If You Commit a Crime Let’s Find a Tree and Take Care of It.

On March 17, 2010, in State Politics, by Mary Mancini

Billie HolidayFor the prize of one “Honk! If you’d Rather Check My Birth Certificate than Govern” bumper sticker, can anyone tell me (enter in the comments section) in what century the above statement was made by a Tennessee State House representative?

Was it:

A) 18th
B) 19th
C) 20th
D) 21st
E) All of the above

Anarchival has both the date, the name and the context:

This statement was why I went to bed thinking about the biker gang who roams around Tennessee hunting down sex offenders. The legislative purpose of a sex offender registry is to notify the public of the presence of this certain type of criminal, so that hopefully they can take steps to protect themselves and their families. Very few people in the total population of Tennessee take advantage of this information. Even fewer are actually protected by it. However, there are plenty of sadistic people in this state who are happy to use the registry to find people no one really cares about to bully and victimize. Of course, for people like Eddie Bass (D-Prospect), that’s OK. As a good ‘ole boy from a rural county, he still believes that justice is best executed by lynching, not by the constitutional protections he has sworn to uphold. He will happily stand by shouting “Burn, Baby, Burn!” as Rep. [Debra] Maggart [R-Hendersonville] sets fire to that Constitution, because he believes all alleged criminals deserve is a stout oak tree and a sturdy rope…until he, of course, is accused of a crime. Then I’m sure he’ll want all the constitutional protections he can get. As the saying goes, “No one escapes when freedom fails. The best men rot in filthy jails. And those who cried, ‘Appease! Appease!’, are hanged by those they tried to please.” Luckily, we’re not to that point yet, even if this Bill passes. The worst that might happen is that a fifteen year old boy who was raped and beaten for eleven years by his stepfather, and then took out his own frustration on the neighbor kid, ends up being bludgeoned to death and left to die in a field by a biker gang. And who will care if they did? Not Eddie Bass.

Rep. Maggart and Rep. Bass are rapidly becoming members of Rep. Campfield’s “It’s my State, you just live in it” club where they get to decide – based on their whims – when Tennesseans abide by the U.S. Constitution and when we don’t. Tsk.

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The Political Double Standard of Rep. Maggart and Sen. Black

On March 16, 2010, in State Politics, by Mary Mancini

No CheatingLet’s leave aside for a moment the fact that the Tennessee Report doesn’t yet have “Elections” listed under the “Department” section of their website when clearly they should and instead focus on the little gem they uncovered about Rep. Debra Maggart.

From a story yesterday about the Juvenile Sex Offender Registry:

House lawmakers heard more than three hours of testimony last Tuesday on a piece of legislation introduced by Rep. Debra Maggart, R-Hendersonville, who says it is necessary both to protect the public as well as line Tennessee up to receive a bigger chunk of federal law enforcement subsidies.

From a story posted in December 2009 about Maggart as “State Sovereignty” supporter:

Earlier this year, Republican state Rep. Debra Young Maggart co-sponsored a resolution demanding that the federal government refrain from further burdening Tennessee with unwarranted and potentially unconstitutional policy mandates.

But earlier this month, Rep. Maggart and Sen. Diane Black, R-Gallatin, expressed their interest in legislatively obligating the State of Tennessee to embrace an as-yet unfulfilled federal mandate, signed by George W. Bush, that critics say violates just the sort of constitutional principles lawmakers like Maggart saw fit to reiterate in their state sovereignty resolution last session.

It’s not the hypocrisy that is so bothersome, it’s the hubris and the posturing and it goes back to this:

We’re finding more and more evidence that Republicans – on both the state and federal level – love to take credit with their constituents for all the good government can do while at the same time pandering to their base with language that is strikingly opposite.

Listen closely the next time a Republican talk about health insurance reform. Every health care discussion they have is prefaced with “We think there needs to be health care reform” or “We’re not saying there doesn’t need to be reform….”

Democrats can have these conversations with their constituents – one-on-one conversations or in town hall meetings – and take credit for the good that government does (and can do!) because their constituents value the exact same things Democrats value – good jobs, affordable health care, infrastructure development that creates good jobs, quality education, access to quality education, etc.. Democrats should really go to this place instead of trying to appeal to the people who would never vote for anyone with a “D” beside their name anyway.

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Comforting Words for Rep. Maggart: Paper Ballots Could Ease Your Fears

On June 11, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

I received an email recently from a friend who contacted Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville) about the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act, which was supported almost unanimously in the House and Senate and signed by an enthusiastic Governor Bredesen in 2008 and would have given Tennessee voter the three things which are almost universally accepted as ways to ensure fair elections – paper ballots, a meaningful recount mechanism, and an automatic audit process.

