Why is Courtney Rogers lying to you?

Courtney Rogers is going around Sumner County saying Representative Debra Maggart has the same record on gun rights as President Obama.

Why is Courtney Rogers lying to you?

Let's examine the facts:

- Debra Maggart has consistently been given an A+ rating by the NRA—the highest rating possible on gun rights.

- Debra Maggart voted to expand our 2nd Amendment rights in Tennessee State Parks (See for yourself here: House Bill 961).

- Debra Maggart voted to ensure Tennesseans can protect themselves in restaurants and establishments (See for yourself here: HB 962)

- Debra Maggart voted to ensure no government entity could ever take away a Tennessean's firearm during an emergency (See for yourself here: HB 1778)

- Debra Maggart voted for the Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act, a law that protects Tennessee guns made here and kept here from overzealous federal regulation (See for yourself here: HB 1796)

- Debra Maggart voted to allow Tennesseans to safely transport their firearms in their vehicles, regardless of whether they have a hand carry permit or not (See for yourself at: HB 2567)

- Debra Maggart voted to make sure there is never a thumbprint requirement for a government database on firearm purchases (See for yourself at: HB 254).

- Debra Maggart has been endorsed by the Tennessee Hunters Alliance, a common sense, Tennessee 2nd Amendment rights group.

With all these facts in her favor, why is Courtney Rogers lying to you? Why would she run such a dishonest campaign against Debra Maggart, a fighter for our conservative rights? Conservative leader and Tennessee Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey said, "Conservatives have no better friend in the Legislature than Chairman Maggart." (The Tennessean, March 25, 2012).

Debra Maggart has fought for jobs, cut taxes, balanced the budget, and expanded our gun rights. Why would Courtney Rogers run such a false, negative campaign against one of Hendersonville's own?

Call her campaign and demand she stops using smear tactics against Debra Maggart at 615-851-4791.

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Tennessee Right to Life Endorses Diane Black

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Friedman’s Legacy of Fighting for School Choice for All

On the late Milton Friedman's 100th birthday today, his words are truer than ever: "There is no respect in which inhabitants of a low-income neighborhood are so disadvantaged as in the kind of schooling they can get for their children." (link)

As you go to vote Thursday, please vote for the school board candidate most likely to support school choice and excellence. 

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Charles Williamson needs help on Thursday

If you are free to work outside of a polling location in District 50 on Thursday, please reply with your availability.

We are seeking FRIENDS OF CHARLES WILLIAMSON to hold signs, smile and wave as voters arrive to make their final decisions!

THANK YOU!

 

 

claire ratliff

laughing penguin publicity

po box 140396 | nashville, tn 37214

615.476.3200laughingpenguin@comcast.net

www.penguinpublicity.com

 

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Elissa Kim in the last lap of the race continues to be encouraged

Friends,

We're in the last lap of the race and continue to be encouraged by what is happening on the ground: 

• Peter's personalized emails combined with his offer to drive to the polls led to 4 more votes on the last day of early voting; none were in our targeted pool of voters i.e., he convinced the non-voters to vote!
• Hunter talked with a voter living with his very sick father; the voter was so touched by the personalized postcard they received from us that he began to cry on the doorstep.
• Thanks to 26 different volunteers over the last three days alone, we wrote and talked to 
  hundreds of voters who at some point said they were for us. Objective?  Get 'em to the polls on Thursday.
• At Ugly Mugs on Monday, a woman named Anna introduced herself to let me know she was voting for us. Then a guy named Todd chased me down- he's now voting for us, too.  When I got home to review Emily's must-call list of 'undecided' voters (nothing gets done around here without Em Master B directing me), Anna and Todd were both on it.  Serendipity!

At the same time, broader dynamics in the race make me pause and keep me and others working hard with only hours left:

• While over 1300 people voted early in our district, we need *higher* turnout on Thursday.  High turnout = gooooood.  Low turnout = baaaaad. On a scale of 1-10, I would put my satisfaction level with early voting turnout at a 5.  Ehhh.  We can get to a 9 or 10 this week!  
• To state the obvious: we are up against an incumbent.  It’s a crowded field of four. 

What next?  

• Join Tim, Rebecca, Casey, Janna, Todd, and 40 other superhero volunteers who are working 4-hour (or more) shifts at the polls.  We need SEVEN more people to work the 3-7 (ish) slot, our most critical need!
• Wear your shirt all day Wednesday and Thursday.  Walk and smile down the runway. Its haute couture time. 
• Join Rob, Andrew, Tiffany, Will, Sara Beth, James, Stacie, and Greg and VOTE
• Channel your inner general; your voting troops are waiting for you to rally them! Even if they don't know it! 

