Extremism Breeds Extremism & A Weak Governor

One of the Scripps Howard D.C. bureau reporters called me yesterday for a comment on the newest post-election phenomenon — secession petitions!

These petitions, posted on the White House website, ask the Obama administration to "peacefully grant" Tennessee and others the right to withdraw from the union and form its own government. As of Wednesday morning, the Tennessee petition had met the 25,000-signature threshold needed to initiate a response from the White House. (We're all waiting with bated breath!)

This is, of course, counterproductive and a waste of everyone's time and tax dollars. Who's to blame?

Here's what I told The Memphis Commercial Appeal:

Brandon Puttbrese, spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic Party, called the secession petition "radical nonsense" that is "a direct result of the tea party extremism and intolerance we have seen from elected Republicans in Tennessee."

"Sadly," Puttbrese said, "this kind of extremism only breeds more of the division and rancor that is prohibiting our leaders from making progress on putting Tennesseans back to work and protecting middle class families."

For far too long, Republican politicians have been stoking the flames of hate toward supporters of health care reform, immigration reform, teachers, women, LGBT rights, and on and on.

In a rare showing of backbone, Tennessee Gov. "Waffle House" Bill Haslam immediately condemned the frivolous petitions. The Tennessean:

Gov. Bill Haslam said Tuesday he’d heard about Tennessee’s petition. He’s not a fan. “I don’t think that’s a valid option for Tennessee,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll be seceding.”

So Haslam feels his input is important on meaningless Internet petitions, but unnecessary on serious questions of ethics and integrity. When confronted with the question of whether it's ever appropriate for a doctor to have sex with his patients, how did the governor respond?

"I don’t know that there’s a whole lot that I can add."

Weak.

Tennessee GOPsters Declare War on Workers & Teachers

Several Tennessee GOPsters have declared war on

teachers and workers. Shocking, I know.

Not even 30 days into the new year and several Tennessee GOPsters have laid out their plans for invigorating the state economy (wink, wink) by declaring war on the extravagant* rights of teachers and workers.

So much for freedom of speech and the free market.

First up: State Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville) filed a bill — written by lobbyists — that would end the collective bargaining rights of teachers. Teachers often use their collective clout to fight for curriculum improvements, academic freedom and to fight for fair salaries.

If collective bargaining is taken from teachers, no one stands more to lose than the citizens of rural counties in Tennessee. These places already struggle to find quality educators. The number one reason is educator pay. Ending collective bargaining would further complicate the problem by driving down starting salaries and doing nothing to improve rural working conditions.

Here's what the state teacher's organization had to say about the proposed legislation (from the AP):

Tennessee Education Association lobbyist Jerry Winters on Monday called the proposal to do away with collective bargaining "an insult to every teacher in the state." ... "It's not a good way to get this new Legislature to begin its relationship with the teachers of this state," he said. "I think there are few people up there who are really almost intent on declaring war with the TEA."

And that's not all! Elsewhere GOPsters are on the hunt for workers' freedom of speech. 


Rep. Glen Casada (R-63) and Sen. Bill Ketron (R-13) filed HB0160/SB0139 which would make it a Class C misdemeanor for labor organizations to contribute to candidates.

In a more blatant attack on the rights of everyday Tennesseans, Casada and Ketron are trying to criminalize the freedom of speech enjoyed by worker labor unions. They want to use big government to enforce overreaching regulation that limits the free speech of average workers.

It's so ridiculous, I barely have words to complain about it.

Let me just ask this question: If you're criminalizing the political contributions of worker groups, which is just an organization of people, should you not criminalize the political contributions of every politically active organization that could be considered a group of people.

How about the contributions of businesses and corporations that don't have our best interests in mind -- only their profit margins? Should we criminalize their campaign contributions? How about Tennessee Right to Life? How about Club for Growth? American Crossroads? The Tea Party Express?

The bottom line is: Unions are the only free-market solution for workers to collectively address grievances with public and private sector management.

For Republicans, who routinely espouse their faith in the "free markets" and "limited government," this legislation should be considered an affront on both issues.

But true colors are shining through, and between the lines it's easy to read what they're saying: "We don't care if our actions contradict their very principles we claim to stand for — we're hypocrites. We're Republican."

*Ha!

Let's Maybe Plow Congress: The Attack on Health Care Reform

Armed with new business cards and a supposed mandate to repeal "ObamaCare," Tennessee's freshly minted GOP congressional delegation is ready to take on the Affordable Care Act.

