Hilly Boy's Deception (as in the Lovely Tennessee Rep. Matthew Hill)

Check out the next to last paragraph. Priceless.
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This is about the most amazing quote I have ever heard from a politician. In the Winter 2005 edition of The Business Journal's generatioNEXT magazine Hilly boy makes an admission that should not surprise anyone.

"Hill admits that if he were not a state representative, he would be a lobbyist."

Politicians that admit they want to be lobbyists are not politicans we can trust.

The article also mentions that Hilly boy's daddy lost in his bid to be a representative a few years ago. If you can't win in your own backyard you might as well send your son into someone else's.
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These stories make me sick. What a mess we have in Nashville now.

In Tennessee lobbyists don’t even have to disclose how much they are paid. In 2000 there were 3 lobbyists for every lawmaker in Tennessee. Special interest groups give $8 million to members of the legislature, groups just like those run by Gregory & friends.

In this article, we are told there are 500 lobbyists for 132 lawmakers in Nashville. That is insane.

I like how our own Mr. Mumpower admits he likes for the lobbyists to tell him how to think. And I think he is the only one who thinks we have strict ethics laws for lawmakers in Tennessee.

If there are too many bills and not enough lawmakers then we need more lawmakers and less lobbyists. Plain and simple.

As a fairly fundamental Christian I try to like Republican candiates, but their unethical behavior makes me want to throw up.

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Big surprise here. Tennessee is one of the worst states at regulating lobbyists. Interesting that Gregory & friends got called on the carpet at an event they were trying to use to their own advantage. By the way, it makes me sick that Naifeh’s wife is a top lobbyist in Nashville.

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Our government is dictated by the highest bidder. I just don’t think true democracy is currently possible in this country. We need much better spending and fund-raising limits for politicians to have a true democracy.

Here are some nice websites, for those interested: www.opensecrets.org, www.followthemoney.org, & www.fec.gov.


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Much has already been said about how the Gregory family bankrolls most of the candidates in Northeast Tennessee. However, here are some nice media reports that chronicle actions of the Gregory family and King Pharmaceuticals.

• There’s nothing like taking advantage of patients in prison. (3-12-03)

• King reports a first quarter loss of $111.1 million. (5-7-04)

• Jefferson Gregory resigns after King’s first quarter loss of $111 million. (5-18-04)

• Thank goodness all the Gregory brothers finally got out before they completely sank King’s ship and the local jobs there. (7-18-04)

• Oops, King underpaid Medicaid patients by $130.4 million, not the $65 million they admitted to earlier. Amazing. (8-6-04)

• There’s nothing like raising prices on life-saving medication, all paid for by Tennessee taxpayers. (9-21-04)

• John Gregory doesn’t like the truth about how he got taxpayers to spend $56 million on his Altace drug that was overpriced to dying patients. Yeah, and he doesn’t make deceptive campaign donations either. (9-22-04)

• King guilty of bookkeeping irregularities? Never. How can you lose $147 million in one quarter? And what do you know, King underpaid Medicaid by $130.4 million. Those 20 plus class-action lawsuits by stockholders don’t look like they will go away soon. (10-29-04)

For 2004 to be such a rough year for King, Gregory & friends still donated at least $436,000 to politicians. Probably a lot more. Doesn't look like 2004 hurt them too badly.
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I’ve never had much of a problem with Ramsey, mostly because he was not on my radar screen. Here are some interesting tidbits on him that are less than flattering.

• In this debate before the election, in which Ramsey was reelected, he sure didn't like it when someone pointed out that Tennessee's high sales tax is good for Virginia.

• This couple claims that Ramsey lied when he told them he could not introduce a bill unless he had 100 signatures.

• In this story, isn't it nice how Ramsey puts his hands up and says there just isn’t much we can do to lower the cost of prescription drugs. The hands are up because he is reaching for the Gregory family wallet.

• Ramsey definitely can speak from experience when he claims someone is being used as a pawn. He can say that only competition lowers drug prices. However, when King pays politicians to insure that competition doesn’t exist, that means drug prices don't get lowered.

• Ramsey denies receiving money from or helping the Gregory family and King Pharmaceuticals, after admitting helping to land King a $56 million taxpayer subsidized contract with TennCare. Someone seems just a little delusional. In the election McKamey reported that Ramsey said lowering drug costs is not a state issue, even though 26 other states have decided to address the problem.

