The Presidential Primary early voting is available from January 16-31 with Election Day on Tuesday, February 5. Now that the candidates have left the starting blocks, we are seeing a bit of separation in the field and will see a bit more in the next few weeks. Republican candidates are engaged in serious issue discussions with questions being rightfully asked and answered about their voting record and looking forward to the critical issues that face our nation. On the Democrat side, we are essentially watching the political version of American Idol.

Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama can’t honestly define their rant for “change.” These two both sit in the majority enjoyed by Democrats in both chambers of the U.S. Congress that hasn’t delivered on the promises that the cost of fuel would decrease, that troops would be withdrawn from Iraq, or that Congress would end pork “earmarks” and operate on a more open, transparent and accountable basis. They haven’t delivered on promises of health care reform and they reneged on their promise to implement all of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Despite campaign promises to “support the troops,” the Democrats have repeatedly tried to defund them.

On the economic front, Democrats want to convey fear about “recession.” Despite a rise of almost 12% in real after-tax per capita income (averaging $3550 per worker), the reduction of the federal deficit by $250 Billion over the last 3 years and 52 straight months of economic growth in an environment of the War on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq, corporate scandals, natural disasters in hurricanes, drought and fires, our resilient markets are now responding to the impact of 1.8 million subprime mortgages due to reset at higher rates. Republicans along with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are proposing policies that would cut taxes and freeze certain subprime mortgage rates for five years to address the “mixed economic indicators.” Secretary Paulson has stated, “After years (5 years) of unsustainable price appreciation and lax lending practices, a housing correction is inevitable and necessary.”

Democrats in Congress are proposing to: spend $205 billion more taxpayer dollars over the next five years than proposed by the President, raise taxes by nearly $400 billion – more than ever before in history, and to continue to ignore the need to address Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare that are due to go bankrupt.

Indeed, it is time for a change. Time to get the Democrats out of Leadership on both Capitol Hills, in Tennessee and D.C.!

Bush Lauds Economy for Its Resilience
Fact Sheet: FY07 Results: Deficit Declining Towards 2012 Surplus

IN SESSION!

The 105th Tennessee General Assembly convened this week with the buzz of a $147M - $240M shortfall projected for state revenue. The issue of the Lottery Scholarships has surfaced to be a priority for the Democrat Legislators. The Democrat plan is to lower the existing criteria to qualify for a scholarship from a B average to a C average to spend excess funds collected by the lottery. In turning a scholarship program into a government entitlement, the Democrats are ignoring the law that was passed to govern the Lottery Scholarship. Republicans want the “excess funds” to be administered just as the current law, written by Democrats, prescribes:

“Section 5. The Legislature shall have no power to authorize lotteries for any purpose, and shall pass laws to prohibit the sale of lottery tickets in this state, except that the legislature may authorize a state lottery if the net proceeds of the lottery’s revenues are allocated to provide financial assistance to citizens of this state to enable such citizens to attend post-secondary educational institutions located within this state. The excess after such allocations from such net proceeds from the lottery would be appropriated to: 
(1) Capital outlay projects for K-12 educational facilities; and
(2) Early learning programs and after school programs.
Such appropriation of funds to support improvements and enhancements for educational programs and purposes and such net proceeds shall be used to supplement, not supplant, non-lottery educational resources for education programs and purposes.”

A recent report from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, titled Building Tennessee’s Tomorrow: The Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory, identified $3.58 billion worth of school infrastructure improvements - including new schools and improvements or additions to existing schools - that need to be started by June 2009, just 18 months from now.

ETHICS

All TN legislators are currently participating in the mandatory session regarding ethics guidelines that were voted into place following the Tennessee Waltz money-for-votes scandal. Democrat Jimmy Naifeh, leader of the TN House Democrats, minimized the importance of the training despite the need to return trust to the citizens of Tennessee following the FBI Waltz raids, the theft of almost $100,000 by former Democrat Sen. Jerry Cooper and the ordeal with Democrat Rep. Rob Briley involving an arrest at gunpoint following a DUI and hit-and-run accident and an extra-marital affair with a lobbyist with active legislation before his committee.

Isn’t it comforting to know that Democrats see the ethics training as an exercise in futility rather than an important part of keeping our government accountable?! Oh, I guess that would be considered a partisan statement, right, Mr. Naifeh?

A MESSAGE FROM HOUSE MINORITY LEADER JASON MUMPOWER

Taxes – Illegal Immigration – Special Interests – Mandates;
Elections – Delegates – Term Limits – Debates;
Eminent Domain – Capitol Outlay – SCHIP – BEP – F&A;
Funding Board – Nonnattainment – NCLB – TCA;
Polling – Rhetoric – Appropriations – Pundits;
Discretionary Expenditures – Behind the Budget – Incumbents;
Referendums – Tort Reform – Lottery – Consent Decrees;
TennCare – General Fund – Fiscal Review – Study Committees;
Liberal – Conservative – Nonrecurring Revenues – MRSA;
Caucus – Primary – New Hampshire – Iowa.

Dizzying isn’t it? In this era of 24-hour news, it seems we are constantly assaulted with empty jargon that clouds real issues. As the presidential election gears up, we are constantly badgered with terms that mean something only to the policy wonks that created them. And yet, at the state legislature, we are taking actions that affect your life every single day. We make decisions that directly affect your pocketbook, your child’s access to a good education, your health, and your safety.

In honor of the television writers’ strike, below is my submission for the Top Ten Signs You Are a Tennessee Republican:

1. You question why repeat drunk drivers are still on the road and why Democrats opposed strengthening extreme drunk driver laws to put these guys behind bars.

2. You believe, in order to ensure our children’s education is a top priority, we should fund education before other discretionary state programs.

3. You are startled to learn that Tennessee has the most liberal abortion laws in the nation and would support common-sense restrictions like parental consent for minors and a waiting period.

4. You believe simply that to vote in our sacred elections, you should have to be a citizen of this country and are dismayed to learn that Democrats killed this common-sense law twice.

5. You support reasonable limitations to frivolous lawsuits, ultimately saving us all in escalating healthcare costs.

6. You are appalled at the brazen spending spree of Tennessee’s Democrat Governor, who last year raised taxes $330 Million in a year when we received over $1.5 Billion in surplus revenues.

7. You believe that the drivers’ license test should be given in English only since you will be expected to read road signs written in English.

8. You find it hypocritical that the state will sit on over $140 million in excess lottery reserves that are supposed to go for education, but they won’t spend it on K-12 school construction so our children can learn in classrooms not portables.

9. You think Tennessee’s having the highest sales tax on food in the nation is wrong and that we should help families by cutting the grocery tax.

10. You oppose a new statewide property tax and a state income tax!

The above are all ideas, many of which affect our lives on a daily basis, that Republicans have championed for years despite Democrat opposition. Republicans will continue to support these principles again this year and look forward to healthy, productive debate on these values important for the state of Tennessee. For more information about the specific legislation referenced for each point, check out www.tnhousegop.org.