Nashville for the 21st Century

Herron says "Peace Out"

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:19:00 +0000

Sen. Roy Herron, in an uncharacteristically long press release, has announced he will not be running for re-election to the 24th Senate District seat.

Dresden—Senator Roy Herron (D-Dresden) today announced plans not to run for office in 2012, but instead to lead the Ned McWherter Center for Rural Development in expanded efforts to help young people go to college and create jobs for Tennesseans.

The senator expressed both great gratitude to constituents and high hopes for students and workers. Herron stated:

“I am blessed to represent the most wonderful people on earth. The people who have let me work for them as their representative and senator are my teachers, friends, and many are like family. I’m excited about working with them and other Tennesseans to help more young people go to college and help our state grow and gain good-paying jobs.”

Herron said after he finishes his state senate responsibilities this year, he will work actively as the president of the McWherter Center, a non-profit, non-partisan, charitable organization. The McWherter Center provides scholarships and educational opportunities for Tennessee students.

The McWherter Center was founded in 2008 with the blessing of the former Governor who died last April. Herron explained, “Some of us blessed to learn so much from Governor McWherter wanted to continue his service, and he loved the idea of a Center that would help young people.”

“Governor McWherter repeatedly taught,” Herron recalled, “’Schools plus roads equals jobs.’ And while he called himself a college drop-out, he helped his two children earn five (5) university degrees, and he recognized that in the 21^st century his formula must be updated to say, ‘Colleges plus information highways equal jobs.’”

Herron said, “Now the Center can use Governor McWherter’s wisdom and legacy to help enable our young people to continue their education beyond high school so they can become all that God’s grace and their gifts will let them become.”

Herron said re-districting made the decision to leave the legislature hard, because he knows and loves so many people in the new 24^th senate district.

“The new senate district is four counties I’ve represented in the senate for 16 years (Obion, Weakley, Henry, and Benton), another county I represented in the House for 10 years (Carroll), and my late sister’s home county (Gibson) near our farm where I also know so many that I love so dearly.”

“But Governor McWherter said his second term was ‘for the kids’ and I want my next stretch of public service to follow his lead in making a difference for our young people.”

Senator Herron said the McWherter Center will be working with Tennesseans of both political parties as well as independents to expand college opportunities. He explained, “The rich can afford college, the very poor can get financial aid, but the middle class and working people are struggling as college costs soar. The ‘strong back jobs’ are gone overseas and the 21^st century jobs are going to those who have a 21^st century education. The McWherter Center can help students get 21^st century educations and jobs.”

“At a time when some in the General Assembly want to make college scholarships harder to attain, I don’t see Nashville moving in the right direction. But I believe many Tennesseans will work together to help the young people who want to study hard and improve their lives.”

LEGISLATIVE RECORD

Herron won then-Speaker McWherter’s seat representing Weakley and Carroll counties in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1986 when McWherter ran for Governor. In 1996, Herron ran for the state senate where he initially represented Dyer and continues to represent Lake, Obion, Weakley, Henry, Stewart, Benton, Henderson, Decatur, and Perry counties. In 2010, he was the Democratic nominee for Congress. He remains in the state senate.

In the General Assembly, Herron has held numerous leadership positions, including chairing the Select Committee on Children and Youth, the TennCare Oversight Committee, the Senate General Welfare, Health and Human Resources Committee, and the Senate Democratic Caucus.
Herron has sponsored literally hundreds of bills that have become law and a state constitutional amendment. As an attorney who had served as a special prosecutor, Herron authored the Crime Victims Bill of Rights that for the first time in Tennessee history enshrined in the Tennessee Constitution a set of rights for victims of crime.

As a former minister and lawyer who graduated from and taught at Vanderbilt’s Divinity and Law Schools, Herron wrote the Student Religious Liberty Act to protect children’s rights to pray in public schools and the Bible in Schools Act which provides a constitutional way for children to learn about the Bible in public schools.

As the father of three sons, two of whose lives were saved in the womb and as newborns by exceptional healthcare professionals, Herron worked with Governor McWherter to expand access to healthcare for working families. He then fought to try to get the next administration to require better stewardship of taxpayer dollars by the managed care organizations.

As a country lawyer, Herron took the case of a natural gas company employee worried about unsafe and illegal practices endangering hundreds of West Tennesseans, then wrote Tennessee’s Whistleblower Law that protects citizens who refuse to break the law or report crimes to law enforcement.

An avid hunter and sportsman, Herron often quipped that with a district including more rivers and lakes than any other, he represented “more ducks and geese, more bass and bream” than any other legislator. He authored and worked on numerous acts to protect Second Amendment rights and expand outdoor opportunities. Herron grew up fishing and duck hunting on Kentucky and Reelfoot Lakes with his father and raised his own sons doing the same. Working with Congressman John Tanner, Governor Phil Bredesen, and Representative Phillip Pinion, Herron helped obtain the new spillway at Reelfoot Lake.

A fiscal conservative known for his pickup truck with almost half-a-million miles, Herron has spent the taxpayers’ dollars like his own. He helped balance Tennessee’s budget every single year in office, while keeping Tennessee one of the lowest-taxed states in the country.
Herron warned that many in Nashville today seem intent on bolstering private for-profit educational companies at the expense of taxpayers and to the harm of public schools. Herron said he will miss continuing to fight for public schools as a senator, but plans to continue his efforts for public school students through his work with the McWherter Center.

As the son of a smoker who died of heart disease and the brother of a smoker who died of lung cancer, Herron sponsored the legislation that first banned smoking in state government buildings, then the legislation that banned smoking in most public places. That legislation has taken Tennessee from a third more citizens smoking five years ago to where we are today, saving taxpayers and insurance premium payers millions in reduced healthcare costs and which will ultimately save thousands of lives.

A runner who has completed more than thirty marathons and three 140.6 mile Ironman Triathlons, Herron sponsored the legislation creating the Coordinated School Health Program that works across Tennessee to reduce childhood obesity and improve children’s health.
As a businessman committed to economic growth, Herron helped create infrastructure improvements that have meant jobs and will mean more jobs in the future. Herron has played a significant role in the four-laning of Highways 22, 45E, 45W, 79, 412, and I-69, as well as new roads like 218 and numerous life-saving improvements such as the safety barriers between opposing lanes of interstate traffic.

