Republicans in Tennessee held a vote to expel three Democrats from the state Legislature. Two of those Democrats were black, one was white. The white Democrat was allowed to stay.

A lot of assumptions can be made from that nutshell of the story, but you can safely bet that’s the nutshell of the next 48 hours with perhaps a brief resurrection during the Sunday talk shows (pun intended). Democrats in Tennessee are eager to stoke those assumptions pointing to “The racism that is on display today! Wow!”

But is it racism on display?

For the bulk of media coverage it likely will be. It seems to be the lens through which stories must be contorted. After all, there’s not much controversy and click gold in pointing out “Three Democrats faced expulsion in TN, two were named Justin, one wasn’t. The Justins were ousted.” This headline would be true of the current story, but not an angle with a lot of legs.

The racism angle doesn’t look to have a lot of legs either except it will. There are political advantages to be leveraged, and politics is war by other means. In reading the AP account of this story this morning, I noted in the latter half a key difference between the protesting legislators other than the color of their skin. It was pointed out during the expulsion proceedings — the Democrat who was white pled her case by pointing out she protested in the chamber, but did not “raise her voice nor did she use the bullhorn.”

The other two Democrats did use the bullhorn– indoors– to disrupt proceedings.

As someone whose career has led them through several protests with bullhorns I can assure you that its use is vastly more disruptive and irritating than one without. Surely that distinction would be enough to sway a few votes and keep the Democrat not named “Justin” in?

Doesn’t matter. The infamous “optics” of politics matter, and Democrats in the state know they have a well-framed story to tell, and much of the media is unlikely to let such an angle go wasted, especially against the GOP in a Southern state.

Now for a quick list of other exciting insights and first reactions:

1. Have Tennessee Republicans not seen Star Wars? If not, just go to YouTube and check out the Obi-Wan vs. Darth show down. Spoiler Alert! Obi doesn’t make it. But he says, “If you strike me down now Darth, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” And he does! He becomes part of the all-powerful Force aiding his allies from the beyond. Star Wars fans therefore know, sometimes striking down (in this case, expelling) an opponent only makes them stronger.

2. Back to the same theme. You have two young members protesting with bullhorns and disrupting the proceedings, so to “punish” them for the disruption, you gave them a national platform on a silver platter.

Who, pray tell, couldn’t see that coming?

Also, the two members expelled are black, the member without the bullhorn was white and not expelled, but how was that going to look?  Inspector Clouseau wouldn’t be able to miss that one.
3. Shame, no shame? State Rep. Gloria Johnson, the white lady who avoided expulsion by pointing out she didn’t yell or use a bullhorn, then throws her colleagues under the bus for sparing her based on her own reasoning — that she didn’t deserve expulsion because she protested differently.  She told reporters  she wouldn’t be surprised if the real reason they let her stay was the racism of her colleagues and the pale color of her skin. This strikes me as a particularly shameful and cynical stoking of racial division and the reduction of civility in politics.

4. Biden’s unique sense of Democracy and outrage:  Reacting from Washington D.C., President Biden called the expulsions ” undemocratic.”  For clarity, the president sees the disruption of the vast majority of elected officials as the proper exercise of Democracy? Think about it.  Expelling members is an assault on Democracy because you’re denying the representation of the voters who elected the disruptors, BUT the legislators who disrupt the duly elected representatives of the people from the rest of the state from doing their job of representing the people are champions of Democracy.  Got it.

5. Did I mention this spills over from a debate about school safety in the aftermath of a mass murder by a severely deranged young woman? Some Ds think the disruption is justified because the Rs weren’t going along with the gun restrictions Ds want and their position is to “save lives” while the other position is to sacrifice them. It couldn’t possibly be a more complicated debate. Right? Of course, that’s a convenient way to end debate and democracy if you decide your views are the only views legitimate and worthy of debate. It’s a way of thinking that guarantees rules apply to the other side but not to you.  Also, grandstanding in the wake of such tragedy, even if sincere, gives me a feeling of sorrow and disgust.

 

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