Marc Ambinder, taking a cue from Kleinheider, tries to contextualize the ousting of Kent Williams from the TNGOP today. Emphasis mine:
The Tennessee GOP is one of the most conservative state parties in the country, and, as A.C. Kleinheider notes in his extensive coverage, its actions today herald in” a new Tennessee Republicanism, an ideological Republicanism” — not the Republicanism of Lamar Alexander, Bill Frist, Bob Corker or Fred Thompson. Kent Williams is at the leading edge of a generation of Republican officeholders who are rejecting the ideological Republicanism of the past twenty years. These battles will be fought state-by-state, just as they’re beginning to show up nationwide.
Sorry Marc, but it’s time for the rest of the story. As we covered (though A.C. and Post Politics did a much more thorough job), Williams basically cut in line and made a dirty deal with House Democrats, taking advantage of a thin majority and a political opportunity. He may not be as ideological as some Tennessee Republican office holders, but he’s not exactly leading some sort of post-political movement.
Of course, as Braisted and Kleinheider point out, this really just means that Williams can’t run as a Republican again. Until he leaves or the House GOP caucus removes him, he’s still a Republican as far as the House is concerned. Should Robin Smith and the TNGOP have purged themselves of this backstabber? Eh, I’m not so sure. I can’t tell what the fallout will be, if Williams will be so offended by this that he officially defects to the Dems, for example.
Still, this doesn’t really fit into the national context Ambinder is trying to place it in. I think it may reflect a movement of some moderates to the other side in order to grab hold of the “bipartisan spirit” of the day, or it could just be another chapter in the story of crazy Tennessee politics.
H/T Kleinheider.
