The Email Policy At The Legislature
Posted on June 17, 2009 at 3:36 pmThe state Democratic Party provides us with the letter sent to Sherri Goforth reminding her of the policy.
Blake P. Graves Resigns: Staffer Email Embroglio Costs A Man A Job
Posted on at 2:41 pmUPDATE: Director of Legislative Administration Connie Ridley tells Post Politics that Graves was not fired or dismissed. A former intern, Graves agreed to stay on as a temporary hourly legislative employee to help out in offices that needed it. Graves indicated to Ridley that he would be leaving the legislature in that capacity to pursue full-time work.
Jeff Woods reveals that the Democratic legislative staff member who sent an email making fun of several minority groups has been dismissed by the House Speaker:
According to sources, House Speaker Kent Williams, acting at the request of Democratic leaders, already has dismissed the intern, who has been identified as Blake Graves who was working in the office of Rep. Karen Camper, D-Memphis.
“It was offensive to Asians,” says our source, just to mention one of the pictures. Democrats think they can claim the upper hand in this little contretemps because their staffer has been fired, unlike the Republican offender, Sherri Goforth, who was merely reprimanded.
The graphics contained in the emails are available for viewing here. The firing of Graves comes only days after the revelation that a Republican staffer, Sherri Goforth, had sent out a racially inflammatory email about President Barack Obama.
Although Graves has spent his tenure in the legislature working for Democratic legislators Reps. Joe Towns and Barbara Camper, he was honored in a resolution earlier this year recognizing his affiliation with the College Republicans.
A legislative intern from January until April of this year, Graves became a “Temporary Legislative Assistant” just last month making him a state employee.
Immediately after Graves sent the offending email on Monday (the very same day the Goforth email hit the blogs), he sent a follow up email to the list of both Democratic and Republican staffers the email was sent to.
“Everyone, please excuse that e-mail I sent, I totally missed the words used in it. So please accept my apologies for that e-mail. Nonetheless, have a great Monday!” said Graves to his list of recipients.
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You Took The Scalp, Don’t Be Afraid To Claim It
Posted on at 12:53 pmRoger Abramson talks directly to those that drove the Sherri Goforth story:
We’ve been here before. Remember Bill Hobbs back in 2006? A big deal was made in the press about that goofy Muslim cartoon he put on the Internet, his employer (Belmont University) was mentioned in the articles (even though Belmont had nothing to do with that cartoon), putting Belmont in a position where it really had no choice but to save face publicly by giving Hobbs the heave-ho. I remember talking to some folks in the local press back then and getting this general reaction: “Well, that’s silly. They shouldn’t fire him.” As though the press accounts somehow had nothing to do with it; as though Belmont was just sitting around and just up and arbitrarily decided to can him. It’s like someone shooting a guy in the head and being surprised that they fall over dead. “Well, I’ll be damned. He died just like that. Huh. Never saw that coming.”
The probable outcome of this episode will be the termination (one way or the other) of Sherri Goforth. So, don’t act surprised. And don’t act like you had nothing to do with it. Own it. Hell, be proud of it, the “greater good” and all of that.
Don’t Think This One Is Gonna Make It To Wonkette
Posted on at 10:14 amAt the same time the Sherri Goforth hullabaloo was breaking a Democratic staffer sent an email making fun of Asians, the mentally handicapped and those suffering from dementia. Blue Collar Muse would like the media to cover this the same way the Goforth controversy was covered.
UPDATE: From Jim Voorhies:
Blue Collar Muse is correct. This is also wrong. And, having been convinced by ACK that a reprimand may be an acceptable level of punishment, if I knew this staffer’s name, I’d publish it too, and ask they be reprimanded. It’s a matter of respect and courtesy, damn it, for human beings. We’re all different in some way or another.
I do know the name — and I’m not publishing it. But when someone else does. I suppose I’ll aggregate that.
UPDATE II: The intrepid Grantham is Talking has the legislative office the email originated at. Newscoma doesn’t like to name names.
UPDATE III: Blue Collar Muse has now named the civilian.
UPDATE IV SHOCK HORROR: GIT reports that the employee is not listed as an employee of the state on the state website.
UPDATE V: UPDATE TO THE SHOCK HORROR: The staffer is an intern, according to Abramson in the comments.
The Game Is Not A Game
Posted on at 8:33 amThe woman who broke the Sherri Goforth story thinks it’s time those up at the legislature start taking seriously their roles in statecraft:
Let’s also take a moment to see what’s beneath the waves of our state’s political ocean. Overlooked in this whirlwind is a budget that needs passing and a legislative session that has been mind-boggling. Our elected officials of both parties, in my opinion, need to show they are leaders on and off the floor of the house and senate. It isn’t a game and they need to stop acting like it is.
People across this state are left to deal with the real results of the actions of those sitting in the legislature, those who were elected and those who assist them. It’s not a frivolous party for folks just trying to get from one day to the next.
It’s not a game.
Sen. Black Says She Followed Procedure On Goforth
Posted on at 7:59 amAnd she is backed up by those who know:
Connie Ridley, director of legislative administration, said under state policy a first-time violation such as Goforth’s is grounds for a reprimand, but a person risks being fired after a second violation.
“If the behavior continues, then that places that person in a position for termination,” Ridley said.
Sensitivity Workshops And Such
Posted on 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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The Flipside Of Hatred
Posted on at 8:03 pmKat Coble on those denouncing the racist email of Sherri Goforth:
In all of the “Gosh, we’re offended and SHOCKED!” comments at Newscoma’s, one of the folks jokingly “fixed” the email, replacing other presidents with other caricatured photos. Bozo for Reagan, Hillary for Bill Clinton….and Hitler for GWBush.
That kind of humour comes from the same place as racist humour in my book. It comes from a place of blind hatred. It comes from a place of not wanting to cooperate or get along or even coexist peacefully.
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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.
Ramsey: Letter of Reprimand For Goforth Proper Action
Posted on at 2:10 pmVia Silence:
Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey says a “strong letter of reprimand” was the proper action to take against an employee of a Republican lawmaker who used a state computer to send a racist e-mail about President Barack Obama.
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.”
A Lot Of Goforth’s Out There
Posted on at 12:40 pmChris Sanders reminds us about that the MTSU Poll that indicates that Sherri Goforth is not alone.
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.
Conservative Blogger Goes Forth And Denounces Her
Posted on at 7:51 amNathan Moore would have fired Sherri Goforth and thinks Sen. Diane Black should have, too:
If my staffer did this, I would have fired her without discussion. Period. Verbal reprimands are for forgetting to send out the mail.
Goforth And Defend It
Posted on at 7:48 amMike Byrd wonders why so few conservatives were heard from during the legislative staffer email controversy yesterday.
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.
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