PRINCIPLED LEADERSHIP LOST

On August 5, 2007 I was unanimously elected TRP Chairman. In my remarks to the State Executive Committee, my pledge was to serve with our Republican principles as the first priority and vehicle in growing our organization and winning elections. The promise included the additional emphasis on the value of the great people of Tennessee, rather than simple partisanship.

These same remarks included the ultimate goal of our Tennessee Republican Party: Taking the Hill. Winning the Republican Majority in the General Assembly was agreed to be the most important accomplishment that we could pursue due to the 2010 Governor’s race and the redistricting mandated for 2011.

The Tennessee Republican Party delivered. Working in an unprecedented fashion with the state elected leadership, coordinating a true grassroots army and raising and spending an unparalleled amount of money on state legislative races, the Tennessee Republican Party was the driving force during the fifteen months of focused campaign activity.

On Tuesday, January 13, grassroots activists, party leaders, family members of elected officials and State Executive Committee Members swarmed around Tennessee’s Capitol with high expectations that Rep. Jason Mumpower would be elected Speaker of the TN House and Steve McDaniel would be elected Speaker Pro Tempore. The gallery was in an overflow situation with excitement visible from the faces of the “work horses” that had carried the weight of the campaigns.

“Stunned” is a word that inadequately captures the expressions as it became incredibly evident that Rep. Kent Williams had accepted a deal to be the Democrats nominee for Speaker in direct opposition to his Republican Leader, Jason Mumpower.

The sense of betrayal was not only palpable but also expressed in the calls from the balcony of “traitor”, “sellout” that rained down on Rep. Kent Williams as he walked forward to take the oath as Speaker.

The response to the Tennessee Republican Party has been overwhelmingly one-sided. A few snippets from the mountain of emails received:

• “Kent Williams must be recalled.”
• “This traitor should be kicked out of the party.”
• “Kent Williams is an embarrassment to the Party and the state.”
• “Rep. Williams belongs to the party of liars, deceivers, and traitors.”
• “On behalf of all the people in Carter County, I sincerely regret ever casting a vote for this man and disgracing the Tennessee house chamber with his presence.”

WHY THE OUTRAGE?

Kent Williams lives in Carter County and won this house seat in 2006. His first vote in
2007 was to elect Democrat Jimmy Naifeh as Speaker.

In November 2008, Senator Lamar Alexander received 79.7% of the vote and Presidential Candidate John McCain received 72.8% of Carter Countians’ votes. Looking at data back to 1996, this county has trended more Republican with each election. In 2004, voters in Carter County voted overwhelmingly at 86.3% that a family should be defined as a union between one man and one woman. This rural county nestled in the Appalachian Mountain Range reflects a desire for 2nd Amendment Rights, the hopes and dreams for individual opportunity and the Constitutional right of life.

Rep. Kent Williams had verbally committed to countless individuals his votes for the Caucus nominees for leadership and even signed a pledge to do the same. On December 15, Rep. Williams looked me in the eye and expressed his possible departure from the GOP Caucus for only one vote: a likely vote for Dale Sims for Treasurer.

Prior to the session on January 13, Rep. Williams spoke to a Member of the Republican U.S. Congressional Delegation and never indicated any departure from the Caucus votes he had previously pledged.

In one last incredible insult, Rep. Kent Williams caucused with the other 49 Republican members of the majority during the 30-minute recess that immediately preceded the nominations and vote for Speaker. During that time, Representatives Jason Mumpower, Glen Casada and Charles Sargeant joined Kent Williams in prayer. Rep. Williams offered no indication that less than a half-hour later he would not honor his previous pledges to vote for the nominees of the Republican Caucus.

In conversations with members of the Legislature, I have now spoken with at least two other Republican Members of the House who were contacted in addition to Kent Williams to be nominated as Speaker by the Democrats.  So, of the three members approached to participate in this deal, only Kent Williams agreed to conspire with the Democrats. This speaks to the character of Williams, but more importantly, to the character of the 49 honorable men and women who serve us so well in the House. I am proud as Chairman to stand with them on principle and the values of the majority of Tennesseans.

Seven days before his betrayal of our values and a full eight weeks after Representative Gary Odom (D-Nashville) claims the plot was hatched, Williams affirmed his commitment to elect Jason Mumpower as Speaker of the House. Listen to him make the false statement.

THE RESULT

The State Executive Committee of the Republican Party generated 30 written challenges to the “Bona Fide” status to Kent Williams. As Chairman, pursuant to the Tennessee Republican Party Bylaws, I received these challenges and began the deliberate review to determine appropriate action. Whether Rep. Kent Williams caucuses with the 49 Republicans is determined by two factors: the personal desire of Kent Williams and the votes of the 49 Members of the Republican House Caucus.

LET US HEAR FROM YOU

To the countless who have emailed your strong sentiments already, thank you. For those who have not, please send us your thoughts on this situation. Please also participate in this online poll to allow the public to see your immediate views.

As your Tennessee Republican Party Chairman, it is my promise to never value privileges above principles. According to former President Eisenhower, those who do, “soon lose both.”

A NEW DAY FOR TENNESSEE

New constitutional officers chosen via an open and honest selection process

The Tennessee Republican Party adds its voice to those praising the election of a new Secretary of State, Comptroller and Treasurer for the great state of Tennessee.

The legislature, meeting in joint session Thursday appropriately elected Secretary of State Tre Hargett, Comptroller Justin Wilson and Treasured David Lillard, the constitutional officer nominees selected by an unprecedented selection process designed by the new Republican legislative majority. That process included an open application period and public hearings.

