My general position during last week’s broadcast in Tennessee was that the expulsions may have been somewhat brutal, despite the clear reason for disciplinary action. Removing elected representatives from a legislative body is a very grave step and should generally be avoided whenever possible. Instead, perhaps a better solution would be a combination of formal reprimands, stripping committees of assignments, and official final warnings against future misconduct (more instances of which would result in a zero-tolerance response). Moreover, it would deprive these high-profile showboats of the tribal martyrdom and accompanying fame that they clearly desire and revel in. If there’s one thing America’s journalism class absolutely loves, it’s left-wing protests. It makes them feel vicariously alive, imbued with excitement and solidarity. Right-wing counterparts are, of course, seen as disturbingly strange at best and a “threat to democracy” at worst. And so, completely predictably, the news media and the broader left turned the Tennessee Three into newly minted stars. Big congratulations on your fame, guys – you followed the prompts and managed to:
This is the thing. I’m so glad we had the opportunity to talk about the issue of gun violence on a national stage. We must act now. These youthful people (and their parents) want us to act now to save lives! pic.twitter.com/715WVXYv87
— Rep. Gloria Johnson (@VoteGloriaJ) April 10, 2023
Mrs. Johnson even had to keep her job because enough Republicans voted against her removal on the grounds that she was clearly less directly interfering with the rule-breaking melee. She thanked them for their thoughtful nuance and understanding, calling them racists. One of the removed members is claiming he didn’t know that it is against the rules to take over a loudspeaker and conduct chants to drown out government proceedings. Considering some of the comments I’ve seen from him elsewhere, I actually wouldn’t be surprised if he really was that dense. However, it appears that the gang’s apparent leader knew exactly what he was doing. Former Representative Justin Jones (update: who has since been reappointed to that position and he took the oath againwaiting for a special election) has experience in this field. Weird, this essential detail was omitted from almost all hero-worship “news” coverage of the expulsions. I can’t imagine why:
A protester behind a series of recent demonstrations at the Tennessee State Capitol has been banned from the building and ordered not to contact House Speaker Glen Casada after he was charged with assault on Thursday. Justin Jones, 23, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of disorderly conduct after authorities say he threw a cup of coffee into an elevator, striking Casada and Rep. Debra Moody, R-Covington… According to arrest documents, Jones “tried to push past uniformed state troopers” as he approached the elevator, shouting, “Casada is a racist.” Jones is then accused of throwing a paper to-go cup “filled with an unknown liquid believed to be hot coffee” into the elevator. The liquid spilled onto Casada and Moody…
So, according to police findings, this man – a then-unelected left-wing agitator – then a theology student – while accosting the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, pushed police officers and then allegedly threw a cup of scorching coffee at the man, hitting the target and another GOP member. For this behavior he was banned from entering the building. Democrats in Tennessee then decided it would be a good idea to nominate and elect Jones to the very chamber where he flagrantly violated the rules by disrupting the legislative process with a novel form of aggressive canvassing. And that’s not all. He also insulted another GOP colleague with a racist excusebecause it has a class like this:
Rep. Sabi “Doc” Kumar explains that the only time in his 53 years in America – as an immigrant – he was reduced to the color of his skin was only by Justin Jones.
“You attribute brownface to white supremacy.” –@brotherjones_ pic.twitter.com/Qfr4CvhtwK
— Megan Lee writes (@MeganLeeWrites_) April 6, 2023
Note that Jones doesn’t deny using the term in this clip, proudly explaining that he merely called this first-generation Indian-American immigrant a “brown face of white supremacy.” Which… isn’t better. It’s actually a disgusting and racist statement. All of this seems to have significant context for the expulsion vote:
As an activist in 2019, Jones threw a cup of scorching coffee at two Republican lawmakers, including the Speaker. Democrats then saw fit to nominate and elect him to the chamber, where he insulted a member of the Republican Party by using a racial slur about an immigrant and then violated the rules with a bullhorn stunt. https://t.co/J2qv99TwOG
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 10, 2023
And yet – again, very strange and inexplicable – the previous assault and racism were almost completely omitted from the media hagiography of this guy. And when I say “inexplicably,” I mean “totally inexplicable.” He is the novel attraction in the progressive tribe of journalists, so unhelpful and unpleasant details are omitted. Goods are good and Bads are bad. This is the meaning of this “reporting”. That’s how it works. Given his prior assault and subsequent ban, appalling treatment of colleagues, and clear violation of legislative protocol, Jones’ expulsion was likely justified. But just because something is justified doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a wise course of action, especially for people whose most valuable currency is victimhood. The same applies to victims explaining and revealing regarding the priorities and sensitivity of the left:
Conservatives scrapped Vice President Kamala Harris’s surprise trip to Tennessee to meet with Democratic lawmakers ousted for disrupting proceedings in the statehouse – and yet disregard for the victims of a mass shooting which sparked the demonstration. The Veep made a last-minute trip to Tennessee’s capital on Friday to meet with two state lawmakers who were kicked out of the General Assembly for protesting gun control following the Covenant School shooting in Nashville that left six people dead. including three children. Harris met privately with ousted Democratic Republicans Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, as well as Republican Gloria Johnson, who avoided expulsion by just one vote, according to CNN. She also met with supporters and the entire Tennessee Democratic caucus, but notably did not visit the victims and families of the deadly school shootingcausing huge outcry from critics.
On Good Friday, Harris made a hasty trip to Tennessee, where she delivered an livid, partisan sermon attacking Republicans, but she didn’t bother to meet with the families of the innocent people who were murdered on the run by a transgender shooter — until Holy Week. Incidentally, the trans community quickly replaced the actual victims of this massacre as the Real Victims in the narrative, amazingly staging a “die-in” in Tennessee’s capital to highlight their alleged victimhood while demanding that the killer be honored among the victims the murder spree she committed. We now come to a whole novel round of real victims: Democratic politicians who were forced from office for violating the rules of the chamber in which they served. The Vice President, representing the White House, wanted to signal her solidarity with these Real Victims. Apparently, the families of the real, deceased victims simply did not deserve a face-to-face conversation. Murdered victims are clearly seen as useful in an area of exploitation in the name of a political agenda, but if their other characteristics (or the identities and politics of their surviving loved ones) do not fit the given plot, they are immediately memorable and can be discarded. A really hearty thing.
The episode also highlights how the Biden administration can actually implement its policies quickly when it sees the potential for political gain or useful fame. They mobilized to get the vice president down there for her false righteous jeremiad, even though they only encountered scheduling issues and other factors related to significant border visits. Technically, she’s the “border czar,” but that’s clearly not a job she’s focused on in any way. We also witnessed mounting scheduling conflicts that prevented Biden and Harris from comforting East Palestinian citizens in Ohio after they became victims of a terrible accident (which the White House dishonestly tried to blame on the opposition party). Let me repeat: wrong types of victims. Not useful enough in key categories. Bad luck, mate; the president is busy. I’ll leave you with the former president, who briefly emerges from political hibernation to deliver one of his typically mendacious lectures, dripping with false grandiosity, about the tumult in Tennessee:
What happened in Tennessee is the latest example of a broader erosion of democratic mores and norms. Silencing those who disagree with us is a sign of weakness, not strength, and will not lead to progress.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 7, 2023
If conservatives coordinated a rule-breaking, disruptive protest that overwhelmed the legislative process on, say, abortion, there is a 0.0% chance that Obama would make that message — certainly not on behalf of “our children.” Note that his tsk-tsking about “participation” and “norms” is directed at the party that NO create an uncivilized, norm-breaking uproar intended to shut down actual debate. This is a form of “silencing those who disagree with us.” But it is Good You see, this is a form of it, because Good is good and Bad is bad. Adjust all current and future narratives accordingly.
