Tennessee GOP ‘Showing Other States How to Have a Backbone,’ Pappert Says as Democrats Face Consequences After Redistricting Chaos

Kaitlin Housler
Cameron Sexton

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, argued Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee have abandoned offering policy alternatives in favor of pure opposition to Republicans and President Donald Trump, saying the party is now primarily motivated by hostility toward conservatives at every level of government.

“They’ve lost the argument,” Pappert said during an appearance on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show. “There is no alternative being presented except, we really hate Republicans, we really hate Donald Trump, and we’re going to oppose anybody who supports those two things at all levels.”

Pappert made the remarks while discussing the fallout from the Tennessee General Assembly’s special legislative session earlier this month on congressional redistricting, which ended with Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) removing Democratic lawmakers from House standing committees and subcommittees following disruptive protests inside the Capitol.

The session, convened after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, resulted in passage of a new congressional map expected to give Republicans a 9-0 advantage in Tennessee’s congressional delegation.

Demonstrations during the session included lawmakers linking arms on the House floor, protesters using whistles and air horns, and repeated interruptions during proceedings.

Pappert said the conduct reminded many observers of the 2023 “Tennessee Three” controversy involving Democratic State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville), Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), and Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), though he argued some of the recent conduct was worse.

“It certainly was reminiscent…[of] 2023 all over again,” Pappert said. “I think the actual behavior we saw, some of the individual actors, including lawmakers, by the way, of course State Representative Justin Pearson getting in the face of the Tennessee Highway Patrol officer and cursing at him repeatedly, I think some of the individual behavior we saw was worse.”

Pappert commended Tennessee Republicans for responding with disciplinary action.

“Tennessee is showing other Republican states how to have a backbone,” he said. “In Tennessee, after three years, essentially shenanigans and outbreaks and behaving badly, the Democrats are no longer going to be rewarded.”

Pappert, however, predicted that relations between Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly would continue to deteriorate in future sessions.

“There is absolutely no reason why even the most polite resolution, a resolution to honor somebody’s grandma who worked very hard but she’s a Democrat, there’s no reason for Republicans to give that to them now,” Pappert said. “There is no reason for Republicans to give Democrats anything.”

He also suggested moderate Democrats could eventually try to distance themselves from the confrontational tactics displayed during the special session.

“I think what you’re going to see probably in 2028, it’s a little late this year, is hopefully, if we are lucky, some moderate Democrats in Tennessee will start to rise to the surface and say, look, these guys don’t have committees. They’ve been wasting their seats for years now. Elect me, and I’ll at least work with the other side to get something done,” Pappert said.

Meanwhile, Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) has since suggested similar disciplinary action may also occur in the Senate following disruptions in the upper chamber during the special session. Johnson said Lieutenant Governor and Senate Speaker Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) is reviewing footage from the proceedings and warned that “there have to be consequences” for lawmakers involved in the demonstrations.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X.
Photo “Cameron Sexton” by Cameron Sexton. 

 

 

 

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