Ousted Democrat John DeBerry Loses House District 90 to Torrey Harris

Incumbent John DeBerry lost Tennessee’s House District 90 to Democratic candidate Torrey Harris on Tuesday. DeBerry lost by nearly 55 points, or just over 11,000 votes.

Although DeBerry had served the office as a Democrat for the last 26 years, the Democratic Party removed him from the primary ballot over disagreements with his views on abortion and education. 

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Iowa Democrat Jim Larew Discusses a Biden Win and Why Iowa May Not Be the Important Metric it Once Was

Iowa Democrat Jim Larew joined 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. –  Monday morning on the newsmakers line.

During the second hour, Larew explained how he saw Joe Biden’s campaign gain energy and spring to victory in the South Carolina primary which he felt was aided by the endorsement of Representative James Clyburn. Somberly, he added that Iowa may no longer be the indicator as it has been for the last 24 years by referencing Mayor Pete’s bowing out of the race after a victory in the state.

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Commentary: How the Ruling Class Might Elect Bloomberg and Realign American Politics

The Democratic Party’s establishment might well succeed in making Michael Bloomberg president of the United States—not on Election Night 2020, however. But it could happen if a third party were to win some electoral votes and, with no candidate receiving a majority of them, the House of Representatives was called upon to choose between the top-two electoral vote-getters.

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Klobuchar Calls for Over 500 Percent Increase in Refugees, But Just Not in Her Neighborhood, Reports Say

  “Do what I say, not as I do,” could be the mantra for Presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar when it comes to resettling more than 500 percent more refugees under her proposal since virtually none of them would end up in her neighborhood, according to a report. And one of her motives is to support the big businesses that handle resettlement, according to reports. The Democratic U.S. senator from Minnesota wants to skyrocket the number of refugees taken in every year from President Trump’s cap of 18,000 to the Obama-era level of at least 110,000, Breitbart reported. While Minneapolis has resettled thousands of refugees since 2009, almost none live in Marcy-Holmes, where Klobuchar owns a home with her husband. Nearly 85 percent of all residents in Klobuchar’s neighborhood are native-born American citizens and of the less than ten percent of foreign-born residents, half arrived from China, India, Korea, Germany, Thailand, and Malaysia — countries from where only five refugees have been resettled in Minnesota in the last decade and none of whom have been resettled in Minneapolis much less Klobuchar’s neighborhood. Klobuchar is not the only Democratic presidential candidate to call for drastically flooding America with refugees. South Bend, Indiana,…

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Mayor Pete Would Increase Refugee Influx by 511 Percent If He Becomes President Pete

Mayor Pete says he would inundate America with at least 110,000 refugees a year if he were to become President Pete, an increase of 511 percent. Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, made the remark in a Q&A interview on human rights with Amnesty International. The full interview is available here. Going from the current limit of 18,000 annually to 110,000 annually would represent a 511 percent increase. One question was, “What role should U.S. refugee admissions play in our response to the global refugee crisis?” His response was: The world is facing the largest refugee crisis since World War II. Instead of providing leadership, the Trump administration has abdicated its responsibility. We need to restore our place as a global leader in refugee resettlement. I would return to the 110,000 admissions target last proposed by the Obama administration and would be open to going beyond that number. Far from being “full”, many communities like my own have actually lost population and would welcome more immigrants and refugees. It is not only the right thing to do, but in our interest, as it would help grow our tax base and plug labor gaps as Americans age.…

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Steve Bannon Joins Michael Patrick Leahy to Talk About His Recent Visit on ‘Bill Maher,’ ‘Bloomberg Money,’ and China’s Pandemic

Former Trump White House chief strategist and creator and host of War Room 2020, Steve Bannon joined host Michael Patrick Leahy Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – to discuss how he’s taking the Trump Revolution to the left every chance he can.

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IOWA: Jim Larew Weighs in on Democratic Presidential Field and Caucus Strategies

Live from Music Row Tuesday 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. – Leahy was joined on the newsmaker line by longtime friend and ambassador to Iowa, Jim Larew to examine the current positioning of the Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa.

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Jim Larew Weighs In on Iowa’s Justice and Liberty Event and Buttigieg’s Self-Proclaimed ‘Obama Moment’

On Monday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy was joined by good friend and famed Iowan attorney Jim Larew to chat about last weeks Liberty and Justice event in Iowa and how it’s changed the pace of the campaigns.

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IOWA: The Tennessee Star Report Chats with Ambassador to the Democratic Presidential Field Jim Larew

Live from music row Monday 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 am to 8:00 am – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by longtime friend and Iowan Attorney, Jim Larew to discuss the current climate on the Democratic Presidential field in Iowa.

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Michael Patrick Leahy Interviews Donna Brazile on The Tennessee Star Report from Politicon in Nashville

In a special edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast live on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC Saturday afternoon from Politicon at the Music City Convention Center, host Michael Patrick Leahy was joined by former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile to talk about election integrity, Hillary Clinton, and the current positions of the 2020 Democratic candidates running for President.

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Live From Iowa, Jim Larew Reviews the Current Trends in the 2020 Democratic Presidential Race

In a special interview Monday 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 am to 8:00 am – host Michael Patrick Leahy spoke with good friend and Iowan attorney, Jim Larew about the current front runners in the 2020 Democratic Presidential race.

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Field of Dreams: Michael Patrick Leahy Reflects with Jim Larew About Iowa’s Historical Politics and Current Caucus Trends

  On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to good friend, attorney Jim Larew direct from Iowa about how the state has shifted historically from Republican to Democrat and now purple. Towards the end of the show, the men discussed current poll numbers showing Warren leading Biden. Larew disclosed that believes Biden is still in the lead based upon his “celebrity status.” Leahy: We are joined now on the line by my very good friend, Jim Larew from Iowa. Jim and I went to Harvard together. He was a year ahead of me and we were roommates one summer in Washington, D.C. We were Democrats at the time. Jim has remained a Democrat. Has been very active and has had very key roles in the Chet Culver administration to Chief of Staff of former Governor Chet Culver. Larew: I was general council there for four years and policy director and chief of staff for a four-year term. A great experience. Leahy: I don’t know if there’s anyone who knows about grassroots Iowa on the Democratic side…

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The Tennessee Star Report Talks to Jim Larew About How 2020 Democrat Presidential Contenders are Being Received in Iowa

In a specific discussion Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy spoke to long time friend and resident of Iowa, Jim Larew. Larew is also the leading Democrat from Iowa who served as an aid and Chief of Staff to former Senator John ‘Chet’ Culver.

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9/11 Gaffe, Technical Difficulties, Spanish Responses: Highlights from ‘BORING’ First Debate

  Ten Democratic presidential candidates took to the debate stage in Miami, Florida Wednesday night for the first of a two-night event. President Donald Trump weighed in on the debate with just one word: “BORING!” BORING! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2019 He later criticized NBC News after moderators Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow had to cut to a commercial break to deal with microphone difficulties. “NBC News and MSNBC should be ashamed of themselves for having such a horrible technical breakdown in the middle of the debate,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Truly unprofessional and only worthy of a FAKE NEWS organization, which they are!” .@NBCNews and @MSNBC should be ashamed of themselves for having such a horrible technical breakdown in the middle of the debate. Truly unprofessional and only worthy of a FAKE NEWS Organization, which they are! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2019 Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) represented the Midwest during the first round of debates. Klobuchar highlights Early on in the debate, Klobuchar earned a round of applause after taking a shot at Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who said he was the only candidate on stage who had…

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Joe Biden Skips California’s Democratic Convention to Stump in Ohio at Human Rights Campaign’s Columbus Dinner

  Joe Biden is rolling the dice and striking out on his own on the campaign trail, keeping his distance from the other Democratic presidential candidates. Biden appeared at the Human Rights Campaign’s Columbus Dinner Saturday, Cleveland.com said. The gala was at Ohio State University’s Archie Griffin Ballroom. The HRC is the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights organization. In visiting Ohio Saturday, the former vice president, who is the front-runner in his party’s primary race, showed he is not afraid of missing out by not attending the same events as his plethora of competitors, WGME said. Instead, he is focusing on a November 2020 competition against President Donald Trump, as if his primary challengers are not an issue. Also, Biden plans to avoid an Iowa state party dinner that will draw rivals next weekend, although he will visit Iowa two days later, WGME said. And, he will miss a South Carolina economic forum on the black community, although he will attend the state party convention the next weekend. Fourteen of the 23 other Democratic presidential hopefuls attended the California Democratic Convention in San Francisco that Biden skipped. The stakes are big as California has 400 delegates for the national convention up…

