TownHall.com has called out Bill Lee of Tennessee and other Republican governors for what it describes as “moral preening from 18 (and counting) RINO squishes” after they announced their respective states will not stop resettling refugees.
In a column published Monday, Scott Morefield lists all the Republican governors who have announced they will continue taking refugees. But Morefield devoted a large chunk of space to pouring scorn on Lee, who “even overrode disapproval from state GOP leaders to ask for refugee resettlement in his state.”
“For his actions, Lee earned the glowing approval of a ‘pro-life Christian’ Memphis Commercial Appeal guest-columnist, who thanked the governor for ‘courageously living out his faith by choosing to love refugees as his neighbor by continuing the refugee resettlement program in the great state of Tennessee,’” Morefield wrote.
“Lee, like most of the other governors, based his decision at least in part on his Christian faith. It’s a line of thinking that sounds great on the surface, noble even, until you dig just a bit beneath that surface. First of all, as Fox News host Tucker Carlson astutely asked during his aforementioned conversation with (American Majority Founder Ned) Ryun, these governors ‘aren’t actually housing any of the refugees in their own homes or paying any of their own money, so how is it Christian virtue to take other people’s money by force and give it away? I don’t member that part of the gospel.’”
Morefield went on to say that Lee’s values “are costing state taxpayers a boatload, to the tune of upwards of $80,000 per refugee in the first five years of resettlement, which includes welfare, housing assistance, and other forms of aid and social services.”
Morefield also called out other Republican governors, including Doug Ducey of Arizona, Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, Brad Little of Idaho, Eric Holcomb of Indiana, and Kim Reynolds of Iowa.
As The Tennessee Star reported last month, Republican Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Republican Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton said they disagree with Lee’s decision.
Lee had this power, per an executive order from U.S. Republican President Donald Trump. Trump issued an executive order in September that asked states and cities to consent in writing if they want to continue refugee resettlements.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Lee and Haslam have been buddies for a long time and if the voters would have done some research on him instead of falling victim to his “I am a Christian” mantra in order to win an election you would know he was doing what ALL politicians do on the campaign trail. They find what pulls at the voters heart strings and they run with it. I didn’t vote for him and I warned people about him. This resettlement thing is not the only RINO thing he has done. Education vouchets and 12 weeks paid FMLA for STATE employees. He says the surplus will pay for it but what happens in 5 years when he has blown through the surplus with all of his socialist hand out programs??
If we have a surplus then he needs to return that money to the taxpayer. Repeal the gas tax, lower the sales tax all of which benefits Tennesseans including the poor. If he were truly a good business man he would use 0$ budgeting and only take what they need to run the government. Typical of government. Money left over is looked at as money they can just make up ways to spend. This is not serving TN. Again, spending it the way he is will one day eat through the surplus and taxes will go up to pay for his socialist programs……vouchers, paid leave, refugee resettlement etc.
Anyone that has dealt with paid FMLA ( and I have) knows the horrors of it and how employees use it to get paid time off for things like a cold, headaches, mentrual cramps (really most of the excuses are just to get time off) and it does not count against absence policies. So if you have employees eiwth a history of a high absence rate and have them on an absence program that could result in termination they now have 12 additional weeks to play with, get paid and not jeopardize their job. FMLA is more than time off for having a baby. Paid time off under FMLA will cost the state HUGE amounts of money and it won’t take people long to game the system. Most of the public has no idea what FMLA is all about and paid FMLA is a disaster and will cost a FORTUNE.
Gee, is part of being a Christian to lie and deceive people?? Because, in my opinion and from my observations of Lee that is the kind of Christian Lee appears to be.
Buying votes at the tax payers expense.
I wish he really was a RINO, but I doubt it seriously. One can change positions on one issue but still remain the same on other issues. I fear that he will remain right-of-center on most other issues unless he is pressured. While I congratulated Lee on the refugee stand, I made it plain that I still have many differences with him on other issues.
I haint none to happy with either Lee or Blackburn.
Lee sold out.
Haslam, and now Lee. FAKES Bill Lee is proof…There are demons living among us ! How many drug overdose deaths in 2019 ? How many rural hospitals closed ? How many rural jobs lost ? I wont vote for another republican for governor in Tennessee ! Why should I ? the last two are JUST LIKE democrats !