Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the new GOP nominee for mayor of Rutherford County, Tennessee, Joe Carr, in-studio to talk about the primary election and his encouragement of high poll numbers.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson to the newsmaker line to talk about the upcoming event next week and his philosophy in restoring America’s values and principles.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist, Clint Brewer and the GOP nominee for mayor of Rutherford County, Tennessee, Joe Carr, in-studio to talk about his biggest concern, Middle Point Landfill and his commitment to renegotiating it’s contract.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host Aaron Gulbransen in studio to highlight Monday night’s Maury County Reagan Dinner in Columbia, Tennessee.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the new GOP nominee for mayor of Rutherford County, Tennessee, Joe Carr, in studio to explain the one-sided deal between Middle Point Landfill and Republic Services with Rutherford County and what he would do to change it if elected.
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After several repeated attempts to serve his country and state it appears Joe Carr has found a place where the voters will appreciate his service.
Former State Representative Joe Carr was victorious in the Rutherford County Republican Mayoral Primary. Carr won with 38% in a field of three other candidates. County Commissioner Rhonda Allen came in second with a respectable 34% of the vote, Mayor Bill Ketron came in a disappointing third place with less than 25%. Aaron Coffey finished a distant fourth with 3%.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the new GOP nominee for mayor of Rutherford County, Tennessee, Joe Carr to the newsmakers line to talk about his victory and top goals if elected in the general election.
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Former Tennessee State Representative Joe Carr is the Republican nominee for mayor of Rutherford County.
In the May 3 primary, Carr received 6862 votes, while Rhonda Allen came in second, receiving 6239 votes.
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U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) endorsed Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron in his campaign for re-election to the position.
Ketron is in a tight race against former Tennessee State Representative Joe Carr and current District 11 County Commissioner Rhonda Allen.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed former state representative Joe Carr to the newsmakers line to talk about recent polls showing him in the lead for Rutherford County mayoral race.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in studio to comment upon recent Triton polling for the Mayoral race in Rutherford County, Tennessee.
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A new poll reveals strong support for former Tennessee State Representative Joe Carr’s campaign for Rutherford County mayor. The Oregon-based Triton Polling and Research released the poll this week. The company polled 455 likely Rutherford County voters between January 19 through January 21 of this year, according to a press release.
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Former State Rep. Joe Carr this week said State of Tennessee agencies and departments are driven and “absolutely consumed by political correctness,” spurred on by staff at the Tennessee Department of Human Resources (DOHR). “Political correctness drives their bus,” Carr said.
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Former State Rep. Joe Carr, currently running for Rutherford County mayor, disclosed certain people accused him of harassment while he worked at a state agency, but he described the allegations as “a big nothingburger.” Carr addressed these allegations in a nearly 1,200 word post on Facebook Tuesday.
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Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Rutherford County Mayoral candidate Joe Carr to the
newsmakers line to announce his candidacy and why he’s running.
Former State Representative and U.S Senate candidate Joe Carr announced on Tuesday that he will run for mayor of Rutherford County.
Carr spent years in the Tennessee state legislature and championed several key pieces of legislation that conservatives celebrated.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed former Tennessee state Representative Joe Carr who reminisced about how he and Leahy met in 2014 during the Beat Lamar grassroots campaign.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed conservative Joe Carr to discuss why he did not endorse Bill Hagerty for the Tennessee U.S. Senate seat.
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In 2014 I ran for the United States Senate against well-known and established incumbent Lamar Alexander. Our underfunded and understaffed campaign garnered over 271,000 votes. The largest vote total of any statewide campaign to that point and not win an election. When we lost in 2014, I thought it was over. I was wrong! We were just getting started.
Fast forward to 2020 and Tennessee once again can send a constitutional conservative to the United States Senate to stand alongside President Donald Trump. Dr. Manny Sethi is that man.
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LASCASSAS, Tennessee — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul told more than 800 people Saturday that he supports U.S. Senate candidate Manny Sethi not because Sethi is a Republican — but because Sethi is conservative.
Paul appeared alongside Sethi at former State Rep. Joe Carr’s T-Bones & Politics dinner. Carr said it was “a sellout event.”
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U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) will join U.S. Senate candidate Manny Sethi at this weekend’s T-Bones and Politics event.
