Bredesen calls Norris charge ‘nonsense’

NASHVILLE — Gov. Phil Bredesen characterized as “nonsense” and “posturing” a newspaper column written last week by Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, who accused the governor of having “delayed the inevitable” by resisting GOP efforts to speed up major budget cuts in the current budget.

“That is, such a,” Gov. Bredesen began, then hesitated as Press Secretary Lydia Lenker jumped in and cautioned the governor to be “careful.”

“That is such nonsense,” the governor finally said. “I mean it is, there’s always a little posturing there. The decision we took is ... if we have (federal) stimulus funding, which the taxpayers of Tennessee have provided through their federal taxes, I’m not going to turn it away for some political posturing.”

The column by Sen. Norris, R-Collierville, was published in Friday’s The Tennessean. In it, the majority leader jibed: “The governor begins his annual administrative budget hearings next week. Whether his last soiree through the state’s beleaguered books will be a cursory review or will, instead, face the truth and realistically deal with the challenges Tennesseans face remains to be seen.”

He criticized not only Gov. Bredesen, but Democrats, the general public and news organizations.

“Tennesseans suspended disbelief because the governor said it was ‘stupid’ not to,’” he wrote. “The media was complicit. When organizations like Vanderbilt’s Poison Control Center confronted the reality that funding would eventually be cut even under Bredesen’s budget, they blamed Republicans — not Bredesen.”

The governor recommended some $515 million of $750 million in cuts, including layoffs, be delayed until the coming budget.

Most House Republicans refused to go along with the Senate Republican plan, which would have killed the governor’s plans to save a proposed $42 million library for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga by issuing bonds instead of using cash.