A must-read *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* to all the candidates in Tennessee: “…a good candidate running a good local campaign can trump even a very bad national attitude.” (a.k.a., “…riding the wave of voter discontent might not be enough for Republicans this fall” and “what last Tuesday’s elections can really teach us.”)
All that and message matters, too.
Here are some pictures from the Tennessee Tea Party visit to the Capitol this morning. They were taken during the right wing extremist red-meat speeches given by Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) and Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), two of the Co-Prime Sponsors of the Tennessee Health Freedom Act.
Did Sen. Beavers really say to the “crowd” that this bill would allow them to choose to keep their private health insurance? Can’t they do that now?
I will try to remember more of what was said but mostly all I heard was “blah blah blah.”
We at Liberadio(!) hope the TNGOP continues to follow the leadership of Lt. Governor Ramsey and Sen. Mae Beavers. Please, oh please, oh please. Because while you’re doing that we’ve be over here explaining that affordable health care coverage for your kids without having to worry about pre-existing conditions is right around the corner.
This poor guy was confused. He thought they said “Pirate Party” .
UPDATE: More from Woods – Under Siege at the Legislature: Tea Partiers Howl Over Health Care Reform
UPDATE II: Another eye witness account – this picture and a quote:
I just took this picture this morning with my phone. It was about 10:45 AM and the guy at the podium was speaking to “everyone”- at one point he said, “And it won’t stop with healthcare…next we’ll get immigration, cap and trade, education!”
Maureen Dowd fist bumps Barack Obama’s Democrats:
One minute they were legislative losers, squabbling and scrambling for the off-ramps. The next they were history-makers, sharing chest bumps and goose bumps at the White House. How had the lofty president and the wily speaker suddenly steered them off Jimmy Carter Highway and onto F.D.R. Drive?
One gleeful and relieved White House aide called the bill-signing ceremony in the East Room, packed with Democratic lawmakers snapping pictures and acting like obstreperous children, “an Old Spice moment.”
“You could see it in their faces,” he said. “It was kind of like that Old Spice ad where the guy smacked himself on the cheeks and said, ‘Wow, that feels good!’ It was like they smacked themselves on the cheeks and said, ‘You are a member of Congress and now you can start doing things. Wow, that feels good!’ ”
David Axelrod agreed: “It was incredibly moving to be in that room today. This was such an emotional high that I actually saw congressmen hugging senators. People are so used to low expectations around here that the idea that you could do something big and meaningful is exhilarating.”
The Democrats held hands, held their breath and jumped over the cliff — not that it was a radical bill. And, mirabile dictu, nothing awful happened. The markets went up. The polls went up. Their confidence went up.
I think you can hear Tennessee Democrats jumping over some cliffs too these days. #clang
T/F/B: Julie Rants and Raves
Compare and contrast. And as you complete your assignment, keep in mind that this is about tone and theme, not content.
Tennessee House Caucus Chair Mike Turner (D-Old Hickory):
“We’ve got a lot of bills on states’ rights here, state sovereignty and all that,” he added. “We went through that fight once before. All of a sudden, we have a black man elected president and everybody wants to start acting like something’s wrong with our country. I didn’t agree with a lot of things George Bush did, but I wasn’t ready to secede from the union.”
Fake but beloved U.S. President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet (D-Hollywood) to fake and not-so-beloved GOP opponent Governor Ritchie of Florida (R-Hollywood):
“Well, first of all, let’s clear up a couple of things. “Unfunded mandate” is two words, not one big word. There are times when we’re fifty states and there are times when we’re one country, and have national needs. And the way I know this is that Florida didn’t fight Germany in World War II or establish civil rights. You think states should do the governing wall-to-wall. That’s a perfectly valid opinion. But your state of Florida got $12.6 billion in federal money last year – from Nebraskans, and Virginians, and New Yorkers, and Alaskans, with their Eskimo poetry. 12.6 out of a state budget of $50 billion. I’m supposed to be using this time for a question, so here it is: Can we have it back, please?”
T/F/B: City Paper by way of Speak to Power.
OK, so we know and have known for a while that Republicans are hypocrites. And, yes, Lamar Alexander does deserve to win the top prize in Keith’s “Hypocrisy Hall of Shame” (vote here!) for simultaneously voting “no” for the stimulus while applying to the federal government for stimulus dollars for a project that he crows would “create over 200 jobs in the first year and at least another 40 new jobs in the following years.”
So if Republicans are hypocrites, what are Democrats?
Democrats are right, of course.
