Thursday, March 5, 2009
Legislature / Politics / Woods Chip & the Democrats in a Clusterfluff over Tax Breaks for Tycoons
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Mar 5, 2009 at 5:19 AM
But House Democratic leader Gary Odom, tireless defender of the extremely wealthy, is against the bill, mainly because his developer buddy, Bill Freeman, is against it too. Freeman, who personally benefits from the loophole, is also the new treasurer of the state Democratic Party. His boss, Chip Forrester, is at odds with the governor, who opposed Forrester's election as party chair and refuses to patch things up.
With Bredesen's bill coming up in the legislature soon, Pith in the Wind talked to Forrester about how the party will cross these dark and treacherous waters. Not surprisingly, he didn't have much to say. Asked whether he thinks lawmakers should close the loophole as Bredesen is demanding, the chairman of the governor's party replied, "I really don't know."
"That's sort of a legislative matter," he added, "and I think I'll stay out of the middle of that one."
What about Freeman? As a party officer, will he stay out of it too?
"I have haven't spoken with him. I'd be uncomfortable speaking for him on it
until I know where he stands," Forrester says. "I'd like to ask him
first before I speak on his behalf. I'd be glad to talk to him and get
back to you."
To summarize, the Democrats are seriously f*#!ing themselves as usual. Predictably, Republicans are defending this tax break for the rich, offering Democrats a great opportunity to show voters that they are the party for working people. Only in Tennessee would the Democratic Party remain neutral on a bill proposed by a Democratic governor to make tycoons pay their fair share of taxes. Only in Tennessee would the Democratic leader of the House oppose the governor on this bill. It's all the more ludicrous when you consider the depressing state of the economy with working people all over the state struggling to feed their families.
Comments (24)
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So let me get this straight: Chip supports the income tax but can't bring himself to support closing a wealthy tax loophole? Presumably because it would upset his treasurer, the GOP donor who funded racist attacks against Harold Ford. Here's a question for Chip: When Freeman needs his jockstrap hand-scrubbed, do you use Tide or some generic brand of detergent?
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Oh, one more question: Where does Jennifer Buck Wallace (a.k.a. La Femme Chip) stand on this issue? How does she explain her opposition to closing a wealthy tax loophole to all the smelly undergrads with overgrown toenails who helped orchestrate le coup de Chip?
Oh, Lordy, Lordy, another day, another Chipper fuck up.
Seriously, how does Forrester explain that he supports an income tax, which will hit every working stiff in Tennessee, but he opposes closing a tax loophole for the super wealthy. I'm no fan of taxes, but times are tough. And if you read that AP article a gazillon dollars of the tax break is going out of Tennessee.
And Woods nailed the politics of this. You Democrats are supposed to be for the little guy, and didn't Chipper run for party chair as a Democrat's Democrat? If Chipper's first few weeks have made anything clear, Chipinista, it's this:
He don't give a shit about the little guy. Chipper and his Republican big developer treasurer are gonna get paid.
I'm going to pull a Harrison and double post. Won't that make the Chipinista trolls go bezerk?
"I have spoken with him. I'd be uncomfortable speaking for him on it until I know where he stands," Forrester says. "I'd like to ask him first before I speak on his behalf."
Chipper, what a crock of horseshit. Is there a typo in the first sentence, or did you actually say, "I've talked to him, but I don't know where he stands." I asked him, but I don't know.
So let me get this straight, you, the chairman of the Tennessee Democrat Party, aren't sure if you will oppose the Democrat governor, but you are sure that you won't support him on this ("I'll stay out of the middle of that one.")? And you have talked to your treasurer about this, but you don't know where he stands, so you're not sure if he, as the treasurer of the Tennessee Democrat Party, will oppose the Democrat governor. Who's the boss here?
Yeah, way to patch up that feud, Chipperoo.
As expected, the spineless blogger Chipinistas are totally MIA on the latest foibles of their spiritual leader. As a frequent flyer of this blog, can I lob in a request? Can the mighty Pith nail down where the belligerent bloggers stand on this matter? They were loud and proud when they were promoting Chip and doing their "Chip In!" fundraising campaign. Now they are virtually underground. What gives?
Sure, Cracker, keep lobbing attacks at Bredesen, the only member of your party to win a statewide election in Tennessee since Moses floated down the Nile.
So you and Chipper support an unconstitutional income tax because wealthy folks will pay more, but you support this tax loophole for wealthy developers. Why the inconsistency, Cracker? You and Chipper afraid Bill Freeman will smack you around?
