Thursday, January 11, 2007
Newsflash: State House Democrats are NEVER partisan
State Representative Mike Turner (D-Old Hickory) is peeved because a majority of the Republicans in the General Assembly abstained from voting for the re-election of the state comptroller and state treasurer. In an interview with the Nashville City Paper, Turner took issue with his Republican colleagues with this quip:
“[W]hat they basically said is 'we're not going to vote for a Democrat.' That doesn't say much for bipartisanship.”
If Turner's so concerned about "bipartisanship," perhaps he should schedule a sit-down with his boss, House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh. Naifeh hasn't a bipartisan bone in his body; and it's a bit disingenuous for Turner to castigate Republicans for being partisan when one considers how Naifeh's treated the GOP over the years. For Example:
Naifeh has steadfastly refused to appoint Republicans as officers of committees that have any policy-making authority. (In a 1996 interview Naifeh pettily name-checked Newt Gingrich as his inspiration for the way in which he chose committee chairs, as if the administrative procedures of the U.S. House have any relevance on Nashville's Capitol Hill.) Naifeh routinely instructs subcommittee chairs to kill Republican bills, and he allows Republican bills with widespread popular support to be heavily amended in order for Democrats to claim credit. Finally, Republicans - especially Republicans who are critical of Naifeh or Democrats in general - are assigned offices in the War Memorial Building, which is uncomfortably stuffy in the summer, damp and drafty in the winter, and features drinking fountains that squirt water a dog wouldn't drink.
Before Rep. Turner alerts Republicans about the partisan splinters in their eyes, he needs to point out the fact that Jimmy Naifeh has a partisan log the size of the Washington Monument in his eye. So there.
“[W]hat they basically said is 'we're not going to vote for a Democrat.' That doesn't say much for bipartisanship.”
If Turner's so concerned about "bipartisanship," perhaps he should schedule a sit-down with his boss, House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh. Naifeh hasn't a bipartisan bone in his body; and it's a bit disingenuous for Turner to castigate Republicans for being partisan when one considers how Naifeh's treated the GOP over the years. For Example:
Naifeh has steadfastly refused to appoint Republicans as officers of committees that have any policy-making authority. (In a 1996 interview Naifeh pettily name-checked Newt Gingrich as his inspiration for the way in which he chose committee chairs, as if the administrative procedures of the U.S. House have any relevance on Nashville's Capitol Hill.) Naifeh routinely instructs subcommittee chairs to kill Republican bills, and he allows Republican bills with widespread popular support to be heavily amended in order for Democrats to claim credit. Finally, Republicans - especially Republicans who are critical of Naifeh or Democrats in general - are assigned offices in the War Memorial Building, which is uncomfortably stuffy in the summer, damp and drafty in the winter, and features drinking fountains that squirt water a dog wouldn't drink.
Before Rep. Turner alerts Republicans about the partisan splinters in their eyes, he needs to point out the fact that Jimmy Naifeh has a partisan log the size of the Washington Monument in his eye. So there.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Thursday, January 11, 2007 
