I’ve made no secret of my displeasure with Curry Todd, my state representative. And now, just when it seemed he was turning the corner by supporting a sensible bill relaxing restrictions on the sale of wine, pressure from a special interest group has caused Rep. Todd to back off:

Prospects for passage of legislation allowing Tennesseans to buy wine over the Internet may have diminished because of an organized attack from a group that is apparently sponsored by wine and liquor wholesalers opposing the bill.

…

Under current state law, all wine and liquor must go through wholesalers to licensed retail liquor and wine stores. Tennessee citizens cannot legally receive shipments of wine from other states; only wholesalers.

There are two bills to change that. One is sponsored by Jackson and Rep. Doug Shepard, D-Dickson, and the other by Sen. Paul Stanley, R-Germantown, and Rep. Curry Todd, D-Collierville.

…

The Stanley-Todd bill includes a provision declaring that a person accepting delivery of a wine shipment must provide a driver’s license or other photo identification. Jackson said a similar provision would be included in the bill he sponsors.

Todd said faxes and e-mails sent to his constituents by the new organization said juveniles would be allowed to purchase wine with “no ID required” if the bill passes, and “that’s a bald-faced lie.”

Todd said he now intends to abandon efforts to pass the Internet wine sales bill.

Of course, Rep. Todd wouldn’t want to alienate the special interest groups, the very folks he hopes will provide him with $75 meals once he reverses the ethics law, but it does give a whole new meaning to the term “wine and dine.”

It also suggests that curry goes with chicken just as well as it does with pork.

My only question is about the “D-Collierville;” has Rep. Todd actually switched parties, or was that just a Freudian slip?