Tag: Republicans

Commentary: Republicans Must Nationalize The Election On Kavanaugh Confirmation

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by CHQ Staff   Prior to the middle of September, the Republican establishment was struggling to find a message that would motivate the Trump coalition to turn out for the November midterm election. However, the Democrats have now handed the GOP a national issue that has quickly proven it will motivate voters to shift to Republican Senate candidates: the confirmation of the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. In the key Senate match-up between incumbent Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp and challenger Republican congressman Kevin Cramer, Heitkamp is down 10 points in the latest NBC North Dakota News – Strategic Research Associates (SRA) poll. According to the poll, Cramer leads Heitkamp 51 percent to 41 percent. Eight percent have yet to make up their mind. According to NBC North Dakota News, sixty percent of voters in North Dakota support Kavanaugh with 27 percent expressing opposition. The poll was conducted during the recent disclosure that Kavanaugh may have engaged in sexual misconduct while in high school and college, but before the Sept. 27 testimony by Kavanaugh and one of his accusers before the Senate Judiciary Committee. According to the poll, an overwhelmingly 21 percent of North Dakota voters say…

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Commentary: The Senate, Not the FBI, Confirms Supreme Court Justices

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by Robert Romano   Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states that “The president shall… nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint… judges of the supreme court…” Those are the simple words that outline the process prescribed by the U.S. Constitution for confirming Supreme Court justices. The President nominates a justice, in the current case Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and the Senate advises and then either consents or not to the nomination. Not the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is not even in the Constitution. It seems that Senate Democrats were more interested in asking Judge Kavanaugh what he thought the appropriate process for hearing the allegations of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was than to ask him about those allegations. To his credit, Kavanaugh did not give the committee Democrats what they wanted, which was a sound bite calling for an FBI investigation into himself. What a preposterous line of questioning. The FBI cannot even bring a charge of sexual assault against Kavanaugh or anyone else. As it is, Kavanaugh has already been subject to six FBI background checks throughout his career, which is really all that would happen here. A statement by the…

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Commentary: Republicans Must Hang Together Now or They’ll Hang Separately in November

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Brett Kavanaugh, Mike Pence

“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” – Benjamin Franklin, 1776. As perhaps America’s quirkiest and most practical Founding Father Ben Franklin is remembered for many sayings, but this quote could be his most famous. Franklin spoke the words just prior to signing the Declaration of Independence, knowing full well the dangers of waging war against the Mother Country – the only options for he and his fellow patriots were win or die. On paper the colonies’ ragtag army and flotilla of privateers was little match for the time-tested land and sea forces of the world’s premier empire, Great Britain, but the men who signed the Declaration hedged their bets and sacrificed everything nonetheless. Today the political situation isn’t nearly as dire and grave as it was all those years ago. Elected officials serving in the nation’s capital won’t be tried for sedition or sent to the gallows unless they do something truly egregious (and even then, who’d convict them in today’s divided political environment?). The circus surrounding Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation is certainly heinous but doesn’t quite rise to the level of high treason (but should it?). Still, there’s something to be garnered…

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POLL: Smears Of Kavanaugh Motivating Voters Against ‘Radical and Unscrupulous’ Democrats

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by CHQ Staff   Conservatives see the confirmation vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh as the issue that will allow Republicans to not only hold but even expand their Senate majority this fall, according to a poll by FedUp PAC. A large majority of 91.4% say that campaigning in support of Kavanaugh allows the GOP to highlight how “radical and unscrupulous” the Democrats have become.  Another 5.3% fear that Kavanaugh has been seriously tarnished by the uncorroborated accusations, and that Republicans should campaign on local issues without mentioning Kavanaugh.  Only 3.3% are undecided. The first round of Kavanaugh hearings demonstrated that the radical Democrats would not vote for any nominee who demonstrated faithfulness to the Constitution and the laws as written.  Instead they demanded that the Supreme Court become a left-wing legislature, imposing as the “law of the land” rulings for which many elected Democrats dare not vote. The unscrupulous nature of the Democrats was shown by their waiting until just before the committee vote on Kavanaugh, then springing the unlikely and uncorroborated story of Christine Blasey Ford, using it for delay and more delay.  When it appeared that the committee was finally moving toward a vote, they pulled yet another wild…

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Poll: Republican Party Enjoys Highest Favorability Rating In Seven Years

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by Evie Forham   The Republican Party is enjoying a favorability rating of 45 percent — its highest since 2011 — that could give Republicans hope for the upcoming midterm elections, according to a Gallup poll published Monday. The survey also showed the Democratic Party’s favorability rating at 44 percent with a 4 percent margin of error. The Republican rating represents a 9-point increase from 36 percent in September 2017. The last time the Republican Party enjoyed a rating this high, it had just gained back control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterm elections. The party’s favorability level soared to 47 percent in 2011. Gallup attributed the Republicans’ rating to the growing economy and the middle-class-friendly tax reforms passed in December. The Republican Party had barely broken 40 percent favorability since 2013, according to Gallup. Republicans have an 85 percent favorability rating when only taking “Republicans and leaners” like independents into account, according to Gallup. That is compared to 67 percent in September 2017. There has been essentially no change in Democrats’ views on the Republican Party and their own party, according to Gallup. Democrats typically have “the upper hand” in favorability numbers, according to Gallup. The Gallup poll was conducted on Sept.…

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Tennessee Star Report EXCLUSIVE with Ann Coulter on Allegations Against Kavanaugh: ‘There Are No Corroborating Witnesses for This, for Either of These’

Julie Carr

On Monday’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 – Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill talked with best-selling author Ann Coulter this morning about the “perfectly timed” allegations made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Coulter and Gill discussed the ridiculousness of the allegations and the lack of supporting evidence. Gill: Ann good to have you back with us! Coulter: Good to talk to you, Steve Gill – it’s been eons! Gill: I know way too long, but we’re going to get you on regularly. And you’ve mellowed, you’ve chilled over time, I’ve noticed. You don’t have any opinion on the whole Kavanaugh thing. Coulter: That’s right. Gill: What is your take on this latest, “you know I was too drunk to know if it was, you know anybody that I was in college with” allegation by this latest smear?  Again, it’s right out of the Democrat playbook. Coulter: Yes, I knew this was coming. I couldn’t believe when a friend called me and told me. I mean all of my indignant tweets were from my iPhone. I knew they’d do…