When my friend wrote to Rep. Maggart in March, he urged her to keep the Voter Confidence Act intact and on track for implementation for the 2010 election. When she wrote back to him in June to explain why she supported delaying implementation until 2012, she had a story to tell:

Thank you for emailing me about the verifiable ballots. I have always supported this legislation and I also sponsored a similar bill before the one we are discussing passed.

Fighting for the integrity of the ballot box is one of the cornerstones of my career as a state legislator as I have sponsored for years the voter photo ID bill and several pieces of legislation about the voting and registration process.

Unfortunately, we have since learned of the enormous costs to the counties to implement this procedure. I have attached the estimated 2010 costs to Sumner County for you to review. Sumner County will have between 97 and 100 different configurations of the ballot because we have so many different elections. Sumner County has city elections, property rights city elections, eleven school board seats, the county commission, the county constitutional officers, and the state and federal elections. We also call for county primaries. Many of our counties face similar circumstances and costs.

For example, the Gene Brown precinct would have six different ballots available. Storage is also an issue, because these types of ballots that are scanned by each voter must be kept before and after the election in a climate controlled area. If these ballots get either too hot or too cold, they cannot be properly scanned through the scanner. This would be an Election Day nightmare if the voters showed up to vote and the paper ballots were unable to be fed through the scanners in each precinct.

Not really. No. If we make the switch to paper ballots and the paper could not be fed through the machines (or if there’s a power failure or machine breakdown or if we needed a recount), the ballots could still be counted – by hand. That’s the whole point. In other words, the new paper ballot system should make Rep. Maggart feel more secure if her “nightmare” scenario were to occur.

The real voting nightmare is what we have now – paperless electronic voting machines in which there is no mechanism for a meaningful recount and no way of knowing if any ballot cast using these paperless machines has ever been cast or counted correctly.

Also attached to her email was a spreadsheet detailing the estimated costs for conducting a paper ballot election in Sumner County. But another spreadsheet from the Secretary of State’s office shows enormous differences (pdf) in estimates from other Tennessee counties.

For instance, the storage of ballots in Sumner County would cost $7,152.00. But Houston County estimates it would cost $50.00 and Cocke County estimates $203.00. Campbell County estimates that it would cost $70,000.

As of today, there has been no explanation for the disparity in the numbers from any legislator or the State Election Coordinator, Mark Goins. And while they contend that it would be more expensive to change to a system of paper ballots, studies in North Carolina, Maryland and Florida have shown that voting with paper ballots (counted by optical scan machines) is 30-40% less expensive than voting on paperless electronic voting machines like the ones we use now in Tennessee.

The Senate version of the bill that would delay implementation of paper ballots until 2012 will probably be heard on the Senate floor next week. The House version will be heard in the House Finance, Ways & Means committee on Monday.

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What SJR127’s Sponsors Should Be Celebrating

On May 19, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

OK, so I get that even with yesterday’s passage in the House of SJR127 we’re a long way from amending the Tennessee Constitution, but from the celebratory reaction of Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville) and her She-Women Women Haters Club cronies (I’m looking at you, Senators Black and Gresham), you’d have thought they had passed legislation that created unlimited jobs, turned our public schools into the palaces they should be, eradicated our dismal infant mortality rate, and gave every man, woman, and child in Tennessee decent and affordable health care.

So, how are those “priorities” coming along, TNGOP?

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Where in the World is What’s Best for Tennessee Voters?

On May 12, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

In an attempt to further their full court press against voting, voting rights, voters, and democracy, Tennessee’s Republicans – led by Rep. Gerald McCormick – are threatening to invoke the rarely used Rule 80, a move that would allow them to recall three bills that failed to make it out of the Elections subcommittee to this afternoon’s full House State & Local Government Committee.

Their decision, along with recently made comments about Tennessee General Assembly rules and the committee system certainly has been illuminating.

In a story by Andy Scher in the Chattanooga Free, Republican Rep. Glen Casada said, “Subcommittees are good, they just shouldn’t be the end-all, say-all. I hate for six members to decide public policy for 99.”

In another story in the Tennessean about Speaker Kent Williams performance this session, Republican Rep. Debra Maggart said she was disappointed that Williams did not choose to break a tie on the photo ID bill in committee because, she said, “The Republican Caucus needed his support on this bill.”

McCormick circumventing the committee process. Casada believing that public policy is decided for the benefit of House members. Maggart disappointed that the Republican Caucus didn’t get their way.

Where’s the discussion about what’s best for the people? Where’s the discussion about what’s best for voters? Where’s the discussion about what’s best for democracy?

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Why Do Reps. McCormick, Maggart, and Todd Hate Democracy?

On May 8, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

On Tuesday, May 12, Rep. Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga), will ruin our nice (but a little wet) spring and make a motion in the House State and Local Government Committee, to recall two Voter suppression ID bills – HB 0639 by Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville) and HB 1838 by Rep. Curry Todd (R-Collierville).

