First, hire a lobbyist…

As we mentioned the other day, House Democratic Caucus leader Rep. Mike Turner and press secretary Addison Pate invited several Tennessee Progressive Bloggers to Nashville for a "day on the hill," Monday June 1st.

In attendance were Left Wing Cracker and Vibinc (the Memphis Steves), Newscoma, Aunt B, Mary Mancini, GoldnI, Sean Braisted, and Whitescreek, along with bizgrrl and yours truly from KnoxViews. So, the three Grand Divisions were well represented.

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Rep. Turner welcomed us and set the tone by saying that he invited us "so you can see for yourselves if we are as big a bunch of SOBs as you think we are." The plan for the day included a briefing on current issues and plans for 2010, sitting in on a House Democratic Caucus meeting, and attending the afternoon House session. Some bloggers had the opportunity to sit on the House floor with their representatives. (I politely declined Mr. Pate's generous offer to see if he could arrange for me to sit with Rep. Joe McCord.)

The briefing started out in a Legislative Plaza Committee Room and finished in Rep. Turner's office. Then we went over to the Capitol Building for the House Democratic Caucus meeting in the Legislative Lounge, followed by the afternoon session in the House. (The Mrs. and I took a break from the House session to wander around a bit, and ended up sitting in on a Senate Education Committee meeting for a few minutes.)

By way of confession, I had never been to the State Capitol before, so needless to say it was, uh, interesting and somewhat enlightening. We've all watched the videos and read the reports of legislative goings on, but seeing the sausage being made is altogether different. And it appears that most of the grinding and seasoning takes place in the Capitol hallways and the back room offices of legislators.

The briefing and the caucus meeting were lively and informative. The House session, at least the brief parts we observed, were more ceremonial and procedural in terms of formalizing things that had mostly already been decided.

I was somewhat taken aback by some of the discussion in the caucus meeting. It seems that some of our representatives are, shall we say, less than fully informed on some of the issues they are voting on. (Hint: "will this help or hurt my reelection" should not take priority over "is this good or bad for the State of Tennessee.") There is also a divide among Democrats on some hot button issues, particularly social issues and particularly among representatives from more moderate or conservative v. more "liberal" districts.

On a positive note, I came away with the impression that the House Democratic Caucus is, for the most part, united in opposing Republican efforts to ride roughshod over public policy.

Rep. Turner's briefing provided a behind-the-scenes look at policy making and election strategy. There's an acute awareness of what's at stake if Republicans expand their control of the House and Senate in the next round of elections, and there are a number of competing interests that influence policy. But the bottom line in Nashville is that "money talks." I guess we all know this intuitively, but it's interesting to hear a politician be so blunt about it.

Rep. Turner was forthright, some might say to a fault, in talking about the party's past mistakes and opportunities for change in policymaking and running elections, as well as communications strategy. He noted that the internet has changed politics, and this was one of their reasons for reaching out to bloggers and sharpening some of the "social media" tools in their toolbox. Tennessee Democrats seem to be getting the "talking to new media" part figured out. Now maybe they need to figure out the "listening" part.

At any rate, it was a great opportunity to see what goes on over in Nashville, and to meet some fine Tennessee Progressive bloggers in person. Mr. Pate and Rep. Turner were gracious and accommodating, and we sincerely appreciate the invitation and their hospitality. And if you haven't already, we encourage you to visit the Capitol if you're in Nashville, look up your Senator and Representative (their offices are staffed with super nice folks and the public is always welcome), and sit in on some committee meetings and House and Senate sessions.

Following are some highlights from my notes…

At the briefing, Rep. Turner introduced Former House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh who stopped by to welcome us, and Rep. Ty Cobb (D-Columbia), who defeated an entrenched Republican in one of the few Nov. 2008 Democratic success stories.

Rep. Cobb talked about that morning's announcement that GM had filed for bankruptcy and that their Spring Hill plant (which in his district) would be mothballed. He and Rep. Turner said that if the plant and related suppliers are permanently shutdown there will be 30% unemployment in Maury County. Rep. Turner noted that 115,000 non-union auto industry workers would be affected, and that Tennessee is being punished because of Sen. Bob Corker's past position on GM. (GoldnI noted that Corker had just handed Michigan and the Midwest to Democrats for a generation.) There will be a meeting between UAW representatives, Rep. Cobb, Rep. Turner and Gov. Bredesen on Thursday to discuss how they might convince GM to keep the plant open.

