Sunday, January 17, 2010

Erik Cole hard-pressed to live this one down

During a December interview CM Erik Cole bit on a leading and frankly ridiculous question posed by WPLN reporter Daniel Potter regarding council members listening to constituents. Rather than answering diplomatically, CM Cole responded like a bush leaguer would comparing the convention center vote to decisions to go into World War II and desegregating Nashville's lunch counters.

CM Jamie Hollin brought up this foolish comparison in a letter expressing his intention to vote against the convention center financing plan to his constituents:
This is not comparable to the Civil Rights Act as others have indicated in the media--far from it in fact. This example has been given as justification for voting against the will of the constituents. Most notable in this comparison is that passage of the Civil Rights Act was long overdue, while this project can arguably wait.
I might be able to let CM Cole's boner go if he expressed any remorse about the comparison. Instead, his only response in the media has been regret that he expressed his thoughts to us lunkheads who fail to grasp his "caveats." Well, CM Hollin is pretty clear about a significant difference between a convention vote and the monumental, historical decisions facing a nation in crisis. I only wish a number of CMs would stand up to Mr. Cole and respond to his strained analogies as CM Hollin did.

2 comments:

  1. Wow--I have nothing but respect for CM Hollin. I am finding that, over time, most, if not all, council members become part of "the machine"--I just hope that Mr. Hollin is able to buck this trend.

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  2. CM Cole sold his soul a long time ago. I knew it when he was front and center of the picture with VM Diane Neighbors after her election.

    Like Neighbors, he was handpicked to do the dirty work of the powerful few. In exchange for his dirty work, his wife was rewarded with a 6 figure job with Metro Arts. Look for him to leave East Nashville as soon as his term is up. He may even move out of county so he will not have to pay for the MCC.

    We can only hope CM Hollin remembers all of the hard work for the recall and the reason for the recall in the first place. It is no better to be controlled by the rich and powerful, than it is by the East Nashville drug dealers. Either way you are a sell out. Let's hope Hollin continues to value democracy and the voice of the people.

    Perhaps a recall of thise who turn on their constituents is in order. Let's start with Karl Dean.

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