Under False Prentice
Posted on February 5, 2009 at 2:37 pmThe Tennessee Guerilla Women don’t understand why Nashville’s congressman is so conservative:
Jim Cooper (D-TN) still hasn’t answered my letter asking him why I should vote for him when he votes with Republicans. Cooper is my allegedly Democratic Rep.
Nashville is one of the state’s most liberal centers, and we have to get stuck with the likes of Jim Cooper? The best thing I can say about Jim Cooper is that he is not Bill Frist.
I’m gonna be honest. The Guerilla Women let me down with this post. The Guerilla Women are known for their bombastic rhetoric. They are known for their no-holds-barred attitude. When they go after folks, they go after them. Caution is thrown to the wind and, often, so is politeness.
So in this case, why no mention of Prentice Cooper?
Now, of course, throwing the Congressman’s segregationist father in his face for no apparent reason would be unfair and untoward. I’m not suggesting it should be done.
Clearly, the man was a product of his time and, being that the congressman was all of fifteen when Prentice died, the elder Cooper obviously had a limited amount of direct political influence on his son.
And the young Cooper, after all, supported (early) Barack Obama for President. Jim Cooper is impervious to this kind of attack. It wouldn’t work and would likely provoke backlash. I’m just curious why you never see it.
Haters and critics throw all sorts of bile at people whom they have disagreements with. They throw things that make no sense and have no bearing on the issue or conversation. But no one ever throws this.
Why not? Do they not know? Or do I need to have more confidence in the civility of our civil discourse?
Comments
13 Responses to “Under False Prentice”
I dunno, I supported a Presidential candidate whose father was an alcoholic polygamist. Jim Cooper’s daddy being a segregationist in the era of segregation is really not much of a concern to me. Besides, he died when Jim Cooper was 15 years old.
We’re not accusing Cooper of wearing a sheet, AC, we’re accusing him of being a DINO.
IOKIYAD
Egalia’s premise is messed up. Nashville may be liberal FOR TENNESSEE, but because of its metropolitan government, it may be one of the least liberal urban centers in America (save Salt Lake City, of course).
I can’t think of another urban center in the country that could produce an Eric Crafton.
Oh, I understand LWC. I just see a lot of random bile thrown about in the blogosphere yet never this. Not from bloggers so much (usually) but from commenters. I’m just curious why no one brings it up even as an aside.
You’ve got to be kidding me, Slart.
New York City produces very conservative politicians, and I’m not talking about Giuliani, from its suburban neighborhoods. You don’t hear about most of them, because they’re city council representatives, or at most state legistators, but take Vito Fosella, who was a congressman from Staten Island and Bay Ridge, and who shuns his lesbian sister to this day.
Bellevue is the Staten Island of Nashville. Yes, there are conservative politicians here, but they live in suburbs which happen to be in the city limits.
If you can’t imagine another city producing an Eric Crafton, you have to get out more. There’s at least one in every city.
ACK, quite a few of my relatives who were of Prentice’s generation felt the same way. Some were full-bore nutjob white supremacists. The fact that there’s nobody like that among me and my cousins is a rebuke to the old ways of thinking, isn’t it?
Maybe not everyone here in Nashville has southern heritage, but enough of us do that we know better than to hold a generation responsible for the wretched beliefs of those who came before it. For me, it would be inconceivable to bring that up as a point against Jim Cooper, and I imagine most of his critics around here feel the same way.
Slarti,
See: Milk (The Movie).
I think the point which Slart is trying to make is that while yes, the most liberal people in Tennessee may be concentrated in Nashville, that doesn’t mean that they ARE Nashville. There are lots of middle-of-the-road and yes, conservative people to be found within the 5th Congressional District. Remember, the 5th covers the most Republican parts of Wilson County, too.
I think a lot of Nashvillians forget that their city (and their congressman’s district) extends beyond the Vandy/Belmont area and East Nashville.
d,
Nobody doubts that there are conservatives residing in Nashville…there are Conservatives in San Francisco as well (see: Michael Savage).
But a much more liberal Democrat than Jim Cooper could still run and win in this city…meaning, Cooper is not Conservative out of political necessity, but out of personal conviction.
Remember, the 5th covers the most Republican parts of Wilson County, too.
I think a lot of Nashvillians forget that their city (and their congressman’s district) extends beyond the Vandy/Belmont area and East Nashville.
Indeed.
The district voted +13% Obama in 2008. This is a liberal district, nationally. The liberals live in North Nashville, South Nashville, West Nashville, and East Nashville. They make up >50% of the Dem. primary electorate and >50% of the general electorate too. There are a lot of conservatives in the district, but they are a minority.
Don’t forget also that Nashville voted down Crafton. It isn’t a conservative place. Drive down Nolensville Pike, or through East Nashville, or past Fisk, or down West End. Tell me where the Republicans are. They are in Williamson county, not Davidson.