New edition alert: Lee order snubbed, GOP introduces fees to run, 3-judge panels named
In this week’s print edition of The Tennessee Journal:
— Big school districts ignore Lee’s executive order for opting out of masks
— That’ll cost you: State GOP approves fee schedule for candidates, bona fide updates.
— Money matters: Tennessee ends budget year with $2.96B surplus in its general fund.
— A three-judge tour: Supreme Court names first three-judge panels, two headed by Lyle.
— Also: Lee gets the Trump endorsement, Harshbarger late on stock disclosures, Haslam and Sundquist as new radicals, and was Fiscus barking up the wrong tree with her muzzle complaints?
Access the your TNJ copy here or subscribe here.
Just kidding! House GOP leader McCarthy says line about hitting Pelosi with gavel a joke
U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was awarded an oversized gavel from members of Tennessee Republican congressional delegation at the state GOP’s Statemen’s Dinner in Nashville on Saturday night.
McCarthy quipped that “it will be hard not to hit” current Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with it if he takes over from her after next year’s elections.
NBC reports the comment has sparked outrage among Democrats in Congress. Meanwhile, a McCarthy spokesman says he was “obviously joking.”
Drew Hamill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, tweeted that a “threat of violence to someone who was a target of a #January6th assassination attempt from your fellow Trump supporters is irresponsible and disgusting.”
Read the Tennessean’s account of the fundraiser here and Main Street Nashville’s here.
Golden elected to third term as state GOP chairman
The executive committee of the state Republican Party has unanimously elected Scott Golden to a third term as chairman.
Golden was unopposed for the party’s top leadership post at the GOP panel’s meeting in Franklin on Saturday.
“That was an absolute vote of confidence for this team, and we will not let you down,” Golden said after the vote.
Golden touted Republican electoral successes that included President Donald Trump matching his Tennessee winning percentage from four years ago, former Ambassador Bill Hagerty being elected to the U.S. Senate, and the GOP losing just one seat in the General Assembly.
Golden, a former aide to then-U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn and Stephen Fincher, was first elected to the job in 2016.
Golden to seek third term as state GOP chair
Scott Golden will seek another term as chairman of the state Republican Party following an election year in which President Donald Trump matched his Tennessee winning percentage from four years ago, former Ambassador Bill Hagerty was elected to the U.S. Senate, and Republicans lost just one seat in the General Assembly.
The former aide to then-U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn and Stephen Fincher was first elected to the job in 2016.
Here’s an excerpt from Golden’s letter to the party’s State Executive Committee announcing his latest bid:
Both 2021 and 2022 will get off to a fast start, including the fight to save America beginning in mid-December with the defense of the two Georgia senate seats to determine which Party has the majority in the United States Senate. After, we should all expect to be attending the inauguration of President Trump in January. County party reorganizations, county bylaws, and county calls for local primaries will be happening throughout 2021 as we prepare for redistricting and what will be a great election year of 2022. Of course, our bylaws committee has been working and will continue to refine our policies as we approach this huge election year.
Bush, Jones vow to fight ballot exclusion; DeBerry won’t
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Byron Bush and Democratic U.S. House candidate Justin Jones are vowing to fight their exclusions from the primary ballot in August. But longtime state Rep. John DeBerry of Memphis says he won’t challenge fellow Democrats’ decision to remove him.
Bush, who also ran for the Senate in 1994, was deemed ineligible to run as a Republican because he hadn’t voted in three of the last four primaries. Jones failed to submit 25 valid signatures for his effort to challenge incumbent Jim Cooper (D-Nashville). DeBerry was excluded by Democrats because of his pattern of voting with Republicans on issues like abortion and school vouchers.
“The so-called party of inclusion is everything but inclusive,” DeBerry told the Commercial Appeal . “It’s all about thinking with one brain, marching in step and following the company line, sitting there like a brainless idiot and letting them tell you what to do.”
Jones, who is best known for leading protests against the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust at the state Capitol, said hehe missed the cut by a single signature. He blamed the coronavirus pandemic for making it more difficult to collect the signatures.
“We have heard ‘no’ since we announced this campaign,” Jones said in a Twitter post.”We fought then. And will continue fighting now.”
Our candidate petitions were still due amidst this pandemic.
We had to go out and do this in-person.
Some signatures were thrown out— one purged bc of felony disenfranchisement, another 50+ year voter bc address change.
By 1 signature technicality we’re not allowed on ballot.
— Justin Jones (@brotherjones_) April 10, 2020
Bush, who was also a Republican candidate for the Senate in 1994, was among five candidates running to succeed Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Maryville) this year who were deemed not to be bona fide Republicans.
Bush had used his current campaign as a platform for railing against state judges following his losing legal battle to prevent a property foreclosure in 2012. Bush, a Nashville dentist, drew a modicum of attention by running local ads during the Super Bowl.
(Bush’s full statement after the jump)
Tennessee GOP wades into Nashville mayor’s race
The Tennessee Republican Party is sending out mailers targeting Nashville Mayor David Briley, who is in a tough re-election battle against Councilman John Cooper. The runoff election is on Thursday.
The mailer seems to align Briley to the so-called Squad in Congress and attacks the mayor for his efforts to limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration agents. Briley’s recent executive order has also been criticized by new House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville). The mailer does not mention Cooper.
The reverse side of the mailer endorses Steve Glover’s at-large Council bid.
Glover has announced plans to sue to block Briley’s immigration policies.
What scandal? GOP news clips ignore Casada saga
House Speaker Glen Casada speaks to fellow Republicans in a caucus meeting on Jan. 10, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
If you were to rely on the state Republican Party’s media clips, you’d have no idea about that scandal that has rocked the Statehouse this week.
While House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) desperately tries to cling on to his leadership post following the resignation of his chief of staff for lewd, racist, and drug-fueled text messages, here are the stories the GOP has sent around this week:
- Tennessean: Lee says nonprofit work is answer to problems government can’t fix
- Politico: Tennessee will ask Trump to OK first Medicaid block grant
- Knox News: Five things to know about online gambling in Tennessee
- Daily Memphian: Governor won’t veto any bills, will let sports betting become law
- Buffalo River Review: Governor applauds general assembly for passing agenda
