First, Lou Ann Zelenik appears on Fox News, and then this:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Wish You Weren’t Here | ||||
|
||||
Archive for the ‘Rutherford County Republican Party’ Category
Rutherford GOP Puts Us In The National Spotlight, Again…
Friday, July 9th, 2010Rick Womick, Rutherford GOP Suffer Embarrassing Loss
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
Windows of the Rutherford GOP headquarters show campaign signs for mayoral candidate Tim Davis; Council candidates Mark Nobles, Brian Vaughn, and David Boyce; and City School Board candidate Kevin Fisher
Last night, every candidate endorsed by the Rutherford GOP lost.
Mayor Tommy Bragg trounced the GOP candidate Tim Davis by a 3 to 1 margin.
Sources tell us that by endorsing Mark Nobles for City Council, Rick Womick and the local GOP caused David Edwards, a Council incumbent who campaigned hard for Republican Joe Carr in 2008, to lose his seat to challenger Madelyn Scales-Harris.
The Rutherford GOP and its Chairman Rick Womick should learn their lesson from this election and stay out of non-partisan elections altogether. Something tells us, though, that hard-headed TEA Partiers like Rick Womick don’t learn lessons easily.
Rutherford TEA Party Embraces Extremist Ousted By GOP
Friday, April 16th, 2010
Matt Collins was ousted from the Vice Chairmanship of the Davidson County Republican Party in November after refusing to shake the hand of gubernatorial candidate Zach Wamp. His stated reason? He thought Wamp had too liberal of a voting record.
Now he is a featured speaker at a Rutherford TEA Party event in Murfreesboro.
After his ouster, Collins said his removal was a “soviet-style purge” and “a personal vindictive move by some in the DCRP and the TNGOP to remove me because they did not want their fellow Republicans such as Rep Zigzag Zach Wamp, Mayor “Ban’em” Bill Haslam, Senator “Large Government” Lamar Alexander, and Senator “Bailout Bob” Corker held accountable.”
Since leaving the Republican party, Collins has joined a Ron Paul organization named “Campaign For Liberty” which now meets at the Rutherford County Republican Party headquarters.
By featuring such an extremist figure as a featured speaker, does the Rutherford TEA Party/Republican Party condone such behavior and endorse calling their fellow Republicans names like “Senator Bailout Bob Corker” and “Senator Large Government Alexander”? Do they also consider the Davidson County Republican Party a “soviet-style” organization?
Local GOP Makes Endorsements in Nonpartisan ‘Boro Elections
Thursday, April 15th, 2010OPPOSES MAYOR TOMMY BRAGG
The Rutherford County Republican Party has decided to make endorsements in non-partisan Murfreesboro City Elections this year, and they decided not a single incumbent was to their liking. As you can see from the signs hanging in their window on the public square, the local GOP has chosen Tim Davis (”the peoples’ mayor”) to defeat incumbent mayor Tommy Bragg.
Incumbent City Councilmen David Edwards, Doug Young, and Shane McFarland will be disheartened to know that the Rutherford County Republican Party has decided to endorse their challengers - Brian Vaughn, Mark Nobles, and David Boyce (who has “had enough” of the current incumbents). For a touch of hypocrisy, Rutherford County Republicans picked only Kevin Fisher for City School Board, who disagrees with school fundraisers even though his child qualified for reduced-price meals.
Did current GOP chairman Rick Womick make these decisions? Will this affect his run for State House District 34? If not, who made these endorsement decisions? Does this mean that these candidates are the Republicans in the city races? Or does this mean that Tommy Bragg, David Edwards, Doug Young, and Shane McFarland are embarrassed to have their signs hanging at the local GOP headquarters? You’ll have to ask the Rutherford County Republican Party these questions, and wait until election day, Thursday April 20th, to find out if their endorsement hurts or helps candidates in local non-partisan races.
