May 22, 2002

Broken Promises

The road to the brink of a state income tax started with Gov. Don Sundquist's broken promise. Yesterday, 45 state legislators - eight Republicans and 37 Democrats - cast a vote to violate your constitutional right to not have your income taxed. By doing so, they violated their own oath to uphold the state constitution, which nowhere authorizes the legislature to tax your income. Here is the list of those legislators who so badly want a billion more dollars to spend that they'll gladly break promises, eviscerate the state constitution, ignore seven decades of consistent and unanimous judicial precedent, and agree that earning a living in Tennessee is a state-granted privilege rather than a God-given right, in order to siphon money from your wallet with an income tax.

Not one of them should ever be elected to any position of public trust ever again. All of them should be targeted for defeat in this or the next election.

Republicans voting for the Income Tax
Ralph Cole, Elizabethton; Ronnie Davis, Newport; Stancil Ford, Talbott; Steve McDaniel, Parkers Crossroads; Bob Patton, Johnson City; Raymond Walker, Fairfield Glade; Keith Westmoreland, Kingsport; and Zane Whitson, Unicoi.

Democrats voting for the Income Tax
Joe Armstrong, Knoxville; Stratton Bone, Lebanon; Kathryn Bowers, Memphis; Rob Briley, Nashville; Henri Brooks, Memphis; Tommie Brown, Chattanooga; Gene Caldwell, Clinton; Carol Chumney, Memphis; Ronnie Cole, Dyersburg; Barbara Cooper, (Memphis; Charles Curtiss, Sparta; John DeBerry, Memphis; Lois DeBerry, Memphis; Craig Fitzhugh, Ripley; Joe Fowlkes, Cornersville; Ken Givens, Rogersville; Tommy Head, Clarksville; Ulysses Jones, Memphis; Mike Kernell, Memphis; Matt Kisber, Jackson; Edith Langster, Nashville; Butch Lewis, Manchester; Mark Maddox, Dresden; Kim McMillan, Clarksville; Larry Miller, Memphis; Paul Phelan, Trenton; Shelby Rhinehart, Spencer; Don Ridgeway, Paris; Randy Rinks, Savannah; Bobby Sands, Columbia; Johnny Shaw, Bolivar; Harry Tindell, Knoxville; Joe Towns, Memphis; Brenda Turner, Chattanooga; Larry Turner, Memphis; John White, Lawrenceburg, and Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, Covington.

There also were good guys (and ladies) in this fight. Those who voted against the income tax, thereby upholding your constitutional rights and their oath of office, are:

Republicans voting against the Income Tax
William Baird, Jacksboro; Mae Beavers, Mount Juliet; H.E. Bittle, Knoxville; Diane Black, Hendersonville; Jim Boyer, Corryton; Dewayne Bunch, Cleveland; Steven Buttry, Knoxville; Glen Casada, College Grove; Chris Clem, Chattanooga; David Davis, Johnson City; Bill Dunn, Knoxville; Steve Godsey, Blountville; Mark Goins, LaFollette; Jamie Hagood, Knoxville, Tre' Hargett, Bartlett; Beth Harwell, Nashville; Russell Johnson, Loudon; Joe Kent, Memphis; Joe McCord, Maryville; Bob McKee, Athens; Richard Montgomery, Seymour; Jason Mumpower, Bristol; Chris Newton, Cleveland; Doug Overbey, Maryville; Bubba Pleasant, Arlington; Dennis Roach, Rutledge; Donna Rowland, Murfreesboro; Charles Sargent, Franklin; Larry Scroggs, Germantown; Jack Sharp, East Ridge, and Paul Stanley, Memphis; Curry Todd, Collierville; Jim Vincent, Soddy Daisy, and Bobby Wood, Harrison.

Democrats voting against the Income Tax
John Arriola, Nashville; Gene Davidson, Adams; Dennis Ferguson, Kingston; Tim Garrett, Goodlettsville; Jere Hargrove, Cookeville; John Hood, Murfreesboro; Mike McDonald, Portland; Gary Odom, Nashville; Pete Phillips, Shelbyville; Phillip Pinion, Union City; David Shepard, Dickson; Mike Turner, Nashville; Ben West, Hermitage; John Mark Windle, Livingston; and Les Winningham, Huntsville.

Four Democats voted "present," which is the same as abstaining. All four initially voted no, but were pressured to change their vote in order to keep the bill alive. The cowards who caved were: Frank Buck, Dowelltown; George Fraley, Winchester; Mary Pruitt, Nashville; and John Tidwell, New Johnsonville.

Nashville Democrat Sherry Jones, who is opposed to the Income Tax, was absent for the historic vote because she is recovering from serious injuries sustained in a recent auto accident. Had she been there, the Income Tax would have received 50 NO votes and be dead for the year.

I got the above list from The Tennessean web site.