Please, He’s Just A Minion
Posted on February 9, 2009 at 2:09 pmRobin Smith denies she called Speaker Kent Williams the devil:
“Her exact words were, ‘Congratulations speaker. It’s hard to kill the devil but in two years, you’re a dead man.’
“That’s a pretty harsh statement,” Williams told reporters after Smith expelled him from the party this morning. He said it made him “feel cheated” of his big moment in the sun.
To the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Smith denies she called Williams the devil. She says she was talking to Jimmy Naifeh at the time. “That is an absolute lie,” she says of Williams’ account of what happened. She didn’t approach the podium at all, she says, but looked Naifeh “straight in the eye” from the House floor. “I just mouthed the words, ‘It’s hard to kill the devil.’”
Tom Humphrey has more on the dispute from Jimmy Naifeh:
Naifeh, meanwhile, says he had never met Smith and didn’t recognize her, but recalls “some woman yelling at Kent Williams” that “We’re coming after you.”
“Kent said ‘Come on,’ or something like that,” said Naifeh.
But Naifeh said he doesn’t recall the word “devil” being used.
“If she said that, I didn’t hear it,” he said.
SEE ALSO: TNGOP Chief of Staff Mark Winslow:
This is just more victimization from Williams. I was standing with [Robin Smith] on the floor when she addressed [Williams]. She did not “approach” the podium as he has said. We were standing at Mumpower’s desk. Her specific comment was “Good luck, you’ll need it. You are a man without a party.” Then she looked at Nafieh and said “They say it’s tough to kill the devil, but we’ll get there.”
I think you heard today, Robin’s determination that this not get personal. Clearly from his release and now this silliness, Williams intends to keep trying to make it personal. He needs to follow his own advice when he said she has made her decision and so be it. It’s sad to see someone who portrays himself as a leader of this state acting in such a childish fashion.
SEE ALSO: Tiny Cat Pants
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What a bunch of bozos. Who really gives a damn about all of this outside of the Capitol Hill chattering class? I suspect the average Tennessean is STILL more worried about having a job, paying the bilss, educating the kids and avoiding the criminals.
Maybe Robin Smith was referring to herself as the devil in that statement? She sure seems to be sending our party straight to hell. I hope people remember this when we have trouble with the governor’s race!
The TNGOP seems to have an awful lot of staff doing nothing to help Tennesseans.
[...] Tennessee Republicans expel ‘heretic’ Filed in General on Feb.09, 2009 Ambinder is reporting that the Tennessee GOP has expelled from the party the Speaker of its own state legislature, characterizing him as a ‘heretic’ and, by one account, ‘the devil.’ [...]
And benintn seems to have an awful lot of time doing nothing but trite, pointless, knee-jerk lefty blogging. But, hey, to each his own, you know?
Smith has herself twisted into such knots of contorted logic that it’s painful to watch her. I read some good points on other blogs.
Reporters asked her why she wasn’t calling on Republican committee chairmen to give up their positions? Aren’t they in cahoots with the devil if they stay in leadership positions? And what about Steve McDaniel? He’s third in command for Williams, the second highest ranking Republican. Shouldn’t he give up that deputy speaker post? By Smith’s logic, they should all quit.
On the Chattanooga Times Free Press blog, a commentor really nailed the hypocrisy of Smith calling the Tennessee Republican Party the party of integrity and honor. Just last year, the chair of the Hawkins County Young Republicans resigned because she was having an affair with a Republican candidate for Senate. That candidate, Mike Faulk, wouldn’t even admit the truth, and Smith and the Tennessee Republican Party stood toe-to-toe with Faulk and got him elected. Ron Ramsey called adultery “a bump in the road.” And this is the party of integrity and honor?
All of this just shows why I vote for candidates and not political parties. I want a candidate that I can trust regardless of their parties. Parties are filled with liars and they never have the best interests of the people at heart. They only care about what they think is good for the party.
“trite, pointless, knee-jerk”
He learned it by watching Mumpower and Co…..
“Then she looked at Nafieh and said ‘They say it’s tough to kill the devil, but we’ll get there’… I think you heard today, Robin’s determination that this not get personal.”
The lack of irony here is absolutely mind-blowing.
So wait, who’s the devil…Williams? I thought he was Judas. Is Naifeh the devil? Is Mumpower Jesus?
Oh my god! Just when you think Robin Smith can’t get any better, she’s yelling about the devil and it not being personal and talking about the Republican party being the party of integrity and values. She’s shouting at people being the Devil!
