AL-05 Rep. Mo Brooks’ office responded to a town hall meeting invitation with a partisan rant and a demand to know if former AL-05 Democratic congressmen ever met with Republicans.
Brooks is famous in DC and in Alabama for his charm offensive — meaning he’s rarely charming and always offensive, but even seasoned political observers were stunned by an email from his district director.
Since Rep. Brooks regularly hangs out at Tea Party meetings, the Madison County Democratic Party reasoned that Brooks might also drop by a public Q&A event that could be scheduled at the Congressman’s convenience. Other people would do the heavy lifting of reserving the venue, organizing, and publicizing. Easy, peasy right?
Here is the original invitation (PDF) to a public meeting. Party chair Tom Ryan sent it to Brook’s office on 2/17.
His district director Tiffany Noel – who must surely be an absolute joy to work with — responded in the most unprofessional way possible. Seriously… this federal employee has either gone rogue or is empowered by Rep. Brooks to communicate in this matter with residents of Brooks’ district. Here’s the message (PDF), complete with header information that shows it did originate from Brooks’ office.
Below is the text of the email, emphasis mine:
Thank you for your invitation. Congressman Brooks respectfully declines because your request appears to be, on its face, a partisan effort to use a federal Congressional office to try to make the Democrat Party relevant again in Madison County, the Tennessee Valley, and the State of Alabama.
If, on the other hand, you wish to visit the Congressman’s office to discuss public policy issues, Congressman Brooks will concur with that request, subject only to our ability to reach a mutually agreeable time. Our conference room can comfortably hold six to eight guests, plus Congressional staff.
As an aside, if you are aware of any occasions during the 30+ years that Democrat Congressmen Cramer and Flippo met with a Republican executive committee, please share that with us.
Sincerely,
Tiffany Noel
District Director
Office of Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-5)
2101 West Clinton Avenue, Suite 302
Huntsville, AL 35805
(256) 551-0190 (office)
(256) 551-0194 (fax)
Looks like no Democrats will be having “breakfast at Tiffany’s” office any time soon…. But you can certainly call or email (Tiffany.Noel@mail.house.gov) her to ask for an invite.
Seriously: this message was sent from a US GOVERNMENT email address. It’s partisan; it’s mocking; and it’s misspelled. But, syntax aside, what’s with the final paragraph?
Frankly, we in the 5th district would absolutely love for Rep. Brooks to model his behavior on that of former Congressmen Cramer and Flippo. So let’s ask this of Ms. Noel:
“Can you show any instances where the Republican Executive Committees invited either Congressman Cramer or Flippo to speak and either man turned them down?”
Please share that with us. We’ll wait. About as long, apparently, as we wait for your boss to stop being afraid to face the people he works for.
Mo Brooks explained to WAAY-TV that he’s afraid of subjecting citizens to violence. In other words, he’s scared of his constituents. Brooks also said he agrees “100%” with what his district director wrote.
Party chair Tom Ryan responded that Brooks could “wear a bullet proof vest; wear a helmet… Whatever he needs to feel safe. Bless his heart….”
NOTE: the town hall event will take place with or without you, Rep. Brooks. Why not “man up” and show up?
A version of this article was originally published at Left in Alabama.