Lawmakers would like to hear if candidates for Attorney General would have challenged Obamacare

Press Release, NASHVILLE, Tenn., September 5, 2014 - A group of lawmakers said today that they would like to hear whether or not the candidates for Tennessee Attorney General would have joined a majority of states in challenging the constitutionality of provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as Obamacare. The Supreme Court, which selects the state’s Attorney General, will conduct interviews for the position currently held by General Robert Cooper, on Monday, September 8 at 9 am in a public meeting at Legislative Plaza in Nashville.
Legislators and other attendees, however, will not be allowed to ask questions of applicants during the meeting. Cooper chose not to join in any legal actions challenging the PPACA which was signed into law in 2010.

“This is a position which defends laws passed by the legislature,” said Senate Government Operations Committee Chairman Mike Bell (R-Riceville). “Along with a great many Tennesseans, we want to know whether the other applicants would have pursued a case like the majority of other states to defend our sovereignty.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 28 states, including 26 acting jointly, pursued legal challenges opposing provisions in the federal healthcare law. This includes the landmark case which overturned a key provision of the PPACA that mandated states expand their Medicaid rolls. In addition, 11 state attorneys general joined together earlier this year in questioning the Obama Administration’s sidestepping of Congress through implementation of Obamacare rules, calling them “flatly illegal under federal, constitutional and statutory law.”

“This position may be chosen by the Supreme Court, but the person selected serves as the top lawyer for the citizens of this state,” added Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma). “It is a tremendously important position. Right now, we are in the minority of states which have not challenged this overreach of federal power. We don’t expect that this power grab will subside. We hope that this question will be posed and believe it will provide great insight for the public regarding these applicants.”

According to a press release issued by the Tennessee Supreme Court, applicants will have up to 10 minutes to speak on their own behalf during the public meeting. Members of the public will then have the opportunity to express their opinions about the applicants. That hearing will be followed by public interviews of the applicants conducted by the justices of the State Supreme Court.

“Citizens across my district are concerned about state sovereignty on a great many matters that range from education to Obamacare,” added House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada (R-Thompson Station). “We are pleased that these interviews for State Attorney General will be held in public. At the same time, we hope that they will include questions that matter most to our constituents.”

Tennessee is the only state in the nation which allows the selection of their attorney general by the Supreme Court. Forty-three states select their attorney generals through popular election, while six other states give that duty to the popularly elected governor or state legislature.

Lawmakers, in addition to Bell, Bowling and Casada, making the request include Senator Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville), Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald), Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville), Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), House Government Operations Committee Chairman Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), House Local Government Committee Chairman Matthew Hill (R-Johnson City), Representative Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), Representative Andy Holt (R-Dresden) and Representative Terri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster).

My Comment: An amendment that is not on the ballot this year and I wish was, would be an amendment that had the attorney general elected by the people. If not elected, then appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State House of Representatives.  I think it violates any concept of separation of powers to have the attorney general selected by the supreme court. The attorney general must ague cases before the same people who chose him. We need to chance the way we select our attorney general.

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Rep. Diane Black: Income verification system still not in place for Obamacare subsidies

Rep. Diane Black

Reposted from The Ripon Advance, By Aaron Martin, September 3 - 2014 - Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) raised concerns on Thursday about the lack of a verification process to determine eligibility for health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

Black, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, outlined her concerns in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Verification of eligibility for federal subsidies is not only common sense, it is also required under law,” Black said. “Obamacare’s premium tax credits and other subsidies are projected to cost nearly $1 trillion over 10 years as it stands already. It is deeply disturbing that the Obama administration would not take the steps necessary to establish effective procedures to protect taxpayers and use every possible resource to complete the verification process.”

Black said the Obama administration has tools at its disposal to implement broader verification practices that are already in use by other government programs, but it has elected to limit its own ability to collect the information.

“With the 2015 open enrollment period fast approaching, we need to know what steps the administration is taking to guard against fraudulent payments and ensure comprehensive, effective verification of eligibility for all applicants,” Black said.

The Obama administration did not require states operating their own exchanges to implement income verification to determine subsidy eligibility for insurance policies that were purchased in fiscal year 2014, Black said.

In June, Black introduced the No Subsidies Without Verification Act, which would require that an income verification system be implemented before any additional taxpayer subsidies are doled out.

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Senator Lamar Alexander: 8 Big Myths about Obamacare.

