CAPITOL VIEW
By Pat Nolan, NEWSCHANNEL5 Political Analyst
June 2, 2023
CONGRESS PULLS BACK FROM DEBT DEFAULT: THE SENATE FOLLOWS HOUSE TO APPROVE BIPARTISAN PLAN; A RACETRACK TOO CLOSE? A WEEK OF OMINOUS HEADLINES; VICKI
CONGRESS PULLS BACK FROM DEBT DEFAULT: THE SENATE FOLLOWS HOUSE TO APPROVE BIPARTISAN PLAN
After months of high drama and partisan rancor, a bi-partisan agreement has been reached in Washington to avoid the nation defaulting on our debts for the first time in history.
On Wednesday, the Republican House passed the bill with well over 300 votes. But it should be noted that more Democrats than Republicans voted for the bill to push it over the top. The Democratically-controlled Senate gave final approval to the measure late Thursday night with 63 yes votes.
The Republican-dominated Tennessee House delegation somewhat mirrored the national GOP split, voting 5-3 against the plan, with Memphis Democrat Steve Cohen voting yes.
President Joe Biden is set to sign the latest default bill into law….and just in time. The deadline for when the U.S. would have fallen into default on what it owes is Monday, June 5.
This is far from the first time this kind of political fight has dominated politics inside the Beltway. How will this latest deal be different from the others, except for the date it expires on, which is in January 2025 after the 2024 elections?
What else lies ahead, as those 2024 elections are increasingly taking center stage politically.
Joining me this week on INSIDE POLITICS to discuss these topics are Democratic analyst Larry Woods and Republican strategist Bill Phillips.
We welcome them both back to the program.
INSIDE POLITICS can be seen on its regular weekly schedule on NEWSCHANNEL5 PLUS.
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NOTE: The passage of the new debt ceiling plan protects the U.S. economy from several bad repercussions if the nation had defaulted. Meanwhile, the latest jobs report shows predictions of the job market shrinking are premature, once again.
A RACETRACK TOO CLOSE?
I can clearly remember how elated Mayor John Cooper was when he came on INSIDE POLITICS a couple of years ago. That’s when he announced how he had reached a final agreement with John Ingram of the Nashville MLS team that would build the new MLS stadium at the Fairgrounds.
The new stadium is located in very close proximity to the venerable Nashville Speedway which the Mayor also hopes to reinvigorate through a public-private partnership with the owners of the Bristol Motor Speedway. The plan would bring NASCAR racing back to the city for the first time in years.
The Mayor thought the MLS stadium and the Speedway being close neighbors would be a very good thing. But apparently, John Ingram does not think that.
As the Speedway proposal finally goes to the Metro Council for first reading consideration next Tuesday night, the MLS owner has sent a letter to councilmembers saying the Speedway plan is “a recipe for disaster.”
The Speedway proposal has been delayed in moving ahead for months, first stymied by the Metro Fair Board seeming to lack the votes to approve it. The Board also had diversity issues with the Mayor, the Vice Mayor and the Council engaged in a months- long fight over what kind of appointees should fill two seats.
Even with that resolved, the Speedway still did not come to the Council, as neighborhood opposition further slowed down Fair Board approval. Then, the Titan’s $2.1 billion roofed stadium and events center dominated all the attention at the Courthouse, until it was approved just a few weeks ago.
Now with just a few meetings left in this Council term, the Speedway bill was filed. After first reading consideration on Tuesday, second reading on the bill will be in July after the new city budget is approved.
And there is yet another complication. A new law passed by the Republican-dominated General Assembly voids a provision of the Metro Charter (adopted by voters a few years ago). The Charter provision requires any change in facilities at the Fairgrounds requires 27 or 2/3 vote of approval.
The new law passed by the Legislature requires just 21 votes. That would seem to make approving the Speedway plan, except Mayor Cooper, and the Metro Legal Department believe the new law violates the Home Rule provisions of the Tennessee Constitution, so they have filed a lawsuit to overturn. It appears the Mayor is seeking a quick decision, so the Council will know how many votes it will take to pass the Speedway deal. Except, courts don’t always work that quickly.
Add it all up, including the letter of opposition from John Ingram, and it looks like it will be a tall order to get Council approval this term for this third new major league sports facility in Nashville. If the Speedway doesn’t get third and final approval by the third Tuesday in August (August 15) the plan is dead unless the new mayor and council decide to reconsider it after they take office and begin their work this fall.
A WEEK OF OMINOUS HEADLINES
I have seen some quite ominous headlines this week:
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS A THREAT TO THE SURVIVAL OF MANKIND
This bluntly worded warning comes from the CEOs and leaders of the AI firms that are quickly revolutionizing the world. How long have they suspected this dire circumstance, while making money off AI? Did they think about warning us sooner? What kind of regulation do they have in mind? And how much time do we have left to act?
Speaking of running out of time in terms of global climate change, how about this headline: EARTH IS QUITE SICK NOW AND IN THE DANGER ZONE IN NEARLY ALL ECOLOGICAL WAYS
With those cheery thoughts in mind, what about the continuing challenges our children and grandchildren face in terms of their mental health in terms of recovering from the pandemic, learning loss, gun violence, and social media? The studies are ominous here as well.
The rest of the story in this regard is that, while the state of Tennessee in 2021 allocated $250 million to provide mental health services for K-12 students, in 2023 most of those funds are still sitting in the bank!
At the same time that Tennesseans are demanding common sense gun violence reform, our lawmakers keep filing court briefs that they don’t know what to do about the gun violence issue, unless the courts allows them to read the ravings of the Covenant School murderer. Funny, they didn’t ask for any kind of information in previous years when they passed the most gun permissive legislation in the nation?
Meanwhile, Metro officials are holding a series of public meetings on gun safety and violence to keep the issue top of mind for citizens as a special session of the General Assembly is set to convene in August.
Gun violence never takes a holiday. Even over the Memorial Day weekend there were multiple mass shootings across the nation.
Of course, even the loss of a single life by gun violence hits close to home. That includes the senseless shooting of a 4-year-old shot while she was riding in a car with family. The gunmen remain at large.
This has got to stop.
VICKI
It has been a bittersweet month at NEWSCHANNEL5.
After 33 years on the anchor desk, Vicki Yates is retiring.
It has been my honor and privilege to call her a colleague and a friend for almost 25 years.
She is a wonderful journalist and perhaps the kindest, sweetest person I have ever known.
Vicki once filled in for me at the last minute to interview Mayor John Cooper because I had a bad cold.
She did a great job, and I really appreciated her willingness to help.
After it was done, Vicki thanked me for e-mailing her the questions I had prepared. Heck, it was the least I could do. But that’s Vicki, always thinking of others and about how she can help.
She will truly be missed on the air, in the newsroom and throughout the NEWSCHANNEL5 viewing area.
Congratulations, Vicki on your historic, trail-blazing career and best wishes in all you do in the next chapter of your life, especially with traveling more, and with those grandchildren!
