By Nate Rau • THE TENNESSEAN • March 2, 2010 A reinvigorated Davidson County Republican Party has lined up candidates to run for the state House of Representatives this fall, presenting a potential challenge to Democratic incumbents unaccustomed to defending their seats against strong candidates.
Comment: The Party is invigorated. A lot of people are working hard to build the Party. There is an excitement in the air and we are having a lot of fun. We have some really great candidates. I really believe the Party can become competitive in Davidson County. I think we can win some elections!
Democrats can no longer take Davidson County for granted. I urge you to get active and help make Nashville a two-Party town. Start attending the "Egg and Bacon summits" and meet our candidates and learn what you can do to help build the Party. Join a Republican or conservative independent group and network with like-minded people and stay motivated and stay informed. These Republicans running for office are going to need a lot of help. Volunteers are needed to work the phone banks and man the polls and campaign for candidates. There is plenty to do. Would you like to start a Republican group in your community? We will show you how. Have you ever thought about running for office? Don't keep it a secret. You can make a difference. Get involved!
The 2010 campaign to become the Republican nominee for GOVERNOR has shifted gears. The candidates are covering the state, events are taking place, the ad wars have just begun ... AND candidates are making their way back to speak at 1ST TUESDAY...
For our next meeting - on Tuesday, MARCH 2nd we welcome the return of Knoxville Mayor BILL HASLAM. Unfortunately this event is at capacity. You may be able to get on a waiting list.
First Tuesday is a great event and occurs the first Tuesday of every month. The meal is only $15 and annual membership fee is $20. The food is good, the location is the Law Offices of Waller/Lansden on the 27th floor of 511 Union Street with a panoramic view of the city. The official program is exactly one hour long, starting promptly at noon and ending at 1PM, so one can go to this event and not miss much time from work. Parking is convenient and cheap. This is a great opportunity to network and hear important speakers. I highly recommend joining First Tuesday.
I want health care reform. I want it because the system we have simply is not sustainable. The trajectory we are on will bankrupt the nation and leave more and more people without health care if something is not done.
I also want it because I want people to be free from being forced to work jobs they hate simply for the insurance. Too many people feel chained to their desk by the insurance their employer provides for them. For many people the most important aspect of a job is not the work they will do or the pay they will earn but the insurance. Your employer should no more provide your health insurance than they should your homeowners or auto insurance. Your employer should no more provide your health insurance than they should your housing or pay you in script that is only redeemable at the company store.
Most importantly, I want health care reform because someone very close to me who I love very dearly cannot get insurance due to having a preexisting condition. I see the anguish this situation causes and the worry and fear of living without coverage and the threat to the health of this good person.
I am not alone in wanting health care reform. I run in Republican, conservative, and libertarian circles and I have yet to meet a single person who does not want health care reform. We differ on what kind of reform we want. The other side wants to take over 17% of the economy and greatly expand government control; this side wants common-sense reform that will use market forces and empower the individual to achieve the same desirable results.
One of the things our side thinks will go a long way toward reforming health care is to allow individuals to purchase insurance across state lines. In this clip from the Blair House Health Care Summit, Representative Marsha Blackburn argues that robust competition will lower insurance cost. She argues that we should empower patients by giving them the ability to buy insurance products that fit their needs. She says people are tired of being forced to buy insurance they don’t want. She says to avoid the premium acceleration of the type we are seeing in California, Californians should be allowed to go to Oregon where they can buy a policy for 25% less. Watch the clip:
In this article, First Step: Allow shopping across state border, which appears in today’s Tennessean, Representative Blackburn further makes the case for empowering patients through expanding markets and increasing completion.
The boos, Ron Paul in his own words, and Morning Joe commentary:
The Next Right, Why Ron Paul's CPAC Victory is Good for the Movement. In terms of organizing, conservatives can learn a lot from libertarians. Online, the moneybomb concept originally pioneered during the Ron Paul campaign has started to work for more conventional Republicans like Scott Brown.
