Sensitivity Workshops And Such
Posted on June 17, 2009 at 7:46 amMary Mancini thinks the Sherri Goforth situation is the perfect opportunity for such things:
We have a deep well of valuable resources in Tennessee who would, I’m sure, be more than happy to make the trek to the Hill when session is over to hold an open discussion or a workshop or a seminar. Or a week of discussions or workshops or seminars.
Distinguished Vanderbilt University Professor Rev. Jim Lawson, who helped desegregate Nashville’s lunch counters and organized the Freedom Rides, might be a good choice. Or perhaps Nashville resident Tim Wise, who lectures on the pathology of white privilege.
Please urge Senator Black to grab hold of this moment, get creative, and work with other members of the General Assembly to send the message to their staffers that racism - no matter how casual - is not OK.
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Aggregation Station
Posted on June 16, 2009 at 8:08 pmThe state Democratic Party is helpfully keeping a treasure trove of links regarding L’affaire Goforth.
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Don’t Make Martyrs
Posted on at 7:59 pmR. Neal on the fate that should await Sherri Goforth:
There have been calls for the termination of Sen. Diane Black’s assistant, Sherri Goforth, a twenty year employee, for forwarding the email. I have mixed feelings about that. Perhaps a better response would be a week or two suspension without pay to give her time to reflect, plus some mandatory sensitivity training. In my view, it’s a “teaching moment” opportunity to turn someone around v. making them a right-wing martyr.
A Man’s Got To Have A Code
Posted on at 3:35 pmI mean, don’t get it twisted I do some dirt, too, but I ain’t never put my gun on nobody who wasn’t in the game.
~ Omar Devon Little
I’ve been getting many inquiries and much static, from just about all quarters, for my handling of the Sherri Goforth story. I’ve gotten emails. I’ve gotten phone calls. And, clearly, more than a few blog comments asking me just why exactly “The Story” didn’t show up on Post Politics until after business hours yesterday when it had been the buzz of the blogosphere for hours and hours.
Was it because I was in the pocket of the Republicans? Was because I was covering for a “fellow racist”? Was I jealous because the Scene got to it before me? Was the rumor true that I had the email weeks ago and failed to post on it?
First of all, I don’t make a lot of distinction personally between “new” and “old” media, professional and amateur journalism in this area. I try to be very conscientious about noting where I come across the links, news and commentary posted here and I don’t much care who the source is. If it is a blogger, I link. If it is the Tennessean, I link.
This story was broken by Trace Sharp where I saw the story early in the morning. The distinction belongs to her and her alone.
If I were to be “jealous” of anyone it would be her because she was first. She is a serious blogger and a journalist. The Scene or any subsequent outlet who picked up on it would not affect my “editorial” judgment, as it were.
It’s actually a silly accusation because while you will find original journalism on this blog most of what I do here is aggregation. I post stories from the Scene, the Tennessean, just about everywhere. This wasn’t about the source or the competition, this was about the content. It was about the story itself.
I didn’t believe it was one.
I still don’t.
Post Politics received the email in question on June 1, 2009. It was forwarded to me just, as I imagine, it was to Trace Sharp. I made some inquiries into the matter. I ultimately decided not to run with it.
Why? It’s quite simple really. Sherri Goforth is a civilian.
She is not a blogger. She is not a politician. She is not an operative. She is, essentially, a secretary. A secretary in the legislature for 20 years.
Now the email she sent was indefensible. I don’t defend it. I will not defend it. It is authentically racist — and I’m not even one who likes to throw that word around.
In my inquiries I found that Goforth had forwarded an email which was immediately recalled and deleted. Goforth was reprimanded and a letter was placed in her file. The email was, and I did look into this as well, the only email of this nature that Goforth had sent that anyone, my original source as well as others, could produce. There was no pattern of racist behavior in the workplace I could find and sanctions had already been taken against her.
Now, I’m not unfamiliar with how these things work. Had I gone with the story, what has now happened, would have happened. A career state employee would have her name on CNN and the AP wire. Calls for her termination would commence from people with an ax to grind and a political agenda to advance. She would in all likelihood be fired or asked to resign, if not immediately then after session was over.
Now, I have put people’s mess in the street before — Republicans and Democrats. But as far as I can remember, it has always been politicians, operatives and bloggers that I have pulled the trigger on. Have I linked to media reports which mentioned regular citizens by name before? Probably.
But, frankly, after making inquiries and coming to the conclusion that I did, I just didn’t feel like piling on yesterday. Was that a mistake? According to many of you who value this website, it was. I understand that.
