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I’m going to take another stab at writing about Tuesday’s shenanigans in the House. Now that the dust has fallen and the story is (gasp) 48 hours old, let’s talk about some things that need addressing. I sort of compare the whole Kent Williams/Gary Odom/Jimmy Naifeh drama to when my grandmother watched soap operas when I was a kid. If this isn’t your cup of tea, go look at this picture of a platypus.

After months of one of those supercouple’s fighting, bantering and then falling for  each other, eventually you’d have the show where they’d get together and do the deed which was usually filled with lust, passion and a pay off. My grandmother loved her some soaps and would wait with bated breath for those moments.

And THEN, a new set of problems would air it’s ugly head and keep the starcrossed lovers apart, confused, fighting, etc.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

While all the drama is going on, we need to keep in mind that politics is still happening behind the scenes. And we are so busy watching the “fun” stuff that we may be missing out on the important issues that impacts our day-to-day lives.

Let’s also be clear. In my opinion, both sides of the political aisle have been arrogant recently. The arrogance over having a house majority, arrogance over bumfuzzling other politicians, arrogance over pulling a fast one. And don’t forget about redistricting, which has been the behind the scenes talk since November.

I’ve received several emails from both sides of the aisle on this one and I guess the bottom line for me is this:

A.) The GOP was played on Tuesday. See soap opera reference above. The TNDP has been played in the past. It’s a chess match, folks. It swerves from side to side. And it is understood that both parties are supposed to stick together. But they don’t. It’s as easy as that. As for political drama earlier this week, it was amazing. But as they say about sports, you are only as good as your last game. Same thing goes for politics.

B.) Some secretive stuff was going on while the drama played out. Remember that. What was your Rep. or Senator doing during all of this? Hmmm.

C.) The average person I talked to yesterday had no idea what went on in the house on Tuesday. They could have cared less (which is another post for another day.) The big talk in Hoots yesterday was the TVA increase on their electricity bills and how the hell they were going to pay it. We also discussed doing a benefit for a local group of brothers who have a heart disease. The oldest, who is a senior in high school, needs a heart transplant.

You see, not everyone is a political junkie.

D.) In my neck of the woods, this is scaring the hell out of us because UT is looking at cutting 700 jobs which will completely impact my community. The only guy I see talking about these things is Sen. Andy Berke.

E.) Does anyone in the Tennessee House know Robert’s Rules of Order? Just asking.

I know. My fellow progressives are probably saying “‘Coma! Shut up.” I understand, but I also think we need to put this in perspective. The house has been a dunghole for years. Although Tuesday’s hootenanny was great fun for us on the left, we still have several months to get through and there is work to be done.

And, to quote Sharon Cobb from the comments yesterday: “Gawd, that was some brilliant politics, yesterday. Sick and twisted, but brilliant.”

It was. Now it’s time to get busy.

So much happened in Tennessee politics yesterday in the opening hours of the 106th General Assembly that it’s difficult to wrap one’s mind around it all. I watched a lot of it streaming and Twitter went wild.

Who knew that yesterday was going to be insane. Not I.

It was political drama at it’s best. I think that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi need to come down to Nashville and see how it’s done. Jimmy Naifeh and Gary Odom got their political strategy on when it came to getting Jason Mumpower, who had been designated the golden child and next speaker, out in the cold.

You can always catch Adam’s coverage at Post Politics and he was all over it yesterday. It just goes to show that we need that sort of aggregated blog where someone is continually feeding information. Excellent.

Once I started seeing the fireworks at PP, I headed to the website and watched this latest version of “Days of our Lives” in real time. I didn’t see any Republicans heads exploding but I did see a flurry of activity. The stream is great, however, I wish they’d had a camera on Rep. Stacy Campfield. Better yet, I wish they had a camera on Gary Odom, who gloats for fun on any given day. I wonder if there was a light coming out of his head. I will pay higher taxes for this option in the future.

I have a few random thoughts about the events of the day.

1. Around the blogosphere, it’s being said that Kent Williams pledged to vote for a republican and it appears he did.
2. Michael Silence is right in this post, you know.
3. As is Aunt B. here. The progressive movement amongst elected democrats isn’t going to change in the least. Why? There really isn’t much of a progressive movement going on in Nashville. However, it was a bit of fun to watch for political junkies.However, this is a Blue Dog state which doesn’t always jibe with progressives. It is what it is.
4. I honestly don’t understand Robin Smith’s statement on Kent Williams. I mean I understand she called him a lying scumbag, I get that, and I will give her props for saying exactly what she wanted to. However, it was a bit strong. The PR tactics of Smith and Hobbs always gobsmacks me.
5. Williams had to leave the General Assembly with highway patrolmen? Was he in danger? Was Mumpower going to rip his face off? Was this honestly necessary? Were the GOP, who were highly pissed, holding torches and sticks? I refer back to Smith’s message at #4. Oh wait, there is this from The Tennessean:
   

   “The level of vitriol from Republican was palpable. After Williams left the chamber during a recess, Mike Weaver, the husband of freshman House member Terri Lynn Weaver, hissed “Judas” at Williams as he made his way down the hallway.”

6. So. Beale. Just go there.
7. I honestly would have loved to be a fly on the wall in Jimmy Naifeh’s office after the session yesterday.
8. I honestly would have loved to be a fly on the wall in Jason Mumpower’s office after the session yesterday.
9. Wonkette line of the day: The point is, Harry Reid could never do this. Snap!

I would like to remind everyone, after yesterday’s soap opera, that Williams is still a Republican. He may not have been the anointed Jason Mumpower, but the GOP still has the leadership in the house.

Photo Credit

UPDATED to add Ben Cunningham’s video wrap-up