In a comment I posted yesterday over at the RuCo Dems site, I suggested that their spin on Rep. Carr/Sen. Ketron’s bill to allow the proliferation of distilleries in several counties was woefully inadequate – and downright dishonest.

I just wanted to let you know that it has been deleted! What an outrage… they’ll take my posts (the ones that suit their spin) and post them all over the web, but when I shed a little light on their lies, well – they just can’t handle it.

I was hoping I could expect better from Mr. Fagan, et al. – guess not.

The Rutherford County Democratic Party has twice attacked Representative Joe Carr for HB 1720, which reads:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 57-2-103, is amended by adding thefollowing subsections (d) and (e):

(d) Notwithstanding subsections (a) through (c) above, in any county where both retail package liquor sales and liquor-by-the-drink have been approved through voter referendum within the county, it shall be lawful to manufacture intoxicating liquors and/or intoxicating drinks within the boundaries of such county.

(e) Any manufacturer’s license issued pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) above shall comply with the provisions of § 57-3-202.

On two separate occasions, the Democrats have suggested that Representative Carr sponsored this bill due to some special relationship with the liquor lobby. RuCo Dems suggested:

Rep. Carr would like for you to believe he’s working in Nashville for you. In this exchange, pay close attention to Rep. Carr’s mysterious lapse of memory when asked for the names of the three distillery groups Rep. Carr mentioned this bill is really for.

One of these “prevailing interests” as Rep. Carr called them just happens to be a distillery Rep. Carr said is interested in locating to Rutherford County, if only a legislator could pave their way. And he doesn’t know their name?

In a later interview with the Daily News Journal, Senate sponsor Bill Ketron listed the names of those who requested the bill be sponsored, none of which appear on Representative Carr’s financial disclosure, as Democrats suggest. From the article:

“Ketron identified [those who asked him to sponsor the bill] as Frank Coyle, a Murfreesboro resident from a Kentucky family that has operated distilleries, and Heath Clark.”

Neither Frank Coyle nor Heath Clark contributed to a campaign in the last legislative cycle.

The RuCo Dems would also have you believe that this bill was sponsored and supported solely by Republicans; however, a closer look at the votes reveal something totally different. Let’s track the bill as it moved through subcommittee and eventually to the full floor.  Democrats voting ‘aye’ are in bold:

HB1720 by Carr – LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF S&LG:
Recommended for passage – refer to: State & Local Government Committee 3/18/2009
          Voice Vote – Ayes Prevail

Representative Larry Miller, a Democrat, is the Chairman of the Local Gov’t Subcommittee. Other Dems on the Committee are Ulysses Jones and Ben West, Jr. Had Chairman Miller wanted a vote recorded, he could have done so.

HB1720 by Carr – STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE:
Recommended for passage w/amendments- refer to: Finance, Ways & Means Committee 3/31/2009
          Voice Vote – Ayes Prevail Rep.(s) Evans requested to be recorded as voting No

Representative Joshua Evans, a Republican, was the only recorded no vote on this Committee; however, there a nine Democrats on the full Committee – and any one of them could have recorded a ‘nay’ vote. One Democrat member, Representative Harry Tindell, is actually the co-prime sponsor of HB 1720. Hardly a Republican bill…

HB1720 by Carr – BUDGET OF FW&M:
Recommended for passage – refer to: Finance, Ways & Means Committee 4/8/2009
          Voice Vote – Ayes Prevail Rep.(s) Roach requested to be recorded as voting No

Budget Sub is full of Democrats! The Chairman, Harry Tindell (the co-prime sponsor!), presides over a subcommittee comprised of 7 Democrats and 7 Republicans! The only Representative to record a ‘no’ vote was Republican Representative Dennis Roach. Odd…

HB1720 by Carr – FINANCE, WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE:
Recommended for passage – refer to: Calendar & Rules Committee 4/14/2009
          Voice Vote – Ayes Prevail Rep.(s) Maddox requested to be recorded as voting No

The bill then jumped to the full Committee, also Chaired by a Democrat – Craig Fitzhugh. Representative Maddox asked to be recorded as a ‘no’ vote – this is the first Democrat who has opposed this legislation and had their vote recorded. On the Committe, however, Democrat Fitzhugh presides over a total of 30 Members! The breakdown is: 15 Democrats and 15 Republicans. We see, again, co-prime sponsor Harry Tindell (a Democrat, remember?) on this Committee, as well. Also, the RuCo Dems forgot to mention that Representative Kent Coleman – a member of this Committee – is recorded as having voted in the affirmative, as his lack of a ‘nay’ suggests his support for the bill.

HB1720 by Carr – CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE:
Recommended for passage – refer to: House Regular Calendar (1) 4/21/2009
          Voice Vote – Ayes Prevail Rep.(s) DeBerry J requested to be recorded as voting No Rep.(s) Hill requested to be recorded as Present, Not Voting

In this Committee, Representative John DeBerry is the only Democrat who requested a ‘no’ vote be recorded. Of this 25 Member Committee, all Democrats except one recorded an ‘aye’ vote.

