Monday, June 15, 2009
Legislature / Woods Turner Charges Senate Republican Budget Cuts Could Kill Babies
Posted by Jeff Woods on Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 12:26 PM
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House Democratic caucus chair Mike Turner raised the ante today in the state budget battles, saying the Senate Republican version could kill babies by cutting $1.5 million for prenatal care. Well, what he actually said this morning on Liberadio! was the GOP cuts "would just literally you know, you know possibly, potentially kill people." The words were staggering off Turner's tongue and you could just about hear the wheels grinding in his brain as he thought about whether it was really a good idea to say what he was about to say--and then he said it:
"Bart Gordon told me one time after we were discussing the future about how to regain the majority, he said it might be good for us to sit back and let Republicans be Republicans and let the public actually see what they stand for and what they bring to the table."As you have seen in the budget that the Senate has proposed severe cuts, accelerated cuts that would just literally you know, you know possibly, potentially kill people. They're talking about they're champions of a ban on abortion and things like that but, at the same time, they're cutting funds for prenatal care that would cause as many or more children to die if that's the take you want to take along that line than what would have happened with abortion. I think their budget was not real well thought out. I think they have chosen to back off a few things."
More Turner:
"We actually got an award by the Pew Institute. It's a think tank. It's a very respected think tank ... We're trying to become the Silicon Valley of the green movement with green jobs. That same day we were getting the award and the recognition, the Republicans were about to cut all the green jobs out of the budget. That's not smart business-wise. As the governor said, it's stupid. They have an agenda. Tennessee was one of the few bright spots for the Republicans in the election and I think they're trying to brand Tennessee Republicanism as the wave of the future for the Republican Party. If that's the case, then I think Democrats will do real well for next several years."On the accomplishments of the 2009 session:
"It's an exercise in bipartisan democracy I guess. Some people talk about bipartisanship. Maybe this is a good reason not to have it."On guns in bars:
"I was cutting up, a lot of the people who voted for guns in bars don't go to bars very much. I tend to frequent bars or have in my lifetime anyway, and I just don't think alcohol and guns mix very well. I think that could come back to haunt some people in certain areas. Now in the rural areas ... it's not like Nashville where you've got a bar on every corner. Some of these small counties, there may not be a honky tonk in the entire county. So they look at things a little different."
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