Barack Obama: "If I had a ...........

"If I had a city, it would look like Detroit." -B.H. Obama

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Southeast Nashville Conservatives' Breakfast Club

SATURDAY, July 20th, 2013 

Breakfast/Social (8:30 am - 9:00 am) 

Meeting (9:00 am - 10:00 am) 

Shoney's (Antioch) Bell Road/Mt. View Road (I-24E - Bell Road Exit) 

 Guest Speaker Rick Williams 

Stop AMP, Inc. 

 "AMP" is the multi-million dollar Bus Rapid Transit System the Mayor has proposed for West End Avenue area, one of our most heavily commercialized and traffic-congested areas of the city. And....as usual, the liberal majority of the Metro Council is "rubber-stamping" another of the Mayor's costly ideas, with disregard for the wishes of the Nashville citizen-majority. 

Thanks for your support ! 

Robert Duvall \ Pat Carl

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What Coker had to say about the 'bullsh*t' remark

“In an unfortunate and weak moment, something happened and it’s no big deal,” Corker told reporters. (link)

I agree with that. Everything can't always be "the distinguished gentleman from the great state of ..."

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Don’t allow the government to stand in the way of doctors providing an early and accurate diagnosis.

From The Alzheimer’s  Association:

Don’t allow the government to stand in the way of doctors providing an early and accurate diagnosis. Half of the more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s have never received a formal diagnosis. We know that an early and accurate diagnosis leads to better outcomes and higher quality of life for people with Alzheimer’s and their families. Yet the federal government is moving to put up a barrier to those benefits. Urge policy makers to improve care and provide an accurate diagnosis.

On July 3rd, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) -- the agency that controls many aspects of the Medicare services you receive -- issued a disappointing draft decision on coverage for a particular type of diagnostic test called brain amyloid imaging (read more). CMS stated they believe there is insufficient evidence that use of this test improves health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries with dementia or neurodegenerative disease in specific populations.

However, the Alzheimer’s Association convened the Amyloid Imaging Taskforce, a group of leading experts in the field, who recommended that for certain situations amyloid imaging should be covered by Medicare immediately to improve the quality of care. One of those situations is when a dementia expert is unsure whether a decline in memory is due to Alzheimer’s or some other -- perhaps preventable -- cause.

Thankfully the decision is not yet final. Make your voice heard if you have had firsthand experience with dementia diagnosis and care, for yourself or a loved one. If you and your family experienced challenges in obtaining a diagnosis, or if an accurate diagnosis has allowed you and your family to better plan and manage the disease, please share your experience. Those who have lived with Alzheimer’s or related dementias know an early and accurate diagnosis allows individuals with the disease and their caregivers to better manage medications and other chronic conditions, receive counseling, engage in financial and long-term care planning, and consider all medical and non-medical treatments and supports – including participation in appropriate clinical trials. These benefits improve the quality of life for those fighting Alzheimer’s and can lead to significant cost savings, both for individuals and our nation. We can’t afford to postpone for years important tools that are ready to help doctors provide better Alzheimer’s care today.

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Big anti-Lamar protest to greet Alexander in Smyrna Saturday.

When Senator Lamar Alexander arrives at the Hangar at Smyrna Air Center on Saturday accompanied by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee for his big campaign event called a "Salute to Middle-Tennessee Republican Party Chairmen," inside will be a who's who of Tennessee Republican Party politics. Master of ceremonies for the event will be Chris Devaney, Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party. Scores of elected State Representatives, State Senators, County Party Chairmen, and other Party officials and party faithful will be there to listen and cheer and be entertained.

Outside will be a crowd of tea party activist and other conservatives and grass roots Republican activist to protest Alexander; maybe just as large as the group inside. The counter demonstration has been building for weeks. Among those groups organizing or participating in the counter protest will be the 9-12 project group led by J. Lee Douglas, The Nashville Tea Party led by Ben Cunningham, the Tennessee Campaign for Liberty led by former Vice Chair of the Davidson Country Republican Party Matt Collins. and the Nashville Libertarian Party. Other conservative activist and groups have resent the announcements to their email list and reposted the protest announcements on Facebook.

