Live from Music Row, Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio for another edition of Crom’s Crommentary.
CROM CARMICHAEL:
Michael, this commentary is really adding to the guests that you had on the show as I was driving in talking about the courts. And the title of this Wall Street Journal article is “The Battle for State Supreme Courts.”
And it points out that in many states where they elect their members of the Supreme Court, the Democrats are trying to pick people who will legislate from the bench. Surprise, surprise.
And they give an example of an egregious decision. And this is where in Pennsylvania, in the 2020 rewrite of the election law – now, the election law, the state statute in Pennsylvania, clearly states that mail ballots must be received by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. It’s unequivocal. That’s what it says.
And the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania said, we don’t really care what it says. By a four-to-three decision they decreed that because of COVID there were no exceptions. Pennsylvania declared that ballots could arrive three days later without a postmark – and that’s key, without a postmark – to be considered valid. And so the state Supreme Court of Pennsylvania took the law and just simply ignored it for their own personal reasons. And then this goes on, talks about other examples, but there’s a paragraph in here that is important to me.
It says Republicans are now trying to play catch-up. The Republican State Leadership Committee in 2019 helped to block the last effort to capture the Wisconsin Supreme Court. This year, their court bowed to the legislative redistricting map.
The article, though, goes and points out to me that it shows the Republicans are always playing defense. So this gets to the question that you ask, what can Republicans do with these elite leftist law schools that are really stifling debate?
And the answer deals with the tax code. You can take away their tax-exempt endowments and you can also make a dramatic change in student loans if they don’t adhere to the policies of the federal government.
This is more than accepting the status quo. This is becoming proactive against those people. If they want a big government, if they want to support big government, then by golly, they simply should be the ones who help pay for it.
Listen to today’s show highlights, including this interview:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Supreme Court of Pennsylvania” by Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.
Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Congressman Scott Cepicky to the newsmakers line to weigh in on Major League Baseball’s decision to withdrawl from Georgia, cancel culture, and the upcoming agenda in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Leahy: We are joined on our newsmaker line, by our good friend, state Representative Scott Cepicky from Maury County. Scott, welcome to The Tennessee Star Report.
Cepicky: Michael, how are you doing today?
Leahy: Well, I’m doing great. You are, of course, our favorite state legislator who is a former professional baseball player. You played for the AA Nashville Express and the AAA Nashville Sounds and almost made it to the bigs had not been for a trade between the Chicago White Sox and the Montreal Expos that brought Tim Raines to Chicago. I just got to ask you, what are they thinking in Major League Baseball to cancel the All-Star Game in Atlanta?
Cepicky: Well, you know, Michael it is very troubling what’s happening in professional sports right now and the hypocrisy of all of these other corporations. So you know as well as I do and your listeners, let’s talk about Delta Airlines. If you’re going to go pick up your ticket at Delta Airlines the first thing they ask you for is your ID. Or if you’re going to go to a Nashville Sounds baseball game and you are going to pick up your tickets at will call the first thing they’re going to ask you for is your ID to prove who you are.
I think Georgia has done just common sense. What people are wanting is, hey, we’re not denying anybody the ability to go vote. Just make sure you bring your ID to prove who you are so you’re able to vote. And I think Major League Baseball is really overstepping the boundaries here. And then you mentioned how they are going to Coors Field in Colorado that has voter ID laws.
Leahy: It doesn’t make any sense to me. And what’s troubling to me, you are a member of the Tennessee General Assembly, and according to the United States Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution, election procedures and election laws are the responsibility of the Tennessee General Assembly for federal elections and for state and local also for the Tennessee General Assembly and the governor. What is it with these Fortune 500 companies that are so woke and they think they are the ones who set the rules about elections? What’s happening with that?
Cepicky: Well, my dad taught me a long time ago, he said, Scott, always understand what role you play and stay in your lane. And you’re right. The General Assembly is the one that affects the laws on elections. And the corporations are the ones that hire people to work in Tennessee. Michael, the last time I checked, we don’t have a problem with corporations or people moving to Tennessee because of the laws we have and the lack of oversight of laws.
We have no state income tax and the loan tax structure here in Tennessee is very attractive for corporations to move here. And for that matter, if you look at Georgia with the environment they have Coca-Cola is there. Delta Airlines is there. CitiBank is there and major corporations are there because of the laws that they all live under, but they’re very quick to bite the hand that provides those opportunities.
Leahy: What is the general attitude among your colleagues in the Tennessee General Assembly when they see a woke ridiculous decision by Major League Baseball, by Delta, and by Coca-Cola, to try and force sovereign states to do things that they think are better for the general population?
Cepicky: Well, I don’t speak for all the members, but I know a great deal of us are concerned about how this whole culture is and this cancel culture. If you disagree with them, they want to shut you down right away. And that’s not the way our country was founded. We were founded on differing opinions and trying to find the middle ground. And now there’s no middle ground either.
If you agree with them, then they give you the thumbs up. If you disagree with them, then they want to cancel you out and they want to call you a racist or a bigot. I think we’ve got to get past that as a country. I mean, do you see the poll just like I do? This is probably the most divided our country has ever been, and we need to start to work together towards making our country as great as it used to be.
Leahy: Yeah, I agree with you completely. If I can turn the corner a little bit on that topic and go to the Tennessee General Assembly. I think the chairman of the Education Committee is doing a great job there. What is going to be happening in the last couple of weeks of the Tennessee General Assembly? What’s on your agenda?
Cepicky: Well, in education we worked very hard to make sure that we just don’t overburden our teachers and administrators with just more things to do. We are laser-focused on K-3 education, trying to make sure that all kids, no matter where they come from, no matter what background they have, all children will be able to read, write, and do math so that they can prosper in the four through 12-grade levels.
We are working on textbooks, making sure that they align with our standards and curriculums are aligned to our standards. And lastly, the supplemental materials that you hear that teachers will inadvertently pull something off the Internet that’s confrontational or questionable, and it gets the LEA in trouble that now supplemental materials will have to align the Tennessee standards and our values.
So a lot of work has been done in education. We had a special session with literacy and going back to summer school and getting kids help with tutoring. We are all in. We are all in with making sure our kids know how to read, write, and do math. And then yesterday on the House floor I thought we did something rather appropriate as we recognized Dolly Parton as the first lady of literacy in Tennessee with all she’s done with the Imagination Library.
I think over 152 million books have been distributed through the Imagination Library and 1.7 million Tennesseeans have had the opportunity to experience Imagination Library, including my two children. So a lot of things happening. We’re probably four weeks away from wrapping up the session.
Leahy: You mentioned Dolly Parton. It’s interesting because Scooter and I were talking a little bit about Dolly Parton. Everybody in America thinks highly of Dolly Parton. She’s done a remarkable job not just for the state of Tennessee, but for the country with her literacy efforts.
Cepicky: Oh, absolutely. I mean, as an elected official, I don’t want to get caught up in your position here. I can talk for two hours on education, but Dolly Parton can come up to a microphone and speak for two minutes which weighs 10 times more heavily on literacy. And so we just wanted to make sure that Dolly knew that we appreciated her efforts in education. She knows how important it is for Tennessee to be able to read, write, and do math. And we just wanted to make sure that she felt appreciated by the state of Tennessee.
Leahy: What other big things do you see happening in the final three or four weeks of the Tennessee General Assembly?
Cepicky: Well, you know, the permitless carry. And I’m going to say its permitless carry has passed the House and Senate. It’s gone on to the governor’s desk. There are other bills. Criminal justice reform. There’s a bill coming through the pipeline.
Leahy: I have one question for you. I saw that the House passed what I think is a very good bill yesterday to provide a formal review process for the constitutionality of executive orders from the president. What’s your take on that?
Cepicky: You read my mind. That was the one I was trying to remember. Government operations, the House passed and we’ll have the ability to look at all the executive orders or, for that matter, any law that’s passed by the federal government to make sure it doesn’t infringe on our Tenth Amendment rights or, for that matter, it’s constitutional. There was another bill that’s making its way that will be filed here shortly on vaccine passports opposing those in the state of Tennessee.
Leahy: I saw the bill to review the constitutionality of executive orders coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the office of the President. The bill passed 70 to 23, mainly along party lines. But there were two Democrats who voted for the bill. State Representative Johnny Shaw from Boliver, but also John Mark Windle. What a great guy he is.
Cepicky: He has been there, I think since Abraham Lincoln was born. (Leahy laughs)
Leahy: I will tell him you said that if we get him in here.
Cepicky: He has his principles and he will not be swayed from his principles, which is very admirable to him. And sometimes his principles do not align with this party, and he’s not afraid to stand up and take that vote. And he sits two spaces in front of me on the House floor. He’s very well respected up there, the General Assembly. And obviously, he’s well respected by his constituents because they keep sending them back up there year after year after year.
Leahy: When you sit down next to him today on the House floor, just say tell him, hey, please, come in. Michael Patrick Leahy wants you to come in studio on The Tennessee Star Report. Will you do that for us?
Cepicky: I will do that Michael.
Listen to the full second hour here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Live from Music Row Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Crom Carmichael and lead political columnist for The Epoch Times, Roger Simon to the studio to speculate what will occur in the upcoming joint session of Congress and the illegal election law changes made by specific states. They also discussed whether or not criminal penalties will be mandated going forward for any future unlawful changes.
Leahy: Welcome back to the Tennessee Star Report. I am joined in the studio here by Crom Carmichael and Roger Simon. We were talking a little bit about what’s going to happen on Wednesday. Crom when these 12 senators get up and it looks like over a hundred members of the House get up in the joint session chaired by Vice President Pence. When they get up and say okay, we’re not going to we’re going to eject to the certification the six states and we want you to set up this 10-day commission to do an audit. What do you think’s going to happen?
