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TN Republication Senators Obstruct Measures That Would Help Citizens

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:03:00 PST

Tennessee's Republican senators obstruct measures to help citizens

Tennessee Republicans continued their grandstanding in the U.S. Senate this week as they chose to play partisan politics instead of helping out-of-work Tennesseans through hard times. Both U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker chose to vote against an extension of unemployment insurance for nearly 34,000 out-of work Tennesseans and almost $11 million in road projects for the state. Fortunately, the legislation passed and was recently signed into law by the president.

Turning their backs on struggling Tennesseans, the two Republican senators also voted against a 30-day extension of the highway trust fund, which is being used to help pay for Tennessee road projects at Cades Cove Loop Road, Shiloh National Park and Catoosa Wildlife Management Area. This is just plain lunacy. At a time when our economy is experiencing the biggest slowdown since the Great Depression, our leaders should embrace policies meant to stimulate the economy by creating jobs and injecting resources into our communities, not oppose them.

Tennessee's Republicans continue their hypocrisy

To date, nearly $6 billion in stimulus money has been committed to Tennessee, creating or retaining more than 10,000 jobs across the state and providing much-needed infrastructure improvements. The Tennessee Department of Transportation, in fact, recently obligated all of the $572 million in Recovery Act funds made available to it for highway infrastructure projects.

But some Tennessee Republicans have been railing against the stimulus package as nothing more than a boondoggle while playing partisan games in Washington. They are quick to come back home, though, and smile into the cameras while taking credit for stimulus dollars that fund vital infrastructure projects in Tennessee.

Sen. Alexander, third ranking member in the U.S. Senate's Republican leadership, voted against the stimulus package but afterwards wrote to the Department of Agriculture requesting stimulus money for a project that "will create over 200 jobs in the first year and at least 40 new jobs in the following years."

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, a Tennessee gubernatorial candidate, voted against the stimulus package but afterwards praised a $71.2 million project at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory that would create "170 new construction jobs" with stimulus dollars.

U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn, Phil Roe and John Duncan also voted against the Recovery Act, as did Sen. Corker.

Republicans want to demagogue about runaway spending and huge deficits, but they are the ones most responsible for it. They supported the failed policies of a Republican White House that nearly collapsed our financial markets.

Republican lawmakers in the General Assembly talk out of both sides of their mouths, as well. They claim to be protecting the best interests of ordinary, hard-working Tennesseans, but their real intentions are to help themselves and the special-interest groups that help fund their campaigns.

Republican state Rep. Glen Casada of Franklin introduced a bill in the General Assembly that repeals state law prohibiting corporations from making donations to candidates for office. Casada, the Republican House Caucus chairman, reportedly filed his bill, HB2537, in anticipation of a January ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning a 63-year-old campaign finance law designed to restrain corporate and special-interest influence.

By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations may spend as freely as they like to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress.

Tennessee law prohibits corporations from giving money to candidates and political parties for any purpose. But Casada's proposed bill proves Republican leaders in the state Legislature are more concerned about their Big Oil and Wall Street buddies than they are about ordinary Tennesseans. Why should an artificial corporate entity have the same rights as a real person?

A Washington Post-ABC News poll found that eight in 10 poll respondents say they oppose the Supreme Court's ruling on corporate contributions.

Democrats have a real plan to grow our economy

To grow the economy and ensure our leadership in the world market, we need to focus on three key priorities for investment- (1) a series of steps to help small businesses grow and hire new staff; (2) an additional investment in our nation's infrastructure to continue modernizing our highways, railways, bridges, tunnels, airports and seaports; and (3) a new proposal to provide rebates to consumers who retrofit their homes to be more energy efficient.

The nation's Gross Domestic Product, the basic measure of a country's overall economic performance, grew by 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the fastest growth since 2003, a sign that the economy is moving out of recession.

Our nation's unemployment rate also fell to 9.7 percent in January from 10 percent the month before, according to the federal Bureau of Labor statistics.

To date, nearly $6 billion in stimulus money has been committed to Tennessee, creating or retaining more than 10,000 jobs across the state and providing much-needed infrastructure improvements.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and his administration have provided an environment in the last seven years that has seen the creation of 179,296 new jobs, $29.2 billion in capital investment and 48 corporate headquarter locations in the state.

About 500 Clarksville-area residents will be working for Hemlock Semi-Conductor after construction of a plant that will make silicon for solar panels. Phase one of the $1.2 billion plant is expected to be complete in 2012.

