# Tennessee to Expel 3 Democrats (update: all back in office) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 4, 2023, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128 "2023-04-04T12:06:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/41 "2023-04-07T01:09:49Z")
Late stage capitalist dystopia heading towards fascism. Oh wait, were you being rhetorical? ---
**Author:** ![TruePisces](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/truepisces/32/13628_2.png) [@TruePisces](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruePisces)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/42 "2023-04-07T01:12:12Z")
The problem is that we’ve been gerrymandered into having our votes here in Nashville not mattering so much because they’ve split us from one district into three, putting large portions of us into heavily red neighboring districts. And now they’re showing what they’ll do when we do get Dems in that are trying to fight for what we want them to fight for. It’s shameful and tired and I’m ashamed to be a resident of this state. **rc** , I actually met him. He really impressed me with his manner and his politics. I really do hope he goes far politically. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/43 "2023-04-07T01:23:13Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > To be fair, the job of a representative is to dispassionately do research, debate, and advocate for subjects, not to get up in the middle of the room and start hollering holy hell. When children are getting killed, it’s the job of everyone to get up in the middle of the room and start hollering holy hell. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/44 "2023-04-07T01:32:43Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > Might this backfire? I predict that this will not, indeed, backfire. Look at the _United States_ Congress, where the overwhelming majority of Republican legislators on 1/6 either 1)_actively_ tried to subvert democracy to an even _greater_ extent than here, by trying to change the results of the Presidential election, or 2) voted that there should be no consequences for toying with national stability by voting to not convict Trump for the violent coup attempt, or 3) were one of the few voices of reason in the GOP but were primaried by someone who would toe the far right line. Was there a groundswell of pushback against this? No. The number of Republicans for whom this was one step too far was lost in the noise. Sure, there will be outliers, but they will be small. There may be _slightly_ greater turnout amongst Democrat-leaning undecideds, but how many of them are truly undecided at this point? It remains to be seen if this hypothetical change will be able to outpace disenfranchisement efforts. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/45 "2023-04-07T02:15:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > When children are getting killed, it’s the job of everyone to get up in the middle of the room and start hollering holy hell. Unless you think that people aren’t aware, I’m pretty sure that that’s not accomplishing much. If you want children to live then the next step is to figure out why and how to stop it. That requires math, analysis, debate, patience, and sometimes accepting that no system is perfect. There’s always a trade-off. Deciding that you know the answer and that there’s no debate to had on the subject - even if you’re correct - isn’t a useful approach. That’s just being Lauren Boebart. If you can’t get what you want politically then you need to move to other options and to concerns that are more high priority and easier to solve. Failing to save 20 kids a year from school shootings or spending that time trying to get kids eating healthy food so they can learn effectively and vote better than their parents might be the only and more successful path to getting what you want. Making a symbolic gesture isn’t as meaningful as actually making a positive change. If it’s going to take 100 years to get what you want, set up the 100 year plan and start implementing it. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/46 "2023-04-07T02:28:19Z")
Granted, the Democratic party as a whole has been taking the high road. But given this event and the “they elected the wrong person in WI, let’s impeach them immediately” is it time to accept a cold civil war and if not, is there a _productive_ response that is more than an endlessly escalating tit-for-tat? Because I could see majority liberal states that have a substantially red rural area doing just that to prevent any Republican from having power to contest them again, but don’t think it’s particularly productive. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/47 "2023-04-07T02:48:44Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Making a symbolic gesture isn’t as meaningful as actually making a positive change. It’s not one or the other. Symbolic gestures can lead to positive changes. For instance, the symbolic gesture has raised this issue nationally and internationally, and also highlighted the depths of the political opposition to consider gun control measures in Tennessee. That type of attention can be very helpful in trying to change a political situation. The symbolic gesture of walking across the bridge in Selma, and the magnitude of the white supremacist reaction, was a crucial point in gaining support for the civil rights movement. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/48 "2023-04-07T02:58:30Z")
It can be but, likewise, seeing a foreign naked woman being penetrated by an unknown man used to be scandalous, attention grabbing, and nigh impossible. These days, finding someone going out to do something extreme, attention grabbing, and symbolic is just a matter of going to Instagram instead of PornHub, and you’ll have more than you ever wanted, as soon you want it. I’d personally vote that the solution for the day is to be more serious and more unflappable than any other person out there. It’s a world of childish attention whores. The only ones who can rise to the top on that metric are going to be Donald Trump or people just as reasonable as him - Republican, Democratic, or otherwise. If they’re on your side, you still don’t want them. Forget that path. Put your head down, do the honest, hard work, and let other people do all the stupid stuff. Trust that you’ll stand out. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/49 "2023-04-07T03:06:54Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Unless you think that people aren’t aware, I’m pretty sure that that’s not accomplishing much. > > If you want children to live then the next step is to figure out why and how to stop it. That requires math, analysis, debate, patience, and sometimes accepting that no system is perfect. There’s always a trade-off. We already know how to stop it. It’s easy. And we’re still not doing it. So no, people either aren’t aware, or consider children dying to be OK. And in either of those cases, we need bullhorns. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/50 "2023-04-07T03:31:38Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Making a symbolic gesture isn’t as meaningful as actually making a positive change. …they literally expelled the two Black people and _didn’t_ expel the white woman because she “wasn’t as loud.” That is flat-out racism and misogyny all rolled into one. There was never a hope of making a “positive change.” Not in that environment. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/51 "2023-04-07T03:34:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > We already know how to stop it. It’s easy. And we’re still not doing it. So no, people either aren’t aware, or consider children dying to be OK. And in either of those cases, we need bullhorns. It’s on brand. Republicans (only some of them, to be fair) were perfectly okay with our elderly population dying during covid if it meant keeping the economy open. Grandpa will be fine with giving his life if it means his children and grandchildren can go to the mall. And aren’t a few children just the price we have to pay to protect our sacred 2nd Amendment? Surely they’d rather die as martyrs to the Constitution than to live in a society where free folks can’t carry ARs as our forefathers intended. /s ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/52 "2023-04-07T04:27:05Z")
She’s white, the other two are black. That’s why she wasn’t expelled. But I realize you probably already know that. Clearly the TN GOP doesn’t care that the world will now see they are just a bunch of racists who love the money they get from the gun lobby more than they care about the lives of children. I don’t see how anyone who has been paying attention could possibly be surprised. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/53 "2023-04-07T12:02:03Z")
Tennessee Republicans: Hey, we’re not all racist white people!! (Expels two black men, leaves the white woman) Tennessee Republicans: Uh, well, at least we’re not sexist! (Explains that they let her stay because she was quieter) Tennessee Republicans: OK, fuck you all, we are what we are. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/54 "2023-04-07T13:04:47Z")
she held her seat with one vote. one of the republicans said it was because “she wasn’t as loud”. it was just mind boggling. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/55 "2023-04-07T16:14:23Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Tennessee Republicans: Hey, we’re not all racist white people!! > > (Expels two black men, leaves the white woman) > > Tennessee Republicans: Uh, well, at least we’re not sexist! > > (Explains that they let her stay because she was quieter) > > Tennessee Republicans: OK, fuck you all, we are what we are. Mind if I steal your perfect summation? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/56 "2023-04-07T17:15:31Z")
Steal away! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/57 "2023-04-07T17:29:42Z")
Justin Jones says he’s going to stand for election again, and several members of the Nashville Metro Council say they plan to re-appoint him: > **[Expelled Tennessee lawmaker vows to return to office](https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/07/expelled-tennessee-lawmaker-vows-to-return-to-office-00090992)** > > “This extreme tactic to expel us and try to humiliate us has only put a spotlight of the world on Tennessee,” Justin Jones said. And the Shelby County Commission, which has a nine member Democratic majority, is considering appointing on an interim basis. The Chair has asked for a legal opinion whether they can appoint a member who’s been expelled. > **[Shelby County could reappoint Justin Pearson after expulsion from TN House](https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/06/shelby-county-could-reappoint-pearson-after-expulsion-from-tn-house/70090428007/)** > > Vacancies in the statehouse can be filled on an interim basis by the county's legislative body. The Shelby County Commission has a nine-member Democratic supermajority. ---
**Author:** ![TruePisces](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/truepisces/32/13628_2.png) [@TruePisces](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruePisces)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/58 "2023-04-07T18:02:47Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Justin Jones says he’s going to stand for election again, and several members of the Nashville Metro Council say they plan to re-appoint him: I am so glad to hear this. He’s sorely needed and, at the time I met him, he didn’t seem like someone who would just back down. I’m so grateful to have him as my elected official. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/59 "2023-04-08T02:48:04Z")
Well, the NYT seems to think that the actions of the three loud Tennessee reps has increased their political clout: > [@](#): > > Expelled by their Republican colleagues for an act of protest, Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson were no longer members of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Friday. They could not advocate for their constituents in Nashville and Memphis, take to the floor again to push for gun control legislation or even access the building after hours. > > But instead of sidelining the Democratic lawmakers, the expulsions have sparked outrage and galvanized national support within their party, and the two young Black lawmakers are poised to return to the state legislature — as soon as next week — with a platform and profile far surpassing what they had just days ago. > > On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris made a hastily arranged visit to Nashville to meet with the state lawmakers, and President Biden, who described the Republicans’ actions as “shocking” and “undemocratic,” called the ousted Democrats to offer his support and invite them to the White House. > > “That made these individuals martyrs,” Representative Antonio Parkinson, a Democrat from Memphis, said of the expulsions. “It’s going to be extremely hard to silence them.” > **[Outrage at G.O.P. Could Propel Expelled Democrats Right Back to House](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/07/us/tennessee-house-democrats-jones-pearson.html)** > > A day after two young Black lawmakers were expelled from the Tennessee legislature, momentum was building to reappoint them directly back to their seats. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128/60 "2023-04-08T02:54:26Z")
I hope the momentum continues. Right now, the wind is at the backs of Democrats. People – especially young people – are really angry. They should be. I just upped my monthly donation amount to the ACLU. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-to-expel-3-democrats-update-all-back-in-office/982128.md?page=4)