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TN GOP Welcomes President with Obama-bashing ad; Demos Bash GOP

Tennessee Republicans have a greeting for Democratic President Barack Obama’s visit to Chattanooga on Tuesday, reports the Chattanooga TFP — an ad touting what they say are the state’s strides under GOP leadership.

“Welcome to Chattanooga, Mr. President — welcome to America,” says the ad, which the state Republican Party says it plans to run on local television stations starting today. “We’re succeeding in Tennessee, not because of your liberal policies but in spite of them.”

Over images of Tennessee, including an aerial shot of the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, a narrator says the state was fourth in job creation nationwide, in the top five for business and the third “freest,” “thanks to Republican leadership.”

“We’re a right-to-work state relying on the hard work of individuals, not unions,” the narrator continues. “Unlike Washington, we’ve got the lowest debt of any state in the nation.”

Obama is scheduled to speak Tuesday at Amazon’s giant distribution center in the Enterprise South industrial park, near the VW plant.

State Rep. JoAnne Favors, D-Chattanooga, noted the state’s successful recruitment of both Amazon and Volkswagen came from a collaborative effort between then-Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, and local officials, including then-Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey, a Republican. The state, county and Chattanooga all put up substantial cash and tax incentives.

Favors said she’s “elated” over Obama’s visit and criticized both the state GOP and U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., who on Friday put out a mock postcard welcoming Obama to Chattanooga and criticizing him.

“The president has a lot of courage to come to this hostile environment,” Favors said. “But the majority of people are pleased about it.”

She said some of the criticism “gives us a reputation for being a racist state and that’s wrong.” The narration concludes over a shot of downtown Chattanooga with Lookout Mountain in the background.
“Maybe you can learn a thing or two while you’re here, Mr. President. This is what America should look like,” the narrator says.

Party Executive Director Brent Leatherwood wouldn’t say how much Republicans plan to spend on running the ad.

Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Brandon Puttbrese took aim at Republicans Sunday.
“The real record of [Gov.] Bill Haslam and the Republican majority is soaring unemployment, falling workers’ wages and multimillion-dollar state contracts for old business partners and well-connected cronies,” he said. “I doubt the millions of Tennesseans who work multiple jobs and still struggle to get by are impressed by this phony attempt to sell Republicans’ failed top-down agenda.”

Tea Party Still Looking for an Alexander Challenger

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Tea party groups plan to conduct “auditions” for prospective 2014 challengers to Sen. Lamar Alexander during August and September, reports Andy Sher as part of an overview story on the incumbent Republican’s re-election campaign.
Of course, all things considered, the chances look very good for Alexander’s reelection.
He’s got some $3 million in cash on hand. He’s raising more. And he’s already running ads.
Alexander last week said he thinks things are going well.
“The last public surveys I’ve seen … showed I had a slightly higher approval rating from people aligned with the tea party than I did even with the Republicans,” Alexander said.
He cited a May poll by Vanderbilt University showing him with a 53 percent general job approval rating, with 60 percent support from Republicans and 62 percent from self-identified tea partiers.
The overall poll had a 4 percent margin of error. The margin of error was higher in sub categories.
“I’m just going to do the best I can as a senator and respect the right of everybody else to believe whatever they want,” Alexander said.
He touted the “hundreds of conservative Middle Tennessee Republicans” who attended his rally Saturday.

Tea Party Activists Rally Against Alexander Near Alexander Event

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SMYRNA, Tenn. — While Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney acted as master of ceremonies at an event hosted by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander’s reelection campaign Saturday, tea party activists held an event nearby to denounce the incumbent lawmaker’s voting record.
The contrast may illustrate the split within state Republican ranks now that the party holds a supermajority in the state Legislature, the governor’s office, both U.S. Senate seats and seven of nine U.S. House seats.
“We’re just sick and tired of the Republican establishment telling us we can’t have an open debate on Lamar Alexander’s record,” said Ben Cunningham, founder of Nashville Tea Party and Tennessee Tax Revolt, who served as master of ceremonies at the “counter-rally” attended by perhaps 200 persons from around the state — including a small group from Alexander’s native Blount County.
He said Devaney “is not supposed to endorse in a primary” but is effectively doing so by boosting Alexander’s re-election campaign toward a “coronation” by “trying to intimidate” prospective opponents.
“There is no primary now,” said Devaney when asked about the comments of Cunningham and others at the tea party gathering.
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See also The Tennessean, which includes this paragraph:
Jim Jeffries, a spokesman for Alexander, on Saturday night said that more than 500 people showed up for the Alexander campaign event at the Smyrna Air Center to honor Middle Tennessee Republican Party chairmen.

