For Perry, Not Hating Brown Kids is the Conservative Thing

So RomneyCorp has gone all out in his attack on Rick Perry's abomination of a policy to allow, get this folks, residents of his state to claim in-state tuition.  No, really, he actually believes that people who have grown up and lived in his state, should be able to get the in-state tuition at state colleges.  I know, makes no sense, does it?  Well, Mittens has this new add decrying Perry on the matter:



Predictably, the ADHD addled children within the GOP media establishment are jumping in line with Romney's attack.

Perry's vision

Two points here. First, while I think Perry is a bad governor and would be a horrible President, this policy is perfectly consistent with a "states rights" based conservative philosophy. This policy more or less just makes it so that state residency trumps national citizenship. Isn't that what all these yahoos have been saying about every other issue? In Texas, a state like Tennessee w/out an income tax, all people are taxpayers. And the purpose of in-state vs. out-of-state tuition is so that people who haven't contributed to the general funds which augment the state college system, are making up for their lack of tax contributions through higher tuition rates. Well, if your parents have lived and worked in Texas, regardless of their legal status, then they have contributed to the system, and have a perfectly legitimate claim to Texas taxpayer tuition offsets.

Romney's vision

Point number two, Mitt Romney is the epitome of the plasticized candidate. When Mitt Romney talks about how corporations are people, it makes me wonder whether he also thinks people can be corporations. Think about it, this is a guy who will say or do anything to please his shareholders and customer base. Which is just about the only thing that puts me at somewhat ease with the idea he could be President. Once his "market base" has expanded beyond the ultra-conservative GOP primary electorate, and once he starts getting some contributions from more mainstream donors, will he swing to the center?

D's to the Rescue

Tony Marks tells the tale of how he came up with the design of a new Tennessee Democrat's shirt:

I grew up on superheroes. Like so many others, I was inspired by men and women who put a symbol on their chest and went out in the world to help others. That sense of openly standing for something has stayed with me over the years and deeply shaped my career. Not only did I keep my Superman ringtone, but as I began creating branding strategies I realized my logo test for clients inevitably came down to whether a design was superhero-like … if I would proudly wear it on a T-shirt to communicate who I am.

You can order the shirts online or pick some up at Saturday's Jackson Day celebration.

Speaking of which, don't forget the pre and post-parties for Jackson Day.

Pre-party courtesy of Mike McWherter from 6-7PM at the Maxwell House. This is free, but please RSVP to tracesharp@gmail.com if you plan on going.

Also, the after party at the Farmer's Market co-hosted by the Tennessee Young Democrats. 9:30-11:30, $25 for regular admission, $10 for young Democrats.

Forrester Goes After Ramsey's BFF

Chip Forrester is calling out Texas Gov. Rick Perry's "all hat, no cattle" ways in a press release attacking Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey's new crush.

“When he talks about the Texas economy, just remember that growth has been driven by factors beyond his control – like rising oil prices and increased federal military spending. He’s borrowed at a faster rate than the federal government, relied on the Recovery Act to cover budget shortfalls, and public sector growth has far outpaced the private sector in Texas – an interesting dynamic for a man who likes to tout the power of private businesses to create jobs.

“The fact is that under his leadership, Texas is tied for the highest percentage of minimum-wage jobs in the country and while he has been governor, Texas dropped from 30th to 47th in median household income. Middle-class families under Governor Perry are working just as hard to provide for their families, but for less money than when he took office. While Rick Perry tries to garnish his conservative credentials and pander to the tea party, middle-class families in his own state are hurting – that’s not leadership, and it’s not what Tennessee families need to get them through these tough economic times.

Welcome Back Woods

Jeff Woods, the cantankerous journalist who has been largely censored by the powers that be at the Scene since November of last year, has come back to life with a post calling out Lamar Alexander's desire to see people go without medical coverage that could save their lives:

Instead, the biggest cost by far—more than $900 million—comes from the addition of an estimated 50,000 beneficiaries who already are entitled to Medicaid but aren't on the rolls mainly because they don't know they're eligible. It's believed that publicity over national health insurance will lead them to sign up for Medicaid. The experts have given this a really charming name: the woodwork effect. The state will pay the usual one-third of their cost.

People signing up for a life-saving benefit that they’re actually already entitled to receive—that’s what Alexander is complaining about. Here's the question he should ask: If there are so many people out there entitled to Medicaid who don't know it, why isn't the state already trying to let them know? In the long run, that would save money by curtailing the number of uninsured who go without care until arriving at hospitals for the most expensive treatment.

