James Hayes Shofner Cooper (June 19, 1954)

James Hayes Shofner Cooper

For many of us, our religious doctrine and political party preferences are inherited traits from our forefathers. Unconsciously, we often mimic the belief systems of those who had the most profound effect on our lives, never questioning how they derived their conclusions and convictions. It is a dangerous precedent for anyone to follow. And without boldly asking questions of our creed, culture, or political leaders, we face the peril of being a useful idiot to our political parties and our religious leaders. Just as many Democrats have become complacent in their political party's duplicity, so have the Republican party constituents become their party's "useful idiots." Blindly, voters from both parties support someone politically because a "D" or "R" follows behind the candidate's name. They fail to thoroughly research the history, competence, capabilities, and dogma of the person seeking their vote. Just as there is an abundance of corruption in the Democratic party, the same is true of the Republicans. The last stimulus package boldly evidences Washington's motto, "You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." Eventually, we will all pay the price for the decisions of the 535 members that we have elected who lack sufficient knowledge of foreign policy and economics. We will all be suffering the consequences of open borders, continual wars, consequential energy policies, and unscrupulous dealings of the House and Senate members. Sadly, we will all be questioning why it was ever assumed and presumed that the hard-working backs of the American people were to support the choices made by the rest of the world and those living unnecessarily on welfare in the USA. Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Governor Kay Ivey, and Governor Brian Kemp are a few examples of those who have disgraced the Republican party. They are part of the problem! My distant cousin, Democrat Representative James Hayes Shofner Cooper, has followed family tradition by serving in the government. Did he serve his constituents well? Did he follow the Constitution? And is he part of the solution or more of the problem?

James Hayes Shofner Cooper

James Hayes Shofner Cooper was born June 19, 1954, in Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee [1-12]. He was the second of three sons born to William Prentice Cooper and Hortense Hayes Powell [13-15]. James or Jim, as his preference, spent his formative years in Shelbyville as the son of a Governor, grandson of the Mayor of Shelbyville and Tennessee Legislature, great-grandson of Bank President and Senator Jacob M. Shofner, and great-great-grandson of Senator Major Absalom Lowe Landis [14-19]. Jim had inherited a lineage deep-rooted in southern Democratic politics, and his family was a prominent part of Tennessee's history [14-19]. With such an extensive legacy of politicians, it is no wonder that his debut in Tennessee politics began when he was only four years old, and he and his brothers were traveling along the campaign trail with their parents [20]. Jim would stand on his tippy toes to reach the microphone and rush his plea, "Vote for my papa to the U.S. Senate, please [20]."

James Hayes Shofner Cooper
 Hillwood High School

Jim and his brothers were raised in Shelbyville on a "diet of books, Democratic politics, and purposeful travel," according to Jim's mom, Hortense [15]. Jim received part of his education at Hillwood High School in Nashville [21-26]. Afterward, his parents sent him to Groton School, a private Episcopal college preparatory boarding school in Groton, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1972 [1-7]. His father, William Prentice, had wanted his sons to follow in his footsteps by attending the Webb School in Bell Buckle, closer to home. But when Bell Buckle stopped requiring Greek as part of their curriculum, William Prentice decided not to send them to his alma mater. Sadly, though, William Prentice will never have the opportunity to see his son graduate as a Morehead Scholar when he loses his battle with cancer and passes away on May 18, 1969 [14]. His father will also miss out on seeing him graduate as a Rhodes Scholar from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1975 with a Bachelor's degree in history and economics after only three expedient years of study [1-7, 10-12]. William Prentice would have been prouder to see his son continue his education with his Master of Arts from Oxford University in Oxford, England, in politics and economics in 1977, followed up with a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1980 [1-7, 10-12, 27].

James Hayes Shofner Cooper
Harvard Years

With the completion of his educational requirements behind him, in 1981, Jim sought employment and found it at the law firm, "Waller, Lansden, Dortch, and Davis," in Nashville [1-7, 10-12]. But it wouldn't take long for his genetics to drive him forth into politics. So, in August 1981, at the age of twenty-seven, Jim announced that he planned on running for the 4th district Congressional seat, running against Republican candidate Cynthia "Cissy" Baker, the daughter of Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker [28-31]. Seemingly, both candidates would be using their political dynasties as a stepping stone into politics [28-31]. Jim, running on unemployment, economic development, and education, accused Baker of the tactics, "I've got court in Washington, and he doesn't" [32]. It was a tactic that would lead Jim to victory with sixty-six percent of the vote [33]. On January 3, 1983, with his mother Hortense and family in observance, Jim was sworn in as the youngest member of the 98th Congress [34]. He was only twenty-eight [34]. Jim said, "Nobody could be more thrilled than I am [34]." He added, "This is sort of like a funeral and a wedding but better because I'm still alive and still single [34]." However, the bachelor would not remain single for very long!