You could not make that woman up! And she wants to run for office? God, I hope so. I hope she runs and wins, because she is too much fun.
Aunt B. you have a good point. She’s almost becoming the Ophelia Ford of the Republican Party
Shoot, at this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if she started shooting at trucks along I-40 a la John Ford. Someone check and make sure she doesn’t any secret families stashed away anywhere.
How ridiculous is it that benintotaldenial, Braisted, and the Chipinista are now criticizing Robin Smith. I agree that Smith’s move here is stupid, but at least she had the nuts to stand up in public, kick the guy out of her party, and live with the consequences.
Chip Forrester and the Chipinista, on the other hand, told the governor and their members of congress to get the hell out of their party - but wait! Keep raising money for us. We don’t give a damn what you think and we’re not going to listen to how you think the party should be run, but keep raising money for us. Pretty please?
It’s a purge on both sides of the partisan divide. No difference. If Chipper and the Chipinista had any integrity and half a testicle between them, they’d take their little party label away from their elected leaders, too.
Robin Smith might be acting like a raving lunatic, but at least she has guts. Chipper and the Chipinista are spineless and hypocritical.
So Heatseeker are you saying that Robin Smith is guy with nuts dressed up as a woman?
Lets see, oh illogical one.
Chip Forrester, says he respects the Congressmen and Governor, but will continue his race for party chairman despite their endorsement of another candidate.
Robin Smith strips a bona fide Republican of his bona fide status because he didn’t vote for her preferred candidate for Speaker of the House.
Yep, one in the same.
Heatseeker, listen, slightly off-topic here, but we have to talk about this Chipinista stuff. If you want to come up with a catchy name for folks, it really needs two successful elements. 1. It needs to be ease to say. I have no idea how to say Chipinista and every time I see it, I want to say “Chimpanesta,” which, okay, is pretty funny. But I have no idea which liberals you think are the Chimpanesta, which brings me to my second point–2. The object of your ire needs to be easily discernible. I have no idea who the hell you’re talking about. Braisted? Me? Anyone you feel like calling names?
I mean, look at “feminazi.” When you see that, you instantly know who’s being addressed and what the person’s complaint with them is. And how to say it.
As far as I can tell, you think some Democrats are revolutionary Spanish apes? What?
I’ll do you one better, Aunt B.
Let’s take a closer look at “Heatseeker”. Now, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say ol’ Heatseeker is a dude. I can’t prove it of course, but there are telltale signs like his militaristic language and emasculating comments directed to liberals and Democrats. So let’s go with the assumption that Heatseeker is a dude, and as a dude, he claims to be “seeking heat”.
Does that mean he needs laid? Or maybe he can’t get it up and is in search of some Viagra? That wouldn’t be surprising for a Republican. Ask Bob Dole. Or Larry Craig. Or David Vitter.
Anyway, Heatseeker, which one are you? Hard up for a date or just plain impotent? Enquiring minds want to know.
History Lesson:
Tennessee Governor Don Sunquist lies to electorate in re-election campaign about supporting the income tax. TNGOP Chair…..silent.
Republican nominee Byron “low tax” Looper murders democrat opponent. Did TNGOP throw him out of the party? Nope.
Last GOP Speaker (1970) made liberal appointments of Democrats and Republican to Committee Chairs. TNGOP Chair….silent.
[...] And the Republicans’ defense seems to amount to “Hey, we call everyone the Devil and insinuate that we might, playfully, murder them, so Williams can’t be sure we meant him. God, he takes everything so personally.” And Smith calls him a liar! Well, good lord, woman, when you’re giving someone the old crazy eye from across the room, and shouting out death-threats, it’s understandable how the man next to him might be confused about which one of them you’re addressing. I don’t think that’s “lying.” That’s just good old fashioned fear. [...]
As far as I can tell, you think some Democrats are revolutionary Spanish apes?
Now that’s funny, Aunt B, and a very accurate description of what I think of the Chipinista (think “Sandinista.” And no, I don’t think of Chip supporters as an English punk band with major reggae leanings.) By “Chipinista” I mean the starry eyed little children following merrily after their pied piper, Chip Forrester.
Morpheus, boooooorrrrr-ing.
Sean, check out Chipper’s Liberadio! interview. He admits that he can’t get in touch with Bredesen, Cooper, Gordon, Tanner, or Davis. He’s can’t get in touch with his own DNC chair either. Face it, you guys told them to take a hike from your party, and they did.
