Some legislators lack character
Do you like to party? Do you take money from people in exchange for favors? Do you consume large quantities of alcohol then crash your car?
If so, you have all the qualifications to be a Tennessee state lawmaker. Just stagger right up. The way things have been going in Nashville lately, Capitol Hill appears more like a frat party than a place of government business. Are lawmakers passing legislation or passing around a bottle?
Our latest escapade comes to us courtesy of state Rep. Rob Briley, D-Nashville, who has made headlines for his drunken drive through DeKalb and Wilson counties over the weekend. Briley rear-ended a vehicle driven by a Warren County resident, then pulled a U-turn and led an officer on a 100-mph chase toward Watertown.
Anyone who has seen the video footage of Briley’s arrest realizes he was under some form of heavy intoxication. Perhaps it was the empty bottle of whiskey found in his SUV. That’s just a guess.
Here’s a new game show idea I’m sure will stump contestants. I think I’ll call it ‘Lawmaker or Common Criminal? ‘ You Make the Call.’
What is it about politics that attracts such sleaze? On the national level we have degenerates like Larry Craig and Mark Foley. Craig tried to have sex with a stranger in a men’s bathroom. Foley tried to have sex with a teenager who worked in his office as a congressional page. Not exactly upstanding members of society.
But we don’t have to travel to Washington to find shady lawmakers. We apparently have no shortage right here in Tennessee.
In an exercise that’s becoming more challenging by the day, our state legislators continue to prove they can get caught in a situation even more embarrassing than the one before. This is not easy.
Take for example former state Sen. John Ford, who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar several years back for using money from his campaign fund to pay for his daughter’s wedding. Pretty crooked stuff.
But Ford showed he can easily top that by taking some $55,000 in bribes as part of the Tennessee Waltz undercover sting. He and four other sitting lawmakers were either found guilty or pleaded guilty to taking bribes.
In Warren County we have our very own Jerry Cooper, who has done much for the community over the past two decades, but little for his own image over the past two years. He pleaded guilty to DUI after an interstate crash that could have very easily claimed his life ‘ or the lives of innocent motorists traveling the other direction.
Folks, it’s gotten to the point where our elected officials are humiliating. I realize it’s difficult to muster the courage to run for political office but there has got to be better candidates out there. I don’t care if they’re liberal, conservative or moderate. Give me someone with character.
At the very least, we should have lawmakers who abide by the law. It would seem like such a minimal request.
State Rep. Charlie Curtiss, who appears to be one of the most reputable Tennessee legislators, likes to say the General Assembly is like any cross section of society.
Curtiss says you could take any group of 132 people and find some great workers, some slackers, and some people who like to bend the rules. I agree.
But I also think we should have higher standards for our legislators ‘ supposedly our best and brightest leaders in Tennessee. If they are allowed to commit crimes and stay in office, we badly need to raise our level of expectations.
James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].