More GOP Silly Season

Sen. Bill Ketron, whose only redeeming quality as a legislator is his support for wine in grocery stores, has introduced a resolution requesting a national constitutional convention for the purposes of passing an amendment which would require a majority of the state legislatures to approve an increase in the federal debt.

Just more pandering to the tea party base.  As much as it may pain Ketron to admit it, the fact remains that the House and Senate are our elected representatives for federal matters.  If Ketron, et al, want their opinion heard on these issues, perhaps they ought to run for Congress.  Or, if you really feel that Congress can't make these decisions by themselves, why not create a ballot referendum system so "we the people" can decide on these issues...I'm not sure why Ketron thinks state legislatures have greater collective wisdom than both the Congress and the people of this country.

The Succinctness Plays To My Midwestern Roots...

And then there were three...Amy Bryson jumps into the race to replace outgoing Councilman Jamie Hollin in district 5, she is joined in the race by Wes Aull and Scott Davis.

Nashville, TN January 27, 2011  Amy Bryson, neighborhood activist and realtor, is running for the District 5 Council seat.

Amy has been a resident of Greenwood Neighbors and an active member of the East Nashville community for 8 years. Amy believes in the power of a community working together for a common goal. She is dedicated to positive growth and development in District 5, and is passionate about affordable housing. Amy has attended countless zoning, council and neighborhood meetings, working for her community on all aspects of quality of life issues.

Campfield Watch

As more and more bills are filed with the Clerk's office, some of the more radical proposals to roll back worker protections and support a radically conservative legislative approach is coming to light.  Let's take a look at some of them, starting with the master of ideological/partisan legislation, Stacey Campfield.

Campfield wants to create an Office of the Solicitor General, to be appointed by the House and Senate, which would defend the crazy tea party inspired legislation that passes the legislature, and give him or her subpoena and investigative powers. This in part of the GOP's hissy fit over Attorney General Cooper's failure to spend taxpayer money to fight the health care reform legislation passed by Congress.

He also introduced a spate of bills aimed at giving certain parties (men) greater rights in divorce, protective order and custody hearings, for instance, the ability to require a judge's recusal upon request.

Campfield introduced a bill introducing party registration in our voting process (so when someone says, "I'm a registered independent," they will actually be right). The purpose of which is to freeze out moderate and swing voters from the GOP primary process.

Perhaps the most mean spirited of them all, Campfield wants the state to ignore babies who were born in this state to parents without proper documentation establishing citizenship.  So, if you are a single mom having a baby right after your purse is stolen, and don't have the proper documentation available to prove your citizenship, your baby will have never been born in Stacey's eyes.

What Dean Should Have Said

Catherine McTamaney has a lengthy rebuke of Dean's governing style, and then imagines what she would've said if she were Dean:

The past few weeks have been politically tumultuous ones in this little city known for its friendliness. The optimistic spirit we enjoyed in May was replaced with rancor and territorial press releases. The floor of the Council reminded me a bit of my old sorority infighting. Lots of snipping. Very little gain. And while our leadership was modeling the worst of our city, tossing petty jabs and gnashing their teeth on the Council floor, Nashvillians did what Nashvillians do: citizens on both sides of the debate came out, largely peacefully and clearly in force.  Neighbors whose homes overlooked the track organized to make sure their voices were heard. Redshirted fairlovers lined up hundreds deep , insistent and engaged.

In the end, the Council chose the direction that best matches this city, the one that allows for the equal voice of whichever Nashvillians feel strongly enough about the issue to contribute to the Master Plan and which doesn’t presume to know what that plan would include. If there is a message our leadership should take from this, clearly, loudly, as insistently as all those red and yellow shirts, it’s this one: we want to be heard. When we disagree with you, we want to be heard. When we agree with you, we want to be heard. Remember: the last time the Council ran past midnight was over a zoning issue that affected a single neighborhood. It’s Music City: we want our voice.

Nashville is still, at its heart, a small town. It’s still a place where neighbors want to know each other by name, where we realize our quality of life is what we make it and we’re willing to work to make it what we want. We don’t ask much of our local government: keep our sidewalks safe and our streets clean and make sure the water is drinkable. Don’t make me wait too long to get my tags renewed. Smile at me at the voting booth. Most of the time, we’re going to take care of ourselves.

I’m sure it’s very comfortable inside the Mayor’s office, comfortable enough to forget that the rest of us are out here. I don’t doubt that the chairs there are plush and the coffee’s reliably hot and there’s probably witty banter between smart people. I bet there’s a New York Times somewhere in the office every day and, most days, the WSJ. I bet that, inside the office, it looks a lot like the inside of most high-powered offices, in most cities. I bet that our administration, in intellect, in wit, in power, could hold its own against any city administration in the country. I suspect Dean and Bloomberg could have a couple of drinks at the Trinity Street Bar and both be right at home.   And when we’re negotiating with other cities, when we’re competing for corporate headquarters and attracting Nissans, that’s really important. We need to know how to run with the big dogs and we need to be at the front of the pack. And there are clearly some big dogs in the Mayor’s Office.

But day to day, guys, this is Nashville. Day to day, we are still a small town. You relied on that in May, when street-by-street, individual neighbors pulled each other through a crisis for which our city was unprepared. You commended us for it in your press conferences, when you surrounded your striped-ties-and-tailored-suits with our t-shirts and shovels. You’re still asking it of us, in seeking new volunteer corps to do things like clean up the streams that flow into our overburdened, underfunded storm water system. You need us to have your backs. And we do. We like knowing you’re strong enough and smart enough to temper Nashville’s intrinsic hokiness. But we didn’t elect you to tell us what we should believe. That’s a model that may work in other cities, but not here.

