well i guess they only offered them money because they turned down the swamp land in florida...
Posted on 05/28/2005 12:02:50 PM PDT by SmithL
NASHVILLE - In a rambling Senate speech and prayer, Lt. Gov. John Wilder said it was "wrong" for undercover agents to bait lawmakers with money.
Wilder also revealed he was offered $300,000 years ago from a coal company that was seeking preferential treatment from the state.
He was responding to the arrests Thursday of four sitting lawmakers and a former one in a federal bribery and extortion sting operation.
Sens. John Ford and Kathryn Bowers of Memphis were absent from the Legislature Friday following their arrests. Sen. Ward Crutchfield and Rep. Chris Newton returned to Capitol Hill.
Former Sen. Roscoe Dixon also was charged.
"I'm hurt because John is where he is, and Roscoe is where he is and Kathryn is where she is," Wilder said. "It's rough. We're family. Three members of our family are in hell. Why? Because they're legislators."
Wilder, a Democrat who has been Senate speaker since 1971, also brought the foibles of former Gov. Ray Blanton into his speech, proclaiming Blanton was innocent. Wilder didn't explain exactly why, but Blanton's conviction for selling liquor licenses was overturned after he finished a prison sentence.
Wilder said he was offered money from the coal company, through his son, at about the same time Blanton got in trouble in the late 1970s. Wilder said he turned down the money, telling the company he supported mining whether they gave him money or not.
Wilder said he will treat the indicted lawmakers as full members of the Legislature.
"As far as I'm concerned, they are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," he said. "I hurt because we have some members that are in serious trouble."
Several lawmakers have criticized authorities for allowing phony bills to be put before lawmakers as part of the sting. Others said undercover agents went too far by offering money as "bait" to trap the indicted lawmakers.
Wilder seemed to agree during a prayer he made to lawmakers after his speech.
"Money out there was here offered as bait to get someone in jail," he said. "It's wrong. It's not your (God's) way."
Wilder also touched on a number of other topics:
n Lamenting his failed effort to get state employees a pay raise above 3 percent and promising to renew the fight in January.
n Chastising attacks he suffered from the far right in the last election, saying the "right-to-lifers tried to kill me."
n Praising the Senate, locked in a slim 17-16 Republican majority, for shelving partisanship and saying they all are still "family."
Exactly! The clarification bears saying again: The crooked politicians (most of them democrat, natch) requested payment. Nothing was offered by the undercover Fed's. In fact, several senators were quoted in the Tennessean as having met with E-Cycle (or whatever the phoney company was called) and never been offered cash by them to sway their influence.
well i guess they only offered them money because they turned down the swamp land in florida...
A little time in Delaware and they could arrest the entire northern part of the state. Including BIDEN!
I am quite sure that the good people of Tennessee are able to deal with misconduct among their public officials without help from any outside agency.
William Flax
Money out there was NOT here offered. The money was demanded, seemingly by routine. Wilder is either too stupid to know the facts or is dishonestly trying to distort them. Therefore he's too stupid or dishonest to stay in power and should immediately be removed. (Isn't that sentence ungrammatical enough for impeachment alone?)
Does it become a federal case when out-of-state companies, in this case, Georgia, are required by certain Tennessee legislators to pay bribes?
Poor old Wilder has Robert Byrd Syndrome...
He is long past the time to be put out to pasture.
You make an interesting point. The Federal Government does have the right to regulate Commerce among the States, and you appear to be referring to what would be an interference with the free flow of commerce. The Commerce Clause has been terribly abused, to accommodate Leftist social policy, since FDR. (Before that it was sometimes abused to accommodate Centrist Pro-Business interests.) But the original intent was that Congress would be able to deal with efforts to interfere with the free flow of commerce. Indeed, one of the principal motives for Federation was to create a great Commercial Union--a free trade area.
But are you speculating. Or is something on this order, what this case is really about? If it is, I think the approach, here, is still wrong. But I would not deny that a Federal interest in some action would be clearly established.
This is, in most cases, also equally true (sadly). Just fill in the blanks:
A little time in _________ and they could arrest the entire northern part of the state. Including _________!
"I am quite sure that the good people of Tennessee are able to deal with misconduct among their public officials without help from any outside agency."
No...Not when you know the voter base for most of those caught... You could call it the "Marion Berry" factor.
Exactly, anyone worth 500,000 going into the senate who doesn't have a few tens of millions when they leave, is just not paying attention.
I would hope so (though I have always wondered why entrampment was somehow seen as less ethical than any other way....if they take the money, they take the money, even if it is a set-up...they still willingly break the law and it isn't like they are forced to do it). Entrampment is in no way unethical or wrong.
LOL! We're family.
What a shi**y, arrogant comment.
Yeah, a mafia family.
CROOKS.
If he was offered that kind of money, he would have jumped on it.
While I agree with you that the feds should generally leave the states alone, it's been frustrating to watch the state legislature, rife with corruption, get winks and nods for it's well known abuses, all the eight years I've been in Tennessee.
I cheered when I read the news and hope that it's tight case. Initially I wondered why the fed's based their phony company out of Georgia, could be for the reason you give. Good.
The Tennessean, not known for its balanced reporting, has been very clear that no bribes were offered. My guess is that it wasn't necessary as the demand for payment is business-as-usual with these arrogant crooks.
Observe how far the morals of our politicians have fallen.
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