He fought for and helped secure funding for the Cate’s Landing Port and Industrial Park in Lake County, the West Tennessee Jobs Megasite in Haywood County, improvements to area airports, and the expansion of efforts by the Department of Economic Community Development to draw companies to Tennessee.

As the parent of three sons, Herron worked to improve Tennessee’s schools, helping pass Governor McWherter’s and Governor Bredesen’s education initiatives, including the Better Education Program, pre-kindergarten for low-income children, and fairer funding for rural school systems.

“I’ve seen great teachers do great work and the differences they’ve made in our sons’ lives,” Herron said. All three of Herron’s sons attended Weakley County public schools in Dresden. “I want all children to be blessed with great, loving teachers like our sons were blessed to have.”
As a graduate of and former teacher at the University of Tennessee at Martin and Vanderbilt University, Herron has advocated not only for public schools, but also for post-secondary education in the vocational and career centers and community colleges and universities.
Herron has been known in the Senate for his willingness to work. In more than a quarter century, he has 100% attendance except for the day his youngest son was being born. He missed the House session that day, but only that day, and he has yet to miss a Senate session.
Herron also has been known for his Listening Meetings. It is believed that he has conducted more public Listening Meetings than any other member of the General Assembly, a number he acknowledges is “somewhere well north of a thousand.”

In addition to the legislation that Herron has helped pass, he also is known as having modified bills that needed correcting and having helped stop bills he thought should not pass. When asked for examples of some of the bad legislation he has helped stop, Herron declined, saying, “I don’t want to give anybody any ideas about trying some of those bad ideas again. We’re doing too much harm to the people already.”

CONCLUSION.

Herron will serve out his term which ends with the new general election in November. The current session of the General Assembly is expected to adjourn by May.

Herron assured citizens, “I’m just as passionate about the issues and care just as much about our people. If I can help you now as senator or in the future in any way, please, let me know.”

The Long Lost Brokered Convention

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:03:00 +0000

Its something that political junkies love talking about. It engenders all sorts of Aaron Sorkin-esque romanticism about the political process. It was discussed in 2008, when a handful of journalists and columnists freaked the fuck out when Obama and Hillary had taken the primary into the depths of February (in case you forgot, it didn't stop there) and started talking about a brokered convention with Al Gore positioned as the savior to be.

Well, now its the Republicans turn, but instead of machinations by editorialists trying to fill their contractual writing obligation by positing ridiculous theories, its now the Republican base who are looking at their deeply flawed candidates with a sense of resignation and remorse.

I am part of the base that will do everything I can to defeat Mitt Romney because I believe he will be a disastrous nominee who will cost us the House, the Senate, the White House, and consequently the Supreme Court. There are Mitt supporters who feel the same about Newt, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul. So maybe we ought to all find someone who we all kind of like instead of heading to Tampa in August all licking wounds and pretending to rally to the man the voters chose between the evils of two real lessers.

Of course, there are a few hiccups to this solution to your problem.

1) The GOP rules don't allow for the same level of "super-delegates" that the Democratic party had. From what I can tell, there are generally about three automatically "unbound" delegates per state. Now, this isn't hard and fast, there are some states where all the delegates are unbound, some with binding rules that only require for 1st ballot unity, some that require multiple ballots, some that are "moral" but not legal, and all sorts of other various measurements for judging how loyal someone is. So, based on my calculations, there are roughly 1768 "bound" delegates to 587 "unbound". Is that enough to trigger a brokered convention with an outsider candidates? I suppose, but its unlikely because...

2) Neither Romney or Gingrich are just going to give up, nor will their contributors let them. Yeah, its great for Republicans to think they'll set aside personal ambition and years of hard work so that Chris Cristie can waddle his way to the nomination, but really, does anything you've seen so far indicate they have that sense of selflessness? Someone is going to come out of this nomination process with the most votes, whether they matter or not, and the most delegates. That person will fight to make their case as to why they should be the nominee. They may come to an agreement with the runner-up for a VP slot, or they may cut a deal with Ron Paul to add Rand to the ticket and moderate their recklessly dangerous geo-political views. But ultimately...

3) Someone will probably collapse. None of them have the same sort of foundational campaign apparatus or fundraising base that Obama and Hillary did. Newt Gingrich is right now running entirely on the power of his adoring fans who marvel at his brilliance in debates...except, when he falls flat in one, and then he collapses ten points the next day. This sort of volatility makes me very pessimistic about the chances of a competition lasting until August, because sooner or later one of the candidates will make enough of an ass of themselves to allow for the other to gain a permanent momentum. My guess is, based on all available evidence, that person is Newt, especially given the apparent coalescing of the mainstream GOP establishment (Fox News, Drudge, Coulter, etc...) into a rag-tag group of Anybody But Newt. They may not like Mittens Romney Inc, but they sure as shit aren't gonna sit by while Newt auditions to play the part of Walter Mondale in the general election.

Of course, I would love to be wrong here...let the process drag out in a war of bloody attrition where Republicans put the Clinton impeachment and Capitalism "on trial" for the world to see. Yes, you've dug yourselves into a deep hole with your Reagan revisionism and utter rejection of reality these past 20 or so years. Now, no candidate with half a brain or know-how can survive the type of rigid purity tests you have created for yourselves. You've become a wholly dysfunctional walking blob of cognitive dissonance in your battle against the secular-humanist-muslim-terrorist-communistic-socialist-liberal-corporate-crony that you see as our President. You did it all to yourselves. If you, Erik, don't like the candidates with which you have been presented, look into a mirror and blame yourself.

Jameson Meet and Greet

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:29:00 +0000

Judge Mike Jameson is having a good ol' fashioned meet and greet at Swett's tonight, featuring many of Davidson County's African-American elected officials such as Sen. Harper, Rep. Pruitt, CM Maynard, Davis and others.

Judge Mike Jameson

Thursday, January 26, 2012

5:30-7:30PM

Swett's Restaurant

2725 Clifton Avenue

Nashville 37206

Taxing Capital

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:22:00 +0000

It seems that Mittens Romney Inc has brought to the forefront a discussion about our 10 year experiment with dramatically lowered long-term capital gains tax rates and how they effect the economy. Now, I'm not a tax policy or economic expert, but it seems to me that if, as Republicans seem to contend, lowering or eliminating the capital gains rate will have a positive impact on the economy, then the 2001 decrease in capital gains taxes should reflect that, no?