On House politics, Rep. Turner said that Democrats are generally united on procedural issues but some of the social issues split the caucus. He said he's been a target of the NRA, Right to Life, and the National Federation of Independent Businesses but he's used to it and it doesn't concern him. He said, however, that he understands why other members do what they do to get elected.

He also said that progressives in Tennessee are missing the boat because they don't lobby effectively or at all. As an example, he said that he rarely hears from conservationists so they are letting coal companies and their ilk shape policy. I find that hard to believe, but maybe it's true. On the other hand, maybe some legislators just aren't listening. And that raises another interesting question -- who lobbies for the people? And, don't we elect representatives to represent the people?

Moving on to election strategy, Rep. Turner characterized the Nov. 2008 elections as the "perfect storm," and said that Democrats did ten or twelve things wrong and would have won if they had done just one of those things right.

Rep. Turner said the party has been doing politics "the old way," and they are building a new organization from the ground up for 2010. He said the only ground game Democrats have right now is unions, and more door-to-door volunteers are needed. According to Rep. Turner, in his experience elections are won by "direct mail and knocking on doors." He said this was a key to Ty Cobb's success. He also said they are going to start spending more on the front end instead of waiting until late in the election cycle, and that Democrats have not had a clear message and they are going to fix that. He said Democrats are letting "Republicans define us on issues that divide us."

He spoke highly of new TNDP chair Chip Forrester, and said he had just returned from a trip to East Tennessee with him where they are laying the groundwork for 2010. The Mrs. asked him to keep Blount Co. in mind when coming to East Tennessee, and Newscoma seconded that with regard to "geographically challenged" Democrats, especially in rural areas such as hers in upper West Tennessee.

(One thing I noticed more than once was that Rep. Turner seems to think of East Tennessee as the upper ET/Tri-Cities area. It's as if Tennessee Democrats have written off the Knox Metro area. And Chattanooga really never came up except for a later discussion of the 3rd Congressional district.)

Rep. Turner said that he didn't want to show all their cards just now (for obvious reasons), but they have targeted some districts and are recruiting candidates for 2010. (We asked him to please put the 18th at the top of the list and send Ty Cobb over to teach Campfield's opponent how to knock on doors.) He also mentioned that they want to avoid any "big primaries" with too many candidates. He later noted that they only need one seat to regain a House majority.

And speaking of campaigns, Rep. Turner feels that candidates should defer to their more experienced elders in the legislature. He said they have won a few elections and think they know what they are doing, but new candidates sometimes have their own ideas and won't listen. (I was thinking that Senate candidate Becky Ruppe might beg to differ.)

On redistricting after the 2010 elections and census, Rep. Turner said that Democrats need to pick up only four combined seats in the House and Senate to regain control of the process. Otherwise, Republicans will likely put U.S. Reps. Tanner and Gordon in the same district and draw up a new Republican district. On the other hand, he believes Democrats can draw up a Democratic 3rd Congressional District given the opportunity. But according to Rep. Turner, the bottom line is that if Republicans win in 2010 it will take Tennessee Democrats ten or fifteen years to recover.

Regarding upcoming legislative priorities, Rep. Turner said they would focus on jobs, the environment, and not letting children go to bed hungry at night. Proposed legislation could include equal pay for women, a state minimum wage (and possibly living wage), and education funding, although he said that last one could be tough next year given calls this year to cut pre-K and K-12 funding.

Rep. Turner defended House Democrat votes on SJR127, including his own, on two main points. One, it doesn't change anything, and two, they only hear from women on abortion and women need to be more active on other issues. And there's the suggestion that some vote how they vote to get reelected.

This came up again later in one of the tougher parts of the discussion. Newscoma strenuously objected to the idea that women only come out on abortion and cited several examples of groups that have advocated on a variety of women's issues.

GoldnI suggested that Rep. Turner stop framing the issue as "pro-choice" v. "pro-life," saying it is "pro-choice" v. "anti-choice" and that "pro-life" suggests there is an "anti-life" faction and nobody in the room or anyone else she knows is "anti-life." (She'll be a good lawyer someday and if she ever decides to run for office I'd vote for her.)