Senator Lamar Alexander this week, unveiled eight Big Myths about President Obama's disastrous health care law. If we are going to repair the damage Obamacare has brought about first we need to face the facts, he said, and then we need a new Republican majority that is able to stop the president.

If Republicans win a Senate majority this November, Alexander will become chairman of the Senate Health Committee. He said he is ready to repair the damage of Obamacare and replace it with reforms that will increase freedom and choice and drive down the cost of health insurance. He issued the following statement: 

Too many Tennesseans and Americans around the country have been hurt by the false promises that led to Obamacare becoming law. They have lost their doctors, seen their work hours cut, and watched as shrinking family incomes are being impossibly stretched by higher health care premiums and out-of-pocket health care costs. Republicans have a better idea—we are ready with proposals to repair the damage Obamacare has done and prevent future damage with step-by-step reforms that reduce the cost of health insurance and expand freedom and choice.

Below are what Alexander said are the eight big myths of Obamacare:
 
Myth 1: Obamacare met its enrollment targets.
Reality: The Obama administration is overstating the new insurance exchange enrollment numbers and has not reached either its goal of enrolling enough young and healthy people or of dramatically reducing the number of uninsured.

Myth 2: Coverage is more affordable.
Reality: Obamacare regulations have increased premiums and out-of-pocket costs for many Americans. Affordability remains the biggest barrier to coverage.

Myth 3: Transparency and access to care have increased.
Realty: The Obamacare exchanges are not transparent about limited drug coverage and narrow doctor and hospital networks.

Myth 4: Obamacare strengthens the economy and reduces the deficit.
Reality: Obamacare adds to the deficit, increases health care spending, burdens employers, increases taxes and disincentives work.

Myth 5: The exchanges were ready and would work.
Reality: The federal government and some states wasted millions of dollars creating dysfunctional exchanges. None of the exchanges were properly equipped to verify eligibility for taxpayer-funded subsidies.

Myth 6: Healthcare.gov is working well with states to enroll individuals in Medicaid.
Reality: Error-ridden Medicaid application data from Healthcare.gov is imposing significant burdens on states.

Myth 7: Medicaid expansion means more people will have health care.
Reality: Medicaid is a broken program and does not guarantee access to health care.

Myth 8: Obamacare strengthens Medicare Advantage.
Reality: Obamacare cuts billions from the popular Medicare Advantage program and reduces seniors' benefits.

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Congressman Blackburn Receives Endorsements from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste PAC, National Right to Life

Press Release - Congressman Marsha Blackburn received the endorsement from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste PAC, or CCAGW PAC, yesterday. Congressman Blackburn was once again, named "Taypayer Hero," due to her CCAGW lifetime score of 92%. CCAGW PAC Chairman Tom Schatz: "During her tenure, Rep. Blackburn has served the citizens of Tennessee with great distinction and has evinced an abiding commitment to fiscal conservatism. On top of her prestigious voting record, she has worked with her colleagues to restrain the growth of federal spending to help make government more accountable and transparent to taxpayers. Rep. Blackburn's commitment to fiscal common sense and government accountability is one of the many reasons that I urge voters in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District to vote for her on November 4 so she can return to Washington, D.C. and continue to protect the interests of both her constituents and all Americans." Yesterday, Congressman Blackburn also received the endorsement of National Right to Life for her continue fight to protect the lives of the unborn. During the 113th Congress, Congressman Blackburn has a 100% voting record with the National Right to Life. National Right to Life: "All voters who are concerned with the right to life and with the protection of the most vulnerable members of the human family should vote to return you to Congress, so that you can continue to work to advance vital pro-life public policies." Earlier this year, Congressman Marsha Blackburn has also received the Distinguished Leader Award from the Susan B. Anthony list. The national group honored Blackburn with their highest achievement award for her ongoing work to protect life. Congressman Blackburn is an ongoing champion for the rights of the unborn. In June 2013, she led the floor debate for H.R. 1797, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, playing a leading role in its passage. She introduced H.R. 61, the first pro-life legislation of the 113th Congress. As well, Blackburn helped lead the debate for passage of H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which would prohibit all federal funds from subsidizing abortion services.

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John Wang and Diana Cuella will conduct a joint Town Hall 9/11.