We’re finding more and more evidence that Republicans – on both the state and federal level – are on the ground taking credit for all the good the stimulus dollars have done for their communities and constituents while at the same time pandering to their base with language that is strikingly opposite. (As an aside, if you don’t believe all politics is local then now would be a good time to take a second look.)
More important than the award-winning hypocrisy of the right (I mean, really, is anyone surprised?) is why Democrats aren’t on the ground talking to and engaging the constituents in their communities? Because the crazy thing is that Democrats can have one-on-one conversations or town hall meetings and take credit for the public structures that are meaningful to their constituents and that are strengthened by stimulus dollars, and then have the same conversations when they’re talking to larger groups – like the press or their brethren on the House and Senate floors – without even a trace of hypocrisy.
Why? Because their base and the people who Republicans are talking to when THEY are on the ground in their districts taking credit for creating jobs, etc. value the exact same things – good jobs, affordable health care, infrastructure development that creates good jobs. It’s a no brainer but for some reason Democrats refuse to go there. Instead, they go somewhere else to appeal to the people who would never vote for anyone with a “D” beside their name anyway.
Ironic, ain’t it?
The definition of “pure fiction” can be found on the pages of the Nashville Scene’s Pith in the Wind (PITH) blog where yesterday yet another story was posted about the commitment some people, myself included, have made to building a better future for all Tennesseans.
Here’s what we are doing: We are working hard to lay the groundwork for a broad-based permanent collaboration between progressive issue organizations, think tanks, advocacy groups, faith organizations, labor unions, social clubs, business and trade associations, loose coalitions of like-minded citizens, bloggers, and any others want to work towards building a better future for all Tennesseans.
The work we are doing is non-partisan and exists completely outside the Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) – but not because, as made up speculated in PITH, we have “turned against” or have become “disillusioned” with Chip Forrester (current Chairman of the TNDP).
Pure fiction.
All Tennessee Democrats, including everyone at the TNDP headquarters, are working long hours and each are doing the work of at least three people. I have so much respect for them.
The difference between what we are trying to do and what the TNDP does is partisanship – plain and simple. Their work is partisan – ours is not.
Nor are we doing what we’re doing because we are “thoroughly convinced that Tennessee is filled with throngs of Rachel-Maddow-loving lefties.”
More fiction.
Our work is not about left or right – it’s about leading with the issues that unite us – not what divides us – and there are so many that do. Doesn’t someone who is socially conservative want clean drinking water for their children? And doesn’t someone who is socially liberal want the much-needed repairs to local infrastructure that will not only allow for commerce to continue uninterrupted in their community but bring jobs to that community as well? And doesn’t everyone want a good job with a fair wage that will enable them to take care of their family? Doesn’t everyone want to be able to afford to send their kid to college?
What we are doing is far removed from the culture wars exaggerated and manipulated by partisan politics – including Pith’s stable of smug anonymous insiders – which is probably why they feel the need to drag it through the mud.
The first question I always like to ask progressives when I’m traveling around Tennessee is, “Why so blue, Blue?”
Is it because you feel as if you’re fighting an uphill battle against that right-wing crazy everyday? Is it because you wonder how people can lie like they do and get away with it? Is it because when you tell your friends and neighbors you’re a Democrat/progressive/liberal they begin to back away slowly? Is it those two little words, “10th Amendment,” that some elected officials seem to be rallying around as if it were 1790 instead of 2010?
Yes, yes and yes, they say. Well, I counter, “What Would Rachel Do (WWRD)?”
She would tell you to first stop believing the lies you are being told.
You, she would say, are not in the Minority. Your values, she would say, are the values that matter to most Tennesseans. Your priorities, she would say, are the priorities that will make Tennessee a better place.
Progressive values & priorities, she would repeat, are the values & priorities of the people of Tennessee.
Seriously. Who in Tennessee doesn’t want broad prosperity, a better future for all, an effective government, and mutual personal responsibility?
If you need more proof, look no further than the Gallup poll last August that showed that Tennessee Democrats have an 8% advantage among registered voters (47% vs. 39%). And there’s no telling how many unregistered Democrats/progressives or “leaning Republicans” there are waiting to be awakened to the truth about progressive values and priorities.
Another indication that Democratic and progressive candidates would be on the winning path if they ignored the social issues used to divide us (and that in reality only appeal to about 20-25% of the electorate) and instead concentrated on what unites all Tennesseans – jobs, education, etc.. – is the latest MTSU poll which states unequivocally that the number one concern of Tennesseans is the economy.
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Up next, We’re Right, They’re Wrong Lesson 2: Frame Club.
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