Commentary: Republican caucus can’t repeat state party's mistake on Williams

When state House Speaker Kent Williams strolled into a House Republican Caucus meeting last week for the first time since the day he joined with 49 Democrats to elect himself Speaker, he presented the caucus with a problem many in the general public assumed had been solved.

It was not that long ago that Tennesse Republican Party chair Robin Smith unceremoniously booted the new speaker out of the GOP for betraying his caucus by not following through on his promise to vote for Rep. Jason Mumpower for Speaker. Williams, of course, fired back saying that excommunication or not, he was still a “Carter County Republican.”

While the Republican Party took a hit for throwing out Williams, it was seen as worth it by many in the party because it removed their brand from the new speaker in the public mind and in the media. The GOP was no longer responsible for this ‘Republican’ speaker. Or so they thought.

Williams is apparently not willing to go quietly. By attending the GOP caucus meeting, he has upped the ante. Smith may have kicked him out of the party but to caucus with a party in a legislative body, you don't have to be in the party. Williams is making the Republican effort to separate him from the brand very difficult.

No official action has been taken by the caucus regarding Williams. If he was a member of the caucus before, and he has not been removed and he has not left, then it would follow that he is still a member. House Caucus Press Secretary Kara Watkins told The City Paper last week that the question of Williams’ caucus status is not an easy one.

While conceding that no action had been taken, Watkins would not say whether Williams was or was not a caucus member. “What makes someone a caucus member?” Watkins asked rhetorically. “Is it membership in the party? Or is something else? Our bylaws don't speak to this. There is no precedent here. We are in uncharted waters.”

This situation is manageable when the meeting is an open one like last week. But eventually, the Republicans in the house will be confronted with a situation where they need to speak candidly and confidentially without the speaker they believed betrayed them. Confrontation is inevitable. The Republican caucus has to act. They either need to affirm that Williams is counted among their numbers and will be embraced, or, they need to formally expel him.

If they choose to expel they will repeat the public relations battle that took place when the TNGOP excommunicated him. By walking into that caucus meeting, Williams showed that is he ready for round two. He clearly believes that by kicking him out the TNGOP came off as petty and bitter sparking a backlash in his East Tennessee home of Carter County.

Williams is right. East Tennesseans are a proud independent people. They are not going to allow some party chair in Nashville to be the final arbiter of who is and who is not a Republican.

The attempts to remove the Republican brand from Williams is only making him stronger back in Carter County and here in Nashville. If the Republicans really want to hurt Williams, they need to arrest his growing political power. The only way to do that, ironically, is to embrace him.

Kleinheider is NashvillePost.com’s political blogger. Visit Post Politics at http://postpolitics.net