This blog, after all, is an amalgamation of the news, chatter and commentary going on in Tennessee politics. Yesterday, today and likely for the rest of this week, Sherri Goforth is “The Big Thing.”
Everyone was and will be talking about it. Regardless of my personal feelings about pulling the trigger initially, was it my job to ride to the sound of guns once the game was on?
I don’t know. If it was, it was a part of my job that I didn’t like, and like many employees I elected to put it off until it could no longer be put off. As Trace Sharpe herself likes to say, I’ll own that.
Now anyone who knows me knows that pageviews are more dear to me than anything. I have little love for either ideologies or political parties. But if I did, those loves would never trump that which I have for web traffic. It’s what has kept me employed for as long as I have doing something I truly love.
I would never, not for one second, sacrifice pageviews to defend a political party. I sacrificed them because I didn’t believe the story was news.
I sacrificed them because Sherri Goforth is a working woman. She has not put herself up for office, she is not crafting messages or legislation. She is not a political operator.
If some of the folks who received the email had sent it rather than received it, it would have been different. But that wasn’t the case.
The legislature is not Congress. Not everyone who works there is working on bills, legislation and other “Real Important Business.” Some folks who work there are just glorified secretaries. That is what Sherri Goforth is, no offense intended. All this hullabaloo, in the final analysis, is over a secretary who forwarded an email from one of her white trash friends. That’s what this is. That’s all this is.
Yes, her email does fit superficially into an ongoing narrative of the TNGOP as an organization right around the edge (which side of the line is a matter of opinion) of the line of racial propriety. As such, I see how it could be interpreted as news. But that’s not the reality.
Sherri Goforth is not Chip Saltsman. She is not Bill Hobbs. She is not Robin Smith. She ain’t even Scott Gilmer. She’s not a player in game. In my mind, it would be akin to an infantryman shooting a enemy army cook in the back of the head.
I had the ammo, I took aim, but I viewed my potential victim as a civilian and I held my fire. That’s what happened.
The Sherri Goforth Apology
Posted on at 1:07 pm“I want to offer my deepest apology regarding the offensive nature of the email forwarded to several of my colleagues. I also want to make it clear that it was forwarded to me from an acquaintance with absolutely no political party ties and who is outside the Tennessee Capitol Hill arena. I should have deleted it upon receipt. Again, I am deeply sorry and offer a sincere apology to anyone offended.”
We Ain’t Like Her
Posted on at 12:38 pmLaura Harrison McBride claims a Upper East exemption to Tennessee racism:
Tennessee is not known for its tolerance of African-Americans, of course…except maybe Upper East Tennessee, which was too poor and hardscrabble to support plantations. Therefore, there was no need for a lesser class of humanity, for non-citizens…for slaves. Indeed, having lived there for almost ten years, I can say that I saw rather less racism there than I would have believed before I arrived. I soon found that Upper East Tennessee is different. Maybe it’s the Scots-Irish gene pool. Maybe it’s good sense. Maybe it’s historical poverty that filled the hollows around the Holston River with people more intent on survival than on bothering to be hostile to anyone else. Maybe because it’s so otherworldly beautiful, it doesn’t make sense to be hostile to anyone.
Senator Black Will Not Sack
Posted on at 7:09 amThe legislative staffer who sent out an email that has the Plaza buzzing will not be fired:
Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Diane Black said today she acted to “strongly” reprimand an aide who sent an e-mail that has been denounced as “racist” by Democrats.
But Sen. Black, R-Gallatin, said she does not intend to fire executive assistant Sherri Goforth despite demands she do so.
Forrester: Goforth And Can Her Ass
Posted on June 15, 2009 at 5:33 pmThe Tennessee Democratic Party Chair has called for the head of a legislative staffer who sent an incendiary email featuring some of that old-timey racism. The presser in full:
Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Chip Forrester denounced an email sent out by Republican staffer Sherri Goforth depicting Barack Obama as two eyes peering out of a black background.
“Is this indicative of what Senate Republicans think about our Commander-in-Chief?” Forrester asked. “This email is reprehensible, insults the office of the President, and is embarrassing to all Tennesseans regardless of political party.”
Sen. Diane Black’s staffer sent an email with an attached collage of traditional presidential portraits, except that President Obama was depicted as two eyes peering from a black background.”When I ran for Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party, I said that no longer would our Party sit idly by and allow Republicans to make bigoted attacks on Democrats in our state and our country. Well, once again, a Tennessee Republican has earned national attention for a racist, hate-filled attack on our President,” Forrester said.
