
<p>The Republican majority of the Tennessee House of Representatives just committed one of the most insensitive, boneheaded, idiotic, inappropriate, self-damaging acts of political lunacy that I can recall. ; It is inconceivable that they could not have seen the backlash on them and the entire GOP.</p>



<p>What they did was to expel two out of three members &#8212; two black men, Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, and a white woman, Representative Gloria Johnson &#8212; who had taken over the podium in violation of House rules to embrace the tactics of the protestors in the gallery and outside the chamber – using a bullhorn to drown out regular debate. ; The protestors were lobbying in favor of stricter gun legislation.</p>



<p>We can stipulate that the three were in gross violation of the rules. ; No question about that. ; The civil process demands that the floor of the House be a place of rational debate and not political histrionics. ; We can also stipulate that the three may have violated the rules on other occasions as alleged – on the floor and in committee – and that they were admonished by House leaders not to do so in the future.. ; ;</p>



<p>But …,</p>



<p>I was shocked that the House GOP would even put the expulsion bills up for a vote – much less pass them in two cases. ; And even worse, in a classic example of tone deafness, they actually expelled the two black males but not the white female. ; Even Democrat Congressman Steve Cohen would not call the action racist without knowing more about the reason some legislators changed their votes – but that did not stop Democrats up to the White House &#8212; and left-wing media, of course&#8211; to broadly brush the racism accusation across the entire GOP.</p>



<p>To put things in historical perspective, we should understand that Democrats and the left commonly take peaceful protest to levels beyond the rules and the law – too often to violence (January 6<sup>th</sup> notwithstanding). ; Virtually every street protest goes beyond the constitutional right of assembly. ; They block streets and businesses – both illegal. ; Even destructive and deadly riots produce little consequences.</p>



<p>You will also recall how Democrats held a sit-in on the floor of Congress – disrupting the proceedings in violation of the rules. ; Or recall the Democrat legislators from Wisconsin hiding in Illinois to disrupt the work of their Assembly – and ditto with Democrat legislators in Texas who fled to Washington, D.C., to shut down the work of their legislature. ; All violations of law and/or rules.</p>



<p>And what are the traditional consequences? ; Nothing. ; Because as a culture, we hold these technical violations of law with the same regard we have for driving 10 miles per hour over the posted limit. ;</p>



<p>Obviously, the members of the Tennessee House did not understand that. ; Not only did they take action, but they took inappropriately severe action, in my judgment. ; They voted to expel them. ; That is akin to taking the person driving five miles per hour over the posted limit to a year in prison. ; (Ok, I exaggerate, but you get the point).</p>



<p>First of all, my conservative soul strongly opposes removing officials from elective offices for anything but the most egregious criminal or contemptible activities. ; Political power and minor infractions should not be used to thwart the manifest will of the voters. ; Constituents should not be denied representation, even for a day, based on political disagreement or infractions of rules. ; That is why I did not support the removal of Congressman Santos –and why I dislike politically motivated impeachments.</p>



<p>Back in 1967, Congress voted to deny New York Congressman Adam Clayton Power his seat for bad behavior. ; In the next election, he was returned to Congress by the voters. ; It is almost certain that both Jones and Pearson will be back in the House if they so choose. ; Local authorities can appoint them as their own replacements, and they would undoubtedly win reelection in 2024. ; More germane to the current situation, two Tennessee legislators were expelled shortly after the Civil War for taking a bribe and sexual misconduct, respectively. That is serious stuff.</p>



<p>But in the meantime, Jones and Pearson will have been elevated to Democrat superstar status. ; The event in Tennessee is at the top of the news – garnering more time and attention than the murder of three teenagers, increased warfare between Israel and Palestine, the war in Ukraine, and even Donald Trump.</p>



<p>Had the Tennessee legislature passed some sort of resolution of condemnation or censure, it would have been a local story &#8212; and largely to the disadvantage of the three legislators for violating the rules. They had the option of putting the three before the Ethics Committee but chose not to do so.</p>



<p>Instead, the Tennessee GOP House members overreached and created a HUGE public relations problem for the Republican Party across the nation. ; They added fuel to the Democrats’ mendacious narrative that the GOP is a racist and authoritarian institution.</p>



<p>Personally, I do not believe that the Republicans who voted to expel were acting out of racism or authoritarianism – but rather, they were operating on inexplicable, incomprehensible, and unmitigated stupidity. ; The fact that it was not the work of an isolated nutcase, but the entire Republican membership of the House, makes it all the worse. ; Collective stupidity.</p>



<p>Hard to find an example of such minor bad behavior being elevated and transformed into heroic victimhood on such a grand scale. ; This damaging embarrassment will continue to play out against the GOP in the media for days, weeks, and even months as the media tracks the latest events in the political lives of Jones and Pearson. ; ;</p>



<p>The GOP members of the Tennessee House should consider themselves fortunate that they cannot be expelled from office for stupidity.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

What Were The Tennessee Legislators Thinking?
