This could be called the Year of Guns and Booze in the state Legislature.
During one of the worst economic years in history, legislators have put their focus anywhere but on the budget. In addition to a load of bills dealing with weapons, including allowing conceal-carry permit holders to take their guns into bars, restaurants and state and local parks, legislation allowing new distilleries and wine in grocery stores is getting notice.
Two local legislators are sponsoring a bill to make it easier for distilleries to open.
Rutherford County deserves leaders in the Senate and House that work hard for our families, not special interests.
It’s been a bad stretch of road for Rep. Joe Carr’s (R-48) bill to bring more whiskey, vodka and other distilled spirits flowing into Tennessee.
Rep. Carr introduced his House version of the bill on April 23. When asked who the bill was written for by his House colleagues, Rep. Carr had no idea, and the embarrassing exchange is all over YouTube. The questions got so tough that Rep. Carr rolled the bill to the next calendar. Rep. Carr also made a startling admission on the floor of the House on what his bill will do for the state of Tennessee.
FINCHER: OK, so they’re is going to be more liquor and more whiskey and more vodka running around out here in our state because of this bill, correct?
CARR: I wouldn’t assume so, I would assume that would, uh, you could assume that. Yes sir.
Did you read that? Rep. Carr said you could safely assume his bill will bring “more liquor and more whiskey and more vodka running around out here in our state.” The Rutherford County Democratic Party commends Rep. Carr for his moment of honesty.
It would have also been easy for Rep. Carr to say his moonshine bill was written for the voters of Lascassas, but Rep. Carr knew that would have been a lie, and he told the truth. The Daily News Journal recently reported who the bill was really for.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, will ask the House of Representatives to approve the legislation today. Carr said he agreed to sponsor the house version of the bill at the request of Ketron.
Now we know why Rep. Carr was so clueless about a bill he sponsored but knew nothing about. On his second attempt recently, Rep. Carr again rolled the bill for another two weeks.
It’s a shame the people of Lascassas don’t have a Representative who will support whatever they ask for without question. Instead, Rep. Carr is busy working for Sen. Ketron and the liquor industry that funds his campaign while Rep. Carr actively seeks a reduction in unemployment benefits for the growing number of unemployed voters in his district.
The people of Lasscasas deserve a Representative that stands up for them.
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.
“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.
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).
As the economy continues to straighten itself out, unemployment numbers continue to rise, but at a much slower rate. Rutherford County experienced a very slight increase in unemployment for March — 9.2 percent to 9.3 percent — an increase of .1 percentage point from February.
When a caller asked Rep. Carr to explain why he is wasting time on a bill that demands Gov. Bredesen deny extended unemployment benefits to the growing number of unemployed in Carr’s district, both he and Sen. Tracy said they felt like that money should be returned to President Obama instead of put in the hands of Rutherford County’s unemployed.
You can almost hear dueling banjos in the background. Moonshine stills have been outlawed in the state of Tennessee and elsewhere for quite some time, but Rep. Joe Carr (R-48) introduced a new bill that aims to change all that. Instead of focusing on our tremendous budget problems, Joe decided to legalize rogue liquor production.
Rep. Carr wasted 15 minutes of the legislature’s time today trying to pass HB 1720 to allow anyone to manufacture liquor in any county that has allowed by referendum liquor stores or sales of liquor by the drink.
If that sounds crazy to you, you are not alone.
In this embarassing video clip, Rep. Carr was met with wide opposition from some of his own House Republican colleagues. Rep. Stacey Campfield (R- 18) asked whether Rep. Carr had a buddy with a moonshine still. Perhaps his worst critic was Rep. Carr himself as this exchange with Rep. Henry Fincher (D-42) reveals.
FINCHER: This bill is expanding the number of counties in Tennessee where liquor can be manufactured correct?
CARR: Yes. FINCHER: How many counties are you extending this to that don’t currently have that right now?
CARR: 41 FINCHER: 41 out of the 95 in the state of Tennessee are now going to be, if this bill passes, are going to be able to manufacture whiskey, brandy, vodka, all that stuff, right?
CARR: 41 counties in the state of Tennessee have had a voter referendum on liquor by the drink and retail package sales which, with, according to this bill, does authorize them to go through the local ordinance and zoning process to undertake and have a manufacturing facility that does that, yes sir. FINCHER: OK, so they’re is going to be more liquor and more whiskey and more vodka running around out here in our state because of this bill, correct? CARR: I wouldn’t assume so, I would assume that would, uh, you could assume that. Yes sir. FINCHER: OK, is that a good thing for the state, that we have more liquor out there, more people drinking, more people drinking and driving, more people doing all the things that alcohol makes them do, sir?
CARR: Well I think you are making an assumption that I’m not willing to make, and we’re also providing jobs for farmers. We’re also providing jobs for entrepreneurs. So, like in any bill that comes before this house, sir, uh, there are good and questionable components to the bill. On the face, I think it’s a good bill and it deserves passage.
