Talley Talks Tactics
Posted on August 21, 2008 at 7:02 amClint Brewer follows up on his breaking news report earlier in the week and talks with the Democratic operative who admits dropping the believed-to-be expunged DUI record of state House candidate A.J. McCall on the desk of GOP House Leader Jason Mumpower:
Talley also chalked up sending the arrest records from the early 1990s and a copy of a flier against GOP Rep. Tim Dubois to McCall’s wife to “political hardball.
“I sent that record over there just to let them know we knew about the DUI arrest,” Talley said.
When asked why he sent to McCall’s wife and not to McCall, Talley replied, “Six in one hand, half a dozen in the other.”
McCall’s opponent, longtime incumbent Democratic State Rep. Stratton Bone’s campaign condemned the campaign tactics against McCall earlier in the week before Talley came forward. Talley said the Bone campaign’s statement did not bother him.
“It doesn’t concern me,” Talley said. “I’m here to win House races.”
Mumpower further condemned Talley’s actions, saying he would tender a complaint with House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh over the House Democratic Caucus actions. He also said four people work in his office and that it is staffed whenever it is open.
“It alarms me greatly that Democratic Party officials feel they can enter anyone’s state office, day or night,” Mumpower said. “That should not happen to anyone regardless of party.”
Mumpower added Talley’s action were “the kind of thing voters hate about politics.”
“Trying to scare and intimidate someone’s wife and then try to brush it off shows a person of very low moral character,” Mumpower said. “I guess they believe in a win at any cost kind of system.”
McCall Expunged DUI File Dirty Trick Claimed By House Political Director
Posted on August 20, 2008 at 11:15 amFrom the Associated Press:
A Democratic political activist says it was him - and not a state trooper who was suspended this week for unauthorized background checks - who delivered copies of a candidate’s drunken driving records to the Republican leader in the state House.
Keith Talley, political director for the House Democratic Caucus, tells The Associated Press he obtained copies of Republican state House candidate A.J. McCall’s records through a public records search at the Wilson County Courthouse.
Talley says he dropped the copies off on House Minority Leader Jason Mumpower’s desk several weeks ago in a move he describes as standard “political hardball.” He disputes the Bristol Republican’s claim that the records were placed in his locked office at night.
See Clint Brewer’s original reporting on the McCall situation and the allegations by leader Mumpower here.
Rob Briley Continues His Needling Of The Press
Posted on May 21, 2008 at 11:58 amRep. Rob Briley, who called out the press and the blogosphere yesterday for not taking practicing their craft responsibly, again made statements on the floor of the State House regarding his estimation of journalistic integrity.
Briley declared that the Tennessean’s headline this morning chronicling his tirade yesterday “proved his point” about the lack of responsibility amongst the press.
What wasn’t clear was whether Briley was speaking of his misidentification as “Sen. Briley” or whether he took issue with the phrasing of “takes shots at the media.”
If the latter, then the Gannett daily can hardly be faulted. Briley described his statements about the press as a “shot across the bow.”
What Briley should have faulted the Tennessean with, along with the misidentification in the headline, is various inaccuracies under said headline.
As you can see above, the Tennessean refers to Briley’s “resignation” and then refers you to some stories that supposedly happened after that.
First, while it is true that Briley resigned from his Judiciary Committee chairmanship, one might doubt that the same headline writers who misidentified in which body Briley serves in, would be referencing that.
What they likely are referencing is his decision to leave the legislature. That, of course, was not a “resignation.” Briley did not “resign” from the legislature, he merely elected not to run for reelection.
That said, whether the Gannett staffers were referring the decision not run or his resignation from his chairmanship is immaterial. The links that lie beneath are inaccurate either way.
Two of the links cited as after “Briley’s resignation” chronicle his dustup with Rep. Stacey Campfield over Campfield’s “babydaddy bill.” That, of course was last month well after both his chairmanship resignation and his decision to leave the legislature upon the expiration of his term.
Regardless of the lapses of the Tennessean headline department, one must wonder whether Briley’s real beef with the article was its subtle implication as to whom his “coded message” might have been directed to.
Briley, who listed a female lobbyist who is not his wife as his emergency contact when he was arrested, then issued an enigmatic “coded message” to someone out there listening to his speech.
“I’m going to say something in code now that none of you all are going to understand,” Briley said. “Poets and kings.”
When that message was met with blank stares, Briley elaborated. “There’s something out there that poets write verse about, and something out there that kings wage war about,” he said. “I’ve been lucky enough to experience that in my life, and I hope all of you do, too. So, poets and kings, everybody.”
Either way, Briley’s back and forth with the media was not done with his claim of vindication by the Tennessean.
During a portion of the morning’s session where retiring Representatives were being given the opportunity to handle the Speaker’s gavel, Briley turned to the press box and said, “[W]hile acting as speaker I have authority to have you removed from the chamber.”
Making it clear he was joking Briley then laughed and said that he appreciated the media’s “hard work.”
SEE ALSO: Peebles
Budget Issues To Prevent Cops From Acting As Judge And Jury
Posted on May 7, 2008 at 10:33 amGovernor Phil Bredesen has sent a letter to Senator Randy McNally requesting the withdrawal of a bill which would authorize police to take away a motor’s drivers license at the point of arrest on a DUI charge due to budget constraints:
Unfortunately it is not possible to dozens of new positions to administer this measure at the same time we are planning workforce reductions across government.
Read the full letter here which was sent to both the House and Senate sponsors of the legislation.
Last summer, Governor Bredesen embarrassingly praised administrative revocation as a legislative achievement before finding out it had not actually passed. He subsequently vowed to make the effort to pass such legislation a priority.
SEE ALSO:
City Paper
Tom Humphrey
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Kurita’s Primary Opponent’s Legal Practice Includes DUI Defense
Posted on April 23, 2008 at 8:21 amJohn Rodgers points out that it just so happens that Senator Rosalind Kurita’s Democratic primary opponent is a lawyer who somes takes DUI cases. Kurita, yesterday, attached an amendment to a bill which hampers the ways in which such lawyers can advertise:
In August, Democrats may have their chance for revenge as Kurita will face primary opposition from Tim Barnes, a Clarksville attorney.
Part of Barnes’ area of legal practice includes DUI defense, although he is not a certified specialist.
Barnes advertises that he does DUI defense work, as well as several other areas, in the Yellow Pages, in a local newspaper and on radio stations.
While Barnes says his ads don’t promote what Kurita’s amendment bans — and therefore may not be affected — Barnes said Kurita’s move had “three or four constitutional problems.”
“Even a fundamental understanding of the Constitution would inform somebody that that’s an amendment that you can’t have — that’s a First Amendment right,” Barnes said.
Barnes said the only DUI attorney he could recall who noted a DUI specialty was the late “DUI Mike” Fox.
Kurita said Barnes’ advertising activities didn’t have “any bearing” on her amendment.
“I certainly would not want that to color my intensity on this issue,” Kurita said of cracking down on drunken drivers. “I can’t help extraneous activities.”
SEE ALSO:
Tom Humphrey
CP Editorial
Adam Dread Call Your Office
Posted on April 22, 2008 at 1:27 pmRosalind Kurita just attached a ban on certain advertising to a bill in the state senate which could set up an interesting First Amendment challenge:
Defense attorneys would be banned from advertising their expertise with drunken driving cases under a bill advancing in the Senate.
Sen. Rosalind Kurita, a Clarksville Democrat, successfully added the provision to a bill that would create an online registry of repeat DUI offenders in Tennessee.
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