After an unprecedented number of Nashvillians descended on the Council chambers on Tuesday night to insist on being heard, Mayor Dean released a presser that said that it was what he was planning all along, referencing the time-out he’d called and, essentially, dismissing the very real frustration at being ignored that the thousand or so folks in the Courthouse represented. While I am comforted to know that the Mayor’s office is clearly no longer using tax dollars for professional public relations firms to help spin its message, I was disheartened to see Dean’s missed opportunity to rebuild some of the trust he’s lost in the last few months, to let us know that he’s hearing us. And while, unfortunately, he hasn’t asked my opinion,  here’s what I think Dean should have said,

“Hey, Nashville. I was wrong. I had this kind of cool idea in my office one day and I was maybe too excited about it or maybe getting some bad advice or maybe just a little more myopic than I should have been about who lives here and how diverse this city really is , but it didn’t really occur to me that anyone would disagree with me. And then, when so many people did, I was a little too proud to slow down the train and I let some more hostile voices interfere with my better angels. I was wrong. I promised you an administration that was focused on quality of life issues, in which I would value your input and work toward our collective good, and I forgot that not everyone in that collective has the same access to my office. I believed the voices I was hearing the most often, and I ignored my responsibility to go out and make sure I was hearing your voice, too. And I appreciate that it seems like that’s happened before. I can understand how someone looking at my administration may think that we’re going to bully the city into whatever agenda we set, and we’re more interested in getting our way than hearing your voice, and I’m going to do whatever it takes for the next five years to prove those people wrong. Starting today. Not by pretending that the Master Plan you asked for was what I wanted all along, but by acknowledging that I didn’t know how much I didn’t know and thanking you for loudly insisting that I learn more before I move forward. That may take a little more time. It may not mean that we move as decisively or as insistently as some folks would like. But doing right is more important to me than being right, and this time I have to just say out loud, first and foremost, that I was wrong. “

Now, I understand that I may be just fully naïve and far too optimistic, but here’s the thing: I actually do believe that Karl Dean has our city’s best interests in mind. I know enough about what he did before he was in office and who respected him and what he seemed to value to believe, fully, that he actually is a decent guy with good intentions. And while I don’t think he needs to use taxdollars to do it, I do think he needs a serious PR overhaul. Because culturally, his leadership style and the style of the people who speak on his behalf is not matching with what most of Nashville values. We like strong leaders. We don’t like bullies. We like having a direction we can get behind. We don’t like being told what to do. We really really like grace under fire. We don’t like tantrums and eye rolling and comments you think you’re making under your breath but we all know are audible to the microphones. The fairgrounds debate is a great opportunity: not to save face or to delay implementing what you’ve already decided you want to do, but to change the tenor of the leadership, to win us back for the next five years. Because while it may be agreed that you’re going to be there, there sure as heck isn’t any consensus on whether or not that’s a good thing and it would be a lot nicer around here for all of us if we could just get back on the same page. Finding consensus takes more time than barrelling and bullying down the path, but you're also less likely to get lost out there on your own. If you realize you've taken  a wrong step, it's a lot easier to go back when you've been moving more slowly all along. Let us get back on the path and decide together what we want as a city. Wherever we end up, we're all going to be a lot happier once we get there.

GOP Power Grab Over Retirement Board

Delores Gresham, aided by 9 of her Senate Republican colleagues, has introduced a bill that would strip the Tennessee Education Association of the ability to appoint three members to the Board of Trustees of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, and would make those positions political appointments handled by the Speaker of the House and Senate.

The TCRS Board of Trustees is currently made up of 20 members, of which three are teacher trustees.  Currently the law states that "[t]he three (3) teacher trustees shall be elected by the representative assembly of the Tennessee Education Association, and shall not be from the same grand division of the state".

Gresham's bill, SB0102, is a naked power grab designed to take the power away from teachers to have say over who they want representing them, and make it a GOP controlled decisions, 2 of which are chosen by Ramsey, and one by Harwell.  This is clear and obvious political retribution over the perceived Democratic bias of the TEA.  Of course, it would make sense that this is the case, seeing as the Republicans show disdain at every level for public schools and the teachers who work there.

Nominees Selected in State House and Senate Races

Last night special elections were held to select the nominees for both House district 98, to replace the late Ulysees Jones who died unexpectedly shortly after the November election, and Senate district 18, to replace Diane Black who went to Congress.

In Memphis, Antonio "2 Shay" Parkinson is the de facto Representative-elect, as no Republicans filed to run for the job. Parkinson, a firefighter, community activist, and former marine, won with 57% of the vote.

In the 18th, Ken Wilber is the unopposed Democrat facing Kerry Roberts who won his primary in a 3 way race.  While its pretty well assumed out there that Roberts will win, the fact remains that voters are going to have a choice between a knee-jerk radical conservative Republican versus a moderate and responsible Democrat.   At the very least, voters should be informed of the choice they have, so at least they know they are choosing between a conservative firebrand whose governing philosophy is to essentially burn it all down, and a responsible moderate with a proven track record as Mayor of Portland who will act reasonably in assessing and promoting legislation.  Roberts may very well be a "nice guy," but his rhetoric shows someone who is incapable of understanding political and governing realities beyond a narrow ideological framework.

You can read this questionnaire (pdf) to see the difference between the two. 

Campfield Stands Up for the Haters

The Rep The Sen, Stacey Campfield, is not very happy with the University of Tennessee for working up a draft report on cultural sensitivity after some students threw bananas at perspective black students, and "cotton balls were scattered on the lawn of the Black Cultural Center after Barack Obama was elected president."

Campfield's typical juvenile response is "how P.C."

This isn't really a matter of "political correctness" its a matter of just plain human decency (H.D. if you will).  Campuses should be a place for diversity of opinion, no doubt, but that doesn't mean you have to allow juvenile racist taunting which serves no other purpose than to offend and make others uncomfortable in their new home, which is what a college campus is for many.

Campfield then goes on to do what Conservatives do best, make it all about them:

I look forward to the report of bias by the university against conservative speakers or clubs on campus soon to be followed up by the bias against legal gun owners or religious groups I am sure.

Of course, conservative speakers and clubs are allowed on campus. In fact, the UTK College Republicans have their own page on the university's website. When it comes to religious freedom, feel free to peruse the list of various campus ministries. There doesn't, however, appear to be a UTK website for the Secular Student Alliance, so perhaps that is the discrimination Campfield was talking about?

If Conservatives want more influence in college campuses, perhaps they ought to be supporting those universities and colleges, rather than denigrating them at every turn, and quit their demagogic attitude towards institutions of higher learning.

$750,000 Buys An Awful Lot of Bon-Bons

I got my hands on a copy of the court documents filed in the Winslow v. Saltsman case alleging defamation of character.  Winslow wants $500,000 for compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages because he is just that hurt over the matter.

