Doors for Jackson Day will open at 4:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 5:30 p.m. CDT. For attendance information, go to the Tennessee Democratic Party’s website at www.tndp.org or call 615-327-9779.

“Tennessee Democrats are excited Vice President Biden will help us kick off this year’s critical mid-term elections with his appearance at Jackson Day,” Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester said.

“Our economy is bouncing back from one of the worst recessions this country has seen since the Great Depression, and the policies put in place by this Administration and Congress are helping put Tennesseans back to work.”

Biden served in the U.S. Senate for 36 years before becoming the nation’s 47th Vice President. As the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations and the Judiciary committees during much of his tenure, the Vice President has helped shape this nation’s foreign policy and its criminal justice system.

“We have plenty more work to do, and that’s why it is vitally important we motivate Tennessee voters to go to the polls this November and elect more Democrats to Congress and the state Legislature,” Forrester added. “Jackson Day will help us build momentum for this fall’s elections.”

Jackson Day is an annual event held by the Tennessee Democratic Party honoring President Andrew Jackson, the founder of the modern Democratic Party.

Tennessee’s infant death rate is the 47th worst in the country. The Governor’s Office of Child Care Coordination was established in 2004 by Gov. Phil Bredesen to coordinate a wide range of services to children, including programs to reduce infant mortality rates across the state.

“It’s ironic a gubernatorial candidate who claims to be pro life would callously slash programs meant to save the lives of our babies,” Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester said. “Mr. Ramsey’s boot evidently knows no boundaries.”

According to news reports, the Office of Child Care Coordination spends about $5 million annually, of which a little more than $2 million is state money.

Ramsey and other Republican candidates across the state have been railing against federal assistance. And Ramsey’s campaign has been airing television advertisements promising to give Washington “the boot.”

“It would make better sense to me if Tennessee voters would give Ramsey the boot,” Forrester said

Health experts attribute increased infant mortality rates to lack of prenatal care, premature births, low birth weights, tobacco use among pregnant woman and Sudden Infant Death syndrome.

“We have made progress reducing the infant mortality rate here in Tennessee since Gov. Bredesen started the Office of Child Care Coordination,” Forrester said. “Why in the world would you want to eliminate programs meant to save a baby’s life?

“Senate Republicans and Mr. Ramsey are misplacing their priorities here. They need to quit playing these silly political games and focus on ways to improve the lives of Tennesseans,” he added.

Heroic stories like the one above took place from Memphis to Spring Hill and should inspire and remind each of us that the time to live up to our “Volunteer” name is now. I hope each of you will continue to reach out to help friends, neighbors, loved ones, and fellow Tennesseans who face massive challenges as they recover from the damage and suffering the water left behind.

I am asking our staff at the Tennessee Democratic Party to take Friday off to volunteer with organizations assisting with recovery, clean up, and aid to those who need our help. I hope each of you will also reach out in any way you can.

Here are a few ways you can help.

Give Money:

Tennessee Red Cross
Donations are accepted online or by texting REDCROSS to 90999

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle TN

MidSouth Food Bank

Volunteer:

Tennessee Red Cross

Hands On Nashville

For questions about water advisories, returning home after a flood event, or government status reports you can view that information here:

Tennessee Government Flood Guidance

Sincerely,

Chairman Chip Forrester

His idea was so a-maizing that the Rachel Maddow Show picked up on it and featured Lowden and Bell’s ideas on the April 22 show. Click here to view the priceless clip.

You also can read a brief transcript below of the exchange between Rep. Bell and Rep. Joe Towns (D – Memphis) as Bell explains his proposal:

Bell: They’re [the Mennonites] some of the healthiest people you have ever seen. They pay cash when they go to the doctor. They work out arrangements with the hospitals if their children have to be hospitalized. This is an individual choice that we’re talking about.

Towns: You’re saying they pay cash? For organ transplants and cancer and heart cases, they pay cash?

Bell: I said they pay cash or work out other arrangements. I know for a fact. I know someone in the medical field who has been paid with vegetables from the Mennonite community.

Towns: That’s an anomaly. That’s not how the system works. I can’t take a sack of vegetables down to the utility company and pay my utility bill on my house. Nobody’s going to take vegetables for payment. We can’t run the country on vegetables and horse trading.

We think Tennesseans should take Rep. Bell up on his idea. If he knows of doctors who are willing to trade health care for vegetables, he should let us know! Click here to send him an email, describe your ailments, let him know what you can afford to pay in vegetables, and ask him to find you a doctor willing to accept the arrangement. If he gets back to you, please share his response with us! And if he doesn’t…well, maybe he’s just “full of beans.”

