GOP House Caucus Loser Mumpower abuses Capitol flag-flying privilege; taxpayers stuck with labo...

[doeriver]

TNGA GOP House Caucus Loser Mumpower abuses Capitol flag-flying privilege;
taxpayers stuck with labor cost for hoisting Mump's 65 flags

I would really like to examine an online copy of the information request for the referenced news article (as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf) pertaining to Rep. Mumpower's flag flying frenzy over the Tennessee Capitol that was reportedly released by the Tennessee Department of General Services to see if this report provided any additional information as to the total time and labor cost expended by the Tennessee taxpayers in fulfilling Mumpower's order to hoist 65 different state flags up and down a flag pole over the Tennessee General Assembly...hell, the Department of General Services might have some internet YouTube.com ready video footage of this activity stored away of a state server!

Mumpower Ordered 65 Flags For Capitol
Lawmakers Can Fly Flags Over Capitol If They Supply Them
http://www.wsmv.com/politics/18487495/detail.html

POSTED: 10:23 am CST January 15, 2009
UPDATED: 4:45 pm CST January 15, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The 65 flags flown over the Tennessee Capitol were supposed to be state Rep. Jason Mumpower's ultimate keepsake.

The Bristol Republican had workers hoist and lower the state flags over the Capitol the day he expected to be elected House speaker Tuesday, an information request from the state Department of General Services shows.



Rep. Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol

But Mumpower was upset by fellow Republican Rep. Kent Williams of Elizabethton by one vote. So now he and 16 other Republicans who combined to have nearly 200 flags flown over the Capitol may be wondering what do with them.

(...)

Lawmakers and state officials can ask for flags to be flown over the Capitol as long as they supply the flags. Some lawmakers give the flags to constituents as keepsakes.

Mumpower said that's what he plans to do.

"Regardless of what happened, it's still an historic time," he said. "I'm ... sharing them with friends and supporters who have requested them. I'll probably have a few for a while, because I think in the future people might want one."

Mumpower also paid a state photographer more than $500 to chronicle his day, beginning at 7:30 a.m. The House didn't complete its vote for speaker until more than six hours later.

Justin Wilson, a former deputy governor who was elected state comptroller on Thursday, ordered 16 flags.

Other Republicans with large Capitol flag orders on Tuesday were freshman Rep. Tony Shipley of Kingsport with 24, and Rep. Dale Ford of Jonesborough with 20.

Ford said his order wasn't related to the first day of the legislative session. He said the flags will be given to veterans in his district.

Rep. Willie "Butch" Borchert of Camden was the only Democrat to have flags flown above the Capitol that day. He ordered two.

Williams ordered none.

more at above listed link.

[predfan]

1. Idiot.

[doeriver]

2. other likely costs to taxpayer

I am thinking that a minimum of four state workers were used to hoist the Mumpower flag collection over the Tennessee State Capitol:

state employee #1 to attach each flag to the lanyards;

state employee #2 to actually raise and lower each Mumpower flag;

state employees #3 and #4 to take the flags out of their original containers, give the flags to employee #1 to attach to the lynards, take the lowered flags back from employee #1, employees #3 and #4 then fold up the flags and returning these flags to the same containers.

Somehow I do not thinking that each of the Tennessee State Flags within the Mumpower collection were simply dumped into ZipLock bags for distribution during Mumpower's Big Day --- there were undoubtedly other state employees pressed into service with tasks such as putting each of the Mumpower flags into some sort of presentation container along with some fancy, raised letter printing with House seal certifying that Rep. Mumpower had indeed flown each of these flags over the Tennessee State Capitol on Mumpower's Big Day.

[doeriver]

3. KNS link

Mumpower left holding 65 flags after speaker defeat
Republicans ordered 200 keepsakes to fly over Capitol
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jan/15/mumpower-left-holding-65-flags-after-speaker-defea/#comments

Erik Schelzig, Associated Press
Originally published 11:28 a.m., January 15, 2009
Updated 11:28 a.m., January 15, 2009

(if the links to these AP articles should go down, try Googling "Mumpower flags" and click on the cache links)

[doeriver]

4. Rep. Stacey Campfield: Mumpower flying flags over capitol for GOPers in State Executive Committe

Rep. Campfield spills the blog beans: Rejected-as-TNGA House Speaker Jason Mumpower flew 65 - or is that now "over 100" - Tennessee flags at taxpayer expense over state capitol as GOPer party favors Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee

William GOP return not likely for a vote
http://lastcar.blogspot.com/2009/12/william-gop-return-not-likely-for-vote_02.html



Rep. Stacey "The Luchador" Campfield, R-Knoxville

I was talking to an SEC member last night. While they wished to remain anonymous they said they did not expect a vote to allow Kent Williams back into the party to even come up for a vote at the next SEC meeting.

I asked why.

The response was Williams disastrous meeting with the Shelby county and surrounding county SEC committee members. I had heard rumor of the meeting a few weeks back but asked for details from someone who was actually there.

What happened? I asked.

What I heard after that confirmed what I had heard previously and was almost a comedy of errors or a lesson on how to alienate Republicans of all stripes. While I could go on and on as to what was said I will only pass on some of the highlights.

One question posed to Kent was why he didn't appoint more Republicans to committee chairs. His response was that we didn't have 13 out of 49 Republican members who were even qualified to be chairs of the committees. He then went on to even name specific Republican members (While I was not personally on the short list I know the members named and most would consider those named way more then qualified).

The person who relayed the story to me said they thought personally if the members mentioned were not qualified to be chairmen of committees then how could Kent think he was qualified to be speaker of the house after only one term in office.

Kent then went on to name off more Republican members (Again, I was not on the list) and say they were "Bad" or "problem" members. The people present wondered if Kent was just pulling names out of thin air because those mentioned were, and are, well thought of members.

He went on to attack Jason Mumpower for being "Childish" for having over 100 flags flown over the capitol on the first day of session. Little did Kent know the flags were going to be given to the SEC members for their hard work and support for Republicans through the years.

... (more at above listed hyperlink)

Either Campfield, Williams, or Campfield's unnamed SEC source has kited the number of Mumpower flags flying over the Tennessee General Assembly back in January from the widely reported 65 to now (according to Campfield)over 100 Tennessee state flags that Mumpower ordered to be flown over the state capitol on the day of his unsuccessful TNGA House Speaker election....