Jobs Agenda, Equality Agenda

Marriage grabs all the headlines when it comes to so-called "gay rights" in the mainstream media. It's understandable. Relationships matter. Legally sanctioned relationships confer protections, rights, responsibilities, benefits, etc. They connect us deeply and that's why the symbolic warfare around them is so intense.

What doesn't get covered nearly often enough is the jobs agenda of the equality movement. Can you remember any story in a major Tennessee newspaper about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the last year? But there are some real opportunities to connect with moderate and even conservative Tennesseans on workplace equality.

Jobs are #1 for Tennesseans: The Tennessee Newspaper Network hired Mason-Dixon to conduct a poll on the priorities of the state's voters. The number one priority is jobs/economy. Only one percent of those responding saw family values, "gay rights," and the like as the most important issue. Because "gay rights" is so often defined as marriage, the majority of Tennesseans are going to continue either to oppose "gay rights" or to place our equality really far down the scale.

Dead letter until the courts get involved: Maybe it's just my opinion, but marriage equality is a dead letter in Tennessee until the courts get involved. We've got a state statute and a constitutional amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman. Given the proclivity of our state's GLBT community to send more money out of state to fight for equality than to invest it in Tennessee's fight, I don't see how it would be possible to raise enough PAC money and organize to repeal the constitutional amendment and the statute.

Straight voters and elected officials see a distinction: When given the opportunity, many straight voters and elected officials who may not support (or publicly support) marriage equality can support workplace protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. When TEP was working on the Metro Nashville non-discrimination ordinance, our opponents tried to make the issue about marriage. They even put stick figures holding hands on the stickers they wore into the Council hearings on the bill. But Council Members and the majority of the citizens in Nashville didn't buy it.

In fact, the justification for job protections rolls easily off the tongue. Consider what Memphis City Council Member Janis Fullilove said in an interview about the Memphis non-discrimination ordinance: "Every person has a right to make a living for his or her family or for themselves." We think that's a phrase that needs to roll off the tongues of more elected officials in Tennessee. We look forward to giving them that opportunity as we pursue more non-discrimination measures around the state.

Economic Development and Workplace Equality: Changing the law at the local, state, and federal levels to enshrine workplace protections is essential to any jobs agenda worth its salt, but it's not the only piece of the puzzle. Until we can get everyone in Tennessee and throughout the country covered, the GLBT community should take more of an interest in the economic development of our state. By recruiting Volkwagen to Chattanooga, Governor Bredesen may have done more for equality in Southeast Tennesssee than anyone ever has. Volkswagen scores a 100% on the Human Rights Campaign's 2010 Corporate Equality Index. Good paying jobs where you can be yourself and have benefits for your family are nothing short of a God-send in this very socially conservative part of Tennessee. Attracting these kinds of companies to Tennessee will help pave the way for lasting structural equality in our state.

A jobs agenda can be a winning equality agenda for Tennessee.

-Chris Sanders

There can be only one: Bredesen as the Highlander

The City Paper's Clint Brewer has his reasons, I'm sure. He continues to use the Odom-Bredesen war of words to slam Odom. But where is the analysis that helps us understand a Democratic governor who has a pattern of undermining Democrats?

No need to run against Senator Lamar Alexander, we heard over the last year and a half. And then there were those comments predicting failure as Speaker Naifeh worked out the cable bill this year. When asked to opine about Barack Obama, we were sent on shopping sprees to Wal-Mart followed by a feast at Waffle House. But it didn't end with the election. In fact, it just brought new opportunities to snipe at the House Democratic leader.

With two years left, the Governor may well be on his way to being the last one standing before he walks off the stage.

West Nashville vs. West Tennessee: Odom victorious

Colby Sledge of the Tennessean breaks the news that Rep. Gary Odom has emerged the winner in a close contest against Rep. Craig Fitzhugh for the House Democratic leadership post. Rep. Mike Turner was elected caucus chairman over Rep. Joe Armstrong.

Odom's victory represents another symbolic loss for Gov. Phil Bredesen who has been widely criticized for insufficient involvement in this fall's legislative races. Bredesen through his press secretary had recently expressed "trust" issues with Odom. Well, Governor, you've got a few weeks to work on that until the session begins. Please, take advantage of the time.

