WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): A few of the usual culture war issues are already being raised in the Tennessee Statehouse and the upcoming election. With us to talk about a few recent examples is political analyst Otis Sanford. Welcome back.
OTIS SANFORD: Thank you, Chris. Always good to be with you.
BLANK: Nashville Electric Company is facing much criticism right now for something we here in Memphis have some past experience with: a lack of tree trimming, which they found out about with this last winter storm. A lot of people are still without power. But U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who wants to be our next governor, tweeted another reason for these outages. And in her view, that reason is DEI -- diversity, equity, and inclusion. What do you think Tennessee's likely future governor is signaling by this?
SANFORD: Well, first of all, she's signaling that she's being silly. A second is: she knows that this is the kind of statement that works with her far right-wing base of her party, and she first has to win a primary, Chris. And she knows this kind of statement will work with primary voters, but it's just being silly. But there is no correlation between diversity, equity, inclusion, and the problems that the electric company in Nashville faced.
BLANK: If you are a voter, what do you hear when you hear someone say, it's because the power company has hired too many Black people? That's what it sounds like to me.
SANFORD: That's exactly what the way it sounds. But if you're inclined to believe that there's too much diversity, there's too much racial and gender equity, and there's too much inclusion with people who shouldn't be at the table or even on the job, then you'll agree with silliness like this. But that's all it is.
BLANK: Well, there is a current state senator from East Memphis who says immigrants cannot have "undivided allegiance" to this country. And therefore, the state should put some restrictions on them if they choose to run for federal office in Tennessee. And to put this in a hypothetical, if State Sen. Brent Taylor has this bill passed, someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former Republican governor, could not run for U.S. Senate in Tennessee as a Republican, even if the party wanted him to. He could still run as an independent. He just couldn't have party support. So, Otis, help us figure out why Sen. Taylor wants to put this weird obstacle in place for naturalized citizens.
SANFORD: Well, I'm just going to be blunt about it, Chris. Brent Taylor is trying to establish his subtle credentials as a racist. And you mentioned Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I guess it would apply to Elon Musk if he wanted to move into Tennessee and run for office, he couldn't do it either. But that's not what he's talking about here. He is specifically targeting Black and brown people -- I'm talking about Brent Taylor. And his Facebook post on this had a picture of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from Minnesota. That's who he's talking about here. And it is racist at its core. And of course, again, this is an election year and Taylor is trying to prove his bona fides as a certified racist.
BLANK: Well, finally Otis, Democrats have their issues as well, and I guess you might say long-term local politician Edmund Ford Jr. is among them. He pleaded guilty this week to five counts of tax evasion, resigned from the Shelby County Commission and has agreed to never again run for public office. As a journalist, you have followed the Ford political dynasty for many years. Where are we now in this story?
SANFORD: I've followed it for decades, Chris. Matter of fact, I have a column up on the Daily Memphian today about Edmund Ford Jr.'s continued defiance despite admitting to tax evasion that also involved bribery, where that charge was dismissed. Where we are right now: there's one Ford left in office, that's Edmund Jr.'s father. He's term limited, so he can't run again. I just believe that Edmund Ford Jr. has continued to tarnish the reputation of the Ford political legacy. Now, there have been other Fords who have gotten in trouble and even gone to prison. But the Ford family is not all about graft and corruption. Early on, you had Harold Ford, you had Harold Ford Jr., who were very effective members of Congress. But you've had others who have been interested in lining their pockets at the public's expense. And Edmund Ford Jr. fell right into that line. And so, for the most part, the Ford legacy pretty much is gone right now. And it was a 50-year run, but it's ending badly because of people like Edmund Ford Jr.
BLANK: Well, you would be qualified to write the postscript. So, there you have it.
SANFORD: Well, I appreciate that. I have covered them for almost 50 years. And I just believe that Edmund Ford Jr. learned nothing from the corruption and political briberies that have been going on in the city for many, many years and a lot of it involving his family. And he should have known he could not get away with what he was doing here. Shame on him.