Well, they don't. In fact, when I ran the numbers and tested the capital gains rates from 1987-2008 (the latest available for the "effective rate" I actually found there is a moderate correlation between higher capital gains rates and INCREASED employment.

Now, obviously "correlation does not equal causation," but this guy makes a pretty compelling case for why the lower tax rates might hurt the economy, rather than helping it. What this indicates to me is that, at the very least, lowering capital gains does not have a positive impact on the economy, at least in so far as it is felt by average Americans. A lower rate may help with the accumulation and expansion of wealth among the already wealthy, but in terms of making our economy grow or prosper, the evidence just doesn't seem to be there.

Kurita Hilarity

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:59:00 +0000

Matthew Hurtt has piggybacked on a post by Joe Lance discussing the prospects of a Federal judge overturning the decision by the Tennessee Democratic Primary board to declare the results of the 2008 Senate District 22 Democratic primary "incurably uncertain" and kick the decision back down to the county parties to decide who should be the Democratic nominee (hint: they chose Tim Barnes). Hurtt concludes:

The only course of action that I can see if the court rules in Kurita’s favor is to remove Barnes from office immediately and allow Kurita to serve out the remainder of the term that would have been hers. No Republican filed to run in the 2008 election.

Both parties could then run again in the August primary without TNDP meddling.

It has always seemed to me that once a primary election is held and paid for by the taxpayers, then the results should stand. Sure, a political party should reserve the right to select a nominee, but they should be required to announce a selection process and cancel the primary.

First, I'll bet $20 the federal courts do not overturn the decision of a lower court to allow the Democratic Primary Board's decision to stand. However fair or unfair, the fact remains that state law, Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-17-104 to be exact, establishes that the Primary Board, comprised of the elected members of the Tennessee Democratic Executive Committee, are to be the arbiters of any nomination dispute. This was upheld in 1978 in Taylor v. TDEC which states:

Court's opinion that under Tennessee Code Annotated § 2-1704, plaintiff had a statutory right to contest the nomination, but that it was the State Primary Board of the Democratic Party, not the chancery courts, which had exclusive jurisdiction to dispose of such a contest.

It is apparent from a reading of the seventeenth chapter of the election code that the legislative intent was that intraparty squabbles over the nominating procedures are to be considered a political matter which are to be resolved by the party itself without judicial intervention. The party machinery is much better equipped than the courts to resolve such a dispute with the speed and finality that is required to preserve the integrity of the democratic election process.

Fact is, Tim Barnes contested the nomination, the TDEC was, by law, required to hear the complaint, and by fact of legislative construction, the board is made up of elected members and impartiality is not one of the requirements for obtaining office.

Alright, so now that we got that out of the way. If by some chance Kurita managed to land a group of "judicial activists" who decide to supplant the law with their own feelings of fairness...what should be the outcome? Well, nothing. The other fact that still remains is that despite her name not being on the ballot, Kurita still (as Hurtt points out) was able to run for the seat. By the end of the campaign, every voter could reasonably be assumed to have known she was running, and they decided to elect Tim Barnes anyway (by 15,000 votes). The notion that she should be given a seat in the legislature with no evidence that was the will of the general electorate, is utterly absurd and I'm willing to bet without precedence. There is no way for a judge to prove that, if Barnes had been deemed the loser of a nomination contest, he couldn't have won as a write-in candidate.

My hope here is that the courts do uphold the original rulings and put this waste of the court's time to rest. The place to litigate this is not in the courts, but in the legislature. If we don't like the process set forth for determining nomination contests, then the Republicans in the legislature should change the law that sets it up.

Turner Running Again for District 58

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:47:00 +0000

Steve Turner, who when up against Mary Pruitt in 2010, is going again for the 58th District seat once more:

Community leader and small businessman Steven Turner has announced his intention to run for the Democratic nomination for State House District 58. Turner, a native Nashvillian and long-time resident of the 58th district, is seeking to build on his 2010 campaign in which he came within 170 votes of the 25 year incumbent Rep. Mary Pruitt.

“Now more than ever, Nashville and the 58th District needs a strong voice in the legislature to speak out on behalf of underserved families against those who work to silence their voices and ignore the rights of our city and its residents” said Turner. “I remain committed to serving my community by running for the opportunity to stand up for our seniors, our teachers, our students, and all of the other Tennesseans who have been under attack in the past legislative session.”

The 58th District hasn't changed too terribly much since 2010. Some notable differences would be Germantown is now out and in 51 (ironically, Steve Turner used to live in Werthan but moved last year to the East Nashville), while TSU's main campus has been drawn in. In addition, the district is slightly more African-American 63% - 31% white.

[Disclosure: I'm supporting and volunteering with his campaign.]

Congrats Stacey!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:46:00 +0000

On the occasion of Newt's historic victory in South Carolina, I felt the Tennessee Young Democrats ought to congratulate our favorite Senator on his candidate's success:

Tennessee Young Democrats Congratulate Sen. Campfield
On the victory of his candidate for President, Newt Gingrich.
Nashville January 21, 2012: Sean Braisted, President of the Tennessee Young Democrats, would like to extend our congratulations to Sen. Stacey Campfield, Co-chair of the Newt Gingrich for Tennessee campaign, for his candidate's overwhelming success in the South Carolina Republican primary.
Earlier this week Mitt Romney's campaign had stated, 'On Saturday, South Carolina picks a President.' “While we disagree with that assessment, we are happy to acknowledge South Carolina's historic role in selecting the nominee of the Republican party,” said Braisted. “As the Republican voters of South Carolina have thoroughly rejected the candidacy of Mitt Romney, we look forward to a debate between President Obama and nominee Newt Gingrich.”
“We look forward to a debate between Newt Gingrich who supports a budget busting tax cut for the wealthiest one percent, versus President Obama's belief that we should have a tax policy that helps working families and asks the wealthy to pay their fair share in order to responsibly close the deficit.”
“We look forward to a debate between Newt Gingrich's desire to have all poor Americans become janitors versus President Obama's efforts to create a competitive education system that prepares young Americans for a 21^st century economy and allows all people, regardless of status, the opportunity to compete for the highest paying jobs.”
“We look forward to debate between Newt Gingrich's evolving health care views which have currently landed on throwing people off their health insurance and telling sick Americans to fend for themselves, versus President Obama's support for a health insurance system that encourages health insurance participation, enables young adults to continue their insurance while in school, and keeps insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions.”
“Whether a debate between Romney or Gingrich, we look forward to advocating for and supporting the President's proposals to empower working families, send more people to college, protect Tennesseans against Wall Street greed, and improve the quality of health insurance for millions of Americans."