John Wang

Diana Guellar

WHO: John Wang, Republican nominee for the House Seat in the Diana Cuellar, Republican nominee for the 21st District State Senate Seat, will conduct a joint Town Hall,  along with TN Republican State GOP leaders.
53rd District, and
WHAT: 9/11 Town Hall to remember our fallen Americans and also give individuals and area business owners a chance to can come ask questions on important issues.
WHERE: Nashville Korean Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit 5325 Nolensville Pike Nashville, TN 37211
WHEN: Thursday, September 11, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. CST.

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Mark Winslow, member of the Republican Party SEC, is still working for Democrat Judge-elect Melissa Blackburn.

Mark Winslow, the  member of the Republican
Party State Executive Committee who works
to defeat Republicans and elect Democrats.

Remember Mark Winslow?  He is the member of the Republican Party State Executive Committee who worked to defeat a Republican candidate and elect a Democrat to the office of judge in Davidson County. He first worked to help Melissa Blackburn win her Democrat nomination.  When he came under criticism for working for a Democrat, he claimed that he was only working for her during the primary and would not be doing so in the General Election.  He claimed he was doing so only because it was required by his employer, SmithWaterhouse Strategies.  We know that Winslow continued working for Blackburn because he was still seen at events with her and putting up yard signs on her behalf during the General Election.  He helped Blackburn beat our Republican candidate, Marian Cheadle Fordice for that office. Our candidate had much more experience in the field of mental health law and had a real heart for the job.

Winslow's candidacy to run again for a seat on the State Executive Committee was challenged on the basis that he was campaigning for a Democrat. Unfortunately, Chris Devaney, Chairman of the Party and a person up until that point that I had always respected, failed to rule Winslow as ineligible to run for that seat. Winslow ran and was reelected.

Serving on the Republican Executive Committee gives one access to Republican strategy and data and puts one in the position to vote on how much, if any, funds will be given to Republican candidates.  I do not see how anyone cannot see that having a member of the Republican SEC campaigning to elect a Democrat and defeat a Republican, is not a conflict of interest.

I do not see how Mark Winslow in good conscience could work to defeat a Republican and elect a Democrat and still serve on the SEC.  A person of character would have resigned his position with his employer or would have resigned his position on the Republican State Executive Committee. One cannot serve two masters.

I had heard a few weeks ago that Winslow was working for Judge-elect Melissa Blackburn, but wanted to wait until it was confirmed to bring it up. Below is a news paper story that confirms he is still working for Blackburn.

Two fired from Davidson Mental Health Court 

by Brian Haas, The Tennessean, September 3, 2014- Newly elected General Sessions Judge Melissa Blackburn is quickly making her mark as the head of Davidson County’s Mental Health Court.

Two weeks ago, she forced all five court employees to resign and reapply for their jobs. On Tuesday, she told two of them they would not be re-hired. .....

Blackburn’s transition into office included an Aug. 14 email sent to all Mental Health Court employees forcing them to resign by the following day, with a resignation date of Sept. 1. (link)

“All employees, if you wish, shall be eligible to reapply for positions with the court as part of Judge-Elect Blackburn’s evaluation of performance, efficiency and staff cohesion,” read the note, penned by Mark Winslow of SmithWaterhouse Strategies, a political consulting firm. (link)

I am so disgusted by this whole episode that I am at a loss for words. One thing I am not going to do; I am not going to give any money to the Tennessee Republican Party as long as Winslow is serving on the State Executive Committee.  I will not be attending the Statesman's Dinner or responding to party solicitations for contribution. I think only real Republicans should be sitting on the Executive Committee, not phoney Republicans who are working to defeat Republicans and elect Democrats. I don't know, but I would suspect that there is a way the Executive Committee could refuse to seat a member or remove one. They should.  If this is the kind of Republican Party we have, that can allow a political mercenary-for-hire to have a seat on the Executive Committee, then I want no part of that Party.

I guess there is no point in beating a dead horse, but one more piece of evidence that Mark Wislow is a Democrat in Republican clothing, he picked up a qualifying petition for Gary Blackburn to run for the male seat for District 21 of the Democrat Party. Why would a State Executive Committee member of the Republican Party pick up the qualifying petition for someone seeking a seat on the Executive Committee of the other party?  See the below record.

To learn much more about Mark Winslow, follow this link.

