TRP Monthly Review
TRP Chairman’s Monthly Review
October 2009
Dear Friend
Starting this month, the Tennessee Republican Party will begin distributing a monthly review. At the end of each month, you can expect to receive an update about the most recent activities of the TRP as well as news highlights about politics across the state and on the national level that may directly or indirectly affect Tennessee. I hope that you find these updates helpful and I wish all of you a safe and happy Fall season.
Sincerely,
Chris Devaney
Chairman
INTRODUCTION
October has brought a series of challenges and successes for Republicans in Tennessee. From winning a special election at the state level to seeing our U.S. House and Senate members fight a difficult health care battle in Washington, D.C., it has been a tough, yet exciting month.
As many of you may already know, Democrats were dealt a significant blow earlier this month when they lost a State House special election in District 62 which includes all of Bedford and parts of Lincoln and Rutherford counties. In one fell swoop, our candidate Pat Marsh took a seat that had long been a Democrat stronghold and did so with a wide 15-point margin of 56-41 percent. Needless to say, Democrats are still reeling from their unexpected loss and wondering how they were outdone in a race they thought they had “in the bag.”
Republicans were successful in this campaign for a number of reasons. Much of that success was due to the support we received from folks across the state who were kind enough to volunteer their time in the TRP office or on the ground in District 62. That was combined with the generosity from many others that chose to make a donation to help fund campaign operations.
In addition to all of the support, we had a strong candidate with a strong message. Pat Marsh is a true conservative that believes in limited government, low taxes, family values and protecting the Constitution. His business experience and true conservatism resonated with District 62 voters. Pat also ran a strong grassroots campaign. He made more than 15,000 direct voter contacts across the district and was extremely accessible to district residents at debates and other events in all three counties. Lastly, the national mood became a factor because Americans are increasingly angry about the direction in which Democrats are taking our country. Democrats have yet to offer substantive solutions to help our economy, strengthen our national security or make health care more affordable and Americans are taking notice.
This special election was one of the first indicators of the role the national mood will continue to play from now up until the 2010 midterms. Specifically, Democrats are treading on thin ice when it comes to the health care debate. Despite growing opposition to the Obama/Pelosi experiment in government-run health care, Democrats continue to plow ahead with their plans to put government bureaucrats in charge of personal medical decisions. Just this week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the Senate bill would contain a so-called “public option” with an “opt-out” provision. On the other side of the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) introduced 2,000-page legislation containing what she is now referring to as a “consumer option.” Democrats can continue trying to put lipstick on a pig by changing the name of their government takeover of health care, but they aren’t fooling anyone. Our Tennessee Republican U.S. House and Senate members are consistently holding Democrats accountable for pushing this costly government-run experiment on the American people and making sure that Tennessean taxpayers are protected.
Following are a few brief highlights of the District 62 special election and some recent information on exactly what our Tennessee delegation has been doing on our behalf in Washington. In addition, you’ll find information on speaking engagements, media opportunities and other events TRP Chairman Devaney has been involved in.
REPUBLICAN PAT MARSH WINS SPECIAL ELECTION: Pat Marsh and the Tennessee Republican Party fought a difficult battle, but were victorious in taking a State House seat that has belonged to Democrats for generations. District 62 voters elected Marsh because of his true conservative values and business experience that will help him fight for lower taxes, fiscal discipline and pro-growth policies that will fuel job creation across the state. The October 13th election also gave Republicans a first glimpse of the political landscape in our state since President Obama took the White House. According to an early TRP analysis of Republican primary voting, 20 percent of those that voted for Pat Marsh were Democrats and 44 percent were Independents. While this analysis is by no means official polling data, it does provide a snapshot of a potentially favorable political landscape for Republicans as we move closer to 2010. State Rep. Pat Marsh was officially sworn in on October 26th.
- Marsh Wins 62nd District House Seat (Shelbyville Times Gazette – 10/14/09)
- TN Special Election Expands GOP Lead in the House (Associated Press/Tennessean – 10/14/09)
- Devaney Statement on Pat Marsh’s Swearing-In (10/26/09)
- See County and Precinct Voting Totals HERE
TN GOP U.S. HOUSE & SENATE MEMBERS FIGHT DEMS’ GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE: The battle in Washington, D.C. over health reform continues to wage and Tennessee’s Republican U.S. House and Senate members have been standing up on behalf of Tennesseans to stop Democrats’ government takeover of health care. Democrats continue to underestimate the American people and believe that by changing the name of their government takeover of health care, they can fool the public into supporting it. Whether Democrats refer to it as public option, consumer option, opt-out or co-op, the bottom line is that government will be put between patients and doctors. And poll after poll continues to show the American people don’t support these proposals.
House & Senate Member Actions on Health Care:
- In a piece called the "Blackburn Report," Rep. Marsha Blackburn discusses some of the Democrats’ health care proposals and talks about how the health care debate affects women. And in a press release on 10/28, Rep. Blackburn discusses the latest “public option” reform bill introduced by House Democrats and outlines a number of Republican proposals that would promote health reform without putting health care in the government’s hands.
- In a statement on House Democrats’ most recently introduced legislation, Rep. John Duncan explained how taxpayers cannot afford this trillion dollar experiment:
“There are too many problems with the bill to cover in a brief statement. But one very major problem is the cost. Medicare and Medicaid now cost more than 10 times what was predicted.
“You can be sure that this bill will also cost many times more than is estimated over the next few years.
“With a national debt of $12 trillion, and a deficit just this year of a staggering $1.4 trillion, we simply cannot afford it.”
- Rep. Phil Roe joined other House GOP doctors on the House floor earlier this month to discuss Democrats’ health care proposals and also joined other House GOP physicians in the creation of a video release entitled "Voices of Republican Doctors." He also released a statement on House Democrats’ latest health care proposal discussing the negative effects on patients, the middle-class and overall quality of health care.
- In a statement, Rep. Zach Wamp exposed some of the flaws of House Democrats’ latest health reform bill saying it “raises taxes on middle class families, cuts Medicare benefits for seniors and imposes an additional tax burden on small businesses…” He also described what would be included in the “right kind of reform.”
- Throughout the month of October, Sen. Lamar Alexander has given no fewer than nine speeches on the Senate floor on health care (find speeches here). He also voted “NO” on the first health reform vote taken on the Democrats’ proposal in the Senate.
- At a townhall meeting, Sen. Bob Corker said the health care proposal in the Senate Finance Committee could raise some Tennessean’s health care costs as much as 60 percent. And in an interview on Fox News, Corker explained his “NO” vote on S. 1776 and said Americans are right to ask questions about the high cost of the proposal.
Recent Polling on Health Care:
- Americans ranked health care 3rd on the list of items that should be priority for President Obama.
- Amongst Independents, health care comes in 4th.
- Of those undecided on health reform, 45 percent believe it will make their situation worse with only 22 percent believing their situation will be made better.
- Even among supporters of health care legislation, most don’t believe their health care will improve in any of the four areas listed on this particular survey.
- By a 58-38 percent margin, Americans would prefer a gradual reform effort as opposed to comprehensive reform this year.
- 61 percent of Americans oppose the Democrat plan to cut Medicare to pay for health reform.
- Approval of Obama’s handling of health care slipped from 57 percent in April to 48 percent in October.
- 68 percent of Americans believe health care proposals would increase the deficit.
- 43 percent of Americans think Medicare will be weakened by Democrat proposals.
TRACKING CHAIRMAN DEVANEY: During the month of October, Chairman Devaney has attended a number of events around the state. Following is a list of speaking engagements, media opportunities and other events throughout the month of October in which Chairman Devaney was involved:
10/6 – Guest Speaker at Maury County Republican Party Luncheon
10/8 – Guest Speaker at Lincoln County Reagan Day Dinner
10/9 – Guest Speaker at Blount County Republican Women Fundraiser & Dinner
10/10 – Guest Speaker at Montgomery County Republican Party Fall Festival Barbeque
10/13 – Aided Get Out the Vote Effort on Behalf of Pat Marsh in Bedford County
10/15 – Taped Interview on Knoxville’s WBIR Inside Tennessee with John Becker (aired following Sunday)
10/19 – Guest Speaker at the Chattanooga Pachyderm Club Meeting
10/22 – Attended Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Tennessee Luncheon w/ Alberto Gonzalez
10/24 – Guest Speaker at the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women Convention Luncheon
10/24 – Guest on the Steve Gill Radio Show
10/25 – Guest on the George Korda Radio Show
10/28 – Guest Speaker at the Republican Women of Williamson County October Meeting