James Hayes Shofner Cooper

With Jim's educational background in politics and economics, it wasn't surprising that he got selected as a member of the second most relative committee in Washington, the House Banking Committee, despite it being his first year in Congress [31]. The House Banking Committee has the critical function of overseeing the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking, and housing industries [35-36]. The House Banking Committee is also in charge of overseeing the Federal Reserve, the United States Department of Treasury, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and other financial services regulators [35-36]. Jim said, "This was my first choice because this allows me to have input on the committee, which has the most effect on the outcomes [35]." Jim added, "This is an extremely vital committee because of the weakened condition of banks at this time." He concluded, "It will be a challenge to deal with such complicated matters [35]." As a new congressional member, Jim's enthusiasm led him to invite the people of his district to his Washington office at any time [35]. Would it be a policy, though, that he maintained when his constituents began to complain and disagree [35]?  

Martha Bryan Hays
1985, April 14, The Sun, Biloxi, Mississippi, Page 59

In approximately 1985, Jim's bachelor life threatens to end when he meets a brown-haired beauty driving a 1971 Robin's-egg-blue Volvo, who descriptively was considered "part Audrey Hepburn, Ali McGraw, and Penelope Cruz [37]." Martha Bryan Hays was the second child of Doctors Arthur Vernon Hays and Martha Elise Adams Hays Taylor, born September 13, 1954, in Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi [37]. Martha was an adventuresome alumnus of Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Virginia, and Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi, and had obtained her Master of Science in Ornithology [37]. Working as an assistant to the Vice President of the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, Martha would be the perfect asset for the up-and-coming Democratic politician [38]. However, Martha was reluctant to join Jim in his political aspirations [37]. So, to help soothe Martha's apprehensions regarding politics, Martha temporarily moved in with Jim's mother, Hortense, and helped manage Jim's campaign reelection efforts [37]. It was an endeavor that worked, and in December 1984, Jim announced to the press that they intended to marry [38-41]. And four months later, on April 6, 1985, the two wed at First Presbyterian Church in Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi [42-43].

1984, April 14, The Sun, Biloxi, Mississippi, Page 59

Jim and Martha spent the nineties running for office to maintain Jim's Congressional seat. Between January 3, 1983, and January 3, 1995, Jim won five consecutive Congressional terms without substantial opposition [1-7]. Also, during those years, they began their family, eventually welcoming three children into their lives: Mary Argentine Adams (January 19, 1990), John James Audubon "Jamie" (April 18, 1991), and Hayes Hightower Cooper (July 27, 1995) [15, 37, 44]. But in 1994, Jim abandoned his Congressional seat and decided to run for the Senatorial seat that once belonged to Al Gore, who had become the Vice President of the United States. His opponent, Fred Dalton Thompson, was a well-known attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality [45-47]. Naturally, some vast ideological differences separated the two candidates.

1992, September 27, The Tennessean,
Nashville, Tennessee, Page 3

Ideologically, Jim was considered a moderate Democrat. On congressional reform, Jim wanted to ban gifts, require full disclosure, eliminate any rules that exempted Congress from their legislation, and believed that PACs needed to end in favor of public financing [47]. Thompson, in contrast, favored forcing Congress to adjourn their session by July 31, cutting Congress's pay in half, and repealing Congress's automatic pay raises [47]. Concerning taxes, Jim supported the 1993 tax act, favored spending cuts, and supported the Republican "no tax" budget for the year [47]. More conservatively, Thompson wanted a balanced budget amendment [47]. He wanted to require that 3/5 of Congress concur on their votes before raising taxes on the American people [47]. Thompson also supported limiting government budget raises to two percent annually, lowering capital gains taxes from 28 to 15 percent, making inflation the determiner of hourly wages, and a ten percent tax cut with 500 dollars per child credit to every working family [47]. Thompson also vehemently opposed the 1993 tax act [47]. On welfare programs, Jim believed in cutting federal spending and limiting benefits to two years [47]. He favored programs discouraging teenage pregnancy, wanted families to become more responsible for their children before the government stepped in for intervention, and favored welfare recipients getting private-sector jobs over government ones [47]. In comparison, Thompson's visions included decreasing children's benefits and requiring teenagers to live with their parents before receiving payments [47]. Additionally, he demanded that unwed mothers name the fathers of their children, forcing child support by the fathers [47].

1994, October 23, The Jackson Sun,
Jackson, Tennessee, Page 10

Jim's primary advocacy during the Senatorial race, though, was health care reform. Describing himself as "a rebel with a health care cause," Jim and a group of bipartisan moderates submitted a bill proposing several radical changes [48]. Jim's healthcare bill included the following:

• The expansion of employer-sponsored private insurance to help cover the uninsured. Therefore, making insurance more available by creating voluntary purchasing coops [49].
• Establish a national commission to define a standard set of benefits relying upon voluntary insurance purchasing, which would help regulate it [49]. 
• To establish insurance rules with a community rating where everyone in the same region and age bracket would pay the same, regardless of their health [49].
• Require the folding of Medicaid into the new healthcare system [49].