In the brief, Winslow's counsel lays out how 3 days prior to Robin Smith announcing she'd be resigning in two weeks, she executed a contract with Mark Winslow to be Chief of Staff, and that was approved by the Executive Committee.  Around June 3rd, Devaney said he didn't want Winslow to be Chief of Staff, offered him a consulting gig at half price, to which Mr. Winslow balked and said, looky here, I got a contract (paraphrasing), and worked out a deal to get paid.

Later, to his "shock and dismay" Saltsman, whilst campaigning for Fleishmann against Robin Smith, said the agreement Winslow's conduct was possibly illegal and a radio station posted his personnel documents on Facebook for all to see.  As a result of this release, Winslow lost his paying gig [and future potential earnings], and now wants Saltsman to pay up in return.

Read the documents for yourself. 

Winslow V. Saltsman

Punishing Those With Compassion

It appears as though Rep. Shipley hasn't got much better to do than find ways to punish those who offer a ride or place to stay to someone who is not legally authorized to be in the United States.  His proposed bill, HB0142, would make it a felony for family members of undocumented immigrants to in any way transport or "harbor" them.

While the intention of this may be to cut down on trafficking of unauthorized aliens, the fact remains that many in the Latin culture (and lets face it, these bills are almost entirely directed towards them) are vary family oriented, and its not uncommon for many generations to live together.  So, if someone is here legally, and their brother or mother or father isn't, are they supposed to turn them away or turn them into ICE?  If you were born in the United States and your parents weren't properly documented, are you now going to be a felon if you get caught driving your mother or father to work or the doctor?

There are ways to form laws that go after coyotes and traffickers without punishing family members who are just trying to do the right thing by their loved ones, and this approach is not it.

Mark Winslow Not Sitting At Home Eating Bon-Bons

It seems that the 2010 Republican Primary for the Third Congressional District is nowhere near over, as Mark Winslow, a member of the Davidson County and Tennessee Republican Executive Committee, is suing Chip Saltsman, now Chief of Staff to Chuck Fleishmann, for defamation. From Tennessee Ticket:

Fallout from the bitter Third District GOP primary continues, as Mark Winslow, a top campaign aide to Robin Smith, has filed a lawsuit against Chip Saltsman, who was a key campaign adviser to U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and now works as the congressman’s chief of staff.

According to a copy of the summons, W. Gary Blackburn, John Ray Clemmons, and J. Michael Clemons of Chaffin, Burnsed & Blackburn, along with Raymond Throckmorton, have filed on behalf of Winslow in Davidson County Circuit Court.

Saltsman had claimed that a $12,000 severance package from the TNGOP paid to Winslow was "at worst, illegal and, at best, just plain wrong" as Winslow went from working at the Party to volunteering for Robin Smith.

In response to these allegations, Winslow wondered, "What was I supposed to do? Sit at home and eat bon-bons?" Apparently he's got a hankering for bon-bons now, and wants Saltsman to pay for them.

(h/t JRLind)

[Don't] SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Governor Haslam was quick to show that his administration is of, by, and for the people...assuming of course by "people" you mean members of the Executive branch who don't want to disclose how much money they made from outside sources.  From Chip Forrester:

“Our government should be more transparent and open, not less. The governor and his staff should be above reproach when conducting state business. Removing the disclosure requirement does nothing to assure citizens government is working on their behalf. If anything, that makes people more skeptical of their government.”

Former Gov. Phil Bredesen required his top administration officials to disclose their total yearly earnings when he came into office in January 2003. Haslam received much criticism during his gubernatorial campaign for failing to disclose his income from family owned Pilot, a national truck stop chain with annual revenues estimated at $20 billion.

Haslam signed an executive order removing the disclosure requirement soon after taking the oath of office on Saturday. His order requires top administration officials to reveal sources of income only, not amounts. Several of Haslam’s Cabinet members have extensive business dealings in the private sector.

Full release below...

Legislative Roundup

Our boys and girls in the legislature have been some busy bees, with some 70 new bills filed in the House since I last checked.  A quick rundown of what we've got so far.

Rep. Lundberg wants to make it harder to have drive-thru beer stores (where I grew up, most beer/wine stores were drive-thur).  He would also like to be a buzz kill for folks who wanna get their drink on whilst on a road trip, proposing to make open containers illegal for passengers, something that Rep. Ulysees Jones had fought hard against over the years.

Rep. Sexton and Sen. Burks have proposed gradually eliminating the Hall Income tax on stocks and dividends by 2015.

Rep. Ryan Haynes of Knoxville has issued a Fatwa against traffic cameras and taken up the Basil Marceaux Dot Com battle against slaving at traffic stops.  He has introduced a bill prohibiting the issuance of speeding tickets based solely on traffic cameras; a bill that ensures that those ticketed can pay by mail or in person; a bill requiring that a police officer, and not just an employee of the police department, review traffic camera footage before issuing a citation; a bill allowing for right hand turns without coming to a full and complete stop; and finally, a bill requiring police departments to donate money collected from traffic camera stops to go to non-profits.

Rep. GA Hardaway has been far and away the busiest legislator, introducing a whopping 57 bills, or about half of all those introduced so far. Hardaway wants to make it a misdemeanor to "knowingly" fail to verify identification for credit card transactions. He likes his strippers to be a bit more mature, raising the age from 18 to 21.  He wants to create an "ASPIRE" work-study program using lottery funds to further aide HOPE scholarship recipients.  He also introduced a bill making it a crime for a former felon to own a "vicious" animal 10 years after they have served out their sentence, and would require owners of these vicious animals to carry a $100,000 insurance policy within 60 days of obtaining the animal. 

Hardaway wants to allow for the public to buy into the state's employee health insurance plan.  He's also introduced a glut of bills that are designed to essentially increase the rights of the father in custody battles, to numerous to mention.  He's introduced a bill that "requires...[Memphis]...to maintain effort in funding such school system."  Finally, he wants parents of truant kids to attend counseling. 


Rep. Weaver and Sen. Beavers wants to enshrine in our law the right to be irresponsible.

Who Knew? Motorplex "Best Race Track in the Country"

A group of famous NASCAR racers, along with Mike Curb and other various Racetrack supporters, unveiled a plan that tries to address some of the concerns of those who live near the track, while still keeping the track alive as a racing venue.   According to Sterling Martin, a Columbia native and racing legend, it is "the best race track in the country,"..."It's the oldest race track, the best short track laid out ever. You can run side by side for 100 laps. It's a great facility. I think if we would all get together it could be put back to the glory it used to be."

