Missives From The Davidson County GOP Listserve On The Matt Collins Affair
Posted on October 29, 2009 at 6:46 pmOn Tuesday night, the Davidson County GOP moved against one of its more controversial party officials. Wednesday, the story broke. On Thursday, Republican bloggers reacted to the story — but not on their blogs.
Rod Williams today in an email on the party’s listserve:
It wasn’t I who leaked it to the press, but I was afraid this would happen. You can’t keep something like this a secret. Not many people read the Nashville Post, but I expect to see it in the Tennessean soon. It may make the 6 PM news. Did you see the 50+ comments on the Nashville Post website? This is very bad PR. What I wish is that Matt would be contrite and agree to be more circumspect and cooperative in the future and we could say a misunderstanding and an internal dispute was resolved in an amicable manner. We are a very small minority fighting among ourselves. This is not going to grow the party. Maybe, it had to come to this; I don’t know, but I hate it. Is there any room to negotiate? Is there anyway to delay action and see if this can be resolved in a less drastic manner?
Kay Brooks in an email on the party’s listserve responding to Williams:
Precisely, Rod. This news was going to get out PDQ. It’s too juicy a political tidbit to get ignored. I think Lynda acted wisely in having a prepared statement ready so there were facts available and couldn’t be painted has having to scramble to respond to press inquiries. Please notice that AC Kleinheider at the Nashville Post says: “A spokeswoman for DCRP chairwoman Kathleen Starnes would not elaborate on the statement.” So obviously, Lynda didn’t provide Kleinheider with any additional fuel. Kudos to her for her professionalism.
There are now over 100 comments at the Nashville Post and many are very supportive of the DCRP. I suggest we just maintain radio silence for now and let the process go forward. Under the oversight of the State Party evidence against Matt will be presented and Matt will have a chance to make his case in his defense. Personally, I’m not afraid of the scrutiny. Yes, it’s messy and embarrassing but I think we can recover and move on and be stronger. It’s not like the Dems have never had their issues. The Republican’s I’ve spoken to since the event has become public have not been unhappy at the motion.
Re: Negotiating: Rod, I have made several suggestions to Matt but it’s my understanding that he will not compromise. Without his willingness to move I don’t see how we can work this out.
And just for exactness the statement was originally uploaded to the website about 5:20 am Wednesday morning during my routine on-line time. There is no RSS feed to alert folks that the website had been changed. Nothing was posted to Facebook or Twitter which do feed automatically. It wasn’t uploaded to the clearly marked ‘press release’ section but placed blandly, without headline. And I didn’t give Kleinheider the heads up either.
UPDATE: Rod Williams reacts:
Let this be a lesson. Don’t post anything on a listserv that you do not want to see published in the newspaper. Actually there is nothing to be embarrassed about in these exchanges. Actually, I am surprised that the Post found these email exchanges newsworthy.
I do, however, feel that a trust was violated and that someone forwarded what we thought were private conversations to the press.
Campaign For Liberty Calls For Push Back On The Davidson County GOP
Posted on at 8:58 amThe national organization formed by Ron Paul essentially continuing his campaign to bring the Old Right back into the GOP has spoken out on the movement to oust one of its members from the Davidson County Party.
Recent developments in the Nashville Republican Party has led to one of our very own being threatned with permanent expulsion from his elected position as the DCRP 1st Vice Chair. This breaking news has led the CFL to release an important message with regards to further action against Matt Collins.
We humbly submit to the state party officals and DCRP officers, please err on the side of principles before party politics. Please dont remove an elected officer for being outspoken about Constitutional accountability. Matt is a fervent patriot, a real Sam Adams of our time, and defends the principled politics that has long been lost in our society. We will not support any type of affiliation that promotes big government or economically irresposibile candidates.
The Nashville DCRP has promoted time and time again big government candidates. John McCain, case and point. We have finally won an electable office within the DCRP that can help promote and defend OUR American way of life, and the DCRP feels threatened.
Davidson County GOP Moves To Oust Ron Paul-Supporting Vice Chair
Posted on October 28, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Collins (right) with Judge Andrew Napolitano
The Davidson County Republican Party took its first steps Tuesday night toward ousting its controversial First Vice Chairman Matt Collins. The party Executive Committee voted 14 to 5 (with two abstentions) to ‘trigger’ the process of removal. A hearing will be scheduled where a required two-thirds majority vote could be taken to remove Collins.
In a statement released on the party’s website Wednesday, the party stated that the reason for the motion to remove were Collins’ “unprofessional actions and words” as well as his use of his title when expressing opinions “derogatory to and disrespectful of Republican candidates or elected officials.” A spokeswoman for DCRP chairwoman Kathleen Starnes would not elaborate on the statement.
Collins has had a tumultuous relationship with the party stemming from his associations with small “L” libertarian groups and the Ron Paul for President campaign. Collins was elected First Vice Chair of the party on April 4 of this year after losing a bid to become chairman of the party in a process that included a deadlocked March 7 election and a subsequent revote.
The vice chair again became the center of controversy this summer when, after attending the Davidson County party’s annual picnic, he announced in a blog post that he had refused to shake Rep. Zach Wamp’s hand because of his support of the financial bailouts. In the same post, he concluded that neither Wamp nor Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam were qualified to be governor.
Collins also clashed with the party’s old guard when he issued a public chastisement of Chairwoman Starnes for calling for a meeting with Congressman Jim Cooper without the prior consent of other party officers.
