Tennessee Republicans' attempt to expel Democrats over gun control protests is shocking and rare - Vox
By: Li Zhou (Vox)
"if the Tennessee GOP is successful, it will create a model for the party to follow in other states"
As the Republican Party increasingly becomes an authoritarian entity, this will continue to occur.
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S E E D E D C O N T E N T
In a sign of how vigorously Republicans in the state continue to oppose gun control, even in the face of a mass school shooting, members of the Tennessee state legislature are trying to expel three Democratic lawmakers who joined a protest in favor of gun reforms last week.
On Monday, Republican state Reps. Bud Hulsey, Gino Bulso, and Andrew Farmer filed resolutions aimed at booting Democratic state Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson for leading statehouse protesters in gun control chants from the House floor last Thursday. The lawmakers joined thousands of people including college students, high school students, and parents, who demonstrated at the Nashville Capitol to call for more action on gun control after three children and three adults were killed in the Covenant School shooting.
A vote will be held Thursday on the expulsion resolutions — which could pass if two-thirds of the state's House vote in favor. Currently, Republicans have a supermajority in the House, holding 75 of the 99 seats, meaning they have the numbers to move forward if GOP lawmakers all supported these measures.
The resolutions attempt to remove Johnson, Jones, and Pearson from office on the grounds that they've "knowingly and intentionally [brought] disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives." The three lawmakers have acknowledged that they broke House rules by talking without being recognized, but noted that they did so to speak on behalf of their constituents who are demanding change.
Republicans' push for expulsion is a rare and undemocratic maneuver that would remove three prominent gun control advocates from their elected positions — including two Black members. It speaks to how aggressively Republicans are pushing back on calls for gun control, in the wake of a horrific school shooting last week, and is part of an ongoing effort to limit Democrats' power in the state.
Previously, Republicans have proposed bills that would dilute local lawmakers' power in Democrat-led cities like Nashville and Memphis, with the goal of gutting policies on policing and slashing resources for regional leaders. Given the demographics of the cities — Memphis is majority Black, while about a quarter of Nashville's residents are Black — many of these efforts are seen as explicitly targeting Black political power in these areas as well.
Only two lawmakers have been expelled from the Tennessee legislature since the Civil War, according to the Associated Press. The most recent expulsion was that of Rep. Jeremy Durham in 2016, for sexual misconduct. Prior to that, Rep. Robert Fisher was expelled in 1980 for accepting a bribe to kill legislation.
It's morally insane that a week after a mass shooting took six lives in our community, House Republicans only response is to expel us for standing with our constituents to call for gun control.
What's happening in Tennessee is a clear danger to democracy all across this nation.
— Rep. Justin Jones (@brotherjones_) April 4, 2023
Democrats and activists have denounced the expulsion resolutions, which would go into effect shortly if passed. Were they expelled, the three Democrats' home county commissions would likely have to appoint interim representatives and then hold special elections for their seats. There's nothing to prevent them from running for those same seats again, though it's unclear if Republican leadership could try to bar them from getting sworn in.
"The House speaker should be leading a real, bipartisan discussion to generate reforms that could stop the next school shooting," the Tennessee Black Caucus said in a statement supporting the Democratic lawmakers. "Instead, he's using his power to silence people who are calling for solutions that he opposes."
The resolutions to remove the lawmakers, briefly explained
The expulsion resolutions were filed following a gun control protest last Thursday when thousands of activists came to the Capitol in Nashville to call for reforms.
Currently, Tennessee has expansive gun rights and limited gun control, with the legislature and governor pushing laws in 2021 that enable more people to carry handguns without a permit. The Republican-led legislature has also signaled it's unlikely to do more on the issue in the near term.
"They came out this week and said they aren't going to hear any more bills this year to address gun violence." says Brynn Jones, a Vanderbilt student and organizer with March For Our Lives.
During the protest, Johnson, Jones, and Pearson — who represent Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis, respectively — went onto the House floor amid a legislative session and led protesters in the upper gallery in chants like "Gun control now," using a bullhorn. Republicans have said that this behavior was disruptive and warrants expulsion. The Tennessee Constitution gives both chambers leeway in determining how they punish their members, though expulsion has only typically been used for unique and serious violations, like bribery and sexual misconduct.
In this case, Republicans argue that Democrats have broken multiple House rules including speaking without being recognized and crowding the House clerk's desk. Speaker Cameron Sexton noted that Democrats violated principles of "decorum and procedure on the House floor," and has gone so far as to compare the gun control protest misleadingly with an "insurrection," rhetorically linking lawmakers' peaceful protest at their workplace with rioters' deadly break-in at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The three Democrats have already been stripped of their committees following their participation in the protests.
The three Democrats have said they protested to give attention to people's concerns about gun control and the lack of action on it in the legislature. "My walk to the House floor in a peaceful and civil manner was not an insurrection. I wanted to listen and respond to the voices of Tennesseans who were not given the opportunity to speak in meaningful dialogue with us," Pearson wrote in a letter to House members, which he posted on Instagram. Both Pearson and Jones are first-term members, while Johnson was elected in 2018.
Although the Democrats have said they broke rules about decorum, they've argued doing so was necessary to attempt to avoid future child gun deaths, with Jones using the term #GoodTrouble to reference the late Georgia Rep. John Lewis's calls for civil rights activism. Their party has also pointed out that the consequences the lawmakers have already faced are very different from how Tennessee Republicans have treated issues within their own party. In the past, Republican leaders declined to expel members like state Rep. David Byrd, who was accused of child sexual abuse, and former House Speaker Glen Casada, who has since been indicted on charges of fraud and bribery.
"There should be a fair proportionate response regardless of party affiliation," says Vanderbilt political science professor Samar Ali.
Republicans' actions could send a chilling message
If successful, these resolutions would expel the three members from the House legislature, sending a chilling message about free speech, democratic representation, and the role of an opposition party. It would also mean that their districts, which include more diverse constituencies, would be stripped of the members they had democratically elected this past fall.
"These representatives are coming from some of the most diverse counties," says Ezri Tyler, a Vanderbilt student and March For Our Lives organizer. "Even just looking at the state legislature, they are trying to remove one of the women representatives and two young Black representatives in a majority white old male body."
That expulsion would disenfranchise Tennesseans has specifically been cited by Republicans in the past as to why they've refrained from expelling their members. And one of the lawmakers believes if the Tennessee GOP is successful, it will create a model for the party to follow in other states.
"It will echo across the country. I think it will have a chilling effect on all states where there's supermajorities or very red states," Rep. Gloria Johnson told Politico.
Beyond any potential effects outside the state, the debacle also sends a disturbing signal about lawmakers' openness to even discussing gun control since it shuts down dissenting voices. "What's clear is that this is an effort to undermine a conversation that has taken a long time to be had in Tennessee," says Christian Heyne, vice president of policy at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
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If the protestors had broken a few windows, bashed a few police officers in the head and smeared their feces on the wall, the Republicans would be calling it "just another tourist day".
I'm thinking that we're on the verge of witnessing a new specific group of victims by mass shooters.
What group would that be?
demographic probably would've been a better word choice. you tell me...
Well... if you stand in the middle of a legislative session and throw a tantrum like a 4 year old, I suppose you should not be surprised when they throw you out.
They seem to overlook that the so called "protestors" stormed the House and took it over. The three mighty mental midget Democrats decided that this was a great thing and urged the insurrectionists on.
Imagine if any Republicans had done that on Jan 6th from the Congressional floor? Removal would be the least of their concerns. Garland and the DOJ be would still be stacking charges against them.
The real question is why these three aren't in jail awaiting trial for incitement?
Insurrection is cool again.
If they set up a gallows and assaulted police officers with pepper spray in the face, Republicans would think it was a peaceful protest.
Like the Progressives did when they attacked the white house?
Comment 2.1.3 is bullshit reactionary propaganda.
I'm sorry, you mean like this?
Leftists and their "mostly peaceful" protestors. What BS.
No insurrection there what-so-ever.
Lol. Imagine denying progressives didn't injure dozens of police when they attacked the White House in 2020, or didn't set up a display of Trump being guillotined.
Why do you deny reality?
It's a like a window into 1984. "We've always been at war with east asia"
I agree. Where is the footage of them breaking down doors windows and barricades and trying to enter security restricted areas? Where is the hand to hand combat with the police? Where is the bear spray? Where are the confederate flags?
That is a total fail to make a point.
Doesn't need to be violent. It was an attempt to overthrow the state government and keep it from performing its democratic duties.
Who said "come to the state capitol, it will be wild" ? Anyone?
You guys are so deep into whataboutism its totally laughable.
Why Ronin posted those two videos is anybody's guess. Overall, they are nothing like Jan 6.
Talk about failure to make a point.
What does that have to do with anything? Trump has nothing to do with this mob attempting to stop the State government from performing its democratic duties.
The point? The action in Tennessee was a protest. In one of the videos you see three or four state police holding back a lot of students. No one throwing punches at the cops or swinging flag poles.
Have you got any other videos that might help your argument, because these two aint it.
A protest that interfered with right of self governance that belongs to the people of Tennessee.
Here is a video of TODAY at the Tennessee capitol. It is a fricking PROTEST. Do these cops look at all threatened by the "mob" ?
Since Jan 6 was so violent they have to make this protest worse because...liberals
These idiots in Tennessee are pissing off their youth, the next generation of voters who are already being turned against the Republican Party.
The level of trying to compare water pistols to hand grenades that "conservatives" engage in on a daily basis these days is truly "impressive". Of course they have to go to extremes because that is the only way they can defend right wing politicians.
So if the Jan 6th protesters had been allowed to interrupt the congressional proceedings peacefully with the help of Republican congressmen, you'd have been fine with that?
How would that have happened? The Capitol building was closed and locked on Jan 6 until the rioters broke the doors down. Peacefulness was gone the second they entered the building.
These Tenn Republicans are going to ruin themselves. Who wants to needlessly piss off young people? Now they are making martyrs out of these three representatives and the protests will likely only increase.
Its a counter factual. I'm asking if they had simply been let in peacefully and allowed to disrupt the certification of Biden's election with the help of Republican Congressmen you'd have been fine with that? You support repealing the statute that makes it a crime to interfere or obstruct a congressional proceeding?
ow they are making martyrs out of these three representatives and the protests will likely only increase.
So the smart move is to give the mob what they want and not punish those who interfere with attempts to govern the state? You think the people will side with the mob? Fuck elections, it's the mob who decides?
It was not an insurrection. You just bop around this forum looking for things you can do whataboutism on. Its unfortunate.
Why should that matter?
You have a group of people who, at the encouragement of a few elected representatives, are temporarily denying the rights of the people who elected the other representatives.
The courage of law enforcement officers is completely irrelevant.
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As I understand it, these three represenatives joined in chants of protest that were coming from the GALLERY. The protesters were not on the chamber floor, they were in the balcony. How is that preventing the business of the legislature?
The right is so desperate to get the Jan 6 rioters and instigators off the hook they are now trying to compare this totally different situation to Jan 6.
It is going to fail, as it well should.
Fortunately I can look past your bland comments.
In case you haven't looked there are no "sensible" gun laws. And today's young people, the ones with brains, know that no fricking gun law is going to protect.
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The article says very clearly...
That's from Vox. It's not like that's a Fox News article or some shit like that.
I do hope you're not asking how chanting from the gallery disrupts the business of the legislature.
so what? Did the three start the chants or join them? As far as chanting disrupting business , boo hoo. I'm sure there were dozens of state troopers there that could have cleared the gallery. Wouldnt that have been better than the hot mess the Republicans have stepped in now?
This "local" issue is now a national firestorm.
You obviously haven't been to Tennessee.
How did this brief episode prevent the legislature from proceeding, other than a short delay? I could see giving them a reprimand, but expulsion? Its ridiculous.
Well... according to a very left leaning publication, they "led" them.
I wish I could say I'm surprised to find out you don't care about the right of people to govern themselves in a way with which you disagree. But in case you were wondering why people object to liberals.... that's the reason.
I don't know. I wasn't there. I have seen videos of kids trying to push through a doorway lined with about half a dozen state troopers, so I'm not sure the whole situation might not have erupted. College kids are not known for being overly rational, and they're already there throwing a tantrum, so it's difficult to predict what might have happened.
some mob
You could say that about the Jan 6 riots.
It's not the route I would have taken, no, but given the numbers needed and the composition of the legislature, it was almost surely never going to pass anyway.
It sends a decent message that it CAN happen, and likely will if there is another such incident.
As for "leading" or "joining", the photos show one of these guys with a bullhorn.
It doesn't matter. You can't sit in the gallery and throw a tantrum.
The fact that they agree with your politics doesn't change that.
It did happen. They were expelled.
There is no fucking comparison between this and 1/6, how desperate.
In my opinion, you're out of gas. Chanting coming from a legislature gallery, even if "led" by three of the representatives, is not preventing a damn thing other than creating a brief delay.
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That’s good news then, right JR?
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That's a ridiculous rationalization, even by your standards.
Somehow you managed to miss the two legislators on the floor with a bullhorn Leading the mob in chants while in session.
Miss? I didnt miss anything. Its not an "expellable" offense. You and others on the right are desperate to turn this protest into a duplicate of Jan 6. No, it wasnt. The protesters filed into seats in the gallery. They didnt break down doors and windows to try and breach the chamber floor. There was no fighting with the police, there was no trashing of offices, there was no feces smeared on capitol walls. The three representatives did not start the protest chanting, the protesters did. The representatives joined in. It seems to me that what they were doing was showing the protesters in the balcony that at least 3 of the legislators were on their side.
What is the big deal? The protest by the youth of Tennessee to the extent that they entered the legislative area in order to be heard is what matters.
The three could have reasonably be sanctioned or reprimanded and this would have been a minor story, but the right had to overshoot their bounds and ended up incredibly turning this into a racial issue.
Miss? I didnt miss anything.
Of course you did. You described the representatives as " these three represenatives joined in chants of protest that were coming from the GALLERY. "
You omitted that two of them used a bullhorn to incite the crowd.
. . No, it wasnt.
True, no republican congressmen joined the protesters, brought a bullhorn to take over the House Floor to prevent business from proceeding and demanded the certification stop until their demands were met.
A poster here had an article about Generation Z - they're scared shitless of generation Z and their now and future voting power.
I think it's correct - there will not be any red waves that they've been so sure of.
My mistake - the two young black gentlemen were expelled - not the white woman.
Would you feel better if she had also been expelled?
What took you so long?
I'm a man with a slow hand
I do it with an easy touch
So every sub100 IQ fascist redneck should own a machine gun, a grenade launcher, a few pounds of C4 and a fully armed tank? How about a tactical nuke?
Your statement makes no sense whatsoever.
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So, you would agree that anyone who yells "Liar!" at the President during the State of the Union speech should expect to be expelled from Congress, right?
Probably depends on how disruptive and for how long the action is.
Or sitting at the POTUS State of the Union Address and hurling invectives at him
Let's say, during the entire speech. When is McCarthy setting up an expulsion vote for Marjorie Taylor Greene?
The entire speech? Didn't seem more disruptive that the applause was.
