Kos Is Not Going To Leave Jim Cooper Alone
Posted on September 28, 2009 at 5:16 pmMarkos “Kos” Moulitsas ain’t trying to hear all this noise about how a challenge to Jim Cooper is a fool’s errand:
Instead of trying to shut out the “interlopers”, maybe his supporters should try to get Cooper to vote the right way. Because if he does, the case against him becomes lots weaker.
But let me go back to “interloper”, because it’s a charge us national bloggers get all the time — is this author (at the Nashville Post) worried about the “interloper” insurance companies that are bankrolling Cooper and buying his votes? In his time in Congress, Cooper has gotten some serious cash.
Chip Forrester On The Effort To Primary Jim Cooper
Posted on at 5:10 pmFrom Mark Brown:
“Congressman Jim Cooper is one of the most studious and deliberative members of Congress we have in Tennessee – on either side of the aisle. It is illogical for someone or some organization to try and remove a statesman like Congressman Cooper. Democrats need to focus their attention, energy and resources on helping retake the state legislature because Republicans intend to redraw legislative districts after the 2010 Census.
“Efforts to primary Congressman Cooper are misplaced. The debate over health-care reform has stirred strong emotions. It’s important we get this legislation right, and Congressman Cooper gets that. If we don’t keep our eyes on the ball, we’ll wind up with more people like Marsha Blackburn representing Tennessee in Congress. All Democrats, I hope, understand that nightmare scenario.”
Jim Cooper Reacts To Talk Of Primary Challenge
Posted on at 4:12 pmHe ain’t scurred:
A progressive political action committee made Congressman Jim Cooper its No. 1 target for defeat in the 2010 elections as punishment for opposing liberals on health care reform, but Cooper vowed not to be swayed by threats.
“You know, some of these people just want publicity,” Cooper said. “My job isn’t to give them free publicity. They should generate their own publicity. I’m trying to solve the health care problem in America, and they are free to do whatever they want to do.”
[snip]
Asked to respond, Cooper told the City Paper, “I don’t have to respond to them if they don’t live here. I respond to my constituents. I respond to people who live here.”
“This shows they don’t know me,” he said. “I’m a nerd. What I respond to is substance [not political threats]. I’m probably too boring for them to fool with.”
Put A Name In
Posted on at 1:30 pmSean Braisted thinks a real progressive challenge to Cooper could have a legit shot taking out the Congressman — but they have to step up first:
By having a national PAC come in and try to recruit a candidate (something the DCCC or DSCC often does) and offer a base of support, financing, and possible staff, that will tempt potentially viable challengers into considering what might have once been only an after thought. Right now, its impossible to reliably poll a potential primary race because there isn’t a name to counter Cooper’s…its all theoretical and a matter of conjecture. But a real race, involving a real campaign about issues and a close examination of Rep. Cooper’s record, could lead to surprising results.
PUMAs Against Coop!
Posted on at 1:26 pmTennessee Guerrilla Women are all about taking out Jim Cooper and they think the naysayers need to shut it up:
As always the naysayers are out in full force, but isn’t it a little early for all the protestations counting Cooper’s as yet mysterious challenger out? The naysayers are ignoring all kinds of little inconvenient facts, like for instance, Cooper’s district is “a 25% minority district that would be 45% minority in a Dem primary.” The naysayers are also seriously underestimating our liberal friends at Accountability Now.
Republicans Want To Take Out Coop, Too
Posted on at 1:16 pmIf you are getting hit from both sides like Jim Cooper presently is, chances are that means you’re doing right:
TN-05 is only a D+3 district, by the way. Which is why the NRCC is now actively recruiting for that one.
Not Afraid Of Anything, Just Giving You A Heads Up
Posted on at 12:24 pmTalk Left talks down to local bloggers who have the temerity to suggest that Jim Cooper can’t be beaten in a Democratic primary:
If Cooper is as popular as these “local experts” think, then he’ll win without breaking a sweat. If he isn’t, then maybe he is doing something wrong. What are these “local experts” afraid of?
(via TCP)
Should Jim Cooper Get To Be A Congressman For Life For Winning A Primary In 2002?
Posted on at 9:05 amSean Braisted says hells to the no:
How did Cooper win that primary? Partly on the backs of many out of state political action committees; from the National Venture PAC to the American Academy of Ophthalmology PAC and a whole slew of corporate political action committees seeking national representation for their issues. Granted, Gayle Ray had a good deal of PAC contributions, but most of those were from labor unions who represent workers here in Nashville.
So I find it difficult to swallow when people get all bent out of shape that some out of state “carpetbaggers” are coming to our fair city in order to let it be known to would-be challengers that they’ll help get a campaign off the ground.
Lumped In
Posted on at 8:39 amBetsy Phillips is not as opposed to a primary challenge of Jim Cooper as she believes she is being painted to be:
Which is why I’m feeling a little upset to be lumped in with the whole people just shouting support of Cooper. I’m not blindly supportive of Cooper. But it’s not as simple as “We have a poll and a wish and outside support!” and I want to hear real ideas about how one goes about running a more liberal candidate against Cooper and winning and I want to hear that from people who live here and can speak convincingly about the contours of the district.