The Anti-Suffragists Won One

State Sen. Roy Herron has an interesting take on the newly passed voter suppression law.  He chronicles the trials and tribulations his mother, born in 1916, has to go through in order to be eligible to vote:

My mother is one of 675,337 Tennesseans age 18 and older who, according to the Department of Safety, either have no driver's license or have a license that does not carry their photo. These citizens may be registered to vote, but unless they obtain a photo ID from a driver's license station or can produce another type of government-issued photo ID that the new law accepts (such as a military ID or a passport), they will not be allowed to vote.

This new requirement creates several problems...

Read the rest a the Commercial Appeal, but suffice to say, for many Tennesseans its not just a matter of popping into their local DMV and asking for a photo ID.

EPA Not Focused on Job Creation?

1969 - Cuyahoga River sans EPA

Democratic leaders are on a jobs tour, traveling around the state talking to employers, and their lobbyists, about what could be done to create jobs in this state.  One nugget of wisdom came from Jeff Fedorchak, a Republican lobbyist for the company ServiceMaster, an umbrella corporation that owns and markets such brands as Terminix and Trugreen, a pesticide and fertilizer company respectively. Fedorchak, shockingly enough, isn't a fan of regulation:

“It doesn’t seem as if EPA cares much about jobs. They seem to have an agenda, bordering on a religion, that they’re going to go about no matter what. There doesn’t seem to be a jobs emphasis or acknowledgement on their part that they could pursue something that could impact jobs.”

The EPA has an agenda. Well, I'll be a son of a bitch...ya don't say. Yes, shockingly enough, the EPA's concern is not job growth, its protecting the environment.  Should it be at all surprising that a company whose products are designed to kill little critters or dump tons of unnaturally produced chemicals onto lawns that eventually feed into streams and water tables, wouldn't be the biggest fans of the regulatory agency in charge of protecting our environment?

Now, yes, you could shelve the EPA and other such agencies that protect our air and drinking water, and you might see an uptick in job growth, especially in the Oncology and Pulmonology fields.  And, I'd imagine there are some circumstances where you might find an overzealous bureaucrat or two...however, using our economic doldrums as a means to gutting our environmental or labor protections as a means to creating short term "job growth" would be counter-productive in the long term for Americans that are suffering (you know, the people who aren't Jeff Fedorchak) during this kinda-sorta-but-not-really-recession.

See Also: Report shows that contrary to Fedorchak's opinion, environmental regulations can spur job growth. 

Runoff Replay

So, as you no doubt know by now, the winners in last night's recall elections were as follows:

Brady Banks 59% to 41% for Dave Patterson
Scott Davis 71% to 29% for Pam Murray
Peter Westerholm 60% to 40% for Dave Rich
Josh Stites 60% to 40% for Marilyn Robinson
Robert Duvall 56% to 44% for Page Turner

I think most people were surprised by the margin in District 5's race.  I had assumed that Pam Murray would be able to produce the 540 votes she got in the 2009 recall and the 2011 August General, but she saw a dropoff of over 200 votes, while Scott Davis managed to gain about as many.  Obviously this is a vindication for the people of the 5th district, as it shows they aren't as crazy as Pam Murray.

The victories by Banks, Stites and Duvall were pretty much sure things, despite a well coordinated effort on Page Turner's behalf to defeat Duvall, his incumbency ruled at the end of the day.

Now, the race I focused the most on during the runoff was Peter Westerholm's, which involved so much voter contact and GOTV efforts that it merited a special mention by Nashville Scene writer Jack Silverman, who detailed his experience as a targeted voter:

Westerholm, who is running in the District 6 Metro Council runoff election today, has mobilized what has to be the most effective "get out the vote" campaign I ever recall for a Metro Council election. I've had three or four Westerholm folks knock on my door over the last couple weeks. I've received mail from his campaign almost every day. And I've had six or seven telephone calls over the last few days, including one from Westerholm's dad (not a robocall, but an actual personal phone call), a call yesterday asking if I needed a ride to the polls today — oh, and a call this morning, just checking to make sure someone called yesterday to ask if I needed a ride. And a sticker on my door this morning reminding me to vote

While I understand this level of contact can be annoying, and I ran into one voter yesterday while canvassing who said they weren't voting because all the mail-pieces were wasteful and that's "not what he's about"...at the end of the day it paid off.   Westerholm increased his votes from August 4th by 192 votes, Rich by 24.  Of course, other factors probably played into his victory, not the least of which his style might have fit the District 6 sensibilities more than Rich's, as well as a strong debate performance by Westerholm at the DCYD forum.  But at the end of the day, it just goes to show that, especially in small district races without much media attention, a heavy GOTV effort can make or break a successful candidacy.