Then you would have to agree that anyone that tears up a copy of the President's speech should expect to be expelled from Congress, right?
Comparing insurrectionists that have no damn right to be in the Tennessee House with Congressional representatives there to listen to a President State of the Union address. The disconnect is unreal.
Was the president able to continue the speech? Yes? So it's not really the same thing at all, is it?
If he had continued to disrupt the speech, then throw his ass out. As it was, I'd settle for a censure.
But if a Republican legislator leads a bunch of protesting fuckwits in a tantrum that interferes with the fundamental process of self-governance, then yeah, remove the moron.
On January 6, 2021, a bunch of Trump-supporting fuckwits disrupted that fundamental process of self-governance. I presume you support the jail sentences they have received, and I don't disagree with that.
So do you support jail time for these people? Or are you just committed to partisan "bullshit reactionary propaganda"?
vs. Congressional representative yelling "Liar" at a President during the State of the Union address.
Someone thinks those are the same thing.
Biden didn’t seem to lose his place or his cool. Much ado about nothing:
MTH, that hateful bitch, had the nerve to say that some woman the former 'president' was going to hire or re-hire, I can't think of her name right now, but she had the nerve to say that that woman was mentally unhinged, I believe was the wording, and a liar.
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The N is nowhere close to the T.
Your continuing spelling issues say much.
Hard to respect anybody who can't spell.
Exactly right.
Mountains.
Ok, not looking for your respect.
Well... if you stand in the middle of a legislative session and throw a tantrum like a 4 year old, while being black in a red state, I suppose you should not be surprised when they throw you out.
Fixed that for you.
Thanks! Note that the two black gentlemen were expelled but not the white woman in a red state
really weird, since she's beyond child bearing age. I don't know how she could contribute further to the new rwnj christo-fascist state...
These were grown-ups trying to pull a proper emotional response ("Act up") out of other grown-ups. It failed miserably as we can all attest. The question now becomes this: Would the 6 dead citizens of Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. be proud some one protested in a state house on behalf of their savage deaths?
What say you to the question?
Emotional response? I'm not sure this was just about "feelings".
Protests usually do.
There are plenty of people in Tennessee who are outraged by the shooting and sympathetic to others who are also outraged. But you don't protest inside the chambers.
Impossible to say.
Yours is the voice of reason. . . You sure got us 'told'
. 
.
This is now officially a racial issue. The Republican Tennessee state legislature voted to expel the two black men but spared the white woman.
What do they say "you cant make this stuff up".
Why is that not a surprise? Stunning, disgusting, but not a surprise.
The Republican Party is going to lose an entire generation of young voters, which is a very good thing.
Have you watched the videos? Was there a difference between how they acted? Or
According to reuters "But they failed by one vote in a subsequent attempt to remove another representative, Gloria Johnson, who had stood with her colleagues during a demonstration but had not led chanting."
Some just like to make everything about race
Sean, we fully and explicitly understand the nuance involved in the games people play. This is politics, and the GOP has opened itself up to speculation about their intent in leaving a 60 years old White woman in her post (instead of removing her and letting her 'department' vote to return her to her post), while putting it on the permanent record of two youthful black men that they are expelled.
It looks like racism because it is racism. Using a "bull horn" as a pretext to get throw the book at 'short-termers' and going to the extreme process ahead of trying lesser measures makes it clear.
Grew up in a tiny redneck town where nobody had ever seen a black person.
Bullies will always find someone to bully.
Low IQ fascist bullies had to have an outlet for their violence.
Back then (and today) it is always all about hate of the 'other'.
Was a long-haired hippy musician back in the 60s.
Had to learn to fight and to shoot to survive far right bullies.
Was once tackled and had my hair cut by a drunken crowd.
Got the scissors away and stabbed three in their legs and arms.
They all ran away and I was the one who went to jail.
Have been standing up to fascist bullies ever since.
Seems not much has changed after all these years.
