I don’t think [Commercial Appeal reporter] Jon [Sparks] did it on purpose, but what I was saying to him was “I was not judging whether it was right or not, I wanted to be sure Bartlett had it shot at the money if it became available”.

- Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald, responding to a question about his recent comments in the CA: “If it’s the right way or not… we want our shot at it.”

“It” would be the slush money allotted to each member of the Tennessee Congress under a proposed way to manage Tennessee’s budget surplus.

Rep. Brian Kelsey is getting criticism from all sides for his stance on the plan, which he considers to be an ethically dangerous pork process. Republicans Jim Coley and Curry Todd have been particularly abrasive.

Rep. Todd, who happens to represent my district, would be well advised to avoid the ad hominem arguments from here on out.

Notes and commentary: Bill Hobbs, Rep. Susan Lynn, Frank Cagle, Ben Cunningham.

AND: Commercial Appeal: [Rep. Kelsey] is correct to expose the lack of accountability in the plan and the government waste that it is likely to produce. In the wake of the Tennessee Waltz corruption investigation, legislators should be moving toward more transparency, not less.