Obviously I'm no racing expert because to me the track looks like just about every other paved oval out there, but if Sterling says he thinks its the bestest, well, I'll take him at his word. 

The plan to save the track sounds somewhat like it was drafted by a conservative trying to think of what lefties like, with a hodgepodge of goodies seeking to calm liberal sensibilities, such as a windmill, electric charging stations for cars, trees to absorb water runoff, etc...but most importantly its private money and they are proposing sound barriers that would theoretically muffle the noises being fed into the living rooms, dining areas, and bedrooms of neighboring homeowners, which is one of the more often cited concerns of the neighbors.

Of course, there are skeptics of the plan, including Councilwoman Anna Page who represents the area East of Nolensville road across from the Fairgrounds.  According to Nate Rau, Page is skeptical of a plan which is being laid out shortly before Tuesday's public hearing on the debate.  Colby Sledge, co-Chair of SNAP, is also a bit nonplussed, and tells Rau that its not an issue of being for or against racing, but being for or against racing in an urban neighborhood.

My own feeling is that with an active group of avid racing fans, combined with some folks who just want to see Karl Dean and Council members like Megan Barry fail, the bill to demolish the racetrack will likely go down to defeat, or be withdrawn before the 3rd vote.  Its an election year, and I can imagine that Council members from around the city are hearing a lot more from the folks in their district opposed to the move, than from those who are in favor of demolishing it, or indifferent altogether.

Of course, even if this plan is on the up-and-up, and these wealthy folks are seriously committed to the changes they propose, the danger is that they'll get their way, perform the upgrades, and the noise and other related issues will still exist for neighbors of the racetrack.  At which point the neighbors would be SOL, as there would be very little political will to address the issue again.

(h/t Mike Byrd)

Citizen Barrett Pisses In Metro's Cheerios

George "Citizen" Barrett, famed Attorney and Democratic muckity-muck, has threatened legal action if the Metro Government doesn't redraw its districts before the upcoming August elections.

“The citizens of Nashville should not be submitted to four years of governance by an improperly constituted city council,” Barrett wrote in the letter. “I stand ready to seek the assistance of the federal court should such reapportionment not take place prior to the August 2011 city council elections.”

The release states that Metro should have 2010 census data next month, leaving the council and the planning commission more than two months to redraw the district lines before a May 19 qualifying deadline for candidates.

If Barrett has his way, a wrench could be thrown into the gears of many candidates who have already begun running in their current district, especially if they live at the outskirts and are redrawn into someone else's playpen.

Of course, Barrett does have a reasonable position (legal or otherwise) because if the redistricting is delayed, it will mean that shortly after the elections, many voters will be placed with a council-person they didn't have a say in.  On the other side of the coin, this could really be a pain in the ass both for Metro and for candidates seeking office...but, then again, do we really need protracted district council campaigns?

Update:  I'm told that after the 1990 census, it took five years for Metro to redraw its districts, and they weren't redrawn in until 2003 the last time...so it certainly isn't out of the ordinary that Metro would wait until after the elections before changing around the districts. 

Brian Kelsey to Be Secretary Over "The Last Vestige of Slavery" Committee

It looks that while Ron Ramsey was unable to give the boot to Washington as Governor, he has managed to give the ol' boot to Andy Berke in his capacity as Speaker of the Senate, busting down the Senator from Chattanooga to the rank of lowly member of the Senate Education Committee, and making Brian Kelsey the Secretary.

Brian Kelsey made a few heads turn when he claimed that "[o]ur public school system is the last vestige of slavery," in the debate over a Charter Schools bill passed in 2009.  Kelsey has also advocated setting up a voucher pilot program in Memphis to pay for students to go to non-public schools.  Kelsey has also proposed having the State take over the Memphis City School system, should the voters in the city support abolishing the special school district, which would by statute fold them into the Shelby County School System.

Kristine LaLonde Not Running for Re-election

After winning a special election two years ago, and withstanding the controversy surrounding Belmont (her employer), Councilwoman Kristine LaLonde has decided not to run for re-election to the 18th Council District seat:

My term of office will continue until August, and I look forward to energetically serving you and the priorities of the neighborhood during that time. In particular, I will continue to work on issues related to pedestrian and traffic issues in an effort to make our neighborhood an even greater place to live. Please watch for the announcement of community meetings on this topic in the coming weeks.

After my term of office is complete, I intend to keep working toward many of the priorities that have defined my time on the council, and indeed, define the character of District 18. I will dedicate more focus to issues of education, poverty, and the needs of the youth of our community. I will also continue to support efforts to make Nashville a model of sustainability and smart urban growth.

Read the full release below.

Gotto Can't Be Gone Soon Enough

Councilman Jim Gotto and others met with various business and religious leaders to harumph over a proposed ordinance requiring vendors and contractors of Metro Government to not hate on gay people when hiring...a proposition that they feel is entirely too burdensome. From Joey Garrison:

The ordinance is up for the first of three votes on Jan. 18. It appears the strategy to defeat the bill will be to have it pulled for a rare vote on first reading next week. Normally, all bills are passed on the first of three votes under council procedures.

“I feel certain that someone would pull the bill on first reading,” Gotto said. “If somebody doesn’t, then I more than likely will. I think this [bill] is a serious, serious problem for us from a business community standpoint in Davidson County.”

BL2011-838 requires vendors and contractors to supply an affidavit saying they will comply with Metro non-discrimination policies, and for that clause to be in every contract.  Its being sponsored by CMs Mike Jameson, Erica Gilmore and (in the near future) Jamie Hollin. This ordinance, in my opinion, is superior to the Belmont ordinance that was deferred because it applies to all contractors, and doesn't single out one entity, which I think is fairer to all parties.

So It Begins

Our fair legislators have begun introducing their legislation for the year.  Tennessee's rules require front-loading of legislation before they start working on it, so many of these bill will end up being duplicative or changed dramatically before passage.  That being said, here's a few highlights so far:

Glen Casada wants tort reform! For beekeepers.

GA Hardaway wants to implement a "noncustodial parent advocacy pilot project" to help unwed parents gain visitation rights to see their kids. In addition, he wants to require parents with shared custody to notify the other parent within 90 days if they intend to move more than 100 miles away.

In the Dept. of Bills That Will Never Pass, Hardaway would like to regulate gun shows. Requiring promoters to notify the TBI ahead of time, and make it unlawful for anyone who doesn't have a FFL to sell guns to other individuals, otherwise known as the "gun show loophole" which allows private individuals to sell their "private collection" to other individuals without the need for a pesky background check.