See also Ken Whitehouse.

The Gov's plea to Obama

The Governor's take on Barack Obama's win:

As for its meaning, I do have a respectful request for the president-elect this morning. The strategy that produced our national win came at a real cost to Democrats here in Tennessee. We lost seats in the Senate, and this morning we have the first Republican House since the civil-war era. With the red landslide here in Tennessee, and with many counties with Democratic officeholders voting in the high 60s and even 70s for McCain, it’s very hard to swim against that current.

The center has shifted in this election, but America still has cultural divides we need to bridge.

My respectful request is this: I ask you to now reach out to all those people in my state—and across America— who attend small-town churches, who shop at WalMart, but who weren’t quite there for you yesterday; make them too a part of your vision for America. They will increase your understanding of our wonderful country, they will strengthen your ability to govern, and they need you.

Governor says, "Simmer down."

Governor Phil Bredesen's reaction to the failure of the U.S. House of Representatives to approve the bailout:

In light of the House vote rejecting the bailout, what now?

Phil Bredesen, Gov. (D-Tenn.):

Stay calm, let the House leadership on both sides fashion some changes that will bring along more votes. Note to traders, investors, politicians: bad time for a herd mentality.

Thinking a like a senator

That's what our Governor has to say about John McCain...

Phil Bredesen, Gov. (D-Tenn.):

The obvious question is too important to get sidelined by reportorial cleverness: Ask “How do you intend to disengage our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan?” Follow up vague answers.

Extra credit:

McCain is thinking like a Senator, not a President. Way too much process, way too much insider baseball. Here in Tennessee, people are very scared by a complicated set of issues that are difficult to understand. This crisis, even more than most, cries out for frankness and leadership, but the straight talk express is on a siding somewhere.

Division among TN Clinton delegates

Betsy Reid, the whip for the TN Clinton delegate caucus, caused a minor stir on Wednesday when she announced to the group that she had changed her mind about voting for the Senator from New York, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

"She just lost her clout," said Sylvia Woods, chairwoman of the Knox County Democratic Party. "She should have kept her mouth shut, or she should step down." Woods' husband, Harold, also a pledged Clinton delegate, said he came to the convention promising to vote for the New York senator, "and that's what I'm going to do."

Woods, of course, just recently emerged from another controversy involving the possible disciplining of a 19-year-old party official who was seen at the victory party of a Republican family friend.

In a remark ironically destined for public consumption, Memphis delegate Rudi Scheidt said, "Vote your conscience," he told his fellow Clinton delegates. "Vote for whoever you want to vote for. But remember, this never took place. Because if they hear we're divisive … you do nothing but demean the Democratic Party and put (John) McCain in office."

Meanwhile, the Governor has been playing the reluctant chaplain of unity:

"Everywhere I'm going, I'm preaching - for lack of a better word - to people that this is the way it works in America," he said. "You have elections, and somebody wins, and when it's in a primary, you pull behind the primary victor."

See also Ken Whitehouse.

Ohio woman tells Bredesen she supports Biden

An Ohio paper catches up with Governor Phil Bredesen while he's stumping and stomping around the Buckeye state for Barack Obama. Prior to being publicly named as Obama's vice presidential pick, Biden received the strong endorsement of one voter Bredesen came across:

Linda Love, a retired Chillicothe Telephone employee, spoke with Bredesen Friday about her strong feelings Obama should choose Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Biden is one of three presumptive vice-presidential front-runners - Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and Virginia Gov. Tom Kaine also are on that short list.

"I told him if Obama picks Biden, I'll vote for him," Love said. "Otherwise, I'll not vote. I'm not stupid enough to vote for a Republican. Most of us were for (Hillary) Clinton, but when Obama got it, we had to switch gears."

Love feels 65-year-old Biden has the experience Obama lacks and Bayh, 52, and Kaine, 50, are too young.

"We need someone now who can do something. Our country is such a mess," Love said.

Quotation of the week

"When one of them is governor, they're welcome to make the determination about how you handle this..." --Governor Phil Bredesen referring to House Majority Leader Gary Odom and Minority Leader Jason Mumpower's calls for an independent investigation and the release of names in the THP background check scandal.

