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Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Will you help plan Nashville's next 25 years?
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Republicans must go on the offensive over the "Obama shutdown."
The Government has shut down and as of yet most people would hardly notice. If you work for the Government and are non-essential this is a disruption in your routine but more than likely what is really happening is you are getting a paid vacation. When the government does reopen, those who had to take time off will most likely be paid for it.
Someone near and dear to me is a seasonal government worker for the National Parks Service so she probably really will lose income, but in the overall scheme of things, there are few people in that situation. So unless you work for the federal government as a seasonal or temporary worker, about the only people who are impacted by this are those who had planned a vacation to a National Park or those who need a passport. Not many people are being inconvenienced. If it goes on for weeks however, more and more people will be inconvenienced.
In my view this is clearly the "Obama shutdown." He refused to negotiate. Some compromise could have been reached that allowed both sides to claim victory and kept the government running. Republicans would have probably settled for a repeal of the medical devises tax and a three month delay. They would have settled for almost anything that let them save face. The reason I think the President and Democrats in Congress refused to negotiate is because they see the Republicans loosing support of the American people over this. They think Republicans will get the blame and lose at the polls in 2014. They may be right. While in full agreement with the objective of the House Republicans, I have doubted the wisdom of the strategy. It may have been a better strategy to not take this stand and concentrate instead on taking the Senate in 2014 and then working on repealing and replacing Obamacare. I never did see how this effort to defund Obamacare could work.
So, what to do now? Republicans need to go on the offensive and label the shutdown the "Obama Shutdown." Polls are showing Americans are blaming Republicans. The liberal media and entertainers will do the Democrats heavy lifting for them in labeling it the Republican shutdown. Republicans need to fight back. Polls and opinions can be changed. Republicans need to get on the same page. Some are calling it the "Obama shutdown," some calling it the "Harry Reid shutdown," and some, the "Democrat shutdown." Republicans need to agree on the name for it. I thing it should be the "Obama shutdown." Every time a Republican talks about the shutdown, he should call it the "Obama shutdown."
Republicans need to immediately start spending massive amounts of money on TV, radio, newspaper, and billboards, lamented the "Obama shutdown." The tea party, the think tanks, the Republican Party apparatus, and the conservative advocacy groups needs to launch a social media campaign to label this shut down the "Obama shutdown." Time's a wasting. The result of who gets the blame for the shutdown could determine who wins the 2014 election and the prospects for repeal and replace of Obamacare.
Below is how the left is hard at work to label this the "Republican shut down."
Dear MoveOn member,
For the first time in 17 years, our government is shut down. As a result, 800,000 federal employees are out of work, nearly 9 million mothers and children could soon be denied nutrition assistance, most workers helping rebuild Colorado after last months floods may be eliminated, and hundreds of national parks and monuments are closed to the public.1
The human cost of the government shutdown is why we're organizing protests across the country this Friday. We need to tell tea party Republicans: Tea Time is Over: End the #GOPShutdown. We'll gather at GOP offices to demand that they vote to reopen our government. We'll also be rallying at Democratic offices because we need them to stay strong in the face of Republican extremism. Can you host a "Tea Time is Over: End the #GOPShutdown" Protest on Friday, October 4?
Yes, I can plan a "Tea Time is Over: End the #GOPShutdown" Protest in Nashville! Leading an event like this is really easy to do—we'll gather together, share stories of how the shutdown is affecting each of us and our country, and protest tea party Republicans for their failure to serve the people. All you need to do is locate your representative's office, invite friends to join you for the protest, and tell the local media about it. We'll help you recruit other MoveOn members to attend and give you all the support and guidance you'll need.
Speaker John Boehner has the power to put and end to this shutdown. He can call for an up-or-down vote on the "clean" spending bill the Senate passed and give democracy a chance to work.2
Together, MoveOn members can hold the GOP accountable for sabotaging our economy and trying to subvert our democracy—and get Democrats to keep standing strong. This reckless Republican behavior puts the country in serious economic danger, and we won't stand for it anymore.
If we can continue to shine the light on the tea party's destructive behavior, then we can force the rest of the GOP to abandon partisan politics and work to end the shutdown. It's on us to let every Republican's constituents know their representative is putting a personal agenda ahead of the needs and wants of the people while hurting our economy and middle class families. Can you step up and lead a "Tea Time is Over: End the #GOPShutdown" Protest in Nashville?
Yes! Sign me up to lead a "Tea Time is Over: End the #GOPShutdown" Protest.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mark, Stefanie, Maria, Alejandro, and the rest of the team.
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What happened at the Metro Council Tuesday October 2nd.
Advertising to be allowed in Metro parks
The Tennessean, by Michael Cass, Oct. 2, 2013 - Metro’s parks will be able to accept sponsorships from businesses and other organizations — and the advertisements those groups will want to erect — under legislation the Metro Council approved Tuesday.
With a 30-3 vote, the council gave final approval to a plan to let the parks board adopt rules and regulations allowing for sponsorships of parks and their programs, events, projects and facilities. Any agreements worth more than $25,000 would require separate council approval.(Read the rest of this to see how Bellevue Councilman Bo Mitchell tried to sabotage this common sense bill.)
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Tuesday, October 01, 2013
A summary of the Senate Education Commitee hearings on Common Core
On September 19 and September 20, the State Senate Education committee held two days of public hearings on Common Core. I did not have the time to set through ten hours of video of common core hearings and had no desire to do so, but I posted the links to the videos of the hearings and invited anyone who could watch it and notate where in the video the best parts where to do so, and I said I would post their work.
Thanks to Eric Holcombe who blogs at Blount County Public Record for doing a bang-up job of doing two write-ups on the hearings and notifying me of his post. He did one post on who the lead speakers are in opposition to common core and one post on the proponents of Common Core. He tells you who each of the speakers are and their credentials and associations and he summarized their testimony. You still have to skim the hearing to find the proponents but with his summary you know who you are looking for. For the opponents he list the time stamp, making it real easy to go to that point in the video and watch that testimony.
Be aware that Eric has a bias opposed to Common Core. Nevertheless, his post on these hearings are informative and he make the hearings much more accessible.
To watch the Senate Education Committee hearings, follow the following links:
The September 19th hearing is a review of the standards and gets quit boring.
The September 20th hearing is where all of the guest experts address the committee.
To view Eric Holcombe's post featuring the proponents, follow this link, "Common Core is bought and paid for."
To view Eric Holcombe's post featuring the opponents, follow this link, "The Common Core Opponents at the 'fact-finding' hearing."
Senator Gresham needs to be commended for setting the tone of the hearing by making it clear that she would not tolerate cheering or booing or emotional outburst. This hearings were dignified and informative and serious. If you watch these hearing you will have a balanced view of the primary arguments of both sides. While some conspiracy theory nuts have jumped on the opposition band wagon, there are responsible people with legitimate concerns about Common Core. While I still think that Common Core is a positive step forward to improve education and think that the status quo in education is not acceptable, the opponents have legitimate concerns. There are good people on both sides of the issue.
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Monday, September 30, 2013
A "Beat Lamar" insider's anonymous report on the disarray in the beat Lamar movement
Dear Rod,
I enjoy reading your blog regularly, and wanted to inform the public of what happened in the Coalition for a Constitutional Senate meeting last night. I apologize I have to keep my identity concealed, but as a faithful member of one of the tea parties and and as one who considers Joe a friend, I hope to do no harm to the movement, but am very worried this process is destroying both the movement and our ability to defeat Sen. Alexander.
At the beginning of the day, only 27 of the 63 groups in the coalition even showed up. Three groups left before the final voting commenced. Joe only received 59% of the vote on first ballot. Four other groups abstained (including Campaign for Liberty). And, of the 20 remaining groups sympathetic to Joe (out of 60+!) who participated in the final ballot, he could not even get a unanimous vote. Some groups are going home to our members to discuss formally withdrawing from the coalition.
The reason that the majority of the tea party groups did not show up, that seven left/abstained, and that several others are going back home to discuss withdrawing is because Beat Lamar is an absolute joke and has split the conservative movement much more than united and its leaders have tried to force Joe on everyone, including most who believe Joe is not our candidate. The fact of the matter is, the vast majority of us realize Joe cannot win. His latest embarrassment with the plagiarism can be forgiven by many, but to most of us, it shows he does not have what it takes to defeat the powerful lion of the Tennessee Republican machine. The bigger issue is Joe has not and will not win the support of national conservative groups (like Senate Conservatives Fund and Madison Project, who've said in recent newspaper reports that they will not support him), without whose money, network, and aid, we simply cannot win.
The fact of the matter is we are still looking for our candidate, with or without Beat Lamar. We believe we can still defeat Lamar, united, but that requires the right candidate and a fair process. It's not over, and Beat Lamar does not speak for us. We will start anew, and we will find our guy (or gal).
Thanks for your consideration,
A patriot in Tennessee
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Sunday, September 29, 2013
Bob Corker on the Continuing Resolution and the effort to stop Obamacare
From Senator Bob Corker:
Today, I voted in support of advancing the House continuing resolution that would permanently defund Obamacare while funding the federal government. After the defunding provision in the bill was struck by an amendment that I opposed, I voted against passage of the amended bill. The bill, nonetheless, passed the Senate with only Democratic votes, and now moves back to the House. In the House, Republicans have the majority and can make other good policy changes that continue the fight against Obamacare. I hope the House can send something back to the Senate that will pass both chambers.
Some have suggested that it would be better to shut down the government rather than accept a bill that lacks the Obamacare defunding provision. But this would be self-defeating: a shutdown would not prevent Obamacare’s implementation because the funding for it is almost entirely mandatory, meaning that it occurs regardless of a shutdown. This tactic would only divert attention from the cascading reports of the very real consequences of the law for individuals, families and American businesses.
This doesn’t mean we say "game over." It means we work toward actual solutions that have a possibility of becoming a reality. I look forward to the Senate taking up the bill again after the House improves it.
Comment: Since the above, the House has passed an amendment to the CR that delays ObamaCare for one year. The Senate will take that up on Monday. Harry Reid says it is DOA and President Obama has said he will veto it if it passes. Obama has said he will not compromise. In my view, Republican Senators should hold firm anyway. If my understanding of what happens next is correct, should Democrats prevail in the Senate and refuse to pass the House version, the two versions would then go to conference committee. I would urge more compromise on the part of the House, should that occur, maybe a CR of only 6 months and a 6 month delay of Obamacare should be proposed.
If the Democrats and Obama will not accept any compromise, then reluctantly we should let them shut down the government. Republicans will likely get the blame. They should immediately start calling the shutdown the "Obama Shutdown," and engage in a massive PR and advertising campaign to label the shutdown as such. We should see TV ads and billboards lamenting the "Obama Shutdown." In every interview, Republicans should regret the "Obama Shutdown." We should spend millions to get out the message. We should make this backfire on the Democrats. Republicans should not let liberal elites and media control the labeling of the shutdown. Republicans should be prepared to do massive labeling and damage control.
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Update from Marsha Blackburn on Continuing Resolution to defund Obamacare
From Marsha Blackburn:
As many of you know, the House is in a rare Saturday session today to take up the Continuing Resolution the Senate sent yesterday. The Senate’s version stripped the Obamacare defunding clause and only funds the government for two months. The House will vote to add two amendments to the Senate-passed continuing resolution and funds the government through December 15. I’m headed to the floor to offer the first amendment- my legislation, HR 2809, to delay Obamacare for one year. The second repeals Obamacare’s job-killing medical device tax. From here, the CR will go back to the Senate.
I went to the Floor this morning to speak on the Obamacare delay as well as restoring fiscal responsibility. I’m against shutting down the government and I think President Obama and the Democratic-led Senate should negotiate reasonably and prudently on the Continuing Resolution, the delay of Obamacare, and the repeal of the medical device tax.
Screaming for compromise doesn’t work; you have to actually be willing to come to the table and negotiate. My colleagues and I have extended an offer to negotiate to President Obama and that offer has been refused. We are quickly working, it seems in a vacuum, to avoid a government shutdown. The House has done its job and will send a good bill to the Senate. It’s up to the Senate to pass it and avoid shutting down the government.
While in session today, we will pass the Drug Quality and Security Act. Many of you may remember when 16 lives were lost last year in Tennessee due to a meningitis outbreak. Those cases stemmed from contaminated compounded drugs and this bipartisan legislation would ensure necessary steps are taken to prevent a tragic outbreak from happening again.
Saturdays are busy times. I remember the Saturdays when my children were little! So please know how much I appreciate you taking the time to keep updated with your Congress. Follow Facebook and Twitter as I’ll be posting throughout the weekend.
My Best,
Marsha
Marsha
A programming note: I’ll be joining Face the Nation tomorrow morning at 9:30 Central on CBS. I hope you can tune in or set the DVR. Also, wanted to share with you last night’s segment on Hannity.
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Saturday, September 28, 2013
What's on the Council agenda for October 1st with commentary
The Metro Council agenda and staff analysis for October 1st is available at these links: Agenda, Analysis. If you know what the Council is voting on it is still boring but not quite as boring. This should be a really short meeting. All issues have already been resolved and there is not anything controversial on the agenda.
Elections and Confirmations: There are position to fill on the Industrial Development Board, the Charter Revision Commission and the Transportation Licensing Commission. I see no reason that any of these appointments should be controversial but even if there was a reason they would all be approved unanimously anyway. The council does not take its responsibility of filling positions on Boards and Commissions seriously and always approves the Mayor's appointees.
Bills on Public Hearing: There are seven bills on public hearing. All of them are zoning bills and should be of interest to only nearby neighbors except for BILL NO. BL2013-513 which is a massive rezoning effecting hundreds of properties that borders main street and Gallatin Rd all the way from downtown to Briley Parkway. The compromise bill seems to satisfy everyone and I do not expect opposition, but one never knows. This rezoning has been in the works a long time. For more information on this issue, follow this link.
There are eight 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. Bills on the consent agenda are usually not controversial and tend to be routine matters, such as accepting grants from the Federal or State Government or authorizing the Department of Law to settle claims against the city or appropriating money from the 4% fund. 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 see nothing on the consent agenda that concerns me.
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. Bills 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. There are nineteen bills on first reading.
Bills on Second Reading: It is on Second reading, after bills have been to committee, that discussion usually takes place. There are eight bills on second reading. I see nothing on second reading that is very controversial. The following items are interesting:
BILL NO. BL2013-526 and Bill NO. BL2013-527 establish a Metro Injury-on-duty clinic and approve an entity to operate it. It looks like it has been a deliberative process to reach this point and it appears this will save the city money. Apparently this mode of operation is successfully used by major corporations. These are good bills.
Bills on Third Reading: Third reading is the final reading and when a bill passes final reading it becomes law unless vetoed by the mayor and that almost never happens. Most of the bills on third reading this time are really boring things like abandoning easements and accepting easements. The bill below is the only bill on third reading I find of interest.
SUBSTITUTE BILL NO. BL2013-543 would allow business sponsorship within Metro Parks. Current law prohibits advertising in Metro Parks and this has been interpreted to prohibit sponsorships. This is a good bill. As an example of how this bill would work, by letting companies but their logo on doggie poop bags, that could save the city $30,000 a year. That is only one example of how this bill will bring private money into the park system.
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Compromize massive Gallatin Rd rezoning on Council agenda Tuesday
A compromise has been reached over the controversial proposed mass rezoning along East Nashville’s Gallatin Pike. The current proposal which will be on the Council agenda on Tuesday would now allow property owners to “opt in” to the new urban-inspired guidelines during future development.
This is a much more flexible Urban Design Overlay than was proposed in August which resulted in deferral of that bill.
The Planning Commission voted September 26, 2013, to approve rezoning of various properties along Gallatin Pike, Gallatin Avenue, and Main Street between South 5th Street and Briley Parkway from about a dozen different zoning classifications to the new Urban Design Overlay (UDO) over that same area. That new zoning supports a more pedestrian- and transit-oriented corridor, as described in the East Nashville Community Plan. Under the new UDO if, when property is redeveloped, the developer decides not to build to the sidewalk property line they will not be required to do so but must meet alternative design criteria. At the September 26 planning commission meeting, no one spoke in opposition to the rezoning.
Based on what I know of the current plan, I think it is a good compromise. I support efforts to encourage smart growth and urban design but think the previous plan was too inflexible would have been excessively heavy-handed and would have actually discouraged development. Two years ago Publix was going to build a grocery store on Gallatin Rd but backed out due to the inflexibility of the then in place overlay design guidelines (link). Since then the Overlay was ruled unconstitutional. To fix the legal issue, the city simply tweaked the law to make it legal but intended to essentially keep the same guidelines. Now they appear to have come up with a more reasonable approach.
Last council meeting, the council passed a zoning text change that described the new zoning, the bill on this agenda Tuesday night actually rezones the property. To read more on this controversy see this link
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More about that anti-Alexander protest that didn't happen last Sunday
The Tennessean, by Joey Garrison, September 23rd, 2013- It was supposed to be another public demonstration of disenchantment in what will surely be a long series of tea party protests targeting U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander before next year’s Republican primary.
Tea party and liberty advocates had a time and place: the home of Republican fundraiser Monty Lankford on Trinity Road in Franklin at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, when the state’s most powerful Republicans would be gathering to raise money for the incumbent senator.
The memo went out to the press to be there. ...... The lead organizer himself, Matt Collins of the Tennessee Campaign for Liberty, wasn’t even present. (link)
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