Tag: Rep. David Kustoff

Tennessee Republicans Increase Share of Electorate as Trump Wins Popular Vote

Tom Pappert
Ogles and Blackburn

Tennessee Republicans largely increased or held their share of the vote compared to their performance in their past election, with Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) seeing the largest increase of the vote share when contrasting her successful 2018 campaign for U.S. Senate to her successful 2024 reelection.

Blackburn in 2018 received 54.7 percent of the vote, but increased her share by nearly 9 percent in her race against State Representative Gloria Johnson, trouncing the Democrat 63.8 percent to 34.2 percent, according to estimates at press time.

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TN-08 Democratic Primary Candidate Stands by Violent Rhetoric Against Trump, Republicans

Peter D'Abrosca
Sarah Freeman

In the days after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Commercial Appeal published candidate profiles on the three Democratic primary challengers to Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-8), two of whom took the deeply divisive tone that Republicans were to “end democracy.”

As reported by The Tennessee Star, one of those candidates, Leonard Franklin, doubled down on his dark rhetoric in an exchange with The Star. 

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Democrat Primary Candidates in TN-08 Continue with Violent Rhetoric After Trump Assassination Attempt

Peter D'Abrosca
Perkins and Freeman

Just after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Commercial Appeal published candidate profiles on the three Democratic primary challengers to Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN-8), two of whom took the deeply divisive tone that Republicans was to “end democracy.” 

Sarah Freeman is running to be her party’s nominee in the race. 

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U.S. Rep. David Kustoff Is the Sole Tennessee Republican House Member to Vote Against Ending Warrantless Spying Under FISA

Tom Pappert
David Kustoff

U.S. Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08) was the sole member of Tennessee’s congressional delegation to vote on Friday against an amendment that would have ended the warrantless spying on United States citizens allowed under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Kustoff was among the 86 Republicans who joined 126 Democrats in a vote against a FISA amendment proposed by Representatives Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) that would have required intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant before spying on American citizens.

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New Legislation Would Revoke Tax-Exempt Status of Nonprofits Funding Hamas, Other Terrorists

The Center Square

Proposed new legislation would revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit organization that is providing material support for terrorist groups.

The bipartisan bill, introduced by U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., and U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., comes out of the House Ways and Means Committee, which unanimously approved the legislation last week.

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Tennessee Republicans: Far-Left’s Calls for Ceasefire in Gaza ‘Embarrassment,’ ‘Abhorrent’

Peter D'Abrosca

Members of Tennessee’s federal congressional delegation Monday slammed some of their Democrat counterparts who have called for a ceasefire in Gaza after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel.

“The fact that some of our leaders are calling for a ceasefire instead of supporting our ally Israel is an embarrassment,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) told The Tennessee Star Monday. “There is no compromising with the animals who brutally murdered innocent civilians and targeted women and children. Hamas is a terror group, and we should treat them like one.”

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Blackburn Legislation Addresses Supply Chains in Tennessee

Bradley Vasoli

Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced a bill this week to engage public-private partnerships toward strengthening supply chains in Tennessee and the region.

Current bottlenecks in shipping have translated to fewer goods on store shelves and higher prices for American consumers. Their causes are multifaceted and include high labor costs, cumbersome union work rules and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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106 GOP Members, Including Five from Tennessee, Soon to be Six, File Amicus Brief in Texas SCOTUS Election Lawsuit

Jason M. Reynolds

A total of 106 House Republicans on Thursday filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the plaintiffs in Texas v. Pennsylvania, et al, including Tennessee’s U.S. Representatives Mark Green, Tim Burchett, Chuck Fleischmann, David Kustoff, John Rose, with U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) taking the lead.

U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) tweeted, “100+ House Republicans and I have filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to hear the Texas case. The election for the presidency of the United States is too important to not get right.”

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U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty Leaves Position, Is Expected to Run for Lamar Alexander’s Senate Seat

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty has left the Land of the Rising Sun to return to the Volunteer State in a likely run for Lamar Alexander’s Senate seat. Hagerty tweeted, “Farewell Japan, and thank you for the incredible hospitality you have shown me and my family.  These past two years have been the greatest of our lives.” Farewell Japan, and thank you for the incredible hospitality you have shown me and my family. These past two years have been the greatest of our lives. 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵 またお会いしましょう ! 👋🏼✨ https://t.co/j53xf4zODO — ラーム・エマニュエル駐日米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) July 22, 2019 Alexander (R-TN) announced in December that he would not run again for the Senate, The Tennessee Star reported. President Donald Trump earlier this month endorsed Hagerty’s potential Senate bid, which likely would be announced after he leaves federal government service, The Star said. Just a week ago, speculation was still running rampant on whether Hagerty actually would run for the Senate, the Nashville Post said, calling him the “hypothetical frontrunner.” Ward Baker, who ran Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s 2018 campaign, is expected to run Hagerty’s campaign, Politico said. Baker is the former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. On a recent Tennessee…

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Liberal Blogger Falsely Claims Flinn Ad is Anti-Semitic; Forced to Retract

Admin
George Flinn, David Kustoff

A liberal blogger in Memphis, Steve Ross, leaped into the 8th Congressional Republican Primary to, falsely, claim that George Flinn altered a photo of Congressman David Kustoff to play up his “Jewish features.”  But the photo in the mail piece hadn’t been altered to accentuate Kustoff’s features to make him “look Jewish.” So the blogger backtracked. The mailing that generated the outraged blog post was a Flinn campaign piece that pointed out that Kustoff has accepted campaign donations from a couple of law firms that have defended 15 detainees held in the terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The law firms have acknowledged their representation on their websites; and Flinn has questioned how Kustoff can represent “our values when he takes money from law firms who defend terrorists.” Flinn and Kustoff are in a tight race for the GOP nomination to represent the 8th Congressional District in the August 2 primary. Last week, Kustofff stumbled badly when he sent out a mailer that criticized Flinn but did so by attacking three pregnant women who had appeared in pro-Flinn advertising. Kustoff recovered some momentum, however, when he received an endorsement from President Trump later in the week. Trump’s endorsement of…

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Flinn Hits Kustoff for His Attack on Pregnant Women

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George Flinn ad

George Flinn aired a campaign ad several weeks ago that featured three visibly pregnant women who said they were voting for Finn for Congress in West Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District. Flinn is challenging incumbent Congressman David Kustoff in the Republican Primary. The women pointed out that Kustoff had voted for the $1.3 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill that included about $500 million in funding for Planned Parenthood. They noted that Flinn is pro-life, like them, and that his support for unborn life was the reason they and their families were voting for Flinn. Kustoff responded last week with his own television ad and mail piece featuring a photo of the three women declaring them to be “fake news.” Now, Flinn has counterpunched back with a television commercial featuring one of the three women criticizing Kustoff for attacking “pregnant women.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD59jWVlDuM&feature=youtu.be FLINN AD “Fake News” transcript: Clip from Flinn ad: “…and that’s a vote for George Flinn, a true conservative.” Cecilia M.: “David Kustoff is calling us ‘fake news.’ We aren’t fake. We are real. He’s the one lying about his voting record and about us. I looked at his vote, and I told the truth. Kustoff is so desperate that he…

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Tennessee House Delegation Unanimously Opposes Ryan Immigration Bill

John Bryant
TN Congressional Delegation

Tennessee’s U.S. House delegation voted unanimously against House Speaker Paul’s Ryan’s immigration bill Wednesday, including both Democrat members, with Rep. Diane Black not voting. The bill went down in defeat by a wide margin, 121-301, despite President Trump’s subdued support. A sprawling, compromise GOP immigration bill that would have provided a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants while directing $25 billion for the construction of President Trump’s border wall failed in the House on Wednesday, despite encouragement from the president for Republicans to support it. The bill was overwhelmingly rejected 301-121, in part because some Republicans are reluctant to vote for any bill they worry could be portrayed as “amnesty.” More than 100 Republicans voted against the legislation. The legislation was given little chance of passing going in. Trump’s tweet Wednesday captured his earlier private views that he supports the bill as well as his previous tweets that Republicans were wasting their time on legislation that can’t pass the Senate, putting a different spin on the latter. “HOUSE REPUBLICANS SHOULD PASS THE STRONG BUT FAIR IMMIGRATION BILL, KNOWN AS GOODLATTE II, IN THEIR AFTERNOON VOTE TODAY, EVEN THOUGH THE DEMS WON’T LET IT PASS IN THE SENATE,” he tweeted in…

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Brad Greer Endorses 2016 GOP Primary Opponent Dr. George Flinn for Congress in 2018 Election

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Brad Greer, George Flinn, David Kustoff

In 2016 Dr. George Flinn narrowly lost a multi-candidate Republican primary race to now first term 8th District Congressman David Kustoff (R-TN8). Flinn and Kustoff are facing off again in 2018, but this time one of their primary opponents, Brad Greer, has signed on to help Flinn. In the 2016 Republican primary Greer won Madison, Obion and Lake counties. “We need a Congressman who will represent the whole district – from Memphis to Lake County over to Henry County and down to Jackson,” Greer said in making his endorsement. “We need someone who will guard our West Tennessee values – faith, family, hunting, fishing and supporting our community. George Flinn embodies those values. He’s a Christian man, who loves this country.” Greer said he really got to know Dr. Flinn during the 2016 Republican Primary. “I learned during the 2016 campaign what type of man George Flinn is – he’s a man of integrity. He’s someone who cares about the people. He’s the same person behind the curtain as he is on stage. I saw it day in and day out because I was campaigning against the man,” Greer pointed out. “I came to a point of realizing, if I…

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Flinn Launches New TV Ad Focused on Kustoff Voting with Nancy Pelosi 227 Times

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George Flinn commercial

Dr. George Flinn has begun airing a new campaign commercial accusing Congressman David Kustoff of betraying the people of West Tennessee by accepting money from law firms that represent terrorists, by voting with Nancy Pelosi hundreds of times and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from special interest lobbying groups in his first term. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivh0cZlejIU Despite Congressman Kustoff’s promise to destroy radical islamic terrorism, Flinn notes that he accepted campaign donations from two law firms that are best known for representing terrorists in court. Those law firms, Covington & Burling LLP and King & Spalding LLP donated to Kustoff’s reelection campaign on June 26, 2017 and March 30, 2018, respectively. Covington & Burling boasts on their website that they currently represent 15 detainees in Guantanamo Bay at no charge. “These two law firms could not be further removed from our West Tennessee values,” Flinn said. “Covington & Burling and King & Spalding are left-leaning, social justice warrior law firms that want a direct line to a fellow trial lawyer in Congress,” he added. Flinn’s new television ad also points out that Kustoff also has voted with Nancy Pelosi 227 times in his first term (as of June 6, 2018) as…

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Flinn Targets Kustoff for Funding Planned Parenthood in West Tennessee Congressional Battle

Admin
Flinn and Kustoff

Dr. George Flinn, conservative candidate in the Republican Congressional primary in West Tennessee’s 8th District, has released a new commercial this week targeting first term Congressman David Kustoff’s recent vote to fund Planned Parenthood. The ad features three pregnant young women talking about Kustoff’s support for Planned Parenthood versus Flinn’s commitment to protecting unborn life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1enqXquGuo “Kustoff voted in favor of H.R. 1625, also known as the Omnibus Bill, that guarantees nearly half a billion dollars to Planned Parenthood through Title X,” Flinn pointed out. “David Kustoff has yet to explain why he teamed up with Nancy Pelosi and other pro-choice liberals to fund a private organization, best known for aborting an estimated 330,000 babies per year,” Flinn said. “How can you claim to be a real conservative after choosing to fund Planned Parenthood? It’s incomprehensible and shameful,” Flinn added. President Donald Trump recently proposed a rule that would prevent Title X funding from going to any clinics that provide abortions– such as Planned Parenthood. Flinn says he is ready to work with President Trump to make this a reality. “As the 8th District Congressman, I will work with and help President Trump to stop our tax dollars from going…

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Congressman Kustoff Refuses to Provide Meaningful Help to Beloved West Tennessee Family Doctor Cut Off Medicare By Washington Bureaucrats

Tennessee Star Staff

Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN-08) met on Tuesday with Dr. Bryan Merrick, co-owner of McKenzie Medical Center, whose Medicare privileges were abruptly revoked by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services over clerical billing errors totaling $670, McKenzie Mayor Jill Holland, Huntingdon Mayor Dale Kelley, McLemoresville Mayor Phil Williams, Carroll County Mayor Kenny McBride, and Bethel University President Walter Butler, all of whom were attempting to secure his help in stopping this egregious abuse of individual rights by an overreaching federal government health care bureaucracy. Kustoff basically punted in response, offering to undertake nothing more than  a purely symbolic effort to “expedite” the lengthy administrative law judge offering. Meanwhile, Dr. Merrick’s patients and employees, as well as Dr. Merrick and McKenzie Medical Center, will suffer devastating consequences, since Medicare payments, which comprise almost half of his practice, are now completely cut off. McKenzie, Tennessee is located in Tennessee’s Eighth Congressional District, which Kustoff represents. In a press released provided to The Tennessee Star by friends of Dr. Merrick, McKenzie, Mayor Jill Holland, speaking for  all those attending the meeting with Kustoff on Dr. Merrick’s behalf “said that she and the others would not be there if they thought Dr. Merrick had done anything…

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West Tennessee Doctor Dropped by Medicare a Caring Man Who Would Never Cheat the System, Supporters Say

Wendy Wilson

Five years ago, Janice Lowery of West Tennessee moved to another town, which left her a greater distance away from the doctor she had been going to for more than a decade. But she wasn’t about to look for another doctor, even though it would not have been hard to find one near her new home. Instead, she has continued to see Dr. Bryan Merrick at the McKenzie Medical Center, driving an hour and a half one way to get there. Merrick is a caring doctor who doesn’t dash in and out of the room and make you feel like a number, Lowery said. “He listens to you,” she said. “You don’t feel rushed.” Lowery even drives her husband, who is legally blind, to see Merrick for separate appointments. Like many of Merrick’s patients, Lowery was alarmed this past spring when he was accused of Medicare fraud and lost his Medicare reimbursement privileges for three years. It’s a turn of events that many of his supporters consider an injustice, and they fault distant bureaucrats with not caring about their small rural community. Merrick, who is 62 and has been practicing medicine for more than 30 years, was found to have…

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Supporters of West Tennessee Doctor Frustrated With U.S. Rep. David Kustoff in Medicare Billing Case

Wendy Wilson

Supporters of a beloved rural West Tennessee doctor they say is falsely accused of Medicare fraud are frustrated with the lack of response they are getting from U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN-8), whom they have turned to for help. Dr. Bryan Merrick of the McKenzie Medical Center lost his Medicare reimbursement privileges in April for three years over $670 in billing errors. Only 30 billings for 10 patients, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of 30,000 claims submitted, were identified as being incorrect in a review by the federal government. Merrick, who has been practicing for more than three decades, has maintained they were clerical errors. Jill Mayo, a registered nurse and the practice manager at McKenzie Medical Center, told The Tennessee Star on Friday that the practice reached out to Rep. Kustoff’s office in May. While his office has said Kustoff has been looking into the matter, he has not offered Merrick any concrete help or insight, according to Mayo. “Nothing has changed,” Mayo said. Kustoff’s office released a statement to The Star late Friday saying, “Congressman Kustoff is aware of Dr. Merrick’s situation, and our office has been in contact with CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] regarding the…

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U.S. Rep. David Kustoff Denounces White Supremacy At West Tennessee Event Wednesday

Wendy Wilson

  U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN-8) on Wednesday denounced white supremacy during a visit to Jackson as a small group of protesters stood outside. Speaking at a Chamber of Commerce event at the Jackson Country Club, Kustoff, who is Jewish, said: We know that our nation has had a rough several days after the events in Charlottesville this past weekend. Make no mistake – White Supremacists, the KKK, neo-Nazis and all groups that preach hate, prejudice, racism and bigotry have no place in our country and must be explicitly condemned. As a United States Attorney, I prosecuted federal hate crimes. I strongly encourage the Department of Justice to follow through on the investigation from last weekend’s events. Outside, several protesters with Indivisible Jackson held signs reading, “Racism, White Supremacy Are Not Acceptable,” “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA” and “Kustoff, Call White Supremacists By Name.” In an interview in March With Jewish Insider, Kustoff expressed support for President Trump, citing measures related to national security and immigration and saying, “Everything he’s done, he promised. He’s following through on his commitment from the campaign.” Kustoff said he would give the president an “A.” When he joined Congress earlier this year, Kustoff became the…

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Tennessee’s Congressional Delegation Backs Syrian Airstrikes

Wendy Wilson

Tennessee’s Congressional delegation is supporting the airstrikes in Syria ordered by President Trump and carried out on Thursday. Both United States Senators from Tennessee and all nine members of the delegation from the Volunteer State in the U.S. House of Representatives–seven Republicans and two Democrats– in public statements late Thursday and early Friday gave Trump’s actions their support. The airstrikes are in response to a chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian government against its own people in a rebel-controlled area. Sen. Bob Corker, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a news release that he approves of Trump’s “decisive action.” “The U.S. and world community stood by as Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad brutally tortured and murdered more than 500,000 of his own people, and I applaud President Trump for taking decisive action following the latest chemical weapons attack,” Corker said. “It is critical that Assad knows he will no longer enjoy impunity for his horrific crimes against his own citizens, and this proportional step was appropriate. As we move forward, it will be important for the administration to engage with Congress and clearly communicate its full strategy to the American people.” Sen. Lamar Alexander…

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