Monday, January 26, 2009
Politics / Woods Bill Hobbs Shakes Fist at New Democratic Party Chair
Posted by Jeff Woods on Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 9:37 AM
TN GOP Thanks Tennessee Democrats for Reminding State Where Party Stands on Income Tax
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Republican Party will continue to oppose creation of a state income tax even though the Tennessee Democrat Party has just elected a new chairman whose idea of "change" is the state taking more of it out of your pocket via an income tax.
In 1999, as a member of his party's executive committee, new TNDP chairman Chip Forrester voted for a resolution calling for creation of a state income tax of 2.5 percent, to raise an additional $2 billion for a state government that had already proven unwilling to live within its means.
By contrast, the Tennessee Republican Party came out firmly and unequivocally against the proposed state income tax in 1999 - and has remained staunchly opposed to it.
"The Tennessee Democrat Party for years has tried to hide its pro-income tax stance, knowing that most Tennesseans, including many of their own voters, oppose the tax and believe the state's budget problems are caused by too much spending, not by too little taxes," said Bill Hobbs, communications director for the Tennessee Republican Party.
"By choosing as chairman some who advocated for and voted for a state income tax, the leadership of the Tennessee Democrat Party has done the people of Tennessee a service: they have clarified for all to see that the Tennessee Democrat Party wants an income tax. When Chip Forrester and the liberal candidates he will recruit to run for the state legislature promise 'change,' what they really will be planning is a return to pushing ideas that Republicans and most Tennesseans rejected a decade ago."
Comments (5)
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How I love these press releases where Hobbs quotes himself.
By the way, you might want to delete Hobbs from the Pith blogroll. Apparently the election of Barack Hussein Obama was so deflating for Hobbs, he quit the blog. So sad.
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Forrester was the main force behind getting Tennessee Democrats to support an income tax. Now he runs the state party. Sundquist threw around tens of thousands of dollars in campaign cash, mainly to three people now in the Senate. Justin Wilson was Sundquist's main lobbyist for an income tax. Now he is state comptroller. The income tax forces are reorganizing.
Not so fast, Woods. This one raises the eyebrows. Mr. Forrester said Saturday, did he not, that he would respond quickly and forcefully to all Republican attacks. "When you lie, we will call you out as liars," he declared . . .
Forrester hasn't said a word about this, and it's been out there for how long? Two days? If he's not calling Hobbs a liar, it must be true.
Also, Floyd has a point. Isn't it odd that the state has a shortfall of what? A billion dollars? Now all of these income tax people start popping up in positions of power. Floyd mentions three senators. I guess he means Republicans. If Forrester keeps his 14 Democrats in line and Sundquist gets those three Republicans, you have 17 votes in the Senate for an income tax . . .
You never know, Woods. You just never know.
I think the last thing the democratic national party wants is Forrester to worry about state politics. How about Tennessee bucking the democratic shift trend relative to the rest of the nation?
http://eyeontn.com/?p=193
