The Tennessean Interviews Rep. Rob Briley
Governor Bredesen has urged Democrat Rob Briley (Nashville) to step down from his position as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Briley says, um, no - he's not going to do that.
The story of Briley's high speed chase and emotional arrest for driving under the influence is now playing on the national cable news channels. In a telephone interview with the Tennessean, the Nashville lawmaker, who is currently going through a painful divorce, said:
"I think I do have a position which presents itself with lots of opportunities to highlight many of these issues and to do good for people. I have to go back and do that. I have no intention of stepping down at this point."
"I regret what I have done tremendously. But what I would like to do, hopefully, is to learn from it and use this as a means to highlight substance abuse, the need for treatment, treatment facilities and to kind of shed some light on what I think oftentimes is a disease that is kind of kind of swept under the carpet."
"I have been dealing with substance abuse my entire lifetime, whether that was with a grandparent, a parent or me."
Should Rob Briley Resign?
State Republican Party chairwoman Robin Smith of Chattanooga, House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada of Franklin, and House Republican Leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol, are all calling for Briley to resign from his position as lawmaker.
So should the punishment for this kind of behavior include the loss of one's employment? And if so, is that because the scandal affects the lawmaker's ability to do his job? Or is it because we just can't ever punish people enough?
In my view, Rob Briley is going to be punished plenty for his reckless and dangerous behavior. When it comes to punishment, there's nothing quite like a little national humiliation, and he faces numerous criminal charges. What Rep. Briley really needs is help, and, by all accounts, he's working on that.
We aren't going to find any perfect lawmakers. But it would be nice if we had a few that owned a healthy dose of humility. You know, what you get when your embarrassing drunken behavior is playing on CNN and MSNBC. I'm not saying that Rob Briley is a person who has ever not possessed the trait. I am saying that there seems to be a dire shortage of the quality among our lawmakers. Else they would not always be crafting punitive laws that make life really difficult for ordinary citizens.
What is most wrong with our justice system is the unrelenting focus on severe and unforgiving punishment and the almost complete and utter neglect of efforts aimed at supportive and helpful rehabilitation. I am hopeful that this very bad experience will make Rep. Briley an advocate for a policy that offers more help and less unforgiving punishment.
So, no, Rob Briley should not resign from anything. And unlike the aforementioned Republicans, I actually live in Briley's district.
Rob Briley Democrat Nashville DUI News Arrested Politics Tennessee Glen Casada Red State Compassionate Conservatism Governor Bredesen