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Victoria Jackson takes on Grover Norquist at Frist Tuesday

Yesterday I posted that J. Lee Douglas of the local 9-12 Project group had sent emails and posted to Facebook a letter calling on First Tuesday to cancel an appearance by  Grover Norquest and calling on conservatives to boycott First Tuesday. His reason was that he claims Grover Norquet has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.  The primary source of Douglas' information was statements made by Frank Gaffney, the founder and president of the Center for Security Policy and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy in the Reagan administration.

Grover Norquist

Grover Norquest, as most conservative activist know. is founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. Norquist has been a leading figure in the conservative movement who established ATF in 1985 at the urging of President Ronald Reagan. The goal of ATR is to create "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." He has held Republicans to a policy of advocating lower taxes by asking them to take a "tax pledge" that they would not vote to increase taxes. Prior to forming ATR, Norquist was Director of the National Taxpayers Union and College Republicans. He also was a cold warrior and traveled to several foreign countries helping organize anti-Soviet guerrilla groups during the cold war.

Allegation that Norquist has ties to Muslim extremist appears to be based on outreach to American Muslims to get them to be supporters of the Republican Party, that he founded an organization to promote capitalism among Muslims called Islamic Free Market Institute, and that his is married to a Muslim Palestinian-American. In 2004 Gaffney first questioned Norquist loyalty.  He alleged Norquist had ties to several Muslims that had associations with Muslim terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah and Norquist had helped these people gain influence with the Bush administration. This labeling of Norquist as a disloyal American with ties to terrorist got Gaffney isolated from many mainstream conservatives and banned from participation in CPAC.

The rumors of Norquist terrorist ties spread and was picked up by people like David Horowitz, Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin and Pam Geller and then became standard fare for grassroots conservative political organization. Anyone active in the conservative movement has heard these claims. Recently, a new outrageous claim has been made by Gaffney.  He claims that on the day 9-11, he had an office next to Norquist's office and by lifting a ceiling tile he could hear Norquist celebrating the 9-11 attack with Muslims in his office. J. Lee Douglas included this claim in his letter calling on First Tuesday to cancel Norquist appearance.

Today, I had the opportunity to talk to Norquist prior to the meeting. I showed him a copy of the letter from J. Lee Douglas, and asked him about the allegations.  He said it was all untrue and he was not even in Washington on 9-11 and said no one took Gaffney seriously.  He said during  the cold war, that Gaffney had made allegations that Brent Scowcroft was a soviet agent.  He said Gaffney had lost any credibility he ever had. I told him that the accusations were widely believed and I personally urged him to address the issue.  Norquist said something to the effect that he did not want to dignify such allegations with an acknowledgment.  I said I thought he should and I said I may ask him about it in Q&A.  He said if asked, he would address it but he was not going to be the one to bring it up. 

Victoria Jackson

After an informative presentation on tax policy and the politics of cutting spending, it was time for Q&;A.  There were several good questions about tax policy and I was having second thoughts about changing the subject and raising the issue of Norquist supposed ties to Islamic terrorist. As it turns out I did not have to.  Victoria Jackson, former Saturday Night Live cast member, was there and she asked the questions and asked follow up questions and pushed hard. Norquist said none of the allegations were true. As he had told me privately, he explained he was not even in Washington on the day of 9-11. She asked why he had formed his Islamic Free Market Institute and he explained we needed to reach everyone with the message of the superiority of capitalism.  He said he had worked with Jew and Catholics to counter the socialist propaganda among those faiths and to encourage proponents of free markets and he was essentially doing the same with Muslims.  She asked if he was a supporter of Sharia Law, and to some laughter he said, "No, I'm a Methodist." She asked if he was married to a Muslim women and he said yes he was and she was the most wonderful women in the world and he loved her dearly.

I am glad the questions were asked and I was not the one who had to ask them. We choose who we want to believe when we hear something like this. I am choosing to believe Grover Norquist.

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Nashville Republican Women guest speaker Lt. Gen. Davis Cavin, USA (Ret), September 10

Nashville Republican Women will have as their guest speaker Lt. Gen. Davis Cavin, USA (Ret). When: September 10th, 10:30 am social, Program 11AM.
Where: Richland Country Club

Lt. Gen. Dennis Cavin, vice president of International Air and Missile Defense Strategic Initiatives for Lockheed Martin and a UTM alumnus, will be the keynote speaker for the NRW September meeting.

Lt. Gen. Cavin will speak to our members about some of the more pressing concerns of the Middle East including: ISIS - their history and leaders, Al-Qaeda vs. ISIS and how ISIS was successful in rising above other terrorist organizations, and America's Foreign Policy and direction going forward.

