CAPITOL VIEW
November 16, 2023
By Pat Nolan, NEWSCHANNEL5 Political Analyst
INSIDE POLITICS LOOKS AT THE ALICE IN WONDERLAND FACTOR IN OUR POLITICS; MORE ON ALICE & WONDERLAND THIS WEEK; BACK ON THE HILL IN NASHVILLE; UPON FURTHER REVIEW; NEXT WEEK
INSIDE POLITICS LOOKS AT THE ALICE IN WONDERLAND FACTOR IN OUR POLITICS
As we approach the 2024 election year, our politics continue to be curiouser and couriouser, as Alice Wonderland says.
To give us his wisdom and insights on what’s happening, we welcome Dr. John Vile, who is a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University and Dean of the Honors College.
Our conversation will air on the regular weekend schedule for INSIDE POLITICS on NEWSCHANNEL5 PLUS.
Those times include:
7:00 p.m. Friday.
5:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
1:30 a.m. & 5:00 a.m. on Sunday.
THE PLUS is on Comcast Cable channel 250, Charter Cable channel 182 and on NEWSCHANNEL5’s over-the-air digital channel 5.2. We are also on DISH TV with the rest of the NEWSCHANNEL5 NETWORK.
One option for those who cannot see the show locally, or who are out of town, you can watch it live with streaming video on NEWSCHANNEL5.com. Just use your TiVo or DVR, if those live times don't work for you.
This week’s show and previous INSIDE POLITICS interviews are also posted on the NEWSCHANNEL5 website for your viewing under the NEWSCHANNEL5 PLUS section. A link to the show is posted as well on the Facebook page of NEWSCHANNEL5 PLUS. Each new show and link are posted early in the week after the program airs. I am also posting a link to the show each week on my Facebook page.We thank Dr. Vile for joining us again.
MORE ON ALICE & WONDERLAND THIS WEEK
Among the ongoing current examples of the strange things going on in our politics, that we discuss with Dr Vile, are this week in Congress.
It is not unusual for lawmakers to come up with a last- minute solution to avoid a government shutdown. But this time they “kicked two, not just one can down the road,” passing a spending measure that has two different end dates in the new year when Congress will again face shutdowns.
This is the brainchild of new Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson. And he won his first major legislative victory when he engineered bi-partisan support from both with Democrats in the House and Senate as well as from President Joe Biden in the White House.
Johnson got some support from House Republicans (although more Democrats voted for the bill than Republicans). Democrats liked the fact that the bill didn’t include any cuts or hot button policy add-ins that conservatives usually want to insert.
Over 90 Republicans still voted no in the House. This the same scenario that so angered GOP conservatives in a another spending-related bill a few weeks ago, they fired the previous House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. So why wasn’t Speaker Johnson fired? Apparently, the arch-conservatives are giving him a pass or mulligan on this one. But what will all sides do when the new spending bills expire in early 2024?
Another curious situation growing on the Hill is the growing anger among members that was actually manifested publicly twice on Tuesday. One incident involved former Speaker McCarthy and Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett of Knoxville. The other included a Oklahoma Senator and the head of the Teamsters who was testifying before a committee.
This unusual lack of civility among lawmakers is being blamed by some on former President Donald Trump who is increasingly promising he will “destroy” his opponents if he is re-elected. Mr. Trump is also describing those who disagree with him as “vermin.”
Curiouser indeed.
BACK ON THE HILL IN NASHVILLE
There were some curious, eyebrow raising stories this week back here in Nashville.
Due to the pandemic in the last few years, there’s been a pause in a governor and his administration taking overseas trips to promote Tennessee.
Governor Lee and others took such a trip to Italy and France back in June, and bill for it has created a stir, including that the flights and accommodations appear to be more lavish than what the state usually pays for.
This week saw more hearings about the state becoming the first in the nation to reject federal education funds. That would be about a billion dollars that now goes to help low income and students with disabilities.
The joint House and Senate committee holding the hearings was appointed by Lt. Governor and Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton. Sexton in particular is concerned there are too many “strings attached” to the federal monies and the state can fund what it needs from its own funds.
But except for two out of state special interest groups who testified on the final day of the hearings, there was almost no support for refusing the federal funds. Maybe where the support came from (out of state, arch-conservative groups) may tell you this effort is about playing to a political base for election year politics. But given who appointed the committee, don’t be surprised if there is still major legislation introduced next year for Tennessee to cutoff its political nose to spite its face and refuse the federal dollars, even though so far, the hearings have created more of whimper and certainly not a bang.
Meanwhile the two speakers did wind up at odds over the recent fatal shooting of a Belmont freshman, killed by a stray bullet. Speaker Sexton says a bill he was sponsoring during the recent special session on public safety would have prohibited the incident from occurring. But instead, his bill was one of several kept captive in the Senate as the upper chamber wanted to adjourn.
Lt Governor McNally denies the accusations even as the victim, Jillian Ludwig is being buried today
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Remember the recent statewide scandal when NEWSCHANNEL5’s INVESTIGATES Ben Hall exposed that conditions in the Tennessee Department of Children Services were so bad, young people in their charge were having to sleep on the floor of DCS offices.
The DCS Commissioner insured lawmakers a few weeks later the issue had been resolved. But now, working with whistleblowers in the department, Ben Hall reports the situation is not resolved, and where DCS’s young people may be living may be even worse conditions.
Ben’s revelations are raising new questions from state lawmakers.
NEXT WEEK
No Capitol View column next week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
The next CV will be out on Friday December 1.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
