TNReport does what it does best in this story about the House Republican Leader:

The first powerful person to help Tennessee House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick in a political campaign was the governor at the time — Ned McWherter, a Democrat.

That’s because McCormick was a Democrat, which might surprise many followers of the Republican lawmaker, who has emerged as one of the key voices on Capitol Hill.

It was 1992, and McCormick, a Chattanoogan, a University of Tennessee graduate and a Gulf War veteran, was running for the first time. He lost. After his defeat, Republican organizers in Chattanooga, including Zach Wamp, told McCormick a lot of the positions in McCormick’s message sounded like they belonged in the Republican Party. Wamp should know. He had once been a Democrat, a Jimmy Carter supporter.

“It was true. I was a very conservative Democrat,” McCormick said.

So McCormick became a Republican.

“They invited me in. I did it and have not regretted it since. They opened their arms up. The Republican Party in Hamilton County in particular has been really good to me,” McCormick said.

“I saw Governor McWherterseveral years ago when I was elected to the Legislature. I reminded him who I was. He said, ‘It’s really good to see you. Glad to see you made it to the Legislature finally.’ I said, ‘Governor McWherter, I just want you to know I did make it to the Legislature, but I was elected as a Republican instead of a Democrat.’ He just looked at me and said, ‘Well that’s all right. Everybody has to be something.’”

McCormick said he felt more comfortable with a limited-government philosophy, and he notes Ronald Reagan, also once a Democrat, is another example of switching to the Republican side. McCormick said he believes former Democratic Gov. Buford Ellington — elected to the office twice, serving from 1959-63 and 1967-71 — would probably have had a hard time today being a Democrat.

McCormick had been campaign chairman for Republican Rep. Bobby Wood of Harrison, and when Wood retired from his seat after 28 years, McCormick ran for it and was elected in 2004. He has since climbed to one of the most powerful positions in the state.

He began to see trends turn Republican in the Legislature after the 2006 election. He had been the assistant majority leader and wanted to run for speaker this year, but after gauging his level of support and recognizing that others, like eventual Speaker Beth Harwell, had more seniority, McCormick went for the majority leader’s position successfully. At 49, he now guides a Republican contingent that includes moderates and conservatives, not an easy mix to control.

In a wide-ranging, hour-long conversation with TNReport.com, McCormick talked about the collective bargaining issue that became so prominent in the General Assembly this year, the changing roles of the majority and minority parties in the Legislature, his personal background and his thoughts on Gov. Bill Haslam.

It’s a pretty lengthy and comprehensive interview. Check it out when you have a few minutes.

I blogged briefly about Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s desire to reduce the number of bills coming out of the legislature last week.

TNReport reports today that House GOP Leader Gerald McCormick shares Haslam’s concern:

A change in the attorney-client privilege system for filing bills in the Legislature next year could significantly decrease the amount of legislation filed and cut down on unnecessary work at the Capitol, says House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick.

Gov. Bill Haslam has called for substantial reductions in the number of bills, and McCormick says he’s “all for it.”

McCormick said the process of using a “sign-off form” the Legislature plans to utilize next year will go a long way toward that goal. Haslam recently said he would like to see the amount of bills filed to be cut by one-third from more than 2,000 bills typically entered for consideration now.

Haslam’s call brought immediate concurrence among Republican leaders, while complaints about the governor meddling in legislative affairs were heard from the Democratic side.

I still contend the problem is bills that create more government. Limit those and allow as many bills that repeal old and destructive laws as possible. Hell, let’s cut TCA by 20% or so. I’m sure there’s plenty in there that can be taken out.