German manufacturer Wacker Chemie AG is building a $1 billion plant near Cleveland, Tenn., that will produce silicon for solar panels and employ about 500 people.

Confluence Solar is going to build a $400 million manufacturing plant in Clinton, Tenn., (East Tennessee) that could employ as many as 250 people who will make components used in the conversion of sunlight to electricity.

Yet another green-energy company, Hawaii-based ClearFuels Technology, is partnering with Hughes Hardwood to develop a $200 million bio-refinery in Collinwood, Tenn., that will employ 50 people. The plant will convert leftover wood products into diesel or jet fuel and produce six to eight megawatts of electricity.

The $1 billion Volkswagen automobile plant under construction in Chattanooga is scheduled for completion in 2011 where more than 2,000 workers will be employed.

Additionally, state and local officials are currently developing a 1,500-acre industrial park in Haywood County to boost West Tennessee's economy. Some Republican lawmakers tried to stop the "megasite" project by removing from the budget money to purchase the land. Haywood County recorded an 18.5 percent jobless rate in December while next-door Lauderdale County recorded an 18.9 percent jobless rate, two of the highest rates in the state.

The state also has been awarded a $62.5 million federal stimulus grant to build a solar-power demonstration farm on 20 acres next to the Haywood Countymegasite project and develop a solar-power research institute at the University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus. The electricity generated by the solar farm, which is expected to lure to the Haywood megasite other manufacturers interested in developing clean energy, will flow into the TVA's power grid.

Pro-Life Means More Than Being Anti-Abortion

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:03:00 PST

Letter To The Editor in the Kingsport Times-News

A recent letter held the opinion that Tony Shipley is more pro-life than Nathan Vaughn, citing Shipley’s help in forming the Tennessee Alliance For Life as evidence. In 2006, the advocacy group Tennessee Right To Life endorsed Nathan Vaughn, as his views are in line with the principles they have held since 1975. In 2008, Vaughn received a 100 percent rating from Tennessee Right To Life. The Sullivan County Right To Life chapter endorsed Shipley and broke rules of tax guidelines for non-profits and TRL’s rules and was disaffiliated from TRL, as TRL endorses candidates by voting record, not their political affiliation. Recently prominent Republicans like Mumpower have expressed dissatisfaction with TRL for endorsing Democratic candidates, as if only Republicans valued life. One can only wonder if the new organization will be as objective in this matter as the position that TRL has taken, or if they have been formed as a tool to give credence to Republican candidates.

There is much more to being pro-life than being anti-abortion. Does the mother’s life not matter if the birth would kill her, or is she merely a casualty? A child has a right to life after he or she is born. Many pro-lifers begrudge food stamps and medical care for the very children that they demanded had the right to be born, as if what happens after the womb isn’t relevant. The mother should also have assistance, as caring for a child is more than some can bear alone, financially and mentally. For a mother to work, she must have competent, affordable day care, or holding down a job is impossible without help in that area.

Robert Quincy

Kingsport

One Man Filibuster Shuts Down Nationwide DOT Projects

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:03:00 PST

Via my e-mail inbox;

One-man filibuster shuts down DOT projects nationwide

Submitted by R. Neal on Mon, 2010/03/01 - 7:32am

Cades Cove Loop and Blue Ridge Parkway projects affected

In their quest to engineer Obama's failure, Republican obstructionists in Congress have succeeded in shutting down DOT project across the country as the DOT furloughs 2000 employees without pay starting today.

You can thank Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) for his one-man filibuster of the bill to extended COBRA tax credits and unemployment insurance, which also included an extension of the Highway Trust Fund.

Among other things, the Highway Trust Fund pays for projects on federal land. Workers arriving at those projects today will be sent home because federal inspectors will not be on the job. Nearby projects affected include the Cades Cove Loop resurfacing, which was scheduled to begin today, and a Blue Ridge Parkway reconstruction and resurfacing project.

Federal reimbursements for state highway and bridge projects are also on hold, which could lead to further layoffs.

Furloughs will affect employees funded by the Highway Trust Fund at the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

Sort of reminds you of the great government shutdown of 1995, when Clinton called their bluff and they blinked.

(What kind of person denies COBRA tax credits and unemployment insurance? One who doesn’t give a rat’s patootie for his fellow humans! Ed.)

Times News Editorial Just More Republican Talking Points

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:02:00 PST

The Times News editorial today was the usual Republican talking points regurgitation. Below is my online reply.

Now let's get to the substance instead of rhetoric.

