Thursday, March 25, 2010
Legislature / Politics / Woods How the Mighty Have Fallen: Mumpower Calls It Quits
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 10:05 AM
After seven terms in the state House, Republican leader Jason Mumpower made the surprise announcement today that he won't seek reelection in November. From the House floor, Mumpower said:
"In the time that I've been here, I've lost a little hair, gained a little weight, put over a quarter million miles on my car just driving back and forth between my house and this House. I am looking forward to new challenges, not giving up the fight, but looking forward to new challenges and whatever the future holds."
There's been speculation that Mumpower might leave the House since last year's session during which he suffered numerous humiliations.
The 36-year-old Bristol lawmaker thought he would make history as the first Republican speaker of the House in 40 years. Not! In one of the most audacious betrayals in Tennessee political history, Democrats elected Rep. Kent Williams, an obscure Republican restaurateur from Elizabethton with whom they'd cut a secret deal.
Mumpower quickly kicked Williams out of the House GOP Caucus. But in a serious snub that made Mumpower look silly, Republicans went ahead and admitted Williams a few weeks later. That was pretty much the end for the once-mighty Mumpower, and everyone expected Republicans to elect themselves a new leader even if he stuck around for next year's new General Assembly.
Comments (4)
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But what about all of his campaign money?:
2010 Early Year End Supplemental (2009) for JASON E MUMPOWER submitted on 01/31/2010
http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/tncamp-app/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=29090
BEGINNING BALANCE
$53,880.51
Annual Year End Supplemental (2009) for MUMPAC submitted on 01/22/2010
http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/tncamp-app/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=28777
BEGINNING BALANCE
$34,355.89
You would kinda figure that Prayin' Jason would want to return some of that blood money that he has received over years from the wine, liquor, and wholesalers PACs - after all, Prayin' Jason's TNGA House reelection campaigns have benefited from beverage industries whose products have caused pregnant women to spontaneously abortion their fetuses.
Baby killer...
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Elmer,
My God! Did you not know that RON has already claimed those funds for his PAC. He told Mummy that "You can't do me no good anymo."
RON says, "Mummy no friend to White Man."
Nothing wrong with Proooo.....fit.
AMEN
The "Loyalty Oath" pledge that Rep. Jason Mumpower required all the TNGA House Republicans to sign seemed to me like extortion as it restricted the rights of elected officials to freely vote their own conscience during the 2009 TNGA House Speaker election.
Ahh. But you so do overlook the obvious. With Machiavelli-quotators like Jason Mumpower and his ArgoNuts, you must always look first for ulterior motives, second for purely selfish interests, and never for civility or sincerity.
Not House Speaker Mumpower must think it's worth a crap shoot that his protege Ronald Ramsey will win in November.
A sitting member of the General Assembly cannot resign and take a position in the Execution Branch of Government during the term to which such member was elected.
Tennessee Constitution, Article II, Section 10
"No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be eligible to any office or place of trust, the appointment to which is vested in the executive or the General Assemly, except to the office of trustee of a literary institution."
