John Oliver called out the lies of Tennessee House Republicans who claimed that race had nothing to do with the expulsions of two House Democrats.
Video:
Oliver said after one Tennessee Republican lied about race being a reason for the expulsions, “Now legally, I can’t say that guy is lying, which is why it’s going to be an interesting day for our lawyers tomorrow when they find out that I said that guy is definitely lying. We mentally don’t even see color is the universal tell for people who spend all day thinking about how they’d like to see less color now fortunately, Pearson and Jones could be reappointed fairly soon or re-elected down the road, and while Republicans claimed accordingly that this was to teach them a lesson about grandstanding.”
John Oliver closed with:
I think that’s not a great sign for Tennessee when they punish the one speaking out against gun violence while keeping the ones who ask which gun would you be comfortable being shot with.
There are pretty clearly two big issues going on here racism and gun violence which incidentally will, in all likelihood, be the name of the next Kid Rock album, and Tennessee lawmakers can continue to brush both of those issues aside, saying guns aren’t the problem or we don’t see color, but the young people of Tennessee are making it very clear they are sick of waiting and that changes long overdue.
The media has to pretend like whether or not the expulsion of the two Democrats is related to race is an open question, but it is not. Oliver was correct. The expulsions were about both racism and gun violence.
The expulsions were also an abuse of power and an example of the members of a political party doing something because they feel entitled to and protected by their power and believe that there will be no consequences.
History says that in the short term, the Republicans could be correct, but someday the expulsions in Tennessee could be viewed as a turning point both in the battles for US democracy and the passage of gun safety legislation.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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