Free Republic

Thom Throp is a Kingsport insurance agent who's sold over sixty Affordable Care Act plans. Like thousands of others, he logged on with great interest to read a story from The Tennessean newspaper about a Maryville couple forced to separate after 33 years of marriage so the wife could keep health insurance. "We are in a situation in trying to get as many people covered as possible. People are falling in the proverbial crack," Throp said. (snip) So if expanding Medicaid isn't the answer, then what is? Throp tells us, even in a tight economy, that couples like the Drains...

New research takes a look at decades of corruption convictions to find the crookedest states in the union. When we think of government corruption (as one tends to do), our biased minds often gravitate to thoughts of military juntas and third world governments. But, of course, corruption is everywhere, in one form or another. And it’s costing U.S. citizens big time. A new study from researchers at the University of Hong Kong and Indiana University estimates that corruption on the state level is costing Americans in the 10 most corrupt states an average of $1,308 per year, or 5.2% of...

The news that Howard Baker had passed at the age of 88 set off a kaleidoscopic swirl of memories, impressions, recollections and reflections -- so many it was surprising, for he was not a particularly memorable politician, and certainly not a colorful one. On the contrary, Howard Baker's great strength was an ability to meld into the background, to mediate between the political stars of his time, to serve rather than lead, to be the gray between black and white opposites, always the man in the middle, the one in the background when a president signs a bill into...

The wood frame of the Delta Queen steamboat creaks and groans as the old lady tugs passively against her moorings. Weather and time have taken their toll on the silent relic, which sits lashed to a storm-damaged quay along Chattanooga's Coolidge Park. Workers have long since battened down her hatches and blocked off her decks. The only sign of life is a fairly believable scarecrow, cobbled together using an old hat, a pair of boots and a duct-taped Dickies uniform. It sits in the shade with a fire ax across its lap to dissuade intruders. But the once-stately chunk of...

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul made yet another appearance Monday with Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander, who is facing a Tea Party primary challenger. While considered one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate, Alexander has been working in recent months to look more conservative. Before anyone could ask, Alexander denied that he was trying to get political help from the Tea Party darling. “We’re not here to endorse each other,” he said, without prompting. “Rand hasn’t asked me to endorse me for the President of the United States, and I haven’t asked him to endorse me for the senate. We’re here...

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden has proposed a three-month transportation bill. Three more months, he says, will give Congress a chance to figure out a long-term solution. The only problem is that Congress had three months three months ago and did nothing. Meanwhile, Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., have proposed to increase gas taxes by 12 cents a gallon. Considering that the gas tax hasn’t been increased in more than 20 inflation-filled years, this would seem to make sense.It doesn’t, however, because a gas tax increase assumes there is a shortage of funds for transportation. Instead, the real...

SEVIERVILLE — Four stalwarts of the nation’s conservative movement exhorted an appreciative Sevier County tea party crowd of several hundred Thursday night to stay true to their principles. The event had the feel of a pep rally at times, as the speakers cheered the U.S. as the greatest nation on earth. Then each laid out a litany of things wrong with the country, from failure to adhere to Christian governance to multiple scandals to the breakdown of the traditional family to excessive political correctness.

Bob Corker wants a problem-solver to run for president in 2016. Not by chance, that's how the Tennessee Republican and ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee describes his own role in the Senate. "Every senator has probably thought about it," Corker said about running for president. "All I really wish to see happen in 2016 is that we have a good president, great president for our nation. I hope someone steps forward that has the ability to solve problems—not just throw rhetoric out there." And despite serving in one of the least productive Senates in history, solving problems is...

Former Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr., a moderate Republican known as the politician who inquired what President Richard Nixon knew during the 1973 Senate Watergate hearings, has died. He was 88.

In the early 1990s, landscaper Horace Burgess bought some wooded land on the outskirts of Crossville, Tennessee. One of the bigger trees, next to a dirt road, caught his eye. He decided to build the world's largest tree house in its branches. [....] God doesn't make housing offers every day. Horace got himself ordained as a minister and went back to work. God showed Horace what the tree house would look like ("It was like a vision") but didn't tell Horace how big it would be. "If He had," Horace said, "I would've tried to talk Him out of it."...

A rally scheduled for Thursday night has all the makings of a political boon to Tennessee State Sen. Joe Carr, who's challenging Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in the Senate primary. Stars of the Tea Party, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, are headlining the event. It's being organized by the Servier County Tea Party, a group that hails from Rep. Phil Roe's (R-TN) R+25 congressional district. And the rally is scheduled for two days after the Mississippi runoff, which, if state senator Chris McDaniel wins, could give Carr additional political momentum. But Steve Osborn, the Chairman of the Sevier Country...