Rep. Harry Brooks introduced two bills that would raise the standards for high school applicants for the Hope Scholarship, increasing the required ACT score from 21 to 23 and the SAT score from 980 to 1070.  One bill would phase it in over a period of about 5 years, the other would be more immediate.   Brooks also wants to make it easier to get your lotto ticket, by allowing for debit cards as well as cash.

Expect some much more interesting legislation to come once the Freshmen class get the hang of introducing legislation, I'm looking out especially for what Sen. Summerville has to offer.

Damn Yankees

Debates about tearing down a racetrack and moving the fairgrounds will undoubtedly results in some shenanigans. Some not so funny, like Jen Trail claiming harassment from supporters of keeping the racetrack, some downright hilarious, like this email rant about our Mayor, Karl Dean:

Subject: Who in the HELL does Karl Dean think he is anyway.

Who in the HELL is this YANKEE to come here and want to sell anything let alone OUR FAIRGROUNDS. That property has been there forever, LONG BEFORE THIS DAMN YANKEE EVER GOT HERE.... AND LONG BEFORE ANY PANTY WADS IN THE THE NEIGHBORHOOS MOVED IN AND NOW WANT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT NOISE.

ie: IF I DONT WANT TO SMELL COWSHIT, I DO NOT MOVE NEXT TO A COW FARM AND THEN COMPLAIN ABOUT IT.

LET DEAN GET HIS OWN SWEET RETIREMENT DEAL AFTER HE LEAVES OFFICE NOT BY SELLING OUR PORPERTY.

Dick XXXXX

Department of Things I Missed

Wade Munday had a final reflection on the race for Chair last night on the old Facebook titled "Underdogs":

Recently I lost the election for Tennessee Democratic Party Chair. Before you feel sorry for me, I want to point out that I am proud of what little I was able to accomplish with a few spare hours in the week and not more than a public speaking course from a community college.

I have the sneaking suspicion that of the ten votes I received by members of the Democratic Executive Committee, perhaps some of those were votes cast out of sympathy. What is less known is whether that sympathy was indicative of my inevitable defeat or of the words I had spoken to them over the previous weeks.

I had several weeks to make my case to these publicly elected officials. I spoke about the have-nots of the world. I spoke about Justice and Right and Good. These are the things I care about—help for the dispossessed and the dispirited. I attempted to talk about what I believe is the Democratic message without resorting to the coma-inducing dialogue about a Democratic message. I wanted to deliver the message rather than state the obvious lack of one.

In the Bibliographical Note to his tremendous work, Civil War: A Narrative, author Shelby Foote wrote the following:

One more word perhaps will not be out of place. I am a Mississippian. Though the veterans I knew are all dead now … I hope I have recovered the respect they had for their opponents until Reconstruction lessened and finally killed it. Biased is the last thing I would be; I yield to no one in my admiration for heroism and ability, no matter which side of the line a man was born or fought on when the war broke out … If pride in the resistance my forebears made against the odds has leaned me to any degree in their direction, I hope it will be seen to amount no more, in the end, than the average American’s normal sympathy for the underdog in a fight.

I read these words just days into my campaign, and they appealed to me for more than the fact that I was raised in the South, familiar with Rebel pride and the artifacts of the war my forebears sought and lost.

It is such that human nature always seeks and finds the underdog in every situation. That is the reason why every person bearing some semblance of a soul loves the movie Rudy. Perhaps this notion explains part of why charity exists, Dennis Kucinich wins, and Michael Vick starts every game. And it’s not lost on me that it could be the reason why I saw a glimmer and a flicker of excitement in the campaign for Tennessee Democratic Party Chair in 2011.

No matter what amount of self-interest lies in one’s position I believe everyone can and will assign some microscopic measure of altruism to their cause. The same sentiment can motivate people to a wide range of action-- anything from passing out warm blankets on a cold night to causing physical harm to others. Supporting the underdog, knowingly or not, people find passion for doing nearly anything they will. For me, it is why I vote Democrat. It will remain with me for as long as I am still kicking around. It will not go away I hope.

Also, Matt Kuhn said on Facebook, "Thank you to all of the Tennessee democrats across tennessee who i made friends with and took their time and energy to make a difference in our party. No matter where u go in this world, it's your friends that make your world. Let's make the best Tennessee we can."

TNDP Chair Vote Breakdown

In case you were wondering (and I know you probably weren't), here is my breakdown of how folks voted at the election this Saturday for TNDP Chair.  Chip's votes broke down according to his endorsement list with the exception of Mike Kiddy who voted for Matt Kuhn, Paige Burcham-Carlton who was absent, and Mike Turner who passed on voting for anyone.  The votes Chip picked up were Betty Fraley, Brenda Ables, Bill Owen and Henry Hooper.

Roll Call of TNDP Chair Vote

MCC Gets Early Start on Boosting Tourism

Unfortunately, that tourism is coming in the form of jobs that should otherwise be going to Middle Tennesseans. From the Mid-South Carpenters Union:

“The convention center was billed as ‘Nashville’s stimulus,’ a project that would put hundreds of local construction workers back on the job,” Matthew Capece, with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, said on behalf of Nashville workers. “Instead, these paychecks are going to Texas and a lot of other places besides Nashville.

“Music City taxpayers – and their children and grandchildren – are paying for Music City Center, and Music City families ought to benefit from the jobs.”

According to the press release some 90% of contracts have gone to non-Nashville vendors, and as a result, the Carpenters plan to protest in the near future.

Read the full release below.

Chip Forrester Re-elected as Chair of TNDP

In case you aren't on The Twitter, Chip Forrester once again had the votes to be Chairman of the Tennessee Democratic party, winning with 38 votes on the Executive Committee (39 if Elisa Parker could've voted, which she couldn't because she was technically chairing the vote). Matt Kuhn received 17 votes, and Wade Munday got 10 votes. Gordon Ball, the wealthy lawyer from Knoxville who was also supposedly running for Chair, didn't even draw a nomination.

There were a few absences from the committee, so the winner only needed 34 votes to become Chair, and so Chip won by 4 votes more than he needed. Most of the votes for Chip broke down according to his list of commitments from last week, though Mike Turner passed on voting and another of Chip's votes was not at the meeting...Bill Owens and Betty Fraley ended up supporting Chip.

Ultimately, while this vote was closer than the one in 2009, Chip showed he is very good at counting and securing votes for himself on the Executive Committee. For all the open letters, debates, and objections from anti-Chip folks, the committee voted based largely on either their past relationships with Chip, his performance in terms of involving the Executive Committee and County Chairs more, or the perceived benefit in voting for the person they thought was going to win.

There is of course talk of alternative groups to the TNDP forming, but those discussions have been ongoing and relatively fruitless over the past two years, so at this point, I'm in a believe it when I see it sort of mindset. Either way, Chip has his work cut out for him in finding his way with a significant loss in the number of elected Democrats in Tennessee. I wish he and his staff all the best in their journey.

TNDP Chair Debate Live Blog

Andrew Jackson Rises!

Well, everyone else remotely connect to the Democratic party in Tennessee has put a word in with the Executive Committee, so why not Old Hickory?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Andrew Jackson
Date: Fri, Jan 7, 2011 at 3:26 PM
Subject: A communications problem
To: "Exec@tndp.org"


Dear members of the Executive Committee,

I'm writing you today, just before we elect a new party chairman, to share one of my greatest qualms with Chairman Chip Forrester's bid for re-election.

I like Chip personally. He's energetic and optimistic to the bitter end. But his tenure as Chair has been marked by a repeated failure to look beyond the narrow interest of the moment and consider the effects of his actions in the long term, especially in regards to his communication.

Restraint and thoughtfulness in communication is not an "issue" or a "message" like the need to effectively reach out to rural voters or the need to rebuild strength in the suburbs, both of which are vital concerns and will require the assistance of all of you to be addressed properly. But if we can't count on our chairman to keep his foot out of his mouth and speak up loudly and thoughtfully when the time is right, no message, no matter how brilliant, will win the day.

No Love for Kuhn from J. Bailey

Memphis Executive Committee member Javier Bailey is none-too-pleased with the fact that Matt Kuhn's wife continued on with Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and thinks it disqualifies him from the Chairmanship position:

EC Member Bailey Says Kuhn Too Conflicted

Of course, you know the old adage about people in glass houses. Bailey has his own problems, namely, many people have pointed out to me that he has recently left the practice of law over a series of ethical challenges, and may be moving back to Texas. 

Bailey also repeats the claim that fundraising has increased under Forrester, which I pointed out earlier was dubious and lacking in specifics or objective facts to back it up. 

Open Letter to Exec Committee Number 813

Cody Goodman, the TFCD President who so rudely disappointed Chip Forrester, took his own disappointment with Chip Forrester's disappointment to the Executive Committee:

Mr. Chairman,

As chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, you should know better than most the importance of encouraging young people to become involved in the political process. Your recent comments to me, the Tennessee Young Democrats and Tennessee Federation of College Democrats are everything but encouraging—in fact, they are quite troubling.

You Are Entitled to Your Math and I'm Entitled to THE Math

I'm not sure where these numbers are coming from, but apparently Chip Forrester has been kicking ass and taking names in the fundraising department, at least according to an email from Chip Forrester to the TNDEC:

In November I sent you preliminary fundraising totals for 2009/2010. Find below, the final totals with all contributions as of 12/31/2010.

I am extremely proud of our fundrasing team and all they have done to make 2009/2010 such a success.

Chairman Gray Sasser and Treasurer Chip Forrester

2007 $906,419

2008 $825,030

Total: $1,731,449

Chairman Chip Forrester and Treasurer Dave Garrison

2009 $962,000

2010 $1,243,250

Total: $2,205,250

That's awesome and all, but I'm not sure those figures are born out from the publicly available financial reports from the Tennessee Registry of Finance and the Federal Election Commission. Based on some fact finding Steve Ross did last month, these are the numbers that I've got:

Basically, there are a lot of ways to slice the numbers, but on all levels, the 2007-08 cycle beats the 2009-10 cycle. Now, there is a caveat that 2009-10 numbers aren't complete because not all year end reports are in, but unless there has been a massive surge in giving over the past two months (a prospect I find unlikely), I think its safe to say that Gray Sasser's numbers are higher than Chip's. Not dramatically, and I think it would be untruthful to say that Chip Forrester's fundraising has been bad given the GOP control of the House and Senate this past cycle, but I'm just not seeing where he's coming up with his figures.

I emailed Chip last night to find out how he came up with his numbers, I'll post his response if and when it comes.

Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave

There have been a lot of various postings on the whole TNDP Chair saga, instead of a multitude of posts, I think one quick synopsis will do...

Michael Lipe, Adam Haynes, LeftWingCracker and Samantha Yeargin were none too pleased with Chip Forrester's "disappointment" that College Democrats President Cody Goodman had the temerity to endorse Wade Munday to be Chair.

Conversely, T. Robert Hill, Madison County Party Chair and a trial lawyer who was originally CCed on Chip's email to Cody, responded to Cody and told him to put his big boy pants on and back Chip because he was going to win. Showing that some people think principles should be set aside for political expediency.

Ben Vos likes him some Wade Munday, but he still thinks Chip Forrester is being blamed for things outside his control, and that ain't necessarily a good thing. 

Speaking of which, Forrester and Friends thought the regular old blogosphere wasn't really doing them justice, so they started their own blog.  Mostly county party chairs who think Chip is the bee's knees, but also a few EC members, including Former TNYD President Chris Anderson, as well as a citizen here and there.

Executive Committee members Brad Parish and David Briley have come out in support of Wade Munday.  The former hopes the early committers will give each candidate a fair hearing, the latter doesn't believe that Chip's election is as certain as his list might suggest.

Miss anything?

TNDP Debate Transcript

The other day Brad Parish released the audio recording of Monday's Chair debate. Because I hate myself so thoroughly, I decided to transcribe it in all its 20 page glory.  In addition, they released the email responses to the additional questions which are available at Knox Views. So, enjoy...

TNDP Chair Debate Transcript

Chip Is Not Too Happy With College Dem Endorsement

Chip Forrester is none too pleased with the College and Young Democrats endorsement of Wade Munday, and sent an email to TFCD President Cody Goodman saying as much:

Cody:

I must say that I am disappointed in your decision. I had hoped that your the decision would have been made on leadership competence and not just that your other board members liked the idea of a Young Democrat running for chair.