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Rand Paul Hasn’t Endorsed Lamar Alexander

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Aides to Sen. Rand Paul said the Kentucky Republican’s participation in Sen. Lamar Alexander’s campaign ad should not be construed as an endorsement for a third term in the Senate, reports Chris Carroll.
Paul, a tea party favorite who praises Alexander in the Volunteer State Republican’s statewide ads, said through a spokesman his remarks should be viewed in a very narrow context.
“The footage that Sen. Alexander’s campaign is using is from a public press conference in regards to a bill they both cosponsored,” spokesman Sergio Gor said. “At this time Senator Paul has not made an endorsement in this race.”
Viewed in a broader light, Paul’s actions belie his statement in the ad that “Nobody wants to say no to Lamar Alexander.
In fact, Paul opposed Alexander on three recent, high-profile votes: the “fiscal cliff” measure, an Internet sales tax bill and immigration reform.
Alexander voted for all three, angering some tea party activists.
Gor and Paul chief of staff Doug Stafford said the former Bowling Green ophthalmologist has not decided whether he’ll endorse Alexander or anyone in Tennessee’s 2014 Senate race.
To date, Alexander has not drawn a GOP primary challenger. But conservative opposition groups, including one called “Beat Lamar,” have sprung up across Tennessee. Lately, they’ve cited Alexander’s immigration vote as a reason to bring him home from Washington.
Initial reports about the ad, which deals with a bill fighting fishing restrictions, highlighted Paul’s presence and its effect on Alexander’s political future. An article in The Hill newspaper cites an unnamed Alexander campaign aide saying, “Paul’s inclusion in the video is designed to boost Alexander’s credibility among the grassroots Tea Party activists.”
But in a Friday phone interview, Alexander himself cautioned against “making more or less of the ad than there is.”
“I know how to run an endorsement ad, and this was not an endorsement ad,” Alexander said. “I’ve run into several people who saw the ad, liked it and understood it was about fishing.”

Ramsey, Campfield Shun Entreaties to Oppose Alexander

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Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and state Sen. Stacey Campfield both say they are being urged to run against U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander in next year’s Republican primary, but have no intention of doing so.
“I’m not exaggerating, I get a dozen emails a week asking me to run,” Ramsey told reporters. “The tea party groups are out there looking for an opponent and I think they’ll have a hard time finding one against Lamar.”
The Senate speaker said he doesn’t even want the job.
“Why would I want to step down and be a United States senator?” Ramsey said. “He’s one of one hundred. I’m one of one.”
Campfield, R-Knoxville, said he has also received frequent entreaties from conservatives urging him to challenge Alexander, but tells them he is “happy being a state senator.” Campfield is up for re-election to his seat next year and already has Richard Briggs, a Knox County commissioner and physician, running against him.
“I’ve had people ask me, but short of them coming up with millions of dollars to get the message out about how wonderful I am, no, I’m not running,” he said.
Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, stirred a flurry of interest recently when a tea party blog reported he canceled an appearance at an Alexander event because he was upset with the incumbent’s vote on an immigration bill. But a spokeswoman told the Tennessean that Green and Alexander are friends and he missed the event for family reasons.
Ramsey said he talked with Green, counseling him against opposing Alexander because “I know what it’s like” to be hugely outspent in a campaign — a reference to his unsuccessful run against Bill Haslam for governor in 2010 — and “I think he’s doing too good a job in the state Senate.”

Tennessee Republican Testified in Congress’ Tea Party Probe

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The former chair of the Williamson County Republican Party was one of half a dozen to testify in Washington about the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, reports WPLN.
Kevin Kookogey founded Linchpins of Liberty in 2011. He says wants help children learn about the Founding Fathers and other political philosophers. But the group has been inactive for almost two years.
He says he’s been waiting just as long to receive 501c3 non profit status from the IRS. Like other Tea Party groups, he says he’s been stonewalled. He painted a picture of the invasive questions he’s been asked by the agency. He asked the committee, “can you imagine the reaction the students’ parents were I to turn the names of their children over to the IRS?”
Kookogey says he isn’t mentoring any children right now, because he doesn’t want to run afoul of the federal government.

TN Tea Parties Urge Alexander, Corker to Reject Immigration Bill

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Tennessee tea party groups, several state lawmakers and numerous other conservative activists urged U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker in an open letter to oppose a Senate plan to create a 13-year road to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, reports The Tennessean.
Critics say the bill amounts to “amnesty legislation” that “legalizes millions of illegal immigrants.”
“It contains dangerous loopholes that will undermine our national security,” the tea party activists write. “It rewards illegal behavior, punishes those who have followed our rules and undermines our law enforcement.”
The letter, which was signed by 46 activists and lawmakers, asks Tennessee’s Republican senators to speak against the bill, oppose any vote to end debate and “stand up for the rule of law.” The message was the same in a 30-second spot released by NumbersUSA that is airing nine times a day on two Tennessee radio stations, including WLAC in Nashville.
Laura Herzog, a Corker spokeswoman, said he is reviewing the bill.
“Senator Corker is optimistic that we have an opportunity to do something that is productive for our country,” she said, “but the details matter, and we expect there will be a lengthy debate with many amendments when the bill comes to the floor of the Senate.”
Alexander, in a statement, didn’t explicitly support the Senate bill, but he said the current situation is “completely unacceptable.”
“Our borders are not secure,” he said. “Millions illegally here have de facto amnesty. At the same time we are excluding scientists and workers who could help grow our economy. It is the constitutional responsibility of the president and Congress to write the rules for a legal immigration system and then to enforce it. I will be voting to secure our borders, end de facto amnesty, and to establish an immigration system that respects the rule of law.”
The Tennessee State Chamber of Commerce and Industry also took issue with the letter, saying the time is right for comprehensive immigration reform — though it stopped short of an outright endorsement of the Senate plan.
“We would have a hard time understanding why anyone would oppose a bill that both strengthens our borders and strengthens our economy as well,” said Bradley Jackson, vice president for governmental affairs at the chamber. “There has to be a federal solution to this problem.”
A Senate committee voted last week to approve S. 744, the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” a measure developed and backed by a bipartisan group of eight lawmakers led by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Herron Foregoes Party Pay While Serving as Trial Lawyer