During the last 140 years of Democratic control of the legislature and, therefore, the process of selecting constitutional officers, there was no public application or vetting process and no opportunity for public input. In recent years, the bitter fruit of that backroom-deal style of politics was evident as the Democratic appointees in those positions became increasingly partisan and politicized.

Secretary of State Hargett, Comptroller Wilson and Treasurer Lillard are all fine public servants of high personal, professional and ethical standards and achievements who have already served their state well, and Tennessee is blessed to have them serving now in these very important roles, The open and honest selection process created by the Republican majority has served the state well.

THE MEDIA REACTS TO THE DEMOCRATS’ POWER PLAY

Newspaper editorial pages and columnists across the state are being highly critical of statehouse Democrats for letting their lust for power lead them to install Kent Williams in the Speaker’s chair rather than a leader selected by the party you and your fellow Tennesseans elected to the majority just two months ago. Here’s a selection of their commentary, with excerpts and a link to the full versions on the web:

“Williams betrayed party, constituents and himself”
Kingsport Times-News editorial, Jan. 15, 2009

Williams’ defection from his party – and the Republican constituents who elected him – is a major blow for Republicans in the General Assembly who had hopes of advancing several long-stymied legislative initiatives such as expanding charter schools and making the state more business friendly. But Williams’ greatest betrayal was not to his fellow Republicans or even to the voters of his district who elected someone they had every reason to believe would support his party’s interests in the legislature. Rep. Williams’ greatest betrayal is to himself. To barter away the trust others once placed in him is a loss that he will never regain.

No one forced Rep. Williams to sign a pledge that he would support his party’s nominee for speaker. He did that of his own free will. To publicly make that pledge, only to break it for his own personal aggrandizement, is deeply dishonorable and obviously retards the positive change he claims to seek.

For Tennessee Republicans who are still reeling from Williams’ defection, however, there is yet some solace to be found in all of this: they aren’t in charge. Moreover, Williams’ elevation to the office of speaker is self-evidently not a triumph of open persuasion and bipartisanship but of connivance and chicanery. Williams appears a mere puppet of former Speaker Naifeh and his fellow Democrats. As such, they continue to hold the reins of power and will be answerable to the people of Tennessee for how they navigate the bleakest economy in a generation. And after shattering the trust and good will of half the House membership on the first day of the General Assembly, Tennessee Democrats are not, to put it mildly, off to a good start.

Will Dems have buyer’s remorse about new speaker?
Nashville City Paper, commentary by editor Clint Brewer, Jan. 15, 2009

“The only Republican who voted for Williams was Williams. He was put into power with all 49 Democrat votes in the House. … Williams is essentially a Democratic speaker. Tennessee Democrats will get the credit – or the blame – for whatever Williams’ leadership brings. … Odom and Naifeh basically took arguably the opposing team’s weakest player and put him in charge.”

Dems won battle, may have lost war
Jackson Sun editorial, Jan. 15, 2009

“By sabotaging plans to make heir-apparent Jason Mumpower the new speaker, replacing Jimmy Naifeh, [Democrats] have undermined whatever fragile trust existed between the parties and may have ultimately derailed their agenda. … The real losers in all this are the people of Tennessee who aren’t being served by the partisan bickering and political gamesmanship. But then, the people were the furthest thing from the Democrats’ mind in their rush to goad the Republicans. And it will be the people who will be hurt as this political drama plays itself out during the legislative year.”

Can we trust the deal-making Tennessee legislature?
The Tennessean, Jan. 14, 2009

Already, there are complaints that the Democrats’ action Tuesday was a classic example of secret deal-making in government, which the public always suspects and distinctly dislikes. In this case, those are not accusations but facts. Democratic leaders openly revealed the details of their clandestine strategy, going back to a restaurant meeting with Williams last Thanksgiving weekend that put the wheels in motion for what happened Tuesday. … The election of Williams as speaker made the process look more like a contest in cleverness than service to the people who elected those representatives.

Dems’ trickery served no one
Jackson Sun opinion columnist Mac Thomson, Jan. 15, 2009

“There is no benefit for the people of Tennessee when either party corrupts the other’s internal structure. It feels good to goad the competition, but being a member of the Tennessee House is a higher calling than the settlement of personal pique. An elected official speaks for the people of his district and state by his behavior and his votes. When the dust settled, Tennessee was not properly served Tuesday.”

SEN. KETRON’S GOVERNMENT SPENDING TRANSPARENCY BILL GETS EDITORIAL SUPPORT

The Tennessean newspaper editorial page has praised a proposal by Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, to post records of state expenditures online in a publicly searchable database. In their editorial published Jan. 15, the paper said this:

Given this state’s history on issues of open government, it is encouraging to see some actual momentum toward openness in some regards. A proposal by Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, should be an excellent step. Ketron proposes that Tennessee join a growing list of states that are using the Internet to make records of state expenditures more accessible. He advocates having the state budget office maintain a Web site database with details on all expenditures.

The state’s expenditures should be fully open to scrutiny in any budget year, but the current economic conditions only amplify the already obvious need for openness about the state’s money. Ketron’s effort to make expenditures more accessible to the public is particularly timely. The people deserve to know how every penny is spent. It’s their money. Trust can be a rare commodity in the public’s relationship with government. Openness can build trust. There have been signs along the way that show the state has gradually come to understand the need to build that trust. A database on state expenditures would be a boost.

The paper also carries an op-ed by Sen. Ketron explaining his excellent idea. Openness and transparency have not been a hallmark of Tennessee state government under the current governor and recent Democrat-controlled legislatures, but the rise of the Republican legislative majority is bringing a new and more open and transparent approach. Sen. Ketron is demonstrating with his excellent legislation something that the Tennessee Republican Party stressed all last year during the election campaign: It matters who governs.