John Rose Donated to Democrats Who Supported a State Income Tax During Epic Political Battle; Voted in Democrat Primaries
Tennessee Star

Campaign finance records reviewed by The Tennessee Star reveal U.S. Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) donated to multiple Tennessee Democrats who were in favor of establishing a state income tax during the pivotal political fight between 1998 and 2002 that culminated in Tennessee passing a constitutional amendment banning the income tax in 2014.

Rose donated at least $19,000 to Democrats between 1998 and 2010, with several of those Democrats involved in the unsuccessful 2002 effort to pass a law to establish a state income tax on ordinary earned income in Tennessee. Never in the history of the state has it imposed a tax on ordinary earned income, an aspect of the state’s governance that many economists attribute as a key factor in its ongoing economic growth.

Among the Democrats who received donations from Rose is former State Senator Bob Rochelle (D-Lebanon), who sponsored the State Senate version of the Revenue Act of 2002, which would have established a graduated state income tax of up to 6 percent in Tennessee. Rose sent Rochelle (pictured above, left) a donation of $500 in August 1998.

While Rose’s donation to Rochelle came about four years before the Democrat sponsored legislation to create a state income tax, it was in January 2000 that Rochelle successfully sponsored a resolution honoring Rose for his “professional efforts” through his former company, the Transcender Corporation.

Rochelle’s resolution declared, “That we hereby honor and commend Mr. John Rose, President of the Transcender Corporation, 1999 Music City Future 50 Award winner, for his service to the state of Tennessee and extend to him our best wishes for every future success.”

Former Tennessee State Representative Matt Kisber / LinkedIn

Rose’s next donation to a Democrat who later voted in favor of establishing an income tax came in 2000, when he sent $1,000 to former State Representative Matt Kisber (D-Jackson), who voted in favor of the income tax proposed by former State House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh (D-Covington).

Former Tennessee State House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh / University of Tennessee

Rose donated to a third Democrat during a period when the politician reportedly faced a tough election due to his advocacy for a state income tax, as Rose donated $1,000 to former State Representative Bobby Sands (D-Columbia) in October 2002.

A Democrat, Sands was then locked into a competitive election to the Tennessee State Senate, as earlier that year, he was among the minority of state lawmakers who voted in favor of Naifeh’s proposal to create an income tax. After the vote failed, however, Sands again found himself in the minority as he voted against a compromise sales tax proposal that was originally submitted by former State Senator Jerry Cooper (D-McMinville), who received a $500 contribution from Rose for his 1998 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Former Tennessee State Rep Bobby Sands / Tennessee Bar Association

Potentially elucidating his opposition to the sales tax plan, in July 2002, Memphis Flyer described Sands as “an income tax supporter” who was involved with “an effort to revive the prospect of an income tax” despite the fact it would likely cause his campaign for the State Senate “to suffer as a result.”

In donations sent in 2000 and 2002, Rose also sent $1,500 to former State Representative John White (D-Lawrenceburg). His second donation to White came after the Democrat joined 44 of his colleagues in a vote to pass the income tax proposed in Naifeh’s legislation, and before the Democrat legislator voted against Cooper’s sales tax proposal.

Former State Rep John White / Tennessee General Assembly

Rose additionally donated $500 to former State Representative Shelby Aaron Rhinehart (D-Spencer), who voted in favor of Naifeh’s failed income tax proposal, but was not among lawmakers who cast a vote on a compromise sales tax proposal from Cooper.

In addition to his donations to Democrats who favored an income tax, Rose donated a total of $9,000 to Democratic caucuses in the General Assembly, and $2,500 to former State Senator Charlotte Burks (D-Monterey), over the 12-year period.

Rep. Bart Gordon / Bart Gordon

During this time Rose also made donations to Democrats at the federal level, including former U.S. Representatives Bart Gordon (D-TN-06) and Lincoln Davis (D-TN-04) in 2008 and 2010. This means Rose continued to send donations to Democrats during the period when former President Barack Obama won a decisive victory, only to see conservative activists create the Tea Party movement over widespread discontent with his policies.

Former US Rep Lincoln Davis / Former US Rep Lincoln Davis

Election records reviewed by The Star also reveal Rose has participated in three Democratic primary elections since 2000.

Rose’s first recorded vote in a Democratic election occurred on May 7, 2002, when he completed a Democratic Party ballot during the DeKalb County primary election for county offices.

Records show Rose next participated in Democratic electoral politics on February 10, 2004, during the Democratic presidential preference primary as Democrats sought to unseat former President George W. Bush, who nonetheless won Tennessee and cruised to reelection with comfortable majorities.

John Kerry and running mate John Edwards / Richard Block CC2.0

While former Secretary of State John Kerry won the Democratic primary in Tennessee, and later became the Democrats’ presidential nominee that year, there were multiple other viable candidates still running by time Rose cast his ballot.

February 2004 was only 22 days after former Vermont Governor Howard Dean earned national notoriety through his awkward “Dean scream.” He still earned enough votes from Tennessee Democrats to place fourth in the Volunteer State.

Also on the ballot in February 2004, and actively campaigning by that point in the primary process, were former U.S. Senator John Edwards, civil rights figure Al Sharpton, General Wesley Clark, and former U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich.

Rose would again cast a Democratic primary ballot about six months later, when he participated in the election to determine the party’s nominee to represent the 6th Congressional District.

At the time, Gordon was seeking reelection against a primary challenger, Robert C. Hall. Rose voted in this Democratic primary four years before donating $1,000 to Gordon’s campaign.

Amid these donations, Rose was also tapped in 2002 to serve as the Tennessee Agricultural Commissioner by then-Governor Don Sundquist (pictured above, right), a Republican who easily won re-election in 1998 to a second four year term, promising on the campaign trail he would never support a state income tax, a policy that many Democrats in the state were known to support.

Sundquist shocked Republicans across the state when he broke his campaign promise in early 1999 and came out aggressively in favor of a state income tax.

Former Governor Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, also appointed Rose to serve on the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust board.

(Pictured: From left, Tennessee Tech University president Bob Bell presents the Tennessee Boad of Regents Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Philanthropy to John Rose while TBR regent Millard Oakley and past TBR regents Buddy Bowers and Nobel Cody look on) / AJLambert.com

The donations by Rose to Democrats who participated in the effort to impose a state income tax, as well as his past participation in Democratic primary contests, resurface as he campaigns against U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) for the Republican nomination to become Tennessee’s next governor.

Then in the State Senate, Blackburn worked with grassroots activists to organize opposition after Sundquist began calling to implement an income tax, despite previously promising he would not seek such a tax. Blackburn recently described her work in the General Assembly from 1998 to 2002 as a four-year fight to prevent an income tax from being enacted.

Former Tennessee State Senator Marsha Blackburn / Ben Cunningham

The Star contacted Rose’s campaign for comment on Thursday. A Monday response from his campaign chairman, Chris Devaney, did not dispute the facts of this reporting.

“These are the same sort of attacks that Governor Bill Lee endured in 2018. The bottom line is Marsha Blackburn and her campaign are desperate,” said Devaney. “Millions of dollars of her Senate funds are being funneled down from Washington to Tennessee to attack conservative John Rose and his momentum. It is just what you would expect from a 34-year career politician like Senator Blackburn.”

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include a statement from Rose’s campaign.