Alexander is opposed because of his more moderate voting record. The Heritage Foundation gives Alexander a score of 47% while the average score of Republican Senators is 67%. Particularly galling to conservative activist is Alexander's support for the recently Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform bill, his support for the Internet sales tax, his support for the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty and his pro-environmental record. "Senator Alexander votes with Obama 63% of the time," is a constant reoccurring criticism. 

"We think that his record is unacceptable and that he should've voted with the Constitution,” said Matt Collins, a coordinator with the Tennessee Campaign for Liberty in a statement.

So far, critics of Senator Alexander have not been able to find a viable candidate to run against him. Senator Corker, Gov. Haslum, Speaker Harwell, Lt. Gov. Ramsey, all former Republican Governors, all former State Party Chairmen, all seven Tennessee Republican U. S. Representatives, and scores of State senators and State representative have endorsed Lamar and he has a huge financial war chest.

 I expect the protest to be peaceful and respectful. For one thing, tea party protest are always peaceful and respectful but for another, many of those there to celebrate Lamar and many of those there to protest Lamar know each other and have worked closely together on other issues and other campaigns. This is a disagreement among friends.

Unfortunately due to a family obligation, I will not be able to attend the event. If anyone makes a video or can report on the event, please send it to me. Rod

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Lamar Alexander and Governor Mike Huckabee Salute Middle-Tennessee Republican Party Chairmen

“Lamar has consistently helped build a stronger Tennessee Republican Party and I’m excited to join him in honoring the state’s grassroots leaders.” – Governor Mike Huckabee  

Thursday, July 18, 2013, NASHVILLE, TN - Lamar Alexander’s re-election campaign today announced that Governor Mike Huckabee will join Senator Alexander to salute Middle-Tennessee Republican Party Chairmen on July 20 in Rutherford County. The event will feature Governor Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, presidential candidate, and host of the Fox Network’s Huckabee Show and Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Steve Wariner.

Chris Devaney, Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the event and other elected officials will join to pay tribute to Republican grassroots activists from across Middle Tennessee.

“Governor Huckabee has been a champion of our party’s principles of limited government and fiscal conservatism. I’m delighted that he is coming to Tennessee to join me in honoring the men and women who work daily to advance our party’s mission” says Alexander.

Saturday, July 20, 2013
SMYRNA
WHO: U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander          Governor Mike Huckabee          Steve Wariner, Grammy award winning artist and songwriter
          TNGOP Chairman Chris Devaney
   
WHAT: Salute to Middle-Tennessee Republican Party Chairmen
WHEN: Saturday, July 20, 2013 at 4:00 pm
WHERE: Hangar at Smyrna Air Center              300 Doug Warpoole
              Smyrna, TN

NOTES:  A mult box and press riser will be provided.  For more information on the event, go to www.LamarAlexander.com/salute

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Bob Corker Called 'Bullsh*t' On Mitch McConnell During Senate GOP Meeting On Filibuster

Bob Corker Called 'Bullsh*t' On Mitch McConnell During Senate GOP Meeting On Filibuster: Report

Under the deal brokered by Reid and McCain, Republicans agreed to allow votes on seven of Obama's executive nominees, under the condition that the president replace two of his nominees to the National Labor Relations Board with two other candidates. The deal came after Reid threatened to invoke the so-called nuclear option, or changing Senate rules by a simple majority vote.

Corker was one of 17 Republicans who voted to end the filibuster on Richard Cordray's nomination to lead the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau.

My Comment: This sounds like a good deal to me. If some compromise was not worked out the Senate filibuster would be history and probably never return. In exchange for the Dems not changing the rules, we preserved the filibuster and the two appointees who Obama illegally appointed as recess appointees when the Senate was not in recess will not be appointed. We did not have a good hand and had to play the hand we were dealt. Considering the options, I think Corker showed great leadership skills. McConnell seems sour because he could not broker a deal and someone with more skill did.

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Conservative Fusion meets tonight and the next selection announced

Tonight is the meeting of the Conservative Fusion Book Study Group. The book is The Perfectibility of Man by John Passmore. You can get if free online at this link. If you didn't finish the book, read the last two pages of each chapter and come on.

For more information about the group go to Conservative Fusion on Facebook.