The 2008 Ron Paul campaign can be compared to the 1988 Pat Robertson campaign in helping a movement find its way into the Republican Party and thus establishing itself as a permanent fixture in the party. Like Robertson, Paul did not come anywhere near capturing the nomination, but the influence of Christian conservatives -- and now libertarians -- endures.
Rush Limbaugh: All I'll tell you is that any organization that has a straw poll vote on who the party presidential candidate ought to be and comes up with Ron Paul is not an organization of conservatives. I just tell you. Something's haywire there. I know the Ron Paul people go in there, but they had been attendees to get in there. Ron Paul winning a straw poll at a conservative conference?
Carpe Diem, Dr Paul! by Mark R. Crovelli at Lew Rockwell.com: Ron Paul’s stunning landslide victory in the CPAC straw poll is an event that cannot be allowed to go to waste. Political moments this ripe are about as rare as the California condor, and Ron Paul would do us all an incalculable service if he would seize the day, and declare his intention to run in the 2012 presidential election. He needs to do this rightnow. Not next month, not next year, but now.
Jamie Weinstien columnists at Town Hall: Paul was received like a rock star at CPAC. Attendees burst into applause at various times throughout his speech, must notably when he stated that America should “end the Fed.” Who knew that so many people not only had a strong grasp of monetary policy, but also found monetary policy an exciting political issue?
Paul’s victory in the CPAC straw poll is likely not reflective of how he would do in the Republican primary. It is reflective, however, of the concern of many CPACers, and Americans as a whole, of the ballooning deficits and out of control spending in Washington.
Red State points out, "only 2,395 CPAC registrants voted in the CPAC poll. It’s the largest number of votes in CPAC straw polling history, but but less than 25% of the total turnout at CPAC" and "48% of the votes cast were from students."
Paul Mulshine of The Star Ledger at NJ.com writes, "It's encouraging to see that this convention of self-identified conservatives has finally tapped into the true American conservative tradition of small government and limited powers running back through Barry Goldwater to Robert Taft and of course Washington and Jefferson." He says Paul will be a "major force in 2012."
The Huffington Post says, "What it portends for a possible 2012 presidential run is anyone's guess. Paul had a similar cult-like following during the 2008 election, only to garner a relatively small chunk of the actual vote."
The Politico says, "Paul’s victory renders a straw poll that was already lightly contested among the likely 2012 GOP hopefuls all but irrelevant, as the 74-year-old Texan is unlikely to be a serious contender for his party’s nomination." And, points out "CPAC organizers were plainly embarrassed by the results." Politico also points out that the result was greeted by boos when the result was announced.
National Review OnLine reports: "There may have been some boos, but Paul was by far one of the more popular speakers at CPAC this year. “End the Fed!” was one of most-heard chants and his “Campaign for Liberty” group was everywhere. Heck, a lot of the time, it seemed like they, not the American Conservative Union, was CPAC’s host. Even Ann Coulter, who drew a huge crowd herself, felt compelled to give a shout out to Paul-mania, saying she agreed with everything he stands for outside of foreign policy — a statement met with cheers."
Real Clear Politics says, "the sense that Paul supporters flooded the vote will lead other Republican presidential water-testers to easily discount the results. A straw poll that will be conducted at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference this April in New Orleans will be taken much more seriously among those involved with and eagerly watching the presidential sweepstakes."
I was very surprised- no, I was shocked; I was shocked that Ron Paul won the CPAC staw poll. It took me completely by surprise. I guess that tells you what kind of political pundit I am.
No other candidate even came close in the CPAC poll. He was the only candidate to score in the double digits. I don't know if the CPAC poll is significant or not. CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) is, however, a respectable mainstream conservative gathering. It is the nation’s largest gathering of conservatives annually and it is a project of the American Conservative Union Foundation. This year was the biggest gathering ever for CPAC with over 9000 people in attendance.