Reps. Diane Black and Scott DesJarlais are gearing up for the big vote. But Eighth District Rep. Stephen Fincher is already tamping down his fervent base's expectations.

Channel 4 has the scoop:

"It's going to be hard to repeal it," said Rep.-elect Stephen Fincher. "We are going to move forward and do what we can, but we are only the House of Representatives."

That's not what he said on the campaign trail! I believe his words were: plow congress. He certainly never said, "We'll maybe plow congress."

I'm sure the "Awe shucks it's going to be harder than I ever imagined" explanation will please the anti-Obama zealots who elected him.

Other than Steve Fincher running the risk of sounding like a seasoned politician, there is a real danger to repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Before you pull the repeal lever, ask yourself these questions:

• Should we unplug the Medicare Part D supplement and force Tennessee's 85,000 senior citizens in the donut hole, maybe your grandmother, to pay even more out of pocket expenses for their prescription drugs?
• Should health insurance companies be allowed to drop me from my plan because I got sick?
• Should insurance companies be allowed to deny coverage to parents who have a child suffering with cancer?

There are many more reasons for Tennesseans to support the Affordable Care Act (small business tax credits, no lifetime limits on coverage, affordable coverage for Tennesseans with pre-existing conditions) but these three seem to drive home my point.

So instead of beating the drum for repeal that it turns out you don't want -- call your newly elected congressman or congresswoman and tell them.

Here's what you'll say: "Hey, I just read this amazing blog post that explained a few of the benefits of health care reform and we should keep ObamaCare! In fact, I think you should read up about this thing too because it doesn't sound like you know what you're talking about. Keep up the good work!"

In the comments, let me know what lines you've used or heard to get health care reform opponents to button their lips.

Reverse Robin Hood

Sen. Bob Corker has been driving all over Tennessee giving a PowerPoint presentation about America's debt problem and his ideas to fix it.

In his snake oil plan, Corker says, everything is on the table and "we all must make sacrifices."**

**Except The Rich, like Corker.

Senator Bob favors extending the Bush tax breaks for the wealthiest 2 percent.

How does he plan to offset those tax breaks and balance the budget? By taking from Medicare and Social Security.

Take from the poor and give to the rich.

From News Channel 9 (http://m.newschannel9.com/news/senator-996155-bob-corker.html):

"Senator Corker said he believes the country has to act within three years or face catastrophic economic consequences. He said that means cutting federal spending from defense to social security and medicare.

"I don't think there's anything in our budgets that should be off the table," Senator Corker said.

But a number of people at Friday's town hall meeting said the middle class and elderly are being told to make the sacrifices while the wealthiest people get tax breaks.

"I think a lot of this will hit the middle class and elderly and my concern is the Republican Party has gone against the idea of taxing the wealthy," Roger Meyer said.

When talk about cutting so-called "entitlements" began some people walked out of the meeting while others applauded Frank Pate's comments.

"I'm 66 years old, worked all my life and I resent with great fervor the fact that I'm considered being a burden on the country in the name of entitlements," Pate said.

There was also opposition to extending tax cuts for the rich, which Senator Corker said he supports, even from people in the top 2% income bracket.

Think Progress Highlights Tennessee GOPocrisy

George Flinn, a Republican running to fill the seat being vacated by Rep. John Tanner, has taken a liking to his national party's passion for hypocrisy.

Think Progress reports that Flinn attacks the Recovery Act, better known as the stimulus, on his campaign Web site.

Funny considering Flinn, who also does business consulting at YourAmericanDream.com, suggests entrepreneurs should get busy applying for — you guessed it — stimulus money!

Think Progress also points to the fact that Flinn, in his capacity as a Shelby County Commissioner, voted to accept $1.6 million in federal dollars tied directly to the stimulus.

The GOP's Bacon Addiction

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The Knoxville News Sentinel published the kind of story today that grates on my nerves to no end.

In a nut shell, the "fiscal conservatives" of my home state Tennessee are lining up to spend federal dollars. From the article:

"Our nation is sinking under a mountain of debt," said U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Chattanooga, who got nearly $4 million for various projects in his district. "While a very small percentage of the bill funded some worthwhile projects in Tennessee, the overall cost is way too high.

So there we have it. If I'm ever swimming, I hope Zack Wamp is not the lifeguard on duty. He says Uncle Sam is drowning, so the only appropriate thing to do? Hold his head under water.

