Jim Cooper: Uncovered

Nashville Scene To Jim Cooper: "Where's Our New Federal Courthouse?"

The Nasvhille Scene reports this weekon the convoluted tale of the still non-built new federal courthouse in Nashville. And Jim Cooper's logic on why the courthouse still just exists only in renderings seems to be similarly twisted -- not to mention transparently self-serving in his abdication of any and all responsibility:

The original draft of the stimulus legislation, in both House and Senate versions, indeed included the money to build the courthouse, but the legislative wrangling of the conference committee deleted the project from the final draft signed by the president. Interestingly, Cooper voted against the first version, but voted for the second.

No one really knows what happened to the money for Nashville. Other courthouse projects — in New York City, Los Angeles and San Diego — stayed in the stimulus, but Nashville was bumped, the money instead going to help build a new Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Even Cooper still doesn’t know why the Nashville project disappeared back in the spring.

“A lot people don’t play fair,” he told The City Paper with a verbal shoulder shrug.

Tennessee bloggers like Mike at Enclave were asking questions of Cooper on his refusal to try to secure funding for projects like the courthouse back in March:

Mr. Cooper seems more committed to the his Blue Dog coalition than he does to those whom he is supposed to represent in Middle Tennessee.

He already voted against last week's House appropriation to make $51 million in repairs to the seeping and sink-holed Center Hill Dam. If that dam is not repaired it could cause flooding across the Cumberland River Valley, including low-lying parts of Nashville. Almost two years ago I showed how a dam failure could be a major problem for almost all of East Germantown, as well as sections of Germantown and Salemtown neighborhoods.

Why is Mr. Cooper so opposed to domestic spending that could protect the welfare of our neighborhoods?

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