On The Tennessee Star Report Tuesday morning, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Jeff Hartline to the studio to discuss his recent commentary endorsing Manny Sethi for the Tennessee U.S. Senate seat.
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In a specific discussion Wednesday 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 welcomed in-studio guest Development Director of the Tennessee Firearms Association Jeff Hartline to the show to speak on the Second Amendment and Walmart’s decision to stop selling certain rifles and ammunition in their retail outlets.
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by Jeff Hartline Today, while millions of Tennessee voters are busy at work taking care of their families and contributing to the vibrant economy of the Great State of Tennessee, their elected Representatives and Senators are huddled in various offices and in their respective Chambers doing the business of the State itself. This business involves listening to various entities and citizens and pursuing legislative remedies designed to make Tennessee a better, safer state. Bills are filed, co-sponsored, verified through legal departments, and started through the various sub-committees and committees for consideration prior to going to the Floor for a vote. These processes are intended to be transparent, as evidenced by the requirements to place legislation on the General Assembly website and track the process of various legislative initiatives, to the point of televising live the video proceedings of the committee process and debates on the Chamber Floor. For the most part, bills are filed with a clear statement of what the legislation is about, with a brief explanation of what the bill is designed to do. This is often referred to as the “caption” of the bill. The legal text of the bill then follows, usually in a linked…
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Tributes have been pouring in following the death of Bill Hobbs, former communications director for the Tennessee Republican Party, who lost his fight with cancer on Saturday. Hobbs was also a professional photographer. His website is here. He also was a former reporter and blogger. Jeff Hartline, executive director of the Tennessee Spotlight and vice chair of the Wilson County GOP, on Saturday paid tribute to Hobbs in his newsletter, from his unwavering conservative beliefs to his faith in Jesus. Hartline said, in part: In the process of raising three children, building a business and being engaged in the life of the Ashwood Church and its eventual move, I lost personal track of Bill. But I was aware that he had landed at the Tennessee GOP and, as Communications Director, was making Democrats in Tennessee run for cover with his groundbreaking and penetrating messaging. I suspect he was front and center when it came time to throw then Rep. Kent Williams out of the Republican Party when he colluded with House Democrats to elect him as speaker following the Republican takeover of the House after Ron Ramsey led the Republican takeover of the Senate. As many would recall, Republicans won…
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On Monday morning’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 – the hosts gave a detailed analysis of Bill Lee’s “Ten for Tenn” list of priorities that Governor-Elect Bill Lee posted on his website on July 3, 2018 (which is no longer available to view) and how those priorities seem to have changed after his election win. This program will air again today, Tuesday, from 5:00 am to 8:00 am. Gill: Trying to figure out the distinction between Bill Lee 2018 and Bill Lee 2019. As a candidate, Bill Lee put out a very specific, very detailed plan for Tennessee that he would follow if he was elected Governor. He put this out about a month before the election when he was in a fight with Randy Boyd and Diane Black and to some extent, Beth Harwell, to show that he was actually the “conservative.” Randy Boyd was being attacked as a moderate. Diane Black was being attacked for a gone Washington says one thing but when you looked at what she was actually doing in Washington she was either…
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Jeff Hartline explains why he has eliminated three politicians and chosen to support Bill Lee for Governor of Tennessee.
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By Jeff Hartline When I was a little boy, I regularly rode in the car with my dad standing next to him. I can recall numerous times when he would have to quickly apply the brakes that his right hand would shoot across my body to keep me from hitting the metal dashboard. With highway deaths in America approaching 50,000 annually then, it was a “no-brainer” for car manufacturers to start installing lap belts, then shoulder harnesses, then inflatable impact bags, then requiring children to be strapped in car safety seats. We did all this to reduce risk to automobile passengers. We did not, even once, consider reducing the rights of citizens to move about all across the nation or eliminate automobiles from our culture. Just a few decades ago, some evil person laced Tylenol capsules with poison and numerous innocent people died as a result. The Tylenol manufacturer was not required by the public or government to cease operations. What they did was create a safety seal for their product to allow a customer to be able to tell whether a bottle had been opened. All of us parents have experienced the frustrations of getting a prescription bottle…
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By Jeff Hartline We hear from time to time the graying generation express “Fifty is the new Thirty” or we hear fashionistas tell us that “Red is the new Black”. In trying to piece together the policy “MOAB” that went off yesterday in the Tennessee General Assembly, we have concluded “Growing Government is the new faux ‘Conservative’ “. How so, you say? Well, for years conservatives have been hearing that all we need to get Tennessee back on track is to elect more Republicans. So, Tennessee voters did just that. In fact, the voters overachieved by electing a Republican Governor, seventy-four State Representatives (out of a possible 99) and twenty-eight State Senators (out of a possible 33). We heard “It matters who governs” and “We want to right-size government”. So, how’s that working out for conservative policy? Well, if you consider conservatism to be standing up for smaller and more limited government, more Constitutionally-focused government, less taxes, limited state spending, more efficiency, more transparency, less cronyism and focused attention on traditional family values, you have been sorely disappointed. Politically-savvy individuals realize that when you have divided government, you must be willing to compromise on issues in order to get anything…
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