The Tennessee Democratic Party is the organized coalition of Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 in Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 founded in 1826, tracing its philosophical roots to President Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

. Andrew Jackson was born in 1767 in the Carolinas. After fighting in the Revolutionary War he moved to Tennessee in search of opportunity. When he was in his thirties he was elected major general of the Tennessee militia. After the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 he became a military hero and a potential candidate for president. Andrew Jackson’s most penetrating political insight was that concentrated governmental power always leads to corruption and abuse.

Current elected officials

The Tennessee Democratic Party holds two of the state's nine U.S. House of Representatives seats.

U.S. House of Representatives

• Jim Cooper
  Jim Cooper
  James Hayes Shofner "Jim" Cooper is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the Blue Dog Coalition. He previously represented from 1983 to 1995....
  
  , 5th District
  Tennessee's 5th congressional district
  The 5th Congressional District of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle Tennessee. The most regularly drawn of the state's nine districts, it currently includes almost all of Davidson County, half of Wilson County, and half of Cheatham County...
  
   
• Steve Cohen
  Steve Cohen
  Stephen Ira Cohen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Tennessee's 9th district includes almost three-fourths of Memphis. Cohen is Tennessee's first Jewish congressman....
  
  , 9th District
  Tennessee's 9th congressional district
  The 9th Congressional District of Tennessee is a Congressional district in southwestern Tennessee. The district is located entirely within Shelby County, and includes most of the city of Memphis...
  
   

Legislative leaders

Tennessee General Assembly

The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...

• Senate Minority Leader: Jim Kyle
• House Minority Leader: Craig Fitzhugh

Current leadership

• Chair – Chip Forrester
• Vice Chair – Elisa Parker
• Treasurer – David Garrison
  David Garrison
  David Gene Garrison is an American actor. His primary venue is live theatre, but he may be more widely known for his numerous television roles, particularly that of Steve Rhoades on Married... with Children...
  
  
• Secretary – Gale Jones Carson
• Senate Caucus - Lowe Finney
  Lowe Finney
  Lowe Finney is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee Senate for the 27th district, which is composed of Madison, Gibson, and Carroll counties.-Education and career:...
  
  
• House Caucus - Mike Turner
  Mike Turner
  Michael R. Turner is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.The district covers most of the city of Dayton and includes most of Montgomery County, much of Warren County, and is home to all of Highland and Clinton Counties.-Early life, education...
  
  

Tennessee Delegation of the Democratic National Committee

The Delegation of each state to the Democratic National Committee

Democratic National Committee

The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...

 (DNC) consists of the highest-ranking elected male and female within the state’s Democratic Party. These ranking members for the Tennessee Democratic Party are Chip Forrester and Elisa Parker. As determined by the DNC’s rules Tennessee has been given three additional members. The three additional members are elected, and serve a four-year term by the Tennessee Democratic Executive Committee. The elections are held in accordance with the National Party rules. The rules call for elections to be held during the calendar year in which a Democratic National Convention is held. These members of Tennessee’s delegation are expected to represent Tennessee on all matters which come before the committee.

Responsibilities of the National Committee:

• Electing the National Party Chair and all other National Party Officers
• Issuing the call to the National Convention
  National Convention
  During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
  
  
• Conducting the Party’s Presidential Campaign
• Formulating and disseminating statements of Party policy
• Setting the DNC’s budget and conducting all other business in order to carry out the objectives of the Democratic Party

Children and families

Current issues for Tennessee Democrats on children and families include that of the high rate of infant mortality in Memphis. The city of Memphis has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country. During the 111th Congress Congressman Steve Cohen authorized a resolution that passed the House. This resolution urged a stronger national commitment to ending infant mortality. The H.R 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act

Affordable Health Care for America Act

The Affordable Health Care for America Act was a bill that was crafted by the United States House of Representatives in November 2009. At the encouragement of the Obama administration, the 111th Congress devoted much of its time to enacting reform of the United States' health care system...

 includes Steve Cohen’s legislation called the Newborn Act. This act would create 15 national pilot programs in cities across the nation like Memphis. The act would also provide resources for more research and educational programs aimed at helping women get the pre-natal care they need during pregnancy and during delivery. Steve Cohen is listed as one of the best U.S. Representatives for Children. He also has a 100% rating on the CDF Congressional Scorecard.

Another issue is the reform of foster care for children. Congressman Jim Cooper serves on the board of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) in order to try and improve conditions for foster children.

Health care

Last year Congressman Jim Cooper voted for the Affordable Care Act. Elements of this new law, which encourages better private-market competition, include a pre-existing condition health insurance plan. Under this plan children with asthma can now get coverage and stay on their parents’ health care plan. Jim Cooper has also sponsored the Medicare Information Act. This act makes sure that every tax payer would receive information on their lifetime of Medicare contributions. The Tennessee Democratic party believes in making health care more affordable and accessible to everyone.

Energy and environment

According to the Tennessee Democratic Party the nation’s current energy policies pose economic, national security and environmental threats. They believe our country is too dependent on foreign oil. Congressman Jim Cooper believes that instead of sending money overseas to countries we are unfriendly with, we should consider other options to help power our country. Jim Cooper has one of the strongest environmental records in Congress. Acts he has supported include the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Protection Act, and the Clean Air Act. Other acts which are supported by Congressman Steve Cohen include: The 10 Million Solar Roofs Act, American Clean Energy and Security Act, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act, Grand Canyon Water Sheds Protection Act, Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act, The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, The Safe Markets Development Act, the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance Program Act, and the America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act.

National Security

When it comes to National Security Tennessee Democrats believe in having a strong national defense and supporting having the resources necessary to keep the nation’s military a strong one. Policies that Tennessee Democrats have approved of in the area of national security include, The Panel on Defense and Acquisition Reform, which has investigated why weapons the Pentagon purchases are always over budget. This work helped to orchestrate the passing of the Weapons Acquisition Reform Act of 2009. Another policy supported by the Tennessee Democrats is The National Urban Search and Rescue System Act. This act will combine the authorization of the National Urban Search and Rescue program and put its authority in one section of the Stafford Act. Doing so would help to make sure that the Urban Search and Rescue can efficiently respond to a wide range of national disasters. The bill will also make sure that Urban Search and Rescue Task Force members are secured with uniform workers compensation and tort liability protection under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

External links

• Tennessee Democratic Party
• Congressman Jim Cooperhttp://cooper.house.gov/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
• Congressman Steve Cohenhttp://cohen.house.gov/