Several news stories have come out in the past couple of weeks concerning Speaker Kent Williams and his desire to be accepted back into the Republican Party. Speaker Williams had his Republican credentials removed following the vote for the Speaker and other positions in the most recent Tennessee elections. Just to quickly rehash things, then Tennessee GOP Chair, Robin Smith, sent out a letter stating that if any Republicans broke rank and voted for a Democrat for Speaker or any other officer positions, he or she could have their Republican credentials removed. This was a result of several Republicans, including Williams, breaking ranks to support Jimmy Naifeh as Speaker of the House in 2007. Williams signed a paper stating he would vote for Republicans for each of these positions.
Republicans became the majority party for the 2009 and 2010 legislative sessions, and Majority Leader Jason Mumpower was poised to become the Speaker of the House of the State of Tennessee. All that had to happen was the 50 Republicans vote Mumpower. The 49 Democrats could all rally behind one person, but as long as the Republicans stood together, they would win. Then, unexpectedly, Democratic Minority Leader nominated Kent Williams as Speaker. All 49 Democrats voted Williams. All 49 Republicans (save Williams) voted Mumpower. The final vote came down to Kent Williams. He voted for himself, giving himself the Speaker’s gavel.
Following the vote, Williams stated that he had stayed true to his pledge to vote for a Republican. That point could not be argued. He did vote for a Republican in that race. The real problem was in the Speaker Pro Tempore. He voted for Lois DeBerry, a Democrat. That went against the pledge.
GOP Chair Robin Smith decided with the GOP Executive Committee to remove Kent Williams ‘bona fide’ Republican status.
Now, word is that Williams wants back into the Republican Party. As it now stands, Williams will have to go into reelection as an independent. That poses a couple of problems. For one, it is difficult to win as a Republican. Also, as I understand it and someone can correct me if I am wrong, but if you run under a party banner, since you run in the primary, you are able to collect the maximum donations for the primary and general. Otherwise, if you are not running in the primary, which an independent would not, you can only collect the maximum for the general.
GOP Chair Smith is gone, having been replaced by Chris Devaney (Smith is running for US Congress). Devaney has talked about reconciliation. Williams has expressed interest in coming back into the fold, but he states he feels there is nothing to apologize for.
I was quick to jump on Williams’s case when all of this occurred, but he did prove to be better than expected as Speaker. Now, I know the ends does not justify the means, but Conservative legislation did get floor votes. The problem is that a party must make sure that they exercise some control over how their members conduct themselves on votes. A member voluntarily runs under a party banner, and he or she should expect the party to take action if he or she goes against the party on certain votes and issues. If the politician does what is right, the punishment should be worn as a sign of honor. In this case, I doubt that Williams or anyone sees it in that light. He wants to be back in the party, but should he be allowed?
Williams will win reelection as an independent. No one is likely to be able to overtake him. However, I do not feel that he should be just allowed back in. He chose to go against the party’s wishes. A punishment was handed down. Being allowed back in now negates anything the party did to him. However, I do think that the party should be waiting on the other side. Let the voters in Carter County vote on Kent Williams the person, not the party banner. If he survives, the party should immediately sit down with him and look closely at reconciliation. That way, there was a punishment for the actions, the voters of Carter County have their say, and we can move forward as a state and a party.
Now is a good time for Republicans. It is good in Tennessee. It is good nationally. The political climate has once again changed. I am not saying it is 1994 again, but it could be even better. We shall see. We need to move forward. Williams has been on the conservative side of many issues. The budget is an area of concern, but it is what it is. If he is not going to be given the chance to regain his bona fides anytime within the next couple of years, we need to move on from this with that has the resolution. It was not an honorable way of getting the Speakership in many of our minds, but it would be bad for Tennessee and conservatives if we squandered our opportunities at hand. Imagine if we had a split of Republicans between two nominees (Williams and Mumpower or another party nominee). Then the Democrats would once again exercise control. 2010 is a big year with redistricting looming. We cannot afford to allow the past to be repeated with Democrats having a hand in redistricting. This is what has caused our red state to have a Democratic majority in the House.
Am I upset that a more Conservative person did not run the House? Yes. Would I have liked more Conservative bills to pass? Yes. Would I have liked Williams to cast more votes in committees to break tie votes in favor of the Republican bill? Yes. Would I have liked to have a trimmed budget? You betcha! But 2010 is looming. We have to increase our majority. That will decide future elections. If districts are redrawn for Dems, we are hurting. If districts are redrawn for Repubs, we win big. If districts are redrawn fairly, we still win big. We need to get through the 2010 election. If Williams is there, reconciliation must take place so we can focus on the future and not allow Dems to decide our future as Tennesseans.
***UPDATE*** I have been asked about the speakership. I am not saying he should have the speakership, just for clarification.