Reservations are due by Friday, September 5th. Make checks ($24.00) payable to NRW. Mail to: Ruthie Liner, Treasurer P. O. Box 58882, Nashville, TN 37205 To pay by credit card, visit our website: www.nashvillerepublicanwomen.org . If you would like to attend the program only, please email ruthliner@comcast.net.

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What is on the Council Agenda for September 9th.

The Council did not meet the first Tuesday in September as they normally do due to Labor Day being Monday September 1.  Usually, Budget and Finance Committee meetings and most other committee meeting occur the day before the council meeting which would have been Labor Day, thus the delay.

Council meetings are really boring if you don't know what the Council is voting on; if you do they are a little less boring. This promises to be a boring meeting. There is not a lot that is of interest on the agenda. You can get your own copy of the agenda and analysis by following the links.

There are twelve appointments to boards and commissions on the agenda for Council approval. With new committee assignments, I would hope the Council would more closely scrutinize member presented for confirmation. Citizens serve without compensation on these boards and commissions and their service should be appreciated. However, Council should not simply be a rubber stamp for whomever the Mayor recommends. Especially when it comes to agencies that carry out policies that are controversial or when appointing citizens to boards of troubled or scandal-ridden agencies the board should reject nominees who would support unpopular policies or who are not committed to reform of troubled or corrupt agencies. None of these appointees are to the controversial agencies, still the council should evaluate appointees for there fitness for the job.

There are eight rezoning  bills on pubic hearing and would interest no one except nearby neighbors.

There are seven resolutions on the consent agenda. A bill is put on the consent agenda if it is assumed to be non-controversial and stays on consent if it passes the committees to which it was assigned unanimously. Any member may have a bill taken off of consent or any member may ask to have his vote recorded as voting "no" or "abstaining." Here is a resolutions of interest:

RESOLUTION NO. RS2014-1205 accepts over half a million dollars from the federal government to fight crime. The resolution does not say how the money would be spend. This is probably fine, but it should be carefully reviewed in committee. Sometimes the city will get grants, then when the grant runs out the city scrambles to find money to permanently fund what was funded by a grant. That is often how local government becomes bloated. Sometimes free money proves to be expensive.

There are 23 bills on First Reading. First reading is just a formality that allows a bills to be on the agenda. Bills are not analyzed or discussed until they pass first reading and then go to committee. I do not fault any councilman for voting for anything on first reading. That is just how the system works. I normally don't pay attention to what is on first reading, but there is one bill that caught my attention and I hope gets close scrinity when it goes to committee:

BILL NO. BL2014-878 establishes minimum campus size of three acres for public schools. I think this is unnecessary and may stifle innovation. A future public charter school may want to establish a school in a multiuse building such as a mall or on a college campus or they may want to lease one floor of an office building to serve as their facility. The size of the lot may be one of the least important considerations in educating a child. One size does not fit all and we do not need to establish minimum lot sizes for schools. We already have minimums and this is a relaxation of those requirements, because we are currently out of complaisance in many cases. However, instead of sitting a new minimum lot size, I think we should just eliminate any mandated minimum lot size.

There are eleven bills on Second Reading and none of them are of much interest.

There are eleven bills on Third and Final Reading. Here are the ones of interest.


A tall skinny Nashville Duplex

BILL NO. BL2014-770  is back on the agenda. It has been deferred several times.  It would change the definition of duplex so one could have two units on a piece of property and they would not have to be artificially joined the way they are now, where two protruding utility rooms are the only thing joining the homes. It would also impose heights restrictions. If the units are built to be joined, then a greater portion of the building would have to share a common wall. The tall skinny Nashville duplex would be a thing of the past if this passes. There is a proposed amendment that would require attached garages to be entered from an alley if there is an alley and to not face the street and a restriction on how much of the front yard could be driveway or paved parking and would do some other things which in my view would make this a better bill.

SUBSTITUTE BILL NO. BL2014-841 establishes a formula for how big an outdoor residential dog pen must be based on the number of dogs and how much they weigh and what would happen if a dog has pups and how much headroom a dog must have it the pen is enclosed and how high and open pen must be. I am against cruelty to animals, but question if we really need a formula for establishing minimum size of dog pens.

BILL NO. BL2014-847 requires contracts for the companies that lobby the State on behalf of Metro government  and it requires that reports be submitted to the Metropolitan Council detailing what the Metro lobbyist is lobbying for and what the goals of the lobbying effort is and what the impact would be of the outcome the lobbyist is seeking. This is a good bill but I wish it was even stronger. I think Metro's lobbyist should only lobby for or against a bill if specifically authorized to do so by the Council. With this bill, at least the Council will know what the Mayor is lobbying the State on.

There are three memorializing resolutions that should be noncontroversial and will most likely be added to the Consent agenda.

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Middle Tennessee Republican Women Luncheon talk Amendment 1, 2 and 3, Tuesday, September 9th

When: Tuesday, September 9th, 11:30-1:00 pm
Where:  Frost, Brown, Todd Law offices, The Pinnacle Bldg, 19th FL 150 Third Ave South
Who: SENATOR JANICE BOWLING WILL SPEAK ON AMENDMENT 1
SENATOR BRIAN KELSEY WILL SPEAK ON AMENDMENT 2 AND 3
ALSO, MEET OUR CANDIDATES FOR THE NOVEMBER ELECTION!

Lunch is $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Credit and debit cards are accepted at the door, but please let us know your payment method in your RSVP. Send RSVP to stachiagop@gmail.com.

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Not everyone is happy that Grover Norquist is coming to First Tuesday.

I intend to attend First Tuesday tomorrow and I have purchased my ticket. The guest speaker will be Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform.  For many years he has been a leading voice for fiscal conservatism and has succeeded in holding Republicans feet to the fire with his Tax Pledge. His roll in the conservative movement is legendary. However, Grover Norquist has fallen out of favor with some conservatives because they perceive him to be allied with radical Islam. Some consider him a traitor and use very harsh language in criticizing him.  I invited a good friend of mine to attend First Tuesday with me this week and this person who is a reasonable conservative, not prone to endorsing fringe conspiracy theories, said he did not care for Grover Norquist because of his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.  I think this is a view shared by many.

I attended the CPAC gathering in Washington for the last two years and heard critical mumbling from attendees at that event both years because Norquist was on the program.  Several conservative commentators have openly criticized Norquist, including Glen Beck, Michelle Malkin and Pam Gueller. None of these are people I am particularly impressed by but they influence an awfully lot of conservatives. Locally, J. Lee Douglas of the 9-12 group has criticized Norquist and First Tuesday and The Beacon Center for their association with Norquist. 
 

I am reposting a communication from Mr. Douglas. I do not endorse his statement, but he is influential in local conservative circles and his view is shared by many and Mr. Lee articulates his concern well. He calls on First Tuesday to cancel Mr. Norquist appearance and he ask local conservatives to boycott tomorrows meeting. 
 

I do think Mr. Norquist should address the criticism and explain his association with the Muslim Brotherhood, if there is any association, and if the terrible things some people are saying about him are not true he should deny them and denounce the people who are saying them. This criticism has been ignored long enough. It should be addressed. Rod
 

Below is the statement from J. Lee Douglas. I have highlighted the more provocative statements.

Recognizing the sign of the times in 1939, many wise Germans left their home country and quietly moved away. Others, also recognizing the sign of the times, eventually and valiantly spoke up, bringing criticism and eventual harm to themselves and their families. In all, if both groups had timely spoken up with enough conviction and demand, we might have never known of that season's costly terror.

July 2012, a 912 open letter to Republican Governor Bill Haslam was published in the Tennessean urging reconsideration of the questionable and inconspicuous hiring of Shariah-compliant specialist, Samar Ali. Despite his office having been caught providing untrue statements about Ms. Ali's hiring, Governor Haslam's office replied with silence.

This past February, the Beacon Center, a wonderful, local watchdog organization who I have admired for years, hosted a GOP hero; a man invited because of his reputed knowledge and skill in arguing for fiscal conservatism. What he, Grover Norquist, and the Beacon Center have in common is a reputation for advancing fiscal prudence in government. Who could be against that?

My own love for fiscal soundness blinded me to a friend's first caution that Grover Norquist was part of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Such caution had to be paranoia. In some quarters, Grover is a saint to any truly fiscal conservative. For me, an appreciation for values and principles ahead of party loyalty was so slow in coming. By that age, I should have understood better than to only see men as either Republican or Democrat. Life was so much easier then. Grover is Republican, isn't that enough? Dammit, he's one of us!