(Except it's now the fascist rednecks who have long hair)
The USA is still dealing with far-right wing fascist bullies.
And somehow in the Southern states they still get elected.
Still love Key West but it's safer to fly there than it is to drive.
I want to thank you for your service. I meant that from my heart. It has the ring of truth in it. Because we all, from left to right, from top to bottom, know on some level what it is to fight for/against a 'chronic' life-long issue or set of issues.
In my whole life, I have been 'heart-broken' about some racists activity taking place on the streets of the country I love. Finally, we were seeing some evolution (of peace between 'tribes) of the consciousness-but the push-back against mental/mind growth and development has 'erupted' into full-blown non-PC rhetoric and actions among think-tanks and individuals who insist on a 'right' to socio-pathically mistreat, abuse, and deny rights to people they consider Other.
What a fascinating and perilous life. Thanks for sharing.
Marched in the 60s at my college against Nam.
Thankfully I didn't matriculate at Kent State.
Seems scorched Earth policy still exists in the South.
Exactly, universities in the the South are dramatically different.
According to reuters "But they failed by one vote in a subsequent attempt to remove another representative, Gloria Johnson, who had stood with her colleagues during a demonstration but had not led chanting." Maybe your rush to make this a racial issue was a bit premature but not surprising.
70 voted to expel Jones, 69 voted to expel Pearson, 65 voted to expel Johnson.
Why would there be a difference? The Tennessee Three as they are now called have expressed complete solidarity with one another. They acknowledge they were all the same.
No, I think they had 5 people who were alright with expelling the black guys but were not as comfortable expelling the white woman. That is racism. The only thing I would admit is that it came down to a few racist votes instead of dozens of them. Thats the way the cookie crumbles.
They like white women even when they are Dem activist, white woman
As I (and Reuters) explained above "Gloria Johnson, who had stood with her colleagues during a demonstration but had not led chanting". There is a difference between standing with someone and leading the chanting. Maybe they thought the punishments should be different. But you just keep to your "It's all about race" comfort zone.
Pearson was targeted because of his February troubles with the dress code where the legislature tried to ban him from wearing traditional African shirts.
The previous House leader, a black woman, negotiated a no loud colors agreement where Pearson also had to wear a tie and a sport coat over the African shirt.
Jones is an outsider from Oakland CA.
Generally detested by the GOP, Jones was arrested for disrupting a Marcia Blackburn rally, arrested for assault when he threw a drink at Republican Glan Casada, arrested for staging a 62 day sit in at the capital for George Floyd, 14 charges dropped.
He lost his first bid in 2020, he ran unopposed in 2022.
He will probably be back in due time.
So a complete shithead. It makes more sense now.
It is what it is. I'm sure the right will say it was the "radical" nature of the two expelled representatives that led them to breach decorum and bring on their own downfall. And they do sound "radical" by todays standards (although normal by 1960's standards of civil rights rhetoric). But so what? They are elected officials sent to the legislature by the citizens of their district.
The Republicans took action yesterday that appears to be racially motivated. Can that be proven? After all the white lady was ALMOST expelled too. The difference was about 5 votes.
Again, so what? Countless votes in legislatures come down to one or two votes. We now have a right wing Supreme Court based on confirmations that came down to one or two votes in the Senate. The fact is the black guys were voted out and the white lady wasnt. Now the Republicans will have to live with the results of their foolishness.
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It never ceases to amaze my that every time a political party gets in power they feel the need to go full on wing nut. Then voters finally get tired of the extreme and the pendulum swings back. And neither party learns from this, they just keep doing it thinking they have a mandate.
Sorry; far right wing exclusives are not the same as 'leftist' inclusives.
Your "right down the center" is everybody else's far right wing fascist.
You should really change your name.
They are different sides of the same coin.
You are making assumptions about my name.
Do you bowl?
Good bowlers don't roll the ball right down the center, they hook it into the pocket.
