Balloon Juice blogger #46: Rep. Jason Mumpower "...about as deep as a coat of paint"

[doeriver]

John Cole's Balloon Juice
More GOP Fail
http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=15609
January 13, 2009

low-tech cyclist
#46

Good Lord, I know Jason Mumpower. Or knew him, anyway – he was a student of mine at King <College in Bristol>. He was your typical Republican ideologue, about as deep as a coat of paint, one of these kids who’s heard some theories and thinks he knows Truth about the world.



Rep. Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol
District 3 — Johnson and part of Sullivan Counties

If I’m remembering correctly, he was one of the prime movers on campus of an organization called "Students In Free Enterprise," and the ‘in’ was a total lie, since the only actual free-enterprise activity they did was the usual student-organization fundraisers. They were really Students for Bullshit Rightwing Propaganda.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard he’d gotten elected to the state legislature. I really can’t believe that he came within a whisker of being elected Speaker of the House in Tennessee. And I’m delighted that he was left at the altar, clutching his <family> Bible with no place to go.

[southernyankeebelle]

1. IT SHOWS YOU EVEN IN TN YOU CAN ELECT AN ASS, JUST LIKE IN

AK. YOU KNOW THE BAR IS SET REALLY LOW. IT SCARES ME THAT I LIVE IN TN BUT NOT FROM HERE ORIGINALLY. I AM AMAZED HOW THESE PEOPLE CAN'T THINK FOR THEMSELVES. ALOT OF THEM LISTEN TO THE RIGHTWING RADIO. I ONLY LISTEN FOR A SHORT TIME JUST TO SEE WHAT THESE REDNECKS ARE TALKING ABOUT. PEOPLE HERE ARE BASICALLY GOOD PEOPLE BUT AREN'T REALLY INFORMED.

[southerncrone]

2. I thank god for Kent Williams every day!

Of course Kent is from the same neck of the woods as Mumpy, so I assume he is as familiar with him as you are, doeriver. Just as you stated, it is horrifying that he came within a whisper of being Speaker.
I don't ever remember even hearing anything about Kent Williams b/4 this beautiful plan, but I consider him our savior at this point.

It terrifies me to think that the ENTIRE Repuke caucus was willing to promote this pinhead to be Speaker! They are even scarier that I imagined. When it was first being batted around that Mumpy was "the chosen one", I was shocked. He is so young, & UNIMPRESSIVE. I suspected he would be put in place because he has no discretion & would wildly & completely push through ANY & ALL Repuke ideas..... basically serving as an ignorant puppet like W. (I don't compare him to Raygun because he doesn't come close in the charisma dept.)

How ARE the Repukes of UET taking this embarrassing smack-down, anyway? Just curious. Seems like they were in shock, but I never underestimate their sheer ambition, nor ruthlessness.

[doeriver]

3. re: Speaker Kent Williams

The Sullivan County GOPers (Gregorys) are bound to be pissed-off as Mumps was bought and paid for, just like Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey...but hey, comic books are probably considered to be a form of high literature by both Sullivan and Johnson County GOPers

The Carter County GOPers that I know on a personal basis say they support Williams as Speaker, but I think that the Tennessee media is inaccurately trying to paint Williams as a "moderate Republican" as he is willing to share some of the power with Democrats. A friend told me that the Williams once had a sign/flyer on the door of his Elizabethton restaurant announcing some sort of event hosting an Intelligent Design speaker --- kind of scary to think that these types may be ultimately controlling the purse strings of science departments in both the University of Tennessee and the State Board of Regents campuses across Tennessee. And Williams is definitely against Tennessee women's choice for reproductive health services, including abortion.

Williams is just as a far-right wing ideologue as is Mumps.

[southerncrone]

4. Well, while this news about Williams is disappointing concerning

women's reproductive rights, I still prefer him to Mumpy.

He's forcing them to regroup & waste some of their energy & $ in the process. He's run a real business that's close to the average American, as opposed to Mumpy, the bag-boy turned spin doctor. Plus, he has experience on the Hill & has been out of diapers for a few years.

Do you think Williams is just that power-hungry, or that he just couldn't allow the "GOP Plan for TN" to materialize, knowing it would be disastrous for the state?

Not to say we still shouldn't be keeping an eye on Williams. I do think that Naiefeh is brilliant with this "coup".

[doeriver]

5. I don't necessarily regard Speaker Williams as "power-hungry"...

I don't regard TNGA House Speaker Kent Williams as "power-hungry" (to the apparent extent that Rep. Mumpower appears to be)...while that is how the TNRP has attempted to portray Williams within the news media, I reside within Speaker Williams' Carter County House District and I am thinking in agreement with some of Williams' statements pertaining to his election as Speaker: Carter County is a relatively poor Tennessee county and when presented the opportunity by Democrat and former Carter County resident Rep. Gary Odom, Williams agreed to the Democratic nomination to become House Speaker in order to better serve his constituents.

That said, I don't believe that there isn't too much difference between the fiscal and social legislative goals being pursued by both Rep. Jason Mumpower and Speaker Williams (just the cosmetic ones such as power sharing of committee chairmanships within the TNGA House and Williams not executing a partisan blanket firing of all TNGA House staffers and that Mumpower loves to play up the Je$u$ political calling card)...and what Speaker Williams isn't perhaps yet grasping, is the fact that he is already burning up a whole hell of a lot of political capital with his so-called "crossover Democrat" primary supporters in Carter County with just weeks into his first spin as TNGA House Speaker.

And if Williams loses the 2010 Republican Primary in Carter County, he won't even be vested in the TNGA retirement plan (I seem to recall that it takes six years). All in all, WIlliams was the better choice in both 2006 and 2008 over John M. Gregory's lap dog, former Rep, Jerome Cochran.

So who is power-hungry in this TNGA House Clash? I have a friend from Sullivan County who heard second-hand that Mumpower has stated his desire to be U.S. President since he was in high school...go figure.

[southerncrone]

6. That's exactly how he acts.....

like a fish in a small pond who somehow got a big worm off the bottom & now thinks he can thrive in the ocean.

I really find him sadly pathetic & arrogantly despicable, at the same time.

[doeriver]

7. help us all