While the bill ultimately failed, the Floor vote (‘ayes’) looked like this:

Representatives voting aye were: Bell, Borchert, Brooks H, Brooks K, Carr, Casada, Cobb C, Cobb J, Coleman, Coley, Dean, Dennis, Eldridge, Evans, Faulkner, Floyd, Halford, Harrison, Harwell, Hawk, Haynes, Hensley, Hill, Johnson C, Johnson P, Kelsey, Lollar, Lundberg, Lynn, Matlock, McCord, McCormick, McDaniel, McManus, Montgomery, Mumpower, Niceley, Ramsey, Rich, Sargent, Shipley, Swafford, Tidwell, Tindell, Weaver, Mr. Speaker Williams — 46.

So, even as the bill crashed and burned on the House Floor, Representative Kent Coleman gave it a thumbs up…! It makes you wonder what else the RuCo Dems aren’t being honest about.

The Rutherford County Democrats are under new management, and it is quickly becoming apparent that they are less interested in advancing public policy and doing what is right for Tennesseans and more interested in advancing deceitful and misleading blog posts. Take today’s for instance:

Moonshine stills have been outlawed in the state of Tennessee and elsewhere for quite some time, but Rep. Joe Carr (R-48) introduced a new bill that aims to change all that.

Rep. Carr wasted 15 minutes of the legislature’s time today trying to pass HB 1720 to allow anyone to manufacture liquor in any county that has allowed by referendum liquor stores or sales of liquor by the drink.

In fact, nothing in this bill allows for the establishment of illegal moonshine stills. Section 1, Subsection (e) reads:

Any manufacturer’s license issued pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) above shall comply with the provisions of § 57-3-202.

For those who do not know, § 57-3-202 requires for a distillery to be properly licensed. Under the RuCo Dems definition, Tennessee historical landmarks like the Jack Daniels distillery and the George Dickel distillery would be outlawed, and this is simply not the case.

In a time when creating jobs would benefit the people of Tennessee, the RuCo Dems would rather play divisive party politics with little respect for the truth.

They reveal their true ignorance with the following statement:

In this embarassing video clip, Rep. Carr was met with wide opposition from some of his own House Republican colleagues. Rep. Stacey Campfield  (R- 18) asked whether Rep. Carr had a buddy with a moonshine still. Perhaps his worst critic was Rep. Carr himself as this exchange with Rep. Henry Fincher (D-42) reveals.

When Members take to the Well for the first time, it is customary for other Members to give the sponsoring legislator a hard time. We see it all the time. RuCo Dems are apparently unaware of the workings of the General Assembly, and it is overwhelmingly apparent that they either (1) want to lie to those who read their blog, (2) just don’t understand the process, or (3) a good mix of both. I’m picking option 3.

What the Dems don’t tell you – also – is that the coprime sponsor is a Democrat. The video exchange is below.

I am still seeing red from this story. In fact, it’s probably going to ruin the rest of my day.

Let me just qualify this by saying that I have had friends and neighbors whose lives were literally uprooted by last week’s tornado in Murfreesboro. Their homes were destroyed. Their neighbors were injured. Their pets and belongings were tossed halfway across the neighborhood and landed in someone else’s yard. Two people lost their lives in last week’s storm. There was countless millions of dollars in physical damages and an incalcuable amount in emotional damage done last week.

And who’s trying to play partisan politics with the lives of these people? The Rutherford County Democratic Party.

From a statement on their website:

Instead of helping families clean up after the deadly Good Friday tornadoes, Rutherford County Republicans gathered by the hundreds on the square in Murfreesboro last night to protest the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and paying taxes to fund veteran’s benefits.

This is absolutely disrespectful and unconscionable. Rather than acknowledge that hundreds of Murfreesboro residents have gathered together in the past week to help their friends and neighbors, the Rutherford County Democrats have played partisan politics with the lives and belongings of the people in neighborhoods off Haynes Drive, Manson Pike, Penny Lane, and Highway 96.

Rather than acknowledging that many Democrats, Republicans, Independents and apolitical-types have already taken to the streets in an effort to help rebuild, the RuCo Democrats showed their asses (literally) by making this into some sort of “I’m more self-righteous than you are!” game.

Rutherford County Republican Party Vice Chairman Lou Ann Zelenik actually encouraged the crowd to be more involved in the community last night, and specifically, to help those who were affected and displaced by the tornadoes. The message was there, and the Democrats tuned it out in favor of some twisted attempt at capitalizing on the victims of last Friday’s tornadoes.

I urge the RuCo Dems to take back their statement, and take it down from their website. Tornadoes don’t affect just Republicans – or just Democrats. They affect everyone. And for some partisan hack on the other side of the aisle to suggest otherwise is despicable. We should be coming together as a community and working together, not politicizing a natural disaster.

If you would like to express your distaste for the RuCo Democrat comments, feel free to contact the Chairman (this information is available on the site):

Jonathon Fagan
110 S. Bilbro Ave.
Murfreesboro, TN 37130
(615) 604-4211
han.d.man.2@gmail.com

Kleinheider
Liberadio