Rep. Curry Todd has won honorable mention in the category of “Most Democratic Republican,” according to KnoxNews columnist Tom Humphrey.

In that sense, he’s certainly got my vote. And it explains why he was accidentally given the other party’s label in this March article.

Rep. Todd was edged out for the gold by Rep. Steve McDaniel; apparently it wasn’t enough to raise taxes, raise spending to unconstitutional levels, attempt to water down the ethics bill and dine at the expense of lobbyists, lash out at conservatives objecting to an “incumbent protection scheme,” waffle on wine sales, shut down inquiries into inappropriate government spending and attempt to ban secondary ticket sales like those on Stubhub.com.

I guess there’s always next term. Unfortunately.

It’s times like these that make me regret my decision not to run against him, despite the various reasons why the time wasn’t right. If Rep. Todd does win top honors next time around, the conservatives who counseled against my challenge, and against all similar primary contests, will deserve consideration for the “Supportive Role” sub-category.

Regardless of the tolerance and encouragement of his colleagues, this district deserves better representation.

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.

Memphis Flyer Senior Editor Jackson Baker notes what might have been:

When conservative blogger Mick Wright last week withdrew from the Republican primary race in state House of Representatives District 95, he thereby aborted a possible showdown with incumbent Curry Todd, against whom Wright has alleged a variety of derelictions — most recently a waffling on ethics legislation.

As has been well documented, bloggers have significantly influenced the course of national elections in recent years, and several counterparts on the local scene have played a like role in local politics. As of yet, however, there have been few, if any, electoral contests of the sort that Todd-Wright would have been. In an age, however, in which presidential candidacies can be financed by small contributions from the grass roots, just such an electoral test between practitioners of the old and the new in politics would seem inevitable.

If our elected officials continue to misbehave, I suspect the inevitable will come soon enough.

While I’m thankful for those who’ve encouraged me to run for state house in District 95, and for everyone who offered advice along the way, I have decided to drop my name from the ballot. I still feel like now is the time for a change in this district, and I sense that the race would be win-able, but now is just not the right time for me to be a candidate. Instead, I will continue to speak up on important issues and look for other ways to serve the community. Thanks again.

The post by LeftWingCracker is correct — I have qualified as a Republican candidate for Tennessee House in District 95. I certainly wouldn’t be the first candidate in Memphis with a blog, but he may be right that I could be the first candidate who was a blogger first.

If I run, Republican voters in District 95 would be the only ones in Shelby County with a choice; every other Republican incumbent, and every other GOP candidate, will be running unopposed in the statewide office primary.

I say if I run, because I haven’t committed to launching a campaign just yet. The deadline to withdraw is April 10, so there is still a week left before the candidates are locked in.

Over the next few days, I will continue to talk it over with my family, seek input from my friends and associates, and check with my boss and co-workers to determine if such an effort could impose any sort of hardship on my job or on the organization. I will also continue to examine myself and consider how a political campaign might fit against my talents, my personality, my goals, my experiences and my career path. I will also be meeting with advisers and political friends to determine if I could put together a viable campaign. And last, but certainly not least, I will be praying for guidance and direction, as I do every day.

But I’m also very mindful of this district and the shameful way it has been represented over the past few years. As with Tom Leatherwood, I would be running as an underdog up against an entrenched incumbent. Leatherwood has characterized his race against U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn as not just climbing a steep hill, but rather walking “up to the face of the cliff.” My situation would be even more dire, however, given my status as an untested newcomer.

At this point, if you’re a new visitor, you may be wondering exactly who I am, and why I would seek to challenge a fellow Republican. If I decide to run, I will soon be launching a campaign website that will attempt to answer those questions. In the meantime, you are certainly welcome to browse this blog and sniff out my opinions on the issues, a few of which I will briefly touch on below.

As for the Admiral Stockdale question (who am I?), a summary bio is available on my About page, but the gist of it is that I’m basically an average guy, one who is increasingly outraged by our representatives in government. In addition, I am beginning to realize that significant elements of my party, the GOP, have lost sight of its platform and its responsibility to the citizens of this great land. They are getting too comfortable with power, too friendly with lobbyists and have twisted it into the Good-Old-boy Party.

Rep. Curry Todd is a symptom, if not an agent, of the disease. Why else is this 10-year incumbent with his $100,000+ war chest seeking to water down the ethics bill our state government passed only a few years ago, in the wake of the Tennessee Waltz FBI sting? Why does he think he deserves $75 meals from lobbyists, up to $1,000 per lobbyist, per year? What have our representatives been doing with their per diem allowance?

Why else did he support a plan the Commercial Appeal called an “incumbent protection scheme,” a deal that allowed individual legislators to hand out wads of cash (up to $300,000) to cronies in their district?

Why else did he back down when a special interest group recently lobbied against his sensible bill to allow Tennesseans to purchase wine over the internet?

If Rep. Todd hasn’t lost sight of the Republican party’s conservative principles, why is he supporting toll roads, tax increases and spending increases that violate the state constitution’s Copeland Cap? Why did he short-circuit an inquiry into the questionable financing of renovations to a public facility? Why does he want to criminalize the free market?

The party leaders I’ve heard from should be asking these questions about Rep. Todd, rather than asking me to drop my name from the ballot. They may be rightly concerned that a primary challenge will eat up resources that could be diverted to districts Republicans may have a chance to flip, while strengthening the hands of incumbents who will support a member of the party as speaker in the event of securing a majority in the House. But they seem generally unconcerned with what type of majority that might be, and what kind of legislation would result.

If a majority led by Rep. Curry Todd would mean tax increases, out of control spending, over-regulation of small businesses, slush funds, weaker ethics and doing the bidding of special interests, that would be a Pyrrhic victory for the Republican party.

So the question now is if it’s worth it for me to stick my neck out and stand up to the face of the cliff. Is it worth it for me to ask my family and my employers to bear that burden? Is it worth it for me to ask my friends to hit the streets, grab the the phones, contribute and volunteer?

Those are questions I can’t answer right now. But I would appreciate your feedback. And your prayers. Thanks very much.

UPDATE: There is also a Democrat running this year; I suspect this is the correct Christopher Taylor. He was a big Ed Stanton supporter, apparently.