According to a Daily News Journal report, Rutherford County gun manufacturer Ronnie Barrett says he’ll now reject a worker training grant he applied for from the state.
Last week Rep. Joe Carr (R-48) and Sen. Jim Tracy (R-16) rushed to the media and were quoted commending Gov. Bredesen for making the stimulus grant to Barrett Firearms.
“I commend Governor Bredesen and Commissioner Neeley for awarding this grant in Rutherford County,” state Sen. Jim Tracey, R-Shelbyville, said.
“The Incumbent Worker Grants are a good tool to keep employers and workers up to date on the latest skills training,” state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, said.
The surprising support from Rep. Carr and Sen. Tracy for this spending came days after hundreds of angry Rutherford County Republicans took to the streets of Murfreesboro to protest the $30 million in federal stimulus funds used in Tennessee to retrain workers.
In a flip-flop follow up, Barrett has refused the grant he himself applied for saying he now doesn’t want any part of stimulus money that Rep. Carr and Sen. Tracy said they’re happy to see spent in Rutherford County.
Barrett likened the grants to federal stimulus funds.
“Stimulus money doesn’t exist,” Barrett said. “That’s national debt that goes to our great-grandchilden, and I don’t want any part of it.”
Friday on WGNS 1450 AM, both Rep. Carr and Sen. Tracy again praised and defended spending stimulus funds that Rutherford County Republicans protested on April 15.
Barrett’s principled change of heart makes you wonder how Rep. Carr and Sen. Tracy can protest stimulus funds one week and praise spending them the next. Barrett is a major donor to Rutherford County Republicans and the boyfriend of Rep. Donna Rowland (R-34).
Tags: Donna Rowland, Jim Tracy, Joe Carr, Ronnie Barrett
How odd that Ronnie Barrett rejected the funds that he, himself, requested only after it was made public that he requested the money to retrain workers. Will he open his wallet and spend his own money to retrain workers? I assume the retraining was urgently needed if he went so far as to ask for it from the state government.
Ronnie probably doesn’t need the money anymore since the economy is so smoking hot in the gun world. Who knows who Ronnie might be supplying now. If things are as bad as he told the state in his lawsuit over his factory road you’d think he could use the help. But good for him. Things must be just fine for Barrett Firearms.
Ronnie got caught with his hand in the taxpayer’s cookie jar, and now he wants to look like a saint for putting the cookie back. Knowing Ronnie, it figures.
This is what makes me mad at the Democrats. They got the liberal Daily News Journal to run that story that Ronnie got this money in the first place. They tricked Joe Carr and Jim Tracy into saying it was a good thing to spend this tax money in the paper so they would embarrass Mr. Barrett for applying for it and taking it. Ronnie wasn’t falling for the liberal media trap and gave the money he asked for back as soon as he knew what was going on. That’s the kind of man you want guarding the hen house. He’s an American and he’ll defend our guns from Obama. Tracy and Carr will be back saying the right things after Ronnie takes them to the woodshed for helping the media and the liberals.
The more I think of it the more I think the governor might have gave that money to Ronnie as a trick and then tipped off the Democrats here ahead of time what he was going to do. Now we’re all talking about it because of the liberal media. I’m glad WGNS has been ignoring this. It’s too bad the Daily News Journal got brought into this. Ronnie is a good man, and once he’s on the board of the NRA he’s going to protect our guns from the liberals. That’s all for now.
Uh, yeah, Eagle1, sure. Its a trick. Even if that were true, then its just another reason to kick Joe Carr and Donna Rowland out of the legislature, if they’re that easy to fool. Judging from Joe’s performance on the house floor for his moonshine bill, you might be right now that I think about it.
And as for Ronnie guarding our guns, let’s just say that empty threats of Obama taking our guns is the only thing keeping him afloat. Folks like you are happy to fork over inflated prices for guns and ammo, driving the price up further. Congratulations, you’ll son be the proud owners of guns worth half what you paid. I already had mine.
Obviously, Eagle 1 has an imagination on par with J.K. Rowling. It does not take a genius to realize that Ronnie Barrett would have taken every penny he could had the public not become aware of the fact that he was being a hypocrite. Have you ever played the card game, Bullshit? This is the same thing, you can try to get away with it, but it stings when someone calls bullshit on you. I am sure the quite adept Mr. Barrett smelled the stink of a democratic setup and immediately jumped into his Barrett mobile to rectify any perceptions of impropriety on his part just in time. Whew, that was a close one Barrettman! As far as the others in the clown car, not only has Ms. Rowland and Mr. Carr proved to be exactly what Rutherford Countians DO NOT need, but their inept political reign will hopefully be overturned the next time around, and I, for one of many, cannot wait to see that happen.