We have witnessed an amazing growth of grassroots conservative activism this year with the summer town hall meetings and tea parties. Here in Nashville, we have seen a growth in the Republican Party and various libertarian and conservative groups have also been springing up. I assumed that most of the growth in activism was still a reflection of a mainstream conservative movement, however. I consider Ron Paul far removed from the mainstream.
The area where I most disagree with Ron Paul is in the area of national defense. I strongly disagreed with the decision of the Bush administration to invade Iraq. I thought that was an unnecessary war and that we were misled to get us in it. Despite my anti-war stance toward that particular conflict however, I still believe we have vital interest in the world and must be engaged in the world. We must have a strong national defense. I am not an isolationist or a pacifist.
I am also not ready to abolish the Federal Reserve. I think maybe the Fed needs reformed and a maybe a little less independence. It should be studied and reevaluated but I think we need a National Bank or something like it. I am probably most bothered by Ron Paul's flirtation with and refusal to disavow the 9-11 truthers.
I would like to know what you think about Ron Paul. What do you think about the his showing in the CPAC poll? Do you think there is any chance he could win the 2012 Republican nomination? Do you think he is electable should he get the 2012 Republican nomination?
I have placed two polls in the sidebar. Please cast your vote in these polls. Also, please feel free to leave me a comment. If you are a blogger and have blogged on the topic feel free to leave a link. If you would like to share your views on the Ron Paul phenomena in more detail, drop me an email. If you would like to submit an essay for publication, I will consider publishing it.
Watching the health care summit, I thought "Barack" came across as arrogant and condescending. I was struck by how Barack referred to everyone by their first name, calling Senator John McCain, who is certainly old enough to be his father, as “John” yet all of the senators referred to Barack as “Mr. President.” Later, I heard on CNN commentary that there was a pre-negotiated protocol for the meetings which demanded this.
This is an outrage. If senators must call the President “Mr. President” then he should return the courtesy by referring to the senators as “Senator.” Republicans should never have gone into this meeting as subjects. Those ground rules should have scuttled the meeting.
Does Barack think he is the Pope or a King? I am not opposed to formality and use of title, but it should be a two way street. Why did not Barack just go for “Your Highness” or "Your Excellency" or “Exalted Leader?” Who does he think he is? What nation does he think he is governing? (Or, is that ruling?) Despite my dislike for Barack’s policies, in my blogging and conversation I usually refer to Barack as “The President” or “President Obama” out of respect for the office. For the next few days it will just be “Barack.”
There are more problems for the united front to support the settled science and solid consensus of global warming.
The Western Climate Initiative is an agreement between California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec to develop a regional target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and develop their own system of cap and trade. The WCI was established in February 2007 and grew out of efforts in the western states to establish such a compact that date back to 2003. With the economic might of California as the anchor for this initiative, there was a view that these eleven jurisdictions could force a cap and trade system on the rest of the nation.
In establishing the WCI, then Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano said, “In the absence of meaningful federal action, it is up to the states to take action to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in this country.”
Other jurisdictions are also going wobbly on the work of the WCI and showing less energy in moving forward. The WCI may fall apart or it may just become impotent, but the wind is out of the sail for a regional cap and trade.
What should the global warming community do? They need to shout even louder that the science is settled and the consensus is solid. They need to keep ignoring Climategate, and glaciergate, and the admissions of Phil Jones. They need more of that symbolic stuff like a big world-wide rock concert or turning off all the lights for an hour. That ought to do the trick.
Then Phil Jones, the East Anglia University scientist at the center of the Climategate scandal admits that the current period of global warming may be no greater than the previous two warming periods since the last little ice age. He also admits there has been no warming since 1996. On top of that, what started as just a very few scientist breaking their silence and dissenting on global warming has turned into a steady trickle of dissenting voices who are breaking from the pack. Many of these are not concluding that global warming is not occurring but they are questioning specific conclusions and the quality of certain research.
At the same time, more and more companies selling carbon credits were revealed to be nothing but scams and even "green power" that one can purchase from their local electric company was revealed by Mother Jones to be a scam.