Chipper also admits that he tossed his elected officials from the Tennessee Democrat Party in favor of the MoveOn.org crowd. As a matter of substance, you tell me what’s the difference between these actions and the actions of Robin Smith.
Robin Smith says Kent Williams worked in secret to be Speaker, yet she and her cronies will only be too glad to shroud themselves in secrecy when the need arises. They will even change the rules of the Party as they go along to get what they want, like they did a while back. Robin Smith claims to be all for allowing the voters to know how their representatives conduct their business in the legislature (open government), yet she wouldn’t reveal which Executive Committee members voted to oust Speaker Williams from the party. Shouldn’t the committee members and Smith be responsible enough to those they represent to tell them the truth? She said 81 percent of the membership voted to oust Williams. Funny, that’s the exact same number of the citizenry that supports Speaker Williams in the tri-cities area, not just Carter County.
Why did she or the Caucus Whip not just put Mumpower’s name as Speaker on the news release the representatives signed (note that this was not a legal document)? Was this supposed to be a kind of “unspoken pledge” among them for the sole reason of appearing to operate in the Sunshine, while at the same time serving as a mechanism to bully all the reps. into not changing their minds? Do most people even realize the paper the representatives signed was just a news release?
Mumpower worked on his Speakership for weeks behind closed doors. Many employees there had no clue they would be jobless when Mumpower took the helm, as he quietly found new employees to replace them. When Smith’s Chief of Staff, Mark Winslow, read my email complaining of Mumpower’s intentions, he told me this was not true. He said the rumors about the firings were a “lie” and, as proof, he said the DEMOCRATS actually did the hiring of employees for the most part. Imagine how embarrassed Winslow must have been when I reminded him that it was his OWN STAFFER who let the cat out of the bag as she explained how Smith and Mumpower must have felt when Williams was elected Speaker. I told him if it was a lie, his own employee told it, and he never broached that subject again in our communications. Is THIS “integrity and honor” , Chairman?
Robin Smith really had to be desperate for excuses to get rid of Speaker Williams if she’s even lambasting him for not having the budget items worked out. Most people realize the stimulus package isn’t confirmed yet, so of course Speaker Williams wouldn’t have details ready for that. It has been widely publicized that the legislature has several weeks to work on it, since not even the Governor is prepared. Why does Smith have a problem with the Speaker getting $70,000 and a driver? Didn’t the last Speaker get that? Would it have been ok for Mumpower to have had the money and driver, though?
Since Kent Williams personifies the “devil” to her, why did she let him stay in the Party even one hour after his election? I’ll tell you why: the truth is, Mrs. Smith stood by long enough to let Williams appoint the chairmanships and set the Republicans on a good path, THEN she stepped in when he was finished and ousted him from the party. She didn’t have such a hard time trusting him until everything was set in stone, did she? If she was such a woman of her values and he couldn’t be trusted, then why did she not get rid of him by Jan 14th? I would have been afraid he’d put all Democrats in chairmanships if he were such a liar. She knew on Jan. 13h what she was going to do. Did she even sit down at any time to talk with Rep. Williams like a big girl? She didn’t. She didn’t want the truth staring her in the face. Is this “honor and integrity”?
Robin Smith indicated one of her problems with Williams was that she thinks he doesn’t promote equal pay for the staff. If she was REALLY worried about these people at all, she would not have backed Mumpower, who was planning to GIVE THEIR JOBS AWAY to others. And SHE called Kent Williams “disingenuous”? Is this “honor and integrity” she has pledged to stand on?
Yes indeed, Mrs. Smith, as you so love to say, “First we make our choices, then our choices make us”. We already see what your choice has made you and I’m sorry you couldn’t rise above your personal agenda and be more about the citizens of Tennessee and your entire Party. Before you come campaigning into Carter County, you’d better brush up on your history. Oh, I forgot. You are from Georgia, aren’t you? Your choices and those of your leadership team will again make you losers in 2010 because we Carter Countians will not be bought nor told how to vote, and you can’t do anything about it. You don’t run Carter County. We do.
Get it all out, startinaRevolution. Get it allllll out.
The truth’s the truth,no matter how long it takes to tell it.
Robin Smith is a psychopath! She is planning on running for Zach Wamp’s seat in congress. Wouldn’t that race be a fun one to watch. She has a history of telling people that they are the devil and they need to pray and get saved, while screaming and cussing them.
Robin Smith needs professional help.
Damn. Obsessed a little? I didn’t know this was “KENT: The mini-sries”.
Sounds like someone needs some quiet time.