TN - A Dem gov cleaning up a Rep Gov's mess. And Al Gore news!

[johnaries]

Most of you probably don't know this, but Tennessee had a W of our own as Governor for a while. He ran the state budget into the ground filling the pockets of his cronies (yes, TBI has investigated) and he almost destroyed our state HealthCare System. His solutions were to charge for day use at State Parks (which he did), scrap TennCare and raise taxes (which he didn't succeed in doing).

Well, TN voted in a very smart Democrat, Phil Bredesen, who is less than 1 term balanced the budget, saved TennCare, and was able to remove the fees for State Park use.

Here is the Newsletter I got in email from the TN Democratic Party about his latest initiatives (education, imagine that) and also some interesting info about that group that called Al Gore a "hypocrite":

THE GOVERNOR'S PLAN FOR OUR FUTURE . . .

Releasing the 2008 budget to the state legislature on February 21, Governor Phil Bredesen demonstrated he will lead the state in a fiscally conservative and progressive way so that education and health care remain at the heart of Tennessee values.

The well-rounded budget proposal matches recurring investments with recurring revenue and new initiatives with new revenue, namely the increase in the cigarette tax will be invested in children's education and the future of the state of Tennessee.

"If there's ever an investment that makes sense, it is investing in education," Gov. Bredesen said.

In addition to $4.65 billion in education funding and $7.5 billion for health care, the largest items in any state budget, the proposal includes economic development, conservation, and an alternative fuels initiative. The components of the budget materializes into $448 million improvements in education funding while the "state government, like a family business, (lives) within its resources."<2>

"I want the next four years to be a time when we set Tennessee on the path of truly putting our children at the head of the list," Governor Bredesen further noted.

After serving four years, Governor Bredesen has begun his next term with clear Democratic priorities of a balanced budget for "our children's future, our cities' future, the future of our state." While remaining realistic that Tennessee has room for improvement, the 2008 budget puts Tennessee on the path to making sound improvements and remaining one of the states with the lowest taxes.

Recent objections to the cigarette tax increase proposed by Sen. Mae Beavers and Rep. Beth Halteman Harwell have been called by Governor Bredesen "regressive" and "the worst kind of Washington DC budgeting."<3> Governor Bredesen estimated that the alternative tax swap proposed by Republicans would cost an estimated $8.5 billion over 30 years.

Hoping to charm the electorate into swallowing their magic pill, the tax swap, does appear exactly like what it's been called by Governor Bredesen, senseless "voodoo" which "would knock a hole in our budget that would plunge our state back into fiscal crisis."<4>

HARWELL IS JUST A FLASH IN THE PAN . . .

This week State Rep. Beth Halteman Harwell held a press conference to highlight her sponsorship of the cigarette-food tax swap saying that her proposal is more "fiscally sound" than the Governor's and that the balanced budget the Governor proposed "totally regressive." By contrast, Dr. Bill Fox of the University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research says that Halteman Harwell's proposal makes the tax system more regressive and actually hurts Tennessee's economy.<5> Additionally, Halteman Harwell's plan is not in the interest of improving the most robust aspect of the budget proposal, education. No Republican tax cut proposal would replace revenue in the way the Governor has proposed.

While the Bush administration in its budget offered a $318 million shortfall over the next five years for State Child Health Insurance Programs (S-CHIP), Governor Bredesen's budget proposal continues to represent common sense budgeting aimed at fully funding education, health care, job creation, public safety, and conservation.

"We're ready to take the next steps to seize the future for ourselves, for our children, and for our children's children," Governor Bredesen said in his budget release.

Republicans led by Rep. Halteman Harwell have formed a loose coalition to consider a tax swap, a plan chided as political posturing.

The truth of the Republican opposition to the budget is that Halteman Harwell's proposal to cut the sales tax would reduce funding for education, placing the burden on local communities to replace the lost revenue by raising property taxes. Governor Bredesen's proposal by contrast raises the cigarette tax so that education can receive an annual $220 million.

Currently, Tennessee has the third smallest tax burden per capita in the nation.

MORE HEALTH CARE FOR MORE TENNESEANS . . .

On the heels of the Governor's fiscally conservative budget proposal and the National Governors Association winter meeting, the AccessTN program announced that it would start accepting applications.

The recent announcement which was released in the state legislature this week shows the expediency and urgency of Governor Bredesen to respond to the uninsured in Tennessee despite the Republican attempts to kill the CoverTN proposal in May of 2006 and leave 580,000 Tennesseans with no viable option of receiving medical overage.

Under AccessTN, 6,000 previously uninsured will be given the chance to be insured under the program which will be offered regardless of previous medical conditions, for those who have been denied insurance from two other insurance companies, and for the most vulnerable Tennesseans including children and the elderly.

AROUND THE STATE . . .

TNDP Chairman Gray Sasser calls the potential to move the 2008 presidential primary date a significant improvement to Tennessee's national visibility during the election cycle, having a positive effect for the state's economy. The proposed presidential primary date to be considered in the state legislature is February 5, 2008.

Former Vice President Al Gore received an Oscar for the documentary An Inconvenient Truth but was criticized by a non- partisan, non-profit organization comprised of conservative researchers and Drew Johnson. Johnson indirectly contributes to RAAMPAC, the PAC created by Republican Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.

The Tennessee Democratic Party this week hired Wade Munday as communication director. Munday is a Middle Tennessee native and student at the Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Munday is responsible for all media coordination, research, and the content of this message. Yes I know, Tuesday's Message has been changed to The Munday Message and was delivered on Wednesday.

[Clark2008]

1. Was this from the Tuesday Message?

And, did we get a new party chair?

[cid]

2. Saved TennCare? Is that what you call it?

Our wonderful Dem Governer saved TennCare by cutting off anybody over 18 and under 65 that had a terminal illness..got cancer and in the middle of chemo? too bad, your off TennCare..need Home Health care so you can survive in a wheelchair, too bad, your off TennCare..got hep C and in the middle of chemo, too bad, let that liver cirrhosis kill ya. Its called State sanctioned murder. He saved Tenncare on the backs of the people that really needed it. So, please, do not tell me how wonderful ole Phil is. He may be a Dem but i would vote for a dog as Gov before I would vote for him. :) Sorry he is a real hot button for me..I know too many people this affected..badly.