We must, as party, lead, and professional competence should be the measure by which these decisions are made.

Wade and Matt and perfectly nice young men but neither has the experience, background or competence to administer the technical aspects of the Party’s institutional functions (county reorganization and upcoming 2012 Delegate Selection to name just two critical institutional functions that must be competently handled) or the ability to manage the necessary fundraising operation that sustains the party.

To give you another way of looking at this: I am a private pilot legally rated to fly single-engine retractable airplanes. But if you got on a 747 and saw me in the pilot’s seat I’d advise that you exit the plane immediately. That is what your vote is doing—giving the control wheel of a 747 to someone rated to fly a single-engine airplane.

Additionally, in my two years as chair, I have included the ex-officio members (you, for example, as the representative of the College Democrats) in the weekly confidence call and the party decision-making structure. This has never been done before under any previous chair. In fact, in the past, College Democrats were relegated to a “back seat” role in party affairs something that I have dramatically changed in my term.

So, as you can tell I am disappointed in the decision that was made. I had hoped for a more substantive decision-making process (I am further disappointed that you never set up the conference call that we discussed well before the holidays) that would have allowed your board to make a decision on competence and ability to move the party forward and less on a “beauty contest” system.

I do look forward to continuing to work with College Democrats when reelected but I did want you to know how I felt about your decision.

See you this weekend,

Chip

Here is the thing. The same argument Chip is making about experience in the job, or that others have made about "stability" and "continuity," are the same arguments that could've been made as to why George W. Bush should've been re-elected. I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume most of us were opposed to that and were all about some Change both in 2004 and 2008.

Chip, being an early Barack Obama supporter like myself, should know that simply time in the game is not the be all and end all of a candidates qualifications. In fact, that last comment about this being a "beauty contest" is just about the same thing I heard from a lot of the Nobama/Hillary folks after the primary contest in 2008.

But, he's right, it shouldn't be a "beauty contest," it also shouldn't be a contest about who has scratched whose back, who is being offered what job or position within the TNDP, or who had what relationship when. It should be about who is the best candidate to be our next Chair. Speaking as a member of the Tennessee Young Democrats, we made our decisions long after Wade jumped into the race, and after we'd had a chance to deliberate as a group. If this decision were simply a beauty or popularity contest, this decision would've been made long ago, but instead it was made after careful consideration and listening to all the candidates and their vision for the future. I hope all of the TNDP Executive Committee members put the same thought and consideration into their decision as the Tennessee Young Democrats and the Tennessee Federation of College Democrats did.

Update: I spoke with TNYD President Claudia Weaver and according to her Chip Forrester was cordial and understanding when she told him of the endorsement yesterday.  So perhaps he expected more out of the College Dems, or maybe he was just in a better mood yesterday, I don't know...but there ya have it.

Youth in Revolt

Wade Munday has gotten the endorsements of both the Tennessee Federation of College Democrats and the Tennessee Young Democrats today, both of whom have a vote in the Chair's race this Saturday.

The Young Democrats, of which I'm a member of the Executive Board, had this to say:

“Ultimately, we decided to support Wade because of his effective communication skills, his experience with the TNDP and campaigns across the state, his proven fund-raising ability both political and non-profit, and most importantly, as an active member of our organization, we know he will do a great job growing our bench with the next generation of Democratic candidates and party leaders.

Electing Wade Munday as Chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party would be a strong signal to voters and activists in our state that Democrats are looking to the future with a renewed energy and determination.”

This is a strong indication that there has been some momentum moving towards Wade as a consensus alternative to Chip Forrester in the upcoming election. While both groups like the idea of the 40 under 40 strategy Kuhn has talked about, both think Wade is the best person to implement an outreach effort towards young candidates going forward.

Read the whole kit and caboodle below:

TNDP Candidate Forum Part II

This Friday on Election-eve the TNDP Chair candidates will gather round the TNDP Freedom Room fire to wax poetic about their vision for the future of the party, this time (presumably) without a lot of dinging in the background.

Host Committee Members:

cordially invite you to:

A FORUM FOR CANDIDATES FOR CHAIRMAN
OF THE TENNESSEE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2011

5:00 P.M. CST

Tennessee Democratic Party Headquarters
Freedom Room
223 Rosa Parks Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203

Munday Still In It To Win It

For the second time today, Wade Munday reiterated his continued desire to be the next Chair of the TNDP, this time in the face of an email from Chip Forrester to Executive Committee members touting 38 endorsements for his re-election.

Dear members of the Executive Committee,

I received a call from Chairman Forrester this morning stating his support from approximately 47 members of the Executive Committee. He asked for my neutrality in the race for Chair. I have said before, and I will say again, I respect the current Chairman’s terms of service. I consider him a friend and fellow Democrat. I have also said that he is unable to unite our party. Respectfully, I believe that releasing a list such as this amplifies our disunity by attempting to shut down any dialogue that dissenting members of our committee would wish to have about the future of this organization.

I am in this race until January 8th.

Humbly, I ask that you will consider my candidacy for Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party. At last night’s debate I said that the Tennessee Democratic Party is founded on the following principles: “When we see suffering, we alleviate it. When we see injustice, we correct it.” I am in this race because those are my values as a Democrat, and I do not believe they were communicated clearly in this most recent election. I believe you have a distinct voice as an elected official in Tennessee, and I believe you are persuaded by the strength of your convictions rather than the presumed strength of one individual.

I will not leave this race because of the political tactics of today; and regardless of what happens after your decision is finally made, I will stand with you.

Sincerely,

Wade

Chip Says He's Got The Votes

Chip Forrester appears to have enough people willing to publicly endorse him in order to win re-election this Saturday, according to an email he sent out today:

Mike Hampton, District 1;
Linda & Bruce Dotson, District 2;
Richard Dawson, District 5;
Sylvia & Harold Woods, District 6;
Barbara Wagner & Dan Lawson, District 8;
Sally Love, District 9;
Chantelle Roberson and Chris Anderson, District 10;
Sandra Lusk & Terry Lee, District 11;
Guy Derryberry, District 13;
Dr. Geeta McMillan & Dennis Gregg, District 15;
Kristen Cullen District 16;
Mary Patterson & David Harper, District 17;
Jeanette Jackson & Bill Bassett, District 18;
Inez Crutchfield & Jerry Maynard, District 19;
Angelia Cannon, District 20;
Kim Smith & Keith Jackson, District 22;
Elisa Parker & Jonathan Faill, District 23;
Paige Burcham-Carlton, District 24;
Martha Shepard & Richard Dunavant, District 25;
Mike Kiddy, District 26;
Gale Jones Carson & Jay Bailey, District 28;
Joyce Adams, District 29;
Hazel Moore, District 33;
Ex-Officio Members:
Sonja Fox, President, Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women;
Rep. Mike Turner, House Democratic Caucus Chair

Unless someone comes forward saying they weren't supposed to be on that list, or something comes out in the next few days that convinces them to back another candidate, it looks as if Chip will probably win as 37 votes are needed for victory, and he's got 38 names on the list.

