You're Not Supposed to Get Drunk at a Political Party

I've read with great interest all the blog posts and articles about why Tennessee Democrats lost this year, and like David Holt, I'm at pains to admit that on this issue, Bill Hobbs is right:

The political battle between Gary Odom and Jimmy Naifeh didn't cost the Democrats the state House majority. The average voter across Tennessee in the multiple districts where the GOP gained seats likely didn't know much, and cared even less, about the intramural fight for control of the Democrat caucus.

Chances are, the average voter across Tennessee was more aware of the steady stream of convicted felons, drunks and outright thieves exiting the state legislature in recent years, virtually all of them from the D party, and was equally aware at how Democrat leaders were so reluctant to drop the hammer on their corrupt colleagues, to criticize them in harsh specifics, or to call for and work for their ouster.

[Bill Hobbs]

Since the 2006 mid-term elections, Tennesseeans have seen six Democrats go to jail on corruption charges, an adulterer or two, a literal fall-down drunk legislator, and just for good measure, we also had a state party officer accuse the party's presidential nominee (now President-elect) of having ties to terrorists.

Amid all this misbehavior, the party leaders never once moved to reprimand or censure any of their own membership. Instead, the one Democrat who actually was punished in any fashion by the party was Rosalind Kurita, and the manner in which her removal was carried out -- overturning a certified primary election -- left a decidedly un-democratic odor lingering in the air. Ironically, her dramatic expulsion was meant to prevent a Republican from becoming Senate speaker. How'd that work out, guys?

Kurita's ouster demonstrated that the Democrats are both able and willing to enforce some measure of party discipline, but it also highlighted the fact that they had utterly failed to do so up to that point.