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Commentary: Resisting #TheResistance

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by Mytheos Holt   If the recent generic ballots tell us anything, it is that the Republican establishment should stop trying to run generic Republicans as candidates. The GOP of Paul “throw-granny-off-a-cliff-and-give-her-Social-Security-check-to-the-Koch-Brothers” Ryan has never been popular, and for good reason. This is why Donald Trump, despite having ostensibly low approval ratings, is virtually unstoppable compared to his purported “allies” in Congress. Against this alleged political party with approval ratings somewhere between those of Typhoid Mary and the man who ran over your dog, and with all the instinct to fight of said dead dog, a blue wave should surprise no one. On the surface, therefore, the potential success of the Democratic Party would seem to be a banner day for #TheResistance. Except it won’t be. Indeed, should a blue wave arrive in November, it will be the high water mark of #TheResistance’s influence. Within the administration, and even in Congress, the very policies that could shipwreck #TheResistance on the shores of its own extremism are closer than ever to coming to pass, and what’s more, #TheResistance knows this. Indeed, the campus-style freakout on the part of Democratic Party activists in response to the baseless accusations of Christine Blasey Ford, who recently lobbed…

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Commentary: Media Continues Its Slow Suicide

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by Julie Kelly   After reviewing last week’s news coverage, I would encourage President Trump to come up with a more accurate taunt than “fake news.” Maybe “garbage news.” Or perhaps “bottom-feeding news.” Even try “we-are-a-collection-of-dishonest-miscreants-who-are-unworthy-of-an-ounce-of-the-American-people’s-trust news.” But “fake news” is tame in light of the media’s misleading, destructive, and willfully ignorant reporting last week that was intended further to inflame a divided body politic. Some of the lowlights featured MSNBC morning host Joe Scarborough, claiming Trump has done more damage to the country than the 9/11 terrorists; the editorial board of a major newspaper blaming Trump for Hurricane Florence; the wholesale acceptance of a highly flawed paper about hurricane deaths used to bash the president; and a despicable crusade not just to quash Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court, but to destroy his reputation and damage his young family. And it wasn’t just the dependable lunatics on the Left pushing trash commentary. Bret Stephens, the NeverTrump “conservative” columnist for the New York Times, compared Trump to a drug addict. Washington Post “conservative” blogger Jennifer Rubin warned that if Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted to confirm Kavanaugh, their names would be, “as was the case with [Nazi-era traitor] Vidkun Quisling—synonymous with ‘sellouts,’ ‘collaborators,’ or, to use a Trumpism, ‘phonies.’” As…

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Senator Lamar Alexander’s Poll Numbers Reflect Troubles Ahead in 2020 Re-Election Effort

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Lamar Alexander

As the 2018 election swings into full fury some are already looking ahead to the 2020 elections that will feature not only a Presidential cycle but also a likely reelection bid by Republican Senator Lamar Alexander. A new Tennessee Star poll of likely 2018 general election voters indicates that troubled waters like ahead for Alexander. 31.8% of the voters surveyed indicated they had a “favorable” view of Senator Lamar Alexander while 40.8% had an “unfavorable” view. 27.4% were “unsure or didn’t know” which is a remarkably high number for a political figure who has been a fixture in Tennessee politics for four decades. Alexander has not yet announced that he is running for reelection in 2020 when his current term ends, but he is expected to seek another six year term. Tennessee Star political editor Steve Gill says that Alexander’s low approval figures can be traced to several factors. “First, his colleague Senator Bob Corker regularly attacks President Trump; Corker’s behavior is splashing back on Lamar despite the fact that he’s actually been very supportive of the President and isn’t launching the kinds of cheap shots that Corker constantly spews out. Not calling our Corker and standing more clearly with…

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Elections Matter: Democrats Conjure Up Thirty Year Old Anonymous Sexual Misconduct Letter to Smear Kavanaugh

Julie Carr

On Friday’s Gill Report – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 1510 WLAC weekdays at 7:30 am – Star News Digital Media National Political Editor Steve Gill was perplexed by the Democrats’ recent attempts to smear Brett Kavanaugh with an anonymous thirty year old allegation on the eve of his confirmation.  Gill was dumbfounded by the desperation in the Democratic party and stressed how important elections are to the judicial process. “Elections matter,” Gill conceded. He continued: The desperation of the Democrats to stop Brett Kavanaugh from getting confirmed as a justice to the US Supreme Court has reached a pitiful new loan. Now keep in the mind the Democrats have covered up for the worst kinds of predators and sexual offenders from Hollywood, from within their own ranks, in the White House with President Bill Clinton and others. They have gone to extremes to cover up the the misdeeds and conduct in a current era of their own colleagues, advocates and allies. But they’ll go back into the deep dark ages and any rumor, any smear to attack a Republican is fair game. Well now they’ve reached a new low with an attempt to knock Brett Kavanaugh out of his…

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Bredesen ‘Dodging Making a Commitment’ on Kavanaugh SCOTUS Confirmation, Following Schumer’s Instructions

Jason M. Reynolds
Phil Bredesen

U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) on Wednesday released a statement on Phil Bredesen’s recent comments about Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bredesen still isn’t ready to say whether he supports the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, The Tennessean reported. “Judge Brett Kavanaugh is eminently qualified and there is no question he will uphold the rule of law,” Blackburn, a Republican candidate for the Senate, said. “His extensive record speaks for itself. There is nothing left to be determined – the facts are on the table. “It appears that Phil Bredesen is dodging making a commitment because of what we already know – Schumer has told Democrats to stay neutral as long as they can, and Phil Bredesen is already following orders. I will always vote to confirm judges that abide by the rule of law and the Constitution. Obviously, Phil Bredesen will not make that commitment to Tennesseans because he’ll only vote when and how Chuck Schumer tells him. That’s not what Tennesseans want or expect from their next senator.” Bredesen, a former Tennessee governor, said he needs more time to watch confirmation hearings and study the pick. He is pro-abortion but says Kavanaugh’s pro-life stance will not affect his…

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Nowville: Senators, Governors and Celebrities Set to Flock to Tennessee in Upcoming Months for Election Support

Julie Carr

On Thursday’s Gill Report –broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 1510 WLAC weekdays at 7:30 am– Star News Digital Media National Political Editor Steve Gill discussed the upcoming onslaught of Senators, Governors, and Celebrities slated to hit Tennessee soil in the upcoming weeks to support their chosen candidates and the motivation behind each parties voters in the November election. Gill went on to assure that Trump voters will turn out to defend and support their President if the Democrats make this election all about him. He continued: And you know that you’re going to see a lot of outside folks coming in to Tennessee to try to help things along for Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn in the Senate race. And a lot of these out of town Senators, and Governors, and Celebrities already coming in, you’re going to see a lot more of it over the next fifty, sixty days or so. Now the latest for Marsha Blackburn is Mike Pence. The Vice President is going to headline a fundraiser in Knoxville for her Senate bid on September 21st. Now the cost is going to be a $1,000.00 per person, $5,400.00 per couple with a photo, or $25,000.00 per couple…

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Commentary: Clowns to the Left of Us, Jokers to the Right, and Media All Around

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by Jeffery Rendall   Living in the news bubble that is Washington DC it’s easy for swamp dwellers to lose perspective on their own actions and how they’re being viewed by others. Last week’s media circus surrounding the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh must’ve given outsiders the impression American politics is one gigantic sideshow full of freaks and mutants all in search of the spotlight in the center ring. Perhaps they think the average American politician has three mouths, speaking out of two simultaneously and using the other to gulp mass quantities of super-caffeinated designer coffee. There’s good reason to think Americans are nuts too. On one side Republicans worked feverishly to appear impartial by probing Kavanaugh with questions about precedents, philosophies and belief systems. On the other, Democrats were hell-bent on (figuratively) disemboweling the man before his own family just to score political points with party base voters. Then there was the infamous “anonymous” New York Times op-ed which sought to discredit the American president in the eyes of…well, everyone. The implication someone close to Donald Trump was busy thwarting the president’s authority from the inside is a mighty scary proposition considering that person wasn’t elected by over…

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Is the ‘Blue Wave’ Washing Away the Left’s Chances?

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Andrew Gillum

By Printus LeBlanc   The mainstream media and political left appear to be right about the “Blue Wave.” Since the election of President Trump, the left has become energized like never before, but after a slew of primary elections across the country, it is clear the blue wave crashed early. The results of primaries this year should scare the Democrat Party because the candidates being put forth by their base are to the left of Stalin. It is now more likely the extreme positions of the new candidates will turn the moderates towards the GOP, or they will simply stay home. Most of the new candidates are preaching messages that destroyed Venezuela and fundamentally most Americans disagree with on a basic level. Florida is one of the most pro-Second Amendment states in the nation, and the new Democrat candidate for Governor, Andrew Gillum, is challenging that. While mayor of Tallahassee, Gillum used the power of government to restrict basic constitutional rights of its citizens. Not surprisingly, his efforts have made the city the most dangerous in Florida. Gillum also has an abominable economic platform. The U.S. is in the middle of an economic surge, thanks to tax cuts and deregulation, and Gillum…

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McCain From the Grave: Trump Receives Media Criticism for Flag Flying Protocol and Building the Wall

Julie Carr

On Monday’s Gill Report – broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville – Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill was dismayed by the media’s ability to say anything as a reason to criticize president Trump in the time of John McCain’s death. Apparently, following flag flying protocol just wasn’t enough. Gill went on to talk about Senator McCain’s passing and his true feelings he expressed during a 2010 campaign message where he was more than enthusiastic about “building the wall”. However, only when it served his re-election. Gill continued: John McCain’s passing has been met with a lot of disputes within the Republican party not the least at which has been a furor over the flag over the white house flying at half-mast for two days. Well lowering the flag for two days when a member of the Congress or top leader in government dies is the protocol set forth in the US code. You lower the flag for two days and then it goes back up to full staff. Which is exactly what the White House did. It wasn’t an attack on John McCain, it wasn’t a way to diminish his value they followed the rules, the protocol…

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Holt: Bredesen Wrong For Tennessee as Senator, Would Not Stand Up to Democrats

Jason M. Reynolds
Marsha Blackburn, Andy Holt, Phil Bredesen

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) is a better choice for the U.S. Senate than Democratic former Gov. Bredesen, one state representative said. Blackburn and Bredesen are running for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Bob Corker. State Rep. Andy Holt (R-76) wrote the comments about Bredesen and Blackburn in an op-ed in the Jackson Sun. “Just look at his (Bredesen’s) failure to denounce Democrat Congressman Steve Cohen (District 9), who said he wished Marsha Blackburn would jump off a bridge, or Mark Brown, the spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic Party who called President Trump a “moron” and his supporters ‘idiots.’ I guess I am one of those idiots. If he won’t stand up to his Democrats buddies in Tennessee for using the violent and partisan language that he claims to despise, because it plagues our country, who’s to say he’ll be able to do it in Washington? “Now that he’s running for office, he is telling you what he thinks you want to hear — that he’ll work across the aisle and won’t block the president at every turn. The reality is legislators — especially in the United States Senate — must pick a team, and he will be…

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Bill Lee Campaign Team Grows Fundraising, Communications and Grassroots Operations