The next selection is The Natural Law: A Study in Legal and Social History and Philosophy, by Heinrich Rommen. Below is a summary of the book:

Originally published in German in 1936, The Natural Law is the first work to clarify the differences between traditional natural law as represented in the writings of Cicero, Aquinas, and Hooker and the revolutionary doctrines of natural rights espoused by Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. Beginning with the legacies of Greek and Roman life and thought, Rommen traces the natural law tradition to its displacement by legal positivism and concludes with what the author calls “the reappearance” of natural law thought in more recent times. In seven chapters each Rommen explores “The History of the Idea of Natural Law” and “The Philosophy and Content of the Natural Law.” In his introduction, Russell Hittinger places Rommen’s work in the context of contemporary debate on the relevance of natural law to philosophical inquiry and constitutional interpretation.

This book is also available free online at this link. The next meeting will be August 21.

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Council Meeting of July 16th, 2013 with commentary: spending $15 million for hockey and saying "no" to the fairgrounds.

To link to the agenda and agenda analysis follow this link. This meeting is only 52 minutes long. When you have no discussion and pass everything unanimously, you can have some pretty short meetings. The first 13 minutes of the agenda is presentations honoring people.
Reverend Bill Barnes offers the invocation. Rev. Barnes is the force behind the city establishing an affordable housing trust fund.

A proposed rule change is presented to the Council, but I don't know what it is. It may be nothing important or it could be significant. The rules of the Council can be significant in what gets passed or stopped.

All of the Mayor appointees to Boards and Commissions or approved unanimously as always. Most should be, but the Council simply rubber stamps them all and never turns anyone down. This means the Council exerts no influence to clean up corruption such as at NES, or mismanagement such as at the Farmers Market, or to influence policies such as the Human Relations Commission's promotion of youth homosexuality.

Barnes Fund for Affordable Housing passes.
A bill on third reading is taking out of order. It is SUBSTITUTE BILL NO. BL2013-487  which establishes the Barnes Fund for Affordable Housing to assist in providing affordable housing to residents of Davidson County.  It appropriates an initial sum of $2,279,040 to the fund, and establishes the Metropolitan Housing Trust Fund Commission to oversee the fund. The money appropriated to the fund is from a variety of sources including funds from repayment of Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) loans. Most of the money that will fund this program is money that was supposed to be spend in a "pocket of poverty" to benefit low-income people. Most of the money has been used to bribe (crony capitalism "incentives") business to come to Nashville or expand in Nashville or not leave Nashville (HCA, Lowes Hotel). I think this program is a better use of the money. This program will not require funding from property taxes and will not impact the city budget. The money repaid from UDAG can not be used for general government operating cost but must to used for affordable housing or economic development. I support this program. It passes unanimously. Bill Barnes worked long and hard to see Metro establish a housing trust fund. He is recognized and gets a standing ovation.

The consent agenda passes.
That means all the items on the consent agenda are considered in one single vote and they all pass unanimously. Included in the bills that pass on the consent agenda are these two that I think should have been questioned.

• RESOLUTION NO. RS2013-768 approves the issuance of $15 million in bonds to build a hockey facility. I would have voted no on this. It is too much of a long-term commitment for the city. We have other needs that should be greater priority. (see article below)
• RESOLUTION NO. RS2013-770 appropriates $2,150,000 from the general fund to give grants to 28 various non-profits. I would have had some questions about this and would have requested to be recorded as voting no or abstaining if my questions had not been answered. 

Resolution 771 is pulled off of the consent agenda.  
RESOLUTION NO. RS2013-771 takes $8.3 million that was given to the city for 2010 flood relief and reappropriates it to other uses including Riverfront Park development. Councilman Robert Duvall attempts to amend this resolution to take a million dollars out of the funding for Riverfront Park and use it to repair flood damage at the fairgrounds. This fails. This is a shame. This money came to the city flood damage mitigation. Because the Mayor wants to destroy the fairgrounds, he is taking money that could have been used for its intended purpose and spending it elsewhere. The committees to which the bill was assigned voted to approve "without the amendment." If the Council turned this bill down, then this does not bode well for the future of the fairgrounds. Duvalls's amendment failed by voice vote so we don't know who how individual council members voted. (see 24:23-34:10) Robert Duvall is to be commended for trying. 


