Director and producer Bill Jersey, left, and Nebraska State Sen. Ernie Chambers attend the AMPAS hosts a screening of “A Time For Burning” at the Academy Theater in New York City in 2008. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES — Former State Sen. Ernie Chambers has been out of office for two years, but he couldn’t resist a recent chance to get in a dig against a former political adversary.
Chambers, now 84, sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, just prior to last week’s start of the congressman’s trial for allegedly lying to federal agents.
“The metaphorical ‘worm has turned,’” wrote Chambers in the letter, which he shared with the Nebraska Examiner. “And the serious federal charges lodged against you are in no sense metaphorical but, rather, literal.”
Chambers was referring to a political spat in 2015 that erupted after the North Omaha senator compared police to the Islamic extremist group ISIS.
Police are my ISIS
“My ISIS is the police,” Chambers said during a legislative committee hearing, after hearing someone testify that they needed to carry a concealed weapon in Nebraska because of concerns about ISIS.
Chambers, an African-American, defended his remark and said he would continue to criticize police when they use excessive force or make mistakes.
But the comment brought condemnation from several state senators, as well as a show of support for police, and prompted a press release from Fortenberry. The Republican congressman said Chambers should be censured “at a minimum” for the comment and for his refusal to “take back his words.”
‘A delectable irony’
Chambers, in his typewritten letter, wrote that he detected “a delectable irony” in Fortenberry’s current situation. He offered some “rhyme” to provide “something to distract your obviously and justifiably troubled mind.”
Requests from comment from Fortenberry’s office and from his campaign were not answered.
Chambers, who was known in the Legislature for writing poetry and for daily “Ernie Grams” to his colleagues, wrote the following:
A well-worn maxim goes:
“One reaps just what one sows.”
Most accept the maxim’s words as true.
You, of course, did not surmise
That some of your political lies
Would boomerang and put “the bite” on you.
Gleefully, opponents may gloat
That you are in a sinking boat —
And then they’ll lay a wager: I will bet,
When your criminal trial is done,
You shall be the guilty one
Who’s taunted by the public: “You’re all wet!”
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.
Related News