Is Newt the Reagan of 2012?

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:16:00 +0000

As we sit and wait with bated breath to found out if the disgraced former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, will pull off an epic turnaround of fortunes and defeat Mittens Romney Inc in a state which he held a twenty point polling lead nary a week ago, I felt compelled to do a little research for some historical references. Now, I'll qualify this discussion with my opinion that I don't think Newt will wind up with the nomination...his fundamentals just aren't that strong in terms of his ability to sustain a national campaign. However, if Newt does win South Carolina, the possibility of upsetting Romney's path towards the nomination seems a lot clearer than it was just one week ago.

So, what are we looking at for November? Well, with Newton in the race, all current polls show Obama beating him like a bongo at an Occupy Wall Street protest. The current RCP average shows a +11 lead for the President, with only two polls in a year of polling that show Gingrich ever having a lead against Obama. While certainly encouraging, the fact that Newt ever came close or ahead of the President in polls shows that the possibility exists he could do it again, and if it were to happen at the right time, well, you and I could be looking into work visas in Canada in the not so distant future.

I suppose, in looking at the race, the most likely cited comparison will be between Newt and that of the 20th century Jesus, Ronald Reagan. And, if the comparison were to be made, it wouldn't be entirely out of context. After all, in an article on March 23, 1980, EJ Dionne cited a poll which showed President Carter drubbing Reagan by a whopping 53-34, with a 34% favorability rating for the former California Governor. That's actually worse than a Reuter/Ipsos poll earlier this month showing a 53-38 margin for the President over Gingrich. The same poll showed that a 47-42 lead in a hypothetical Ford-Carter matchup...not too dissimilar from some of Romney's leads. I wouldn't be surprised if the Gingrich folks pull out this poll to bolster their credentials in the coming weeks as the Mittens onslaught gets into full gear.

While relevant to point out, I also think that is about where the comparison ends. Keep in mind, these polls were before the political realignment that followed the Reagan election. Indeed, Dionne cited Carter's strength in the Midwest and South in contrast to Reagan's backing in the West. Now its largely a reverse of fortunes for the two parties, and its very difficult to see a similar realignment coming in the near future seeing as this realignment was largely due to Conservative Democrats and Liberal Republicans swapping party affiliations over the coming decades.

In addition, just a month after this poll was done, Carter had a 21% job approval rating, largely due to an 18% reported annualized inflation rate. In comparison, the annual inflation rate in 2011 was 3% for all items, and .1% for December. Granted, food and energy inflation rates were higher, 4.7 and 6.6% respectively, which may have a greater influence on electorate moods than inflation on other items, however there is little indication we'll face the sort of massive economic pressures that Americans in 1980 were feeling, at least in comparison the the few years prior to the election.

Another similarity between then and now is that in 1980 is that Congress was deeply unpopular, the difference though is that in 2012 Congress is controlled by the Republicans. While Carter had a rough relationship with Congress, it was more difficult for him to blame the problems of the economy on them, because his party was in control...obviously Obama is much more free to attempt to sell the contrast.

So while Reagan could rely on Carter's unpopularity to carry the day, the fact is Obama's fundamentals are much stronger than that of the Georgia peanut farmer's. Reagan was also running during an ideological shift of the general electorate. Despite beliefs that Reagan was the reason for the conservative shift in America, the fact remains that polls in early 1980 showed shifts of the American electorate to the right on issues such as social welfare, spending, and the military. For the first time in decades, Americans favored an increase in military spending. There is, I believe, little evidence that shows a growing desire for increased militarism among the general electorate this go around.

But, beyond poll numbers and data, I think the biggest reason why Democrats like myself are cautiously optimistic about a race against the Newt have more to do with his personality than his positions. Newt is in many ways the gross and inaccurate caricature that has been adopted by the Right against President Obama. He defines egotistical and arrogant, his belittling of the media and his opponents, while endearing to the right, are less likely to be attractive to the middle of the political spectrum. And, in addition, he's a scummy human being compared to a President who by all appearance has his personal house in order.

My biggest fear though with Newt, is that while he's played the media and GOP electorate like a fiddle thus far, he's also smart enough to transition to "nice Newt" in the general election. After all, this is a guy who sat down with Nancy Pelosi on a couch to discuss the need for climate change legislation. Much like Romney, the man has few convictions beyond advancing his own personal success, and while he's come up with some idiotic ideas in the past, I think he's smart enough to track polls and adopt a more centrist viewpoint and demeanor should he get the nomination. The question is whether or not he could or would be able to look past his own brilliance to listen to other people. I'm guessing not, and I'm also guessing we won't have a chance to find out.

Vote for your favorite Mexican

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Jackie and Dunlap had probably the best take on Newt's ridiculous proposal for a 21st century white citizens council (3:45):

Just a review, Newt re-iterated his plan for a "WWII style draft board" to decide whether or not someone's grandmama could stay in the US. Newt added a few caveats to his haphazard proposal:

Now, I don't think we're going to deport grandmothers and grandfathers who have 25 years of networking and relationships in a community. So I've suggested a World War II-style draft board where local citizens would review the applications, you could only apply if you proved that you were financially responsible caveat 1 , you proved you had genuine family ties caveat 2, and you had an American family sponsor you caveat 3. You still wouldn't get amnesty; you wouldn't get citizenship. You would get a residency permit. In order to apply for citizenship, you would have to go back to your own country and get in line behind everybody else and be processed as a person from that country caveat 4.

So, basically, if you want to stay in the US as a second class citizen, you have to prostrate yourself in front of a group of Real Americans™ who will decide if you are worthy of staying, but even if these Real Americans™ decide you are good enough to stay, if you want to participate in American society, you have to cart your ass back to your native country and wait 20 years until you can maybe get full citizenship.

Yep, that'll work.