Jason M. Reynolds
Bill Lee

Tennessee Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Lee on Friday announced four new hires to his campaign team. The hires are Laine Arnold, Julie Hannah, Kim Kaegi and Joseph Williams, according to a campaign press release. They will help the campaign expand communications, fundraising and grassroots operations for the General Election on Nov. 6. Lee faces Democratic challenger Karl Dean. “We are thrilled to have all of these talented individuals join the team,” said Campaign Manager Chris Devaney. “We are building on the momentum from our victory in the primary and with these staff additions, we will have the resources and team that will (have) Bill poised to win convincingly in November.” The Lee Campaign named Arnold as Press Secretary. Previously, Arnold served as the Press Secretary for the Randy Boyd for Governor campaign and the Communications Director for Battle Ground Academy in Franklin. Arnold will manage day-to-day media relations. In addition to coalition development, Bill’s campaign conducted an expansive and aggressive grassroots campaign in the primary election. To expand on those efforts in the General Election, Hannah, former Chairwoman of the Williamson County Republican Party, is returning to assist in volunteer operations as the Special Projects & Grassroots Coordinator. Longtime Republican fundraiser Kaegi joins…

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Commentary: Mainstream Media Is a Watchdog on Republicans, But a Lapdog for Democrats

Chris Butler
Kathleen Sebelius

This week mainstream media reporters nationwide took a posture against President Donald Trump and asserted they act with integrity and objectivity and that his attacks on them are attacks on democracy itself. Hook people in the mainstream media up to polygraph machines and ask them if they really believe that. They’ll pass with flying colors. But as someone who spent nearly 10 years in the mainstream press, I witnessed things that tell me people in the media aren’t necessarily looking out for you and your best interests. The year was 2006, and I had a newspaper job in Central Florida. The Congressional mid-term elections were coming. That election was a topic at one morning staff meeting. One reporter said far more Democrats than Republicans in the county were voting early, obviously a bad sign for the GOP. He wanted to do a story. Our editor shot him down flat. “If you publish that story then it might prompt more Republicans to get out and vote early, and I don’t want to see that happen,” our editor, who is now deceased, said at the time. This was a corporate-owned daily newspaper that served thousands of people every day. A few weeks…

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Poll: Conservatives See Democrats Working for Minority Rule Through Supreme Court

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Brett Kavanaugh

by CHQ Staff   Conservatives see Democrat opposition to Judge Brett Kavanaugh as opposition to majority rule itself, according to a poll by FedUp PAC. An almost unanimous 99% say that liberal Democrats “rely on the courts to overrule the majority” of Americans and that they oppose any judge who “would rule impartially according to the Constitution and the laws.” Democrats have relied on Supreme Court rulings to impose abortion on demand and homosexual marriage, as well as to nearly abolish the death penalty through a maze of restrictions and limitations. Kavanaugh is known as a judge who can be expected to rule in accordance with the text and intent of the Constitution and the law, and is unlikely to discover “rights” that had somehow escaped notice during more than two centuries under the Constitution.   By replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy, Kavanaugh would reduce to four the number of Supreme Curt justices who have shown a propensity for rewriting the Constitution. The four justices appointed by Presidents Clinton and Obama have often treated it as a “living” document subject the change by a five-vote majority on the Court rather than by the amendment process. President Trump nominated Judge Kavanaugh, who is…

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Bill Lee Announces ‘Believe in Tennessee Tour’

Jason M. Reynolds
Tennessee Star

Tennessee Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Lee on Wednesday announced his 95 county General Election tour. The “Believe in Tennessee Tour” will bring Lee to talk to voters and highlight his policies and belief that he is the right leader to keep Tennessee going in the right direction, his campaign said in a press release. “I’ve said throughout this campaign that Tennessee is a really good place to live, but in business, we know that good is the enemy of great,” said Lee. “For Tennessee to reach her full potential and lead the nation, we need to challenge the status quo and prioritize leadership over politics.” People have told Lee they want a good job, a good school for their kids, and they want to live in a safe neighborhood. Lee said he plans to address those challenges. He cites these statistics about Tennessee: 15 counties are below the poverty line. One in seven men between the ages of 25 and 54 has dropped out of the workforce. Opioid deaths have risen since 2012. Over 3,000 Tennesseans have died from opioid overdoses in just the last three years. Schools, which have improved over the last eight years, are still in the…

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Trump Tax Cuts At Risk: Democrats Conspire to Repeal While Record Low Unemployment Surges

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill discussed on Monday’s edition of The Gill Report – broadcast on Knoxville’s 92.3 FM WETR – how Democrats are conspiring to repeal the Trump tax cuts while record low unemployment among Hispanic and African-Americans surge and the federal government rakes in a record amount of individual tax revenue for 2018. “You know we’ve been hearing from the left ever since the Trump tax cuts were passed by the Republican House and Senate with no help at all from the Democrats,” Gill began.  “Democrats – including Democrats like Phil Bredesen who is running for the US Senate – declaring that they were mere crumbs; that they would only help the wealthy and that most Americans wouldn’t see the benefits.” He added: Now keep in mind that the tax cuts for most Americans haven’t gone into effect yet. They haven’t even gone into effect, because they will go fully into effect next year. The tax cuts have been cut for the income earned this year but the benefits the tax payers will see is when they file their tax returns next April 15th. And yet your already seeing companies give bigger bonuses your seeing pay raises you’re…

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EXCLUSIVE: Jim Jordan Explains His Bid For Speaker of the House

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Jim Jordan

by Robert Donachie    – Jim Jordan is running for speaker and he believes he can win.  – His main goals are to shake up how Congress operates, giving members more say in policy and more control over how the House operates.  – He wants to deliver on the promises Republicans made to voters in 2016 and thinks he is the perfect guy to make sure that happens. House Freedom Caucus co-founder Jim Jordan says he is running for speaker of the House to fix mismanagement and dysfunction in Congress and deliver on the promises Republicans made to voters in the 2016 election cycle, the congressman told The Daily Caller News Foundation. He also thinks he can win. Jordan, an Ohio Republican, formally announced his campaign for speaker of the House July 26 after months of speculation that the conservative stalwart would throw his name in the hat to replace outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan.The consensus in Washington and on Capitol Hill leading up to Jordan’s announcement this week was that Jordan, in league with his conservative HFC colleagues, was going on a shadow bid for the speakership to extract concessions from the two men in Republican leadership that Washingtonians have…