On a side note, its great to see so many Young Democrats get elected to local office.  By my count there are now 7 young dems representing Nashville on the council:

Lonnell Matthews
Brady Banks
Scott Davis
Peter Westerholm
Anthony Davis
Chris Harmon
Sean McGuire

Update: Someone asked what the age cutoff for YD's is, its 35, if you bumped it up to 40 we could also add Jason Holleman to this list.  And I've also been told Jason Potts (District 30) is a Democrat. 

Police Step Up in Districts 5 and 6

I stopped by the election commission to pick up some runoff finance reports.  I got the ones for Districts 5 and 6 (because I was too chintzy to get them all), and there isn't really much new.  All the candidates, with the exception of Pam Murray, have received some generous PAC donations.  The Police are the most generous givers, to the tune of $3,500 for Dave Rich (30% of his haul) and $2,500 for Scott Davis. 

There is also a donation to Davis, Rich and Westerholm from "Monroe Investment Partners" with a Chicago address...though its not clear to me what project they are looking to curry favor on.

Other than a $2,300 payment to Jamie Hollin from Dave Rich for consulting services, not much else of particular interest in these disclosures.

You can see the four reports here.

Regulations Crushing Nashville Business Says TCPR

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research has released a report on regulations in this city and how they are crushing the entrepreneurial spirit. A lot of it represents the typical libertarian maladjustment to recognizing the need for some rules and boundaries in a society and the marketplace, and some of it is just filler...like noting how someone filling out an application to be a vendor has to "provide his or her name, home address, phone number, and a driver's license number".

However, after the some overwrought hand-wringing there are some valid points made.  For instance, it backs Councilman Jameson's proposal to make it easier for home based businesses to operate, which was defeated 21-11.  Allowing home bakers, caterers, piano teachers and artists to legally operate out of their homes makes sense and could expand the number of privately owned businesses in Nashville...this would be a good thing, even if there might have been some devils to work out in the details.

Also, when TCPR recommends that redundancies and vague wordings in regulations be fixed, I agree, as this is always a good thing to help small businesses.  Having said that, there are reasonable zoning issues regarding businesses, be they mobile or fixed, which need to be maintained both for safety reasons as well as to facilitate the free flow of commerce.  It makes sense that a hot dog vendor shouldn't be allowed to set up shop right outside the doors of a restaurant...however, they should be given clear directions of where they can operate, and a clear and fast appeal procedure if they feel a police officer is incorrect in their enforcement of the laws.

Now, I don't think these regulations are seriously hindering the growth of small businesses, especially for food vendors.  After all, if immigrants with a fairly limited grasp of the English language are able to setup mobile (and legal) taquerias, surely your average citizen can learn how to be in compliance.  But as one that hates to navigate a bureaucratic process, I feel their pain, and hope codes and other metro and state departments are always pressed to make their services clearer and more user friendly.

The Gibson Martyrdom Continues

Speaker Ron "Rick Perry Is So Dreamy" Ramsey has jumped on the "Gibson is a victim" bandwagon with a Facebook note decrying the enforcement of our laws by the Obama administration. Some key points from Ramsey:

"Gibson's crime? Importing a certain type of wood for use in their guitars that may be illegal in a foreign country." - No, Gibson's alleged crime is illegally importing wood from a foreign country.


"Even if one concedes the questionable merit of the Lacey Act, which requires American companies be bound by the law of foreign nations, the repeated targeting of one company in this fashion is abhorrent." Interesting interpretation of the law Mr. Ramsey. So, after the first violation, companies or individuals should get a free pass on future violations of the law? I'm sure some mafia and drug kingpins would whole-heartedly get behind this line of thinking.

"What has been most concerning to me is the implicit assertion by the government that if this “unfinished” wood had been finished in India by Indian workers instead of at Gibson by American workers the company would have no legal problem.

It is almost as if the federal government is encouraging Gibson to do what many other companies have done for various reasons: Ship American jobs overseas. Gibson is one of the few major US companies that still produces a tangible product within America’s borders and the federal government targets them because they MAY have run afoul of a foreign law."

No, this is not the federal government encouraging jobs be shipped overseas, its the encouragement of American companies to follow the laws of the countries we import from, and it doesn't just go one way. Just as the Federal Government pushes foreign governments to respect our copyright and patent laws, it makes sense for us to try and get our companies to respect and adhere to foreign labor, manufacturing, and environmental laws.

