Monday, November 24, 2008
House Democrats Pick a Loser
Posted by Jeff Woods on Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 9:13 AM
But it's not good for the Democratic Party either or anyone who hoped Democrats might do something smart for a change. In picking Odom, they went with the guy who drove House Democrats off the cliff in the first place. How smart is that?
The first display of this new stupidity will come at the start of the next session when the administration tries again to close the loophole that's letting extremely wealthy developers escape $45 million in state taxes every year. Odom helped keep open that loophole last session, then raked in campaign cash from the developers who benefited--including our hometown hero Jack May, the filthy rich dude who is trying to despoil Bells Bend.
Barring the unforeseen, Odom will put House Democrats on the side of fat cats this session too, even though the state obviously could use tax money from rich people who aren't paying their fair share. That'll be one great way to show voters there's really not much reason to put Democrats back in control of the House.
Comments (6)
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Actually, I agree with this column. I don't think it's a defeat for the governor.
I think it's bad for the party as a whole for the state. What has Odom actually done?
Not very much if you ask me.
I'm not saying that Odom's election is good or bad. But I absolutely think that Bredesen got what he deserved.
As for the tax loophole, anything that Bredesen does now is going to have to go through Mumpower. It doesn't sound like tax reform is going to be a huge priority for him, there's abortions and gay adoptions to ban first.
I'm sorry but the hackishness on this reaches the anti-Clement levels of 2007.
Naifeh is the guy that led the House. Odom had absolutely nothing to do with Tennessee Waltz. Wasn't even majority leader then. Odom's remarks about Briley's behavior were harsher than Naifeh's. It's well documented that Naifeh and Odom clashed, yet you imply Naifeh and Odom were one and the same when you say Odom got us into "this mess." I'd even assert, much of this comes from West Nashville where Naifeh and John Wilder have resided their decades in leadership of the Democratic Party. This is not rhetorical, but tell us how Fitzhugh is different from the rural West Tennessee Dems that have led this party for so long. To be blunt, I've had enough of rural folks running a party that gets many of its members from urban areas.
And Jeff, I again would like to imply that you are remiss in neglecting to mention that Bredesen and Odom clashed over Bredesen's allowing THP to investigate itself over recent scandals. Bredesen likened it to punishing an unruly teen. Odom called for more accountability, for an outside group to investigate. In that regard, Odom is certainly the reformer that Bredesen is not. As a good legislator should, Odom was quick I have a hard time believing that has nothing to do with this rift.