All bills on First reading pass.

Bills on Second reading  and third reading all pass by voice vote and without discussion except for a few deferral of a zoning bills. 

Two youth hockey rinks approved for former Hickory Hollow Mall
Decision carries significant price tag

by Michael Cass, The Tennessean, Jul. 16, 2013- Metro Council voted without discussion Tuesday to build two new youth hockey rinks in Antioch, a decision that could carry a significant price tag for taxpayers over the next 20 years. (link)

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Council rejects Robert Duvall's amendment to divert money to Fairgrounds

By Steven Hale, The City Paper,Tuesday, July 16, 2013- .....The council rejected an amendment proposed by Councilman Robert Duvall that would have diverted $1 million of the funds designated for riverfront development to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, to repair damage sustained on the grounds during the flood. (link)

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Pastor Enoch Fuzz says "Boycott Florida"

A Nashville pastor urged his congregation Sunday to "Boycott Florida" in reaction to a not-guilty verdict by a jury in the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin murder trial. Enoch Fuzz, pastor of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church took to Facebook and the pulpit yesterday to urge his members to boycott the entire state of Florida, in solidarity for justice. "Boycott Florida! I'm saying to my members, I say to them, 'Don't go to Florida, and don't spend your money there,'" he told a local NBC news affiliate in Nashville, Tenn. (link)

Most people won't boycott Florida and if one person doesn't go then someone who else will take their place. If those who boycott Florida, instead go to Gulf Shores Alabama, then someone who couldn't get a room in Gulf Shores will instead go to Panama City.  I don't think Florida needs to worry about a boycott. It would take a lot of people not going to any beach.  And if the boycott was successful it would probably cause African Americans to lose their jobs first.

On his Facebook page Pastor Fuzz writes, "66 percent agree with the verdict. WOW! America the Ugly."

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Save Our Fairgrounds call to Action: call your councilman!

Call to Action:  Meeting Tonight - Contact your Councilman!

SaveOurFairgrounds needs your help!  Please contact your councilman director or all the council members prior to this evening's Council Meeting to urge them to vote to support the amendment to allocate MDHA dollars to the Fairgrounds to make all the flood repairs which were not filed in 2010 due to the administration's announcement of the closure of the Fairgrounds in December 2010. It is imperative that we have the vote of the council for this amendment

SaveOurFairgrounds.com  urges everyone to contact the council today regarding funds to be allocated to the Fairgrounds.

MDHA has indicated it has $ 7-8 million available which has not been use for flood relief as intended. Therefore, MDHA has offered, if approved by HUD, to turn those funds loose to use for other flood mitigated issues.  Metro has requested approximately $1.1 millions of this money for Jefferson Street and the rest of the money to go to the west bank (Cumberland) project to build flood mitigate walls along the river.   Councilman Duvall has requested $1 million of the earmarked money for the west bank flood mitigation to be directed to the fairgrounds to make all the flood repairs which were not made or filed for in 2010 due to the administrations announcement of the closure of the Fairgrounds in December 2010.

Please contact your council members today and ask them to support Councilman Duvall's amendment.  Even though the council approves this, it is up to HUD make the final determination.  If we don’t ask for it to be appropriated, we will not be entitled to the money for what it was specified for. 

Thank you for your support!!

All Council Members email addresses:councilmembers@nashville.gov

We look forward to seeing you there as we continue to Save Our Fairgrounds.
“Where Nashville comes together”

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What's on the Council Agenda for July 16 with analysis and commentary

You can get your own copy of the Metro council meeting agenda at this link: Metro Council Agenda. You can find the analysis at this link: Metro Council Agenda Analysis. Council meetings can be really, really boring if you don't know what the Council is voting on. With an agenda and analysis, they are just boring.

Confirmation of Appointees to Boards and Commissions: There are eight people appointed by the Mayor to Boards and Commission who are up for confirmation by the Council. As always they will be confirmed unanimously.