Let's make the next 48 hours count, friends.
Elissa

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Zelenik is lying about Diane Black says Politifact

GOP challenger Zelenik says Diane Black voted to fund health-care reform. False, says PolitiFact. (link)

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Elvis, liquor, and your tax dollars

What do these three things have in common? For one, Tennessee's welfare program. 

 

Chris Butler of the Beacon Center recently dug through nearly 140,000 transactions by Memphis welfare recipients using their cash benefits in the form of Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT cards. Among the purchases with no government oversight included transactions at liquor stores (one totaling $790), Orpheum Theater concert tickets, Memphis hotel rooms, the Rum Boogie Café, and a tour of Graceland. 

 

Where else did they spend your money? Read the entire article at TennesseeWatchdog.org to find out.

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My endorsements for School Board

District 1: Sharon Gentry
As a result of redistricting, the District 1 school board race pits two incumbents against each other: Sharon Gentry and Edward T. Kendall. I do not see a whole lot difference between the candidates.  However, if I lived in this district I would probably vote for Sharon Gentry. Kendall has been on the board for 27 years and that is long enough. Also, I am concerned about the legal scandal that tainted Mr. Kendall although he may be guilty of nothing more than being the father of the person involved in the scandal. Also, Mr. Kendall got the endorsement of the SEIU.  All things being equal, I would prefer not to support a candidate endorsed by the SEIU. To see the District 1 candidates forum click here.

District 3: Jarad DeLozier

The three candidates are Jarod DeLozier, Fred Lee, and Jill Speering. Both Lee and Speering are former teachers. Jarod DeLozier is an east Nashville small business owner and has received the endorsement of both the Chamber of Commerce and the pro-charter school Great Public Schools group. I am supporting Jarad Delozier.  To see the District 3 candidates forum click here.






District 5: Elissa Kim
This is the District race that I am really excited about. The District 5 race pits current Metro School Board Chairman Gracie Porter against three challengers, one of which is Elissa Kim. Kim is the executive vice president of teacher recruitment for the national Teach for America organization. Teach for America recruits and trains teachers to teach in urban classrooms across the country.

Kim taught for Teach for America in New Orleans where she taught in one of the poorest districts in the nation. She created unprecedented success in an area where many thought there could only be failure.

Kim has received the endorsement of the Great Public Schools PAC and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. I have sent her a contribution. If I lived in her district, I would have her yard sign in my yard. To see the District 5 candidates forum click here.


District 7: Will Pinkston
Three candidates are vying for the District 7 school board seat: Will Pinkston, Alan C. Sharp, and Hillard Al Wilkins. Will Pinkston is by far the best qualified of those running in this district.  He has a lot of experience in education policy including serving as director of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), a nonprofit nonpartisan group founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He has the support of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Nashville Education Association. This is the district I live in and I will be voting for Will Pinkston. To see the District 7 candidates forum click here.

District 9: Margaret Dolan
The 9th District School Board race is a crowded field with five candidates seeking the seat and several of them are well known. The candidates are Bob Bogen, Eric Crafton, Margaret O. Dolan, Amy Frogge and Ronnie Osborne.

In an earlier post, I had indicated I was supporting my friend Eric Crafton. While I did not support Eric in his English-only effort, I did support Eric in his race for the office of Juvenile Court clerk. As I said in that earlier post, "I know Eric to be a good, honest, caring person who has a passion for children. He is fiscally and socially conservative and is well-educated, has a sharp mind and has a thorough command of the issues." I still feel that way about Eric, but we have another good candidate in this race. That other candidate is Margaret Dolan.

As I have learned more about the candidates and as people whose opinion I respect have said complementary things about Margaret Dolan, I have taken a second look. Being a strong advocate of school choice, I think my views are more closely alined with those of Magaret Dolan on this important issue.

I am concerned about Ms Dolan's advocacy of the recent tax increase to fund increases in teacher starting salary. Our teacher starting salary was already the second highest in middle Tennessee. Only Murfreesboro city schools had a higher starting salary. I do not think a tax increase was justified and do not think the higher starting teacher salary will do anything to increase the performance of our schools.  I have concern that if Ms Dolan is on the Board, she will be an advocate for greater tax increases. I know Eric Crafton would not.

I differ with Eric Crafton on the issue of the Memorandum of Understanding issue. I support Register on that issue. While there may be merit to Eric Crafton's position that the solution to school performance is tutoring, I would not embrace tutoring at the expense of the academies and other reforms. On balance, I think Maraget Dolan would be the better choice for this seat. 

