The Tennessee Senate was unable to reach a compromise that would have wrested some control away from the lawyerly interests controlling the Tennessee Supreme Court picks under the so-called “Tennessee Plan.” Reformers sought to open up the commission meetings as well as the make-up of the body.

In a last ditch and quite emotional attempt, the former Lt. Governor of Tennessee John Wilder made an attempt to utilize a rarely used rule that would allow him to bypass the Committee system and bring his bill reauthorizing the Tennessee Plan directly to the floor.

A.C. Kleinheider has a very good write up on the subject over at NashvillePost.   

The Shakespearean drama that unfolded was a sight to see.  Senator Randy McNally stood up with the microphone and talked of the sanctity of the committee system and its history.  He moved to table the bill. Wilder, ranking as one of the most powerful figures in Tennessee’s history, made one last Senate play. He appealed to loyalty among friends, the friendship of bygone days, he put the mettle to the test.

Wilder asked Randy, “Do you want me to cry?”

He called out Republicans that he had rewarded in the past.  The Senate Chamber was quiet.

But a new day has dawned.  The power has shifted.  Times have changed. Old alliances are breaking. And the King of old no longer wears the crown.  Et tu, Randy? I’m sure the thought ran through the mind of Senator John Wilder. Senator Burchett even voted for Wilder for Speaker.  Wilder called on him, too. 

But Wilder has played the game for far too long.  This was no time for personal favors and going away cake, this was the future of the Tennessee Supreme Court. The old QB had not only been put on the bench, he was leaving the game.  This was no time for repaying old favors.  New power plays are to be made.  New deals to be brokered.  Seats to protect. And Wilder had nothing to offer.

And the Republicans who had helped keep Wilder in power over the years cut the cord.  It’s not true love in the Senate, not agape friendship, it’s strange-bedfellows embraced in political survival and the hunt of the next ego trip, power play, or re-election campaign.  And Wilder, of all people, knows it.

The Wilder era is over.  The vote tabling the reauthorization passed and in the new dawn, Tennesseans move one step closer to voting for our Supreme Court Justices.  And as Wilder submitted to defeat, the hustling and bustling of the Senate returned to business as usual.  The symbolism of the moment passed without fanfare.

Here’s the vote: