Posted by M. Wright | Filed in: Jim Coley, Tennessee Politics
It took 47 days, but I finally got an answer.
Back in early March, when I was researching Rep. Curry Todd and considering challenging him in the Republican primary, I noticed that he had sponsored a resolution honoring political activist Angelo Cobrasci.
At the time, I knew there was some bad blood between Rep. Jim Coley and Cobrasci, some of it connected to Cobrasci’s relationship with (and endorsement of) Coley’s 2006 primary challenger, Austin Farley. So I fired off a quick email to Rep. Coley saying, “I trust you won’t be sponsoring this,” with an intended wink. I had heard through the grapevine that Coley had been lobbying for me to drop my challenge against Rep. Todd, so this was a way for me to say, with a subtle nudge — hey, I wouldn’t be sponsoring bills like this if I were in Todd’s place.
But then I looked at the resolution’s summary page, and there was Rep. Coley’s name, listed as a sponsor. I was stunned. So within seconds I wrote again, saying, “Oh, in fact you are [a sponsor]. Hm. Interesting.”
A few days later, I noticed on the Tennessee House website that Rep. Coley’s name was gone as a sponsor, and the resolution was listed as “held on desk.”
Eventually, Rep. Coley wrote back and confirmed the resolution died, and he concluded his terse e-mail with the warning, “Let’s not be so clever.” But since Coley hadn’t indicated whether it had been a typographical error or if he had indeed dropped his sponsorship of the resolution, I asked him to clarify. Coley replied a few minutes later saying he would call me, because communication via e-mail “loses a lot.”
I guess you can’t lose anything in a telephone call.
When nearly two weeks had passed without a call from Rep. Coley, I sent another message asking simply, “Did you, or did you not, sponsor the resolution for any period of time?”
No response.
A week and a half later, I wrote again: “I would appreciate a response to this. Thanks.”
No response.
Three weeks after that, I wrote once more: “Please respond ASAP. Thanks.”
This time, I got a reply from Rep. Coley:
I have not responded to your missive precisely because of the tone and tenor of your first missive. As I have indicated to you before, a sense of civility is lost in e-mails which cannot be rectified in personal conversation. I think it inappropriate to make demands on people which was evidenced in your first email. You are welcome to call me at 1-901-825-0686
I called immediately, only to get sent to his voice-mail.
About two hours later, Rep. Coley finally called. He made sure to inform me that he was under no obligation to answer my questions, and he again took issue with the “tone” of my e-mails and what he perceived to be a “demand.” After some further harassment, Coley finally indicated that he had indeed sponsored the resolution, and that he had withdrawn his sponsorship.
Rep. Coley said he had sponsored the resolution at the request of Cobrasci’s wife, but that he had dropped his sponsorship after it became “controversial.” I asked Coley what controversy he was talking about, as I hadn’t seen or heard anything; he responded simply that it was controversial to people like myself and didn’t provide any further evidence. Coley also argued that I was obligated to tell him why I was interested in his activity and the resolution he sponsored (I refused, being under no obligation myself).
I told him it was regrettable that it took so long for him to respond, which he said wasn’t the issue and was “begging the question.” He also claimed that he didn’t respond initially because he didn’t want to get in the middle of a contest between Rep. Todd and myself. Of course, he had already entered that equation by asking one of my colleagues to urge me to withdraw my candidacy. That argument also contradicts the stated reason in his e-mail, that he didn’t respond due to the “tone and tenor” of my “first missive.”
Nearing the end of the conversation, as I began to thank Rep. Coley for his call and for answering my question, he hung up on me.
So here we have an arrogant public servant who bristles at questions about his own legislative activity, who takes a million years to respond and does so only after repeated questioning, who claims to add his name to resolutions with only the most fleeting moment of consideration, who reverses course at the slightest whiff of controversy, and who sponsors resolutions that might curry favor with those who might otherwise present a challenge to his own political power, regardless of their past activity.
But the worst part is that Rep. Coley, like every Republican incumbent in Shelby County, is running unopposed this year.
Finally, while I’m under no obligation to explain my concerns about the resolution with Rep. Coley, I’ll be happy to share them with you. Here are some passages of HJR1004 that I find troubling:
WHEREAS, it is fitting that the members of this General Assembly should salute those citizens who, through their extraordinary efforts, have distinguished themselves as community leaders of whom we can all be proud
Regardless of your own personal feelings about Cobrasci, or mine, could anyone honestly say “we” — that, being everyone in the state of Tennessee — “can all be proud” of him? There’s no question that Cobrasci has made extraordinary efforts in the local political sphere, and that he has distinguished himself, but we’re talking about a political partisan who has no doubt made some enemies, and somebody with a criminal record (since pardoned), somebody who changed his name, somebody who befriends white supremacists like James Edwards. Again, setting your own feelings aside, is everyone in the State of Tennessee proud of Angelo Cobrasci? I don’t think so.
WHEREAS, a student of this great Nation’s founding documents, Angelo Cobrasci founded the Defenders of Freedom, a conservative activist group, and The Midsouth Patriot, a publication that strives to deliver truthful news reports in a sober manner devoid of the extravagance that he believes characterizes many media outlets…
I’m sorry, but have Reps Todd, Coley, et al., ever actually read a copy of The Midsouth Patriot? Sober? Please. The Midsouth Patriot is a cut-n-paste hodgepodge full of e-mail forwards, random press releases and Ron Paul propaganda. It’s about as sober as Ted Kennedy.
WHEREAS, a proud republican who believes in constitutional principles over party politics, Mr. Cobrasci has assisted in the campaigns and elections of many local, state, and federal officials. In evidence of his tremendous skill and unflagging commitment, eighty-seven percent of the campaigns for which he worked have won…
Angelo “Bush is a bitch” Cobrasci is a “proud republican”?
Is that why he’s now the “National Chairman” of the “United Jeffersonian Party“?
Last, but not least, that “eighty-seven percent” calculation is off by a considerable margin.
This is the kind of nonsense on which our elected leaders waste their time, and our treasure. The mind reels.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Mick,
I do appreciate your concern for public policy and enjoy your blog. In fact it’s on my daily RSS list. I do wish you would direct your fire in a more fruitful direction: against our enemies and not our friends.
Jim Coley is one of the most thoughtful and conscientious public servants that we have. He isn’t a career politician, he is a career educator who – like yourself – happens to have an interest in using his time, talent, and treasure to ensure that our values are represented in the legislature. Prior to his election, he served in various grassroots capacities in the Bartlett Republican Club and the county Party. He is a citizen legislator, the kind of man we should send more of to the state house.
As the individual who has tried on several occasions to help Jim catch up with the information age, I assure you that e-mail simply isn’t his preferred method of communication. It is also possible that a concurrent resolution to honor a political activist was not at the front of his mind in a time when we are just a few votes away from getting a state Constitutional Amendment to ban infanticide/Partial-Birth abortion. These resolutions are extremely common and are almost never controversial – even though everybody has flaws.
It sounds to me like you and Jim have had a simple miscommunication. Our legislators are mere humans and he probably detected and reflected some hostility, as any of us might do if we felt someone was trying to attack us. Please just step back a bit, and realize that we’ve all got bigger fish to fry.
“But the worst part is that Rep. Coley, like every Republican incumbent in Shelby County, is running unopposed this year.”
The worst part is that only a couple of the Democratic incumbents have Republican opposition this year!
– Don
April 30th, 2008 at 3:22 am
Don, I was under the impression that directing fire against fellow Republicans would earn me a congratulatory resolution in the state house, but perhaps that’s reserved for folks who actually launch third parties.
I would expect more reverence for the written word from a career educator — English, was it? Not to mention a more servant attitude, and a willingness to educate the public. None of these were on display when Rep. Coley ignored my emails for the better part of two months, then harassed me on the phone and hung up on me.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
As a Tennessean, I expect all of our state’s representatives, local, state and national, to respond to constituents’ questions civilly, promptly, and without regard to the individual constituent’s “tone or tenor.” Opposed or not, my party or not, I am the ultimate supervisor of all of my representatives as a voter in Tennessee. Get uppity with us one too many times and you can find another renumerative hobby.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Freda,
As the saying goes, “You can catch more flies with honey…” Our elected representatives are public servants, not community whipping posts. If you contact a legislator in a demanding or threatening way, then I don’t think you should expect the legislator to bend over backwards to answer your complaint.
Also keep in mind that Rep. Coley, like his ninety-eight House colleagues, is accountable to the voters in a specific district. If you contact a Congressional office in another district asking for help, their first response will be to ask you to contact *your own* representative. Each House member is responsible for serving as a liaison between the people and the government for 40,000 citizens - each legislator cannot be expected to provide complete service to all 4 million Tennesseans. Mick was contacting a representative for another district, and Rep. Coley was still kind enough to attempt to handle his concerns.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:41 am
“I ………. do solemnly swear (or affirm) that as a member of this General Assembly, I will, in all appointments, vote without favor, affection, partiality, or prejudice; and that I will not propose or assent to any bill, vote or resolution, which shall appear to me injurious to the people, or consent to any act or thing, whatever, that shall have a tendency to lessen or abridge their rights and privileges, as declared by the Constitution of this State.”