So why the renewed push to pass legislation that is a solution in search of problem? Especially since both bills were assigned to, and failed to get out of, the now-closed Elections Subcommittee?

Apparently, it’s because these three Tennessee legislators believe in voter suppression, also known as the Paul Weyrich model of democracy:

WEYRICH: “Now many of our Christians have what I call the goo-goo syndrome – good government. They want everybody to vote. I don’t want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people, they never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”

“Voter fraud,” which is what McCormick, Maggart, and Todd say these bills will prevent, is when a voter attempts to vote more than once or by impersonating someone else.

There are no documented instances of “voter fraud” in Tennessee – and barely any in the rest of the country, as reported by the American Prospect:

“Since 2002, the Justice Department’s Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative has, as [disgraced U.S. Attorney General Alberto] Gonzales put it, ‘made enforcement of election fraud and corruption offenses a top priority.’ And yet between October 2002 and September 2005, just 38 cases were brought nationally, and of those, 14 ended in dismissals or acquittals, 11 in guilty pleas, and 13 in convictions.”

The Ophelia Ford case, which Republican legislators are so quick to cite as “voter fraud,” was in fact “election fraud,” a systematic effort by those with power to steal an election through vote manipulation and/or voter suppression. And even though Mark Goins doesn’t know the specifics of the Ford case, we do – three election workers were caught manipulating the vote. Voters had nothing to do with it.

“Voter suppression,” however, does exist and it will be the (intended) consequence if either the photo ID to vote or the citizenship to register bills become law.

I hope the Democrats on the State and Local Government Committee continue to push for examples from Rep. Maggart and Rep. Todd of instances of “voter fraud,” because waving papers around in a committee meeting and saying you have proof is not actually, you know, proof.

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Oh Happy Happy Day in the House Elections Subcommittee

On April 22, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

Not only is it free Baskin Robbins day on the Hill today, but HB0639, the bill that would have required a photo ID to vote, failed in the House Elections Subcommittee this morning! Thanks to Chairman Eddie Yokley (D-Greenville, the Fightin’ 11th!) and Rep. Gary Moore (D-Joelton, the Fightin’ 50th!) who voted no, and Rep. Harry Tindell (D-Knoxville, the Fightin’ 13th!) who voted “no” and correctly labeled the bill as a “poll tax.”

A shout out to Speaker Kent Williams (R-Carter County, the Fightin’ 4th!) too, who wandered in to break the tie on HB1841 (which would urge the state executive committees to jointly establish a calendar of appearances of its gubernatorial candidates in all 95 counties), but who stayed just long enough to ask all the right questions about the constitutionality of the bill’s exceptions and the lack of tangible evidence of voter fraud in the state.

“We need legislation to prevent fraud,” Speaker Williams said, “But I’m not sure your vehicle is the right vehicle.” And then, *poof,* he was gone, leaving the meeting before the vote and without breaking the tie that would have moved the bill out of committee.

Rep. Tindell asked all the right questions and touched on all the salient points including the requirement that the ID be government issue only; the cost – in effort, time and coin – of obtaining such an ID; the number of people in the state who do not have a photo ID; the problem with provisional ballots; and the lack of fairness inherent in the legislation (if it’s going to be required, than it needs to be free for everyone):

Also written into the bill was an exception that would have allowed a voter to be excused from presenting a photo ID by signing a sworn statement of indigency. State Coordinator Goins and Rep. Tindell went head to head on the automatic loophole set up by this exception:

More importantly, though, if it’s enough for some of us to simply sign a sworn statement for their votes to count without having to show a photo ID, then why isn’t is OK for the rest of us?

Rep. Yokley once again made reference to the illegality of voter fraud and the stiff penalty attached – it’s a felony, don’t you know, punishable by a fine and a stiff jail sentence. And even though there is currently no one in jail for committing voter fraud, the proof offered by the Coordinator Goins that voter fraud exists was the famous Oh-My-God-Dead-People-In-Shelby-County-Voted-in-the-Opehlia-Ford-Senate-Election.

But what we know about that case is that the three people who plead guilty to faking votes – “two of them cast in the names of dead people” – were poll workers, not voters. And fraud by poll workers is election fraud – not voter fraud.

And it’s the poll workers who would be checking photo IDs.

Free ice cream two days in a row and a dead photo ID bill. This is the Best Week Ever!

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Photo ID Rears Its Ugly Mug in the House Subcommittee Again Tomorrow

On April 21, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

The full court press against voting and voting rights continues tomorrow as the Tennessee House Elections Subcommittee meets at 10 am to considerHB0639 by Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville), the bill that would require “a voter to present qualified photographic identification before voting,” aka a solution in search of a problem.

