NASHVILLE — Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey says actions in this year’s GOP-controlled Tennessee General Assembly are “just an appetizer” for next year, but a House Democratic leader contends that Republicans are making the state look like a “barefoot and bucktoothed” rube.
Ramsey touted what he calls strides toward “making government smaller, more efficient and more responsive to citizens” in a posting on his Facebook page.
He cited state spending cuts, repealing collective bargaining for teachers, toughening teacher tenure standards, capping lawsuit awards, cutting taxes for seniors and passing an “E-Verify” bill that he said “ensures that new jobs created by Tennesseans actually go to those here legally.”
“Tennessee Republicans have talked a lot about what we would do when we took power. Now we are showing what we can do,” said the Blountville Republican. “This year was just an appetizer. Next year, and in the years to come, you will see the main course.”
But Mike Turner, House Democratic Caucus chairman, called what Republicans passed “a bunch of the radical extreme stuff.”
“I think it will hurt business,” Turner said. “It’s embarrassing for me to talk to people in other parts of the country. I think it could hurt our image down here. We had an image of everybody here being barefoot and bucktoothed with cowlicks on both sides of their head. ... We came a long way [in recent years] to try to diminish some of that.”
Tennessee “might have stepped back in the pack in the South, where we used to be a leader,” he said.
He cited the so-called “don’t say gay” bill, sponsored by Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, which sought to ban any mention of homosexuality in public schools.
The measure passed the Senate 19-11 with an amendment stating that any instruction in elementary or middle schools “shall be limited exclusively to natural human reproduction science.” The bill stalled in the House.
Turner also cited former House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada’s bill abolishing Nashville’s anti-gay-bias ordinance for city contractors. That soared through the Legislature and was signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam. It has triggered a national uproar among gays and lesbians, with some threatening in blogs to boycott Tennessee.
“On the social issues, the John Birch Society issues, Tennessee maybe led the way in that,” Turner told reporters.
“We stood out. A lot of people around the country might think Sen. Campfield is a typical legislator here in Tennessee, which is unfortunate. Tennessee is a middle-of-the-road state.”
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, ...
related articles »
NASHVILLE — Republican leaders in Tennessee's House and Senate spent much of Wednesday happily basking in the post-election glow of ...
Opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment to ban an income tax in Tennessee say it’s unnecessary and politically motivated.
GOP hardliners’ social agenda will be on full display in the General Assembly this week, with serious moves toward changing ...
Relations between majority Republicans and minority Democrats in the Tennessee House of Representatives are a little on edge these days.
What the Democrats say is true. Tennessee's image nationwide is becoming that of a state run by ignorant bigots. What a shame; it makes people not want to visit although this is a beautiful state with many intelligent folks. Unfortunately, not many of them are in the state legislature, and the actions of those who are is pretty appalling.
I agree with moon4kat. The Republicans in Nashville have set this state back 100 years. Where are all the jobs that they promised to bring? The only ones I see are from the last administration and the Republicans are trying to chase those jobs away. At this point I am so embarrassed that I voted for Haslam but I won't make that mistake again. From now on I will only vote Democrat so that our state can move forward in the future as it has in the past under the control of Democrats.
It's only a matter of time before TN GOP dust off those old signs stored in their attacks that read "NO _ Allowed" Fill in the blank with gays, blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Muslims. The list is endless. And don't forget to add those "sun-downing" days. Where if you were a certain race, ethnicity(now religion, or homosexual) you had to be out of certain areas before the sun went down behind the mountains.
Way to go Tennessee. That's why so many avoid you like a deadly plague.
You idiot Liberals. Anyone that has been raised right doesn't want there kids taught about being a Faggot. You Libs never seem to amaze me.
Or login with:
New Account