I don’t think it can be done. I’d be happy to be proven wrong, but I don’t think I am.
I would support and do support local efforts to primary Cooper, but I’m not that excited about being bullshitted.
At the end of the day, the national folks go home and we Democrats have to work together. They can afford to run a more scorched-earth campaign than we will be able to live with if they fail.
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Accountability Now Discusses Their Search For A Cooper Primary Challenger
Posted on at 8:31 am“The reception has been really fantastic right now,” he says. “There’s just so many people who are interested in a primary challenge. … We’re looking at strong potential candidates who can win.”
“I’m pretty confident there’s serious challenger who’s interested. There’s actually a couple. What they’re waiting for is more data to see what happens. We’ll probably do additional polling that will go into more detail of exactly who is upset with Jim Cooper and why.”
Struggling With The Idea Of A Challenge To Jim Cooper
Posted on at 7:56 amIlissa Gold wants you to read her whole post on the subject:
And now that I’ve said that, if this post gets on Post Politics, I’m pretty sure that Kleinheider will frame the rest of it as “That crazy shrill liberal Ilissa Gold is calling for a revolution on the streets of Nashville, complete with Jim Cooper’s head on a pike.” Hopefully enough people will click through to realize I’m saying the exact opposite.
Leave Jim Cooper Alone!
Posted on September 27, 2009 at 10:15 pmIt’s really amazing how much effort national progressives are putting into going after Jim Cooper. Posts by national bloggers giving Coop crap for a pushing healthcare reform bill that doesn’t provide for a public option is one thing. But actually going to the trouble of setting up an anti-Cooper website? Talking of trying to recruit a primary challenger?
It is excessive and it is misguided. More progressive minded folks than I have already weighed in on this subject. A political operative, the city’s feminist conscience in the blogosphere and a former Music City Democrat have all picked a side — against the national interlopers.
Is Coop the most progressive congressman Nashville could produce? Certainly not. But is that enough a reason to turn him out?
Elective office is and should be less secure than a regular job but what has Cooper really done to deserve a pink slip?
Rep. Cooper is a good Congressman. He speaks his mind and he serves his constituents. He deserves to keep his job unless some candidate can provide a compelling reason not to. The fact that Coop thinks outside the box and promotes healthcare reform solutions that do not include the exalted public option is really a compelling reason.
Do these progressives really think that Cooper is their enemy? This is not Lincoln Davis we are talking about after all, this is Jim Cooper. Do these interlopers really believe Cooper would vote against the public option if it came down to it?
These interlopers simple do not know Nashville if they think the city’s Democrats are going to turn out Coop on the basis of healthcare reform. Given the chance, it highly debatable that voters would vote out Jim Cooper in favor of a highly qualified progressive. But the major point is here is that they will never get that chance.
Accountability Now can talk their trash all they want. They can pretend like they are recruiting a legit candidate to challenge our congressman but no one to the right of Chris Lugo would ever seriously consider a primary challenge of Jim Cooper.
Until these national progressives can convince a Jason Holleman or Megan Barry to lose their political minds, this is all going to be wasted effort better used elsewhere.
This push isn’t even going to scare Cooper. If Accountability Now could field even a semi-legit candidate, maybe the effort could yield some fruit and scare Cooper into working harder in promoting the public option.
But let’s be honest, Jim Cooper don’t scare. He’s been around the block a few times and he has done his homework. He is politically protected and he is confident in his position on the issue. National progressives are wasting their time.
It would clear to them if they spent anytime at all with Democrats in this city. There will be a time to elect true progressive for the 5th District and that is the day Jim Cooper retires. Until then, national progressives should keep their powder dry and concentrate on battles they can win and places where they can make a difference.
If national progressives really want to help the cause, they should concentrate on the state legislature. Considering how red Tennessee has become it is an amazing feat that it’s congressional delegation is still majority Democrat.
If the Democrats cannot recapture the state legislature and Republicans hold the redistricting pen, every Democratic congressman but Cooper is gonna be vulnerable.
You want to help progressives in Tennessee? Help them take back the legislature and prevent the GOP from redistricting them back to the stone age. Then you can start building a new progressive and populist Democratic Party in Tennessee.
But messing with a true statesman who may be a smudge to the right of his district? That’s just inane.
*Hear the Accountability Now folks tomorrow morning on Liberadio(!)
Health Care Reform Twenty Years From Now
Posted on March 16, 2009 at 7:53 amTime Magazine reports on Rep. Jim Cooper’s efforts to get the country moved away from employer-based health coverage:
Still, Wyden and Cooper’s plan is considered a long shot. The political wisdom in Washington suggests that for any proposal to actually stand a chance, it would have to build on the existing employer-based system. For much the same reason, few believe that “single payer” health care — a government-financed system similar to Medicare — will be given any serious consideration. As one Administration official put it in describing the Wyden plan: “A lot of people think this is where the system should be 20 years from now, but no one see how it can be there two years from now.”
