The Pastor Press

This week in the office we began the pastor press. That is a moniker I came up with myself, likely out of my derision for organized religion, that I will not be sharing with the other members of the office. Essentially, the pastor press is an effort to alert all of the local leaders of the traditionally African American churches and their congregations of a townhall meeting the Congressman is hosting on Medicare and Medicaid. There are something like 300 invitations being sent out to religious leaders across Memphis: hence the phrase pastor press.

            Why pastors though, I can hear you asking. Well to explain that consider the district Congressman Cohen represents: the TN 9^th which is essentially the city of Memphis. The district is entirely within Shelby County and is roughly 60% African American, making it Tennessee’s only congressional district whose population is comprised mostly of minorities. It is also one of the safest Democratic districts in the country, having lacked a serious Republican challenge since it was instituted in its current form in 1980. Being a majority African American district in the South, pastors are an essential group to encourage minority voters.

            Congressman Cohen, moreover, isn’t what would be described as a natural representative of the TN 9^th. He is quite wealthy, white, and Jewish. Furthermore, he took over a seat that had been represented by the very popular and influential Ford family and has at times been accused of not being capable of understanding the circumstances of his constituents. These factors suggest that despite his popularity with Memphis voters, he could be susceptible to an African American challenger.

This townhall, therefore, is important as one of the easiest and most effective ways for the Congressman to liaison with constituents and been seen supporting extremely popular government programs. Medicare and Medicaid, particularly in a city such as Memphis that has such terrible socio-economic statistics (21% of the population lives in poverty), are widely used by the constituency that Congressman Cohen represents. By appealing to pastors he is able to tap into ready-made communities that are influential among minorities and from which he needs strong electoral support.

So after all of that explanation, what was my role in the pastor press? Was I out liasoning, explaining the Congressman’s position on issues? Nope, I was the schmuck who got to put labels and stuff invitations into those 300 envelopes. Oh the life of an intern…