Full email below:

Kuhn Wins (At Least in Doug Horne's Mind)

Democratic party benefactor Doug Horne dropped a bit of a bomb this morning announcing that Wade Munday might drop out and endorse Matt Kuhn in the race for party chair, as did Justin Walling:

It looks like Matt has the votes to win the Chairman race. With Justin Walling endorsing Matt and casting his votes to him and I think Wade Munday will do the same thing before the vote on saturday afternoon, Matt Kuhn will be the next Chair of the party, with your vote and your help.

Now, obviously he qualified it with "I think," but this is in line with Horne's efforts in the media to promote the image of Kuhn as a front-runner...with scant evidence to actually back this up. Munday sent out an email this morning to the Executive Committee eschewing this rumor saying, "Let me also say that I am in this race until the vote takes place on Saturday, January 8th." I followed up to make sure this was still the case and indeed it was.

The fact remains that so far Chip is the front-runner. The question is whether or not he has the votes to win on first ballot, and whether or not there are more anti-Chip votes than pro-Chip votes. This is a battle between Munday and Kuhn to see who can come out ahead as the consensus candidate for those who aren't locked into Chip's corner. Doug Horne obviously wants that person to be Matt Kuhn, and will promote him as the front-runner to anyone he can, but the proof just isn't out there, especially after last night's debate performance.

(h/t to Kleinheider) 

See Also: Ben Vos' retort to Doug Horne below:

Can Democrats Take Back the 18th?

In last night's Chairs debate, Wade Munday brought up the Senate District 18 special election in his question to Matt Kuhn...Kuhn then shot back to remind that we had a special election in House District 98 as well. Of course, its worth pointing out that there is no Republican running in the 98th and that since the party can't (or won't) get involved in the primary, its a rather moot point absent some really strong write-in candidacy.

But in Senate District 18 there will be a general election between the Democrat and Republican, and since all the potential candidates dropped out to support Portland Mayor Ken Wilber, we have a candidate to support. The 18th Senate District was formerly held by Jo Ann Graves until she was narrowly defeated in 2004 by Diane Black. So there isn't any reason to presume that winning this special election is outside the realm of possibility.

Unfortunately it doesn't appear that there is any top-down support for Mayor Wilber in his race from the current party apparatus. Of the emails I've received from the party talking about our wonderful accomplishments and what we have to look forward to in the New Year, not a one addressed this race. I guess that is what Wade Munday was talking about in terms of showing our candidates support. Whether we have the monetary ability to help Wilber's candidacy is irrelevant, the very least we can do as a party is inform folks both inside and outside the district that we have a candidate, that its an important race, and that we need to act early and urgently if there is any hope of accomplishing an upset.

See Also: TN Ticket's coverage from yesterday.

TNDP Chair Debate Wrap-up

After a rocky start to the Tennessee Democratic Party Chair debate, including a few minutes missed by yours truly due to an audio (or lack thereof) problem requiring a me to call in to hear the questions and answers in addition to the live streaming of the visual feed. I missed most of the first batch of questions because of all the dinging of people calling in to hear, but setting aside those problems, I've got a rough transcript replete with spelling errors and poor paraphrasing of the questions asked of our new or returning TNDP Chair.

Going through my transcript, there are a few highlights. First, Chip Forrester made a claim that caused quite a bit of head scratching amongst the folks I was watching the debate with, namely that of the candidates who worked with the party, there was a much better success rate than among those who didn't. I find this odd because I did a rough analysis of party spending and found that only three of the 21 races in which party funds were used (and that includes caucus and candidate infusions into party funds) won.  Chip also repeated quite a bit that his strategy is and has always been a four year plan, and that he wants another two years to implement his strategy that will turn around the party's fortunes.

Matt Kuhn did a good job plugging his 40 under 40 plan to have every Exec Committee district find at least one person under 40 to run for office. He repeated this plan quite often, some might say to the point of redundancy, but the general notion of recruiting young candidates is ultimately a good one. Kuhn also dropped a bit of knowledge on those listening that Lenny's Sub Shop's Philly Cheese Steak is Memphis' biggest export...which either says a lot about Lenny's Subs or the sad state of Memphis' economy.

From those I've talked to who watched the debate, it seems that most think Wade Munday was the winner. He hit on many of the notes that Matt did about recruiting new candidates (without the slogan). He spoke a lot about the Democratic party being one that focuses on those who struggle and that we need to be a voice for a voiceless (almost Edwardsian minus the sleaziness). He also promoted and defended his ability to raise funds by pointing to his work at various levels in Democratic politics as well as his work at Boston Children's Hospital as a fund-raising coordinator.

Ultimately, there wasn't a whole lot of contention throughout the debate. Munday talked about the need to work with all candidates regardless of fundraising prowess or polling, mainly by at least giving them the respect of returning their phone calls, whereas Chip talked about the need to focus resources on a handful of candidates who can win.  Forrester made a few comments that could be seen as hits on the elected officials, or their handlers, who opposed his Chairmanship, while also defending his results as party chair in the areas of fundraising and party building.  Forrester wanted to have a Monteagle II, bringing all the various factions together to discuss what went wrong, Kuhn obviously questioned the efficacy of this considering it didn't work out to hot for us the first time.

Feel free to peruse the makeshift transcript, and if video becomes available I'll post it up there. Sorry to any candidates who feel the transcript doesn't do them justice, but I'm not a court reporter, so deals with it.

TNDP Chair Debate Live Blog

TNDP Chair Candidates debate tonight at 6:30PM CST. Video (should be) right below.



I'm trying out a new live blog service, we'll see how it works. For a refresher, the candidates are:

Chip Forrester
Wade Munday
Matt Kuhn
And kinda sorta Gordon Ball (though he won't be debating)