• With Ramsey’s votes for the largest tax increase in Tennessee history, and his support of the abortion on one vote, how in the world did he get reelected? Could it have been because he had tons of Gregory money at his disposal to outspend his opponent? The voters got duped again.

This story shows how the political system in Tennessee is screwed up no matter which party you support. Al Gore & the Gregory family should use their money to help people in need, rather than helping manipulative politicians.

I like how Ramsey flat out lies again. He has no shame. And the more I learn about these Republican politicians, the more I am convinced they only claim to be Christians to get votes. They don’t do a good job of convincing people they really are Christians. As long as Ramsey is around there won’t be any campaign finance changes.

Also, Bredesen was smart to not accept Gregory money. They were just trying to trap Bredesen anyway. By the way, Bredesen is one of my least favorite politicians for those of you who just think I am a Democrat.

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I know he won the election, but there were some precincts that he lost. Here they are:


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On a lighter note, today is the Martin Luther King holiday. I think we can all agree, no matter what our political differences, that he was a great man who fought for the good of the weak (in number, not courage) and the ignored. We should aim to do an act of service for someone else today as a way to honor him. Thanks.
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Mr. Special Ed Goes to Nashville

"Good Morning Tri-Cities". Too dad-gum funny.

I count myself as one among the 2,100 or so actual
listeners to Rep. Matthew Hill's rather weak-minded
"Good MorningTri-Cites" radio show, listening off and on for

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If you have the time, check out the Leitner (Gregory owned)
Pharmaceutical Building at 340 Edgemont in Bristol,
Tennessee sometime.

340 Edgemont is the political epicenter of Washington
County political activity, as the Leitner Building is
not only the home to SJ Strategic Investments, Inc. and
SJ Travel --- 340 Edgemont Avenue is also the physical
adress of the following persons and groups:

Tenn. Conservative PAC;
State of Franklin PAC;
501 (c)(3) non-profit Appalachian Education
Communications Corporation;
for profin Information Communications Corporation;
Rep. Matthew Hill;
State of Franklin PAC President Kenneth C. Hill;
State of Franklin PAC Treasurer "Bud" Branscomb;
Tenn. Conservative PAC Treasurer Jim Holcomb, and;
many campaign contributors tied to the Gregory name.

Obviously, the 7th District doesn't know what is best for itself.
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Where they are, he is sure to follow.
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What do you know, old Hilly boy is on a total of zero committees (unless I am mistaken). This is what happens when you elect a freshman representative who can't even grow facial hair.

Amendment- According to Hilly boy, he is on two committees (far fewer than Patton was on). One of those is the Committee on Transportation. This is hardly surprising since a 7th District Republican told me that Summers-Taylor people also contributed to Hill's campaign. If you haven't noticed Summers-Taylor seems to get every highway paving job in the Tri-Cities area, as though they had connections or something.
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Maybe it is just me, but Hilly boy's quote here sure doesn't make him sound intelligent.

“I think tourism is one of the many bright spots that we have in Washington County. We’ve got Tennessee’s oldest town, the Centre at Millennium Park, ETSU … Goodness gracious, we’ve got a lot going for us in Washington County.”

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We were told that if we elected Hill, then Naifeh would not be elected House Speaker again. Well, that wasn't true.
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Every time I hear him speak I just have a hard time believing he is his own person. I have a feeling we are in for a whole lot of "I promise to do what Rusty & David tell me to do."
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Let's start from the beginning. First, Hilly boy moves to Washington County about 6-8 months before the election. He came here from Sullivan County. While continuing to work for his father, whom he has worked for his entire professional life he opened a coffee shop in Jonesborough. Having been by numerous times and noticing that there are hardly any customers this has to be a front for gaining credibility. Most would not be surprised if the business is losing money and being covered by Hilly boy's dad or special friends.