War on New Yorkers

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:45:00 +0000

Rep. Frank Niceley is using some good ol' fashioned Southern hostility to New York to score some brownie points with the gun nuts regarding a case of a woman from Tennessee who broke New York City's gun laws. As Humphrey reported, Niceley introduced HJR585 which lays out the case of a Tennessee nurse who has a handgun permit in Tennessee, who went to visit the 9/11 Memorial and was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed weapon after asking a guard what she should do with her gun. The resolving clause of the resolution states:

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE CONCURRING, that we hereby urge the State of New York to use common sense and sound judgment in the disposition of the case against Meredith Graves.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we remind the citizens of New York, especially those residing in New York City, to drive carefully through the great State of Tennessee, paying extra attention to our speed limits.

Teehee. Its funny, so funny. What's really funny is that this rightwing boob, who most assuredly thinks people who "break our laws" to come and work and feed their families are the scum of the Earth, is asking for amnesty for this Tennessean who failed to follow the laws of the State of New York, and is now not-so-subtly warning the residents of New York that should they find themselves in Tennessee, they may face selective prosecution for traffic violations.

Now, I get it, this sucks for the nurse. And if I were the prosecutor in Manhattan, I would try and find a way to make this case go away as quickly as possible. But, I'm sorry kids, states regulate their own gun laws. The 2nd Amendment as currently viewed by the Supreme Court does not extend to your right to pack heat whenever and wherever you like. And if this had happened in a state like New Jersey, I might be a bit more sympathetic, but every gun owner in the South has been conditioned to loathe the "draconian" gun laws of the evil Mayor Bloomberg, so if there is a failure on the part of a jurisdiction, the failure lies with Tennessee in not fully teaching their residents about the concept of reciprocity.

So, a quick primer, here is a state site which shows which states a Tennessee handgun permit is recognized in, and here is a third party PDF which puts all the laws in one easy to use format. If you pack heat, and intend to travel with it, learn it. Every gun owner I have ever known is aware of reciprocity laws, and is aware that New York does not share the same liberal views on gun carrying that we in Tennessee do.

Back to Niceley. Just as Gaylord and Dolly announced that Nashville is going to get a major tourist attraction in the form of a water and snow park, this asshat decided to up and declare war on the 3rd most populace state in the nation, and the number one most populous city in our great union. Thanks for that. Because on top of having to deal with your emotionally crippling case of homophobia and xenophobia, what Nashville needs from the legislature right now is a fucking war with the Northeast. That'll help create jobs. That'll help get our economy back moving.

Ty Cobb running for State Senate District 28

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:10:00 +0000

Former 64th District Rep. Ty Cobb is running for the newly formed Senate District 28.

“I’m excited to have this opportunity to ask hard-working folks like you to let me represent District 28 in the state Senate,” Cobb said. “I want to represent your best interests in the Legislature because I understand many of us are hurting financially as jobs have disappeared during one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression.

“Neighbors, family, friends and co-workers have urged me to serve in the Senate so we can get the Legislature back to doing what it’s supposed to do, which is govern with common sense and efficiency. We now have too many politicians in Nashville who are more worried about being big-shots than being advocates for the regular Joe."

The 28th Senate District is about a ten point GOP district on the state level. So far, the Republican candidate appears to be Rep. Joey Hensley, the guy behind the "don't say gay" bill in the House. This is a tough district, but not unwinnable, especially if the Republicans fall apart nationally, as it seems they may be poised to do.

Along with the press release, Cobb attached a radio ad that will play in his district:

Hosted by kiwi6.com file hosting.
Download mp3 - Free File Hosting.

Hensley looks to backdoor "don't say gay"

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:58:00 +0000

The Advocate

Ignorance delayed is not necessarily ignorance denied as Rep. Joey Hensley has announced he's going to defer his "Don't Say Gay" bill which was scheduled to come before the House Education committee today:

The Tennessee Equality Project, a gay rights group, was planning to bring 100 people dressed in purple to the hearing on the bill scheduled for this afternoon. Chris Sanders, chairman of the group’s Nashville committee, said it was calling off the protest, though a few members may still turn out for the House Education subcommittee meeting where it was scheduled to be heard.

Hensley said he plans to package the bill, which restricts discussions about homosexuality in elementary and middle schools, with other curriculum legislation. He projected the delay will be for about three weeks.

Mayor Gotto gets a challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:21:00 +0000

State Representative and part-time shadow Mayor of Nashville, Jim Gotto, has picked up a Democratic challenger for his re-election bid this year. Darren Jernigan, the recently re-elected Metro Councilman from district 11, is seeking the nomination to take on Gotto this November:

Today I announce my candidacy to run for State Representative in the newly reformed District 60 encompassing Donelson, Hermitage, and Old Hickory. I grew up in District 60 and now I’m proud to raise my family here. I want to help make Tennessee an attractive place to relocate, start a family, or create a new business.

I care deeply about where we live. Tennessee is confronted with tough issues every day. It has become more important than ever that we stand together, partner with stakeholders, and listen to the views of all of our citizens in order to overcome these challenges. We have the skills and resources to achieve our goals and together we can make District 60 an extraordinary place to live.

Becoming a State Representative gives me the opportunity to expand my passion for public service beyond the local level. I was proud to be re-elected to a second term on Nashville’s Metro Council and I have used my office to help support and strengthen our communities. As a State Representative, I will continue to foster an atmosphere that helps our businesses grow and to see that our neighborhoods are safe, happy and healthy environments - today and in the future.

I would like to ask for your support as I seek to represent you in District 60 in the Tennessee State House of Representatives.

The redrawn district 60 is a slightly more conservative place to run in than it was in 2010. A rough analysis of the district shows a 44/55 Obama to McCain voting split in 2008, with a general 46/54 Dem/GOP performance. However, Jernigan currently represents one of the most Republican of precincts in the new district, 11-3, and was recently re-elected to the Metro Council with over a thousand more votes than his challenger, William Guthoerl.

Urban chickens passes Council...sort of

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:09:00 +0000

The Metro Council just passed an amended version of BL2011_47, Karen Bennett's bill to allow for property owners in Nashville to raise hens in their backyard. The bill was a substitute which allowed for a two year sunset provision, among other changes, as well as an amendment passed by Robert Duvall to exempt eight council districts (12, 20, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33) from being covered by this bill.

Now, I favored this bill, or at least concept, to allow homeowners to raise chickens. My neighbor has a dog tied up in her backyard that barks at all hours which bothers me a hell of a lot more than the possible clucking of some chicken here or there. However, its just awfully bad policy for legislation to exempt political districts from codes and zoning laws.

