...are that "
many" electric cooperatives are mis-managed. That could be code for "we need an excuse to get rid of the rural not-for-profit electric coops and this is it."
Cooper, in my opinion, is a complete asshat. I find him to be arrogant and unwilling to engage in discussion about issues on which he's already made up his mind. I can remember no other Congressman from middle Tennessee, from Richard Fulton, to Clifford Allen to even Bill Boner, who is more conservative and anti-Progressive, than he is.
He may be right about some of the electric coops. Any coop or business can be mis-managed. His claim now, and that of a few others, is that the problems are systemic. But I would hazard to guess that they are no more mis-managed than the for-profit electric companies. The difference being that their mis-management errs on the side of profits. Such as with the case at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_Yankee_Nuclear_Power_Plant#Cooling_Tower_Collapse">which is literally failing apart at the seams. In my judgment, a better use of his investigative skills would be to look into the many safety violations that are now being committed on a daily basis at
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080617/GREEN02/806170368">Browns Ferry nuclear plant operated by TVA.
But in this instance, he'll likely get away with perusing this restricted website based upon what I'm reading now (
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/local/Nashville/The_Tennessean/SIG=137dje6jh/**http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennessean.com%2Fapps%2Fpbcs.dll%2Farticle%3FAID%3D%2F20080628%2FNEWS02%2F806280370">link). He will only say that he was given the password for access by a whistle-blower, but he isn't giving up any names. He can't subscribe to the site, as its intended solely for the use of the members of electrical coop boards.
- The worst part? There's no one on the horizon around these parts to challenge him for his seat.....