Starnes herself raised eyebrows when she both endorsed and solicited funds for a conservative independent candidate currently running for congress against a Republican nominee in New York state’s 23rd District, an action which will no doubt be cited by Collins supporters in his defense during the as-yet-unscheduled removal hearing.
Collins would not comment on the situation when contacted by Post Politics but said a statement would be forthcoming.
You Can’t Fire Me, I Quit: Oak Hill Commisioner Throckmorton A Republican No More
Posted on June 16, 2008 at 8:11 am
Many speeches were made and many a candidates were recognized at Saturday’s Davidson County Picnic and Straw Poll but it was one man’s lack of recognition that stood out during the orations and gladhanding of the assembled Republicans in Sevier Park.
Tom Lawless, the Davidson County GOP chair, while recognizing executive committee member Austin McMullen’s victory over incumbent Tommy Jacobs in his race for Oak Hill City Commissioner, expressed pride in the fact that there were now two (the number was emphasized) Republicans on the Oak Hill Commission: Mayor Tommy Alsup and the the aforementioned McMullen.
Oak Hill’s third City Commissioner Raymond T. “Chip” Throckmorton, III was not included. A curious omission to state political watchers who remember Throckmorton as a Republican primary candidate in 2006 for the 23rd District state Senate seat currently held by Republican Jack Johnson, covering Williamson County and a small portion of southern Davidson. Throckmorton lost that contentious multi-candidate primary by less than 300 votes.
When asked why Throckmorton was not included in his tally of Republicans on the Oak Hill Commission, Lawless said, “I do not consider him the same type of Republican that Tommy Alsup and Austin McMullen are. I think they are radically different in their approaches to things.”
When pressed as to whether Throckmorton was, in his estimation, a Republican at all, Lawless gave voice to quiet rumors in Republican circles that Throckmorton may be planning to run against Senator Jack Johnson again in 2010 — this time as an independent.
“[Throckmorton] has made comments to me that he wasn’t sure he wanted to be a Republican. He may run as an independent the next time he runs,” Lawless said.
In light of that, Lawless submitted that saying that there are only two members of the Davidson County Republican Party on the Oak Hill City Commission, in his opinion, was “an accurate statement.”
“[Throckmorton] doesn’t have a very high opinion of the Davidson County Republican Party which is unfortunate because Chip is an old friend of mine,” Lawless said.
Chip Throckmorton, via telephone from a family vacation in Alabama, tells Post Politics that he was not surprised by the omission by Lawless nor his subsequent comments. Throckmorton says he has been ostracized both before, but especially after, his 2006 primary loss to now state Senator Jack Johnson.
“I have always been an unwanted stepchild in the local Republican Party,” he said. Throckmorton believes he has been slowly “excommunicated” from the Party because he was not the chosen candidate in 2006 and did not “ask permission to run.” Thockmorton says that despite his two year respite from party politics, Republicans continue to talk him down.
As for his thoughts on Davidson County GOP chair Lawless, Throckmorton was straightforward, “Tom Lawless is the epitome of what is wrong with the Davidson County Republican Party.”
When asked point blank whether he considers himself a Republican Throckmorton, pausing frequently, said, “Ya know, I guess, not anymore. I am quite frankly tired of hypocrisy in both parties.”
As to whether he is indeed considering challenging Jack Johnson as an independent in 2010, Throckmorton expressed ambivalence, “I haven’t given any more thought to do doing something like that as to not doing it. But, I can tell you one thing. There are a lot of people who would like to see me do it.”
In the end, Throckmorton seemed agnostic about the call to public service. He said that he really hasn’t been that politically active since losing to Johnson instead focusing on making money for his family.
But, Throckmorton cautioned, “If business goes well and I continue to get good cases and I find have some money to burn, who knows, I just might ask myself, ‘Do I go on down to Tunica to throw this money away or do I go on down and sign up for election?’”
REACTIONS:
Braisted’s Beating
Davidson County GOP Straw Poll Results
Posted on at 7:29 amBelow are the results of the Davidson County Republican Party’s Picnic Straw Poll conducted June 14, 2008.
GOP Vice-Presidential Preference
Mitt Romney 34%
J. C. Watts 17%
Bobby Jindal 11.3%
Tim Pawlenty 9.4%
Haley Barbour 7.5%
Charlie Crist 7.5%
Mark Sanford 5.7%
Jeb Bush 3.8%
Michael Bloomberg 1.9%
Carly Fiorina 1.9%
Mike Huckabee 0%
5th Congressional District Primary
Gerald Donovan 67%
Vijay Kumar 33%
7th District
Marsha Blackburn - 96%
Tom Leatherwood 4%
52nd State House District
Mike Stewart 67%
Dan Scott 30,%
Eric Stansell 3%.
Whom would be the strongest GOP Gubernatorial candidate?
Bill Frist - 59%
Marsha Blackburn - 25%
Beth Harwell - 7%
Bill Haslam - 5%
Bill Gibbons - 2%
Ron Ramsey - 2%
Zack Wamp - 0%
Whom would be the strongest Democratic Gubernatorial candidate?
Lincoln Davis - 35%
Harold Ford, Jr. 33%
Bob Clement - 13%
Bill Purcell - 9%
Matt Kisber - 3%
Kim McMillan - 5%
Do you support the sale of wine in grocery stores?
Yes 88%
No 12%
English First in Metro
Yes - 89%
No 11%
Direct Election Of The Lt. Governor
In Favor 76%
Opposed 24%
Direct Election of the Secretary of State
In Favor 74%
Opposed 26%
Should Tennessee Judges Be Elected?
Elected 85%
Appointed 15%
SEE ALSO: Photos from the event.
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