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Baseball for May 06, 2006
Inside Baseball
Inside Baseball This Week
Cover Tennessee
A New Attorney General
On the Trail
Cover Tennessee
Knoxville News Sentinel columnist Tom Humphrey has it right:
The governor, who is also running for re-election, could use a little political cover, what with critics declaring him TennCareless and such. Thus, you'll also hear mutterings that Cover Tennessee would be more aptly called governor's cover.
Election years have an uncanny ability to produce bad public policy and 2006 will be no different than any of its brethren. Cover Tennessee is an election year ploy that will do little to increase access to healthcare if it doesn't work and if it is successful, will lead to tax increases.
On its face the plan looks like a winner, but questions about its financial viability abound. Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz and even the governor himself have conceded that they have only planned for three years of funding. Since taking office in 2003, the governor's budgetary calling card has been funding recurring expenses with recurring revenues. The Governor's proposal calls for using a TennCare savings account to fund the ongoing program. After being criticized for breaking his own rule, the state's funding board magically found just enough money to fund the program out of tax revenues of the recurring variety. It's funny how that kind of thing happens.
The Bredesen administration has also tried to alleviate funding fears by reassuring that if money dries up, the legislature can pass a tax increase on cigarettes. The reasoning behind taxing cigarettes holds that if the smokies are more expensive, people will consume them less. (Why can't liberals see the same principle when it comes to income?) It is arguably working since smoking rates are at their lowest in decades. Bredesen is pegging the revenue for his trophy healthcare plan to a diminishing source. What will he do then? Fortunately for him, Bredesen will have changed his title to former governor by then. When cigarettes aren't paying the bills, you can bet your income will.
Fiscal concerns aside, the plan is riddled with holes in the execution department. How much insurance will the proposed $150 monthly premium buy? Who are the insurance companies that will underwrite the program? Will they remain at risk or will the state assume risk as it did with TennCare? How will the state make sure the insurance companies aren't denying legitimate claims in order to maintain the affordability of the program? What if the program begins competing with private commercial plans? If it does compete, how will the state keep enrollment under the proposed 100,000?
Senate Republicans have raised these questions and more only to have them governor label them as grandstanding. The legislature is the rubber stamp committee for the world's smartest governor. Don't believe it? Just ask the governor. Sadly, it seems the Republicans may capitulate because they don't want to be seen as denying insurance coverage to those who need it. It is an election year after all.
The GOP is not alone in its doubts about Cover Tennessee. Sources tell me that members of the media, the lobbying corps and even some Democrats have lingering questions about the funding and effectiveness of Cover Tennessee. The only question is whether or not they will come to realize that, election year or not, bad policy never makes for good politics.
A New Attorney General
As reported here at TPB, Attorney General Paul Summers will not seek another appointment to his post. The Tennessee Supreme Court will select his replacement next year. By that time, Bredesen will have appointed three of that body's five members.
A prominent attorney recently announced that she will surrender her spot in the legislature. Governor Bredesen appointed her husband to a judicial post. The former legislator left the door open to continued service in state government. She has allies on the Supreme Court and presumably more on the way with the Bredesen appointments. Her name is Kim McMillan.
Do we need more evidence that the Attorney General should be elected by the people rather than annointed by an unelected body?
On the Trail
Nine Republicans voted for Jimmy Naifeh to remain Speaker of the House last year. One of those, Chris Newton, went to jail for his role in the Tennessee Waltz bribery sting and another, Russell Johnson of Loudon County, will not seek reelection, leaving seven members of the Naifeh Republican Gang. If Mike Bell has his way, that number will dwindle to six.
Bell will face off against eight term incumbent Bob McKee in the Republican primary for the 23rd House district which consists of McMinn County and part of Monroe. McKee is one of Naifeh's closest allies on either side of the aisle. He rarely breaks ranks with the Speaker and almost never does so on critical issues.
McKee has been blessed with clear sailing to reelection every year since 1990. His only opponent in all that time was a Libertarian in the 2000 contest. The unfortunate byproduct of that is McKee's loss of touch with his district. He is not as well known in his district as most longtime incumbents because he has never had to run a race that would move his name identification. Many active Republicans have grown weary of McKee's support for Naifeh but Bell will be challenged to carry that message to casual primary voters who will turn out in droves because of races at the top of the ballot.
Bell is a blue collar conservative, having worked in construction and farming for most of his life. He's also a volunteer firefighter, a significant political base in the rural 23rd district. I first met him on Capitol Hill where he was advocating for homeschoolers and pro-family causes. He has done a good job cultivating an active base of volunteers who are busy manning the phones and knocking on doors. Bell regularly shows up at community events with upwards of 20 volunteers in tow. Because McKee has been in session, Bell has had most of those events to himself.
Most challengers face an uphill battle because of a significant money disadvantage. Bell will be no different. While McKee's most recent financial disclosure shows only $14,000 on hand, all of his most recent contributions came from PAC's and his incumbency ensures that more is on the way. Bell won't have to outraise McKee. He just has to raise enough to let voters know that their Republican State Representative rarely acts like one.
Since 2000, the House Republican Caucus has become decidedly more conservative with several members closely allied with the other party retiring or being retired by the voters. This race will let us know if the conservative tide has reached its crest. Republican legislators who ostensibly operate as Democrats have found it tough to win a primary election. The trend will continue this year in the southeast corner of our state.
Bell wins it.