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kinda like "woke"
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Yes. That is what good bowlers do. Now where would someone shoot the ball to get a 7 10 split?
More like "racist"
Fascist is yesterday's racist. I can't wait to see the next name they call people. Hopefully it will be a little more imaginative and a little less predictable.
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There is a growing authoritarian movement developing within the far right wing of the Republican Party, which is being more and more mainstreamed. Unfortunately, many want to pretend it's not there, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
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not right down the center
Then you don't know bowling
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Now the counterattack against the Republican legislatures.
Rep Justin Jones told the chamber that they had an admitted child molester that sat in the chamber.
Now it's going to get much uglier than the legislature expected.
huh? there's only one child molester among all those rwnj thumper fascists? that doesn't sound accurate...
Jones represents Nashville which has a city Council of 42 members who are debating to just appoint Jones to send him back to the legislature unless the legislature wants to pay for another election.
Jones district is "so diverse" that the Gop hasn't had a candidate for years, he ran unopposed in 2022.
They committed to a special election to reseat Jones.
The GOP responded by saying they would refuse to seat them or recognize them.
Special elections will cost Shelby County and Nashville about $300,000 each.
"Tennessee Republican legislators voted Thursday to expel two Black Democrats who launched a peaceful protest for gun reform last week, in a move that critics decried as an authoritarian crackdown on political opponents.
After first signaling their intent to expel three Democrats Monday , Republicans officially kicked Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville and Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis out of the legislature. A bid to oust Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, who joined Jones and Pearson in the protest, narrowly failed to clear the two-thirds threshold for expulsion."
Tennessee Republicans Just Expelled 2 Black Democrats for a Peaceful Protest (vice.com)
And Tennessee Republicans prove once again what racist piece of shit ammosexuals they really are.
we definitely didn't kill enough confederates from that state in the last civil war...
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The hateful extremism of the gop is backfiring!
The blowback from this is going to be serious. The Republicans have no idea what they are facing.
it's going to be funny the next time one of the house magatards "breaks decorum" in congress. oh wait, no problem there for the my pillow sheets and pillowcase crowd...
What do you believe that will be?
The Republicans will lose an entire generation of voters. And deservedly so.
The Justins are being elevated to the ranks of culture heroes. The will serve as an inspiration for millions of voters, young and old.
The turnout in 2024 is going to be massive, and it won't be red.
there's still plenty of time left for the maga crowd to repeatedly shoot themselves in the feet.
We can count on them to do just that.
Can't you figure it out genius?
I think you're overly optimistic about that. Keep in mind that protesters are not a representative group of any generation. The majority of voters don't protest, no matter how old they are.
We're in one of those periods where fringe elements of the Democratic base are aggressively driving a wedge between the party and the mainstream, and it's undermining their ability to win the center.
Gun control, drag shows for kids, CRT, hormones for transgender 10-year-olds, and loan forgiveness for rich kids are the kinds of things that cause centrists to vote against you, even if that means voting for an inferior candidate.
And then you have stuff like this, where the left leaners are trying to scream "racism" again.... despite one of these assholes leading the disruption of a legislative session.... with a bullhorn. WTF??? You don't get sympathy when you do shit like that.
My son went to college in TN. I know a few young voters there. There is a reason the state-house is 70% Republican, and that bullhorn is more likely to increase the majority than undermine it.
See post 7
I told my kids that I would only pay for their college if they went to one in the south, because they all have to grade on the curve.
The far right elderly Fox voters are dying off as we speak.
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It looks like they came to their senses and will be re-instating both members that were expelled.
Expelled Tennessee House Dem Could Be Reinstated Almost Immediately
Throughout our history protests have been part of our rights and in many instances have changed American history.
Sure.
But there is a time and place. More importantly, there are certain times and places where it's prohibited.... like in legislative chambers during legislative sessions. Or in operating rooms. Or on private property when you're uninvited. Or in the middle of a freeway where you block traffic and impede other people.