Resolutions:
There are seventeen resolutions all of which are on the consent agenda. A resolution is put on the consent agenda if it is likely to be non-controversial and it stays on the consent agenda if it passes the committees to which it was assigned unanimously. Resolutions on the consent agenda are passed by a single vote of the Council rather than being considered individually. However, any member of the body may have a bill pulled off of the consent agenda. I do not expect any to be pulled off of the consent agenda. I am listing below the resolutions that could be open to inquiry if we had any inquiring minds on the council:

RESOLUTION NO. RS2013-768 approves the issuance of $15 million in bonds to build a hockey facility for the Predators, and for public use, at Global Mall. Bridgestone ticket sales revenue would pay the debt on the bonds, but if there was a shortage Metro would be on the hook to pay the debt from other “non tax” revenue sources. The staff analysis says ticket sales with unlikely be able to cover this debt. Council Member Emily Evans has expertise in bond finance. I hope she take a lead in questioning the wisdom of this action.

RESOLUTION NO. RS2013-770 appropriates $2,150,000 from the general fund to give grants to 28 various non-profits. Among these are agencies that shelter, legal advocacy and counseling for women fleeing domestic violence; programs for after school care; and programs to promote literacy.

• $65,800 goes to an agency to combat domestic violence among immigrants and $28,400 to an agency that provides after school care for children of immigrants. 

• Other assistance includes $178,000 to legal aid, $50,100 to Nashville Cares to help people with Aids/HIV, and $172,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank. 

There are hundreds of deserving non-profits in the city, and as far as I know there is no official grant application process to seek public funding. What is the process that determines priorities for funding; as an example, what process determines that serving people with aids is more important than serving people with Alzheimer’s? What is the process of determining which agencies get public funding? Are the agencies getting funding subject to any additional oversight or restrictions? Do any of the agencies advocate abortion? Do they serve illegal immigrants?

RESOLUTION NO. RS2013-771 takes $8.3 million that was given to the city for 2010 flood relief and reappropriates it to other uses including Riverfront Park development. If this is the way things work, I guess the council should take the money and use it elsewhere, but it makes one wonder how much disaster relief money is a windfall for cities across America. Maybe Congress should appropriate less if the money is not being used for its intended purpose.

Bills on First Reading:
There are five bills on first reading. Bills on first reading almost always pass. They are considered as a group and are seldom discussed. First reading is a formality that allows the bill to be considered. They are not assigned to committee or analyzed by council staff until after they have passed first reading. I have not carefully reviewed the bills on first reading, but will before second reading.

Bills on Second Reading: 
It is on Second reading, after bills have been to committee, that discussion usually takes place. There are eleven bills on second reading. Below are the ones worth noting:

BILL NO. BL2013-476 is the booting bill. “Booting,” as in putting a devise on your car’s wheel that immobilized it. It increases the booting fee to $75 and expands the booting practice.

BILL NO. BL2013-498 establishes a Community Garden Grant program. It only has a $25,000 price tag and grants would be of between $250 and $5000.

Bills on Third Reading:
Third Reading is the final reading. If a bill passes third reading it becomes law unless it is vetoed by the Mayor, which has only rarely happened. There are sixteen bills on third reading. These are the ones of interest:

BILL NO. BL2013-353 by Councilman Tennpenny is a zoning bill worth watching. It had previously had a public hearing and passed second reading and then deferred. This is for the rezoning of a lot on Tanksley Avenue so a tire company can expand. There was considerable opposition to this rezoning at the time. When a bill is deferred indefinitely, it can be put back on the agenda at any time.

SUBSTITUTE BILL NO. BL2013-487  establishes the Barnes Fund for Affordable Housing to assist in providing affordable housing to residents of Davidson County and it appropriates an initial sum of $2,279,040 to the fund, and establishes the Metropolitan Housing Trust Fund Commission to oversee the fund. The money appropriated to the fund is from a variety of sources including funds from repayment of Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) loans. Most of the money that will fund this program is money that was supposed to be spend in a "pocket of poverty" to benefit low-income people. Most of the money has been used to bribe (crony capitalism "incentives") business to come to Nashville or expand in Nashville or not leave Nashville (HCA, Lowes Hotel). I think this program is a better use of the money. This program will not require funding from property taxes and will not impact the city budget. The money repaid from UDAG can not be used for general government operating cost but must to used for affordable housing or economic development. I support this program. 