Reagan's Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Frank Gaffney, is the authority with the evidence that continues to trigger my spider senses. On that awful day, 9/11, Gaffney was in DC and went to his office just after the third airliner had struck the Pentagon. His office suite shared a common wall with Norquist (Islamic Free Market Institute). Gaffney describes in his office, a colleague lifting up a ceiling tile to hear celebration of the 911 attacks from Norquist and his colleagues, discussing how they would spin their "criticism"of the attack. I am convinced today that Grover Norquist is directly linked to the MB and you should be, too. Do your own research, you'll be helped by some of the links at the bottom.

In the spring, I notified our friends at the Beacon Center (BC) about Grover's Islamic loyalties upon learning of my invitation to join a Center-Right Coalition (CRC) that was being brought back to life by BC, Norquist, and friends. I supplied them with this link. It occurred to me that BC had not taken the time to read the information sent to them or else they felt that the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood was inferior in scope to the benefits of fiscal conservancy. If government ever does genuinely confine itself to Constitutional principles, it will matter to offset the extra tax imposed upon those infidels permitted by our Muslim masters to live.

Many of you don't know of the GOP's traditional monthly meeting in Nashville called 1st Tuesday which assembles again this coming Tuesday, September 2--open to all. For the most part, it is a who's who in Republican Circles and is run by the GOP Establishment's people although whenever I attended, I've seen friends who I love, who belong to 912 and are strongly like-minded with us. This month's guest speaker is described as 'a most powerful “Washington DC political BIG-WAVE maker”, on Harry Reid’s “5 most hated names” list!!, one of those eyebrow-raising names in Washington, DC!'

You guessed it, Grover Norquist is featured this Tuesday as a GOP Rock Star doing Nashville. Anyone on Harry Reid's bad list must be one of the good guys, right? In 1985, Grover was asked by Reagan to start Americans for Tax Reform, thirty years ago when gas cost $1.05/gal and the MB was no threat in America because there was little cash for trouble making outside of the Middle East. Seeing that both Gaffney and Norquist were shown favor by The Gipper, we may have to rely upon facts to determine Grover's current threat status.

I want to say this gently to our Republican friends, its leaders, administrators, fair-minded GOP men and women who genuinely want good for Tennessee, who pray and know that all men must answer to God: What are you doing? Isn't it true in the Scriptures that teachers will be judged more keenly, then how much more our leaders? Many of you volunteered to be a leader with its duties and its privileges.

Why are those of you involved in the Tennessee GOP bringing a man to be among you who has recognized ties to a group who today has beheaded and crucified children? Who is it that is being helped by Mr. Norquist? What is the good that he'll bring with him for you? Is Grover Norquist being welcomed here because he will advance fiscal soundness? Really? Does that trump security and common sense? Should John McCain trade on his heroism of 39 years ago any more than Grover Norquist ought on his earlier years as a fiscal conservative? How long will our national and state leaders offer an expired benefit of doubt to people whose practice betrays what we all desperately want to believe?

Norquist lobbied on behalf of Fannie and Freddie to extend home ownership tax credits that directly contributed to the housing bubble collapse and Norquist advocated for Shariah-compliant mortgage products with Fannie and Freddie. He early on advocated giving Obama all the money needed to keep destroying America when he mislead tea-party Republicans, counseling them to raise the debt ceiling (watch video at 8:50). Once, I believe, Norquist had legitimate claims to fiscal conservatism but no longer. Do the research.

At MuslimBrotherhoodInAmerica.com, you can find a ten-part course on the Muslim Brotherhood by the Center for Security Policy where there is a clip of “Norquist at a meeting in Dearborn, Michigan in October 2011 put together between George Soros’ progressives or leftists, radicals, and the Islamists.”

America is like a country waiting for a catastrophe to happen before it will wake up, drop the political correctness, and stop pretending that all religions are the same and all offer the same threat to our security.

I am urging all of our state elected officials including our Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker as well as all citizens to urge 1st Tuesday's planners to cancel the event with Norquist, pay him his honorarium and consider this a great lesson about vetting who'll be permitted to address us and represent us. The best action that everyone can take is to not attend this Tuesday's meeting. Please contact your state senator and representative only if he is a Republican. This is a GOP issue only. It's time for the GOP to stand for something. Let it start here as an example for the rest of the nation.

William Wilberforce said “having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.”

Lee

drtmj@aol.com

 

Below are the links attached to the essay: link, link, link.

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