State Rep. Ben West Jr., D-Hermitage, announced today that he will retire in November and will not seek reelection. Representative West, the son of former Nashville Mayor Ben West, served in the state legislature for 26 years. Representative West is 68 years old and last year suffered a heart attack.
Two Democrats have picked up qualifying petitions to run for that seat and Metro Councilman Jim Gotto has announced his intention to run as a Republican.
Not running against an historic family name nor an incumbent and in today’s much more Republican-friendly climate, Jim has a good chance of taking this seat. Jim Gotto’s Metro Council District lies within House District 60. According to political pundit Bill Hobbs who crunched the numbers, Obama carried the district last time, but only by a slim 52-48 margin.
It is worth noting also, that Ben West was a fairly conservative Democrat having opposed the state income tax and supported second amendment rights. Neither of the Democrats running for the seat has any more name recognition than Gotto. They probably have less. Tommy Bradley is a former Metro Councilman who resigned his council position to take a position as Chief Administrative Officer for the Office of the Criminal Court Clerk. The other announced candidate is Larry Crim, a real estate developer. The filing deadline for the race is not until April 1 however, so other candidates could emerge.
This seat is winnable! Jim Gotto is an attractive candidate. He is smart, principled and has a reputation as a hard working councilman. We Republicans need to help Jim Gotto all we can. It would be a real upset if a Republican won this seat which has been held by a Democrat for the last 26 years. It could happen!
West Meade resident Timothy Lee today announces his candidacy for the State House District 55 position on the November 2nd ballot. Lee, a paramedic for HCA at Southern Hills Hospital, is running against entrenched career politician, Gary Odom.
“As an elected official, I will listen to my constituents to make the very best decisions for our neighborhoods, city and state,” Lee said. “Residents in the district will find me accessible, diligent and active for the issues important to our community.”
“I will be honest and forthcoming when it comes to casting votes for the people. For so long voters are told one thing and then when the doors close our representative votes different. Then they insult us and deny they voted against the voters.”
“Tennessee is undergoing tremendous change and these changes are not good for Tennessee. Above all, I will work closely with all residents so that we can make the reasonable and responsible decisions about these changes so we may survive and grow.”
Lee ran for Nashville’s Metro Council in a special election in 2006 and was endorsed by MNEA-PACE, Nashville Firefighters & Fire Service Employees Association Local 140, FOP Andrew Jackson Lodge No. 5, Nashville Business Coalition and the Nashville City Paper. He was supported by conservatives and liberals alike, indicative of his personal ability to unite opposing sides. Losing by only 152 votes, the amount of support he garnered is a true indicator that he is a viable candidate for West Nashville.
A Nashville native, Lee is a 1988 graduate of Fred J. Page High School in Franklin and gained his EMT certification from Middle Tennessee State University in 2000 and paramedic certification from Columbia State Community College. He graduated from Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and an emphasis in Pre-law. His medical response experience includes Dickson County EMS and Sumner County EMS.
Lee is married to Kate S. Lee and the couple has three children, Peyton, 12, Aidan and Rowan Lee, age 2 years old. The Lees live on Harriswood Dr. in West Meade. Learn more on issues as the race progresses at http://www.timothylee.org/.<>
I have resisted applauding those who build an igloo to mock global warming alarmist. It is hard to be alarmed about global warming when Washington DC is under four foot of snow and when it is snowing in New Orleans. Record snowfall however does not disprove global warming. There is a difference between weather and climate. That said however, the next time we have a hot summer or a lack of snow or a hurricane, don't blame it on global warming. The misuse of weather to make a statement about climate change cuts both ways. Watch that poor old fool Robert Byrd arguing that a winter with little snow proves global warming. I found this footage posted at Dan Cleary.
As the author of A Disgruntled Republican I often post items which I think may be of interest to the conservative, Republican, libertarian or the greater community. Posting of a press release or an announcement of an event does not necessarily indicate an endorsement. Rod
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