Tennessee

Tennessee Republicans
by Grace Sankar

           Tennessee, also known as the Volunteer State, was the 16th state to enter the Union in June 1796. It has a population of 5,320,000 (estimate as of 1996), and a median household income of $24,807. Nashville, the capital, is the religious publishing center of the United States and is the home of country music. Its largest city, Memphis, also has a musical tradition – jazz. It was also home to Elvis Presley, and the Civil Rights Museum is built on what was once the site of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968. Because of its location in southeastern USA, it is linked culturally with the South and its 926 square miles of river systems tie it closely to the North. In 1933 the Federal Government established the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) which, besides improving navigation and flood control, gave the state its primary export – electrical energy. However, the TVA sparked a controversy regarding Federal intervention in State Affairs, which has not yet been resolved. Besides electrical energy, the state produces chemicals, food products, machinery, textiles as well as crops such as tobacco, cotton and soybeans.
           The North-South division in Tennessee originated during the Civil War and this division is reflected in its political and cultural life. Counties situated in the Eastern part of Tennessee were allied with the Union and are still loyal to the Republican Party, while the counties in central and west Tennessee had large plantations with southern orientation and therefore were, and still are, mainly Democrats. The Democrats have always been the dominant party in Tennessee, however, comparisons of the two recent presidential elections (1992, 1996) show the Republicans gaining ground. The change towards the Republicans began in the early 1970’s in west Tennessee and has extended to central Tennessee. This is due in part to heavy industrialization in what was once mainly agricultural. In 1996, the Clinton-Gore ticket won Tennessee by a 48% - 46% margin but the Republicans retained a 5-4 majority in Congress (there are 9 congressional districts in Tennessee).
           The leader of the Tennessee Republican Party is John B “Chip” Saltsman Jr. and the vice-chairman is Nancy Strawn. There are also several organizations such as the Tennessee College Republicans and the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women that are affiliated with the Republican Party. Tennessee’s Governor Don Sundquist is republican, and of the 99 members in the Tennessee General Assembly, 40 are republicans. The Tennessee House Republicans, like their party, have pledged to represent Tennesseans in an efficient manner and hold themselves to the Republican principles of personal responsibility, limited representational government and citizen’s involvement in government. The Republican Party of Tennessee’s motto is “Government of the People.” They also believe that economic growth and prosperity are vital to the success of Tennesseans, that the free marketplace leads to economic growth and state regulation of commercial business, while essential to prevent abuses, should be fair.
           The Tennessee Republican Party has more or less the same platform as the Republican National Party (RNP). They are committed to limited taxation for its citizens. To this end its Governor has proposed, in his State of the State address, a Tax Relief and Fairness Act. This act would remove sales tax on grocery food and create a Fair Business Tax. This would exempt the first $50,000 made by businesses from taxes. This exemption would affect small business, sole proprietorships and family farms all of whom would not owe taxes or have to file a return. This will also create more jobs and Tennessee would have one of the lowest business tax rates in America. People would be able to keep more of the money they earn. The Republicans feel that taxes are a major reason that families are stressed. By giving Americans a tax relief, they can keep more of what they earn and in turn work fewer hours and spend more time with their families.
           Education is of vital importance to the Republicans along with a safe environment for learning. They believe that states and not the Federal Government should be making decisions regarding the schools. They have proposed the Education Flexibility Act – EdFlex, which eliminates Federal red tape and bureaucracy.   Tennessee Republicans like their national counterpart feel that teachers and parents should work together in the educational process. They are also committed to improving higher education and to student/teacher safety in the classroom.
           The Governor and the House Republican caucus believe in promoting the wellness of the Tennessee citizens. They believe that the citizens are their greatest and most productive resource and that they should be protected. With this in mind, they have created affordable health care – TennCare. TennCare has provided 400,000 Tennesseans, whom otherwise had no health insurance either due to ineligibility or unaffordability with coverage. In his State address, Gov. Sundquist reported that child immunization had risen while teen pregnancy and infant mortality had fallen. Affordable health care is one of the goals of the Republican National Party, and they have among other things recommended that legislation be passed to protect patients from HMO abuses and to ensure their access to timely medical care. The Governor also considers the environment to be important to the welfare of his citizens and has pursued policies that would improve the quality of air and provide clean public drinking water systems.
           The domestic issues discussed above are pertinent to Tennessee Republicans and reflect the RNP’s ideology. However, on the issue of foreign policy, their stance is the same as the RNP. Foreign policy has always been the domain of the President and he alone is the representative of the United States in these affairs. However, Congress can and does have a voice in how funds such as foreign aid is spent. According to Rep. S. Callahan R-Ala., chairman of the House Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee has said “foreign aid programs are not entitlements and must be subject to the same scrutiny as domestic programs” (CQ weekly 1627). Since the Republicans took control of both the House and the Senate, there has been a gradual cutback in the budget for US foreign aid program. They are in favor of military assistance and anti-narcotics programs rather than funding for development. For them, this type of aid would be a part of the defense budget. Loans made to Russia by the International Monetary funds were, according to the Clinton Administration, to assist in promoting a peaceful and productive free market economy instead the Russian economy has become corrupt. This has caused Republican leaders to advocate close monitoring of future loans (CQ weekly. 2174).
           One of the Republican philosophies is that Government should be held accountable for maintaining a responsible economy and that excessive taxation, inflation and Government waste oppresses citizens. They also encroach on the individual rights, liberties and properties of citizens. The Governor of Tennessee, the House Republican Caucus and the Tennessee Republican Party have pledged themselves to ensure that the Tennesseans are not affected by such encroachments. The policy such as the Tax relief and Fairness Act, which reduces the tax burden of Tennesseans, reflects their commitment to this philosophy.