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Elizabeth Warren Discloses Past Corporate Legal Work, but Leaves Out ‘Unfavorable’ Details

by Andrew Kerr   Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts left out key details of her past corporate legal work in a disclosure Wednesday listing the dozens of corporations she assisted in bankruptcy matters in the 1990s and early 2000s. Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign said her work as a corporate legal counsel and consultant led to the creation of “trusts and other mechanisms to return $27 billion to victims and their families,” but her characterizations of some the cases she worked on “left out details unfavorable” to the presidential hopeful, the Boston Globe reported. For example, Warren claimed responsibility for protecting a $500 million settlement for asbestos victims in a 2009 case where she represented Travelers, the nation’s largest insurance company. But the 2020 presidential hopeful failed to mention that Travelers was also granted immunity from future lawsuits brought by asbestos victims, and that the insurance company, which paid her $212,000 over three years, delayed paying victims from the settlement after she stopped representing the firm. Warren’s history of helping corporations secure immunity from future lawsuits could prove to be a thorn in her side as she seeks to instill an image as a protector of the working class against…

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Bill de Blasio Enters Race for the White House

by Evie Fordham   Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that he is entering the crowded 2020 field for president. “Doesn’t matter if you live in a city or a rural area, a big state, small state. Doesn’t matter what your ethnicity is. People in every part of this country felt stuck or even like they’re going backwards,” he said in the video announcing his bid. He said he’ll be running on the platform of “working families first,” and mentioned paid sick leave as well as raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. De Blasio, 58, assumed office in 2014 and has become known for his progressive statements and policies. He has repeatedly said the “money in this country” is “in the wrong hands.” The mayor has been quietly tapping into City Hall staffers with national political experience. That includes Mike Casca, who became spokesman and communications strategist of de Blasio’s federal political action committee in April, reported The New York Daily News. Casca worked on Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign, reported Politico. De Blasio also handpicked experienced City Hall employees Jon Paul Lupo and Jaclyn Rothenberg in February to help with…

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Cory Booker Pledges to Legalize Abortion Nationwide Despite Supreme Court Decisions

by Molly Prince   Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker pledged on Wednesday to override any possible Supreme Court decision and pass a law legalizing abortion nationwide if he wins the presidency in 2020. “The injustices we’re seeing in Alabama right now with this legislation — it’s important that all of us understand that this is a threat to women’s freedoms and women’s rights all over our country, not just there,” Booker told BuzzFeed News shortly after Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed H.B. 314 into law, virtually banning abortions in the Yellowhammer state. Following in the footsteps of fellow presidential hopeful and Democratic New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Booker vowed that if he is elected president, he will not nominate any judge to the Supreme Court that would not uphold Roe v. Wade. However, Booker further stated that he would also sign legislation that would make Roe v. Wade national law regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on it. “Right now I am calling for [codifying Roe v. Wade],” Booker said. “Even though obviously with [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell and a [majority Republican] Senate, we would not see a vote.” Booker also maintained that as president he…

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Presidential Candidate Joe Biden to Visit Nashville on May 20

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the latest 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, is about to visit Nashville. Biden, 76, will make an appearance in Nashville on May 20 for his “American Promise” tour, NewsChannel 5 said, adding more details have yet to be announced. On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to One America News Networks’ Neil McCabe about Biden’s candidacy for 2020 and how he is not receiving support from his former President, Barack Obama. The issues they identified included Biden’s past problems in managing campaigns and raising money. A transcript and link to an audio file of the interview is available here. Colin Reed also discussed Biden’s challenges for Fox News, despite the candidate having a 10 point lead according to Real Clear Politics. Biden’s prior White House bids went off the rails in dramatic fashion. In 1988, he withdrew amid a withering plagiarism scandal – a mere three and a half months after getting in the race and long before any votes were cast. He didn’t fare much better in 2008,…

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Neil McCabe From OAN Joins the The Tennesse Star Report to Discuss Joe Biden’s 2020 Presidential Run