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Democrats Target Republican Mae Beavers with Facebook Attack Claiming She ‘Opposes Tax Cuts’

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Mae Beavers

A Democrat Party PAC is hitting conservative Republican candidate for Wilson County Mayor Mae Beavers with a Facebook ad that claims she “opposes tax cuts.” The Tennesseans for Common Sense PAC, with leadership that includes longtime liberal Democrat activist Carol Andrews, is also running radio ads, purchased at least one billboard and has done one county wide mailing so far. The PAC, in the supposedly non-partisan County Mayor’s race, clearly intends to help re-elect Democrat Randall Hutto.  Andrews herself is a candidate for the Democratic Party State Executive Committee in the August 2 Democrat Primary. The Democrat PAC is targeting Beavers for her vote in opposition to the Improve Act, which Hutto favored. The Improve Act raised fuel taxes and registration fees about $350 million a year at a time when  Tennessee enjoyed a $2 billion surplus. A narrow majority of Republicans in the House supported the tax increase, 37-35, but proponents relied on Democrat votes to get enough to pass it.  Beavers was one of only about 6 Republicans in the Senate to vote against the tax increase. Advocates of the plan have argued that the Improve Act cut taxes on the sales tax on food; but even when…

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House Votes Overwhelmingly To Kill Obamacare’s Tax On Medical Devices

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Obamacare

by Julia Cohen   A bipartisan majority in the House voted to repeal President Barack Obama’s 2.3 percent medical device tax Tuesday. The repeal passed 283-132, with 57 Democrats and all but one Republican voting in favor. North Carolina Republican Rep. Walter Jones was the sole Republican against the bill. “Minnesota’s innovators can breathe easier since we’re one step closer to ending the medical device tax for good,” Minnesota Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen, the bill’s sponsor, said in a Tuesday press release. “Today’s vote shows strong bipartisan support for lifting this burden on innovators in an industry so important to Minnesota. I’m more optimistic than ever we’ll be successful in giving these job creators the certainty and predictability they need to thrive.” The repeal will reduce federal tax revenue by about $22 million over the next 10 years, according to a Wall Street Journal article. The tax was temporarily rolled back in 2016, and Congress extended the rollback to 2020. Paulsen’s bill makes the repeal permanent. “This bipartisan legislation will make healthcare more affordable and ensure Americans have access to the most innovative life-saving and life-improving medical technology,” Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted Tuesday. Good news→ The House just voted to repeal Obamacare’s Medical Device Tax. This bipartisan legislation will make…

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Early Voting Republicans Trending to Set Records Across the State

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

On Wednesday’s Gill Report – broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville – Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill discussed the early voting trends and the possibility of a new early voting record that could be set across the state of Tennessee. Gill said, “As voters have headed to the poll over the last about a half week, early voting started on Friday across the state. It continued for a half-day on Saturday in most locations, a lot of counties across the state are still limiting the early voting to having to go to one location in the county – and it’s not really that convenient in a lot of counties.” He continued: And yet we’re seeing very heavy turnout with early voting already to date. As we look again with the numbers through the 17th which would be yesterday. Basically, the secretary of state’s office puts the numbers out each date to kind of give us guidance into what the numbers are and where they are headed. Well as of through yesterday, there were 93,961 republicans who had voted early. 41,182 Democrats across the state. So, you are still seeing about a 35% Democrat, 60%-65% Republican vote across the…

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Tennessee Republicans Call For Democrats To Denounce Memphis Leader’s Remarks Calling Candidates Racist

Jason M. Reynolds
Corey Strong, Scott Golden, Karl Dean, Phil Bredesen

The Tennessee Republican Party is calling for Democrats to denounce comments of Shelby County’s party leader, who on Facebook labeled Republican candidates “demonstrably racist, homophobic and unethical.” Newsweek reported on the now-deleted comments made Saturday by Corey Strong, chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party. Strong was elected last year to lead the state’s largest county party, which includes Memphis, after the Tennessee Democratic Party “de-certified” the group in 2016 following years of internal strife. “No matter what the Election Commission has done, the Democratic ticket needs 15k+ non-August Democrats to show up and moderate/suburban Dems to not cross over and vote for the demonstrably racist, homophobic, unethical, and unqualified Republican nominees,” Strong said on Facebook. Strong’s comments come in the wake of comments made by Maxine Waters where people should oust Trump Administration officials from public spaces. Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden released the following statement: Democrats have reached into their failed 2016 playbook and again taken to name calling and outright lying in an attempt to score political points, all the while nothing but continued silence from Tennessee Democratic leaders Phil Bredesen, Karl Dean, Craig Fitzhugh, and Mary Mancini. When it comes to divisive and harmful rhetoric, Tennesseans deserve better…

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Protests, Polls, and Hysteria: Steve Gill Talks About the Failing Narrative of the Democrats on ICE and How Swing Voters Really Feel About It

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

On Monday’s Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville, conservative pundit and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill reflected on the Democrat’s failing political strategy in regards to ICE and what polls really prove about majority of the parties base. “We talked a little bit today some of the other polls – including The Tennessee Star Poll. Well, the new national poll is also revealing when it comes to what’s happening out in the rest of the world,” Gill said. He continued: Over the weekend we saw a lot of these protest rallies across Tennessee and across the country as the left wing ‘hystericals’ were absolutely pitching a hissy-fit over the Donald Trump plan to deport and detain illegal immigrants. Now, they’re trying to play this game of saying we should abolish ICE – the immigration and customs enforcement agency – and have completely open borders, so everybody can come into our country and presumably get on welfare, and suck away our jobs, and well, destroy our country. The bottom line as we talked earlier today is that Mexico is about to see a flood of Mexicans coming across our border with their new President who is…