Organizers have scheduled the event for 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at The Shed at 4707 Lascassas Pike, in Lascassas.
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Joe Carr, a conservative leader in Rutherford County, on Thursday endorsed Dr. Manny Sethi in his U.S. Senate race and said he will host the physician as well as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) at a cookout on July 18.
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Former Republican State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) said law enforcement officers would still have Edgar Torres-Rangel in their custody if they had only followed a law he sponsored that was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly several years ago. That law, named after Ricky Otts, went into effect in July 2012, Carr said. Otts died several years ago while riding his motorcycle in Tennessee. An illegal immigrant with no driver’s license or insurance killed Otts, Carr said. “It wasn’t an arrestable offense. He didn’t have a driver’s license or insurance, so they let him go, which is typically what law enforcement does when they don’t have a drivers’ license or insurance because they can’t afford to detain these people,” Carr said. The law Carr sponsored that was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed by the governor required that drivers, if they cause a serious injury or a fatality, face a magistrate for arraignment. “There is no mention in the law of illegal immigrants or immigrants. But they are the primary perpetrators of this kind of activity, driving without insurance, driving without a license and it also makes them a significant flight risk,” Carr said. As The Tennessee Star…
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Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bill Lee chalked up another endorsement Tuesday; this time, from conservative former State Representative Joe Carr. “I sat down with Bill, looked him in the eye and asked him the tough questions about the Rights of the Unborn, the Second Amendment, a smaller more efficient state government, and, of course, the growing problem of illegal immigration in Tennessee,” the Republican firebrand said in a statement. Carr added, “Bill didn’t back down when I asked him these questions. Bill Lee showed me he is man of conviction who is willing to ‘Stand Firm’ even if it means he has to stand alone. But, Bill Lee doesn’t have to stand alone because like tens of thousands of Tennesseans across the state, I will stand with Bill Lee. I believe Bill Lee is what Tennessee needs to move Tennessee forward and he has my unwavering endorsement and support.” Carr continued: Bill is a proven businessman with a heart for working men and women. Just like President Trump, his decision to run isn’t about a desire to climb the political ladder, it’s about a desire to serve the people. Bill isn’t a typical candidate for office, and to me, that’s a…
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Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves easily defeated former State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) in the 14th State Senate District Republican special primary election on Thursday by almost a two to one margin. The final tally was 4,720 votes for Reeves to 2,556 votes for Carr, a 65 percent to 35 percent victory for Reeves. As was anticipated, the overall turnout of 7,276 voters in the Republican primary was low. Carr conceded and congratulated Reeves at about 8:55 p.m., a little less than two hours after the polls closed at 7:00 pm. Reeves now faces Gayle Jordan in the March 13 special general election. Jordan was unopposed in the Democratic primary, where she received 574 votes. Reeves is heavily favored to win the general election in this traditionally Republican district. Reeves’ victory was comprehensive and across the board, as he won all five counties in the district: In Bedford County, Reeves won 1,107 votes to Carr’s 405 votes, a 73 percent to 27 percent margin. In Lincoln County, Reeves won 696 votes to Carr’s 506 votes, a 58 percent to 42 percent margin. In Marshall County, Reeves won 606 votes to Carr’s 401 votes, a 60 percent to 40 percent margin. In…
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A mailer sent by the Tennessee Education Association (TEA), a political and financial ally of the liberal activities of the National Education Association (NEA), announced the group has endorsed Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves in the 14th State Senate District special Republican primary election set for January 25. Reeves faces former State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) in the GOP primary. The winner will be the Republican candidate in the March 13 special general election. Both the TEA and the NEA endorsed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential cycle. The NEA is also an active supporter of Planned Parenthood’s abortion operations, and has declared that anyone who believe in the 2nd Amendment and the NRA are “going to hell.” “If the pro-abortion, anti-gun, pro-Hillary Clinton TEA/NEA is for Shane Reeves, that should tell Republican voters in the 14th District everything they need to know to vote against him and his not-so-secret liberal agenda,” conservative Republican Joe Carr said in a statement reacting to the endoesement, adding: Just last week, the NRA gave Shane a high rating based on his response to their questionnaire. Maybe they should actually look at who is backing him as a better indication of where he…
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WGNS radio in Murfreesboro hosted a listener-run debate between former State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) and Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves on Friday. The two men are competing for the Republican nomination in the special election primary for the 14th State Senate District scheduled for next Thursday, January 25. The seat opened up in November when former State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) resigned in November to take a job with the Trump administration’s Department of Agriculture. Radio host Bart Walker laid out the ground rules for the debate, stating that all of the questions would be provided by the listeners, either via text or phone call, and that the candidates were not required to speak on every issue. “If you think to yourself, ‘Man, I just don’t want to answer that question,’ just be quiet. You don’t have to say a thing,” he said. One of the first questions, submitted by a listener via text, dealt with the gubernatorial race: “Who are you supporting for Governor?” Joe Carr answered first, and said he is supporting Mae Beavers for Tennessee’s next top executive. After Reeves did not offer an answer, moderator Walker began to ask the next question, but Carr interrupted, saying “Well…
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The war of words is heating up between former State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) and Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves in their battle for the GOP nomination for the 14th District State Senate seat vacated by former State Senator Jim Tracy(R-Shelbyville) late last year. Thus far however, there is no sign that the fiery rhetoric is translating to turnout in early voting. Early voting began on January 5 and runs through January 20, 2018. Primary Election day is January 25th with the primary winner advancing to the March 13, 2018 Special General Election. The first week of early voting (with the January 12 snow and ice storm closing polling locations early) have only produced 1,432 total votes in the Republican primary election in the five counties involved: Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore and Rutherford. Only 190 votes have been cast in the Democratic Primary, where Gayle Jordan is the sole candidate. The icy conditions on January 12 have raised increased concerns among both political camps that similar conditions on Election Day mean locking in votes during the early voting period is even more crucial. In 2011, State Senator Kerry Roberts won a Special Election to fill the vacancy created after then-State Senator Diane…
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In a statement released on Thursday, Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves attacked former State Rep. Joe Carr’s (R-Lascassas) initial “question mark” rating from the National Rifle Association, contrasting it with his own “A” rating. Both men are vying for the Republican nomination in the January 25 special primary election in the 14th State Senate District. Former State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) resigned from the seat in November to accept a position with U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Trump administration. On Friday, Carr hit back. “Today I am pleased to announce that the NRA has scored my record and gave me an A, just as I expected,” Carr said in a statement. “My score is not qualified with a “q”, indicating it is based on responses to a questionnaire, but on my actual RECORD and RESULTS as a legislator. The mudslinging and misinformed attack from Shane Reeves, and his attempt to create an issue over the NRA delay in recording my score — through no fault of my own — is just another example of ‘his shoot first aim later’ approach in his campaign,” Carr continued. “Earlier this week Shane Reeves launched a mudslinging attack against Joe Carr concerning the National…
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Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves, a Republican candidate in the 14th State Senate District special election, is promising to donate his legislative per diem to charity if he is elected. Legislators within 50 miles of the Capitol currently receive mileage reimbursement for travel at a rate of 47 cents per mile and $59 per day for meals and incidental expenses while in Nashville on legislative business. “I am a conservative family man and businessman that plans on taking this same conservative approach to Nashville as a State Senator,” Reeves said in statement released on Friday. “Since I am seeking to work for the people of the 14th district, my travel expenses from Murfreesboro to Nashville should fall on me– not the taxpayers. I am pledging today to make the ‘Conservative Per Diem Pledge’ and donate all of those funds back to the 14th district taxpayers,” Reeves added. Reeves did not disclose exactly which charity would benefit from his contribution of the per diem reimbursements if he is elected. The statement continued: Lawmakers across Tennessee receive reimbursement for the expenses they incur for driving back and forth from Nashville and for nights away from home. Some lawmakers have been known to take…
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State Senate hopeful Shane Reeves announced Friday he will air a new, 30-second TV advertisement to promote his campaign to replace former State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), who resigned in November to join the Trump Administration at the USDA. In a statement, the Reeves campaign said the commercial will air during the NCAA bowl games, plus the playoff and national championship games next week. The ad buy also includes airtime beginning next week on popular cable channels, such as FOX News, HGTV, and others. Reeves is well-known in Middle Tennessee as the former owner of the Reeves-Sain Family of Medical Services. He sold his majority interest in the company to Fred’s in 2015, and currently owns TwelveStone Health Partners where he employs 125 people in Rutherford County. Reeves and former state Representative Joe Carr are both vying for the Republican nomination for the 14th State Senate District seat, which will be decided in a special primary election January 25. The general election will be held in March. Tennessee Star readers can get a look at the commercial here: TRANSCRIPT: ANNOUNCER: Conservative Republican Shane Reeves … SHANE REEVES: “I’m a conservative family man, businessman, and pharmacist. I am not a career politician.”…
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There is an old adage that “what is done in darkness will come to light.” City officials in Memphis who concocted a secret scheme to “sell” a couple of public parks for $1000 each in order to evade state law prohibiting removal of statues and monuments without proper approval may soon learn the truth of that saying. As soon as they “sold” the parks, two monuments to Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis were quickly removed by the “new private owners” in the dark of night. More facts are coming to light, and it is increasingly clear that the scam was carefully orchestrated by the Mayor and local political activists to skirt the clear intent of the law. If it was such a good idea, why was it done secretly and without public input and debate? Sadly, this is not the first (nor likely the last) time that Memphis has sought to avoid the rule of law in order to “do whatever they want to do.” From creating a sanctuary city in violation of state law to removing statues and monuments in violation of state law, Memphis is following a consistent pattern of creating some sort of “laws we don’t…
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Former State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) launched the first installment of a new radio ad campaign for the upcoming special election on January 25th to select the Republican nominee to replace State Senator Jim Tracy (R- Shelbyville), who resigned in November to accept an appointment in the Trump Administration’s USDA. The message of this first ad is the importance – and unusual – January election date, while emphasizing Carr’s conservative stance on many key issues important to Middle Tennessee voters. Among them are the repeal of the unpopular gas tax increase, his commitment to stop taxpayer subsidies of tuition for in-state tuition for illegal alien students, a commitment to secure our borders, and to stop any expansion of Obamacare in Tennessee. “January is an inconvenient time for an election and we thought we should help explain to voters why they are hearing political campaign ads just before Christmas,” Carr said in a statement. “But we also wanted to point out that the election is very important because the State Senator we elect will take office immediately and be in position to impact several key issues that will come up for a vote in the legislature next year.” “Over the next several…
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Former State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas), who mounted a grassroots conservative challenge to Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in the 2014 Republican U.S. Senate primary and is now seeking to replace recently resigned State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) in a special election, issued a reaction to the acquittal of Jose Zarate, the five-time deported illegal alien who killed Kate Steinle on a pier in San Francisco: “After illegal immigrant, Jose Zarate was found “not guilty” of murdering Kate Steinle by a California court recently, I, like most Americans have a mix of emotions about the verdict in this case. On one hand, I am heartbroken for the Steinle family and how the justice system has completely failed them. She deserved better. We ALL deserve more from a judicial system that seems incapable of actually dispensing justice in high profile cases where political correctness appears to trump the rule of law. But I am also outraged that a person who was deported five times was given sanctuary anywhere in this country, which enabled him to take the life of a completely innocent victim. Federal prosecutors may still find a way to hold Jose Ines Garcia Zarate accountable for his actions; but it is up to…
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Special election dates have been set to fill the state Senate seat vacated by former state Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville). Primaries have been set for Jan. 25, with the general election set for March 13, according to a writ of election issued by Gov. Bill Haslam. Joe Carr and Shane Reeves are vying for the Republican nomination for the District 14 seat. Carr is a former state representative who ran unsuccessfully in primaries to unseat U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and U.S. Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-6). Reeves is a businessman who formerly owned the Reeves-Sain Family of Medical Services and currently owns TwelveStone Health Partners. Democrat Gayle Jordan has also joined the race. The lawyer and farmer ran unsuccessfully against Tracy in 2016. Tracy resigned from the Senate in early November to accept an appointment as state director of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. District 14 covers Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall and Moore counties and part of Rutherford County. Early voting for the primaries begins Jan. 5 and early voting for the general election begins Feb. 21.