As you may have noticed, I followed the 2011 Council redistricting process rather closely, and at no point was the subject of whether or not people could have barnyard animals ever brought up. They were drawn primarily with population, physical boundaries, and existing political interest in mind. So, by passing this eight district exemption with no logical reasoning beyond some CM saying "I got a lot of emails," we've given these elected officials way to much power and control over their district. There was no planning and zoning input into the exempted eight districts as to whether or not they should be exempted, nor was there any real discussion on the council floor about whether or not the eight districts who requested exemption had good reason for the exemption. Your ability to raise chickens is entirely dictated by the whims of a council-member you may or may not have voted for, not, rather, the collective input and wisdom of the 35 district and 5 at-large council members.

Red Tape Alert

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:59:00 +0000

Someone, quick, give Speaker Ron Ramsey, creator of TNRedTape.com, a call. There is a big government statist who is considering instituting a ridiculous, costly, and unnecessary regulation on small businesses across the state. The scurrilous politician behind this latest attack on job creators? Ron Ramsey :

And when questioned on the issue in light of the state's shift in policy on economic development incentives -- Haslam's legislative package unveiled last week would add outright grants of taxpayer cash to the state's existing arsenal of tax breaks, worker training and infrastructure assistance -- Ramsey said he'd be "fine" with testing corporate executives, too.

"It's fine with me. I mean I'll have to check into that," he said.

"I'm fine with that. I'm fine with legislators being drug tested. Because I know that we will be criticized if we target one segment of society like that. But you're right, if they're getting state money, federal money -- oh I shouldn't -- I don't know how you define who the executives are." He said that's something lawmakers would have to look into.

Oh, that Ramsey. Of course, we all know corporate executives will not be included in any ill-conceived measure to provide corporate welfare to drug testing companies, but all the same, in any rational world in which Ron Ramsey had a shred of credibility, his answer would've been something more like this:

No, we shouldn't require a company's officer to undergo drug testing to get state assistance. The only concern we should have is whether they have a proven track record and business plan in place to create sustainable jobs for the people of Tennessee.

Unfortunately, Ramsey and the rest of his poor-baiting rightwing caucus have let their desire to hate on poor people get in the way of rational thought. The same above faux statement should apply to recipients of government benefits. Whether someone smokes a bit of weed whilst on food stamps is irrelevant to whether or not the money we've set aside for food programs are going towards food. The only reason for state mandated drug testing is if a person has shown a history of drug use and a condition of their parole is that they don't use drugs. Otherwise, the operating assumption that if someone is collecting unemployment then they are more likely to be smoking crack, is simply an act of irrational prejudice, and irrational prejudice should not be the basis of any state or federal policy (of course, it all too often is).

The reason Ramsey can't dismiss out of hand this logical extension of an illogical drug testing measure, is that he doesn't want to admit that his drug testing scheme is simply a malicious desire to impugn the integrity of people who use state or federal assistance. When confronted with this question, perhaps Ramsey should use the opportunity to stop and think through the necessity of this nanny-state measure that seeks solutions to problems of which there is no evidence of their existence.

Coffee with Cooper

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:26:00 +0000

Rep. Jim Cooper has been making the rounds this past week with editorial boards, journalists, and yes even us lowly bloggers. At a coffee session at Bongo Java, Rep. Cooper sat down with we Nashville bloggers to discuss a wide range of issues including campaign finance reform, congressional reform, the budget deficit, Occupy Wall Street, SOPA, and a whole lot more. I've uploaded the audio of the event, its a bit lengthy, but interesting nonetheless.

Bloggers participating:

Mike Byrd - http://enclave-nashville.blogspot.com
Southern Beale - http://southernbeale.wordpress.com
Betsy Phillips - http://www.tinycatpants.com
Trace Sharp - http://newscoma.com/
Dru Fuller - http://drus-vues.blogspot.com/

Nominee Romney

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0000

See, its so fated that it even rhymes. Just watched the Ron Paul v. Gingrich/Santorum/Perry debate in which Mittens Romney huffed and puffed and stayed the hell back as his "opponents" ripped each other to shreds.

The only one really taking Romney to task at all was Jon Huntsman, who is the only credible general election candidate on the stage with Romney, and who displayed a tempered traditional conservative philosophy that is at odds with the modern Republican party that has abandoned its traditional roots in a similar way to the Democratic party abandoning its traditional Southern conservatism in the 60s and 70s.

As for the de facto GOP nominee, it amazes me that for such a poll tested mealy mouthed candidate, he's still holding on to the tired and outdated support for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Nearly all the national polls show the American people warming towards, or outright supporting, gay marriage in a rather dramatic fashion considering anti-sodomy laws were on the books and being enforced less than a decade ago. Of course, this my be one of Mittens few actual beliefs, given his closer ties to the LDS Mormon church compared to the more distanced Jon Huntsman, but regardless, it just seems somewhat surprising to me that national politicians at this stage in the game still think its alright to support drafting bigotry into the US Constitution.

As for the rest of the debate, it was largely a rehash of all the previous policy idiocy we've come to know and love from the modern Republican party with a special shout out to the Ricks on the stage whose unparallelled foreign policy belligerence would make Genghis Khan blush. Mittens continued to set the stage for his general election campaign in which he'll subtly (and sometimes less subtly) question the President's American credentials (and who better than a member of a religion based upon the concept of American exceptionalism to do so). Professor Chickenhawk Gingrich played to the New Hampshire crowd by plugging in some references to local issues, points to him on that. Ron Paul did a good job dressing down Gingrich on his gleeful desire to send young men and women to an early grave despite his unwillingness to risk his porky hide when given the opportunity. And finally Jon Huntsman played to the Independents of New Hampshire, along with the handful of remaining sane moderates who haven't been shamed into dropping their GOP affiliation, by presenting a non-bigoted, actual conservative viewpoint on American power...or in other words, continued to distance himself from the vast majority of today's Republican voters.

