Senator Diane Black: A Portrait of Inappropriate

On June 16, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

Kudos to Senator Diane Black (R-Gallatin) for agreeing to appear on CNN this afternoon. Opposite kudos for the weasel words that managed to escape from her gob.

In two minutes she managed to completely absolve herself of any responsibility for the actions of her staffer (who sent out a patently racist email), the weak punishment she handed out, and the email itself.

The email “does absolutely not reflect my opinions or my beliefs,” she said. Human resources told her that a “reprimand” was the action that was necessary when “email policy” is broken by a staffer,” she said. The email itself was “inappropriate,” she said (about a gazillion times).

Let’s hope the email doesn’t reflect her beliefs, but if she understood why people are so upset then she might consult, but wouldn’t necessarily rely on, the “policy” of the human resources department to inform her actions. And “inappropriate?” “Inappropriate” is what my two tween nieces shouldn’t watch on TV, like “Desperate Housewives” or **insert name of MTV reality show here**. “Inappropriate” is not proper or suitable. “Inappropriate” is Sen. Diane Black not knowing the difference between “inappropriate” and “demeaning racist behavior.”

And “inappropriate” is Sen. Black not “getting” why her staffer should be fired.

Kris Murphy, Communications Director for Tennessee Citizen Action, clues her in, “Senator Black has African-American constituents who help pay her salary. Will those constituents still feel comfortable calling the Senator’s office now that they know who might be on the other end of the phone?”

Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee, Speaker of the Tennessee State Senate, and gubernatorial fund raiser candidate Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) says a “strong letter of reprimand” was the proper action to take. When the House session ends we should ask Speaker Kent Williams what he would have done if this had happened in the House.

In the meantime, let’s recap today’s events on the hill: 1) Senate Republicans dishonor two of the state’s Nobel Prize winners, 2) Lt. Governor Ramsey crashes a pre-k press conference (h/t A Kleinheider Joint), 3) and Senator Black goes on CNN and makes it all about her.

No wonder God almost sent us a tornado.

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Sumner County Dems Ask “Who is on the Right List?”

On June 15, 2009, in Liberate Your Radio from The Right, by Mary Mancini

Maria Brewer, newly elected chairperson of the Sumner County Democratic Party, reacts to the racist email controversy swirling around the state capitol:

The Sumner County Democratic party asks for the immediate resignation of Senator Diane Black’s Executive Assistant, Sherry Goforth, who recently admitted to sending a racist email from her state provided email address to the “wrong list of recipients.”

In addition, we require full accountability from Senator Diane Black, our elected official, for the following questions:

Since her assistant’s half-hearted apology for this outrageous act was to claim to have sent the email to the “wrong list,” who is on the “right list?”

Is it acceptable practice in the Tennessee Legislature for Republican law-makers or their staff to engage in racist and dishonorable activities as long as they keep it among themselves?

And lastly, how will Senator Black’s constituents, yes even those of color, even those of another political affiliation, know that their concerns are being heard when the very gate-keeper of their Senator’s office finds a picture of the President of the United States represented as a “spook” to be so humorous that it should be forwarded by email to her colleagues and associates?

Senator Diane Black should address these questions quickly and publically if she is to restore the confidence that We the People have lost in her. And unless she demands her Executive Assistant’s resignation, we will know her words are hollow.

We invite the Sumner County Republican Party to join us in condemning this sort of bigotry and stereo-typing that so frequently flies under the cover of humor, yet damages our communities, our economic prosperity, and our American Spirit.

Who is on the “right list,” indeed. We’re looking forward to a response from Senator Black’s office. And considering the national news has picked up on the story, not sure if the “if we ignore it, it will go away” strategy will work for much longer.

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