Day: October 27, 2017

Bob Corker ‘Couldn’t Get Elected Dogcatcher’ in Tennessee, But Doesn’t Rule Out 2020 Primary Challenge to President Trump

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) was at it again on Friday. The junior senator from Tennessee, whose poll ratings in his home state are so low President Trump recently tweeted “he couldn’t get elected dog catcher,” is fanning the flames of a potential 2020 GOP Republican Presidential primary challenge to President Trump. The Associated Press, reporting from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, has the story: Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee did not rule out a run in 2020 against President Donald Trump when asked about it by reporters Friday, saying he’s focused on the next 14 months of his term and isn’t thinking that far ahead. The noncommittal response came as Corker doubled down this week on criticism of Trump, calling him “utterly untruthful” and responsible for “the debasement of our nation.” “You know, I don’t know what I’m doing next Sunday,” the senator responded when reporters asked about a potential presidential bid. Corker said it was far too soon to say if he would want a strong Republican primary challenge of Trump, whether by him or someone else. “I think that if you even begin thinking those things, everything you do becomes viewed through a different lens,” Corker said generally about presidential ambitions.

Read the full story

President Trump Thanks Rep. Diane Black for Her Role in Passing the Budget

Admin

For the first time in nearly a decade, the House and the Senate has passed a budget – albeit without much help from Democrats. The move sets the stage for a massive tax reform package, the largest since President Ronald Reagan’s overhaul in 1986. President Trump took the opportunity to offer his thanks for a job well done this morning to Tennessee’s own Representative Diane Black (R-TN-06), who serves as the powerful House Budget Committee Chair. Diane Black of Tennessee, the highly respected House Budget Committee Chairwoman, did a GREAT job in passing Budget, setting up big Tax Cuts — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2017 To which, Ms. Black replied: Thank you for your support @realDonaldTrump! Great working with you — big tax cuts next! #MAGA https://t.co/AV7RX4CgS1 — Diane Black (@DianeBlackTN) October 27, 2017   Representative Black – who is running to replace the termed-out Governor Bill Haslam – released a short statement reiterating her strong support of President Trump’s agenda, and her commitment to bringing the same kind of ‘America First’ principles to Tennessee, should she be elected. It reads: This morning, President Trump praised Diane Black for her work on the budget and paving the way for tax cuts…

Read the full story

4 Examples of What Happens When Jurisdictions Don’t Cooperate With ICE

Admin

“Sanctuary” policies haven’t kept federal immigration authorities from doing their job, but there have been numerous cases of local jurisdictions refusing to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests. In some cases, those released have been charged with murder and other crimes. Sanctuary jurisdictions are cities or counties that have formal policies that prohibit local…

Read the full story

Murfreesboro, Shelbyville Brace for ‘White Lives Matter’ Rallies and Counter Demonstrations

Wendy Wilson

Murfreesboro and Shelbyville are bracing for Saturday’s “White Lives Matter” rallies that have already drawn widespread attention. Officials have issued public safety plans and people are organizing counter protests to challenge the messages of the League of the South and other similar extremist groups. Tensions heading into the Middle Tennessee rallies are high given the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August between white supremacists and radical leftist counter demonstrators. The League of the South describes itself on its website as a “Southern Nationalist organization that seeks the survival, well being, and independence of the Southern people.” The group’s leader, Michael Hill, says the group is demonstrating “to call attention to the continuing influx of African immigrants/refugees into middle Tennessee, and to protest the recent black-on-white church shooting in Antioch.” The group has allied itself with the Nationalist Front, National Socialist Movement (NSM) and the Traditionalist Workers Party (TWP). The Murfreesboro Police Department and Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department released a joint statement Wednesday about the rally set to be held in the city’s downtown public square Saturday afternoon. The statement said the departments “will partner with federal, state, and other local law enforcement agencies to ensure the constitutional rights and safety of citizens.” The…

Read the full story

Noncitizen Immigrants Voted Illegally in Pennsylvania Elections

Admin

A Pennsylvania election official confirmed Wednesday that noncitizen immigrants illegally voted in elections hundreds of times since 2000, casting doubt on the state’s ability to screen out ineligible voters on its election roles. Jonathan Marks, commissioner for Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation, told a state legislative committee that an agency analysis found 544 improper…

Read the full story

Commentary: With Bannon as Their Guardian Angel, the GOP Senate Will Want to Live Again

Admin

by Jeffery A Rendall   We’re still two months away from Christmas yet it’s never too early to anticipate the good times ahead when we’ll observe the sacred traditions that stimulate positive memories from the past. For me, one such ritual is revisiting the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the tale of everyman George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) and his look back at his own life alongside guardian angel Clarence who was sent to Bedford Falls to help the small town good-guy realize that he’d really led a very consequential and worthwhile existence. There’s a part of the legendary movie that reminds me a little of what’s going on with elements of the Republican donor establishment these days. In one famous scene, Mr. Potter, the film’s greedy old scrooge-like miser invites Bailey into his office to try and sweet-talk the man into abandoning his business, thus obtaining through addition what Potter couldn’t earn through beating his rival at his own game. Unsurprisingly, Bailey informs Potter he won’t be bought. How does George Bailey and Mr. Potter relate to today’s noxious DC swamp? Some GOP establishment groups are bringing in Steve Bannon to headline their events, in essence to “hire”…

Read the full story

Feds to Pay ‘Generous’ Settlement to Tea Party Groups for Targeting

Admin

The government apologized Thursday for illegally targeting tea party groups for intrusive scrutiny and agreed to settlements with hundreds of organizations snared in the targeting, bringing to a close one of the more embarrassing episodes of the Obama administration. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the IRS owed the groups an apology after years of poor treatment…

Read the full story

917 Society’s Work to Promote U.S. Constitution Featured in Ferrier Files on Fox 17 News

Wendy Wilson

The 917 Society’s efforts to promote the U.S. Constitution were featured in a story Thursday by Dennis Ferrier on Nashville’s Fox 17 News. A nonpartisan nonprofit based in the Nashville area, the 917 Society aims to get a free copy of the Constitution to every eighth grader in Tennessee. “This is the one thing that binds us together no matter what we believe,” Joni Bryan, founder and executive director of the 917 Society, told Fox 17. Bryan has been mailing or delivering hundreds of copies of the Constitution to schools across the state. The copies include an oath of citizenship to make the Constitution more personally meaningful to the students receiving them. Ann Marie Crozier, a history teacher at Richview Middle School in Clarksville, is using the 917 Society booklets with her students. Crozier said students have taken better care of the Constitutions than is typical for materials associated with classroom activities. “We are not finding these in the trash can. We’re not finding them on the floor,” she told Fox 17. “I have one child that dropped hers on the floor and was real excited to get it back.” Thirteen-year-old Nicholas Newman, who was interviewed in Crozier’s classroom, said the…

Read the full story

Shares of Drug Distributors Fall on News of President Trump’s Opioid Plan

Admin

Shares of pharmacy chains and drug distribution companies tumbled Thursday as President Donald Trump outlined his plans for addressing the US opioid crisis. Shares of McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health fell by 5.2 percent, 4.2 percent and 3.4 percent, each sliding as Trump declared the matter a “public health emergency” and promised legal action against “bad…

Read the full story

State Sen. Mark Green Endorsed by Family Research Council in Run for Congress

Wendy Wilson
Mark Green FRC endorsement

The Family Research Council’s Action PAC on Thursday endorsed state Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) for Congress. Green is running for the 7th Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-7), who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). The Washington, D.C., pro-family advocacy group has many members and supporters in Tennessee. “These formidable times require bold leaders of unwavering conviction,” Lt. General (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, executive vice president of the Family Research Council and its Action PAC, said in a campaign news release. “From speaking with Mark Green, consulting with those who know him, and observing his professional record in the Tennessee Senate, we believe he will be just such a leader in the United States Congress.” Boykin said the council’s Action PAC believes that if elected, Green would “continue to advocate for limited government and strong family values.” Earlier this month, Green picked up an endorsement from the Club for Growth, a fiscal conservative advocacy group. He also has been endorsed by former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who won the 2012 Tennessee Republican presidential primary. Green is a physician, veteran and businessman first elected to the state Senate in 2012.…

Read the full story

Leahy Asks Tea Party Activists to Sign Up as Constitution Mentors for Next Generation

Admin

Speaking to the 7th and 8th Congressional District Coalition in Paris, Tennessee on Thursday evening, The Tennessee Star CEO and Editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy asked the long time Tea Party activists in the audience to sign up as Constitution Mentors for the next generation. Leahy noted that most Tea Party activists are now 50 or older. “We launched this movement back in February 2009, more than eight years ago. We’ve all gotten older,” Leahy, who is also a Breitbart contributor based in Nashville, told the audience. “It’s time for us to pass the torch of constitutional liberty on to the next generation, and one way to do that is for you to sign up and become a Constitution Mentor as part of the Polk Foundation’s Tennessee Star Constitution Project,” Leahy noted. “My boss at Breitbart and good friend, former White House chief strategist and Breitbart executive chairman Steve Bannon, has been saying for some time that we’re not going to Make America Great Again overnight. It’s going to take another ten, twenty years. I think he’s right, it may even take thirty years to preserve and protect our constitutional republic.” “But as Steve points out, we didn’t get here overnight. It’s…

Read the full story