/pastor, thinks that the United States is Heaven and ICE is Jesus Christ:

Jesus made it clear that Heaven is intol­er­ant of any attempt at ille­gal immi­gra­tion. He stated in John 10:1, 7: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheep­fold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a rob­ber … I am the door.” All who enter Heaven must come by way of Jesus Christ. If you believe what the Bible teaches, you must believe that ille­gal immi­gra­tion is not right.

Aunt B counters that Jesus was an Illegal.

Ultimately, I don't really care who is right...there are plenty of things "the Bible says" that I don't believe should be made into law. But I have a hard time believing that Jesus spent a good deal of his time fretting to his followers about the need for territorial sovereignty and strict immigration controls. Its just a guess, but I'd assume that Jesus would find something immoral with refusing economic refuge to a person whose quality of life would be dramatically different depending upon which side of a man-made border he lived on.

Tennessee Republicans Endorse Deficit Spending

Chris Devaney, head of the TNGOP, has apparently endorsed deficit spending. Not so much in words, but in actions, as the Tennessee Republican Party has $33,900 in debt obligations, and received another $5,000 loan in May to help make ends meet.

One of the ironies of the situations is that Devaney's credit line is through FirstBank of Tennessee whose President, Douglas Cruickshanks, Jr, is a Democratic donor.

According to the latest federal disclosures, the Tennessee Democratic Party continues to lead their Republican counterparts with cash on hand, but the GOP had a rather fruitful month with over $90K in contributions, including over $20k in unitemized money, bringing their yearly total of money whose source is not listed to over $200K.

Update: The TNGOP responds over at Post Politics that taking out lines of credit is good business sense.

Westerholm Announced for Council

Peter Westerholm, who ran for Council At-Large in 2007, has found his opening in 2011 and intends to run for the District 6th seat currently held by the term limited Councilman Mike Jameson.

Liberadio Calls It Quits

Mary Mancini and Freddie O'Connell have decided to sleep in on Monday mornings...(via Kleinheider)

One of Nashville's more celebrated alternative news sources has decided to call it quits. Liberadio(!) with Mary Mancini and Freddie O'Connell, which has been broadcast on 91.1 WRVU Monday mornings since 2004, wrapped it's final episode on May 17. The hosts say the final decision was made over the Memorial Day weekend. The reason: time.

"We've done the show as an almost entirely volunteer hobby without more than an occasional break for nearly six years, usually while both of us were working full-time," said O'Connell. "Having half a weekend and brutal Monday mornings to kick off a full work week is exhausting."

Back when I actually put effort into this blog, I was able to go on Liberadio a few times and quite enjoyed the experience. Sorry to see them go, but I'm sure they'll both remain active in local politics for the foreseeable future.

Zelenik Buys PAC Support

Lou Ann Zelenik has been named the Conservative of the Year by the National Fiscal Conservative PAC, a group formed in Franklin, TN earlier this year. According to the group:

“Of all the candidates running across the country this year, Lou Ann Zelenik is the best qualified to lead and go to Washington to fight for our nation,” Hemrick said. “Her consistent efforts in party politics and leading the grassroots tea party movement are a testament to her dedication to fiscal sanity and smaller government.”

Left unmentioned is that Zelenik seems to be the only candidate in the 6th District, and in fact the country, who donated money to said group, to the tune of $3,500 back in March.