Now, what the Feds have done in this Gibson case may or may not be "overkill" as Speaker Ramsey says, and I tend to agree that the seizure of assets and property prior to a conviction is dubious, though I'd extend that beyond this Republican's company to the hundreds of thousands of Americans without a ton of financial, legal and political resources at their disposal. However, working to make sure our companies adhere to foreign laws will in turn make them more likely to enforce our copyright and patent laws, the violation of which loses billions of dollars in trade revenue for our country.

The Conscience Speaketh!

Our Congressman Jim Cooper, banjo in tow, waxes poetic about the chance to have a quasi-functional Congress.

Pass This Jobs Bill

While many are sure to read too much into last night's Presidential address as to how it impacts the Presidential election in 2012, I don't think its too much of a stretch to say that this marks the potential for Obama to regain the confidence of some of his 2008 voters.

His plan isn't groundbreaking, its common sense. Invest in infrastructure, target tax cuts in ways that'll have the most economic impact in the short term, open up more markets for exports, and extend relief to Americans who still can't find work. As he said, its a moderate bill with aspects that carried historically bipartisan support.

What has the President learned? Well, first off, don't send to Congress a list of key aspects you'd like to see in a draft version of a bill. Send a fuckin' bill. Now, personally I liked (in theory) the approach of letting the legislative body work out the details, but frankly they were pretty ineffective and incompetent when Democrats were in charge, and the GOP has only made it that much worse. So, good on him for learning that lesson.

Now, the key test for him to regain the confidence of his Democratic and Independent supporters from 2008 will be his resolve in seeing that this plan, and not a muddled down version that keeps the more conservative elements like trade and tax cuts and throws out the infrastructure spending and unemployment insurance extensions. Of course, this bill won't pass as is from the House, but if the President lays down a line in the sand about what he needs in the bill to sign it, he's gonna have to do that, and be willing to use Mr. Veto Pen if necessary.

Assuming the bill even gets that far, I'm sure there will be a few amendments deemed unpalatable for the Democratic public, namely, I can foresee Marsha (Marsha, Marsha) trying to tack on an amendment for her buddy at Gibson Guitars so that his law violations are no longer violations of the law.

But, having said all that, the jobs package is mostly good as far as moderate, bipartisan packages go, now its time for the public to start putting pressure on the hostage takers to give some concessions after months of America giving into their demands.

BBQ and Politics

District 13 council candidate Marilyn Robinson is having a BBQ this Saturday:

Banks Banks

The numbers are coming in for money raised in the runoff election.  It appears that once again, Brady Banks is proving to be a prolific fundraiser, hauling in $23K after the August 4th general election. 

In the financial disclosure released today, Banks shows that he ended the previous quarter with $19,909.56. He raised $23,557 since the Metro general election on August 4. Banks held a fundraiser at the Sunset Grill, hosted by many current and former elected officials. He currently has $29,277.74 on hand.

“I am humbled by the outpouring of financial support I have received. It has allowed me to communicate my priorities of improving public education, maintaining safe neighborhoods, focusing on job creation, and keeping taxes low,” said Banks.

According to Cass on Twitter, Dave Patterson, despite the help of Speaker Ron Ramsey, only has $2,050 on hand w/ a little over $3,500 raised since the last reporting period.

In District 6 Peter Westerholm has about $10K on hand in his race against Dave Rich...no word yet on what he hauled in.

Sound Familiar?

Obama attempts to work with a right-wing conservative towards a goal.

Obama gives right-wing conservative much of what said right-wing conservative wants.

In return, right-wing conservative is disrespectful and ungrateful.

In return for this disrespect and ingratitude, President agrees to give said right-wing conservative more of what they want.

It just so happens that in this case, the right-wing conservative lives in Israel.

GOP Slash and Burn Strategy Working

Over the weekend a longtime GOP congressional staffer who recently retired put out a lengthy and insightful essay on why the GOP was failing the country and what their reasoning behind it was. In this article, there was an interesting insight into the GOP strategy of obstructing any progress in Congress:

Should Republicans succeed in obstructing the Senate from doing its job, it would further lower Congress's generic favorability rating among the American people. By sabotaging the reputation of an institution of government, the party that is programmatically against government would come out the relative winner.

A deeply cynical tactic, to be sure, but a psychologically insightful one that plays on the weaknesses both of the voting public and the news media.