Memorializing Resolutions: There is one non-controversial memorializing resolution.

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Duvall wants to send $1M in flood money to fairgrounds

By Steven Hale, City Paper, Monday, July 15, 2013- Metro Councilman Robert Duvall has filed an amendment that would send $1 million to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, to repair damage sustained in the 2010 flood.

The proposal comes one week after the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency approved a plan to reallocate more than $7 million in federal flood relief money to riverfront development, which officials have said would focus on flood mitigation. The Council is scheduled to vote on the plan at its meeting Tuesday night. (link)

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Missed MCC untility estimate by half! Council should investigate.

 Music City Center utilities running double what was projected

 NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - The new Music City Center has been open for about two months, but the cost of running the new convention center is higher than what officials originally projected. In fact, the utilities are running double what was projected. The new projected amount for the operating budget is $5.3 million a year. Figures released Monday show the Music City Center is expected to lose $4.8 million this year, but tourist dollars are expected to make up that loss. (link)

My Comment:
What? Double? How does that happen? OK, I can understand being off 10%, maybe 15% but how do experts who are being relied upon to advise the administration and the Council estimate utility cost by half? They know the size of the building, they know its energy efficiency, they know the cost of utilities.  They fill in the blanks in a formula and hit " = " and get the answer. For experts who do this for a living  this is unacceptable. If this is off by half, what else is off by half? Was the Council intentionally misled? Is this just terribly incompetence or is this malfeasance. The Council should investigate. Who made the estimates? Someone should do a freedom on information request and see all email's between all relevant parties regarding utility estimates. Were we sold a pig in a poke?

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Rand Paul aides say Lamar Alexander ad is not an endorsement

"At this time Senator Paul has not made an endorsement in this race." (link)

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Grammy Winning Artist Steve Wariner to Join Alexander-Huckabee Rally

NASHVILLE, TN – Lamar Alexander’s re-election campaign today announced that Grammy winning artist Steve Wariner will join Lamar Alexander and Mike Huckabee in a special musical performance at the July 20 salute to Middle-Tennessee Republican Party Chairmen. 
Tennessean Steve Wariner is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and an award winning singer-songwriter. Wariner penned such hits as “Holes in the Floor of Heaven” and “Where the Blacktop Ends.” He is taking a break from his summer tour schedule to join the event. 

Says Alexander, "Steve Wariner is a remarkable musician, a gifted storyteller and a friend. It is my pleasure to join him on stage to honor the men and women who work so hard for the Republican Party."
The event will feature Governor Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, presidential candidate, and host of the Fox Network’s Huckabee Show. Chris Devaney, Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the event. Other musical and political special guests will join to pay tribute to Republican grassroots activists from across Middle Tennessee. 
 
The July 20 will be held at the Smyrna Air Center in Smyrna, Tennessee. The event is free, but advance registration is encouraged. More information and event registration can be found here: www.lamaralexander.com/salute or by calling the campaign at 615-678-1940. The event will take place rain or shine and is inside the air-conditioned event hangar.
 
The Alexander campaign is chaired by Congressman Jimmy Duncan with co-chairmen Governor Bill Haslam, U.S. Senator Bob Corker, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, Speaker Beth Harwell as well as Congressmen Blackburn, Roe, Black, Fincher and Fleischmann.  

The campaign’s Honorary Co-Chairmen include former U.S. Senators Howard Baker, Bill Brock, Bill Frist and Fred Thompson as well as former Governors Winfield Dunn and Don Sundquist.  

Serving as Honorary Co-Chairs of the Statewide Committee to Elect Lamar Alexander are all 13 living former state Republican Party chairs.

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Speaker Tim Scott tells Tenn. GOP to show voters 'how much we care'

By: JOHN KLEIN WILSON, TNReport.com

The Tennessee Republican Party’s annual Statesmen’s Dinner Friday night saw the ballroom at Nashville’s new Music City Center packed with a who’s who of state GOP-ers from up and down the ticket including Gov. Bill Haslam, U.S. Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander and seven members of the state’s U.S. House delegation.