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State Democratic Chairman Roy Herron is foregoing his party pay while acting as an attorney for the plaintiffs in an ongoing medical malpractice trial that he says could last “five or six weeks.”
Herron sent an email to fellow Democrats saying that he had committed more than five years ago to “a wonderful couple, both devout Democrats, that I would represent them in a case seeking medical care and redress for grievous injuries to their severely disabled grandson.”
In an interview Wednesday, Herron said Cody Wade, 17 at the time, underwent surgery on his trachea that allegedly left him unable to breath for a period of time, resulting in severe disabilities. The lawsuit, brought by Cody’s grandparents and conservators, Reba and Ronnie Wade of Martin, is against HealthSouth King Creek Rehabilitation Hospital and two physicians.
A jury trial began Monday in Weakley County Circuit Court.
Herron said he decided to forego his salary as party chairman starting May 15, when he attended a son’s college graduation, and will continue in that status until the trial has ended and he can resume fulltime duties as party chair.
The former state senator said that, in effect, he is returning temporarily to the “volunteer chairman model” followed by seven of the last ten state Democratic chairmen. His two immediate predecessors, Gray Sasser and Chip Forrester, were full-time chairs with a full salary – as was he until now.
Herron said he still expects to average 80 hours per week for the full year, since he often spends 100 hours per week on party labors otherwise. Even during the trial, Herron said he is remaining active in fundraising, overseeing staff including the hiring of a new deputy finance director and other duties.
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Note: Text of Herron’s email is below.

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Paul Ryan Stretched the Truth in Comparing IRS Treatment of Chattanooga Non-profits?

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A former top Internal Revenue Service official said Monday that U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan stretched the truth when the former vice presidential candidate mentioned a Chattanooga nonprofit to bolster the idea the IRS favors liberal groups over conservative groups, reports Chris Carroll.
In an interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Marcus Owens, who oversaw tax-exempt groups at the IRS between 1990 and 2000, said the Wisconsin Republican overplayed the facts to score political points.
“It’s different rules, different activities, different applications,” said Owens, now a Washington-based attorney. “I think he was stretching things.”
In a statement, Ryan spokesman Kevin Seifert did not dispute Owens. He said the congressman merely wanted to highlight “discrepancies in treatment by the IRS.”
At a House hearing last week, Ryan cited Chattanooga Organized for Action as an example of a left-leaning nonprofit that was cleared for tax-exempt status faster than tea party organizations targeted and delayed because of their conservative ideology.
The Chattanooga Tea Party was among the right-leaning groups singled out by the IRS for extensive questioning and a drawn-out application process.
“The IRS was doing this because they were concerned about political activities by nonprofits. That’s the debate that seems to be taking place here,” Ryan told former acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller. “Some of these that were approved were Chattanooga Organized for Action … and the Progressive USA. If you were concerned about political activity, did you have targeting lists that contained words like ‘progressive’ or ‘organizing’ in their names?”
Left unsaid by Ryan: Chattanooga Organized for Action experienced a lengthy IRS review itself. Additionally, its leaders sought a completely different tax designation than the Chattanooga Tea Party and other groups caught up in the scandal.

TN Tea Parties Dealings With the IRA (a roundup of recent stories)

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Roane County Tea Party (in the News Sentinel)
Gary Johnston thought the questions the Internal Revenue Service was asking seemed overly intrusive, even for an agency known for being irritatingly meticulous.
When he showed the federal tax agency’s demands to an accountant, her response confirmed his suspicions. “Her first question was, ‘Who did you make angry?'” Johnston recalled. “She said, ‘There is something wrong here. A lot of these questions are illegal.'”
Johnston feels absolutely certain that his organization, the Roane County Tea Party, was one of dozens of conservative groups the IRS has admitted to singling out for extra scrutiny when reviewing their applications for tax-exempt status. Today and Friday, he will be in Washington with other tea party officials from across the country to draw attention to their tangles with the tax agency.
Johnston said it took the Roane County Tea Party roughly 37 months to be granted non-profit, tax-exempt status — a process that normally should have taken about four months.
A few months after he submitted the paperwork in 2009, Johnston, the group’s co-chairman, got a package from the IRS demanding answers to roughly 80 questions.
Full story, HERE.
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