Senate Republicans on Tuesday complained about the rally atmosphere of a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the “card check” method for forming labor union. A day later they released a video mash-up to emphasize their point.
The video showed committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, endorsing the applause and cheers of labor officials when they heard points they liked, but he drew the line at hostile vocal reactions to critics of the legislation.
“I don’t want to permit any hissing or booing or foot-stomping or throwing of things like that,” Harkin said. “I mean, there are limits as to what people can express here.”
Categories: Iowa, Tennessee, Vermont, Producer's Picks, Labor, Tom Harkin, Lamar Alexander, Bernie Sanders
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ST. PAUL — Earlier this year, former Sen. Fred Thompson had hoped he would be here to receive the Republican nomination as president. Instead, he took the stage tonight to sing the praises of his former Senate colleague and presidential rival, John McCain.
Thompson, R-Tenn., told “the remarkable story of John McCain” and said McCain “has been tested like no other presidential candidate in the history of this nation,” in part because of the punishment he endured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Here’s an excerpt of Thompson’s speech:
John McCain’s bones may have been broken but his spirit never was. Now, being a POW certainly doesn’t qualify anyone to be President. But it does reveal character.
This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders. Strength. Courage. Humility. Wisdom. Duty. Honor. It’s pretty clear there are two questions we will never have to ask ourselves, “Who is this man?” and “Can we trust this man with the Presidency?”
Categories: Tennessee, Politics, Fred Thompson, Republican Convention
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A group of conservative senators is about to embark on a rhetorical crusade in defense of the free market as the best solution for America’s healthcare system. Some of the participating senators outlined the effort in a visit to the Heritage Foundation.
The participating senators, all Republicans, are Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Mel Martinez of Florida, John Thune of South Dakota and David Vitter of Louisiana. Here are video clips of their appearance at Heritage:
Categories: Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Health, Bob Corker, Richard Burr, Jim DeMint, Mel Martinez, John Thune, David Vitter, Economy
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America is commemorating the birthday of slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. today. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., marked the occasion last week with a speech on the House floor.
“Dr. King turned a mirror on America, and the reflection was not good. It was ugly,” Cohen said. “America was not the land of the free, but it was a land built by the enslaved.”
Two Democrats in the California Assembly also commemorated King last week with floor speeches:
Categories: Tennessee, Civil Rights, Steve Cohen
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Tennessee is one of the few states without an income tax, but that could leave residents of the Volunteer State at a disadvantage when they go to itemize their federal income-tax exemptions.
The reason is that the federal government has a permanent write-off for income taxes, but the corresponding deduction for state and local sales taxes to benefit states like Tennessee is only temporary and is set to expire at the end of this year. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., wants to change that. Today, he urged the Senate to pass his legislation to make the write-off for sales taxes permanent.
“Losing this deduction would cost Tennesseans nearly a quarter of a billion dollars right out of their pockets each year,” he said in a floor speech. “Extending the state and local sales-tax deduction is the fair thing to do. It is the right thing to do.”
Categories: Tennessee, Lamar Alexander, Taxes
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