  On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to One America News Networks Neil McCabe about Joe Biden’s entry into the Presidential race of 2020 and how he is not receiving support from his former President, Barack Obama. Gill: One America News Network is basically the last bastion for conservative news on television. And Neil McCabe with us to share some of the highlighted stories of the day. Good morning. McCabe: Hey, good to be with you guys. And before we start I want to wish you both a very happy mothers day if I don’t get a chance to talk to you Sunday. Gill: I get called a mother by a lot of people. (Leahy laughs) Gill: Oh, so by Neil by the way, you know Joe Biden is in the race and — McCabe: He is a race. (Laughter) Leahy: I will also tell you, I know I was telling Steve about this I have a set of seven dwarf nicknames for him that your pretty used by the way if…

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Recording of Cleveland Speech Reveals Young Joe Biden Making Sexist Jokes, Using Word ‘Negro,’ Defending Republicans Against Watergate Criticisms

  The City Club of Cleveland recently released an archived recording of a May 1973 address then Sen. Joe Biden gave to the city’s popular free speech forum. The recording reveals Biden, who was then a 30-year-old, first-term senator from Delaware, making sexist jokes, using the word “Negro,” and defending his Republican colleagues against criticisms surrounding the Watergate scandal. According to the City Club of Cleveland, the remarks were delivered on May 18, 1973, just as the Senate was beginning its televised hearings on Watergate. An audio clip of Biden’s address is now available on City Club’s website. Biden began his speech with several self-deprecating jokes about his lowly position in the U.S. Senate since he was then the youngest senator in office. “It should be noted and I hope you all are duly impressed with the fact that I am one of the most powerful men in the United States. And you ladies, are you aware of that, just how powerful I am? I am number 100 in seniority and don’t forget it,” Biden said. “This young lady knows I’m so powerful she wants to get close to me. She just moved right up front here. She probably has…

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Presidential Hopeful Amy Klobuchar Says Nashville Rejected Transit Plan Because They Wanted Federal Government to Help Foot the Bill

Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on Wednesday inserted herself into the failed $9 billion Nashville transit referendum of 2018. Klobuchar visited Fisk University on Wednesday and said the referendum failed because voters “weren’t sure they wanted to fund the initiative locally, without the federal government pitching in,” according to a story by the Associated Press. Klobuchar says her infrastructure plan would provide $1 trillion to fix roads and bridges, protect against flooding, rebuild schools, and other initiatives. She wants to leverage $650 billion in federal funding through public-private partnerships, bond programs and clean-energy tax incentives. Of that, $400 billion would come from increasing the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, after President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax law lowered it from 35 percent to 21 percent. Klobuchar tweeted, “It was great to spend my morning at Fisk University in Nashville talking about the urgent need to rebuild our infrastructure with students and community leaders. From roads to schools to rail — we need a real plan that invests in America.” It was great to spend my morning at Fisk University in Nashville talking about the urgent need to rebuild our infrastructure with students and community leaders. From roads to schools…

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Commentary: Generic Democrats and Pelosi’s Minions Can’t Stop Trump Train

by Jeffrey A. Rendall   With most of the recent media buzz focusing on the swelling clown car (Rep. Eric Swalwell? and Alec Baldwin? Seriously?) full of 2020 Democrat presidential candidates it’s easy to lose sight of the other side of the contest. President Donald Trump’s already launched his reelection effort complete with a campaign manager, staff and fundraising operation. There are few certainties in politics, but it’s clear Trump’s operation will be primed and ready when the need arrives. Still, there’s much to be worried about on Trump’s side. Polls are what they are, but when surveys show trouble ahead, stay alert. Paul Bedard reported at The Washington Examiner, “It’s never good for a sitting president heading into reelection to be compared to Jimmy Carter… “[A]s 2020 nears, President Trump is finding himself constantly behind Democrats in reelection polls and the latest has compared the Republican to Carter. ‘Perhaps the closest analogy to Trump in terms of approval ratings is Jimmy Carter, whose average approval rating for his term was 45 percent,’ said a survey from the Wason Center for Public Policy at Virginia’s Christopher Newport University. “Carter, of course, lost his reelection bid. Trump’s average approval rating for…

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