Todd WAS the chair of a guns task force that had yet to meet, and he resigned from it. Yet, as of this writing, he remains the Chair of the powerful State and Local Government committee, which controls redistricting. Todd, to his credit, said he would discuss with Speaker Beth Harwell to see if he should leave that chairmanship as well. Harwell, apparently on a trip with her daughter, has made little or no comment.
The TNDP, finally showing the fight many of us have been waiting to see, demanded Todd's resignation not only from his chairmanship, but from his seat. Well, we can let the votes decide the latter, but their heart was absolutely in the right place.
Then, surprisingly, Mike Turner (D-Old Hickory), the Democratic House Caucus Chair, came out in a defense of Todd, for which he was smacked hard by the Nashville Scene's Jeff Woods.
Woods was not alone; my friend Steve Ross called out Turner, whom he respects, in this spot-on post. For that, he received criticism from several people, directly and indirectly. However, Ross, who had been in a wreck in his youth when he and his family were hit by a drunk driver, wrote back strongly:
The reality is, this probably wasn’t Curry Todd’s first time behind the wheel drunk either. It was the first time he got caught. Studies suggest drunk drivers get behind around 100 times before getting caught. Anything that minimizes this is a disservice to society.
It hurts my soul to say I agree with Ron Ramsey, but I do. Throw the book at him. I don’t have any pity for Curry Todd. He made a choice, a really bad choice, and he’ll have to live with the consequences. But don’t call it a mistake. That sounds way to accidental to me. This was no accident.
I don’t usually do these emotional outbursts. I like to try to be the rational one.
This pissed me off to my core, and my experience with drunk drivers is why.
In short, CURRY TODD COULD WELL HAVE KILLED SOMEONE. WREG is reporting that Todd no longer lives in his district and that he recently underwent a divorce. You know, I don't want to kick a man when he is down, but if his personal problems are preventing him from representing his district, then he has decisions to make.
And to my friends in the Legislature on both sides who are protecting him, don't. Curry Todd is a grown man who willfully accepted the responsibilities of a public servant. He made CHOICES, as Steve Ross noted, and he made bad ones.
This is beyond politics; one reason that people are giving up on politics in these parts is that they see absolutely NO ACCOUNTABILITY in Government any more.
Curry Todd must pay for what he did, with his chairmanship, if not his seat, and hopefully that will send a message to everyone in BOTH houses and the Governor's Mansion that people are sick of this crap.
Don't worry about Todd; he has a pension as a retired MPD officer, and in a few months he will probably get a cozy job in the Haslam Administration if he is forced to leave the General Assembly.
Legislators, it's time to stop protecting each other and start protecting your constituents. Understand?
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