When did Americans decide that policing our city is a public good, but affordable treatment when you are sick is not; that schools are a public investment in our society’s future, but preventive medical care for you when you need it is not. Streets and stop lights and crosswalks are part of what makes our city run, and woe unto the mayor who doesn’t get the potholes filled, but as for access to simple affordable health care? Forget about it. It is as if “the government” is code for black helicopters and a “one world order” of tyranny, euros and lattes for all! No, my conspiracy-impaired friends: the government is us. And We the People, charged with the responsibility of being citizens, hold the power to protect ourselves from unwise policies, unfettered profit taking, and unhinged lies….

The truth is that scary lies are often believed because they carry an essential kernel of truth. Sarah Palin’s Death Panels are real, they already exist and they are at work right now, for anyone who already has insurance. But the real death panels are not in the government, nor will they be. They are at the insurance companies. A healthy person paying a premium is profit. A sick person needing care is loss. Rest assured that should you or any loved one be diagnosed with a deadly disease, a panel will be convened. But not of doctors and nurses and those capable of administering the fantastic healing powers of modern medicine that the US is world-famous for. No, on that panel will sit the people for whom you are nothing more than a money making machine who has stopped being profitable, looking out for their bottom line.

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.