Personally, I agree that they should probably not have expelled these guys, but I also don't know what's been said in private meetings or what the other politics of the situation are.
For example, if they've basically said they're not going to allow any other legislation to go forward until a gun control bill is passed, then yeah... GTFO. Now we don't know that happened, but we also don't know it didn't.
Your endless defense of the indefensible is baffling.
Not everything needs to be neat and orderly or have the proper permits. Some of the most powerful protests went against that criteria.
I agree, they should not have expelled them, especially after some of the people that have committed offenses far worse than what they did were allowed to stay in the body. If there would have been other demands I'm sure they would have published it.
No, but there are boundaries.
This was not one of those.
Good trouble.
In your opinion which is certainly not shared by everyone.
That opinion is shared by those who endlessly defend the indefensible and also JUST HAVE TO HAVE THE LAST WORD
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Your best skill here seems to be nit picking people.
Mostly me.
What took you so long DOTW?
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I was listening to the Charlie Sykes podcast this morning, and his guest was the political pundit "never Trumper" Tim Miller. Miller was a conservative media consultant that worked for Republican candidates but became a "never trumper" and , I guess, more politically moderate because of what he has seen in recent years from the right.
Anyway Miller was asked about the Tennessee situation and he said that the Tennessee legislature is filled with people who dont like the multiculturalism taking place in the larger Tennessee cities such as Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville.
The two young black representatives are kind of throwbacks to the civil rights era, even down to there slight mimicking of the speaking style of Martin Luther King Jr. There are forces in the Tennessee legislature who dont approve of that at all.
This incident should have been a very minor news story outside of Tennessee. The legislature was not prevented from conducting regular business, it was slightly delayed because of the presence of protesters in the gallery. Big f'ing deal. The Tennessee Three went into the area where the representatives give speeches and cheered along with the protesters. Big f'ing deal.
The right wing is making themselves look so bad over this, it is almost mind blowing.
They look terrible.
You can't even frame it honestly. Why would anyone take you argument seriously?
To me, the one thing that stood out and showed the legislature's hypocrisy was allowing Rep. David Byrd, to stay in the legislature. IMO, they have no credibility over expelling the two reps.
How would you "frame" it Sean ?
You can say all you want that the "protest" took away the rights of all the other ("non protesting") citizens of Tennessee , but saying it all you want doesnt make it true.
Sean, are you going to apologize for saying or inferring the other day that this protest was the equivalent of Jan 6 ?
The "business" of the legislature was delayed for appx. one hour due to this "disruption". oh, and lack of "decorum".
House Speaker Cameron Sexton is comparing this to 1/6 as 'at least equivalent, maybe worse' and is out of his deflecting, projecting, and denying fucking mind
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I have no problem condemning Jan 6th, though they were not the same thing. Jan 6th was a riot by citizens that caused a disruption in congressional business. In Tennessee, representatives took over the House and used a bullhorn to lead a crowd in order to stop the House from performing its duties.
You've made it very clear you support elected officials preventing democratic government from functioning. As someone who actually believes in the rule of law and democratic government, I don't.
They didnt prevent democratic government from functioning.
The Jan 6th mob chanted "stop the steal" . They vocalized their intention to subvert the electoral vote. The Tennessee three were the government (or part of it). They had no ability or intention to overthrow the Tennessee legislature.
Of course they did. Do you think a House can function when representatives ignore the chair, take over the floor and use a megaphone to incite a crowd from the floor?
he Jan 6th mob chanted "stop the steal"
After taking over the floor, the Representatives led the crowd in chanting "no action, no peace" which vocalized their intent to stop the House from functioning and carried a threat "no peace."
Lol you know the answer.
If the protestors and the Tennessee Three had all shown up carrying AR-15s, the Republicans would have given them a standing ovation.
no doubt
Is it legal to carry AR-15s onto the floor of the capital?
Shouldn't it be?
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