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Self Proclaimed ‘Moderate’ Gubernatorial Candidate Randy Boyd Sends Mailer Trying to Appeal to Conservatives

June 9, 2017June 9, 2017 Laura Baigert

Tennessee Star

Former commissioner of the state Economic and Community Development turned gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd, who has publicly described himself as a “moderate,” is now appealing to conservatives for support through a recent direct mail campaign. “I’m probably the most hated, disrespected, untolerated political entity in existence,” Boyd said, continuing, “I’m a moderate,” according to an April 2015 interview with the Knoxville Mercury. Apparently, Boyd now considers himself a conservative, as he makes references to conservatives and conservative values in all four pages of his four-page letter as well as the sheet intended to be returned with a financial contribution or volunteer sign-up. The mailing was packaged in a standard letter-sized envelope, with about a quarter of the front conspicuously covered with a picture of Randy Boyd accompanied by the statement, “I’m not a professional politician. I’m a businessman. That alone won’t elect me as Tennessee’s next Governor. But it’s a darn good place to start.” The enclosed letter starts off with an appealing story about a young man who recognized Boyd at a gas station as “the dog guy” who made “community college free.” After addressing why he decided to run for governor – “to try and make a…

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Commentary: The End Of Obama’s Corrupt Global Warming Treaty

June 3, 2017June 2, 2017 Tennessee Star Staff

by George Rasley, ConservativeHQ.com Editor Thursday, President Trump announced that the United States is withdrawing from Obama’s disastrous Paris climate accord. The President’s action marks another important campaign promise fulfilled, and it also marks the end of one of Obama’s most corrupt acts as President. While Obama and his liberal allies from Hollywood to Silicon Valley to Wall Street claim that the goal of the treaty was to reduce so-called greenhouse gasses, its effect was to produce a massive wealth transfer from American workers to foreigners and wealthy investors. And the end of that wealth transfer is what drives the howls emanating from Wall Street and Silicon Valley. For example, according to The Los Angeles Times, Obama crony Elon Musk received some $4.9 billion in taxpayer subsidies for Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX. Our friends at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) claim that, “American taxpayers spent an average of $39 billion a year over the past 5 years financing grants, subsidizing tax credits, guaranteeing loans, bailing out failed solar energy boondoggles.” According to one estimate by the Los Angeles Times, state and federal subsidies to Musk’s SolarCity have eclipsed the $1.5 billion mark. Meanwhile, less than one percent of the…

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Gov. Haslam Attends Ceremonial Signings, Ignores Severe Weather Damage in Memphis

June 2, 2017July 17, 2018 Laura Baigert

As Governor Bill Haslam sets out next Monday on cross-state IMPROVE Act Bill Signing Ceremonies, he has not yet seen the damage himself from the severe weather that hit Memphis and surrounding Shelby County last Saturday night. And, he has no plans to travel there this week, according to a report from Fox 13 Memphis. Meanwhile, Governor Haslam has announced IMPROVE Act Bill Signing Ceremonies to be held Monday, June 5 in each of Tennessee’s three grand divisions. As of Thursday morning, the fifth day after the storm, Memphis Light Gas and Water Division (MLGW) power outage map indicates that over 32,000 customers are still impacted by power outages, down from a peak of 188,000. While power has been restored to the majority of customers, full restoration could take more than a week for the remaining customers as progress slows dealing with smaller outages. The storm has been described by MLGW as the “third worst storm in the area’s history.” An email dated May 31 from the Tennessee County Services Association (TCSA) Executive Director, David Connor, attached an invitation on Governor Haslam’s letterhead that included the details of the ceremonies: 10:15 a.m. in Hamilton County, 1 p.m. in Nashville/Davidson…

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Tennessee Pastors Network Calls for Protection of Sermons in Tennessee As Now Provided in Texas

May 30, 2017May 29, 2017 Admin

The Tennessee Pastors Network announced today that they are encouraging Tennessee legislators, and candidates for Governor, to embrace legislation signed into law in Texas on May 19, 2017 which shields pastors sermons from subpoenas issued by state courts. “Religious freedom is one of our most cherished rights, and pastors in Tennessee should be assured that they will not be targeted for government interference, threats or intimidation for what they prepare and deliver from their pulpits,” said Tennessee Pastors Network President Dale Walker in calling for Tennessee to follow Texas’ lead The Texas bill was authored by state Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) and signed into law by Republican Governor Greg Abbott after passage in the Texas legislature. Texas Senate Bill 24 provides that a government cannot “compel the production or disclosure of a written copy or audio or video recording of a sermon delivered by a religious leader during religious worship … or compel the religious leader to testify regarding the sermon.” “President Donald Trump made protection of our religious liberties a centerpiece of his campaign and he carried Tennessee by a huge margin on that platform, including carrying all but one of Tennessee’s 95 counties,” Walker noted. “I would hope…