Rep. Carr would like for you to believe he’s working in Nashville for you. In this exchange, pay close attention to Rep. Carr’s mysterious lapse of memory when asked for the names of the three distillery groups Rep. Carr mentioned this bill is really for.
One of these “prevailing interests” as Rep. Carr called them just happens to be a distillery Rep. Carr said is interested in locating to Rutherford County, if only a legislator could pave their way. And he doesn’t know their name?
FINCHER: Are you aware of any studies that show it’s actually going to create jobs, that anyone’s going to be able to open up a big still to cook more whiskey. Has a study been done?
CARR: I’m not aware of a study, but I am aware of three groups that are interested in opening small distilleries in various parts of the state for the purpose of not just creating jobs but creating job opportunities both to farmers and to the local citizens where those distilleries would reside. FINCHER: Who are these groups?
CARR: I, I, don’t know them by name, but I know there’s a group that interested in Humphries County. There’s a group in Davidson County, and there’s a group in Rutherford County. FINCHER:OK, did any of these groups contribute to your campaign?
CARR: No. FINCHER: Well, how do you know if you don’t know their name?
CARR: Because I know who contributed to my campaign. FINCHER: But if you don’t know the three groups how do you know they didn’t contribute to your campaign?
CARR: Because I know who contributed to my came [sic] Representative.
[Representative Casada is called out of order for shouting on the floor]
The concerns continued with numerous other representatives to the point that Rep. Carr made a motion to roll the bill into the next legislative calendar. That may give Rep. Carr more time to waste on behalf of the liquor lobby instead of working for the people of Rutherford County, but he might want to think about using the time more constructively.
That might sound a little strange to you considering the Rutherford County Republican Party recently held a “tea party” with hundreds of Republicans protesting government spending these very funds. Rutherford County Republican Party Vice Chair Lou Ann Zelenik went so far as calling ARRA funds “socialism.”
Just days after Rutherford County Republicans demanded Gov. Bredesen return the money back to the federal government, Rep. Joe Carr (R-48) and Sen. Jim Tracy (R-16) are praising our state’s use of the money.
The state has awarded Barrett Firearms Manufacturing in Christiana a $4,975 job-training grant, according to a news release.
This grant will provide training to five employees in continuous improvement, value chain strategies, tools and tactics.
“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.
How can Rutherford County Republicans protest spending this money out of one side of their mouths last week and then praise spending this money this week? Maybe when the money finds its way into the hands of a major donor to Tennessee Republicans that’s when so-called socialism is to be “commended” as Sen. Tracy did today.
Senator Jim Tracy (R-16) and Rep. Joe Carr (R-48) supported a bill to cap damages for gross negligence of patients in nursing homes at $300,000. SC2160 and HB2243, other wise known as the “kill old people cheaper act” are before the legislature today and are being lobbied for heavily by the nursing home industry.
Rutherford County deserves elected officials that stand up for our family and protect us from abuse in nursing homes. Contact both Sen. Tracy and Rep. Carr and tell them to stop defending nursing home abuse and start standing up for our families.
Rep. Joe Carr (R-48) voted against taxing the strip mining coal industry to help fund needed school and road construction yesterday. Rep. Carr voted against HB 1667 that would direct increased coal taxes to counties so they can complete needed infrastructure projects without raising our property taxes.
Rep. Carr’s vote against taxing the coal industry puts him at odds with protecting our state’s energy riches and finding alternatives for increasing our property taxes.
Republicans joined Democrats in overwhelming support for the bill to help Tennessee counties fund the construction of roads and schools. The coal tax increase models successful tax policies that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has in place to ensure the state of Alaska benefits from its energy riches.
Gov. Palin and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) promoted Alaska’s energy tax policies as a model for the nation in the 2008 Presidential Campaign, but Rep. Carr says he believes the coal industry should take as much coal and profit out of our great state. Rep. Carr stood with only 19 legislators to vote against the bill.
Rep. Donna Rowland (R-34) was on Capital Hill yesterday but was too busy with her attorney dealing with an ethics complaint to vote either way on this important issue. Rep. Rowland instead voted “present.”
If Rep. Joe Carr (R-48) has his way, unemployed residents in Rutherford County will not get their benefits extended under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act while they look for work.
Rep. Carr is a co-prime sponsor of HJR 0150, a bill that urges Gov. Bredesen to refuse funds from the federal stimulus bill that will help families in Rutherford County who are unemployed. The bill was deferred today in committee to April 15.
“What this bill will do is keep guns in the hands of good, responsible individuals and help keep guns out of the hands of criminals and folks that the law says should not have access to firearms,” Pitts said.
The bill passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 91-5-1. Those voting against the measure included Representatives Joe Carr (R-Murfreesboro), Vance Dennis (R-Savannah), Joshua Evans (R-Greenbrier), and Eric Swafford (R-Pikeville). The legislation must now pass the Senate before it can be signed into law.
Rep. Joe Carr (R-48) voted against taxing the strip mining coal industry to help fund needed school and road construction yesterday. Rep. Carr voted against 
