Free Republic

NASHVILLE -- The Republican majority in the Tennessee Senate was short-lived: Sen. Mike Williams of Maynardville declared an independent today and no longer a member of the Republican Caucus. Williams blamed dissatisfaction over the arrival of what he called "Washington-style partisanship and gridlock" -- which he said he wants no part of -- for the switch. His move left the makeup of the state Senate at 16 Republicans, 16 Democrats and one independent. That won't have an immediate impact on the organization of the Senate -- Republican Ron Ramsey was elected to a two-year term as the Senate speaker in...

This past week, I have been asked many times why I voted for a new lieutenant governor. How could I vote for someone who is not a member of my own political party? The answer is very straightforward: I voted my conscience. The most basic tenet of democracy is that the majority rules. In the Tennessee Senate, Republicans have held the numerical majority for three years. Yet, we were in a peculiar situation where the minority continued to keep the majority in the form of the lieutenant governor. That is not our democracy. It was time for a change in...

NASHVILLE - Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey named Democrats to three of the top 10 Senate leadership positions Friday while assuring that Republicans have numerical control in all major committees. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, deadlocked 8-8 in a vote on whether to overhaul their own leadership structure. In effect, the tie vote derailed an attempt to oust Sen. Joe Haynes of Nashville as Democratic Caucus chairman. Ramsey, the first Republican to serve as lieutenant governor and speaker of the Senate since 1869, named Sen. Rosalind Kurita, D-Clarksville, as Senate speaker pro tempore. He insisted that the appointment was not a "reward" to...

NASHVILLE - Contrary to the claims of some leading Democrats, state Sen. Mike Williams said Monday he has made no commitment to vote for the re-election of John Wilder as lieutenant governor today. Gov. Phil Bredesen, meanwhile, said he will stay completely out of the lieutenant governor's contest between Democrat Wilder and Senate Republican Leader Ron Ramsey unless it evolves into "something like a terrible deadlock that was damaging the state." "Do I look so stupid as to get myself involved with that?" Bredesen said when asked if he would favor the Democratic candidate. "We will work with whoever emerges."...

MAYNARDVILLE, Tenn. - People in this mountainous eastern Tennessee district don't seem surprised that their state senator's independent streak is causing consternation again among his fellow Republicans. Mike Williams bucked his own party two years ago to vote for longtime Senate Speaker John Wilder, a Democrat. Republicans hold the same 17-16 advantage this year, but Williams says he hasn't yet made up his mind for whom he will vote. The political fate of 85-year-old Wilder hangs on Williams' choice, as do the hopes of Sen. Ron Ramsey, the Republican leader. State Republicans have been haranguing Williams to return to the...

NASHVILLE — State Sen. Mike Williams said today that he is considering a change in political affiliation from Republican to Independent. If that happens, the lawmaker from Maynardville would hold the balance of partisan power in the state Senate. Tuesday’s elections left Republicans holding a one-seat advantage, 17-16. Should Williams become an Independent, the margin would shift to 16 Republicans, 16 Democrats and one Independent. Two years ago, Williams and Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, voted with Democrats to re-elect Democrat John Wilder as lieutenant governor. Williams said today he has talked with both Wilder and Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey...