Month: May 2018

Nashville Transit Plan Opponent and Mayoral Candidate Carol Swain Big Winner After Voters Reject ‘Barry-Briley Boondoggle’

Tennessee Star Staff
Carol Swain - anti-Transit Victory

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Nashville Transit Plan opponent and mayoral candidate Carol Swain emerged the big winner Monday night as voters rejected the $9 billion plan she called “the Barry-Briley boondoggle.” Swain addressed an enthusiastic crowd of more than 100 supporters who attended the Victory Celebration for opponents of the plan hosted by her campaign and held at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville Tuesday night. Opponents of the transit plan swept to victory in the final vote count by a stunning 64 percent to 36 percent margin in record voter turnout in Nashville/Davidson County. The results were remarkably close to The Tennessee Star Poll released on April 16, which showed opposition to the plan at 62 percent, with support only at 27 percent. “Tonight is a great victory for all of Nashville,” the former Vanderbilt professor told the crowd after the pro-transit group conceded at 8:20 pm. “A $9 billion transit boondoogle that benefited developers, construction companies, and engineering firms, and left the little guy out to dry has been defeated,” she continued. “As mayor, I will work to implement immediate and long term solutions to regional traffic congestion,” Swain added. “There is a short sprint to May 24, and I’m…

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Pro-Transit Group Concedes! Opposition to Nashville Transit Plan Leads By 2 to 1 After Early Votes Reported

Tennessee Star Staff

UPDATE: 9:15 pm Candidate Party Votes Percentage ★ Against 56,016 65% For 30,343 35% Total 86,359 8:45 pm NASHVILLE, Tennessee–“Tonight is a great victory for all of Nashville. A $9 billion transit boondoogle that benefited developers, construction companies, and engineering firms, and left the little guy out to dry has been defeated,” Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain said at the Victory Celebration for opponents of the transit plan hosted by her campaign. “As mayor, I will work to implement immediate and long term solutions to regional traffic congestion,” she added. “There is a short sprint to May 24, and I’m asking for your support in my bid for Mayor of Nashville. I pledge to create a government that works for you and not against you,” the former Vanderbilt professor concluded. 8:39 pm Candidate Party Votes Percentage ★ Against 46,931 65% For 25,600 35% Total 72,531 8:20 pm The Pro-Transit Group conceded at 8:20 pm after the first dozen precincts reported today. As of 8:25 pm, the vote total was: Candidate Party Votes Percentage Against 41,999 65% For 22,451 35% Total 64,450 Rep. Diane Black’s (R-TN-06) gubernatorial campaign released the following statement after the pro-transit group conceded: “Tonight, the voters of…

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Gibson County Democrat Party Saves Turncoat Mayor From Potential Violation of State Voting Law

Chris Alto

Last week The Tennessee Star reported that the Williamson County Election Commission has referred materials related to an investigation into a report that seemed to show at least two Democrats – both of whom are currently running for elected office – voted in the Republican primary to the District Attorney for further investigation and possible prosecution. Gibson County Mayor Tom Witherspoon, twice elected as a Democrat on the party’s ticket, was included on GOP gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd’s July 2017 list of county mayor endorsements. Witherspoon credited Randy Boyd for helping “Gibson County stay in the race to land the Tyson Foods plant” and suggested that his vote for Boyd was payback for that assistance saying, “[t]hat man kept his word with me and I’ll keep my word with him.” Witherspoon’s endorsement of Boyd was followed with his confirmation on Facebook that he would he would vote for Boyd in the Republican primary election because he “votes people, not parties.” Shortly thereafter, Witherspoon filed his petition to run for a third time as a Democrat candidate for mayor. Nine days after Witherspoon filed his petition to run for re-election as a Democrat, Keith Cunningham, chair of the Gibson County Democratic Party announced that he would…

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Acting Mayor David Briley Stumbles in Last Minute Defense of Nashville Transit Plan at Public Meeting in Bellevue

Tennessee Star Staff

Acting Mayor David Briley demonstrated that he is not ready for prime time when he repeatedly stumbled Monday night in his responses to questions about the Nashville Transit Plan to a large group of voters in Bellevue. The 90 minute meeting was intended to be a last minute pro-transit pep rally, but it ended up being more like the cross examination of a witness who was not particularly compelling. Briley admitted several things damaging to the plan during the evening. He conceded to the audience that he did not think he would get federal funding for the $9 billion transit plan, already criticized as being hugely and disproportionately expensive. He also admitted that residents of Bellevue are not likely to use the proposed mass transit system. “I don’t really understand how a $9 billion investment for 3 percent turns out to be a good investment for the majority of us,” one member of the audience said, and asked Briley to explain how that math made sense. “Lots of people are not going to get on light rail or any sort of transit. I know that. We’re not saying everybody should,” a defensive Briley responded. “What we’re saying is if we…

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Conservative Talker Dennis Prager Endorses Carol Swain for Nashville Mayor

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On Monday, nationally syndicated radio host and PragerU Founder Dennis Prager endorsed former Vanderbilt professor Dr. Carol M. Swain for Mayor of Nashville. In a short video, Prager said of Dr. Swain and her candidacy: I’d just like to say to voters in Nashville, Tennessee, that you have a rare opportunity to have, as your Mayor, one of the most wonderful people living in America today. I very rarely say such things and if I do, I really mean them. This woman is not only good, kind, and brilliant – she has the most rare trait of all: she’s courageous. With she as you Mayor, your city will blossom. I have met a lot of wonderful people. She is about as good as they come. Good luck Nashville; and good luck to the Predators, too. Since Swain announced, she has garnered several high profile endorsements, among them are radio legend and businessman Dick Bott, bestselling author and financial expert Dave Ramsey, Churchill Mortgage founder Mike Hardwick, Fox and Friends host and former Concerned Veterans for America spokesman Pete Hegseth, and bestselling author and conservative activist Dinesh D’Souza. As The Tennessee Star has reported: However, momentum appears to be on Swain’s side. In…

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As Maury County Mayor, Candidate Andy Ogles Says He Will Focus on Fiscal Transparency

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Maury County mayoral candidate Andy Ogles spoke to the Maury County Republican Party at their monthly meeting last Monday, where he said that, as County Mayor, he will focus bringing transparency in the County’s financial matters. “There are several key issues facing the county,” Ogles told The Columbia Daily Herald after the meeting Monday. “One is finance transparency; with this a recent audit by the state that found several deficiencies. That has got to be fixed.” The annual audit of the 2017 fiscal year made by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, published at the end of March, cited “significant deficiencies” in Maury County’s financial system, its county offices, and its public school system. In all, the Comptroller identified 13 findings, all coming from three area of operation. One finding each from the county’s director of office of accounts and budgets, and the county trustee’s office, and then 11 from the school district. Ogles told the Daily Herald his background in economics and tax policies makes the county’s finances a “huge focus” for him: We need to make sure we are streaming our financials and becoming more compliant with the state. With becoming more efficient, there is built-in savings for the taxpayer because you are…

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Knives Out For Kelly: Leaky White House Staffers Target Chief Of Staff

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by Peter Hasson   White House chief of staff John Kelly is on the receiving end of more damaging leaks from unnamed West Wing staffers. NBC News quoted eight current and former White House staffers in a story that described Kelly complaining about President Donald Trump. Kelly frequently portrays himself as saving the country from destruction and has repeatedly called Trump an “idiot,” the anonymous officials claimed. The officials blamed Kelly for low morale in the White House and questioned his judgement. “He says stuff you can’t believe,” one senior White House official told NBC News. “He’ll say it and you think, ‘That is not what you should be saying.’” Kelly dismissed the NBC News report as “total BS” in a statement issued Monday evening. “I spend more time with the President than anyone else and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship. He always knows where I stand and he and I both know this story is total BS,” Kelly said. “I am committed to the President, his agenda, and our country. This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administrations many successes.” The leaks are the latest indication that Kelly may…

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After Years of Democrats’ False Delusions, Political Debate in America Is Poisoned Today

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by Jeffery Rendall   It’s no secret in today’s political universe that Democrats love the gullible, impressionable and naively idealistic youth of America. Heck, Democrats’ fondness for the demographic even extends beyond our borders to DREAMERS just waiting to come here illegally from other countries. But occasionally those warm feelings are put on hold when a young person goes out of character and challenges one of them on their flimsy assumptions. Such an occurrence happened last week when a teenager asked Democrat House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to elaborate on a remark she’d made a few months back in reference to the Republican tax cut/reform plan. Justin Caruso of the Daily Caller reported, “A student at Georgetown University confronted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Tuesday over her infamous ‘crumbs’ comment. “The student brought up the multiple times that the California Democrat referred to the GOP tax cuts as ‘crumbs’ for the middle class, saying, ‘As the son of small business owners, I know that it’s helped my parents hire more employees. It’s helped us pay off our mortgage, helped put me through college.’ “’On a macro economic level, the economy’s growing, wages are rising for the first time in years,’ he continued. ‘Would…

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Commentary: NEA Political Money Should Be Toxic to Conservatives Who Take It – and Christian Teachers Who Provide It

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by Steve Gill   In a 2014 article Mission America noted that the National Education Association (NEA) Teachers Union was more extreme than ever.   Beginning in the 1960s, the NEA began a progression of increased political activity, largely left-leaning and almost exclusively pro-Democrat Party. Today, NEA’s annual budget is around $367 million, not accounting for the cushy, separate budgets of its state affiliates like the TEA. Virtually none of their efforts are used to promote Republican candidates, except when seeking just enough cover in majority Red states to claim bogus “bipartisanship.” Political contributions of teacher unions hit a high in 2016, when donations hit $33.2 million. It will likely be higher in 2018, though declining NEA membership means less money collected from fewer members and more from the extremist leftwing donors and groups that have no real interest in education policy.  Of the money that went to politicians directly in 2016, ninety three percent (93%) went to Democrats. The NEA (National Education Association) probably doesn’t realize — or care — that many of their members are Republicans who may not appreciate having their member dues used to advance partisan left-wing causes. As more of their members learn how their money is…

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Final Push Begins to Defeat $9 Billion Nashville Transit Plan as Voters Go to the Polls Today

Jason M. Reynolds
skeptical transit plan man

NoTax4Tracks, a PAC that seeks alternatives to Metro Nashville’s $9 billion light rail plan, is making a final push to defeat the measure on today’s ballot. “From the beginning we knew that this transit plan had problems. We’ve been around government long enough to know that when you hide the price on page 55 of a plan, there is something fishy,” the group said in a newsletter Monday. NoTax4Tracks has previously pointed out that the light rail system would only serve 3 percent of Davidson County’s population and not cover most of the high-traffic areas. “The more we looked, the more we saw the fatal flaws, like it really doesn’t solve the congestion and hits those who can least afford it with one the biggest sales tax of any major city.” The group said a focus group in February provided three key messages for undecided voters: Does this really fix congestion and what areas does it cover? How much is this actually going to cost? How long will the streets be torn up to build this? NoTax4Tracks responded with fact-based commercials. “Online, if you can get 25% of the people to watch a thirty second commercial, you have a home run. Over…

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