PLN letter to editor re Gus Puryear nomination
Nashville Scene, Jan. 1, 2008.
http://www.nashvillescene.com/Stories/News/Love...
PLN letter to editor re Gus Puryear nomination - Nashville Scene 2008
March 20, 2008
Partisanship plays no part
The Scene’s article on Gus Puryear’s federal judicial nomination covered many of the bases but missed one important detail (“Elephant in the Room,” March 6). If people want to learn more about this inexperienced, less-than-qualified, conflicted and controversial Bush-nominated judicial candidate—and perhaps want to do something about it—they should visit the website againstpuryear.org.
Otherwise the Scene did a great job. The issues related to the death of Estelle Richardson, Mr. Puryear’s lack of experience and conflicts of interest, his membership in the overwhelmingly white Belle Meade Country Club, which does not afford voting rights to women members, and Mr. Puryear’s employment with CCA (the nation’s largest for-profit prison firm) go far beyond partisan politics.
Mr. Puryear would be unqualified whether he was a Democrat or a Republican, whether Bush or Clinton nominated him. He’s not qualified and not the right man for the job, which transcends politics (or at least should).
For those who know Mr. Puryear, they may not know he is a man of contradictions. Contradictions between what he says and does and between the whole and entire truth. That isn’t a quality we want or need in a federal judge. The residents of Middle Tennessee deserve better, but they won’t get it unless they make their voices heard.
ALEX FRIEDMANN
VICE PRESIDENT, PRIVATE CORRECTIONS INSTITUTE
stein919@gmail.com (Tallahassee, Fla.)
March 20, 2008
Partisanship plays no part
The Scene’s article on Gus Puryear’s federal judicial nomination covered many of the bases but missed one important detail (“Elephant in the Room,” March 6). If people want to learn more about this inexperienced, less-than-qualified, conflicted and controversial Bush-nominated judicial candidate—and perhaps want to do something about it—they should visit the website againstpuryear.org.
Otherwise the Scene did a great job. The issues related to the death of Estelle Richardson, Mr. Puryear’s lack of experience and conflicts of interest, his membership in the overwhelmingly white Belle Meade Country Club, which does not afford voting rights to women members, and Mr. Puryear’s employment with CCA (the nation’s largest for-profit prison firm) go far beyond partisan politics.
Mr. Puryear would be unqualified whether he was a Democrat or a Republican, whether Bush or Clinton nominated him. He’s not qualified and not the right man for the job, which transcends politics (or at least should).
For those who know Mr. Puryear, they may not know he is a man of contradictions. Contradictions between what he says and does and between the whole and entire truth. That isn’t a quality we want or need in a federal judge. The residents of Middle Tennessee deserve better, but they won’t get it unless they make their voices heard.
ALEX FRIEDMANN
VICE PRESIDENT, PRIVATE CORRECTIONS INSTITUTE
stein919@gmail.com (Tallahassee, Fla.)