What yanks my chain the most is the hypocrisy. Republicans conveniently forget their own rhetoric when it's time for funding requests. Yet that's all we hear from these clowns. "Spending is out of control, blah, blah, snore."

Spending is a big problem for the GOP. They love to hate it but can't help themselves, like teenagers with mommy and daddy's credit card.

These sorts of things live on though, and it's not to say it doesn't create an image problem. Spending habits will likely be talking points fodder for upcoming elections, especially when a "fiscal conservative" name is tied to the porky, bacony, greasy projects.

I hope they like this year's bacon because I suspect it will be the last year for pork under this president. Despite this year's omnibus bill, Obama has pledged to cut the fat in the future. So we might not see this much spending again until our next Republican administration.

Is The Tennessean a Threat to Journalism?

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="440" caption="It's easy to write inflammatory headlines."][/caption]

The headline "Is Islam a threat to America?" jumps off the pages of The Tennessean's Sunday edition.

In the words of president's supposed least favorite Christmas show star Charlie Brown: Good grief!

First: The famous question headline bothers me to no end, specifically when you're reporting on highly flammable subject matter.

Second: The subhead has an opportunity for some semblance of balance, but instead opts for the here's an opinion; here's the denial format. Seen here:

Nashville activists warn churchgoers of violent threats to America; Muslims call campaign unfair

Reading four or five graphs into the story, one can find a decent rebuttal that digs deeper than "no we're not."

Lazy. Lazy. Lazy.

The rest of the story goes on to offer some incredibly interesting -- sometimes shocking (local) -- points of view, but I dare say that many people won't keep reading. They'll be happy with the negative opinion they formed from just the headline.

Are Coal-Fueled Power Plants Bad For Our Lungs?

Is The Tennessean a Threat to Journalism?

Is Tiger Woods a Danger to His Children?

Can Sponge Bob Squarepants be Trusted?

All of these headlines plant an opinion in the reader's mind. Rather than opening a reader's mind to various viewpoints, these types of headlines subconsciously, sometimes consciously, force a reader to pick a side immediately by answering "yes" or "no."

Once a reader has an opinion formed, is it necessary to keep reading? Probably not.

Dr. Frist starting club to point out Tenn.'s education problems

Well, Bill, you're going to need more than 10 meetings.

Broadway, 1100 reports:

"Pointing to Tennessee's ranking in the bottom 10 for educational achievement nationwide, former Senate majority leader Bill Frist called improving the state's schools a moral imperative and announced his new effort to do that.

He's launching the State Collaborative on Reforming Education, or SCORE, featuring a series of town hall and steering committee meetings across the state plus project teams to address teacher quality, technology and other topics.

"We don't need to be the 41st in the country," Frist said. "The biggest legacy we could leave is to pull Tennessee up."

Excuse me, Bill. Weren't you once a powerful U.S. senator? A senator with influence? A senator who could have gotten the ball rolling on meaningful education reform that didn't look like No Child Left Behind?

Yes you were. But, at the time, you were more concerned with pushing the neo-con agenda and making diagnosis from the senate floor.

Now you give us SCORE. Considering our state's high teenage pregnancy rate, I'm sure there is already enough scoring. But I digress.

This is, at the very least, an admirable cause. Tennessee needs better education like a meth addict needs teeth and skin cream.

Too bad the club's only real power is its ability to release a report with former Sen. Bill's John Hancock. And you know what you can get with $1.29 and Bill Frist's signature? A Pepsi — maybe.

Don't get me wrong: I'd love to see this report filled with brave, new ideas for Volunteer State schools. I'm as progressive as anybody.

SPOILER ALERT: Brave, new ideas in education require big boxes of tax payer gold.

But most of Tennessee's public schools have one big hurdle in common: they get their funding from a county commission. And county commissions, for the most part, hate funding school budgets.

It's a purposefully painful and contentious relationship.

So where would funding for Frist's ideas come from?

1. County commissions gladly agree to spend more to adopt reforms. Not likely.


2. State lawmakers mandate the counties spend more. Not likely.


3. The state picks up the tab. With what money?


4. Millionaire, former-Sen. Bill Frist pays for it out of the goodness of his heart. HA! (Put your money where your mouth is doctor.)

In this political climate change, which is man-made, I don't see any of these actually happening.

Granted, the cause is noble and the lip service is needed. But I just don't see much coming of this.

I hope like hell I'm wrong.