Mumpower Says TNGOP Press Release “Much Ado About Nothing”
While Jason Mumpower seemed to come down roughly where Ron Ramsey did on the issue of Bill Hobbs now infamous press release saying, in essence, it was “much to do about nothing,” as the conversation moved to Bill Hobbs generally, Mumpower seemed to question the ability of a man to hold both the role of blogger and press spokesman simultaneously.
When asked about what he thought about Hobbs maintaining a blog while serving the party, he referenced his own experience.
“As you know I hired a blogger to be our press secretary,” Mumpower answered referring to Caucus Press Secretary Kara Watkins. “When I did, I suggested she discontinue blogging about state politics for the duration of her tenure. She agreed and did so voluntarily.”
“That is how I, personally, have chosen to run my office and believe it is the key to keeping a clear and consistent message.”
on February 28th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Did she?
on February 28th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Did she what?
on February 28th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Stop going on the blogs, or just stop commenting with her real name.
on February 28th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
So NOW we know who Zack Attack is!
on February 28th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Jason Mumpower, Hobbs wasn’t blogging on his personal blog when he put the state Republican party at odds with his own party’s moderate majority. He was spewing his crap under the Republican party banner. You can muzzle Hobbs and delete his personal blog all you want. That does nothing to prevent Hobbs from acting on his own personal Jihad on other faiths in the name of the Republican Party.
I feel sorry for all of Tennessee’s God fearing Huckabee supporters who also support the TN GOP’s slanderous attacks on other faiths. God has a special test for you in November in response to your disgraceful and divisive agenda: either stay home while Democracy marches forward or set your agenda aside and vote for the party you have in John McCain, not the party you wanted from Pastor Huckabee.
on February 28th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Reality Bites,
I think those were two separate issues…Republican have felt for a while that Hobbs was too independent and was making an ass out of their brand name on the internet.
on February 28th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
It would be a mistake for Hobbs to give up his blog. Jason isn’t thinking this through or is considering only the interests of the TNGOP. If we had a professional, high-quality capital-city newspaper, I wouldn’t consider it such a great loss if Hobbs’s blog disappeared, but we don’t have real journalism going on on a continuing basis at The Tennessean.
Hobbs brings a background of knowledge in detail to his blog, and we need the outlet. His blog has been a true public service, regardless of any reader’s partisan leanings. If you think the information he provides is slanted, you still have something worth checking out for yourself. He has reported information that we as Tennessee residents need to know about our state government, or at least check out.
on February 28th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Because Brains hangs out with Republicans aaaall day long to know what we think.
How odd that the folks in Tennessee didn’t proclaim the end of the world. Ramsey and Mumpower hit it just right.
on February 28th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
And Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. John McCain, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Sen. Bob Corker, the Republican National Committee and the rest of those God haters got it wrong.
on February 28th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
You miss the point, Donna. Here in Braindead (gotta credit Zack there) world, it’s not about competing ideas. It’s about taking the other guy out professionally and personally. When you’re twelve and still think politics is a zero-sum game, you get that attitude. Fortunately most outgrow it. I realize that he never actually SAYS anything, but how often to you see any Republicans on here calling for Wade Munday’s head? You only hear that kind of thing from the party of universal harmony and hope.
It’s a sad fact of life, but nothing we haven’t been able to overcome and there’s no reason to think we won’t continue to beat at the ballot box.
on February 28th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
And Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. John McCain, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Sen. Bob Corker, the Republican National Committee and the rest of those God haters got it wrong.
Well, if Marsha Blackburn is included in that list, I’m inclined to say yes.
on February 28th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Reality,
I’ve actually emailed the members of the TNGOP executive committee and asked them to keep Hobbs on board…but is there anything that Wade Munday has done that might lead to him getting fired?
on February 28th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I think that’s the point. No one asks him to. The only reason the Universal Flock of the Great Unifer calls for Hobbs to get the axe is because you don’t agree with him. Talk about political correctness. You’d think your folks would be more sensitive after NIT-gal got kicked to the curb, but then again we also don’t randomly run around emailing members of the other party. What possible purpose could that serve?
on February 28th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Reality,
No, that isn’t a point at all. Bill Hobbs has gotten the TNGOP rebuked by the nominee for your party, the RNC, Tennessee’s US Senate delegation, and even Marsha “Democrats are Evil” Blackburn…what has Wade Munday done that is even remotely comparable that you can pretend to be the good gal?
