The poor persecuted Speaker

Tennessee Republican Chairman Chris Devaney officially sent the Carter County Administrator of Elections a letter specifying that pursuant to the bylaws of the Tennessee Republican Party, Tennessee House Speaker Kent Williams should not appear on the ballot as a Republican:

Pursuant to Article IX of the TRP Bylaws and T.C.A. §2-5-204, the TRP is required to notify the Chair or Administrator of Elections for Carter County of the Executive Committee’s determination. Having assumed the position of Chairman of the TRP, it is now my obligation to provide that notification.

Consequently, pursuant to the TRP Bylaws and T.C.A. §2-5-204, please be notified that the State Executive Committee of the TRP has determined that if Rep. Kent Williams files as a Republican for reelection, he is not qualified to appear on the primary ballot as a Republican.

And of course, Kent Williams had to respond publicly:

This is a challenging time in our history. I will not let rhetoric and outside distractions keep me from the work we have at hand. The people of Tennessee expect and deserve our very best as we move our state forward.

Whether one agrees with the decision to disallow Kent Williams from appearing on the Republican primary ballot or not, Chris Devaney was and is merely doing his job as Chairman at this point in carrying out the will of the Republican State Executive Committee. If the truth were known, Devaney probably would rather not deal with the whole issue of Kent Williams' party status at all, one way or the other. Devaney was, however, elected Chairman by the very Executive Committee which demanded that these sanctions against Williams be undertaken and has further pressed (by their subsequent inaction on the Williams question) that the relevant bylaws be enforced, and the Chairman must enforce them.

For someone allegedly more concerned about "the work we have at hand" than about the actions of the Republican Executive Committee, Kent Williams certainly makes it a point to take the time to respond to the SEC's actions toward him. What makes that interesting is that much of the State outside of Nashville really doesn't care whether Williams is a Republican or not, they merely want the business of the Legislature to get done. Realistically, it is neither politically advantageous or a political disadvantage on a Statewide scale for Kent Williams to tout the whole "Carter County Republican" line. The reaction of the voter on the street is "Republican, not a Republican, who gives a flying flip." The issue does matter to two subgroups of people-those who have invested money, time, or energy in the cause of a Republican majority-one which would allow the Republican Caucus to choose its own nominee for Speaker-and those Republican legislators who might be predisposed either to vote for Williams for Speaker or are diametrically opposed to him.

The only place where the Speaker can gain anything by his responses to actions which he supposedly sees as a distraction is in the political universe that is Carter County, the only place on earth where anyone actually buys the "poor persecuted Kent" routine. No one who has seen the way things are working in the House of Representatives-whether they favor or oppose calling Kent Williams a Republican-can rightfully say that Williams gets the icy treatment from his colleagues (who let him back into the House Republican Caucus of their own accord) and that this somehow makes the House ungovernable, or that Williams' saga with the SEC impacts anyone other than him, the Executive Committee, and the Chairman. The only way that it would impact anyone else is if Kent Williams believes what others, including me, do not-that he could have a Republican opponent in Carter County in November and be beaten.

Political figures who are worth their salt don't spend time on distractions...unless they aren't distractions, but issues or threats to their power.