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February 10, 2009
Tennessee House Speaker stripped of party membership
The Tennessee Republican Party formally ousted House Speaker Kent Williams from its ranks yesterday, and thus put an end to their historic -- though mighty brief -- majority status in both houses of the Tennessee Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction.
I find it somewhat interesting, but not very surprising, that the House of Representatives now comprises 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and one independent; when prior to the 2008 election, the state Senate held 16 Democrats, 16 Republicans, and one independent in its makeup. The only weird part is that both independents are former Republicans named Williams, and each has held a title that contained the word "Speaker." Oh, and both are from East Tennessee.
But taking a step back from all the recent drama (think "Naifeh Republicans," former Sen. Mike Williams' vote for John Wilder, former Sen. Rosalind Kurita's vote for Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, and now Speaker Kent Williams), one may conclude that this is a continuation of a fairly predictable pattern in our state's representative branch. Alliances are formed around the center of power, and ideology takes a back seat to individual aims.
Another way to look at this is to consider that both parties have moved in the direction of their base supporters (the Democrats only very recently so), while traditionally, many legislators have been what some would call "moderate." This natural tension is likely to show up in the form of contested primaries for some time to come.
The hand-wringing by one side, while the other side piously overlooks its members' nearly identical behavior, sure makes a fine spectacle, though.
For more, see:
The City Paper
Frankly Speaking
Independent Political Report
No Silence Here
Government | By joe lance | 8:22 AM