And, like I said, I don’t want Hobbs fired, and have never called for him to be fired…I actually want him to stay on, partially for humor sake, and also because I just don’t think he should be fired, I just like giving him shit. If I recall correctly, I actually defended him in the comments section of his old blog (or maybe Mike Kopp) when the whole flap over the Muslim cartoons happened.
Hell, I didn’t even have a problem with him using Barack Hussein Obama, but for his lame excuse for using it (ie, its on Wikipedia)…but I did have a problem with his erroneous claims that Obama’s foreign policy advisors were anti-semites or anti-Israel, and voiced my objections on the blog.
on February 28th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
If he’s thrown under the bus by Robin Smith, who was quoted as saying “Barack Hussein Obama” in the press release…than I will be as equally outraged as I was when he put out the BS lies about Obama and his advisers in his press release.
on February 28th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
We’ll check into those emails you’ve been firing around the state and see what we find.
Amazing how good natured you get when you get called on it. If it weren’t hilariously stupid, I would point out that Munday showed up at the Republican event and didn’t have the nads to admit who he was. Firing offense? No more than anything Hobbs has done. As it is, I don’t have a problem with the way you folks conduct yourselves, it only serves to fire our base up. Hell, if we can get a couple more of you to stalk our guys in airport parking lots, that would be great. It’s just important for people to know how each side operates. We compete on ideas and you call for firings.
on February 28th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Calling me out on what? You misstated my position, and I am gladly correcting you.
Actually, I just sent the email to the representatives of the 20th Senate District which I live in, and my message was simple, “Please save Bill Hobbs’ job! He is the only person accurately representing the TN GOP base.”
If you think going to an open meeting of a Republican candidate (no evidenced was ever produced to show he lied about his name) is the same as putting out a press release which gets the State Party rebuked by everyone under the Republican sun is even remotely in the same ballpark…you need to take a trip to your namesake.
You say you compete on “ideas” but you (as in your side) put out bullshit press releases designed to provoke and antagonize, and then feign ignorance when people (mostly Republicans) take offense. The press release was unprovoked, unnecessary, and was roundly ignored until someone picked it up because of its inflamatory nature.
on February 28th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Thus the comment “Firing offense?” and again (and yet again) no one has called for Mike…er, Wade’s firing.
Your positions are about as solid and unchanging as the Great Unifier’s. It’s good that at this hour you’re right in there fighting for your buddy. I’m glad you dropped from the entire executive board down to 2. Still utterly pointless and juvenile but we’ll check anyway.
on February 28th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Reality,
I’ll say this much. For all the justifications I’ve seen for why they should be allowed to use Obama’s middle name…I have yet to hear a reason why they felt the need in the first place.
He doesn’t go by Barack Hussein Obama just like McCain doesn’t go by John Sidney McCain. There isn’t another famous Barack Obama to feel the need to distinguish him from someone else.
So why, beyond the obvious, did Bill Hobbs and Robin Smith feel the need to repeatedly use his middle name?
on February 29th, 2008 at 12:00 am
You’re back to thinking I either am Hobbs or am using one of Mickey’s tin foil hats to hear what he thinks.
Perhaps, they, like a lot of us, don’t like the idea of your side telling us what we can and can’t say. What words we can or can’t use. Your first instinct is to scream racism. You even did it within your own party. You turned “the first black president” into George Wallace overnight.
You could ask why moveon.org, that pillar of responsibility, bought time to run an ad comapring Bush to Hitler one time and get publicity. Or why these creepy votevets people parade vunerable Iraq widows in the same way.
The manufactured outrage on this is pretty silly. That city paper editorial today was unintentionally right on the money. We are not allowed to say his name UNTIL he becomes president because we are racists until Janurary 20. Too stupid to be real.
on February 29th, 2008 at 6:18 am
Again, Reality, you can’t answer that one question…I’ve posed it to Hobbs, and he can’t answer it either.
on February 29th, 2008 at 9:20 am
>Too stupid to be real.
And anyone who actually thinks merely “saying his name” has ever been the issue is too stupid to call themselves “reality”.
Of course most of us don’t actually think you people are that stupid. But stupid is the only alternative here to race-baiter (which is different than “racist”), so which is it?
on February 29th, 2008 at 9:51 am
“Talk about political correctness. You’d think your folks would be more sensitive after NIT-gal got kicked to the curb.”
Yeah, and I wonder who it was that was angling to get her fired from just about day one…
Bill Hobbs!
Yes, I believe that just about every bout of internet stupidity here in Nashville has him involved in some way.