The Tennessee Star Report: Glen Casada is a Political Dead Man Walking

 

During a discussion Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy speculated whether or not Glen Casada would resign.

Towards the end of the segment the men came to the conclusion that David Byrd was next on the chopping block because anybody can say anything in the mainstream media if you’re a conservative and will run with it without any proof.

Gill: At The Tennessee Star you can read the details of yesterdays historic and frankly bizarre action. Again you hear the reporters asking these questions about the alteration of the email. You had the full circus on. Justin Jones the social justice warrior who’s arrested for disrupting a Marsha Blackburn event then bump rushed House Speaker Glen Casada in the capitol. Then threw a cup of Frothy Monkey liquid at the House Speake,  hitting him, then Representative Deborah Moody He was out there with a megaphone shouting and adding to this disruption is all. Of course the media not paying any attention to his criminal action and why he’s there continuing to create disturbance.

Leahy: Alleged criminal action.

Gill: Well when you throw a cup at somebody that’s on video it’s not alleged.

Leahy: I’m with you. I’m with you.

Gill: Now from the legal standpoint of have they proven it it may be alleged. But when you see the guy on video throw a cup I don’t think we have to say it’s alleged. It’s on video.

Leahy: Ok you make a good point.

Gill: You can see it. (Gill and Leahy chuckle) Now the media will go, “its alleged!” No it’s on video. You see it. You see what happens you don’t have to say it’s alleged that he did it. Now whether or not he will be convicted…

Leahy: Doesn’t matter.

Gill: Is another question. Because again you’ve got the Davidson county court system that is justice for you not for thee. So you’ve got a different system set up for who you happen to be.

Leahy: So what happens next here Steve?

Gill: I think it depends on Glen Casada. I think he’s got about twenty four hours to make a decision. Reportedly he is planning on heading out of the country later this week. The optics of that in the wake of the circumstance would be, you know I’m not sure it can get much worse than what we have but the optics would not be good.

Leahy: That wouldn’t help.

Gill: And I think that the legislative leadership you had all the members of the legislative leadership

Leahy: All of them.

Gill: Those who were elected by the caucus in their various position of power. And those who were appointed by Glen Casada to positions of power. You have them all calling his resignation. All calling for a special session to remove him.

Leahy: Chairman of the Republican party of Tennessee.

Gill: Scott Golden.

Leahy: Calling for him to resign.

Gill: And you’ve got the governor weighing in as well. I think the governor made a mistake by not waiting until the legislative leadership had issued their call. I think that the governor jumping in a bit precipitously was a political mistake. And just a mistake in terms of judgement and the advice he’s getting to have jumped in before the other legislative leaders spoke and called for the governor to issue…

Leahy: Right.

Gill: …a call for a special session.

Leahy: Because there is a separation between the executive and legislative branch.

Gill: Should be.

Leahy: Should be.

Gill: Now and again, we’re chasing down the story. The source of all these emails and the texts that again Glen Casada was not on. The conversations between Cade Cothran…

Leahy: He was not on them.

Gill: …and this person who has provided this information to fill…

Leahy: A disgruntled former staffer.

Gill: Well everybody knows who he is. And we’re chasing down the story to get more details. I will tell you that we’re getting flooded with information about this guy. Photographs, videos etc.

Leahy: Not a good guy.

Gill: And at some point we’ll put those forward. The most disturbing aspect of this guy, besides just his. Everything that you’ve seen come out that Cade Cothran texted or emailed or is accused of, this guys done it in spades and worse with photographic evidence.

Leahy: Much worse. I’ve seen these pictures and they’re pretty bad.

Gill: And this is the source that Phil Williams and The Tennesseean have relied upon.

Leahy: But here’s where we are now.

Gill: Here’s the point though. He worked for the governors inauguration committee. He was, reportedly, and this is why were trying to track it down. Offered a job with the Lee Administration. Bill Lee called on Glen Casada to resign for, I guess, having hired and retained Cade Cothran.

Leahy: But also sending those texts two years ago.

Gill: Well, the three texts aren’t anything big.

Leahy: But that’s what they stated. That’s what you heard!

Gill: But Bill Lee said if it was his employee he would fire him because of the drugs and everything else. So Bill Lee’s a guy who’s been advocated hiring people who’ve commiteed drug crimes.

