May 4, 2005

Dictator Update: A Political Postmortem

Matt White has penned a must-read post-mortem on Tennessee House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh and the political shootout over House Bill 0887. White writes from the perspective of someone who, until very recently, worked in the state legislature and was in a position to observe up close how Naifeh operates.

The episode is representative of all that is wrong with House Democratic Leadership in general and Jimmy Naifeh, in particular. They feel like they live under a different set of rules. They don't have to follow procedure. (Like allow debate when there is objection to a motion and then gaveling down anyone who with the temerity to try to debate.) They trump up excuses to suit their purposes. (There is no rule requiring committee staff to be present before votes are taken, only a quorum of legislators. Staff should have been there on time anyway.) They stifle dissent and don't allow the membership to vote where votes are prudent.