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MURFREESBORO, Tennessee — Joe Carr held forth on a range of issues Thursday at Slick Pig BBQ on East Main, a favorite hangout where he feels right at home. In an interview with The Tennessee Star, the conservative State Senate candidate energetically answered questions on immigration, health care and education. Carr announced Monday that he will run for the State Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), who late last week was appointed as state director of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Tracy’s resignation means there will be a special election within the next few months. Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves also announced this week that he will run for the seat as a Republican. Carr served in the Tennessee State House of Representatives from 2008 to 2014, lost the 2014 Republican U.S. Senate primary to Lamar Alexander, and also lost the 2016 Republican 6th Congressional District primary to Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06). He lives on his family farm in Lascassas and is semi-retired after having founded and sold two engineering firms. In recent years, he has become known for his T-Bones and Politics fundraisers featuring big-name guest speakers. Viewed as a solid conservative by his admirers, Carr is against the…
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MURFREESBORO, Tennessee — Judge Jeanine Pirro of Fox News was the star of the evening Thursday at the ninth annual T-Bones and Politics fundraiser, but people were also drawn to the event to hear from and support Republican candidates for Tennessee governor. House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville), former State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), Williamson County businessman Bill Lee and East Tennessee real estate agent Kay White were at the event working the crowd and shaking hands. They also gave brief speeches before Pirro’s keynote address. Both Beavers and Lee were warmly received by the crowd, Beavers especially, with many applauding and some rising to their feet after their speeches. Harwell and White were not greeted with as much enthusiasm. Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd and U.S. Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-6) are also in the race for the Republican nomination but did not attend Thursday’s event. Mark Moore, a 24-year-old home builder who lives in Nashville, told The Tennessee Star he came to the event to support Beavers. He said he admires her conservative values and her consistency in promoting them. “She’s never wavered,” Moore said. Debbie Ballard said she was looking forward to hearing from all the candidates because she…
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MURFREESBORO, Tennessee — Judge Jeanine Pirro railed against corruption in Washington, D.C., before an enthusiastic crowd Thursday at the ninth annual T-Bones and Politics fundraiser at the Mid-TN Expo. The fiery Fox News host, who is a former judge and district attorney, directed most of her outrage at liberal political figures who she said aren’t being held accountable by the deep state and feckless Republicans. Pirro slammed the State Department and Department of Justice for not pursuing a case against Hillary Clinton for her secret emails and pay-to-play schemes during her tenure as Secretary of State. “No one is above the law, not even Hillary Clinton,” said Pirro, describing the failed presidential candidate as someone who “needs a lobotomy.” Pirro also bemoaned former IRS official Lois Lerner getting a pass by the Department of Justice, which announced last week that prosecutors would not pursue a case against her for harassing conservative groups. In addition, Pirro mentioned the controversy four years ago surrounding former Attorney General Eric Holder, who was accused of lying under oath about the Obama administration’s surveillance of reporters. “The Democrats go for blood,” Pirro said, referring to their tactics to bring down political opponents. Republicans, by contrast,…
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Former State Representative Joe Carr announced Thursday that FOXNews host Judge Jeanine Pirro will be the featured speaker at this year’s 9th Annual T-Bones & Politics fundraising event. This conservative political event will take place September 14 at The Shed in Lascassas, TN on September 14; tickets go on sale today. Those wishing to attend a private, pre-event reception with Judge Jeanine can also purchase those tickets on the website. This fundraiser benefits JoePAC, a political action committee focused on supporting and electing conservative candidates to the Tennessee General Assembly. Carr said, “T-Bones & Politics has provided some of the most dynamic and relevant political thinkers for nearly a decade and this year we’re raising the bar with FOXNews firebrand and legal scholar, Judge Jeanine Pirro! No one brings it like Judge Jeanine – with her insight, cutting wit and judicial expertise – you’ll be informed, inspired and ready to ‘Make America Great Again’.” Previous year’s speakers have included Former Bush White House Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, political insider and commentator Dick Morris, Wisconsin Governor and Presidential Candidate Scott Walker, former Tennessee Governor Winfield Dunn, former Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, and nationally syndicated radio talk show hosts, The Politichicks. “Come on out and enjoy the fellowship…