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State Rep. Judd Matheny: ‘If Everybody Does Stand Together, Government Has to Come Down to Our Level’

May 29, 2017May 28, 2017 Laura Baigert

MOUNT JULIET, Tennessee — At the Wilson County Conservative Republicans meeting Saturday, guest speaker Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) said of the battle over the 2018 state budget, “If everybody does stand together, government has to come down to our level.” Matheny was referring to the stand-off that occurred in the House of Representatives when he added a constitution-breaking amendment to the budget, which prompted House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) to come down on the House floor and sit next to Matheny in Rep. Mark Pody’s (R-Lebanon) adjacent empty seat. Alluding to Pody’s absence that day preaching the eulogy at a funeral, “The seat was empty next to me, and believe me, I felt it,” said Matheny. The monthly meeting, according to host Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), started seven to eight years ago and was attended this month by a crowd of about 40 overflowing the room at the Providence location of Logan’s Roadhouse in Mt. Juliet. Pody introduced Matheny at the Saturday meeting, saying that sitting next to Judd Matheny was the only request he has ever made of Speaker Harwell when he came to the House and she asked what Pody wanted for a wide range of…

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House Passes Governor Haslam’s $37 Billion State Budget in Anticlimactic Ending

May 6, 2017May 5, 2017 Laura Baigert

After much drama, heated exchanges on the floor, a tense caucus meeting on Thursday, it seemed that Friday’s floor session to address the fiscal year 2017-18 budget was not starting off much better when there were not enough members present for a quorum at 9:07 a.m. But, by 11:23 a.m. the four bills that made the state $37 billion 2017-18 budget had been passed by the House. When a quorum was not detected by 9:07 a.m., Republican Caucus Leader Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville) requested a recess until 10 a.m. for the purpose of a caucus meeting, which took place in the library. The caucus meeting was quickly turned over by Williams to House Majority Leader Glen Casada (R-Franklin), who reviewed the process for the day. Casada explained that there would be two amendments to the budget appropriations bill, the first being a “stripper” amendment, which would take off all of the additional appropriations to HB 511 approved Thursday. The second was the addition of a $55 million non-recurring appropriation to counties taken from the Highway Fund for the purpose of “kick starting” road work. Casada also mentioned the possibility of a third amendment, but was reluctant to share details until he was…

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Report: State Senator Mark Green ‘Could Withdraw This Week’ As President Trump’s Army Secretary Nominee

May 4, 2017May 4, 2017 Tennessee Star Staff

Tennessee Star

“President Trump’s pick for Army secretary could withdraw from consideration as early as this week, according to a report, following a slew of accusations from liberal groups over comments he’s made regarding LGBT issues and Islam,” the Washington Examiner reported on Thursday morning: Sources close to the nomination process believe Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green may not have enough support from Republicans and Democrats to be confirmed, CNN reported. Green, a conservative Christian, is under increasing fire from the political Left over past statements opposing gay marriage, transgender bathroom rights and teaching Islam in public schools. On Monday, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the No. 2 Democrat in the House, called his past statements “disgusting” and joined 31 fellow Democrats in urging the Senate to reject the nomination for what they called a history of homophobia and transphobia. “Republicans, meanwhile, have been mostly silent on the issue. Sen. John McCain, in a brief interview with USA Today, said he was bothered by Green’s past statements,” the Examiner reported. Should Green (R-Clarksville) withdraw, he would likely consider entering the race for the GOP nomination for Governor in Tennessee in 2018, where he would immediately become the conservative front runner. Two other candidates,…

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House Finance Ways and Means Committee Votes to Break The Copeland Cap

May 4, 2017 Laura Baigert

Tennessee Star

At the final stop before the full House makes its first of three votes on Governor Haslam’s 2017-18 $37 billion state budget, the Finance, Ways & Means Committee finalized the bills required to move the budget on, including HB 514, which Chairman Charles Sargent (R-Franklin) referred to as the “indexing bill” or Copeland Cap. The Copeland Cap is the 1978 amendment to Article II, Section 24 of the Tennessee constitution that states, “In no year shall the rate of growth of appropriations from state tax revenues exceed the estimated rate of growth of the state’s economy as determined by law.” The amendment was named for its author, former state Representative David Copeland of Ooltewah. As reported by The Tennessee Star, with the growth of state revenues, lawmakers were expected to have to break the Copeland Cap. That was confirmed Wednesday, when Chairman Sargent presented the bill to the committee, saying, “Revenues have grown and collections in the 16 budget that was not recognized in 16. That money has been placed over into the 17-18 budget. So we have to recognized that we went over. We went over by 2.85 over and above the Copeland Cap.” No further details were provided as…