Disperse, there's nothing to see here.

More reactions to the Knoxville Church Shooting

The responses to the shooting at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church continue to roll in.

Out & About Newspaper features this moving account by Carla Lewis of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, who was present during the shooting. Pam's House Blend, a national GLBT blog based in North Carolina, analyzed the media's lack of clarity on what exactly is liberal or progressive about the congregation and reads the hints of an anti-gay motive. Mr. Kleinheider finds links to comments about the tragedy made by First Lady Laura Bush as she was visiting Nashville.

A Knoxville activist asked and received when he wrote Mayor Bill Haslam about acknowledging Knoxville's GLBT community. Haslam wasn't the only elected official to comment. Governor Phil Bredesen issued this statement:

Our prayers are with those who have been affected by this horrible event. We extend our sympathies to the families who lost loved ones and hope those who were injured make a full and quick recovery," Bredesen said.

District 20 House GOP primary

The Knoxville News Sentinel profiles the candidates running in the Republican primary for House district 20, three of whom have ties to the Blount County Commission. None of them wants tax increases and they all are against wasteful spending. Either they didn't say exactly where the waste is or their comments didn't make it into the piece.

Steve Hargis, who seems to have the most politically helpful connections (farming, Blount County Commision, and volunteer fire fighters) is running against Governor Bredesen:

Hargis says he is "not pleased with the way the governor is handling the budget" and with cuts to it. He says he intends to be "aggressive against taxes and also wasteful spending," which he said is "running wild.

"The economy is growing slower than the state budget," he said. "It's gotten out out of hand."

Maybe Hargis is objecting to the particular cuts the Governor made or maybe he's saying they weren't deep enough. It's not clear.

In 2006, the Governor won Blount County with 23,433 votes to Jim Bryson's 11,701.

If you don't want to attack your fellow Republicans in a primary and you don't want to run on President Bush's economic record, maybe all you can do is run against the Governor. But trying to label him a big spender and anti-growth is pretty counterintuitive.

Bredesen's Ark

Giving the writers of the Nashville Scene's Fabricator a run for their money, "confidential sources" have provided Tom Humprhey a draft of Governor Phil Bredesen's reply to outgoing Human Rights Commission member Robin Smith.

I certainly appreciate your statement that you believe in the "Great Flood" as related in the Bible and that "there is but one human race … . We are all related."

This reference to Noah and the Great Flood reminds me, as I stated to the General Assembly earlier this year, that Tennessee is like a ship on the ocean. Or an ark.

Sometimes we must trim the sails and throw the excess baggage overboard. Nothing personal or political, of course.

The Human Rights Commission is like a row boat. Everyone must use the oars equally. If only those on the left paddle, the boat will veer to the right. If you rock the boat, or overload it, all aboard may get wet.

Battle for TN House District 2

Rep. Nathan Vaughn (D-Kingsport) has kicked off his reelection bid. He will face Republican Tony Shipley in the general election. The article mentions House Minority Leader Jason Mumpower's interest in picking up the seat. Both candidates hope to run issues oriented campaigns. But what exactly will the issues be?

Doesn't Vaughn disrupt a challenge from the Right by being so pro-life/anti-choice himself? Republicans will argue that Vaughn may vote for abortion restrictions but that he helps elect a pro-choice/pro-abortion leadership. That argument will convince the die-hard activists, but how do you explain that in a simple way to the average voter, when most voters don't closely follow state legislative races to begin with?

Vaughn has two other advantages. He indicates that Governor Bredesen will campaign and raise money for him again. He also had more money than Shipley at the end of the first quarter--$56,300 to Shipley's $13,900. While we don't have the second quarter figures yet, I think the totals are telling. Vaughn has not been able to raise money from January through May because the Legislature was in session and he still has a huge lead over Shipley. Will the dollars match Republican talk of targeting this race?

Another question mark is the pocketbook issue. If gas prices continue to rise and the economy is still in the tank when the election rolls around, Vaughn may benefit from higher negatives for Republicans nationally, even in a GOP stronghold like East Tennessee.

KY Gov restores protections for GLBT state employees

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear restored protections to GLBT state employees yesterday. His executive order adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the protected classes in state employment. His predecessor Governor Ernie Fletcher had stripped the protections in 2006.

