Burchett's hard line on the national debt leaves out 50 million details | Ashe

U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett says we will lose our country over the national debt, but he submitted more than 24 earmark requests worth more than $50 million to add to the budget, according to an article in the Washington Post on March 2 by Paul Kane.

Many of these may be worthwhile projects, from $2.5 million for East Tennessee Children’s Hospital to $100,000 to boost genetic testing capabilities for state law enforcement.

Burchett, however, voted against these same projects when House Speaker Mike Johnson wanted to keep the government open. According to Kane, when Burchett was asked if he felt more invested in voting for the funding because his requested projects were included, he said, “I don't have any obligation at all.”

As former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, it is “vote NO and take the dough.”

This shows what is wrong with Congress today. Burchett seeks to appear supportive here in East Tennessee for local projects, but he votes “no” on the budget. If it passes, he can try to claim credit for the money flowing here even as he paints himself as a champion of deficit reduction.

At some point, the majority in Congress voting for these bills may remove the requests from Burchett as he opposes them anyway. Does Burchett tell folks when he secures earmarks that he will vote against them?

County Law Director David Buuck scored an easy win over Daniel Herrera as Herrera continues his losing electoral streak. This the fourth contest he has lost but the first in Tennessee. The other three were in New Jersey and North Carolina.

Having lost elections now in three states, one wonders what state Herrera will seek office in next. Perhaps Florida?

Herrera waged a campaign of unverified attacks and declined to appear with Buuck, which hurt him.

Buuck now faces Jackson Fenner, the Democratic nominee, who will wage a more professional campaign.

Buuck plans on a fundraiser and active campaign this time around.

County Mayor Glenn Jacobs won the most votes to become a Donald Trump delegate in the March 5 primary, followed closely by former congressman John J. Duncan Jr. and former sheriff Tim Hutchison.

Garrett Holt, 30, the youngest GOP County Commission candidate, easily defeated Liz Tombras, 82, the oldest GOP candidate, by 70% to 30% for the 4^th District seat.

Tombras claimed Holt was too liberal and not a real Republican. West Knox Republican Club president Gary Loe promoted her campaign.

Holt now faces Democrat Shane Jackson, 47, in the August election. Both are energetic and hard-working candidates. It will be a very competitive race. The district is a tossup between Democrats and Republicans.

Rockford Mayor Carl Koella III, who has served 14 years, was reelected to another four-year term with 85% of the vote. Rockford is in Blount County.

Phil Ballard’s 12-vote victory over Jackie Raley out of 42,571 votes for property assessor is one of the closest in 40 years for Knox County. It surprised many.

Raley won in early voting but lost her margin on election day. Provisional ballots split 13 to 13. However, more than 4,925 GOP voters did not make a selection in the property assessor's race. Any 13 of them could have changed the result.

Ballard’s name recognition from his prior eight years as property assessor helped. So did self-funding his campaign.

He faces Democrat Drew Harper in August. Ballard will need to reach out to many who opposed him to support him in the general election. Raley did not congratulate Ballard on winning.

Former U.S. Ambassador to China Sandy Randt speaks at 5:30 p.m. March 19 at the Baker Center in the Ashe Lecture Series. The public is invited.

Birthdays

March 21: Charles Anderson is 70. Kathryn Callaway is 65. Todd Napier is 59. David Rhodes is 59.

March 22: Joe Ayres is 64. Vicki Baumgartner is 66. Sandy Gillespie is 76. Attorney Randy Humble is 81. Glenn T. Irwin is 77. Brian R. Melton is 35. Will Norris is 25. Catherine Quist-Shanks is 65. Retired UT law professor Dean Rivkin is 77.

March 23: Palmer Bradshaw is 24. Rick Blackburn is 66. Dr. Larry Bushkell Jr. is 79. Brewton Couch is 43. George Korda is 71. Joanne Schuetz is 83.

March 24: Anna Cormier is 59. Josh Gapp is 47. Ford Little is 60. UT professor and football legend Peyton Manning is 48. Davis Tarwater is 40. Will White is 39.

March 25: Attorney Andrew C. Fels is 40. Cynthia Foster is 76. Elton John is 77. Dennis H. Loy is 67. Allan E. Morgan is 79. Brett A. Moye is 37. Joe Pryse is 72. Attorney Dalton Townsend is 81.

March 26: Edgar Faust is 81. Hoyl Gill is 85. Russell T. Greene is 67. Tom C. Jensen is 58. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 84. Lacey Sutton is 33. Judge Steve Sword is 54.

March 27: Darrell Akins is 74. Jason Altman is 49. Tom Ford is 78. Ashley Nickloes is 51. George Ed Wilson III is 76.

March 28: County Law Director David Buuck is 77. Roy Mullins is 85. Caesar Stair IV is 48. Derry Thompson is 65.

Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He is a columnist for Shopper News. 

Knox News and Shopper News promptly correct all errors. If you think we have published incorrect information, please email accuracy@knoxnews.com. Describe the error, where you saw it, the date, page number or the URL.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Rep. Tim Burchett's hard line on national debt leaves out the details