Aunt B. made an emotional appeal for Rep. Turner and other Tennessee Democrats to think about how these votes affect women, saying it may seem only symbolic now but the long-term effect could further diminish women's rights and be harmful to their wellbeing.

As an aside, this is no doubt a tough topic but I really don't get any of these arguments justifying a vote for SJR127. First of all, it will change things if Roe V. Wade is overturned because a future state legislature could ban all abortion in Tennessee. Rep. Turner thinks this is less likely now that President Obama has a chance to stack the court. (When will we ever get beyond abortion as the single overriding issue that determines who should be on the Supreme Court?)

Second, he is counting on Democrats to get a majority in 2010 and then stall SJR127 in committee. Failing that he doesn't believe it can get a two third's majority as required by law to go before the voters in 2014. Maybe so, but if he's wrong and it gets on the 2014 ballot it will bring out the extreme right-wing conservative vote. And that could change a lot.

Finally, even if it's true that women only come out on abortion and not other issues (which I doubt), what kind of justification is that? As for voting yes on SJR127 just to get reelected, maybe we need better candidates who can inform and educate their constituents instead of "letting Republicans define us on issues that divide us."

Moving on to the House Democratic Caucus meeting, House Democratic Leader Gary Odom gave a briefing on bills coming up during the remainder of the session. On scheduling, he and Rep. Turner both thought they would be there two more weeks.

He said the gubernatorial fundraising bill (that eliminates campaign contribution limits and removes restrictions on legislators campaigning for the governor's office while the legislature is in session) will be up this week and he said the Democratic caucus is opposed to the bill.

Rep. Gary Moore spoke about the Republican bill that would postpone implementation of the Voter Confidence Act, which requires voter verifiable paper ballots for the 2010 elections, until 2012 (background here). He said he would be proposing amendments to the original legislation as a compromise on certification and audit standards in hopes of getting Republicans to withdraw their opposition. Rep. Odom (I believe) noted there are also three caption bills that could repeal the Voter Confidence Act.

Rep. Hank Fincher (D-Cookville) interjected, saying he was tired of compromising to save Republicans from their own stupidity. "When they are driving into the ditch we shouldn't grab the wheel and help steer them out of it," he said. (This brought a round of laughter and applause from the blogger gallery.)

There was some discussion about House attendance, and it was noted that only 48 Republicans were present so there was no possibility for a majority vote for the next few days.

The guns in bars bill veto override vote will be placed on notice and the vote will be set for today (Wednesday). Rules say that veto override votes must be given at least 24 hour notice.

There is some division among Democrats on the charter schools proposal, which they have blocked so far. Rep. Turner said opposition mainly deals with how the bill is written, but there are also concerns about undermining public schools. He said that President Obama's Education Secretary personally called him to urge support for charter schools, but that Democrats should not waver in their opposition.

Rep. Jimmy Naifeh expressed concern that charter schools are part of Obama's platform and were also part of Clinton's platform, yet the Democratic caucus has taken a position against it. (I believe he also mentioned something earlier about Democrats voting against the Governor and leader of the party if they vote for the guns in bars veto override.)

Rep. Mike McDonald from Sumner Co. talked about some upcoming water bills, including HB1615 scheduled for that day and the selenium bill (SB1331) that would be coming up later in the week. He gave a thorough presentation on why Democrats should oppose these coal/developer friendly bills and the potential harm to the environment if they are passed. He said he was proposing amendments that would put some teeth back in HB1615, which redefines streams and weakens environmental protection of Tennessee's waterways. Unfortunately, the bill passed later in the full House and I believe it was without the amendments.

Rep. McDonald had also scheduled a nationally recognized expert on selenium to testify before a committee on Tuesday (yesterday) on why the legislature should not weaken restrictions on selenium deposits in Tennessee waters. The Senate has already passed this bill (SB1331), which was basically written by coal companies, and I believe the House is scheduled to vote on it today. (For future reference, Rep. McDonald is one of the "good guys" on environmental and conservation issues.)

SEE ALSO:

• A Day On The Hill

• Women as Special Interest Group

• Mike Turner made me cry

• Ilissa's Adventures On The House Floor

• Pomp, Circumstance, and Chaos...Progressive Blogger Day at the Legislature

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