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is boldly defending his vote for the Senate "Gang Of Eight" immigration bill as he campaigns for re-election in Tennessee, after his Tea Party-backed primary challenger Joe Carr has made the issue a central point in his campaign. In an emailed statement to Breitbart News, Alexander issued a strong defense of his support for immigration reform – first published in the Knoxville News Sentinel. "We have amnesty today,” Alexander said. "Turning your head while 11 million people are already here illegally is perpetual amnesty. I voted along with 67 other United States senators to end perpetual...

On June 26th, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will headline an "America's Last Stand" Tea Party rally in Eastern Tennessee at the Sevierville Convention Center. The rally was scheduled to be held at Smokies Stadium, but was moved indoors due to weather concerns. The Sevier County Tea Party in association and JL Production will organize the event, and Palin will appear with with Judge Jeanine Pirro, Senator Rick Santorum, and Col. Allen West. Singers Jon Secada and John Michael Montgomery will provide the entertainment. There are only 7,500 seats available for the event. In 2010, Palin keynoted the National Tea...

Remember these sixteen names when they run for office again. The sixteen Republicans who voted to proceed were Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Richard Burr (N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), Susan Collins (Maine). Bob Corker (Tenn.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Dean Heller (Nev.), John Hoeven (N.D.), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), John McCain (Ariz.), Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Roger Wicker (Miss.). List courtesy The Hill.com. As reported by RedState yesterday, this bill would allow doctors to add a person’s name to the national database currently used for background checks, and list them as...

After Dave Brat's stunning upset over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) last week, Joe Carr, a Tennessee state representative who is challenging moderate Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in an August 7th primary, is seeing signs of momentum. Seven more Tennessee state representatives endorsed Carr on Monday, a week after Laura Ingraham, who helped propel Brat to his victory, praised Carr on her radio show. Middle Tennessee Representatives Sheila Butt (R-Columbia), Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), Courtney Rogers (R-Goodlettsville), Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna), Billy Spivey (R-Lewisburg), and Rick Womick (R-Rockvale) said Carr could repeat the successes of Brat and...

Dave Brat's shocking victory over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) last week has inspired conservative underdogs like Joe Carr, a Tennessee state Representative who is challenging establishment Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in an August 7th primary, to win their primaries against all odds.Carr, who represents a district in Middle Tennessee, appeared on Breitbart News Sunday and told Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow that he is taking on Alexander because Alexander represents the sense of "complacency" and "malaise" in D.C. while illegal immigrants and the Obama administration's lawlessness are assaulting the country's sovereignty.Carr has led on illegal immigration issues in...

The world we live in today is complex and the nation is obviously much more complex than it was in 1776. With over 300 million diverse people from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds living together, most viable public policy solutions of the modern era, don't fit neatly on a bumper sticker or get solved by simplistic slogans. I think most American people want responsible elected representatives to work in and through our democratic government institutions to address and solve important public problems while adhering to the principles in our founding documents, supporting free, but fair markets and fiscal...

Tennessee State Rep. Joe Carr, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), predicted that Alexander will go the way of House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor in an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Wednesday. Carr stated, “Sen. Alexander has a similar problem that Leader Cantor had in that he's out of touch with his Republican base in Tennessee.” Like Cantor’s primary challenger, Dave Brat, Carr says that immigration is a strong area of contrast between him and his primary challenger, he declared “the problem Lamar Alexander has and so many of the establishment Republicans have, is...

Washington remains in shock today, two days after an unknown college professor upset House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the Republican primary for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. The political earthquake is still reverberating around D.C. And many people are now asking, “Who is the next Dave Brat?” His name is Joe Carr, and he’s taking on Lamar Alexander, the liberal Republican senator from Tennessee.

The Mount Vernon Assembly – Indianapolis FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Skip Brown skip.brown@iga.in.gov 317-232-9521 The Mount Vernon Assembly to Meet at Indiana Statehouse June 12 and 13 INDIANAPOLIS (June 9, 2014) – More than 100 state legislators representing 33 states will meet at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on June 12 and 13 to continue establishing the rules and procedures needed for a future state-led convention for proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as authorized by Article V of the Constitution. The meeting is a continuation of efforts that began in December 2013 at George Washington’s historic Mount Vernon estate...