The Tennessee General Assembly reconvenes today in Nashville. With it come hordes of lobbyists roaming the halls. They are issuing “invitations” to events, drinking parties and perhaps other opportunities — all legal of course! They are using their understanding of the legislative process and their corporate moneys to force policy in the direction that their clients are paying for.
Back home, Tennessee taxpayers are headed to work, wondering when the first credit card bills from Christmas will start rolling in. They have little idea of what will be taking place at the State Capitol and new legislative offices over the next few months and most don’t have time to worry – even if they should. What they do know is that they are at the mercy of the 132 people sitting in committee hearings and voting in the chambers who are in too many instances to grow government rather than shrink it.
At TFA, what we want them to know is that many of these same lawmakers have seen the “writing on the wall” and are not seeking re-election. With the Governor term-limited and the draining of the swamp in Washington, D.C., establishment Republicans are fleeing the state Capitol. Perhaps 25 to 30% of the existing legislators are quitting at the end of the next few months or are trying to grasp a different or higher office.
Part of the problem is that many of those who are at their core Establishment oriented, who are primarily “Big Business over the Tennessee family”, who support the massive expansion of Tennessee’s operating budget and who have refused to enacted pro-2nd Amendment laws over the last 8 years are either still running or, worse, their clones are.
These Establishment candidates never claim to be the Establishment candidate. They always, always claim falsely to be and identify as a “conservative.”
Indeed, it appears that we have candidates for Tennessee’s highest offices who are known and proven liars, yet they have solid support from within the party’s Establishment core. It appears that we have candidates who would take no action to turn the tide of illegal immigrants and would even give them taxpayer funded college tuition, yet they have solid support from within the party’s Establishment core. We have candidates who have taken no stance on Heritage Protection, yet they have solid support from within the party’s Establishment core. Of primary interest to TFA members, we have candidates who have either fought against your 2nd Amendment protected rights or who have no clue what they are, yet they have solid support from the party’s Establishment core.
If you want to know why Tennessee’s laws reject simple 2nd Amendment principles and are falling further behind the laws in other states … the answer is that the Establishment Republicans have been in control for the last 8 years.
The August Republican primaries will determine who will be setting the agenda for the state of Tennessee – perhaps for the next decade or more. Will there be more Establishment domination or will conservatives move a constitutional, liberty-focused agenda forward, setting the tone for other states to fight back against an oppressive “swamp”?
The answer to that question in is your hands. Will you join the Tennessee Firearms Association in surfacing and supporting conservative State House and State Senate members as well as the only conservative running for Governor, Mae Beavers? Will you support a proven conservative, Joe Carr, in the current special election against an Establishment operative in the pending race to select a replacement for Senator Jim Tracy?
Will you reach out to your family and friends and remind them that the future of Tennessee is in your hands?
Will you remind them that if they do not engage, the Lobbyists and Special Interests and Big-Money Establishment Republicans will continue control the outcome and take Tennessee further down a path of progressive demise?
TFA has been reaching out to current conservatives already announced as candidates and is in the process of surfacing others who could enter primaries against Establishment Republicans. We have already planned a Candidate Training School for January 20 to assist in preparing many of these candidates for their races ahead. We will be providing financial support for campaigns that demonstrate serious attention to doing what is necessary to win.
We need our members to support these candidates with money and volunteer efforts. We need our members to engage their elected Representatives and Senators as we once again try to liberate Tennesseans from the boot of government, seen every day in unconstitutional State permitting and continuing gun-free-zones. We need our members to support TFA financially as we extend our mission statewide.
Watch for our updates as the General Assembly begins its work. Encourage your friends to get informed and to sign up for the free TFA Legislative updates.
Click here for details regarding the Candidate Training School. We need you there if you want to get on board the train. This is going to be a great year for conservatives and supporters of the 2nd Amendment!
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