But the big draw of the evening’s program — part award ceremony for local party stalwarts, part partisan pep-rally — was a fresh senator from another southern red state, Tim Scott from South Carolina.
In a recent letter to the Tennessean, state Republican Party Chair Chris Devaney called Scott as a “rising national star,” praising him as “refreshing voice of principle who is guided by an unyielding faith in God and rock-ribbed Republican values of less government influence and individual liberty.”

In his keynote address Friday, Scott, who served as U.S. congressman for two years before being tapped by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to fill a vacant Senate seat in January, struck an optimistic note, predicting political gains in upcoming elections. But Scott told the crowd Republicans need to reach out and connect with citizens to find success in the ballot box.

“Where we are as a country, it doesn’t look very good. I understand that we have major challenges in this nation but I also understand that the greatest days of America is ahead of it,” Scott told the audience. “I think we can win back the Senate in 2014, we have a grand opportunity in front of us and America will give us an opportunity to lead again in the Senate.”

“There are a couple things that we have to remember in order to get there,” he continued. “The first thing is this, that America, they want to know how much we know but they want to know it after they understand how much we care. Our ability to achieve success in the Senate and maintain the House will be our ability to communicate our message effectively.”
 
Sen. Scott also predicted a Republican return to the White House in 2016, saying it would be a “wonderful day” after “eight long years of President Obama” and earned cheers with a crowd-pleasing attack on the Affordable Care Act, which he charged was “eroding the very foundation of freedom as we know it in health care.”

“I think we ought repeal Obamacare today,” Scott said to heavy applause. “The employer mandate is not enough, the individual mandate would not be enough,” he continued, referring to two requirements of the law, the first of which the Obama administration has recently said it will put off enacting for an extra year.

Scott also claimed that the ACA “adds $800 billion of new taxes and new responsibilities on the back of everyday citizens,” and argued that the new law “takes away the very precious relationship between a doctor and a patient.

Scott is currently campaigning to keep his Senate seat for another two years in a 2014 special election that will determine who gets to serve out the remaining term of his predecessor Jim DeMint.

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Tim Scott: Internet Sales Tax a Tough Vote, but voted "no."

This is Tim Scott being interviewed at the Tennessee Republican Party's annual Statesman's Dinner

Published on Jul 13, 2013 - Tim Scott, a Republican U.S. senator from South Carolina, says he sees pros and cons to the so-called "Marketplace Fairness Act" -- but ultimately saw more cons, hence his no vote on the bill back in May. The Senate passed the measure 69-27. However, the GOP-controlled House is expected to revise it significantly, if it passes it at all. Scott told TNReport he's hopeful those revisions will ease some of his worries and enable him to vote for it.

The issue is particularly vexing for small business owners, said Scott. On the one hand they feel threatened by tax-free internet sales -- but many also use the internet to do business and fear jurisdictional confusion and the headaches of new layers of red-tape, not to mention legions of revenue-hungry tax collectors keeping tabs on them.

Scott was in Nashville July 12 to deliver the keynote address at the Tennessee Republican Party's annual "Statesmen's Dinner" fundraiser.

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What are your priorities for Nashville? Speak out!

Your input is needed at public meetings around the city this month. You can help decide what our city should focus on as we create a plan for Metro Nashville's future. Conversations in South Nashville and Madison last week got the process started.  Conservatives are poorly represented at these meetings. They are simply not taking part; liberals are!

 If your priority is to save the fairgrounds, hold the line on taxes, privatize public services, have school choice, curtail crony capitalism, curtail corruption, end abuse of imminent domain,  have something that resembles a free market in transportation that abolishes minimum price controls, protection of private property rights, then please attend one or more of the events listed below and share what you would do if you were the "NashvilleNext Mayor." 

 Monday, July 15: Crossings Event Center, 5130 Hickory Hollow Parkway, Antioch – doors open at 5:30 map to the Crossings Event Center

Thursday, July 18: The Temple - Congregation Ohabai Sholom, 5015 Harding Pike – doors open at 5:30 map to The Temple - Congregation Ohabai Shalom

Tuesday, July 23: North Police Precinct, 2231 26th Avenue North – doors open at 5:30 map to the North Police Precinct 

Saturday, July 27, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm: Sonny West Conference Center, Howard Office Building (formerly Howard School), 700 Second Avenue South – doors open at 9:30map to the Sonny West Conference Center

 

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Two "conservative" views of Immigration: Mark Krikorian and Alvaro Vargus Llosa.

