Editor's column: Republicans need to lose the crazy - Tennessee Lookout
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
By Holly McCall - March 30, 2021 Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives mill about in House Chambers. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Thursday, I was speaking to a bipartisan group about the current political environment and giving a recap on all that's happened since the Nov. 3 Election Day. As the resident progressive, I was joined by a well-known Republican consultant who has carved out a solid career in Tennessee and national politics.
For the last question of the event, the moderator asked my counterpart if he were giving advice to the Democratic Party, what would he say? And what advice would I give to Republicans?
I think a lot about the Tennessee legislature and the reams of bills produced there annually, and I didn't take long to provide my response for the Tennessee Republican Party:
Lose the crazy.
Republicans have a supermajority in both chambers so they neither need nor want my advice. And both Americans and Tennesseans are locked into partisan identities and vote for the 'R' or the 'D' by names.
But the Republican brand is tarnished these days, given the Jan. 6 insurrection and takeover of the U.S. Capitol by QAnon supporters, and that could be the start of the inevitable decline that comes to those who are arrogant and complacent. It happened to Tennessee Democrats and it will happen to the GOP at some point.
Tennessee's Republican legislators persist in filing and pushing bills that at best do nothing to improve quality of life for their constituents and at worst are both irrational and detrimental. A cursory look at high-profile legislation of the 112th session includes:
- Failure to expand Medicaid: Tennessee is one of only 12 states that has consistently refused to accept money for Medicaid expansion and as a result, we've forfeited about $1.4 billion per year since 2014 and 13 hospitals have closed. The passage of an experimental Medicaid block grant that was made possible by former President Donald Trump in his last two weeks in office is likely to be rescinded by President Joe Biden, who has offered to financially sweeten the deal for Tennessee leaders to take Medicaid expansion. Polling typically shows Tennesseans of both political parties support the expansion but earlier this week, Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton said he remains a hard 'no' on Medicaid expansion. I've been trying for years to figure out how this fits with purported Republican ideals of fiscal responsibility, and I just can't: the only explanation is that the expansion came through former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, and if so, Republicans are cutting off their own constituents' noses to spite their faces.
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Guns. According to "strict constitutionalists," the Second Amendment gives everyone the right to carry any kind of gun anywhere they want at any time with no restrictions; hence, the bill to abolish the need to even apply for a permit to pack heat in Tennessee or to get any training before getting a gun. Permitless gun carry legislation is moving along at a steady clip, despite the opposition of the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and, according to a 2019 poll, more than 90% of Tennesseans. Permitless carry isn't the only gun bill this session: 26 bills have been filed related to guns, including one sponsored by Tullahoma Republican Sen. Janice Bowling that broadens the category of people authorized to carry guns in parks.
- Anti-transgender action: Gov. Bill Lee's just signed a bill into law that bans the participation in middle school or high school sports by transgender kids, unless they participate on the team corresponding with their birth gender. This bill has no impact on most Tennesseans but to the ones it does effect, it's harmful.Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin (Photo: John Partipilo)
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Increase in banking fees. Sen. Jack Johnson is behind SB0344, which gives financial institutions the ability to increase fees to service loans, a move that clearly only benefits banks.
I could continue ad nauseum, but you get the point. Tennessee's Republican legislators are acting on someone's behalf, but it's certainly not the citizens of Tennessee. It's likely to be a few years before the Republican hold on the legislature starts to slip, but with continued actions like these, it's only a matter of time before Tennessee voters rise at the ballot box to demand change from fanaticism and irrationality.
The gop is so out of step with voters they have their own parade on the other side of town mostly alone...
Gov. Bill Lee's just signed a bill into law that bans the participation in middle school or high school sports by transgender kids, unless they participate on the team corresponding with their birth gender. This bill has no impact on most Tennesseans but to the ones it does effect, it's harmful.
This is just as it should be. Boys shouldn't be on girls teams.
None of the proposed laws is unconstitutional
It isn't just Tennessee. Texas and Florida are worse!
Look out Texas, Florida, and Tennessee! Your bastard cousin*** is coming up behind you!
***Arkansas
Arizona elected two Democratic Senators and so did Georgia. The gop is in bad denial...
I am confident you will be wrong, like always!
But Arkansas is doubling down on the stupid. They just passed a law ensuring that the Fed gov't has no jurisdiction regarding guns. If a police unit is confronted by an agency like the FBI or ATF, our state and local police don't have to listen to their instructions and the federal agency will not have the oversight like they would in other states. The governor didn't sign it, but the assembly overrode the veto.
And they passed a "heart beat" bill that allows for no exceptions except for the mother's life. No abortion even for rape or incest. Our assembly is controlled by republicans. The governor is a republican and the state attorney general is a republican. I don't see it changing any time soon. Arizona may have seen the light, but Arkansas is a million light years behind Arizona
I drove through Arkansas twice, east to west and west to east and never stopped once even though it has more unnatural wonders than natural ones.
Don't believe anything you've read or will read about the midterms. History does not care who it makes a fool of.
It really is a beautiful state and I like living here because of the things I can do outdoors like fishing. But it's run by a bunch of Medieval Neanderthals that want to take us back to the Dark Ages
I don't see how they can get away with that or have any choice in the matter.
I don't, either. But I don't think there's any education requirement to become a state legislator in Arkansas because it's clear none of them have read the US Constitution
History also shows the Party reduced to saying NO to everything including to its stalwarts does not farewell.
"good luck with all that!"
It's the Natural State, don'tchaknow
Why, yes it is! And I will fully enjoy the natural beauty of this state when I go fishing in the Ozarks next week!
Let's see you think it is wrong for the local LEOs to ignore federal fire arms laws but it is OK for them to ignore immigration lawslawd.
So you think it would be ok for local police to ignore the feds
butt
It is not ok when the local police will not do the feds job for them...
Just ask any sanctuary city how they do it.
By not doing the feds job?
You don't seem to mind when the local police ignore federal immigration law, why do you care if they if they do not enforce federal gum laws?
Just like trump trumped trump, I agree too much crazy will trump the crazy.
Sooner or later we all live in reality.
A reality is that Americans have no taste for hate...
Well, some do but they are a shrinking minority now!
So they want people to open carry no restrictions, no healthcare for the poor, a middle finger to transgender people...
But...by all means, let banks fleece the masses.
But what would they run on then?
There are statistics for pretty well everything, but what I've never seen, and I think it would probably be quite telling, is a statistic that compares the average education levels of Democrats and Republicans. The fact that so many Republicans can't shake their belief that the election was stolen from Trump, and even disparage their own for standing up for reality (Liz Cheney, Cindy McCain, etc) makes me curious.
Hi Buzz, I have no idea but I think it's actually more a factor of a person's natural philosophies, idology, belief system, upbringing, decisions and choices, habits, fears, desires and perhaps some peer pressure as well.
By "nature" conservative people are, well more conservative.
Liberals as well are naturally more liberal.
Personally I believe that what really makes America special and could be so capable if and when the combination works together is that:
Cons are careful by nature.
libs move forward quickly by nature.
The combination working together can move us all forward at a reasonable, responsible rate as the world as moves forward.
Education wise I'd say there are smart and not so smart folks that belong to both parties for a variety of personal reasonings.
One of the things that we now face is the radical 24/7/365 divisive internet and news content saturating our lives. Non stop political war between the sides. Dividing the people and crippling our nation's true capabilities.
United America can do great things, sadly divided mainly we just fight amongst and ironically against ourselves and our own best interests, especially long term.
sad
https.com/2016/04/29/top-10-brainwashing-and-mind-control-techniques/