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NBC’s Chuck Todd Admits Trump Is ‘Winning’ While Democrats Are ‘Reeling’

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Chuck Todd

by Nick Givas   Host of NBC’s “Meet The Press” Chuck Todd said President Donald Trump is “winning” the policy war against Democrats Sunday, as the left continues to falter. “The announced retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy this week helped make one political reality clear — despite his overall unpopularity, President Trump is winning, and the Democrats right now are reeling,” Todd said. “The Supreme Court, Mr. Trump is about to shape the court for a generation by choosing a possible tie-breaking conservative justice, and he’s already filled the lower courts with like-minded conservatives.” Todd also said Trump is enjoying solid support throughout the GOP and highlighted his success in turning the term “fake news” against the mainstream press. “How about the Republican party? The president’s approval rating among Republicans is around 90 percent. Elected Republicans fear criticizing him,” Todd continued. “How about fake news? Mr. Trump has turned that phrase, which initially referred to the phony Russian generated stories designed to support his campaign in 2016, into an applause line now to discredit responsible reporting showcasing his misdeeds.” “If reporters faithfully fact check the president’s serial misstatements they risk being considered biased. If they don’t, misstatements gain traction. Either…

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Commentary: Democrats Have Already Started The Second Civil War

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anti-Trump attacks

by George Rasley   Democrats, such as Far Left demagogue Rep. Maxine Waters, have recently been called-out for encouraging mob action that could lead to civil unrest, but by most measures we would apply to other countries America is already well into the beginning of the Second Civil War. If we looked at any country in Latin America and saw a half-million people gathered in public applauding calls to blow up the Presidential Palace, political supporters of the President being beaten, government officials being mobbed in public, and a prominent politician shot and critically wounded in an attack on members of the parliamentary majority, we would say, “There’s an insurgency going on here.” Couple that with the Leftist party in Parliament engaging in a “massive resistance” of non-cooperation with the duly elected President and parliamentary majority that is straight out of the Bolsheviks’ playbook for Russia’s October Revolution and we would say, “There’s an insurgency going on here.” While the Trump administration has yet to take a look at this and publicly label what’s going on as an insurgency, Americans outside of government have looked around and drawn the obvious conclusion. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds…

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Justice Kennedy Retirement Raises the Stakes for Senate Mid-Term Elections

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Marsha Blackburn, Anthony Kennedy, Phil Bredesen

The announcement that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, which will prompt a confirmation battle heading into the Fall mid-term election cycle, is already raising the stakes in contested U.S. Senate races across the country. Democrats are defending Senate seats in ten states that President Donald Trump carried in 2016, including five that he won by double digits. The confirmation of a replacement for the 82 year old Justice will certainly have an impact on Tennessee’s Senate race. Trump has already indicated that his appointment of a replacement for Kennedy will come from the list of conservatives that he named during his election campaign, along with five others he added last Fall.  And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says a vote for the confirmation of a new Justice will come this Fall. Liberal activists are already melting down over the announced retirement, though it was widely anticipated.  In fact, a Democratic National Committee rules committee was on a conference call when the announcement came and the anguished reactions were audible. Conservative Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is among those thought to be on Trump’s short list, and was among those on the initial list of 25 conservatives that Trump plans…

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Commentary: Misplaced Democrat Outrage Over Illegals Has Backlash Written All Over It

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Antifa in Nashville

by Jeffrey Rendall   Have Democrats got something here, or have they really lost it? The question passed through my mind as a member of my church stood up a couple Sundays ago to request special prayers for the “families” with kids being separated from parents down along the southern border, genuinely implying there was a true humanitarian crisis at hand in America. Fellow church parishioners nodded in agreement to the man’s plea and many a petition was instantly heaven-sent for the sake of children and parents whom we’ll most assuredly never meet and who likely will be deservedly deported right back to whence they came. We shouldn’t have a problem praying for these folks – it’s the human condition, right? A little divine intervention here could only be a positive thing. But Democrats are taking this child-separation issue to the extreme, rejecting every overture from President Trump or congressional Republicans to not only aid those impacted by the government’s official policies, but also to deal with the illegal immigration problem itself. The minority party’s lack of interest in the authentic dilemma exposes their naked ploy to milk the crisis for every political chit it’s worth. Here’s thinking such a flawed strategy is…

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Diane Black is Only Gubernatorial Candidate Willing to Change Attorney General Selection Process, Victor Ashe Says

Jason M. Reynolds
Diane Black Would Veto in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrant students

Victor Ashe noted in his weekly column that Diane Black is the only gubernatorial candidate who supports bringing more transparency to the attorney general selection process. The Black campaign touted Ashe’s column in a press release. The former Knoxville mayor wrote in the Knoxville News-Sentinel that Democratic candidates Craig Fitzhugh and Karl Dean, along with Republicans Beth Harwell (state House speaker) and Randy Boyd all said they support the status quo. Ashe wrote, “Surprisingly, no one is a change agent here as the selection process for state AG is unique to Tennessee with the Supreme Court (only five people) meeting behind closed doors once every eight years to pick a Tennessean to be the chief legal officer. The open meetings laws do not apply to this meeting of a public body.” Black supports voter input Black, however, believes the voters should have a say. “Whether through direct election or legislative appointment, Diane supports changing this process and will push for that change as governor.” Tennessee’s attorney general is Republican Herbert H. Slatery III. He was sworn in as the attorney general and reporter on Oct. 1, 2014, according to the attorney general’s website. Prior to his appointment, Slatery served as…

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Commentary: Amnesty Push Proves We Need Jim Jordan As Speaker

