Proof!

Jeff Woods is continuing the drive to disabuse people of the notion that Waller Lansden, and those who work there, are Democrats.

The latest, and perhaps more substantive than the Bob Boston critique, is Michael Stagg, their environmental lawyer and also the Treasurer for Mike Stewart's campaign:

As leader of the firm’s Environmental and Toxic Tort litigation group, the capable Mr. Stagg specializes in helping corporations get away with poisoning the environment, successfully defending polluters of the air and water against all those pesky citizen lawsuits. Did your company lose track of a few PCBs? No problem. No pollution is too toxic for this Waller Lansden man.

The picture painted by Jeff Woods is one of the villain in a John Grisham movie...and while that may or may not be accurate, it certainly could lead some intrepid reporters to ask Mr. Stewart specific questions regarding where he stands on certain environmental regulatory issues.

Jeff ends with the now usual refrain of "if you earn your living by gleefully [who takes glee in regulatory law?] violating Democratic Party principles (or associate closely with those who do, taking contributions from them and making one of them your campaign treasurer), can you still call yourself a Democrat?" The answer is, Yes. So long as you run as a Democrat, win as a Democrat, and the Democratic party does not attempt to disqualify you from the ballot, you are a Democrat.

Update:

Somewhat unrelated, though I came across it looking up information related to this...Bob Tuke is a registered lobbyist with the State of Tennessee. He is registered with LEAF, Lindquist-Environmental Appalachian Fellowship, whose mission statement says they are a "Christian fellowship of Tennesseans whose faith leads them to take action for Tennessee’s environment." He's also registered with the Tennessee Clean Water Network.

I wonder, since the Scene writers seem so very interested in environmental issues as of late, if they'll be more favorable to Mr. Tuke, whom previously they'd (perhaps just Matt Pulle) been pissed at for not opposing Gus Puryear.