Maybe that Bill Pinkney with Bredesen's office will bitch slap Forrester in the paper again.
Um...
I guess it occurs to no one that Chip is staying out of this because the Democratic caucus is not united on the issue and he's trying not to piss anyone off.
To me, that's responsible leadership. Especially since it really is NOT the Party Chairman's job to weigh in on particular bills in the General Assembly - especially not on ones that there is no clear consensus for.
Woods should know better. And I notice that Woods hasn't asked Robin Smith's opinion on FONCE...
Mr. Spaz, I guess my point is that there ought to be unity on this issue. It's obvious where Democrats ought to stand, and the party ought to be hammering Republicans on this thing.
Woods says: "I guess my point is that there ought to be unity on this issue. It's obvious where Democrats ought to stand, and the party ought to be hammering Republicans on this thing."
AGREED! Democrats could be yet again missing another opportunity to point out to people that the GOP is the party of spoiled, rich white people. They've done that before and they'll do it again because they're disorganized and have no coherent message machine.
So ask yourself, if this is a slam-dunk for Chip, why is he NOT committing to a position on it? If you were Chip, wouldn't you be dying for a chance to change the subject with the press? Wouldn't this be a great way for him to do that?
And yet, he won't attack. Not because he is somehow in favor of FONCE. And not because he's trying to get some revenge on Bredesen (even though y'all want that drama to go on). It's because he is looking before he leaps. Think of it as a lesson learned from The Freeman Incident - and most likely because he hasn't gotten the OK from the caucus leaders to blast FONCE yet.
And on a related matter, Jeff, I would love for you to answer two questions for me:
1) Have you asked Robin Smith about FONCE?
2) How often do you or members of the press ask the Party Chairpersons their positions on issues that are still being debated at the legislature? And do you always get an immediate response from them?
Enquiring minds want to know.
And for the record, you can just call me "spaz". "Mister" spaz is my father. ;)
Oops.
I said, most likely because he hasn't gotten the OK from the caucus leaders to blast FONCE yet."
Meant to say "blast or support FONCE yet".
Why would I ask Robin Smith what she thinks about FONCE? She's against closing the loophole. All the Republicans are against it.
You could be right, Spaz Jr., in that Chip might not be the right guy to be leading this crusade, but somebody should, shouldn't they? You have a clear case of wealthy people benefiting in a way that serves no purpose for the rest of Tennessee. It's a quintessential populist issue, and a perfect time to pick a fight like this. But Odom's already sold his ass, and the rest of the party's quiet, save for Bredesen, who's made a rare appearance on the side of the angels. As Jeff notes, if Democrats can't pound an issue as teed up as this, there as incompetent and shameless as Heatseeker and Harrison say.
Huh.
I Googled "Robin Smith" and "FONCE" and found no articles or stories that had her on record being against it.
I mean, she probably is against it, but you didn't ask her, Woods. Nor has anyone else in the media. And yet, you asked Chip...
I do not disagree with you, Pete.
You'll never hear me claim that the Democratic caucus leaders know a damn thing about political strategy. That's pretty damn obvious.
So Chipper dispatched his troll, spazhole, to the blogs. Please, spazhole, tell Chipper you greasy undergrads with overgrown toenails need better talking points.
Again, I'll ask you: if Chipper doesn't weigh in on legislative issues, especially contentious ones, why has he been neck deep in the income tax fight?
Address Freeman's FONCE for us. Do you truly believe Chipper is doing anything other than protecting his well-heeled developer treasurer's fat tax break?
I hear you, Spaz, but don't you think lay Democrats should be stepping up and pressing people like Odom on this? Forget all the intra-party fighting; that's really only important to insiders. This is a clear, meaningful issue that Dems could get behind to show people who they are, and a conservative governor's already leading the charge.
I'm with Jeff; I'm completely baffled why they'd be so quiet on an issue that's ripe with themes of economic equity/fairness. If you're not rising up for things like this, what's the point of being a Democrat?
Could someone please tell me how the FONCE change is going to pass the Senate? It is dead on arrival. So why should democrats shed blood over what will undoubtedly be labeled a "tax increase" in 2010 when that measure has absolutely no chance of becoming law?
What Senate Republican will support this?
Chip's answer is a total cop out. Party chairs weigh in on legislative issues all the time. Bill Hobbs shoots out a press release on a legislative issue almost every day.
Chip Forrester has turned out to be a liar. His only interest is in defending wealthy contributors.