(Leahy laughs)

Gill: Who’ve been in prison. He’s wanting our dollars to go fund college for people in prison. And as people learn more about the source of all these stories they will need to ask themselves. Bill Lee’s team hired this guy for their inaugural committee. (Inaudible crosstalk)

Leahy: Good point.

Gill: So whoever was running the inaugural committee – will Bill Lee fire him?

Leahy: Yeah.

Gill: Or her?

Leahy: Well.

Gill: Will the person who extended a job offer of some form or extended the opportunity to work for the Lee administration, will they be fired? Will Bee Lee resign and move out of the big house because of the judgement of he and his team in hiring or trying to hire the guy that again as you find out the reality of this guy is going to make your stomach churn. So again. People who live in glass houses need to avoid chucking rocks. And that includes people who live in glass mansions.

Lehay: But what does Glen Casada do now? Now William Lambreth the majority leader said that it was very murky as to whether or not the Speaker could be removed.

Gill: Well I think that’s true. The issue again though is not what can Glen Casada do legally I mean he could…

Leahy: Tie this up.

Gill: …go to court. But his capacity to lead, his capacity to have anything good come of this is over. I mean I used the example to a friend last night in the legislature that he is in the middle of a shark feeding frenzy in the middle of bloody chum and there’s not way to swim to shore.

Leahy: He’s up next. They’re one bite away.

Gill: Oh, and the worst thing is that the people that are gnawing on him most, in many cases have worse in their own personal records. Worse than if they were exposed. And that’s the point. The Tennessean and Channel 5 aren’t going to stop. Their focused…

Leahy: They’re going to accelerate. They’ve got one about to be casualty. They’re going to go after David Byrd. You know go down the list.

Gill: David Hawk who ran for Speaker who has a domestic criminal abuse charge arrest in his record. You don’t think they’re going to talk about that?

Leahy: Oh, that will be up next. And every single Republican in the House and the state Senate, and the governor will be targets immediately.

Gill: And they’re all vulnerable to anybody saying anything about them because it doesn’t matter if its provable or true or not. Anybody can say anything in the mainstream media if you’re a conservative will run with it without any proof. Without any need. And if one report is made about the allegation, the others will say it’s been reported.

Leahy: They’ll amplify it.

Gill: Not that an allegation has been reported but that it’s been reported that this happened. And that’s the media frenzy. That’s the shark feeding frenzy that we’re in that I think dictates that Glen Casada has about twenty four hours to resign or it can and will get worse.

Leahy: What you’re saying is that he’s got a twenty four hour period to resign.

Gill: Yes.

Leahy: Otherwise he’s just going to be eviscerated?

Gill: And it won’t be death by a thousand paper cuts for those of you that watch Game of Thrones. The Dothraki with those curved swords are going to be hacking at him and it is not going to be pleasant for him. People who care about him or the Republican caucus. Now here’s the problem for the Republican caucus. It’s not going to stop when they hack Glen up. They’re going to then just turn their swords on the next victim which again will be David Byrd. While you’ve got Rick Staples, black, Democrat who, by the ethics committees own investigation, found that he had improperly treated women and had sexually harassed women in violation of the House rules – he’s still there!

Leahy: Yeah.

Gill: You’re not seeing the “enough is enough” crowd which is a Democrat hack job partisan group. They’re not calling for Rick Staples to resign.

Leahy: So does Glen Casada resign as Speaker but stay in the House? Or does he resign entirely?

Gill: You know he might try the “I’ll resign my leadership position and stay in the House and see if I can rehabilitate myself among my colleagues.” I think his presence will again continue the political and media assault on him and the rest of his colleagues. Again over three texts.

Leahy: So, let me just say to clarify it sounds to me like you’re saying that Glen Casada politically is a dead man walking?

Gill: I think that’s absolutely true.

Leahy: Yeah.

Gill: And I don’t think he can walk ahead as a zombie. I mean technically he could resign his position as House Speaker and continue to walk ahead as a dead man walking zombie. But he would have no clout, no capacity to lead and I think he would continue to have problems in his own district in Williamson County.  Again you look at the legality.

Leahy: Yeah.

Gill: You look at what he’s accused of doing. You look at what he’s actually done. There is nothing fair, right or just about what’s going on. But some would argue that the same thing was done at his behest and with his involvement to Jeremy Durham as well.

Leahy: Jeremy Durham. So that’s fair play.

Gill: You know, sometimes karma kicks you in the rear end.

Listen to the full hour here:

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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 am to the Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.