However, opponents of Jim's healthcare bill and the others proposed by various factions said that "all the plans reflect wishful thinking [50]." And experts believed that as alluring as it seemed to make cuts and raise money without causing the consumer any pain, in the end, it was only an implausible fantasy [50]. Critics of Jim's plan also contended that it missed the working poor and that the help provided to them would eventually decline once earnings exceeded the official poverty level [51]. Of all the plans submitted, opponents vocalized concerns about the consumers' right to choose the physicians they chose to frequent. Financially, the critics concluded it would take years for any healthcare reformation measures to make a significant difference in reducing the cost, if any, of healthcare [49].

1994, November 3, The Rutherford Courier,
Smyrna, Tennessee, Page 23

Unfortunately, Jim lost his Senatorial race despite accusing Thompson of being "a lobbyist and actor who talks about lower taxes, change talks, while he drives a rented stage prop." [51]. According to M. Lee Smith, in essence, Jim had run the worst campaign, which contributed to his loss against Thompson [52]. Smith accused Jim of having the least effective paid media campaign and stated his changing his campaign's media consultant 40 days before the election aided in his loss. Smith said Jim's ads tried to communicate too much data [52]. Smith also blamed Jim's perception of himself as a more conservative Democrat for creating a deceptive persona to the voters who already knew him as a more moderate [52]. Despite the people's declining support for President Clinton, Jim distancing himself from his party was also a flawed political maneuvering that had Thompson winning 60.44 percent to Jim's 38.61 [46, 52].  

1994, November 8, Johnson City Press,
Johnson City, Tennessee, Page 4

After the loss of his Senatorial race, Jim emerged himself into other endeavors. In 1995, he became an adjunct professor at his brother's alma mater, Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management, teaching healthcare policies [12, 53]. That same year, Jim also became the Managing Director for Equitable Securities Corporation in Nashville, remaining there until 1999 [12]. The following year, in 1996, Jim became a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and in 1997, he joined the Board of Directors for Resources For The Future [12]. Two years later, after leaving Equitable Securities Corporation, Jim cofounded, partnered, and became the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Brentwood Captial Advisors, LLC., remaining there until deciding to return to politics in 2002 [12]. 

2002, August 2, The Tennessean,
Nashville, Tennesse, Page 2, Part 1

When Thompson decided not to seek reelection for personal reasons surrounding his cancer diagnosis, the Tennessee political cards reshuffled nearly overnight, giving Jim the opening, he needed to return to Washington [46, 5]. However, this time, Jim would not be running for the 3rd District Congressional seat; instead, he would be running for the 5th District Congressional seat [1-12, 54]. Besides running on the same previous issues, Jim wanted to add to his campaign promises a federal school stature that helped guarantee that the states didn't fall below a marked set of standards [54]. Additionally, he wanted to secure intellectual property, improve tourism, and secure future social security disbursements [54]. And where the economy was concerned, Jim believed in cyclical economic patterns [54]. However, he wanted to make the trough in between the cycles shallow [54]. Jim's most valuable argument for reelection, though, was the experience in Congress already gained [53]. After a contemptuous primary against opponents John Arriola and Gayle Ray, Jim defeats them both, winning him the 5th district Congressional seat by procuring over 50% of the vote [54-56]. Three months later, Jim defeated Republican opponent Robert Duvall by a 64% to 33% margin, assuring his return to Washington [57]. Jim's platform of improving education through smaller class sizes, increased teacher wages, more parental involvement, affordable health care, and environmental protection were all winning issues [57]. Jim has retained this Congressional seat for nearly twenty years (January 3, 2003-current) [1]. 

2002, December 30, The Tennessean,
 Nashville, Tennessee, Page 1

Jim has spent nearly his entire career in Washington, and he holds assignments on various committees because of his prolonged incumbency. He is a committee member of the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services with subcommittee positions in Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities, Seapower and Projection Forces, and Strategic Forces, which he chairs [1, 58]. Jim is also a committee member of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform with a subcommittee membership on National Security [1, 58]. Additionally, he serves on the U.S. House Committee on the Budget [1, 5]). Jim has made his legislative mark in Washington by caucusing in several memberships [1, 58]. They include the Blue Dog Coalition, New Democrat Coalition, Congressional Scouting Caucus (Co-Chair), Congressional Skin Cancer Caucus (Co-Chair), Congressional Wire Products Caucus (Co-Chair), Fix Congress Now Caucus (Co-Chair), 21st Century Healthcare Caucus, Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus/Disabilities Advisory Caucus, Congressional Arts Caucus, Congressional HBCU Caucus, Kurdish American Caucus, National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, Servicewomen and Women Veterans Congressional Caucus, and the Bipartisan Task Force Combating Anti-Semitism [1, 58].