Despite those doubts, Wyden and Cooper continue to lobby the committee chairmen and ranking members of the five panels that have jurisdiction over the issue on Capitol Hill. “We want to be team players,” Wyden says. But they also note that time is quickly running out if lawmakers are to meet their self-imposed deadline of having a bill passed out of both chambers before the August recess. So they are watching the informal negotiations that are underway on both sides of the Capitol carefully. All they need, they say, is the right opening. Or at least a seat at the table.
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Getting It Coming And Going
Posted on March 2, 2009 at 2:07 pmJim Cooper gets street cred with fiscal hawks and conservatives for voting once against the stimulus but then gets to claim credit for the goodies of the revamped stimulus he supported:
Acting to strengthen the health care safety net for the growing number of Americans in need, President Barack Obama and Representative Jim Cooper today announced the release of $2,273,593 authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will support two health centers in Tennessee. These health centers will help people in need — many with no health insurance — obtain access to the comprehensive primary and preventive health care services and create 80 jobs in Tennessee.
“We have acted quickly to put Recovery Act dollars to good use in communities across America,” said President Obama. “The construction and expansion of health centers will help create thousands of new jobs and provide critical assistance to Americans who have lost their job and their health care. Health centers, primary care, and prevention are at the heart of my plan for an affordable, accessible health care system.”
Health centers in the following communities will receive support:
United Neighborhood Health Services in Nashville, TN
Hardin County Regional Health Center in Savannah, TN
Coop Likes The Ugly
Posted on February 27, 2009 at 8:33 amNashville’s congressman on the Obama budget:
“This is more honest than any budget in many, many years,” Mr. Cooper said. “That also means it’s also ugly. I welcome the honesty. I think it’s time for Americans to grapple with fundamental problems and not pretend that wars are free and things like that.”
UPDATE: Theobold
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Gave Extensively To Republicans
Posted on February 23, 2009 at 8:09 am
It would appear that the Tennessee Democratic Party’s new treasurer is not the only Democrat of note with a history of contributing money to both Democratic and Republican causes.
Post Politics has learned that Ward Cammack, one of two Democrats actively campaigning to succeed Governor Phil Bredesen in 2010, has given to a myriad of Tennessee Republican candidates starting in 1979 with a donation to Senator Howard Baker’s 1980 Presidential run.
While Cammack has supported Congressman Jim Cooper with financial donations steadily throughout his career, a large majority of his donations have gone to Tennessee Republican candidates for federal office. In 1994, the year of the Republican Revolution, Cammack gave extensively to both Bill Frist and Fred Thompson who were victorious in grabbing both of Tennessee’s U.S. Senate seats that year.
Cammack also gave heavily to Lamar Alexander contributing to both his Presidential run in 1996 as well as his initial 2002 Senate run. In 2008, Cammack gave heavily to Alexander’s opponent Bob Tuke.
Cammack’s most recent Republican donation was in late 2005 when he contributed $500 to Bob Corker’s 2006 Senate primary campaign though Cammack tells Post Politics he ultimately voted for Corker’s opponent Harold Ford, Jr.
In discussing his party shift, Cammack cannot point to any “Road to Damacus” moment but admits that he is “clearly a convert” to the Democratic cause and credits the Bush years for his shift in worldview.
“Everything has changed. A lot of things people thought they had to protect, be it money or a set of so-called moral beliefs, have proved illusory,” Cammack explains. “All we really have is each other.”
Cammack, whose first Democratic vote for President was cast last fall for Barack Obama, said it was the exclusionary tactics of the GOP which led him to begin to question the staunch Republicanism he had learned as a child.
“Eventually you just have to ask: What is this all about? Why are we marginalizing people like this?” Cammack explains.
When asked whether he could pinpoint whether it was Republican policies on social issues, economic issues or foreign policy that ultimate let to his conversion, Cammack was unequivocal.
“All of the above,” replied Cammack.
Cammack does expect that some may be skeptical of his political past but insists that the Democratic Party is a “very comfortable skin for him.”
“Yes, I have given [money] to Republicans in the past and I have voted for Republicans in the past. I have never tried to hide that,” Cammack says. “But if you ask me if I believe in the Democratic Party, the answer is yes. Yes, I do.”
SEE ALSO: The Rotunda asks: “[I]s there a prominent Democrat expanding the tent of the party to reach the affluent white guys like Ward Cammack and Bill Freeman?”
Where Were Our Dogs At On The Stimulus?
Posted on February 6, 2009 at 10:09 amRep. Jim Cooper stood up and represented for the Blue Dogs standing tall against the House stimulus package passed last week.
However, all Tennessee Democrats in Congress (save Steve Cohen) are members of the Blue Dog Coalition yet Cooper was the only nay vote. Where were the others?
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?
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