Representative Litz shows his destain for gun owners
Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 3:39 pmState Representative John Litz implies that because of the current economic situation no other issues can be addressed. Mr. Litz was dragged into support the restaurant carry bill when the NRA told Tennessee legislators that it would be a "counted" vote and impact their NRA rating. Litz was no doubt assured that the bill would never be voted on when he became a cosponsor. Litz has made several public statements in the last year indicating his true opposition (fear of?) to legal citizens being armed.- Tim
***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************8
http://www.citizentribune.com/news/view ... icle=11204
Dems speaker deal leaves state GOP furious
By Robert Moore, Tribune Staff Writer
So certain were the new-majority Tennessee House Republicans that Jason Mumpower would emerge as speaker that state government’s Web site announced his arrival before Tuesday’s vote.
Republicans outnumbered Democrats 50 to 49, and the new majority had signed what Rep. John Litz, an old-majority Democrat, describes as a "blood oath" to support GOP nominees.
The election of GOP Majority Leader Mumpower as house seemed like a lock, but a backroom deal snatched the gavel from Mumpower’s hands in a move that’s been dubbed "the nuclear option."
All 49 Democrats threw their support behind Kent Williams, an Elizabethton Republican. Forty-nine Republicans voted for Mumpower.
Williams voted for himself, and the deal was done. Williams claimed a 50-49 victory, becoming first GOP House speaker in 40 years with only one Republican vote Âhis own.
"It was historic," said Litz, who seconded Williams’ nomination.
"After the November election, the state GOP made (Republicans) make a blood oath that they had to vote for a Republican for speaker, and that’s exactly what Kent Williams did," Litz added.
The eleventh-hour political maneuver apparently blindsided many House Republicans and their supporters.
A chorus of boos erupted from the gallery and GOP House members spoke ill of Williams and his family, according to Litz, who said he was "ashamed" of his colleagues’ conduct.
Williams’ pact with the political enemy immediately relegated him to pariah status in state Republican circles.
Robin Smith, state GOP chair, castigated Williams for supporting "pro-tax, pro-gay, pro-abortion, anti-gun" Democrats.
Eighteen members of the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee signed a document challenging Williams’ status as a "bona fide" Republican.
"Williams put personal ambition ahead of honor and lied his way into the speaker’s chair," Bill Hobbes, GOP communications director, said in a prepared statement.
"Elected by Republican voters in the historic 2008 elections that saw Republicans win a majority of House seats for the first time since 1868, Rep. Williams chose to betray his party and his constituents," Hobbes added.
The stated goal of the GOP leadership is to strip Williams of his membership in the Republican Party and end all references to Williams as a Republican on state Web sites and in media accounts.
What convinced Williams to accept the nomination and what snapped Democrats into line behind him was Mumpower’s alleged plan to fire approximately 250 members of the House legal staff "for the simple fact that they had been hired under a Democratic administration," according to Litz.
Litz says that Williams was sensitive to the issue because he lost his job at the Tennessee Department of Transportation in the early 1970s when Ray Blanton replaced Winfield Dunn as governor.
Litz says Democrats tried to convince Williams to support Jimmy Naifeh, a Democrat who held the speaker’s job for 18 years, but they changed course when Williams refused to budge.
The Hamblen County Democrat said that Williams was an attractive alternative to Mumpower because Williams indicated he would appoint both Democrats and Republicans to chair House committees.
Litz said that Williams’ relationship with the GOP establishment was strained because key Carter County Republicans have opposed him in elections.
Supporters of David Davis, former U.S. representative suggested that Williams was responsible for convincing Carter County Democrats to vote for Phil Roe, who defeated Davis by a narrow margin in November.
Despite the fact that Williams won the speaker’s job with unanimous Democratic support, Litz says he doesn’t expect the legislative agenda to differ much from what it would have been if Mumpower had been elected.
For years, House Democrats have blocked proposed GOP-sponsored legislation that would place further restrictions on abortion and allow permit holders to carry firearms into restaurants and bars.
"We’re looking at a $1.25 billion deficit, and they’re interested in abortion and guns," Litz said.
Despite Democrats’ antipathy toward the proposed legislation, Litz says he anticipates the bills will reach the House floor for a vote this session.
The House gallery was packed Tuesday afternoon with Republicans who had come to Nashville to witness what they thought would be a momentous event  Republicans assuming leadership of the legislative body.