Unfortunately, Sherri Goforth’s email joins the list of shameful episodes by Tennessee Republicans, from the infamous “Birds of a Feather” (PDF) direct mail piece that featured black crows with the heads of Barack Obama and Rep. Nathan Vaughn (who is also African-American), to the “Barack the Magic Negro” song that former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chip Saltsman sent to RNC members during his failed campaign for RNC chair.
Since her aide’s email has come to light, Sen. Black, the chair of the House Republican Caucus, has merely reprimanded Goforth.
“I am calling on Sen. Black to reject this racist smear and fire this staffer who, on state government time, on state government computers, using a state government email account, launched this bigoted attack on our president,” Forrester said. “Keeping her on the staff would send the message that this type of behavior is condoned by the House Republican Caucus.”
“Ms. Goforth does not seem to understand what she did wrong. She has apologized for ’sending [the email] to the wrong list of people.’ I believe that any list of people would have recognized this email as offensive and hateful. The fact that a state employee would not understand that indicates that she is not fit for employment by the state of Tennessee.”
“We have hundreds of state employees facing the possibility of losing their jobs due to the budget deficit and no fault of their own. I think we could save at least one of those jobs by firing Sherri Goforth.”
MORE ON THIS DEVELOPING STORY:
Newscoma
Silence
Hannan
Grantham
Humphrey
Cracker
GoldnI
Atlantic
Wonkette
Sandy
Mancini
FirestormSen. Diane Black Cancels Appointments With Gay Equality Activists
Posted on February 17, 2009 at 3:50 pmFrom Out & About:
Ann Miller said state Senator Diane Black (R-Gallatin) called her yesterday to cancel the appointment she had made for herself and other constituents.
“She said she did not need to hear from us on those issues,” Miller said. “Even though she may not agree with us on our issues, she’s elected to represent the people.”
Those issues include legislation that has been proposed to limit adoptions only to married heterosexual couples; allowing transgender persons to change the gender listed on their birth certificate; including transgender in the current state statue on hate crimes; and a bill proposed that would prevent elementary and middle school teachers from talking about homosexuality.
Some participants heard of a possible civil-union ban being proposed when talking with their lawmakers. Tennessee does not currently have a law that recognizes civil unions, but it does not have a law preventing them either. Sanders said word had been spread throughout the day that a bill would be proposed by Thursday that would prohibit civil unions in Tennessee.
SEE ALSO: Chris Sanders
UPDATE: Hear audio of Senator Diane Black’s encounter with activists after the cancellation.
The Caucus Isn’t Allowed To Endorse In A Primary…
Posted on August 4, 2008 at 8:32 am…but, if it were, Senator Diane Black makes it pretty clear where she would come down in the race between Rep. Doug Overbey and Raymond Finney in the 8th District GOP state Senate primary:
Caucus rules prohibit giving money to a candidate during a primary, Black said. That meant no caucus money going to Finney, though the situation caused “some consternation” among committee members.
Black praised Finney and said she would like to see the senator triumph in his race with Overbey.
Asked if that meant she endorses Finney, Black replied, “As Caucus chairman, I can’t officially do that.”
But she said that, while serving with Overbey in the House, “we didn’t always see eye to eye, and I want to see somebody (elected) who I know I can work with.”
Sen. Black And Rep. Maggart Resign From The League Of Women Voters
Posted on at 7:35 amCiting the organizations’ lobbying efforts on behalf of issues and legislation out of step with their ideology and their districts, Senator Diane Black and Rep. Debra Maggart have resigned from the League Of Women Voters:
It is distressing to us, as members of the League, to find the legislation we consistently sponsor in both the House and the Senate to be denounced by the state and national organization. It is also a big concern that our dues are going to support the Tennessee LWV lobbyist, Stewart Clifton, who we see on a daily basis at the Capitol fighting good legislation that will benefit our districts, many of these in which we have sponsored.
Read the full letter here as well as the League’s response. The League lobbyist mentioned in the letter, Stewart Clifton, has also responded with his regrets:
I am sorry if the fact that I work on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, a group I am also proud to be a member of, played a part in the two legislators’ decision to abandon the League. I know the League is made up of women and men who may not always agree on specifics but whose overall commitment to encouraging active participation of citizens in government keeps them working together.
SEE ALSO:
Ben CunninghamUPDATE: More from lobbyist Stewart Clifton in the comments.
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