Why aren’t Tennessee Republicans happier? With the GOP so dominant in the Tennessee General Assembly and losses so rare – on the Hill or in elections – the party’s lawmakers should be jubilant with this year’s session. But it’s never enough.
Here are a handful of reasons that the supermajority isn’t super happy:
They want it all: The new chairman of the state GOP wants all “99 members of the House and 33 members in the Senate’’ to be Republicans.
Obama: Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey says only a new president – a Republican president – can “fix’’ the state’s health care issues. It’s a sit-tight, wait-it-out policy, a game the party can play as Obama’s term winds down.
Hillary who? Ramsey and others say they are certain Hillary Clinton won’t be elected president, nor will any other Democrat. It’s a situation they can’t control, which is irritating. Her presidency has already been declared “continued failed leadership,” says Ryan Haynes, the new state GOP chair.
Shut up and get on board: Party members knocked heads over education, including school vouchers and conservatives vs. ultra conservatives in the debate over Common Core – a plan that has been proven to work for schools but has the lingering odor of Obama.
Nothing’s worth a primary fight: Party members didn’t have the stomach to back a tuition equality bill, even when some with right-of-right credentials embraced it. There are still too many well-organized groups that can wreck a career over just one ‘off-agenda’ vote. All that’s needed is funding and a candidate willing to out-conservative the incumbent conservative.
Don’t be weak on guns: Legislators voted in guns-in-parks but were ridiculed for not allowing guns in the State Capital.
Don’t be weak on the Bible: Was making the Bible the state’s official book respectful or disrespectful? Is parading the conservative colors worth the cost of the legal challenge Republican Attorney General Herb Slatery said couldn’t be won. In the end, quiet defeat. (continue reading)