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School Voucher Bill Pushed To Next Year

April 27, 2017 Wendy Wilson

Tennessee supporters of school vouchers will have to wait until next year for another shot at legislative approval. Rep. Harry Brooks (R-Knoxville) on Wednesday deferred his bill to next year. The proposed legislation was sponsored in the Senate by Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown). Vouchers allow students to attend private schools with taxpayer money. Supporters have been trying for seven years to get vouchers approved in Tennessee. This year’s bill would have allowed for a pilot program in Memphis. Voucher proponents say they empower parents to make educational choices for their children. Critics of vouchers say they drain money from public schools and violate the separation of church and state when children choose to attend religious schools. Chalkbeat reports: Many advocates had thought that limiting vouchers to Memphis would give this year’s proposal the support needed to become law, winning over wary lawmakers from elsewhere in Tennessee. They also hoped to benefit from national attention to private school choice efforts. President Donald Trump and his education secretary, Betsy DeVos, have both used their platforms to advocate for vouchers and similar programs. But in the end, disagreements over how private schools should be held accountable for academic results — as well as legislators’ exhaustion after…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry To Give State of Metro Address Wednesday

April 25, 2017 Wendy Wilson

Tennessee Star

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry will deliver her second State of Metro address Wednesday morning at Bridgestone Arena. The event is open to the public and will be streamed live. The Democratic mayor will present details of her budget proposal and is expected to mention the tentative $6 billion regional mass transit plan to be phased in over 25 years. Barry is a champion of Gov. Bill Haslam’s IMPROVE Act, which raises the tax on gas for road improvements. The legislation also allows Metro Nashville and other municipalities to hold a referendum on raising local taxes to fund transit projects. The IMPROVE Act has been passed by the state legislature and Haslam will soon sign it into law. While Barry is popular among the city’s Democrats, her progressive views on a wide range of issues are excoriated by many conservatives. Barry said in a statement that Nashville’s growth presents challenges. “With new economic opportunity and growth comes a responsibility to ensure we continue to support the long-time residents and businesses that make up the heart of Nashville,” she said. “At this year’s State of Metro, I look forward to sharing my vision for how we can harness this growth and ensure…

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Liberals Claim Protests Are Their Version of the Tea Party. Is It True?

April 20, 2017April 19, 2017 Tennessee Star Staff

Tennessee Star

Jeffrey A. Rendall Perhaps it’s a just part of our 21st century political reality where partisans fight over everything under the sun, but now Democrats and Republicans can’t seem to agree on whose people are (or were) angriest – or even whether the others’ followers were angry at all. With congressmen and senators back in their districts since recessing almost two weeks ago, Republicans especially have faced another wave of angry protesters during town hall meetings and public appearances. The Berkeley protestsscenes have become almost formulaic, like a bad romantic comedy movie. Here’s the scenario: a congressman advertises an event; leftwing groups put out the word to their shock troops, people show up, make a lot of noise, don’t let the congressman say very much without interruption, earn dirty looks from people who are there legitimately concerned about something, the press eats it up and everyone leaves upset claiming they’re not being heard and Trump and the Republicans don’t care about them. It’s become so commonplace and predictable since Donald Trump won the presidency almost six months ago that Republicans are now just taking it all in stride. W. James Antle III of the Washington Examiner wrote, “Liberals are…

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Haslam’s IMPROVE Act Includes Same ‘Economic Development’ That Lost Millions in TNInvestco

April 18, 2017 Laura Baigert

Tennessee Star

“A performance audit from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has revealed the State of Tennessee has only recovered $5.3 million of its initial $200 million investment in the TNInvestco program,” according to a statement dated November 10, 2016, under the name of Justin P. Wilson, Comptroller, referring to a performance audit report. The statement from the Comptroller focused primarily on the TNInvestco program from the 60-page October 2016 “Performance Audit Report” produced by the state’s Comptroller’s office on Governor Haslam’s Department of Economic Development and Tennessee Technology Development Corporation. The Report was conducted by the Comptroller’s Department of Audit, Division of State Audit, with the report dated October 25, 2016, signed by Director, Deborah V. Loveless, CPA and addressed to The Honorable Ron Ramsey, Speaker of the Senate; The Honorable Beth Harwell, Speaker of the House of Representatives; The Honorable Mike Bell, Chair, Senate Committee on Government Operations; The Honorable Jeremy Faison, Chair, House Committee on Government Operations; and, Members of the General Assembly; and The Honorable Randy Boyd, Commissioner, Department of Economic and Community Development. At the time of the audit, the program was in in its sixth year, having been approved by the Tennessee legislature in 2009. With…

