You might have heard the original story, about Senator Tom Cotton’s office sending a “cease and desist” letter to a constituent who used “vulgar” language.
But Talking Points Memo has an update based on a Sexy Pundits interview, that adds some jaw-dropping details to the story. This wasn’t a one-off call, this was a desperate constituent who had a question that was critical to his family — and he was blown off for months:
Don Ernst, a resident of Little Rock, shared his story at length with “The Sexy Pundits” podcast in an episode that aired Monday. He said that he called Cotton’s office in February 2017 to ask about the senator’s position on the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and to ask about Cotton’s plans for addressing the opioid epidemic in the event that Obamacare was repealed.
Ernst said he has a son battling opioid addiction, making Cotton’s stance on how to address the opioid crisis particularly important to his family.
The Arkansas resident told the podcast that he called Cotton’s office 18 times between February and June 2017 to ask for the senator’s position on the two issues, but staffers told him that the senator’s stance was not readily available and indicated they would look into his questions.
“It’s excruciating not to get an answer to questions that impact people you care about and you love,” Ernst said on the podcast.
Eventually, after 18 calls, Ernst told the Senator’s office this was “bullshit”, and was then sent a “cease and desist” letter.
This is how Senator Cotton’s office handles a question from a constituent? An eminently legitimate question, based on Senator Cotton’s own efforts to repeal the healthcare coverage so critical to that constituent’s son? “Bullshit” sounds like an understatement.
Update: I should add, Cotton’s office actually told Ernst they were sending a copy of the letter to the Capitol police. Which, understandably, made him quite concerned, as they no doubt knew it would.
Net net, Cotton’s office was using the threat of police in order to push back against dissent.
Let that last sentence roll around in your head for a bit.