Tennessee Attacks Political Dissidents, Expels Two
Discover more from The Progressive American
Tennessee Attacks Political Dissidents, Expels Two
Pluralism is being destroyed in Nashville.
In a stunning display of power politics, the Tennessee state legislature has officially expelled two state representatives over their decision to protest with young children criticizing the legislature for their inaction on gun control. The decision initially targeted three representatives but is not another example of the right’s dedication to holding as much power as humanly possible.
For context, the protests started in response to the shooting at Covenant School in which six people were killed, including three children. The protesters, many of which were school children, desperately pleaded for their representatives, who sadly decided to split up Democratic power through gerrymandering, to do something to defend their lives against the horrific gun violence.
It is an inspiring display but also horrifically hopeless because the GOP’s supermajority has no interest in acknowledging the overwhelming suffering that comes with having so many guns in a society increasingly in conflict with itself.
But what is more disturbing is that when a few representatives actively acknowledge the pain of their constituents through protests against the supermajority for which they can barely oppose with any effect, the powers within the GOP have elected to punish those few lawmakers.
In a swift display of their willingness to clamp down upon dissent, the Tennessee House removed Representatives Justin Jones (D) and Rep. Justin Pearson (D), with Representative Gloria Johnson (D), spared removal by one vote.
While the expelled representatives can run again, the fact that they were expelled in the first place is astounding, especially considering that one of those representatives was allegedly assaulted by Representative Justin Lafferty on the House floor. The alleged assault was caught on camera by Representative Jones’ camera, which he posted to Twitter.
Whatever the justification, the Tennessee GOP has demonstrated that its main objective is to maintain power and gain more of it at the expense of the people. It doesn’t matter if their state's future is begging them to save their lives or protect their dignity. Power is the ultimate goal, and tone policing and political persecution is their favorite weapon to maintain that power. Everyone should be outraged, but sadly, nobody should be surprised.
I would be incredibly naive not to note that the one representative spared was White, while the other two were Black, but I am sure that is just a coincidence.