Beshear, a Democrat, said in a statement yesterday that the [Fletcher] policy meant that "a gay person could be fired simply for being gay. A person should be hired or dismissed on the basis of whether they can do the job. Experience, qualifications, talent and performance are what matter." The order says that the protection includes matters relating to "hiring, promotion, termination, tenure, recruitment and compensation."

Well, how about it, Governor Bredesen? Are you ready for Tennessee to join 27 other states and make sure state employees are hired and rewarded according to their merit without fear of discrimination?

Phil cutting half a bil

Andy Sher reports that Governor Bredesen may have to cut an additional $500 Million from the proposed budget. Revenue shortfalls are the culprit. The cuts may affect raises for state employees and some funding of higher education.

CP legislative wrap up: Judges, more judges, and DCS

The City Paper has a wrap up on some state level issues that is helpful in keeping up to speed. The first part deals with an argument between Rep. Rob Briley (D-Nashville) and Governor Bredesen about the openness of a screening panel for judges. Briley moved to keep them closed, while Bredesen wanted to shine some light on them.

Briley says if Bredesen wants the Judicial Selection Commission to have open meetings, then the governor should allow his personal deliberations and interviews when picking a judge to be open as well.

“My point was — the governor can’t have his cake and eat it too,” Briley said. “If it’s open, it’s open.”

The piece also covers the role of the Lt. Governor and the Speaker of the House in developing judicial nominees.

Finally, there is a summary of the Legislature's move to change civil service rules to protect DCS caseworker jobs in light of federal funding changes. The Governor thinks some layoffs may be needed, but primarily in the administrative ranks.

State NAACP calls for Sudan divestment

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080416/GETPUBLISHED0401/804160478

Despite opposition from the Governor and the State Treasurer, the NAACP is backing Sen. Tim Burchett's (R-Knoxville) bill that require the state pension plan to divest in companies that have business ties to Sudan.

Do liberals and Democrats get a pass on GLBT issues?

I read two pieces on this topic today. One was a national assessment in The Advocate found here: http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid52812.asp. The piece recounts in painful detail the heterosexism and transphobia of national politicians who are classified as either liberals or as Democrats. The author is careful to point out that " by no means do the instances of liberal homophobia cited above amount to the same sort of organized campaign of intolerance that is a sustaining principle of the religious right." But he goes on to say that the left overdoes its claim to have been helpful in passing GLBT rights legislation and whatever role they have played certainly doesn't excuse their frequent indifference and their occasional hostility to GLBT issues. I guess the question is whether liberals think they have the right or whether it is the GLBT community that gives liberals a pass.

The other piece is Liz Garrigan's column in this week's Nashville Scene titled "Phil, We Need to Talk: A public breakup with Tennessee's governor." http://www.nashvillescene.com/Stories/Columns/Garrigan/2008/04/10/Phil_We_Need_to_Talk/

She specifically mentions his silence on the adoption bill in the Legislature. She has called him out on this issue before.

It's one thing for a journalist to call out an official, of course. It's another thing for a minority community trying to win friends or at least not make new enemies. That still doesn't absolve us from being confrontational sometimes.

Equally distasteful to all--the cable compromise

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/NEWS02/80408156

It advanced in the House today. We're not promised lower rates, as the AT&T commercials have been advertising would come with competition. But we may get a slower growth in rates. I guess that's right up there with those rare days when gas goes down a penny a gallon.

Here's what the Governor had to say: "Gov. Phil Bredesen called the bill 'equally distasteful to all parties, which is always a good sign.'" Equally distasteful to all...I suppose that's the new standard for legislation. It's not exactly the compliment that Speaker Naifeh was probably looking for.

The Power 100

BusinessTN has just released its Power 100 issue. As far as I know, no one who is out made the list. Draw your own inferences about that. There were 26 elected or appointed public officials. Governor Bredesen tops the list. Attorney General Bob Cooper comes in at #41 with the piece noting that he "wrote an opinion in support of child adoption by same-sex couples." Thank you, Bob. Now if the Legislature would just back off its adoption ban bill, we'd be in good shape.

http://www.businesstn.com/pub/5_4/features/8515-1.html