It’s already been passed in the Senate (thanks for voting “No” Senators Beverly Marrero (D-Memphis, the Fightin’ 30th!), Lowe Finney (D-Jackson, the Fightin’ 27th!), and Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga, the Fightin’ 10th!) with six amendments attached – a poor attempt at leveling inherently unfair legislation. With the six amendments, the law would exempt the indigent, those living in a nursing home or staying in a hospital, the over-65 crowd, and those religiously opposed to having their picture taken.

Good, right? Not really. If you want participatory democracy to be equitable and still require Photo IDs to vote, then you have to make them free and easily accessible for everyone – not just a few exceptions. Perhaps we can put a voter registration and photo booth in every grocery and convenient store in town and staff them 24/7 (for you know, people who work the third shift).

Huh. Voter registration and photo booths in every grocery and convenient store. Now that’s a fiscal note I’d like to see attached to ol’ HB0639.

Ironically, while Tennessee’s elected Republicans continue to work towards making it more difficult for us to vote, they want to make it easier for us buy guns and drink underage.

And for those of you who think showing a photo ID is a reasonable restriction to place on the voting process, I guarantee you that if this passes they’ll be back next year with even further restrictions. Where Florida goes, Tennessee will follow.

So give a call or send an email to the members of the House Elections Subcommittee and urge them to vote “No” on HB0639.

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Curry Todd and his Moustache of Injustice

On April 14, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

Tomorrow, the Tennessee House Elections Subcommittee meets again and I have a question that I really really hope someone can answer because I really really can’t make any sense of it. OK. Here goes. How can Rep. Curry Todd (R-Collierville) introduce one bill that supposedly prevents cheating during an election and another that would make it easier to actually cheat during an election?

Todd’s HB1838 “requires citizenship status to be proven prior to registration to vote and requires certain procedures to ensure identity and citizenship status prior to voting,” and his HB1421 would allow “a person to email a transfer of voter registration or email a request for an application to vote absentee” with a scanned signature.

Absentee ballots, by the way, are also exempt from any photo ID law, which was recently passed in the Senate, introduced by Rep. Todd’s colleague, Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville).

So the question is, why does Rep. Todd want to pollute our equitable voter registration system with inherently inequitable legislation? Especially when there’s no proof of an actual “voter fraud” problem?

Seriously, it’s hard enough to get people to vote once let alone risk jail time by voting a second time in someone else’s name. And really, if you’re in this country illegally, is voting in the Tennessee gubernatorial election really going to be the thing you’ll risk getting caught for?

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The Marketing of SJR127 Continues Today

On March 31, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

Three anti-choice bills will be heard tomorrow, Tuesday, 3/31/09 at 4:00 pm, in the Tennessee State House House Public Health & Family Assistance Subcommittee: HJR 0066 (Rep. Debra Maggart, R-Hendersonville), HJR 0088 (Rep. Charles Curtiss, D-Sparta), and HJR 0127 (Rep. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown).

Because the big yellow buttons have already been made (and Rep. Curtiss is a Democrat), I’m going to go out on a limb and say that HJR 0127 is the one that will, unfortunately, make it out of committee tomorrow.

As previously discussed, these resolutions are the first step toward amending the Tennessee State Constitution to take away the limited privacy protections women still have to control their own reproductive health. If the State Constitution is successfully amended, and Roe v. Wade overturned, women here would no longer have the constitutionally protected right to privacy.

Even worse is that all three of the bills state that “the people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.” In other words, if the Constitution is amended in the way in which these three legislators hope, then the decision as to what would be best for the 9-year-old girl carrying twins that are the result of being raped by her stepfather, would be solely in their hands. And so would the decision of the Tennessee mother (who wrote an open letter to Rep. Maggart) with a daughter diagnosed in utero with a fatal chromosomal disorder, a cystic hygroma, a clubbed foot, very little brain matter, and kidney malformations, and who wasn’t expected to live any longer than the gestation period – or less.

And if you saw this afternoon’s discussion of a certain gun bill, your only reaction to this should be, oh s**t.

In other news, Did you know that although Tennessee is ranked 20th in providing family planning public funding (publicly supported contraceptive services and supplies), we’re ranked 42nd in family planning laws and policies (whether laws and policies are likely to facilitate access to contraceptive services and information), 30th in family planning service availability (how well states meet existing need for subsidized contraceptive services and supplies), and 40th in births to teen mothers ages 15-19.

If the members of the Tennessee legislature wanted real solutions, they would do two things. First, they’d be honest and admit that there are already a number of Tennessee laws which regulate abortion – including parental consent, a ban on late-term abortions and patient informed consent. Then, they would focus on researching and providing the most effective education and resources that would actually, you know, reduce – or completely eliminate – unintended pregnancies.

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