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Surprise! Williams New House Speaker

Submitted by Gene Patterson on January 13, 2009 - 10:17pm

Like herding cats.

That's all you can say about the vote today in Nashville, electing the state's first Republican House Speaker in 40 years.

Representative Kent Williams of Elizabethton - won the post 50-49, by voting for himself and picking up every Democrat vote.

Williams upset Jason Mumpower of Bristol, who the Republicans had united behind to take the Speaker's position.

Republicans booed the vote. But Williams promised to run the House in a bipartisan manner, though he admitted he'll likely be tossed from the GOP.

For more on the power play check here, here, here, and here.

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Republican leadership did a

Submitted by Bayard J. Donahoo (not verified) on January 17, 2009 - 2:28am.

Republican leadership did a good job managing the House races up to the election, but a poor job managing for their members afterward. They were artfully snookered by the Democrats. The party of Ehrlichman and Haldeman should have known better.