Remember Ira Brody? Now He Wants To Be A Congressman
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
You remember Ira, the suspicious New York investment banker who built a huge vacant cabin out on Halls Hill Pike (an income tax dodging maneuver perhaps?). He ran against Robert Peay Jr. in 2006, spending $30,000 on a county commission race. Robert promptly clobbered him 61%-39%, so he decided to run the Tennessee Republican Party’s 2008 coordinated campaign. Then, he wanted to be Tennessee’s State Treasurer, but the following disastrous interview with Phil Williams of WTVF sealed his fate:
Now he has picked up qualifying papers to run against Congressman Jim Cooper of Nashville. Ira doesn’t live in the district (no one really knows where he lives), but apparently he’s not going to let that stop him. He wants to be added to a heaping pile of winners churned out by the Rutherford County Republican Party like Donna Rowland, Joe Carr, and Bill Ketron. The Nashville Post has the story:
Brody was a partner and chief operating officer in a Nashville-based investment firm called InsCap Management LLC. He resigned from that position while he was attempting to become state treasurer. That business, which has since dissolved, was a source of consternation for many in the GOP.
Brody and InsCap, which in the past has also done business as LILAC Capital LLC, fought hard in several states to bring about changes to laws that would either allow them to enter into a new market or improve their business environment. The tactics they have employed to affect change raised eyebrows in some states.
According to published reports, consumer watchdogs in North Dakota argued in 2007 that North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman changed his stance on rules affecting Brody’s business shortly after Brody’s wife, Sara Bachrach, donated $25,000 to his re-election campaign and Brody donated $15,000 to the North Dakota Republican Party.
In Virginia, Brody and his team employed a cadre of 11 lobbyists in 2005 in a futile effort to stop legislation that further regulated the settlement of life insurance policies.
Despite those setbacks, Brody did have success in Tennessee. In 2004, his company employed nine lobbyists to work to change state law to benefit InsCap.
Ketron Admits He Votes For Legislation He Doesn’t Read
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
NOT AWARE HE VOTED FOR INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The Daily News Journal’s weekly columnist Sam Stockard asked Bill Ketron why he voted for Race To The Federal Trough along with every other Republican legislator from Rutherford County. Here is what Ketron said:
Asked if he knows what the international benchmarks are, state Sen. Bill Ketron said, “I do not. We were told they would come from the U.S. Department of Education. The thing was on a fast track,” Ketron said. “We barely had time to read through it. It’s voluminous.”
Yet Ketron and fellow Republicans, Sen. Jim Tracy, of Shelbyville, Rep. Donna Rowland of Murfreesboro, Rep. Joe Carr of Lascassas and Rep. Pat Marsh of Shelbyville, members of the Rutherford County delegation, voted for it. Only state Rep. Kent Coleman, a Murfreesboro Democrat, voted against it.
So Republican Senator Bill Ketron admits that he voted for a massive overhaul of Tennessee’s education system without knowing much of what it actually accomplished. He also admits that as a “conservative” Republican, he thinks its just great to beg for half a billion dollars in stimulus cash with strings attached - strings that could bind our teachers to international standards. Sounds like something Tennessee’s Tea Party crowd would really oppose, but they are deathly silent on the matter because the legislation was backed by their republican overlords Ron Ramsey and Glen Casada. Just more evidence that the Tea Party crowd are willing to ignore their own stated beliefs if republicans tell them to, just like they did when they gave George W. Bush free reign to plunge our nation into huge war debts and pass unfunded federal mandates like No Child Left Behind.
Did Senator Ketron also sponsor workmans’ compensation legislation he didn’t understand, or did he know that he would be taking independent contractors’ hard earned profits while helping his insurance business’ bottom line by enacting Public Chapter 1041? What other legislation has Bill Ketron helped to pass without reading or knowing the consequences?
Rutherford Republican Compares Rep. Mumpower to Jesus
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Caption reads, 'The scene is reminiscent of Judas joining hands in prayer with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane moments before the soldiers arrived to arrest him.'
Its all the same to Rudd, who compares Mumpower to Jesus and Williams to Judas in the following graphic, which he sent by email to his fellow Executive Committee members. Williams was denied membership in the Tennessee Republican Party for the move, and Rudd wants to keep it that way even though some are pushing for Williams’ return to the republican fold.
What Rudd has done is sacreligious, which is especially egregious during the Christmas season when Christians celebrate Jesus’ birth. Folks across the state are understandably upset with Tim Rudd for comparing their Lord and Savior to a politician. Here’s an example from Betsy Phillips:
Tim Rudd, sir, that you would even make something like this and send it to other people pretty much proves that you are a terrible Christian. And I don’t say that mildly.
Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus say, “Please, use my suffering to illustrate your petty political problems.” And really, Rudd, how dare you try to pressure anyone into feeling like not doing what you want is akin to standing against Jesus.
You are not Jesus. Jason Mumpower is not Jesus.
People who do things other than what you would like them to do ARE NOT BETRAYING JESUS.
And, frankly, it’s evil for you to suggest that they are.
Power Grab: Mayor Seeks To Repeal Entire Private Act
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Red-faced & Red-handed, County Mayor Ernest Burgess is caught with his hand in the power jar
The proposed Legal Services Agreement stipulates that the County Attorney will decide who represents the Sheriff’s Dept. -
Section V. Subsection H- “…the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Dept. representation shall be handled by an attorney selected by the Sheriff, subject to the approval of the County Attorney, provided the hourly compensation for the attorney selected by the Sheriff shall not exceed $150 per hour”
It also stipulates that Rutherford County (aka taxpayers) will pay the bill if the County Attorney is sued for damages:
Section V, Subsection B - “…the County shall act in good faith to represent, defend, and pay liability claims against the County Attorney and associates”
In fact, County Attorney Jim Cope is currently a co-defendant in a lawsuit for his handling of the failed Bible Park. If County Mayor Ernest Burgess gets his way in grabbing the reins and implementing the Legal Services Agreement, will Mr. Cope be safe from liability and will taxpayers foot the bill?
UPDATE: The Daily News Journal’s Editorial Board is calling for revision of the Legal Services Agreement
Zelnek Forced Out By Fellow Republicans
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Last month, we reported on the internal brawl of the Rutherford County republican party. Matthew Hurtt, former DNJ columnist/Rutherford young republican vice chairman and treasurer/conservative blogger, called for Lou Ann Zelnek to resign as Chairman of the Rutherford County republicans. Former Tennessee republican party communications director Bill Hobbs chimed in, criticizing her as a weak candidate with too much baggage.
Matt Hurtt followed up his call for a resignation with daily tweets:
matthewhurtt: 19 days since @LouAnnZelenik announced Congressional bid. When will she resign as Chairman of the RuCo GOP? This is a conflict of interest.
matthewhurtt: 18 days since @LouAnnZelenik announced Congressional bid. When will she resign as Chairman of the RuCo GOP? This is a conflict of interest.
matthewhurtt: 17 days since @LouAnnZelenik announced Congressional bid. When will she resign as Chairman of the RuCo GOP? This is a conflict of interest
Looks like Hurtt got his way, and its not surprising. Zelineck was already rejected by her own party in her own county when losing a mere state house primary, even though she outspent her opponent 4 to 1. It seems nothing has changed in the circular firing squad known as the Rutherford County republican party. Its no wonder Americans’ confidence in republican leadership is at a 25-year low.
.
“Bill Frist Too Liberal”, Says Conservative Talk Show Host Laura Ingraham
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
CLAIMS FORMER GOP MAJORITY LEADER FRIST AGAINST FREEDOM
On her conservative talk radio show yesterday, Laura Ingraham and Republican Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann described Bob Dole and Bill Frist (R-TN) as “losers” who were against a “pro-freedom” agenda because he supports healthcare reform. Ingraham went so far as to suggest that Frist’s ideology was a “losing outlook”. Will the circular firing squad (otherwise known as the republican party) come to an end? Considering recent polling, let’s hope not…
The pair discussed recent statements made by retired GOP Senate Majority Leaders Bill Frist (TN) and Bob Dole (KS) in support of some type of comprehensive health reform.
Dole has called for Republicans to become engaged in the process, stating “we’ve got to do something” to solve the current crisis. Frist has endorsed the Senate Finance health reform bill, and has called out “people on the extreme” in his own party for falsely labeling President Obama’s health reform as “socialized medicine.” Clearly incensed by these comments, Ingraham and Bachmann traded barbs trashing the former Republican leaders for daring to veer away from a “pro-freedom agenda”:
INGRAHAM: Of course. God bless Bob Dole he just came on our show, I have great respect for the man. And also for Frist. But Frist presided over a pretty disastrous situation in the Senate.
BACHMANN: They lost.
INGRAHAM: They lost. And Bob Dole lost how many times on a national level? I guess I’ve lost count. [...] That Republican ideology and that Republican outlook has been a losing outlook. That’s why President Obama wants more of us to be like them.