Litz says he greeted several Republican friends from East Tennessee.
"They came to see a historic change," Litz said. "They said it wasn't the history they expected. But if you can predict history, is it really history?"
***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************8
http://www.citizentribune.com/news/view ... icle=11204
Dems speaker deal leaves state GOP furious
By Robert Moore, Tribune Staff Writer
So certain were the new-majority Tennessee House Republicans that Jason Mumpower would emerge as speaker that state government’s Web site announced his arrival before Tuesday’s vote.
Republicans outnumbered Democrats 50 to 49, and the new majority had signed what Rep. John Litz, an old-majority Democrat, describes as a "blood oath" to support GOP nominees.
The election of GOP Majority Leader Mumpower as house seemed like a lock, but a backroom deal snatched the gavel from Mumpower’s hands in a move that’s been dubbed "the nuclear option."
All 49 Democrats threw their support behind Kent Williams, an Elizabethton Republican. Forty-nine Republicans voted for Mumpower.
Williams voted for himself, and the deal was done. Williams claimed a 50-49 victory, becoming first GOP House speaker in 40 years with only one Republican vote Âhis own.
"It was historic," said Litz, who seconded Williams’ nomination.
"After the November election, the state GOP made (Republicans) make a blood oath that they had to vote for a Republican for speaker, and that’s exactly what Kent Williams did," Litz added.
The eleventh-hour political maneuver apparently blindsided many House Republicans and their supporters.
A chorus of boos erupted from the gallery and GOP House members spoke ill of Williams and his family, according to Litz, who said he was "ashamed" of his colleagues’ conduct.
Williams’ pact with the political enemy immediately relegated him to pariah status in state Republican circles.
Robin Smith, state GOP chair, castigated Williams for supporting "pro-tax, pro-gay, pro-abortion, anti-gun" Democrats.
Eighteen members of the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee signed a document challenging Williams’ status as a "bona fide" Republican.
"Williams put personal ambition ahead of honor and lied his way into the speaker’s chair," Bill Hobbes, GOP communications director, said in a prepared statement.
"Elected by Republican voters in the historic 2008 elections that saw Republicans win a majority of House seats for the first time since 1868, Rep. Williams chose to betray his party and his constituents," Hobbes added.
The stated goal of the GOP leadership is to strip Williams of his membership in the Republican Party and end all references to Williams as a Republican on state Web sites and in media accounts.
What convinced Williams to accept the nomination and what snapped Democrats into line behind him was Mumpower’s alleged plan to fire approximately 250 members of the House legal staff "for the simple fact that they had been hired under a Democratic administration," according to Litz.
Litz says that Williams was sensitive to the issue because he lost his job at the Tennessee Department of Transportation in the early 1970s when Ray Blanton replaced Winfield Dunn as governor.
Litz says Democrats tried to convince Williams to support Jimmy Naifeh, a Democrat who held the speaker’s job for 18 years, but they changed course when Williams refused to budge.
The Hamblen County Democrat said that Williams was an attractive alternative to Mumpower because Williams indicated he would appoint both Democrats and Republicans to chair House committees.
Litz said that Williams’ relationship with the GOP establishment was strained because key Carter County Republicans have opposed him in elections.
Supporters of David Davis, former U.S. representative suggested that Williams was responsible for convincing Carter County Democrats to vote for Phil Roe, who defeated Davis by a narrow margin in November.
Despite the fact that Williams won the speaker’s job with unanimous Democratic support, Litz says he doesn’t expect the legislative agenda to differ much from what it would have been if Mumpower had been elected.
For years, House Democrats have blocked proposed GOP-sponsored legislation that would place further restrictions on abortion and allow permit holders to carry firearms into restaurants and bars.
"We’re looking at a $1.25 billion deficit, and they’re interested in abortion and guns," Litz said.
Despite Democrats’ antipathy toward the proposed legislation, Litz says he anticipates the bills will reach the House floor for a vote this session.
The House gallery was packed Tuesday afternoon with Republicans who had come to Nashville to witness what they thought would be a momentous event  Republicans assuming leadership of the legislative body.
Litz says he greeted several Republican friends from East Tennessee.
"They came to see a historic change," Litz said. "They said it wasn't the history they expected. But if you can predict history, is it really history?"