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Rep. Zach Wamp's office contacted The Rachel Maddow Show to complain about the C-Street coverage on her program last Friday.

Maddow: Well on Friday's show I quoted an account from the Knoxville News Centinal in which a member of congress who lives at C-Street described one of the most worrying aspects of this shadowy, powerful organization, its secrecy. The Congressman in question is Zach Wamp of Tennessee. He has lived at C-Street for a dozen years and here's what I said about him on Friday.

Zack Wamp of Tennessee is a Republican member of Congress who says he has lived in the C Street house for 12 years. Today, he told “The Knoxville News Sentinel” that the members of Congress who live there are sworn to secrecy.

Quoting from the “News Sentinel,” “The C Street residents have all agreed they won‘t talk about their private living arrangements, Wamp said and he intends to honor that pact. ‘I hate it that John Ensign lives in the house and this happened because it opens up all of these kinds of questions,‘ Wamp said. But, he said, ‘I'm not going to be the guy who goes out and talks.‘”

Maddow went on to say that although Wamp's office claimed he was misquoted on her show, but they have not asked the Knoxville News Sentinal to correct their article and until they do, she's standing by her reporting. Good for her.

I don't think Wamp's doing the GOP any favors by complaining and giving Rachal Maddow another reason to keep this C-Street story alive, not that Ensign and Sanford aren't doing a good enough job without his help.

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(Deja-vu all over again)

An interesting panel discussion between Senators Estes Kefauver (D-Tennessee), Margaret Chase Smith (R-Main), Blair Moody (D-Michigan) and Harry P. Cain (R-Washington) on the subject "How Can We Get Integrity In Government?" in 1952. I'm struck by the civility of everyone for about the first half before it goes slightly south.

Funny, in almost 60 years the argument is the same, so is the hand-wringing and finger pointing. The other side is always the culprit and everything would be solved if there was a new party running things.

Sadly, no.

I hate to sound cynical, but in 60 years the corruption and lobbying has only gotten worse. Certainly the hypocrisy has.

But I just have the feeling our "trusted public servants" in 1952 weren't going MIA for jaunts to Buenos Aires - or maybe they were and they were more discreet.

At least this bunch doing the panel in 1952 pretended to be.

Apparently,Senator Diane Black (R-TN) isn't ready to part company with her racist staffer, Sherri Goforth. Goforth, who sent out a highly offensive photo of President Obama on an official government e-mail account received a letter of reprimand from Senator Black, but as of yet, still has her job. The letter of reprimand has been made public, Think Progress has it and more:

As the Knoxville News Sentinel reports, the Tennessee Democratic Party has obtained a copy of this “strongly worded reprimand,” which is barely a slap on the wrist. Black advises Goforth not to send communications that are “derogatory regarding any minority” and adds, “I look forward to working together in the future within these guidelines.” The letter:

The pressure is on Senator Black to fire the racist she has working in her office, but she's not budging. When Ron Christie, a former aide to Dick Cheney thinks you should go, you know you've screwed up. Contact her and let her know how you feel. Remember, be polite.

Some of you may recall from last week, this little racist gem from Rusty DePass, a GOP activist from South Carolina who referred to an escaped gorilla as an ancestor of Michelle Obama. And now, from the state of Tennessee, we bring you the Obama "Spook" photo e-mailed from a GOP Senator's office -- on an official state e-mail account, no less:

Sherri Goforth, a legislative staffer working for Sen. Diane Black, a Gallatin Republican, confirmed to Nashville Is Talking that she sent around an email depicting portraits of all the U.S. presidents — but on the last slot, where Barack Obama should be, there is just an empty black spot with two eyes (see right).

Get it? Huh? Not really…

When asked whether she understood the controversial nature of sending the email on her state account, Goforth replied, “I went on the wrong email and I inadvertently hit the wrong button … I’m very sick about it, and it’s one of those things I can’t change or take back.” Goforth told NIT she received a letter of reprimand from Sen. Black.

She's sick about it alright -- sick that she got caught and exposed as a racist -- not because she sent out a highly offensive, racist image of our president. Not to worry dear C&L'ers, Goforth is keeping her job, for the moment:

Update 2:Black confirmed that she had reprimanded Goforth verbally and in writing. She said no further action was anticipated.

Read on...

Wonkette had this to add:

NOTHING as funny as the idea of … people with dark complexions. Even when you’re just sending the Funnies to proper white folk, there is still often a “N.L.” who will complain about old-fashioned Southern comedy.

This is just a whole lot of awesomeness. Long story short, Tennesse Democrats decided to mess around with state Republicans and voted to elect the first GOP speaker of the statehouse in almost forty years. Watch the frantic elephant stampede in all it's glory above and read all the pissypants quotes below.

Tennessean:

New Tennessee Speaker of the House Kent Williams "lied" to fellow Republicans Tuesday by ignoring the party's choice for the job and joining with 49 Democrats in voting for himself, new state Rep. Joe Carr said.

"There is history in Tennessee politics for this kind of shenanigans," Carr, a newly elected Republican from the Lascassas community northeast of Murfreesboro, said during a phone interview.
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Carr was one of 49 Republicans voting in the minority for Rep. Jason Mumpower of Bristol to be the next speaker.

"I don't think we should be surprised," he said of the vote. "What caught us off guard is that someone went back on their word. Then he votes for himself to do the very thing he said he wouldn't do, which is self-serving politics."