VOLuntarilyConservative

Thursday morning I singled out 23 Republicans who serve their respective districts in the Tennessee House because they voted to continue to spend the State's money recklessly - even if it means spending us straight into an income tax. Since we have already had to raise taxes on sales and property in just about every corner of Tennessee over the past few years, it is accurate to say that those who voted for the Pre-K boondoggle appear no better than tax-and-spend liberals that have little staying power in this new era of Tennessee politics. At least that is true in the enlightened parts of the state. That Bredesen's Frankenstein passed the House is not surprising. It was a way to needlessly spend money and was backed by the teachers' organizations, so of course the Democratic majority was passing this bill on to the Senate. That it passed with so much Republican support is disappointing.

I was wrong in saying that these men and women don't deserve your vote. My purpose on this site isn't to tell you who to vote for and who not to vote for. That is between you and God. However, I don't foresee assisting any of these candidates in their future campaigns and will endorse true conservatives that run against them. I have no problems with that because a true conservative would have never have voted for that miserable bill. It's Tennessee's education version of TennCare or the federal prescription drug benefit - a monster that will consume tax dollars like a Northern Snakehead and eventually grow to enormous proportions through the fertilizing of TEA and NEA. I predicted much the same thing about TennCare during the dark days of Sundquist, and I can't see this coming out differently.

In particular, I have to express my extreme disappointment with Beth Harwell. Beth was a good leader for the Tennessee GOP through the last election and is currently readying herself to receive the butt-whooping of a lifetime in the 2006 GOP Senate primary. Beth has zero name recognition amongst the electorate and was probably going to use this race as a springboard for future statewide elections. However, many, as posted on Blogging for Bryant, have urged Beth to challenge Bredesen. I have been one of those who felt that it best served the GOP and Beth herself to put her eggs in the other statewide nest in 2006. However, unless I am convinced otherwise at a later date, her conservative credentials are seriously in question after this vote. It's a shame that Beth didn't realize what a great way this was to distinguish herself from a suddenly weakening Bredesen. The way I see it is that if I want someone with little fiscal responsibility in the Governor's Mansion, let the Democrats have it. They are probably more efficient at spending the State into bankruptcy, given all of their experience.

Another sad example can be seen in the Knoxville contingent that seemed to lose the conservative principles they touted during the 2004 campaign. Harry Brooks and Parkey Strader - such a shame, guys. Of course, when Tre Hargett is supposed to be your leader and is voting outside of traditional conservatism... Given this vote and Hargett's inactions during Wednesday's power grab by Naifeh, it seems that strong leadership is once again lacking in the House. That may be too strong of a statement, given that there are some excellent leaders from East Tennessee in the House. They just don't seem to garner leadership positions (as Ron Ramsey has recently accomplished in the Senate.) All was not doom and gloom for the Knoxville contingent, though. Strawberry Plains' Frank Niceley was strong in his words to The Tennessean and Knoxville News-Sentinel, lending support to the theory that freshmen legislators are sometimes closest to their conservative roots than those who have been legislators for several election cycles.

It's a tough pill to swallow for Tennessee taxpayers. Let's hope for better results in the Senate, although, from my talks with some GOP Senators and their less-than-enthusiastic responses, I won't hold my breath.