Posted on 11/10/2004 9:52:53 AM PST by Ultrconservative
Just watched Phil Bredesen at a news conference in Nashville.
He announced that begining in January and end in June (July?) of 2005, Tennessee will withdraw from it's TennCare (HillaryCare Lite) Program.
Those that qualify, will transition to the Federal medicare (medicaid) programs and about 435,000 low income citizens will no longer receive free medical insurance from the states' taxpayers.
Bredesen is so pragmatic and practical, it is hard to believe he is a Demoncrat.
In Tennessee, we do have quite a few DINOs.
They still hold on to the past days when Dems ran the south.
I have been relatively impressed with Bredeson. The RATS would be smart to run him in 2008. But, I imagine he is too conservative for them to consider---he would never make it out of the primaries.
I'm worried about it being a bluff too, but remember, the only way the bluff works is if the advocacy groups will all agree to be reasonable. Since they are socialists it's very unlikely they will be reasonable and I think it's more likely Tenncare is dead than not.
Meanwhile, the Republicans in Tennessee act more like Democrats, ala Sundquist and Knox County Mayor Ragsdale who extorted the voters to vote for one tax or the other. I will personally campaign against him even if I have to vote for the first Democrat in my life.
I have to give it to Bredesen he is a fiscal conservative unlike Sundquist, the supposed Republican. So far, he hasn't pressed any Democratic social agenda that I'm aware. My only concern is would he break it out in a second term where he has no fears of being reelected.
Of course it works. They just didn't do it right or try hard enough like all of the socialist countries.
Phil Bredesen is a pleasant improvement over RINO Don Taxquist. The Democrats should nominate him for President in 2008 but they won't. They seem to like him down in Tennessee for the way he's kept government spending and taxes in check.
Exaclty..
Bredesen should easily win re-election in Red State Tennessee in 2006. He's one of the Democratic Party's rising stars.
He's shown himself to be better than Taxquist. Taxquist left a toxic legacy that makes TN voters reluctant to entrust the state government to a Republican anytime soon.
Its a valid concern. But Bredesen will probably have his eye on a presidential run if re-elected and my guess he'll tout his fiscal and cultural conservative message to the national party. If the Democrats don't nominate him, I don't see how they can pick up the heartland in 2008. He bears watching.
Look for TennCare to re-tooled and re-introduced as Bredesen's brand new baby. You bet he is positioning himself for bigger things. He doesn't have the backing of the big kahunas in the DNC, so who knows if that he makes some noise, if it will be heard at all?
There is still reason to be wary of what comes next.
Big Head Ned left this steaming turd. Taxquist didn't have the cajones to do anything about it.
Ahhh. Thanks for posting that.
It sure sounds to me like Bredesen is bluffing. This is a tactic.
The "still a glimmer of hope" stuff is a dead give-away.
Taxquist had the cajones to try to cram an income tax down Tennessee's throat.
If Bredesen keeps this kind of thing up I may vote for him.
Bredesen is only a Democrat because that has been the party in power in Tennessee for millions of years. His big business background means that he thinks fiscally more like a Republican. I expect that he is rather liberal on social issues like abortion and gay marriage. If he wants to make a national run, he'll likely switch parties.
I think I found a Dem I can vote for.
I've never trusted this guy as far as I could throw him. He only won in '02 because the 'Rat hack Attorney-General refused to enforce campaign financing laws, which he broke without impugnity. The GOP continues to gain strength in TN despite its incompetent and headless leadership and he may be in for an unpleasant ride starting in January.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.