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State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) said the “sanctuary city” ordinance that passed on second reading at the Metro Nashville Council on Tuesday “clearly defies the the letter and spirit of our state law,” in a statement released on Wednesday by the Senate Republican Caucus: Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), who passed a law in 2009 preventing any city in Tennessee from becoming a “sanctuary city” for illegal aliens, said any action taken by Metro Government of Nashville to try to skirt it will draw a strong legislative response. The Metropolitan Council approved the ordinance on Tuesday evening, setting the measure up for a final vote next month. The law sponsored by Tracy prohibits local governments in Tennessee, or the head of such localities, from passing any ordinances or policies that allows for a sanctuary city to be located in the state. It was designed to be a preemptive strike to guard against adoption of any policies to protect those who are in the United States illegally, like the one adopted by the Metro Council yesterday. It also urged the State Attorney General and local governments to pursue any federal funds allocated to combat illegal immigration. “There is a…
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Commentary by Joe Carr A plan to make Davidson County a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants passed earlier this week on second reading and is headed to a final vote in the Metro Council next month. Citizens in Nashville, and in the surrounding area who will be affected if the city becomes an even bigger magnet for illegal aliens, have valid concerns about the plan. Any public policy that embraces and endorses illegal activity of any kind is clearly wrong. The plan promoted by Mayor Megan Berry is not just bad policy, it is ILLEGAL policy under Tennessee law AND Federal law. In 2009 as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, I wrote, sponsored and passed one of the nation’s first, if not THE first, “No Sanctuary City Law.” The law was in response to various California municipalities passing ordinances requiring their law enforcement officials not to comply with the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act (the IIRIR). That federal law included section 8 U.S.C. 1373, which provided that no state or local entity can in any way restrict its law-enforcement officials from communicating with federal immigration authorities regarding an individual’s citizenship or immigration status.…
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Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) took another two cheap shots at President Trump this week, and this time conservatives in Tennessee responded by smacking down the junior senator who is up for re-election in 2018. On Monday, Corker joined several Democratic senators in undermining President Trump’s foreign policy on Russia. “Senior senators in both parties on Monday night reached a bipartisan deal to add new sanctions on Russia and allow Congress to disapprove of any attempt by President Donald Trump to ease penalties on Moscow, the most significant GOP-backed constraint on the White House so far this year,” Politico reported: Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) assured reporters earlier Monday that the Russia deal would provide for congressional review of any future rollbacks of Russia sanctions, a plan pushed by Schumer as well as Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The review language would be structured “much like we did in other places,” such as the 2015 legislation that required former President Barack Obama to submit his administration’s nuclear pact with Iran to Congress, Corker said. . . Asked about the prospects of a veto threat from Trump, the Foreign Relations panel’s top Democrat, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, told…
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With the new Tennessee Star polling data revealing significant vulnerabilities for Senator Bob Corker among likely Republican Primary voters, the speculation about potential opponents who may seek to exploit those vulnerabilities has increased dramatically. (Regardless of how many think about it, if more than one conservative challenger actually gets in the race they give it to Corker. And a successful race will almost certainly require a minimum of $7 million.) Who are these potential challengers? In alphabetical order: Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn. Topping the wish list of many Tennessee conservatives is the Representative from Middle Tennessee’s 7th District. Having represented a wide swath of West Tennessee before redistricting she has a significant base of support in both Middle and West Tennessee, which was reflected in the cross tabs in The Tennessee Star Poll head-to-head poll with Corker. Blackburn won the Middle portion of the state outside the margin of error (43-38) and beat Corker handily in West Tennessee (49-36). Statewide the two were within the margin of error with Corker edging Blackburn 41-39. A Tennessean story that was widely repeated across the state and country reported that Blackburn has indicated that she will NOT run for the Senate in 2018.…
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There are at least seven reasons why the Vanderbilt Poll-Tennessee released on Tuesday by the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, co-directed by Vanderbilt Professor John Geer, is fatally flawed. Those flaws come as no surprise to conservatives across the state. “The Vanderbilt Poll has notoriously leaned left for many years in the eyes of most Tennessee conservatives,” The Tennessee Star reported on an earlier Vanderbilt Poll released back in April, and the latest poll is no different, local conservatives say. Among its counter-intuitive findings was this cleverly worded claim: Support for a path to citizenship for undocumented employees is the highest it has been since the poll’s inception: up to 56 percent. And that figure is not just driven by Democrats—40 percent of Republicans favor it too. An additional 20 percent favor the establishment of a guest worker program. Even stronger is support for helping teens of undocumented parents raised in Tennessee and who attend a Tennessee public university. Two-thirds of Tennesseans say they deserve to be eligible for in-state tuition at public colleges. “It is very obvious that Vanderbilt had the result they wanted and polled until they got it,” Tennessee conservative activist Judson Phillips, Founder of…
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For the past six years the Republicans in Congress have repeatedly demanded that Obamacare be repealed and replaced. In fact the House has voted over 60 times to repeal Obamacare but were regularly blocked by the Democrat-controlled Senate under Majority Leader Harry Reid. When Republicans took control of the Senate the House was able to pass a bill in 2016 to repeal Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood that finally came to a vote and also passed in the Senate. President Obama vetoed it. As long as President Obama could wield the veto pen there was no hope of actually repealing Obamacare. But now, with President Trump in place and with his oft-repeated campaign pledge to “repeal Obamacare,” Republicans are positioned to keep their promises and kill the disastrous and costly government health insurance scheme. Yet, here we are on the verge of success and moderate Republicans like Speaker Paul Ryan and House Budget Chair Diane Black are desperately trying to simply replace Obamacare with a watered down version that replaces subsidies with credits and keeps the foundations of Obamacare firmly in place. Instead of “promises made, promises kept” the Republicans will claim “promises made, promises continued until phases two…
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Gas tax increase supporters initially believed they had scored a great political coup on Monday when Washington insider Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), declared his support for the amended version of Gov. Haslam’s IMPROVE Act that passed the Senate Transportation Committee last week. That amended version reduced the proposed gas tax increase from 7 cents per gallon to 6 cents per gallon. But the fierce backlash from conservative opponents of the gas tax increase in Tennessee to the last minute attempt by supporters of the governor’s plan to bolster its chances by calling in a “celebrity ” who has never lived in the state and knows little of the intricacies of the bill or the state’s budget, spells more, rather than less, political trouble ahead for the governor and his allies. “The recent amendments made by the Senate, and supported by Gov. Haslam, have improved the bill to the extent that the bill is now a net tax decrease, and thus not a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge…ATR scores the amended version of SB 1221 / HB 534 as a net tax cut and therefore Taxpayer Protection Pledge compliant,” Norquist wrote “in a memorandum to…
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At least 15 percent of the $1.2 billion in highway user fees collected by the state of Tennessee in FY 2015-2016–$189 million– was diverted away from road construction (see page A-65 of The Budget: State of Tennessee, Distribution of Actual Revenue by Fund, FY 2015-2016). Under Gov. Haslam’s proposed FY 2017-2018 budget, virtually the same amount of highway user fees–$187 million–will continue to be diverted away from road construction. (see page A-67 of The Budget: State of Tennessee, Distribution of Estimated Revenue by Fund, FY 2017-2018). FY 2015-2016 is the most recent year for which actual expenditures are available. Throughout the public debate over the past two months about Gov. Haslam’s proposed IMPROVE Act, which includes a gas tax increase of 7 cents per gallon, apologists for a gas tax increase–including House Transportation Committee Chairman Barry Doss (R-Leoma), House Senate Transportation Chairman Paul Bailey (R-Sparta), and 99.7 FM WWTN radio’s Ralph Bristol, host of Nashville’s Morning News–have yet to answer one key question about the state’s budget priorities: With a $1 billion surplus in the state budget, why do you support a gas tax increase when much of the purported road construction shortfall could be addressed by simply re-allocating the $187…
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“The only reason government exists at all is to buy things for the people that they can’t buy for themselves,” Gov. Haslam told the Smith County Rotary Club on Friday as he continued to promote his proposal to increase the gas tax by 7 cents per gallon. You can hear the governor say this at the 16:50 mark of this video, made available courtesy of The Smith County Insider. Social media across Tennessee lit up Friday and Saturday criticizing Haslam’s articulation of the classic Democrat view of the role of government. It was a statement of the sort Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Hubert Humphrey would have been delighted to claim as their own. Former State Rep. Joe Carr captured the reaction of many opponents to this surprising Haslam statement on his Facebook page. “Wrong! The reason government exists is to ‘secure our unalienable Rights granted to us by God’”, the former State Rep. posted. “I am sure Governor Haslam actually believes this statement along with 90% of the Tennessee General Assembly,” Carr added. Gov. Haslam may not be aware of just how tone-deaf this statement sounds. It is a lightning rod to those who see his proposed gas…
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