Friday, July 17, 2009

PR Mission from Hell: Williams Tries to Make People Like Legislature

Posted by Jeff Woods on Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 5:27 AM

click to enlarge oie_kentwilliams.jpeg.jpg
We can't back it up with polling, but Pith suspects the legislature's approval rating has plunged to all-time lows as a result of the black comedy of the just-finished session. Our loony lawmakers devoted themselves to guns and abortion and pointless political bickering as the economy tanked. Then in one last writhing spasm of witlessness, Senate Republicans tried to kill the few job-creating initiatives in the governor's budget. This week, the governor was talking about the guns-in-bars law, but he could have been referring to the entire session when he said of the public reaction, "They're just shaking their heads and thinking it's craziness."

Well, House Speaker Kent Williams has taken it upon himself to fix that. He's embarked on a PR mission to persuade the public that the legislature actually was focused on the economy. Really, it was. No kidding.

Yesterday, reporters for three of the state's major dailies--Andy Sher, Tom Humphrey and Rick Locker--dutifully trooped into the speaker's office for a private, invitation-only propaganda pitch from Williams. It's only his latest effort. He's flacking a column in which he gives a bizarre, parallel universe view of legislative accomplishments. According to the speaker's column:

"In the Tennessee House we set as our goals to invest in job opportunities and economic growth, provide additional assistance to those hardworking men and women who have lost their jobs, protect funding for Pre-K as well as K-12 education, give additional help and protection to our elderly, provide for the health and safety of our citizens, pass a fiscally responsible budget and go home. We did just that."

The speaker's flack, Scotty Campbell, says his boss isn't having much success talking newspapers into printing this column (probably because even hillbilly newspaper editors recognize bullshit when they see it). "We're not getting a great reception even in Northeast Tennessee," where Williams lives, Campbell admits.

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Woodsie, you're hilarious!! You'd have trooped in too, if for nothing else than to see what the great man had to say for himself.

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Posted by GeoOrwell on July 17, 2009 at 11:40 AM

This has been, without a doubt, the least productive and most damaging legislature I can remember. Taxpayers should charge them for the utilities they soaked up while they were in Nashville.

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Posted by oldwoman2 on July 17, 2009 at 8:50 PM

Can Mr. Williams point to legislative accomplishments to back up his claims? I don't see them.

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Posted by Matt in McMinnville on July 19, 2009 at 8:09 PM

Hey!
Really good post
Tnx!

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Posted by havaarres on August 14, 2009 at 4:27 AM
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