Carmichael: Well, I think a lot depends on who gets to vote how and how the vote is tabulated. I don’t think Pelosi will go for a commission. (Simon laughs) I mean, I don’t you know, I don’t think she will. And so the question then becomes in this is what we talking about before. I don’t know what the procedure is. Based on what I heard on Maria Bartiromo’s show is that there are five minutes of debate for each state.
So if there are six states that are contested then you take whatever the amount is that you’re debating for a state and multiply that by six. So that can slow things down considerably. And also put a lot of people on the spot. Because this will all be on the public record. I think that this is being done for a variety of reasons and the most important is that the American people need transparency. We absolutely had transparency in the 2000 election.
That vote got counted I think three times and the Democrats wanted to continue to count four times. In this case, there’s been frankly as close as you can get to a cover-up of the actual breaking of the laws that were passed by the legislatures of at least five of the six states. Because we know Nevada went back into session and then change their laws, but they did it legislatively. We know the other five states, it was not the legislature that changed the law as it was it was election officials or Secretary’s of State or people who didn’t have the authority to change the law.
Leahy: The usurpers of liberty. Roger, what do you think is going to happen?
Simon: Well, I don’t know but I do know this which is interesting is that this new proposal has been in the works for a couple of weeks under the table. Ted Cruz and our Senator Marsha Blackburn and others.
Leahy: And Senator Bill Hagerty from Tennessee.
Simon: Well, no, I know he signed on but I’m talking about also people who have been working on this for two weeks as a plan. This is not thrown out there at the last minute.
Leahy: It’s a very good plan in my view.
Simon: It is I agree. So either in the macro two things are going to happen. It will be pushed aside or something will be accepted from it. But more than likely it will be pushed aside because as you say Nancy Pelosi is, as you know, one of the most despicable hard ballplayers ever to come along in American politics.
Leahy: That’s a great description of her and quite accurate.
Simon: And she doesn’t care about the people but here I mean she just cares about her ice cream. (Leahy laughs) But the great thing about this is it cannot possibly go away. And I think we have a reference point in the idiot Trump rush of collusion business when the truth ultimately came out that it was all nonsense. In this case, I think it’s even more dangerous and I think this is going to be talked about as long as we live.
Carmichael: I have a question. You have these five state legislators, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, right? And let’s just throw in North Carolina because it’s controlled by Republicans also. The legislature is. Will these legislators when they come back into session pass legislation that puts the campaign laws in stone and includes Draconian penalties for any public official that tries to usurp their authority?
As an example, if you get some Secretary of State again who wants to change it in the midterms and tries to change it and it’s 20 years in jail for even attempting to change the law. Because what the problem is is that is it nobody gets in trouble for breaking campaign laws. There is just not any trouble. You might get slapped on the wrist. But if you’re if frankly if you’re a Democrat and you do it you get paid. I mean you get slapped on the wrist.
Simon: I think some Republicans got paid too. But that will all come out in the wash.
Carmichael: They like to bring up the one in North Carolina who was a Democrat who had been cheating for like eight for the last eight elections and got mad at the Democrats. And so I said watch what I do. I’m going to cheat for the other guys and they said well, he already knew what he did so they caught him. So what are the Republicans…When have Republicans…
Simon: That’s the situation with Raffensberger in Georgia right now.
Carmichael: Let me change that then.
Leahy: Compromised if it were.
Carmichael: Republicans cheating on behalf of Republicans. (Laughter)
Leahy: Done on the behalf of Democrats.
Carmichael: I’m talking about Republicans who had been caught cheating on behalf of Republicans.
Leahy: Let me just interject here. The couple elements of this, Crom. The long-term solution is, and Roger we played a clip earlier from a guy in 2007 who said we got to go back to paper ballots! He’s not saying the same thing today. His name was Joe Biden, by the way. But one of the things that we’ve got to do here, right now long-term, is we’ve got to fix our election process so it’s paper ballot, in-person voting. That is the best way to avoid fraud.
Carmichael: Michael what I’m saying, is that requires the legislators of these states to do that. And then the question is when they do that do they then add to the legislation that anyone who attempts to change this is guilty of a crime?
Leahy: I think that’s brewing long term in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. However, you know, we’ve got Democratic Governors currently.
Carmichael: They don’t sign the legislation.
Leahy: Well, they actually do sign the law actually as it relates to…
Carmichael: That’s not what the Constitution says.
Leahy: When it comes to the federal election of a president you are correct. But in terms of the state law, the statute does require the governor’s signature but can be overridden. But I want to go on to one other point here Crom. What’s happening right now between now and Wednesday is there are calls as you know. I wrote about the call with the President was on with 300 state legislators on Saturday and told them to look at the evidence and consider de-certifying.
There are efforts right now over the next 24 to 48 hours to have legislators convene to get a majority of the legislature even if the leadership isn’t supportive and say we’re going to send a letter to the Vice President saying we’ve convened in Georgia and we’re sending a different slate that goes to Pence. And on that note, we’re going to close out the program today.
Listen to the full third hour here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