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Jim Jordan, Paul Ryan

by CHQ Staff   Our friends at the Eagle Forum, the principled grassroots constitutional conservative group founded by the late First Lady of the conservative movement Phyllis Schlafly, recently came out strongly in favor of Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio to replace the retiring RINO Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House. One of the key points in the organization’s email to its grassroots membership bears passing on and echoing by every conservative opinion leader: –          If the “compromise [amnesty for illegal aliens] bill” passes, this will not fare well for Republicans in the upcoming November elections.  If Democrats gain control of the House, a much more liberal bill without any border security will be inevitable. –          Republicans would not have been in this situation if we had true Conservative Leadership in the House.  Speaker Ryan, Leader McCarthy, and Whip Scalise have all had a hand in allowing this fight to become so moderate.  This is the perfect time to encourage support for Rep. Jim Jordan for Speaker. –          Our grassroots advocates are very upset by the illegal immigration crisis and are confused by the flip-flop of Congress on this issue.  They will be motivated to voice their support for…

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The Republican Majority in the US Senate is ‘In Name Only’

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US Senate

By Printus LeBlanc   The White House needs to accept the political reality of the Senate. Despite having 51 Republicans in the Senate, they do not have a majority and are facing a hostile Senate. All the evidence is in the numbers, and President Donald Trump must act accordingly. The first test for the “Republican” controlled Senate came after six years of campaign promises. The GOP controlled the House, Senate, and White House, and it was finally going to get rid of Obamacare. And then the Senate had to vote when it had a President that would sign the bill. Long story short, Obamacare is still the law of the land. Another test will come later this week. In early June, the House passed a $14.7 billion rescission package. The package was nothing more than programs that did not exist, or there is no authorization, but Congress keeps funding anyways. The package now sits in the Senate and must be acted upon by Friday. It seems like an easy lift. Defunct government programs should not get funded. However, it is not looking good. Many moderate Senators, including appropriators, do not want to rock the boat on the previously agreed to spending…

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Carol Swain Commentary: Facts, Myths, and the Rewritten History of the Left, as Tweeted By Princeton’s Kevin Kruse

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Carol Swain

by Dr. Carol Swain   Princeton Professor Kevin Kruse’s May 7, Twitter streamed attack on one of my Prager University videos (“Why did the Democratic South become Republican?”) comes at a time when some blacks in America are beginning to question the Democratic Party’s history and intentions. The attack also comes at a time when Prager University has a pending appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court challenging Google for selectively demonetizing about 50 of its conservative YouTube videos. So much is at stake for the Democratic Party, that the Prager videos have caused the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center to cite the Twitter stream in a fresh attack on Prager University for its ability to reach millions with its five-minute videos. The Left often coordinates its attacks in a manner meant to discredit and discourage inquiry. Professor Kruse’s criticism deserves a response and so do Prager University subscribers.  After carefully reviewing his data and its claims, I stand behind the substantive message of my Prager University video. I will, however, concede the need to make a small correction about the date of President Eisenhower’s deployment of the 101st Airborne to Little Rock Arkansas to enforce desegregation, the deployment of troops…

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Tennessee Firearms Association Blisters Republican-led Legislature For ‘Pitiful’ 2nd Amendment Protections

Jason M. Reynolds
Firearms blue

The recently ended legislative year in Nashville was “pitiful” in terms of protecting gun rights, a state firearms advocacy group says in a report. The “Tennessee Firearms Association 2018 Legislative Report and Review” takes the Republican super-majority in the General Assembly to task on 15 new laws and/or amendments to existing laws. “Based on their actions this year there is really no evidence that the Republican super-majority, as a whole, is a strong proponent and defender of those individual and personal rights which are recognized and protected by the 2nd Amendment and Article I, Section 26 of the Tennessee Constitution,” the report says. That is despite 57 bills that were either introduced or were active after Jan. 1 of this year that “would have implemented changes that would have made Tennessee a much better state for the free exercise of our constitutionally protected rights.” The Tennessee Firearms Association says those “good” bills that failed would, among other things, have: Implemented constitutional carry; Implemented permitless open carry; Implemented the 2018 Second Amendment Protections Act (a significant rewrite of several existing laws) to bring them more in compliance with the 2nd Amendment’s prohibitions against government infringements. This includes a prohibition on local…

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Commentary: Delusional Democrats’ Blue Wave Found Only at the Beach This Weekend

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Donald Trump rally

by Jeffery Rendall   Heading into Memorial Day weekend perhaps it’s fitting to step back and reassess the political situation in American politics today. The weather is warm, the economy is good and gas prices are still low enough for Americans to feel confident hitting the road for the three-day holiday with the reassurance they can spend a few bucks and not blow a gaping hole in their family budgets. The Trump tax cuts are taking effect and many families will likely be sharing their windfall with retailers, recreational providers and the hospitality industry very soon. In other words, life is good. Not everything’s about what’s happening in Washington these days. President Donald Trump’s approval ratings remain mired in the low 40’s – but that’s not bad considering it’s higher than for most of the three years he’s been in politics. As of earlier this week the generic congressional ballot showed Democrats with a solid (though shrinking) lead of D+4 and political experts seemingly revise their forecasts for the fall elections every day (note: The Dems’ lead completely vanished in the Reuters poll.) Conservatives are heartened by the mostly rightward direction of the Trump administration and Republicans are optimistic they’ll at least survive this November.…

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Newt Gingrich Says The ‘Trump Effect’ Has Pushed Conservative Movement To A Whole New Level

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by Nick Givas   Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said President Donald Trump’s policies have had a profound effect on the conservative movement and expects his influence to continue to grow. “I think the Trump effect has been remarkable,” Gingrich said Thursday on Fox Business’ “Varney & Co.” “The combination of conservative judges, deregulation, tax cuts, innovation, the right policies favoring work over welfare — all of that’s come together,” Gingrich continued. “Plus having an entrepreneur in the White House has sent a sort of an emotional signal to small business leaders, entrepreneurs, creative people in the economy. We’ve had the highest positives we’ve had in many, many years.” Gingrich also said there is a possibility of 4.1-percent growth for the U.S. economy for the second quarter, and it could lead to the lowest black unemployment numbers in history. “There’s one report that the second quarter maybe actually be 4.1 percent growth,” he said. “If that happens, I think you’re going to see the country look up — lowest black unemployment in history.” Editors Note: Watch Gingrich full appearance on Varney and Co. :   – – – Nick Givas is a reporter at Daily Caller news Foundation. You can Follow Nick on Twitter and Facebook. …

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Commentary: Even Though the GOPe Edged Conservatives in Last Tuesday’s Primaries, There’s Plenty to Celebrate Going into the Fall Elections

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by Jeffery Rendall   Establishment Republicans in the Washington swamp must have waited with bated breath on Tuesday night as they viewed the primary election results ticking slowly across the bottom of their TV news screens. Of particular concern for charter members of the capital bog was the GOP contest in West Virginia, where avowed anti-Mitch McConnell (and seemingly outwardly bigoted) oddball Don Blakenship was running surprisingly strongly in recent polls, suggesting another headache could be in the works for a DC ruling class that had just gotten over the aftermath of having to root against a fellow Republican in last year’s Alabama special election. This time the establishment came out on top – or at least they didn’t lose big – and conservatives should be glad. Blankenship ended up falling to the conservatives’ favorite in West Virginia, perhaps paving the way for a Republican senate seat pick-up (Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is vulnerable) in November. There was good news for conservatives elsewhere as well. W. James Antle III of the Washington Examiner reported on Wednesday, “If Tuesday night’s Republican primary winners were not like [Alabama’s Judge Roy] Moore, they were not exactly rejecting Trump either. Rep. Jim Renacci, who won the GOP primary to…

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Steve Gill Analysis: That 2018 ‘Blue Wave’ May Be a Little Tougher To Accomplish Than the Left Thinks

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Conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star contributor Steve Gill said on The Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville on Monday, that the oft-mentioned and fervently hoped-for “Blue Wave” of Democrat victories this fall may be a little tougher to come by than the left may think. “Are the 2018 midterm elections shaping up to be the ‘Blue Wave’ that the mainstream media would believe is coming where Democrats trounce Republicans across the country, and retake the House and the Senate and then impeach Donald Trump…? Well, maybe in their hope and dreams,” Gill posited. He continued: That’s certainly the way the mainstream media was painting the Republican primary and Democrat primary in Texas a few weeks ago. They were proclaiming that energized Democrats were poised to “make history” and “turn Texas blue.” But then Election Day happened and Republicans were the ones who actually set a Texas primary turnout record. In the Pennsyvania special election where Demecrat Lamb defeated Republicn Saccone by a mere .2 of a percent? Well that’s in a district where Democrats actually have a 50 thousand vote registration margin. And for the Democrat to win, he had to run against Nancy Pelosi, sidle up to Donald Trump,…

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Is Push to Close Primaries Dead For the Year?

Jason M. Reynolds

The push to close primaries in Tennessee is dead for the year, a legislative source says. SB 0772 aims to require a voter to declare a statewide political party affiliation before voting in a primary. That bill was assigned March 20 to the Senate’s General Subcommittee of the State and Local Government Committee. However, Pamela McCary, legislative assistant to State Rep. Tim Wirgau, said on March 21 that it has not been moved onto the calendar in the House, so that chamber cannot take action on it this year. Wirgau, R-Buchanan, is chairman of the Local Government Committee in the House. There has been a lot of “buzz” on the topic for some reason, despite the status in the House, she said. The House bill number is HB 0887. Also on March 21, the main sponsor of the House bill changed from Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, to Rep. Tilman Goins, R-Morristown. Williams is still a co-sponsor. State Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, is the Senate sponsor.

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Commentary: Republicans Hold the Key to Their Own Success in the 2018 Midterm Elections

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by Jeffrey A. Rendall   Now that 2017’s few elections and reflections on the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s triumphant win in the 2016 election are in the rearview mirror it’s time to look ahead to the all-important midterm elections of 2018. Midterms are always a big deal because they portend to reveal how well – or how poorly – a president is received by a wide cross-section of the American public. Ahead of next year’s vote media pundits are doing what media pundits always do, namely find any way feasible to describe the Republican Party as being in trouble. Their routines are predictable: wake up in the morning, put on a pot of coffee, take their anti-depressant medication, check Trump’s twitter feed, organize their angry thoughts and then scribble a story bashing Trump and predicting doom. In Trump’s case it’s been happening for well over two years now so liberal journalists have the shtick down cold. The only problem is their predictions rarely come true. Other commentators actually look at the facts and try to draw some reasoned conclusions. David M. Drucker and W. James Antle III of the Washington Examiner wrote earlier this week, “One year out from the midterm congressional…

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Delaware Senator Chris Coons Says the Key for Democrats in Red States Is to Keep Races Local

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Sen. Chris Coons said Wednesday that Democrats in red states need to keep their campaign’s local in next year’s midterm races. “The Democratic senators who are incumbents up for election this time in the five the states that you’re referencing – states like Indiana, North Dakota, Montana, Missouri, West Virginia – are terrific, active, engaged, local…

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Commentary: How Donald Trump’s Epic 2016 Win Made America Great Again

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by Jeffery Rendall   November 8, a day that will live in infamy. Not to everyone, mind you, but particularly to Democrats, liberals and GOP establishment #NeverTrumpers that still can’t understand or accept what happened a year ago today. Donald Trump’s triumphant victory in the Electoral College would make him president. TV news anchors and pundits working election night acted as though they’d just been kicked in the mid-section after a gluttonous meal. Some looked like they had tears in their eyes; their lips trembled; others pinched themselves in a vain attempt to awaken from a horrible nightmare. The rest of us just hooted, hollered and celebrated. It was like the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets all over again. Or Apollo 13 gently floated back to earth. The relief and excitement was tangible. Some found Trump’s triumph was sweet; others thought Hillary Clinton’s downfall was sweeter. It didn’t matter – the day had come. For those who supported Trump and earnestly hoped some kind of “miracle” would transpire to keep the Clintons permanently out of the Oval Office it was a day and night to never forget. It was like Christmas morning had arrived early, though this particular…

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