BACHMANN: Because we want a pro-freedom agenda. And he’s trying to throw people around who he believes will increase a non-pro-freedom agenda.
American Confidence In Republicans Hits 25-Year Low
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
A tracking poll conducted quarterly for the past 30 years has found that an initial rally by republicans earlier this year has been wiped away and replaced with the lowest confidence among likely voters that the GOP has faced since 1983. Chris Cilliza has the breakdown.
Less than one in five voters (19 percent) expressed confidence in Republicans’ ability to make the right decisions for America’s future while a whopping 79 percent lacked that confidence.
Among independent voters, who went heavily for Obama in 2008 and congressional Democrats in 2006, the numbers for Republicans on the confidence questions were even worse. Just 17 percent of independents expressed confidence in Republicans’ ability to make the right decision while 83 percent said they did not have that confidence.
On the generic ballot question, 51 percent of the sample said they would cast a vote for a Democratic candidate in their congressional district next fall while just 39 percent said they would opt for a GOP candidate. (As late as this summer, Republicans had seemingly narrowed the wide generic ballot lead Democrats enjoyed for much of the last two election cycles.)
And, perhaps most troubling for GOP hopes is the fact that just 20 percent of the Post sample identified themselves as Republicans, the lowest that number has been in Post polling since 1983. (No, that is not a typo.)
The poll was conducted by conventional and cellular telephone from Oct. 15 to 19 among a random sample of 1,004 adults. The margin of sampling error for the full poll is plus or minus three percentage points.
Former Rutherford Young Republican Officer, Conservative Activist Calls For Resignation of Lou Ann Zelinick
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
Matthew Hurtt, Former Rutherford County Young Republican Vice Chair & Treasurer, Conservative Blogger, Former DNJ Guest Columnist
ARLINGTON, VA - Former Rutherford County Young Republican Vice-Chairman and Daily News Journal columnist Matthew Hurtt suggests today that Rutherford County Republican Party Chairman Lou Ann Zelenik should resign her position following her announcement Tuesday that she would seek the Republican nomination for Congress in Tennessee’s 6th District against incumbent Democrat Bart Gordon.
In a post on MatthewHurtt.com today, Hurtt wrote, “My advice now is that [Zelenik] immediately and without hesitation resign her position as Chairman. Continuing in this role is in clear violation of what I would consider political professionalism. Zelenik absolutely must remove herself from the party leadership.”
Hurtt cited the conflict of interest in Zelenik’s chairmanship due to the fact that other Republican candidates filed to run. “Lou Ann is not the only Republican in this race,” Hurtt said. “Dave Evans,a Major General in the U.S. Army Reserve, filed to run for Congress long before Zelenik’s announcement. It seems to me that an unfair advantage exists for Zelenik due to apparent support by the Rutherford County Republican Party based on the fact that she serves on the Executive Committee.”
Zelenik, who served as the Vice-Chairman of the Rutherford County Republican Party at the time, unsuccessfully ran for State House in 2008 against Joe Carr in the Republican primary. Hurtt notes, “Zelenik’s candidacy in 2008 caused great turmoil among the Rutherford County Republican Party. Rumors were spread that were detrimental to the successful candidate, Joe Carr.”
Tennessee Republicans sour on Tea Party Leader Lou Ann Zelenick
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009It wasn’t hard to predict that Rutherford County Tea Party Leader Lou Ann Zelenick would have a hard time convincing her own party to vote for her.
Given the fact that Lou Ann is also the Rutherford County Republican Party Chairwoman, you’d think her party would be enthusiastic about her recent announcement to run for something.
Lou Ann’s own Republican Party rejected her primary bid against Joe Carr to represent the 48th District in the Tennessee State Legislature. Rutherford County Republican voters literally voted for a crook rather than sending Lou Ann Zelenick to represent the county in the House of Representatives.
Republicans knew better and probably wouldn’t trust Lou Ann as a dog catcher. Now Lou Ann’s own party is coming out to remind voters who the real Lou Ann Zelenick is, and it’s worth reading.
Former Tennessee GOP Spokesman Bill Hobbs says on FaceBook:
With all due respect to Dave Evans, his campaign isn’t catching fire and few people I have talked to think he can beat Bart Gordon. With all due respect to Lou Ann, the GOP isn’t going to beat Bart with someone who has been around politics for a long time, and who lost a state house primary, and who is not a “fresh face” in politics.
Former Rutherford County Young Republicans Vice Chairman and TreasurerMatthew Hurtt says on his blog:
Lastly, I am concerned about the history of Zelenik’s political aspirations. She jumped into a Republican primary as a member of the RuCo GOP Executive Committee in 2008, running against Joe Carr – and she ran a nasty, nasty campaign. Now, she’s jumping into a Republican primary as a member of the RuCo GOP Executive Committee in 2010 against Dave Evans. Whether or not her campaign will be nasty is yet to be seen. Is she running to further the goals of the Republican Party or is she running to further the goals of Lou Ann Zelenik?
Lou Ann Zelenick Thinks Rural Voters Can’t Read A Dictionary
Thursday, September 24th, 2009It’s easy to see how Lou Ann Zelenick comes to the conclusions she does when you read her latest brilliant analysis of an article that appeared in Roll Call today.
In the Roll Call article, Rep. Bart Gordon dismissed the notion that race played a major part in Obama losing the 6th District instead suggesting it was more due to Obama being too “urbane” for voters.
Obama “seemed to be too urbane” for 6th district voters, Gordon said. “If you’re from some of those small counties, [Obama was] some guy from Chicago that speaks differently than you.”
Gordon acknowledged that racism was also a factor in Obama’s performance in the district.
“Unfortunately, there was probably a little bit of that, but it was more just being urbane,” Gordon said.
Zelenick, expecting rural voters would mistake “urbane” (meaning too polished) with “urban” (meaning inner-city), claimed Gordon was calling people racist.
Addressing Gordon’s charge of racism, Zelenik said, “I cannot imagine what would lead a Congressman to insult his constituents in this manner. The idea that Tennesseans vote based on race is a suggestion I reject entirely. The suggestion that Tennesseans are racists is particularly disturbing when it comes from a person who is supposed to represent our values.
Perhaps Zelenick would care to explain why she doesn’t know the difference between “urbane” and “urban” and apologize to rural voters for thinking we couldn’t figure it out. Bart Gordon has never lost a single county in the 6th District, while Ms. Zelenick was rejected by her own party for a mere state house seat that included only a small part of her own county. It’s easy to see why.
Republican County Mayor Ernest Burgess breaks the law, again
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009Red-faced and caught red-handed AGAIN!
Republican County Mayor Ernest Burgess has broken the law and cost tax payers hundreds of thousands of dollars, but don’t worry. Mayor Burgess tells the Daily News Journal he has a plan to do away with the law in the upcoming state legislative session.
A 52-year-old state law stipulates that the Rutherford County Commission, not the mayor, should have chosen defense attorneys to handle a lawsuit filed by the family whose rezoning request for Bible Park USA was rejected.
According to the “Private Acts of 1957 Chapter 67″ charter between the state and the county, “no official, agent, department, branch or board of said County shall employ other attorneys to be paid out of the public revenues of said County without the approval of the Quarterly County Court (now called the county commission) of said County in advance of such employment.”
Mayor Ernest Burgess, however, made the decision after consulting with County Attorney Jim Cope behind closed doors.
“That’s an out-of-date statute, and we’re going to update it in the next legislative session starting in January,” Burgess said during an interview from his office at the County Courthouse.
How many more embarrassing and expensive mistakes is Mayor Burgess going to dump on the tax payers of Rutherford County? The law the Mayor claims is “out-of-date” is the law, and even the former chair of the Rutherford County Republican Party says what every law-abiding citizen knows.
Commissioner D.C. “Jim” Daniel wishes the 21-member commission had made the call on hiring the attorneys to defend the county.
“I believe we ought to follow the law,” said Daniel, a retired attorney. “The law is the law. Otherwise, you have chaos if you run around contrary to law.”
Chaos is exactly what the tax payers are paying for under Republican County Mayor Ernest Burgess, and we’re all paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in higher taxes for it thanks to Mayor Burgess. Rutherford County deserves a County Mayor and a County Attorney with the moral compass to uphold the rule of law. It is up to the voters to decide whether the criminal behavior of Republican County Mayor Ernest Burgess and bad advice of our county attorney represents the best interests of our community or the selfish interests of a men who think the law doesn’t apply to them.
Read more about Mayor Burgess’s costly lapses of character and judgment:
