...but shame on both Tennessee political parties.
Here are the facts:
50 Tennessee House Republicans* voted for a Republican candidate to become Speaker of the House.
49 Tennessee House Democrats voted for a Republican candidate to become Speaker of the House.
Not surprising from the above two facts, a Tennessee Republican was elected Speaker of the House and thus gaining control of both legislative bodies since Civil War Reconstruction (we might revisit that period in Republican legislation success later)..
But Something Went Awry
In the eyes of House Republicans, something went wrong. Rep. Kent Williams (R*) voted for himself instead of the 'nominee of the Republican caucus', Jason Mumford (R), thus electing a man who chose to vote for himself rather than in lockstep with his party. In fairness, one might note that Representative Mumford voted for himself (not that there was any personal ambition involved), following the rest of the Republican caucus Representatives.
My Soapbox
From my chair, I see a number of things wrong with what transpired yesterday:
1. 98 Members of the House voted in blocks along political party lines. Sad...and I fully expect this to be a harbinger of 'politics as usual' where duly elected representatives will vote along party lines instead of working together in a bipartisan spirit to do what is best for Tennessee. Shame on both House political parties.
2. TN House Republicans 'pledged' to "vote for a Republican for Speaker of the House.." From this, one might garner that House Republicans are not expected to think critically for themselves, vote for the best candidate (regardless of party affiliation), or to represent ALL of the people of their respective districts...just do what the party leadership tells them to do, or vote whichever way will help them get re-elected (I may barf any minute here, excuse me).. According to Bill Hobbs, "Williams put personal ambition ahead of honor and lied his way into the Speaker's chair". Shame on Tennessee House Republicans! Double shame on Williams! And I am glad that I am sitting down when I hear Bill Hobbs criticizing a Republican*.
3. To Tennessee House Democrats, the back room shenanigans that succeeded in electing Kent Williams seem to follow the "Good Ole Boy" politics that have been a detriment to the reputation of the Tennessee Democratic Party and an embarrassment to many Tennesseans (me included). I'll not itemize the legal entanglements, arrests, and charges that speak to this, those are well documented. For the lack of openness in yesterday's action: Shame on you Tennessee House Democrats!
If it is not obvious from my soapbox, that I am not pleased with what transpired yesterday, I must add that there is a bright side. The democratic (lower case 'd') process to elect a Speaker of the House worked without violence, police intervention, international election observers, or UN Peace Keeping forces (I'll ignore the whining part...that is to be expected in politics). On the darker side, Tennessee House Democrats and Republicans are at a crossroad in Tennessee political history...they will either work together for a new era of bipartisan cooperation to tackle the mountain of recession related challenges facing the people of Tennessee, or, they will waste the months and years until the next election expending vast amounts of energy on re-election campaigns, anti-opposing party campaigns, and litmus tests for party loyalty. Tennesseans deserve better!
* There is a challenge as to whether or not Rep. Williams is a bona fide Republican.
For a good, aggregated round-up of the chatter across the blogosphere, check out Tennessee ConBloggers weigh in on Kent Williams