Keep Lawrence County Together!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:35:00 +0000

That was the appeal made by Rep. Joey Hensley in his election efforts in 2010, fighting back against accusations from the Lawrence County Democrats that Hensley and the GOP would be splitting the Lawrence County baby. In response, Hensley put an add in the newspaper which stated:

FACT: Legislative districts are determined by the Political Party in charge of the Legislature during the redistricting process which in 2011 will be the Republican Party. A Democrat [sic] Representative (Calvin Moore) will have no control over the redistricting process. With a Republican Governor (Bill Haslam) and a Republican controlled Legislature, Joey Hensley will protect Lawrence County from being divided and continue to represent all of the citizens of Lawrence County.

Bold claims from a bold man, unfortunately, Hensley forgot to add a disclaimer that he thinks Lawrence County ends about a 3/4 quarters of the way that the State of Tennessee envisions the border of Lawrence County. Unless, and I shudder to even think this, Hensley was either lying about what he wanted, or his fellow Republicans forsake him in drawing the borders of the 70th district. Either way, if Hensley is a man of his word, he will vote against the proposed district changes from his party's leadership and push for a whole Lawrence county.

Its Lawyering Time

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:09:00 +0000

Caucus Chairman Mike Turner was pretty blunt in his assessment of claims by the Republicans that their new map were fair, saying "Bullshit! They’re trying to go to a one-party state. That’s what they’re trying to do.”

Now, to be fair, I kind of doubt there was ever a time that Democrats stood around saying, "you know, I think we could really use some more Republicans up in here," but nevertheless, the question is not whether this is a partisan map, but whether its a legal map. It will be interesting to see, if Democrats do take it to the courts, what their arguments will be. It would appear that their efforts to cull the number of black representatives in the House will be the foundational basis of the argument, but whether or not that can translate legally is a question some good lawyers will have to answer.

Rushing and Hushing

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:09:00 +0000

The blogger over at Tennessee Talking Points has caught wind of an upcoming bylaws amendment at the TNDP regarding the term of service for the Party's chair. TTP asks:

While it seems innocuous on the surface, I can’t help but feel there's something else going on here. Why else is this being rushed & hushed through the EC (Executive Committee) meeting without any public input? I may be wrong, there may be no ulterior motives here, but no one I’ve spoken with on the EC can articulate for me why this change is needed...

...And isn’t this just a little ironic? For weeks, the TNDP has railed about a lack of transparency in the General Assembly. Yet here we are three days from a vote that would restructure our party and no one outside the I-440 loop has any clue what the hell is happening. Seriously, we expect this from the GOP, but not our own party.

Well, this isn't really being rushed or hushed, in fact, we (I'm on the Executive Committee) were set to vote on this matter at the last meeting but it was tabled due to time constraints and a rather lengthy discussion on another bylaws issue. The reason many outside the 440 loop haven't heard of it is probably because most people outside this loop don't know or care about the bylaws of the Tennessee Democratic Party to the point of taking an active interest, and those type of matters generally don't warrant a press release. Some members have chimed in on the matter, and I think there will likely be a spirited discussion at the EC meeting this weekend should the issue be brought up again. The arguments in favor are generally that some folks feel that a four year term will allow longer-term strategies to take effect in order to see better development of staff and leadership during the Chair's term.

For what its worth, here was my response in a recent email on the subject.

I'm not sold either way on this issue yet, and I think everyone so far has made good points, but the question before us is basically whether or not to change the status quo.

What I would be interested to hear, from Chip or a former Chair, is how a four year term would have improved their ability to do their job effectively?

If we are being honest here, I felt that the last Chair election allowed the Party to essentially give a vote of confidence for our current chair. We had undergone a significant loss for our party, and there were many voices calling for change. In that vein, we had an election, one of the most open and engaging that I think we'd ever had in the party, and the result was the re-election of Chip Forrester. In my mind, that two year election helped him, rather than hurt him, because it allowed for a vote of confidence in his leadership going forward.

Maybe others feel differently about the outcome of the last election, if so, I would very much appreciate hearing those dissenting view points. But at this point I would say I am inclined towards a process which improves our ability as a board to effect change and accountability, rather than one that strengthens incumbency.

Update: TTP responds to my response and I respond to his response to my response in his comments.

Dickerson Loves Him Some District 20

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:27:00 +0000

Please sign this absentee ballot before going under.

The newly released Senate maps alter the 20th and 21st districts pretty radically, so much so that 2010 State Senate wannabe, and anesthesiologist, Steve Dickerson, who put up nominal opposition to Sen. Henry in November last year, has been drawn into the 20th district and likes his chances at taking on Sen. Haynes or whomever the Democratic candidate may be.

“As we enter the new year our state and nation face economic uncertainty, high unemployment, and an increasing sense of distrust of government. I have made the decision to enter this race for state Senate to confront these challenges head on.”

“With my background as a practicing physician, as well as my experience as a small business owner I have a unique perspective to bring to the state Senate and I will use that to best represent the values of the 20th district.” Dickerson said.

Here's a refresher on the race last year. Dickerson raised a good chunk of change before the GOP primary (some in a questionable manner) but GOP enthusiasm waned after Henry narrowly won his challenge from Jeff Yarbro, resulting in a 57-43 victory by Henry over Dickerson.

P.S. TEP's Chris Sanders does not seem to be a big fan.

Senate Releases Their Maps

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:50:00 +0000

Billing it as the "Regional Integrity Plan," the Senate has released their proposed Senate District maps to the public (before the House has even put theirs online). In the map, Davidson County's 19/20/21 are kept inside Davidson, but in a way that create one hell of a mess. The 21st snakes from West to East Nashville, going down and around the 19th district in a way that I can only assume, without more demographic details, is designed to most benefit a future Republican challenger.

Other notes from the plan, Sens. Kyle and Kelsey are placed in a district together, and Roberts and Summerville are in District 25, which will effectively retire Roberts for the 2012 cycle.

House Redistricting Map Sorta Released

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:28:00 +0000

The Ad Hoc Committee on redistricting, led by Rep. Steve McDaniel, held a meeting this morning in which they released some details about the proposed redistricting map for the Tennessee House of Representatives. Unfortunately, they have yet to release a detailed map with streets to the general public because, as McDaniel said, "it takes time," and the map they handed out makes it difficult to determine where exactly the lines are in Davidson and Shelby counties.

What we do know is that Reps. Stewart and Jones will be shoved into a district together, pairing up Nashville's arguably two most liberal representatives into one district.

Rep. Jim Gotto's 60th district is a whole lot whiter (and likely safer) going from 65% white to 80% white in the redistricting model.

Rep. Mike Turner's district will snake through East Nashville and into downtown, giving him a much more diverse district to run in, from 91.5% white to 68%.

Pruitt's 58th District will become even more heavily African-American, going from a 39/55 split to 31/63, replacing the 54th as the most heavily black district in Davidson county.

Finally, an incumbentless district will by created, 59, that will have 35% African-American, 21% Hispanic, and 48% White populations. According to Chair McDaniel, this is the first ever "combination' district. The map I have seen isn't quite clear on exactly where the lines are, though it would seem to include Antioch and other parts of Southeastern Nashville. This will set up an interesting race in the next few months. Ostensibly, given the demographics, this should be a Democratic seat, though a Duane Dominy or some other Republican council-member (assuming he's in this district) could foreseeably pick it up if Democrats don't recruit a good candidate for this seat.

The House will be voting on this map soon in what is likely to be a formality vote, and the State Senate and Congressional Maps will be released at a later date according to Harwell and McDaniel.

I don't know enough about redistricting to say if this is a good or fair map, obviously it screws Democrats pretty heavily, but that isn't necessarily illegal...no indication whether or not this can be challenged in the courts. Assuming it is upheld, it makes it hard to see how Democrats hold their current number of seats, let alone make pickups in 2012...though anything is possible.

Update:

The House has released some more maps. Here is the statewide, and here is Davidson County.

Tentative GOP House Map Ugly for Democrats

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:26:00 +0000

Its no surprise that in the first GOP redistricting since reconstruction, Democrats aren't going to like the results, but the news coming out from Democratic Caucus Chair Mike Turner shows a tough fight ahead for incumbent Democrats looking to stay in the House after the next election.

In four of the new House districts, eight incumbent Democrats will be facing one another if they seek re-election.

They include Reps. Tommy Brown and JoAnne Favors of Chattanooga and Reps. Mike Stewart and Sherry Jones of Nashville. The other two districts are in Shelby County and pair Reps. Antonio Parkinson and Jeannie Richardson in one while Reps. Barbara Cooper and G.A. Hardaway are paired in another.

In addition to these pairings Knox, Davidson, Hamilton, Rutherford and Williamson Counties will each see a district with no incumbent.

Of course, all of these are subject to change before the maps are released and voted on later this week, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if there is a legal challenge to these map...but absent successful challenges, this map will cause a lot of heartburn and infighting among Democrats in the next few months.

No TARP For You Ron

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Braisted) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:27:00 +0000

State Rep. Mike Stewart is trying to keep the big banks and TARP recipients from buying off Tennessee's legislature:

Billing it as an early response to the Occupy Wall Street movement, Stewart’s “Main Street Recovery and Wall Street Accountability Act” would bar Tennessee political action committees and members of the state legislature from accepting financial support or contributions from any financial institution that took TARP funds and had more than $100 billion in assets between Jan. 1, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2010.

The measure would also create a study committee that would look into whether Wall Street executives could be prosecuted in Tennessee for the 2008 Wall Street crash, whether the state should impose new regulations on large banks and whether it should no longer work with the agencies that rate the state’s debt.

Its an interesting approach, and quite frankly I'm not entirely sure how legal it is, and is drafted in a way to appeal to both the most liberal and conservative opponents of America's financial institutions.

While the bill would ostensibly cover all banks, according to ProPublica there are 27 Tennessee financial institutions who would be directly effected by this bill should it go into effect. The biggest bank being First Tennessee, which took nearly a billion in funds, which it paid back in full back in December of 2010 with a nice little profit of $171 million going toward the fund. THDA is also on the list of TARP recipients for seeking and accepting 4HM money designed to aid unemployed homeowners who were hardest hit by the economic crisis.

First Horizon National	Bank	Tenn.	$867 M returned / $867 M disbursed	$171 M
Tennessee Housing Development Agency	State Housing Orgs	Tenn.	$12 M disbursed / $217 M committed	$0
Pinnacle Financial	Bank	Tenn.	$95 M disbursed	$13 M
Green Bankshares	Bank	Tenn.	$69 M returned / $72 M disbursed	$6 M
First South Bancorp, Inc.	Bank	Tenn.	$13 M returned / $50 M disbursed	$9 M
First Security Group	Bank	Tenn.	$33 M disbursed	$1 M
Tennessee Commerce Bancorp	Bank	Tenn.	$30 M disbursed	$3 M
Community First Bancshares	Bank	Tenn.	$20 M returned / $20 M disbursed	$4 M
Community First Inc	Bank	Tenn.	$18 M disbursed	$2 M
F&M Financial Corporation (TN)	Bank	Tenn.	$17 M disbursed	$2 M
Magna Bank	Bank	Tenn.	$14 M returned / $14 M disbursed	$2 M
Moneytree Corporation	Bank	Tenn.	$10 M returned / $10 M disbursed	$2 M
First Freedom Bancshares, Inc.	Bank	Tenn.	$9 M disbursed	$755 K
F&M Bancshares	Bank	Tenn.	$8 M disbursed	$952 K
Avenue Financial Holdings	Bank	Tenn.	$7 M returned / $7 M disbursed	$1 M
TriSummit Bank	Bank	Tenn.	$7 M disbursed	$706 K
ORNL Federal Credit Union	Mortgage Servicer	Tenn.	$8 K disbursed / $7 M committed	$0
Moscow Bancshares	Bank	Tenn.	$6 M disbursed	$868 K
Germantown Capital Corporation	Bank	Tenn.	$5 M disbursed	$661 K
Southern Heritage Bancshares, Inc.	Bank	Tenn.	$5 M returned / $5 M disbursed	$856 K
Peoples Bancshares of TN	Bank	Tenn.	$4 M disbursed	$511 K
CedarStone Bank	Bank	Tenn.	$4 M disbursed	$490 K
First Alliance Bancshares	Bank	Tenn.	$3 M disbursed	$398 K
Tennessee Valley Financial Holdings	Bank	Tenn.	$3 M disbursed	$146 K
Tri-State Bank of Memphis	Bank	Tenn.	$3 M disbursed	$246 K
Magna Bank (servicing)	Mortgage Servicer	Tenn.	$2 M committed	$0
Merchants and Planters Bancshares	Bank	Tenn.	$2 M returned / $2 M disbursed	$351 K