Sham? Hardly. It was Republicans that stood up and demanded that this hearing happen and be televised, then when the President scheduled the Summit, all they said was that it's a sham. Now the entire world can see what's going on. Republicans have been on all the committees that shaped both the House and Senate bills. To say they have been shut out in any way is outright false. Also, most of the Republican proposals are already in both bills. Or is it the Republicans are perpetrating a sham?

On Tort Reform, Tennessee (2008) joined 32 other states that already enacted medical malpractice laws. Has your premium gone down? Not likely. And, lawsuits only account for about 1.5% of total costs, which is far less than the profits that insurance companies are raking in.

On crossing state lines to buy insurance - think of the banks here. When regulations were loosened on banks, most moved headquarters to states that had the least regulation, like South Dakota. Without serious national regulation of insurance companies, the same would likely happen. A national exchange would accomplish this. That's in the House bill.

Both House and Senate bills already end the pre-existing problem, & stop the cancellation of policies because the policy holder got sick. If you'll notice the line in the editorial - "It would prohibit an insurer from canceling a policy unless a person commits fraud or conceals material facts about a health condition". What would that entail? At present insurers are canceling policies because people forgot to put down that a doctor gave them a certain medicine (example) when they were young. Does anybody remember ALL the medications or illnesses they've ever had. Every time they had the flu or a cold? Doubtful! If you're sick - you're sick OR injured. It doesn't matter how you got there or what you put down or forgot to put on a form. You shouldn't be forced to suffer or die because of it.

"It would create new incentives to save for current and future health care needs by allowing qualified participants to use HSAs (health savings accounts) funds to pay premiums for high-deductible health insurance." You're kidding, right? Unless you have a lot of cash laying around already, it's kind of hard to save up money for your deductible, which can be as high as $5,000 or more. If your deductible is that high, you're probably already sick and spending most of your cash.

People are sick and dying because insurance companies have been allowed to run wild, raising premiums & deductibles, dropping coverage when people get sick, denying policies altogether, all while CEOs' compensation (in some cases up to 3/4 of a BILLION dollars) has risen sky-high and profits have soared. The insurance companies have accomplished their profits by killing people through denial of care.

Republicans recently have moaned that the reconciliation process might be used and pretended that it is something rarely used. They didn't think that way when they used it to pass 2 of Bush's tax cuts and the Medicare Part D. Since 1980, budget reconciliation has been used 22 times, 16 by Republicans. Now it's suddenly extremist. It is NOT the nuclear option that Republicans threatened to change Senate rules to expedite confirming judicial nominees.

Insurance companies don't take your temperature or administer medicine or diagnose illness or health. Their only purpose is to take your premiums and disburse it at their whim. They do stand between me and my doctor by their exclusion of a condition that I have no control of, as they do to millions. It's time we had real reform, with a government administered option like opening up Medicare for everyone.

Just don't pretend that it's all a sham.

TNDP Chair Calls Out Republcan Hypocrisy

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:02:00 PST

TNDP Chair Calls Out Republican Hypocrisy On Recovery Act

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester wants to know how many members of Tennessee's Republican congressional delegation have requested Recovery Act funding or written letters of support for Recovery Act projects in Tennessee.

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp voted against the stimulus package last year and have made critical statements about the measure. Alexander, however, requested Recovery Act funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wamp praised a $71.2 million Oak Ridge National Laboratory Recovery Act project for creating jobs.

"If that isn't the definition of hypocrite, I don't know what is," Forrester said. "The Recovery Act created or saved about 2 million jobs in the U.S. and kept this economy from falling off a cliff. But Republicans rail against the Recovery Act while playing partisan politics in Washington.

"They come back home, though, and smile into the cameras while taking credit for stimulus dollars that fund vital infrastructure projects and create much-needed jobs. Mr. Alexander and Mr. Wamp have been called out by the media on this hypocrisy.

"I would like to know if the other Republicans representing this state in Congress have been as hypocritical about the Recovery Act. Or have they decided to play games with the economic security of the people they are supposed to be representing by turning down job-creating projects."

To date, nearly $6 billion in stimulus money has been committed to Tennessee, creating or retaining more than 10,000 jobs across the state and providing much-needed infrastructure improvements. The Tennessee Department of Transportation, in fact, recently obligated all of the $572 million in Recovery Act funds made available to it for highway infrastructure projects.

U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn, Phil Roe and John Duncan also voted against the Recovery Act, as did U.S. Sen. Bob Corker.