Once you’re done, post this on Facebook, tweet about it, and forward this message to your friends so Rep. Bell can see just how many people would like to take him up on his “solution” for an affordable health care in Tennessee.

Forrester pointed to a recent WSMV-TV Channel 4 investigative story detailing the actions of the Benton County Election Commission, which invalidated 2,100 voter registrations for various reasons, including a simple failure to check a box.

“Many of those people have been voting for decades in Benton County,” Forrester said. “To all of a sudden claim their registrations are invalid because they failed to check a box is ridiculous. How many more law-abiding, registered voters across Tennessee will be denied the right to vote on Election Day?

“This just further demonstrates the mess created when Republicans fired a bunch of competent, longtime county election administrators after the 2008 elections. Some of those newly hired administrators evidently are either using poor judgment or playing partisan games. Neither one is acceptable.”

If affected voters do not correct their registrations by July 31, they will be ineligible to vote in the August 5 primary, local officials have said.

Republicans took control of local election commissions in all 95 counties after the November 2008 elections, firing many county election administrators soon thereafter. That prompted a federal lawsuit to be filed on behalf of several former county election administrators contending Republicans violated their constitutional rights by conspiring to treat their jobs as political patronage.

“We see now what can happen when political patronage is used to hire election administrators,” Forrester said. “They let Republican Rep. Matthew Hill get away with not properly filling out his nominating petition in Washington County, but they want to purge Benton County residents who have been voting for decades because they didn’t check a box. This kind of behavior is damaging our political process.

“I’m asking Mr. Goins, Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Tennessee Republican Chairman Chris Devaney to put aside partisan politics and work with me and other Democrats and Republicans across the state to fix this problem right away,” he added.

“This funding will go a long way in preparing our children for the kinds of jobs they will need to succeed and prosper. Education is not a partisan issue, and the White House should be congratulated for offering this type of program to states that show a willingness to think outside the box. All of us should be proud of what this means for our children, our communities and our futures.”

“We are very excited to have the Vice President of the United States at this year’s event,” Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester said. “This is a critical election year in the state, and the Vice President understands how vital it is to elect Tennessee Democrats who understand that good jobs, top-notch schools and safe neighborhoods create successful communities.

“Our state and our country are facing challenging times. We need leaders who just don’t pay lip service to those challenges. Vice President Biden is a leader who rolls up his sleeves and dedicates all his energy to those challenges. He and the President are focused on making this state and this country a better place to live and raise a family.”

Jackson Day is an annual dinner held by the Tennessee Democratic Party honoring President Andrew Jackson, the founder of the modern Democratic Party. Further information and media details concerning the exact time, date and location of this year’s event will be provided as they become available.

Biden served in the U.S. Senate for 36 years before becoming the nation’s 47th Vice President. As the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations and the Judiciary committees during much of his tenure, the Vice President has helped shape this nation’s foreign policy and its criminal justice system.

“Vice President Biden has been one of this nation’s most influential leaders, and he is now helping President Obama reinvigorate the economy and our relations around the world,” Forrester said. “Tennessee Democrats appreciate his service to our nation and his willingness to help us build momentum for this fall’s elections.”

“We have many good Democratic leaders in the district who would serve that area well in Congress. Bart has won that district handily in the past and received nearly 75 percent of the vote last time around. Gov. Bredesen, for example, won the district with 67 percent of the vote in 2006. Voters in the district have a middle of the road mindset and vote for leaders who understand that philosophy. That is why voters continually sent Congressman Gordon back to Washington to represent their interests. I am confident the congressional seat will remain in Democratic hands for years to come.”

The Pew Charitable Trusts reports that Tennessee is among the top three fastest-growing states in the country in the clean energy economy:

Three states have large and fast-growing clean energy economies: Colorado, Oregon and Tennessee. In 2007, each of these states exceeded the national averages for both the number of jobs in the clean energy economy (15,106) and the average annual growth rate for those jobs (1.9 percent).

Governor Phil Bredesen’s work over the last seven years helped create the climate where this new economy can thrive:

In December 2008, Hemlock announced a $1.2 billion investment to launch a new Clarksville, Tennessee, plant that will employ 900 people once it opens in 2012. Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development created an attractive package to lure Hemlock, including tax incentives, a shovel-ready location, and sound roads and other transit to ship materials in and products out. The package also featured a partnership with Austin Peay State University, which committed to offering a program to train skilled manufacturing workers in meeting the specific needs of a company such as Hemlock.

Link: WPLN