Ben Cunningham: Half-Cent Sales Tax Hike ‘Just a Small Down Payment’ for Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s Transit Vision

People Riding Bus

Nashville Tea Party founder Ben Cunningham warned that the half-cent sales tax increase being considered to fund Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit reform plan will be “just a small down payment” from Nashvillians.

Cunningham posted to X, formerly Twitter, in response to a piece by Tennessean reporter Cassandra Stephenson.

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s ‘Greendoggle’ Transit Plan Will Lead to Increased Property Taxes, Watchdog Predicts

Freddie O'Connell

Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, said Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit plan, which will be on the November ballot, will inevitably lead to property tax increases.

Last month, O’Connell officially announced that his long-awaited transit plan will be on the November 5 ballot, however, he did not release any information regarding what the plan entails.

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Ben Cunningham Says Light Rail from Downtown Nashville to the Airport May be Included in Mayor O’Connell’s Transit Plan

Music City Star

All-star panelist Ben Cunningham joined Friday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy where he discussed what may be included in Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s anticipated transit plan.

O’Connell, who was elected mayor in last year’s runoff election, vowed during his campaign to address Nashville’s “infrastructure and transit concerns.”

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Tennessee Legislature Votes to Grow State Government $3 Billion and 16 Percent More than the Growth of Tennesseans’ Incomes

Tennessee Capital building

Members of the Tennessee General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that acknowledges that the growth in state government this year exceeds the growth of Tennessean’s income by $3 billion, or 16 percent.

The action by the legislature is mandated by the Tennessee Constitution in Article II, Section 24 when state spending grows faster than its economy.

The measure, commonly known as the Copeland Cap, was named for its House sponsor of the constitutional amendment, the late Republican State Representative David Copeland of Ooltewah, who passed away in 2019.

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Star News Network Washington Correspondent Neil McCabe on Trump Move to New Jersey and Next House Freedom Caucus Speaker

Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Washington Correspondent for the Star News Network Neil McCabe to the newsmakers line to weigh in on his recent story about the House Freedom Caucus’s Speaker choice and the possible motivation behind Donald Trump’s move to New Jersey.

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Conservatives Scold Tennessee AG Herb Slatery for ‘Cheerleading’ Controversial Joe Biden Cabinet Nominee

  Three well-known Tennessee conservatives on Tuesday found fault with Republican Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery for supporting Xavier Becerra, U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as Health and Human Services secretary. Becerra, a Democrat, serves as California’s attorney general. FOX News published an article Friday that described Becerra as a controversial nominee who lacks medical experience and supports abortion access. Slatery spokeswoman Samantha Fisher said by email Tuesday that the FOX News account of Slatery’s words were accurate. “It characterized their positive working relationship as fellow attorneys general and nothing more,” Fisher said. Former Vanderbilt University professor Carol Swain told The Tennessee Star in an email that Slatery has allowed “a personal relationship to supersede valid concerns about Becerra’s record on religious liberty and human life.” “Slatery’s decision highlights the fact that it is more important than ever before for Tennessee to change the process for selecting its attorney general,” Swain wrote. “Accountability is crucial if we are to have decisions reflecting the will of the people.” Ben Cunningham of Tennessee Tax Revolt, meanwhile, said “Slatery’s endorsement of Becerra for HHS is tantamount to enthusiastic cheerleading for the far-left liberal agenda of the Biden administration.” “Biden is taking…

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Campaign to Pressure Davidson County Election Commission Is off, For Now

Some of the same people who collected the signatures for the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act are holding off on pressuring members of the Davidson County Election Commission.

As reported, The Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act referendum, if approved, would roll back Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s 34 to 37 percent tax increase. As reported last month, the Nashville Election Commission voted three to two to neither approve nor reject the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act. They instead passed the matter on to a chancery court to guide them on how to proceed, and also moved the “conditional” date of the election from December 5 to December 15.

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Guest Host Ben Cunningham and Laura Baigert Discuss the Media’s Glorification of Protesters and the Need for Government Transparency

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – guest host Ben Cunningham welcomed Kevin and Laura Baigert to the studio.

During the third hour, Cunningham and the Baigerts discussed the protesters at Legislative Plaza who broke their deal with the Tennessee Highway Patrol yet manage to be fawned over by media outlets. The Baigerts added that there is now a large class of people whose job is of political theater by provoking the police and manipulating the news media.

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