There is not a "conservative" view of immigration and I would content that neither is there a liberal view of immigration. At the current time, the current Democrat administration is pushing comprehensive immigration reform, but the last time we had comprehensive immigration reform it happened under the Republican administration of Ronald Reagan. Just because some may think that the current comprehensive immigration bill being debated in Congress is flawed, does not make them anti-immigrant.

Tomorrow night Mark Krikorian, the Executive Director of the Immigration think-tank Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) will be in Nashville. I look forward to hearing him speak if I am able to attend. Due to my wife's declining health, I do not get to attend as many political and civic events as I used to and as I would like, but if I am able to attend, I plan to.  If you can attend I encourage you to do so.

CIS takes the position that America would be better served by less immigration. That may be thought of a "conservative" position by some.  However, organized labor, a major component of the Democrat coalition, also tends to take a similar position. CIS says of itself, "Our board, our staff, our researchers, and our contributor base are not predominantly 'liberal' or predominantly 'conservative.' Instead, we believe in common that debates about immigration policy that are well-informed and grounded in objective data will lead to better immigration policies."

Many people however will assume that the more restrictive immigration policy favored by CIS is a  conservative position.  If the position of CIS is a "conservative" position, then there is an equally conservative position that favors a more generous immigration policy and sees immigration as a benefit.

Alvaro Vargas Llosa is a Senior Fellow of The Center on Global Prosperity at the Independent Institute. He has written a new book Global Crossings: Immigration, Civilization and America. Last week I saw him discuss the book on CSPAN BookTV. The book looks at the immigrant experience, from the past to the present, how immigration connects America to the rest of the world, and explores who migrants are and why they move. He says the conduct of immigrants today is no different than that of immigrants in the past and that contrary to popular claims, the patterns of contemporary migration do not differ fundamentally from those in the past. He also argues that immigration is not a drain on our society but a benefit.

If you missed Mr. Llosa BookTV interview last week, and would like to view it, I am posting it below. Mr. Llosa was a guest of the Cato Institute, another conservative think tank that is favorable disposed to immigration. I tend to be more favorable disposed to immigration myself.  I do, however, think we must control our borders and that immigration should be either for the benefit of this nation or for humanitarian reasons. No immigrant has a right to enter this country. I also think we must have a policy that is neither open boarders nor closed to all immigration.  To develop the right policy requires judgement and wisdom. Good people will disagree on what that policy should be. There are a lot of shades of gray between the extremes.

I think that when some people talk about immigrants taking American jobs or being a drain on society, they are accepting what is essentially a liberal premise and that is, that the size of the American pie is fixed.  They are taking an essentially liberal view that says if someone else improves their lot in life it is at the expense of someone else.  It is the politics of envy.  I believe that if someone else has more, it does not mean I have less. Our society and our economy are not fixed and static. American optimism and pro-growth policies are conservative values.

While I hold to the view just expressed, I think reasonable people can disagree about the specifics of immigration policy.  Neither those who favor a more restrictive policy nor those who favor a more gemerpis policy should have their view considered off limits. The view of Mark Krikorian and CSI should not be demonized. There are at least two sides to the issue. In today's Tennessean there was a report that Upcoming Nashville Rotary speaker draws fire. It seems some are fearful of both sides being heard. As reported in the Tennessean article:

“Mark Krikorian’s views are out of step with American values — and with the 77 percent of Tennesseans that want our immigration system fixed this year,” said Eben Cathey, spokesman for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition."

While liberals like to pride themselves on being open-minded and tolerant, they are only open-minded and tolerant of those with whom they agree. Political correctness and labeling unpopular views as unacceptable by the Southern Poverty Law Center is an effort to let only one side of an issue be heard. I find the Southern Poverty Law Center more of a threat to freedom than I do many of those they label.

Please watch the video below and if you can go see Mr. Mark Krikorian tomorrow night, please do so. It won't hurt you to hear either view.  For more on tomorrow nights event, follow this link.

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