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Topic: Cup of Joe Powell Blog
February 12, 2009 |
The uproar within the Tennessee Republican Party over Rep. Kent Williams winning the Tennessee House Speaker position continues unabated. Williams has been maligned by the state GOP leadership for not adhering to the Party agenda. Within his home district, Carter County, Williams enjoys strong support. Some of that support has written to the local media to express its sentiment on the issue.
From the Elizabethton Star:
“Republican Party Is Bigger Than One Person“

“Robin Smith, Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, has called a press conference Monday to announce her decision regarding House Speaker Kent Williams’s membership in the Republican Party. The decision rests solely with Smith, and perhaps nothing would delight her more than to kick the Carter County lawmaker out of the party.
Williams’ re-election last November helped give the Republicans a majority in the state House. Williams, who claims to be a Republican, who was elected as a Republican, and we do believe has Republican values, was elected Speaker with his vote and that of the 49 Democrats in the House. He defeated the GOP’s hand-picked candidate for Speaker, Jason Mumpower, who, too, voted for himself. He received all the Republican votes in the House except for Williams’.
Should the chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party have that much power? Power to decide who has membership in the party, who can be a Republican and who can not? Rep. Williams has said that he will leave the party voluntarily, Ms. Smith only has to ask. «Read the rest of this article»
Sections: Events, News, Opinion, Politics | 2 Comments
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