Recently, the story of the secret Senator and the furtive altering of the Tennessee state budget came up. A friend, who knows I have been writing about it, looked at me and said simply, “It’s over.”
He was referring to the flurry of activity that has taken place on and around the issue in the last few days which seems to be a wrap up of the matter on the part of politicians.
From the very beginning, the emphasis of the politicians was not on the trust that was betrayed by one of their own, but on fixing the problem of defunding Planned Parenthood (PP). As I said at the time, we expect them to fix the defunding problem. They promised to do it and we indicated we wanted it done. If Senator Campfield’s approach would not do the trick, then another approach was needed. It has finally been accepted that Senator Campfield’s approach would likely not have achieved the goal.
Therefore, legislation has been written to present to the legislature immediately upon their return in January to fix the issue in the 2012-2013 budget and beyond. To address the 2011-2012 fiscal year, Nashville has been convinced to expand its services to meet demand and will take all the Title X money available to it. Memphis is expected to follow suit but that’s not yet sure. There will be no funds for PP to bid for.
This is not exceptional legislating or service to the public. This is merely keeping their promise. We expected this from them.
Now that it’s done, it would be tempting to believe they would take up the far more serious issue of the secret Senator and his actions. Unfortunately for those activists who, like me, believed the politicians when they said they would fight for us and be transparent, that is not going to happen.
“If you think you passed something and something else passed instead, you ought to dig in and find out why,” said Gov. Bill Haslam. “But it is not something I’m spending a lot of time trying to figure out.”
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said he has spent time trying to figure out what happened when the state budget bill was amended – without his knowledge or the knowledge of many other legislative leaders – to negate a provision inserted at the urging of Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, to “defund” Planned Parenthood.
“I really don’t know 100 percent what happened. I just have it in my mind what happened, and I’m going to try to get to the bottom of what happened,” Ramsey said.
But he added “that’s the stuff you work on behind the scenes” to ensure it does not happen again.
Asked if that means the results of his inquiry into what occurred and who was responsible will never be made public, Ramsey replied, “That’s a possibility.”
“It is sometimes a case of he-said, she-said kind of stuff,” Ramsey said. “I’m not into that at all. I’m a person who tries to find solutions.”
Campfield, too, said he is now ready to let bygones be bygones on the mystery amendment, which the senator earlier said left him “flabbergasted” and “disheartened.”
“We had to kiss a lot of ugly girls at the prom, but we took the pretty one home,” said Campfield. “As long as we got what I was looking for, which was defunding Planned Parenthood, I’m willing to let it drop.”
It has been suggested that politicians are doing this not because they believe it is right but because they believe there will be little political cost to them for doing it. I suppose if you believe disappointing and alienating some of your most ardent, loyal and effective supporters not to be costly you might even be correct in that estimation.
No matter, we’re not the money people or the influence peddlers or the power brokers in the state, we’re just grassroots. And like the grass in their yard, they’ll walk on it and let their dog do its business on it and otherwise take it for granted, assuming it will always be green and lovely.
But weeds grow where lawns are not carefully tended. Barren patches develop where constant traffic and no watering or care are given. “Cut” the grass too often or do so in the heat of the day when it is convenient for you instead of when it is best for the grass to be cut and you’ll kill it. Often the first notion a groundskeeper has that there is a problem is when the grass turns brown and starts to die and the weeds spring up. By then it’s too late. The roots … the grassroots … are already dead …
No cost? I believe that notion is incorrect. I believe there will be a very real and very noticeable cost. In fact, I believe it’s already happening … Time, and the decisions that grassroots activists will make in response to the politicians, will tell …
Related articles
- Timeline of the Secret Altering of the Tennessee Budget (bluecollarmuse.com)
- Since the TN Senate is Protecting the Secret Senator, What are Activists To Do? (bluecollarmuse.com)
- So, Is Secretly Changing the TN Budget Protected Behavior, a Crime, Unethical or What? (bluecollarmuse.com)
I have spoken to a member of the legislature who indicated that the Planned Parenthood shenanigans will have a profound effect on how next year's session goes. Legislators have been burned and will not trust staff or leadership. They feel that they must now delay votes in order to proof-read and inspect the text of bills lest they be burned again.
Trust us will no longer work.
That's a terrible price.
There is knowledge, and a record, and the people involved are employees of the People. Treating the Current Legislature as a "Good 'Ol Boys Club", sacrosanct internally, will prove problematic in the next election.
I rejoice at the reports that Planned Abortion will loose funding from any government source and hope that the press releases from government mirror its subsequent action. If so, that is one part of this problem addressed.
What I remained concerned with, however, is the comment attributed Lt. Gov. Ramsey. The quotes that he would 'work behind the scenes' on who did it and how to address it and that it was "possible" that what actually transpired may never be publicly known is quite concerning.
I feel that the facts of who is responsible are of great significance and that those facts MUST be made known. This is not some issue of who backed into a car in the parking lot, this is an issue that goes to the very heart of trust and confidence in the elected officials and the systems that they operate under. If the leaders are unwilling to call TBI/FBI and investigate a 'possible' criminal act by a legislator(s) and staff members, then is that refusal merely part of a larger cover-up? I would much prefer an investigation by law enforcement of a possible crime than an investigation by "peers" who have something to gain (control of a seat) by "hushing" the investigation and handling it quietly, if at all, in the smoke and back rooms of the Tennessee General Assembly.
I agree with John Harris.
If you agree with defunding PP or not, the real issue here is the credibility of our legislative system.
We do no have a 'rule of man' system, it is a 'rule of law'. To shield someone from
I would welcome the FBI to investigate and expose this matter. It can do NO harm for them to discover this. It may not have been intentional, but it does deserve to see the light of day. Unless we are all OK with possible corruption.
Almost none of our elected types seem to have much interest in the subject.
As was explained to me by one Rep who did speak with our AG, Doug Heims and crews despicable action took place on Thursday. Both votes, House and Senate occurred on Friday.
Boils down to despicable Doug and crew apparently did not perform an illegal act just extremely unethical one.
The lack of public action by our Governor, our Reps and our Senators would sure make it strongly appear that ethics mean nothing overall.
Im shocked at the almost total lack of action from our elected types. I will sure remember it for our next election.