2002, November 6, The Tennessean,
Nashville, Tennessee, Page 20

On some issues, Jim is very pragmatic, I think. For instance, when it comes to the national deficit, he says, "It's even worse than most people think because of dodgy accounting used by the federal government [1,59]". Jim accused the government of using a cash accounting system that would be "illegal for any enterprise of any size in America except for the U.S. government [1,59].'' "The real deficit in America is at least twice as large as any politician will tell you. And it may be ten times larger," Jim said on PBS [1, 60]. He voted for the Republican Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011, a bill aimed at decreasing federal spending and capping future spending levels as a percentage of the GDP [1, 61]. Jim voted against the 2009 economic stimulus package that increased the Nation's deficit by 787 billion [1]. Jim has voted against Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House on five different occasions; however, in 2021, he supported her nomination [1, 62]. And in 2019, Jim supported establishing the United States Space Force, a military branch responsible for organizing, training, and equipping space forces [1, 63]. Amazingly, unlike his other Blue Dog members, Jim has never sought an earmark [1]. In those instances, Jim has become part of the solution.

John James Audubon, President Obama, Martha Bryan Hays,
Mary Argentine Adams, James Hayes Shofner, and
Hayes Hightower Cooper

But where Jim has become part of the problem is in his support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, The American Rescue Plan, The Eliminate the Digital Divide Act, The Voting Rights Act, The Boosting Tourism Act, and the Manufacturing Growth Act [1, 67]. All contradictory to his views towards political members showing fiscal responsibility. They all nullify his statement, "Working in this Congress is deeply frustrating; in fact, it's enraging. My colleagues are misbehaving. They're posturing for voters back home. They're taking the cheap political hit instead of studying the problem that's before us [1, 64]". They refute his assertions that "partisan posturing over the debt ceiling is a dangerous game of chicken [1, 64]. Adding, he said, he had "never seen politicians act more irresponsibly than they have been recently over the nation's debt [1, 65]." Jim's support of background checks for potential gun owners contradicts the 2nd amendment of the Constitution, violating his sworn oath to defend and protect it [1, 66]. Jim's recent support of Transgender Day of Visibility and Equitable and Just Policies is his attempts to cater to the "Woke" and their constant need for self-victimization [1, 66]. 

Martha Bryan Hays

On September 18, 2017, Jim lost one of the most influential people in his life, his mother, Hortense [15]. Sadly, three years later, on February 4, 2021, his wife, Martha, or "Ookie," as they called her, passed away from Alzheimer's after years of struggling with the disease [68]. Martha had a natural burial at Larkspur Conservation in Nashville, surrounded by the nature she cherished and fought to preserve [61]. She generously made an anatomical gift to the Vanderbilt Brain and Biospecimen Bank [68]. Mary has reunited her body with nature, but her spirit will continue through her children. Her daughter, Mary Argentine Adams Cooper, married Scott Davis Gallisdorfer, the son of Jeffrey Melvin Gallisdorfer and Sherry Lynn Davis, on August 25, 2018, in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee [69]. Through their marriage, Martha became a grandmother to James Cooper "Jay" Gallisdorfer (November 21, 2019] before her death [68]. Jay has continued her legacy!

James Hayes Shofner Cooper

As liberalism invades our culture more and more, the lines between Republicans and Democrats are slowly beginning to merge into one. Politicians like Jim are the prime reason for needing term limits. Despite his extensive financing educational background and rantings regarding the national deficit, he can no longer recognize his contribution to the economic collapse that looms ahead for our country. Jim is no longer capable of conceding that he now fails to be a part of America's solutions. Instead, he has become a part of America's vast problems. Purposefully retaining office has come to Jim to substitute his initial dream of attaining a political office for a purpose, it seems. Sadly, he has forgotten what it means to represent the Constitutional Rights of the American people. But he is not the only one. Five hundred and thirty-four other political members have also forgotten their oaths of office. Imposter Joe Biden's actions prove how often politicians' words are incongruent with their actions and how capable they are of purposeful lies! Our politicians, both Republican and Democrat, use the blind, ignorant, and utopians in their quest for wealth and power. Unfortunately, the selfishness of the blind, benighted, and utopians who refuse to elevate themselves to standards of greatness will be the cause of all of us sacrificing for a small faction of society that doesn't even rise above the mediocrity level. Years from now, when my granddaughters hopefully read this blog, I hope they remember the lesson within it. I hope they recall the importance of consistently remaining true to their values! God is the only icon worth mimicking and molding! Everyone else is just a false idol!  

Sources:

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