Those special friends include the Gregory family of King pharmaceutical fame. Over 90% of Hilly boy's contributions came from them, and over 95% of his contributions came from the Kingsport/Sullivan County area. It is interesting that in the election Hilly boy was late filing his contribution info, perhaps because he knew how bad it looked. And though the Gregory family has cashed out of King, it is not like that company was a shining light of integrity in 2004. I also have to wonder just how hard Hilly boy will fight for lower drug costs for the lower income citizens of Washington County. My bet is he won't fight one iota for us. He can't bite the hand that feeds him can he?
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Well, Hilly boy had his town hall meeting for Jonesborough. And in typical fashion most of us found out about after it occurred. Maybe it was a mistake, but if there is any group Hilly boy does not want to hear from it is the voters nearest to Johnson City. What a great start to 2005 Willie Stark!
It has actually been fun watching Hilly boy be such a professional all of this time.
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Again, I am against abortion. Read the first right to life post. However, I do not support unethical behavior by anti-abortionists.

Though Brian Harris might have good intentions, I beleive he is gearing up to run for the Tennessee Senate soon. His main reason for endorsing Hilly boy was not that Patton supported abortion, but that Patton was not militantly enough against abortion. And Hilly boy just said whatever Harris wanted to hear.

Again, it is fine with me that Patton got defeated. But it is not fine that Harris will not tell the truth. He and his lobbyist pushed the Right to Life license plate bill to the Tennessee House. The proceeds from the sale of these plates were going to support an organization that helps pregnant women seek adoption. All of this is great and good. However, the mailing address for the organization was exactly the same as the Tennessee Right to Life's address. To abortion supporters this looked like nothing more than a front and a trick for the TRTL to get taxpayer money. Patton saw this and knew that abortion supporters would just get their own plate and/or sue the state of Tennessee with the ACLU to stop the plate.

Harris could not stand that Patton would not fly full steam ahead into guaranteed failure. And what is going on now? The state of Tennessee is tied up in a lawsuit with the ACLU over the plate. And guess who is paying for this lawsuit? You and I. You would think all the rabid anti-tax groups, of which supposedly Hilly boy is a part of, would put their foot down. But nope, that's not what Harris commanded.
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Before you go nuts first let me say that I am against abortion. I cannot stand Roe v. Wade and I don't understand why a "Bible belt" state is so supportive of abortion. However, that does not mean that I find every action of anti-abortionists ethical.

The Northeast Tennessee Right to Life, led by Michelle Gantz, decided to endorse Hilly boy instead of Patton in the 7th District primary. That is certainly her right, but it is interesting that they both are from Sullivan County, which is not the 7th District.

When Michelle was called and asked why she had dropped Patton her reply was that I needed to call the lobbyist for the Tennessee Right to Life in Nashville. She (the lobbyist) worked with Patton and could tell me what I needed to know. Again, I don't have a problem with someone dropping Patton. But I do have a problem when someone does not know why they do things. Nashville said to endorse Hilly boy so that is what they did. This was an example of the tail wagging the dog and Hilly boy was sitting in the background benefitting from it all.
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When the primary elections came along for the 7th District Hilly boy aligned himself with outsiders, which of course is what he is.

First let me say one thing. I don't have a problem with Bob Patton getting defeated. He committed political suicide in Tennessee by voting for consideration of an income tax. And I also think he probably got complacent after serving for 10 years and being on lots of committees. And I would not have a problem with Hilly boy defeating him if Hilly boy had stood as his own man.

However, Hilly boy teamed up with the Tennessee Forum, which ran ads pointing out Patton's tax vote. This group was comprised of wealthy Nashville residents and even one Alabaman. These are the same type of people who committed terrorist acts by throwing rocks at the state capitol when the income tax debate was the hottest. And Hilly boy made it clear before the primaries were even held that he was going to represent the interests of those outside of Washington County.

And during that campaign Hilly boy quoted Patton as saying he did not return emails. What Hilly boy did not say is that the context of the quote was Patton talking about the way PACs and special interest groups harrassed him. He did not return their emails because they were not citizens of the 7th District. The reason Hilly boy was practicing deception is because the groups are the very people he aims to serve. I am sure that Patton probably could have communicated better with citizens, but the quote that Hilly boy used was taken out of context. I thought they taught that lying was a sin in Sunday school.
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This blog serves to uncover the truth about Matthew Hill. This deceptor of the 7th District of Tennessee is pulling the wool over the eyes of the very few people who did vote in Washington County. I intend to make the truth known.
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