Sounds to me like the oath of office suggests a representative represents all the people of the state.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:41 am
Don, are you suggesting that Mick’s original messages were demanding or threatening? It would seem to me that a recipient of those messages would need extremely thin skin to view them that way, and I would not think that such a person would be very well suited to public office.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:27 am
A reader e-mails this: “Does Angelo have two state representatives? Curry and Jim? I think as both are members of the Shelby County delegation, you’d have every right to speak / ask Jim a question. I am sure these reps receive help and money from outside their district; should check their campaign contributions online.”
Good point — if Reps can honor somebody from outside their districts, and accept cash from outside their districts, they ought to be able to answer questions from the public about their legislative activity, especially a simple yes or no question like mine. If Rep. Coley had simply done that, or if he hadn’t taken such an absurdly belligerent posture on the phone, he wouldn’t have heard another peep from me. This is a PR problem of his own making.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:07 am
And you can donate to Congresspersons from other states. But if you call their offices asking for help, it is likely that they will tell you to call your own representative. A Representative is bound to the electorate that sends him there, and the electors who reside within a particular house district are the specific constituents of that representative. This is simply common sense. If my Representative were spending all of his time handling complaints from residents of other House districts, I would be rather upset — as that would take time away from his handling of mine and my neighbors’ needs in the legislature.
Popfly - I believe that it is always important to put yourself in someone else’s shoes when you are being critical of their actions. If someone contacts you in a critical and offensive manner, and you know that he might put every thing that you say out on the internet — wouldn’t you be a bit defensive too?
I do realize that bashing elected officials is the game of choice in venues such as this, but I refuse to play it. There are so few good people, men and women of character, who are willing or able to serve us in the legislature - I don’t see a reason to unnecessarily bash one of the best ones we have up there.
Those who can, do. Those who can’t, complain about the ones that can do.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:15 am
But Don, your question to me misses the point of my comment. I believe Mick’s question was neither offensive nor critical; Coley, for whatever reason, chose to interpret it that way, and responded in kind. That is not a temperament that befits an elected representative, in my opinion.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:59 am
Don, I realize it’s your role to speak up for everyone with an R behind their name, to direct everything behind party victories and to protect seats held by the party, so I took your first comment as gentle redirection, nothing more than just doing your job.
As you’ve continued returning to comment, you’ve begun to stray from that general, defensible position. Putting aside the comments and questions from myself and others that you’ve deflected, as well as whether you thought the resolution was a good idea in the first place and would have supported it yourself, you’ve started to make some pretty obnoxious statements.
As I’ve indicated, it was never my intention to make Jim Coley a “community whipping post,” and nor did I ever expect him to “bend over backwards;” I did expect him to keep his word and treat my simple inquiry with a minimal level of dignity. If Rep. Coley had called me like he said he would, or even if he had answered in a reasonable period of time, or if he had answered in an unreasonable period of time but had chosen to not be rude, I would have let the issue drop. He chose otherwise.
When Representative Coley started getting snippy with me in his e-mail (”Let’s not be so clever”), I did not respond in kind. I said nothing “critical” or “offensive,” as you’ve suggested. I simply wrote the following: “Yeah, I noticed that yesterday. What do you mean by ‘let’s not be so clever’? Did you pull your sponsorship, or was that an error?”
In response, Rep. Coley said, “I’ll call you. Communicate via computer loses a lot.”
He didn’t call. I waited nearly two weeks, then I wrote again, simply asking if he had sponsored the resolution. He didn’t respond.
For the better part of two months, he did nothing, while I sent occasional, minimalistic requests for the information, followed by the word “thanks.”
When he did finally respond, he did so belligerently. And when I tried to thank him, he hung up on me.
So I reject your arguments that I shouldn’t criticize him because he’s a fellow Republican, or because the issue is relatively trivial, or because he doesn’t represent my district, or because he’s not a career politician, or because he’s a generally good fellow. He was rude to me, and he failed in his role as a public servant. That means something to me, and I think the public deserves better. So that’s why I’m not going to let that slide.
Your last comment is an utter disgrace: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, complain about the ones that can do.”
Not only is that statement incorrect, but it’s complete bullshit. And I don’t appreciate that at all.
This is not a venue for “bashing elected officials.” This is one citizen’s forum, open to all for comment. If our elected leaders treat us like scum, we’re going to object to that.
If Rep. Coley is a man of character, he needs to offer me an apology. Otherwise, my opinion of him (which I once shared with you) will have changed permanently. And, Don, if you continue to insult me and my visitors, my high opinion of you may begin to change as well. I don’t appreciate intimidation and put-downs.
May 1st, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Well, that was quick. I just received an apologetic note from Rep. Coley via e-mail. Good on him!
July 20th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
This has to be your best post ever other than the one giving me the gold for calling you sackless or whatever it was. I love it!!! And you guys hammer me. I would have at least answered your questions even though I cannot stand you. Everyone deserves an answer from any public official.