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Tennessee not working with Republicans in charge
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Tennessee Government is Not Working with Republicans in Charge. Period. Full stop. This week Governor Bill Haslam gave his State of the State. He announced such pretty, pretty plans for the year, our Republican governor. Sadly, though, even the prettiest plans can’t pass without leadership and Governor Haslam? Well, he’s just not any good with the whole "leadership" thing.

 

We all know what happened with Insure Tennessee, the health care plan Governor Haslam designed to attract Republican votes (and the elephant in the room at his speech - he didn’t mention it once!). You’d think that with a Republican supermajority in the House and Senate a Republican governor could pass it, but he couldn't even get it out of even one Senate committee.

 

Tennessee Government is Not Working with Republicans Covering Things Up. The Republican’s failure to govern effectively doesn’t stop with the Governor. Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) also says a lot of, um, words, but lacks the muscle to back them up.

 

This week she said she was working on a "culture change" at the State Capitol since covering up the Rep. Jeremy Durham (R-Nashville) scandal. But Tennesseans don't see a change since she goes from covering up sexual harassment to holding secret meetings with her appointed sexual harassment advisory committee.

 

Tennessee Government is Not Working when Republicans Care More About Political Fall Out Than They Do About Victims of Sexual Harassment. Even more outrageous this week was Governor Haslam’s claim that the primary "collateral damage" of the Durham scandal was the damage it caused to the reputation of the Republican Party. That’s the primary collateral damage!?! Not the women who were forced to work in an unsafe environment? Not the women who were forced to remain silent for fear of losing their jobs?

 

Tennessee Government is Not Working with Republicans in Charge Who Care More About Covering up Violations Then They Do About Water Quality. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the Tennessee Clean Water Network "is questioning why the Haslam administration's water quality enforcement against polluters appears to be disappearing down a drain." Well, we can answer that. When the "EPA had filed the complaint against state Rep. Andy Holt, a Dresden Republican" because his farm dumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of hog waste "into local fields and streams" and then reporters find that Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s upper management discouraged enforcement against Holt for operating his farm without the proper permits, it all points to a government that is simply not working for the people.

 

Tennessee government isn’t working with Republicans in charge. Period. Full stop.

 

Mary Mancini

 

Chair

 

Tennessee Democratic Party