Margaret Dolan, is the vice president of community relations for Ingram Industries, has a lengthy record of volunteerism, has the endorsement of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the teachers union (MNEA) the pro-charter schools group Great Public Schools, Mayor Karl Dean, Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors and several other council members.

To view the District 9 candidates forum click here.

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Andy Miller funds anti-Muslim activist Zelenik's campaign

Sharia law, super PACs roil GOP primaryPolitico
In 2010, Zelenik accused Black of not being more outspoken against the Murfreesboro mosque. During that same race, Zelenik, a former Rutherford County, Tenn., Republican Party chairwoman, ran an online fundraising appeal asking supporters to “stand ...

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A converted skeptic says humans cause global warming

"Humans are almost entirely the cause" of climate change, according to a scientist who once doubted that global warming even existed. Funded by the Koch brothers, who fund a variety of conservative causes, Dr. Richard Mullar was a skeptic of global warming but  after exhaustive research he believes that an increase of greenhouse gases can be closely linked to the rise in the earth's temperature. (link)
  

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So who is this apparent jihadist in waiting?

State tea partiers focus anti-Islamic sentiment on highly accomplishedKookogey claimed that the Haslam administration has continually defended Ali's experience with Shariah finance by saying that for the state to be in business ...
nashvillecitypaper.com/.../state-tea-partiers-focus-anti-islamic-s...


This well-written article from the City Paper is a summary of the issues surrounding the hiring of Waverly Tennessee native Samar Ali who is Muslim, and the resulting criticism of Governor Haslam by the anti-Sharia movement.  It includes comments by Williamson County GOP chairman Kevin Kookogey who has taken a leadership role in attacking the Haslam administration and the response from Client Brewer of the Haslam Administration. The role this controversy is playing in the race between incumbent Senator Mark Norris of Shelby County and challenger Woody Degan is examined.

New in this article is more information about Samar Ali.  Below is an excerpt from the article reporting  comments made by Samar Ali at Vanderbilt's “Come Together” service following 9-11:

“I was asked to speak to you all today as an Arab-American Muslim,” she said. “All I know to do is to tell you something from my heart, and my heart is filled with pride to be a student of this amazing Vanderbilt community. Look at us; we are a family. I am proud to be an American and to feel the patriotism right here, right now.”

As a Muslim, she said, she was upset and wondered how anyone could carry out such horrors in the name of her religion. She said she had received more than 40 phone calls on the day of the attacks, from “Arab Americans, Palestinians, and people in Syria and Jordan.” She concluded by looking to the future.

“We cannot let these terrorists succeed and fill our hearts with hatred,” she said. “We cannot allow them to split us apart as Americans. We must come together; we have come so far. We must not fight hate with hate.”

She continued, “The people who did this are a disgrace to mankind. While they claim to be fundamentalist Muslims, they are of no religion at all. I know of no true religion that celebrates a loss of lives. Islam condemns these acts. The people who did this do not represent any true religion or any ethnic group. These are individual attacks, and they are horrific and absolutely terrifying and must be prevented.”

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My endorsements for the August 2nd election

U. S. Senate: Bob Corker

This is not even a close call. Instead of running for reelection to the Senate, I actually wish Bob Corker was our Party's presidential candidate.  Bob is conservative, smart, likable, hard-working and pragmatic.  I know that some in the Party think that compromise and pragmatism are bad things. I do not. I think one can be principled and pragmatic. I still hope that Bob Corker will one day be President.

Visit his website. 

5th Congressional District:  Brad Staats

 
Whoever gets the nomination will have an uphill fight defeating Jim Cooper. I wish we had a candidate who already had name recognition and had served in public office, maybe someone like Beth Harwell, or a super wealthy candidate with major business success, maybe someone like Lee Beaman.  Unfortunately we do not.


I am reluctantly endorsing Brad Staats.  I say reluctantly, not that I have any reservations about Staats, but because I really like Bob Ries and his daughter Stacy, who always campaigns with him, and I feel bad about not endorsing Bob.  Bob is a friend and Bob has some good ideas. However, when I look at who could best challenge Jim Cooper, I do not think it is Bob Ries.  In making my decision who to support, electability is a factor. I hate to be so blunt, but Bob's age is a factor that would work to his disadvantage.  Also, Bob ran two years ago in  the Republican primary for this seat and came in near the bottom in an eleven-person contest.  Then,  he ran for Metro Council and did not fare too well. Brad Staats does not have that baggage of someone who runs and loses. He is a new face. With Brad Staats, maybe if Republicans would open their wallets, we could have a chance of defeating Jim Cooper. I just don't think we can do it with Bob Ries. 

For more information on Brad Staats see his website here and his FaceBook page

6th Congressional District: Diane Black

 
 This is not even close. I might could even vote for a Democrat before I could vote for Lou Ann Zelenic. My primary objection to Zelenic is that she does not support the Constitution. She has taken a position that the First Amendment does not apply to Muslims. It is not that I don't have concern about radical Islam but I support the Constitution. We cannot claim we love the Constitution and say that Islam is not really a religion so therefore Muslims are not covered.

To learn more about Diane Black visit her website here. 

State Senate District 20: Steve Dickerson

 
Steve Dickerson is a physician and founding partner of Anesthesia Services Associates, currently practicing in Nashville and middle Tennessee. I am very impressed by his grasp of the issues and his passion for finding solutions to pubic policy problems. With health care promising to be one of the most difficult issues facing Tennessee in years to come and the unknowns associated with Obamacare, we need someone with Dickerson's background and intelligence serving in the State Senate.

Visit his website here.
 

State Representative 45th District:  Debra Maggart

 

As a legislator, Debra has quickly risen to be one of the most influential leaders in Tennessee. In 2011, her peers in the Legislature selected her to Chair the Republican Caucus. Much of the credit for passing the Republican agenda including  tax cuts, ending the death tax, tort reform and education reform belongs to Debra Maggart. 

She has the support of Governor Haslam, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, House leader Beth Harwell and luminaries such as economist Authur Laffer.  Because she did not bring to the floor a bill that would establish  that gun owners have the right to carry their guns onto the property of their employer, the gun lobby is making an all out effort to defeat her despite her having a stellar record of defending second amendment rights. She needs to be reelected because she is great legislator and a solid conservative, but it is time someone stood up to the bullies in the gun lobby.  Visit her website here. 

 State Representative 50th District: Charles Williamson

 

Charles is a small business man, a geologist and president of Geotechnical & Environmental Service, Inc.  He is also owns and operates a bison farm in Goodlettsville where he has raised buffalo
for the last 20 years. He is a solid conservative and a man of integrity and Charles Williamson is also one of the nicest men you would ever want to meet.  

Visit his webpage here and his Facebook page.

State Representative District 57: Susan Lynn

 

Susan Lynn served the 57th district from 2002-2010 in the State House. In 2009 she declared her candidacy for the 17th State Senate district when the incumbent senator announced her retirement. Some ten months later the incumbent reversed her decision and Lynn had to face the incumbent in a primary contest. The incumbent Senator won that primary.  Now, Susan Lynn is seeking reelection to the 57th district seat. She was an good legislator and a conservative leader in the House. She deserves to be reelected. 

Visit her website here.  

State Representative District 53: Tonya Miller

  

Since 2007 Tonya has specialized in Spanish/English interpreting and translating for courts, hospitals and businesses and she is registered with the TN Administrative Office of the Courts. Tonya has a very interesting background and a diverse work experience including serving as an embassy intern in Argentina. She is an active volunteer in her community and has connections with the immigrant community.  

With the growth of the immigrant population in Nashville, I think it would be advisable for the Republican Party to elect someone with ties to that community.  Republicans should not just assume immigrants are a Democrat voting bloc. Tonya Miller is a person who has solid core conservative believes but also has cultural awareness and rapport with people of diverse backgrounds.  

Visit her website here.

 State Representative District 60: Jim Gotto

 

In 2010 Jim Gotto won election to this seat long held by Democrat Representative Ben West who retired and did not seek reelection. Winning this seat was a tremendous victory for Republicans in Davidson County. Jim has proven himself as a solid conservative and a leader in the House.

During his tenure as Metro Councilman, Jim Gotto distinguished himself as a member who was never afraid to take on the status quo in Nashville. He publicly spoke out against the abuse of eminent domain. He was a joint sponsor of a bill that resulted in an independent Metro Internal Auditor, not one that reports to the Mayor's Office. 

He faces no Republican challenger in the primary. Visit his website here.  

State Representative District 59: Robert Duvall  

 

Robert Duvall is a principled, common-sense, hard-working, smart conservative who is not hesitant to identify himself as a Republican in the Metro Council. He has done a lot to help build the Republican Party in Davidson County. He cares about his community, Nashville and his country. He supports limited government, private property rights and low taxes.  He is a fighter. Because of his leadership and willingness to stand up to the administration, he is was targeted for defeat by the mayor in the last Council election but Duvall won the election. 

In the recent battle over a property tax increase, the only legislative proposal that would have not have resulted in a tax increase was the Duvall budget. He is now running for the state legislature. He has no opponent in the primary but will face an incumbent Democrat in November.

School Board endorsements will follow in a separate post. 

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