Just today, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll (pdf) comes out showing that President Obama and Congress have both hit record lows in approval. 44% approve of the job the President is doing, while only 13% approve of the job of Congress. And, if anyone were actually paying attention, they'd see that its Congress (and the Republican controlled House in particular) that has been calling the shots up in DC. However, when we look at who the public wants to control the Congress, its a 47-41 split in favor of the GOP. That's a change from 44-44 back in June.

So, despite the GOP having higher negatives and lower positives than Democrats in this poll (not by much mind you), the American public is still willing to put them back in control? Granted, its one poll, but to think that this cynical strategy could actually bare fruit calls into serious question the health and well-being of our democratic republic.

My thoughts?  President Obama is going to have to stop blaming Congress, and start blaming Boehner when he chastises the lack of progress we are making on jobs and the economy.  Congress' approvals can't get much lower, the problem is, many Americans don't know who the hell runs Congress.  Put a face to it, put a name to it...when speaking before Congress, look back and wag a finger at the Speaker.  Don't feed into the media's neurotic need to pretend that the problems of Washington are equally shared with both parties, because it simply isn't the case...one party truly wants the whole system to come crashing down, the other doesn't.

Preventing Spread of Syphillis a Bad Thing?

The Rep Sen is up in arms about a grant given to the most widely recognized provider of women's health services to low income communities for the purpose of preventing the spread of syphilis. From Humphrey:

The grant will provide funding to allow PPGMR to provide free syphilis testing in its Health Center at 2430 Poplar Avenue and at an off-site after-hours
location.

In 2009, Shelby County ranked fifteenth of all counties in the U.S. for
symptomatic syphilis. Shelby County has the highest number of newly-diagnosed
syphilis cases in Tennessee; and the infection rate for all stages of syphilis
is five times higher in Shelby County than in the U.S. overall.

PPGMR was chosen for this grant because of its proven track record of reaching
at-risk populations for HIV testing and prevention counseling and its strong
relationships with other community service providers in the Memphis area.

Of course, Stacey Campfield and his fellow Republicans will never admit that they are upset at low income people being given resources to combat disease, instead they focus on a small portion of PP's business, separated in funding, which provides abortions.

The state, in trying to reach low income women and prevent disease, should absolutely use Planned Parenthood's well known brand and history of achievement when seeking to achieve actual results. Failing to do so would do harm to the public and cost the state far more in the long run for treating preventable diseases.

Overzealous Asset Seizure Is Nothing New

Damn the man. Its a sentiment that has been in music for as long as its been around, but now musicians (and many Republicans desiring to find something to be outraged about) are up in arms over the seizure of some wood whose sourcing is a point of contention between Gibson Guitars and the Man, this time being represented by the DOJ and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In response to a raid and seizure of questionably sourced wood, Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, a supporter of Mike Huckabee and donor to Rep. Jim Cooper, has been on the warpath against the government's actions which he claims is causing millions in lost profits all over some misunderstanding.

Beyond the overheated rhetoric about an out of control government, there are certainly valid points being made about the presumption of guilt when it comes to asset forfeiture or seizure in the American justice system.  The fact is that while this is probably a more unique case given the relative obscurity of the law being applied here, and the well known brand name associated with the company whose assets are being seized, this time of seizure is by no means new or unique.

Every year, law enforcement throughout various levels of state and federal government seize property valued in the billions from American citizens under dubious circumstances or due process.  By simply showing "probable cause" (a term used loosely enough to allow a cop to search your person or vehicle if he claims to smell marijuana) the police can seize cars, boats, houses, cash, jewelry, musical equipment and all other sorts of goods and property without so much as a single criminal charge being levied.  Once seized, it then becomes the responsibility of the owner to show that it was purchased legally with legally obtained finances.

Now, arguably most Americans might not have a problem proving such ownership, but the idea that once a cop or fed suspects that your property is remotely connected to an illegal activity that it then becomes your responsibility to show receipts, pay stubs, invoices, etc...seems quite draconian to me, as well as civil liberty groups like the ACLU.

So, do I feel for Gibson?  Sure, but I probably feel more for hundreds of thousands of Americans who didn't have the financial, legal, and political capital to fight the government, and I would hope this interest by talk radio and conservative activists would extend beyond wealthy CEO's to more average Americans as well.

Update: Not terribly germane to the story, but worth pointing out that Gibson's CEO doesn't appear to get very high marks from the people who work underneath him.  If the stories are true, the bottom-line mentality could very well lead to cutting corners re: wood sourcing regulations.