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Under Governor Haslam, Tennessee Department of Transportation ‘Overhead’ Costs Have Grown 63 Percent, While ‘Highway Infrastructure’ Spending Has Shrunk By 33 Percent

March 21, 2017March 1, 2023 Laura Baigert

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) total costs for “Administration” plus “Headquarters Operation,” what would be considered “overhead” in the business world, have grown by 63 percent, from $78.9 to $117 million, in the seven years between Gov. Haslam’s first budget in FY 2011-12 and his proposed budget for FY 2017-18. While TDOTs overhead has skyrocketed, spending on one of the main Programs for road improvements, “Highway Infrastructure,” has gone down by more than 30 percent in that same time period. Table 1 provides the details of TDOT’s “Recommended Budget By Program and Funding Source” obtained from multiple years of budget documents and includes the links to the source documents and the page references. The table demonstrates that since fiscal year 2010-11, the last year of Governor Bredesen’s administration, there are multiple Programs, including Administration, Headquarters Operation, State Industrial Access, Planning and Research, Interstate System and Highway Infrastructure and TDOT as a whole, for which the funding was reduced by Gov. Haslam’s in his first year and have never recovered. Table 1 Department of Transportation Recommended Budget by Program Source Source Source Source Source Sheet 46 of 656 Sheet 46 of 550 Sheet 46 of 558 Sheet 47 of 558…

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Refugee Resettlement and Illegal Immigration Driving Up Education Costs in Tennessee

March 17, 2017March 16, 2017 Chris Alto

Refugees

The TN Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is among the most aggressive opponents to the legislature’s constitutional challenge to the federal refugee resettlement program and to current and past legislative efforts to reduce illegal immigration to Tennessee. However, TIRRC takes credit for “helping to pass a bill to increase statewide funding for English language learner (ELL) programs in public schools by $30 million.” As the legal and illegal immigrant population in Tennessee has grown, so has the cost to state and local taxpayers to teach non-English speaking students in the state’s public schools. State funding for English Language Learner (ELL) services in Tennessee public schools has increased annually bringing the 2012 $49 million up to $65.8 million in fiscal year 2016. The required local share has increased from $21 million to $28.2 million during the same time. In September 2016, Metro Nashville Public Schools sued the state wanting more money for ELL services, alleging that the state did not meet the Basic Education Program funding formula and as such, state funding was inadequate to pay for the proper ratio of students to teachers and translators. Tennessee Department of Education spokeswoman Sara Gast wrote that the state had provided $220 million in new…

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Steve Gill Encourages Conservatives to Take Action

March 4, 2017May 13, 2018 Wendy Wilson

Nashville attorney and political commentator Steve Gill told the crowd at Saturday’s Spirit of America Rally that all Americans, regardless of political party, should be concerned about the progressive drift in the U.S. For starters, Gill would like to see more unity behind the push for no higher taxes. He said Gov. Haslam’s plan to raise the tax on gas to fund road improvements is something that should be stopped. Frustration with tax hikes like this one is something that should resonate across various political factions, he said. Gill devoted much of his speech to concerns about Christian influence on culture and politics, which he has become more involved in through efforts to increase evangelical turnout at the polls. He is national chairman of Lift the Vote, a non-profit organization founded to encourage more Christian engagement in politics. The group was influential in persuading Christians to get out and vote in the 2016 election. “Christians turned out and the made the difference in this election,” he said, referring to President Trump’s success among evangelicals. But Christians need to keep up the pressure on politicians to ensure that the Senate confirms conservative Supreme Court picks, Gill said. Gill said conservatives need…

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Commentary by Steve Gill: It’s Not About the Roads!

February 28, 2017May 13, 2018 Steve Gill

Tennessee Star - Steve Gill

As Governor Bill Haslam continues to tout the need for a massive tax increase in order to fund road and bridge construction and maintenance in Tennessee it is increasingly clear that the well-funded and heavily lobbied campaign for higher taxes actually has nothing to do with roads. It is actually about spending billions in surplus and increased recurring revenue on everything EXCEPT roads! A good magician is a master of misdirection. While you are captivated by what they are doing with their right hand the real trick is happening in the left hand. Governor Haslam is using the same sort of misdirect move to hide the truth about his tax increase scheme. While Tennessee currently has a surplus of a billion dollars AND an extra billion dollars in recurring revenue the Governor is fighting against any an all efforts to spend ANY of that money on roads. He prefers to impose higher taxes on Tennessee drivers with a seven cent increase in the gasoline tax and a twelve cent increase in the diesel tax (plus additional fees and taxes) that will generate about $300 million a year more for state and local road projects. State Representative David Hawk has proposed…

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