Play stupid games: Tennessee GOP makes Democrats pay a heavy price for childish tantrums over redistricting



Tennessee state Republicans passed a new congressional map last week that, applying the logic of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Callais ruling, carves up a Democrat-held district that was the product of a racial gerrymander. They managed to do so despite obstruction and gross incivility from their Democrat colleagues.

Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones, for instance, walked around the chamber blowing a bullhorn in the faces of lawmakers and subjecting them to potential noise-induced hearing loss. Jones — a Democrat who was caught on film throwing a traffic cone at a driver during a 2020 Black Lives Matter blockade — also set fire to a printout of the Confederate flag and repeatedly accused Republicans of racism.

'Maybe next year we’ll explain the basics like "don’t start fires in the Capitol."'

Democrat state Sen. Charlane Oliver — the radical who threatened riots in 2024 over the passage of a bill she didn't like — danced atop her desk in the chamber, yelling and holding up a banner that said, "No Jim Crow 2 Stop the Steal."

Some of the Democrats yelled and chanted while Republicans calmly conducted the work at hand, while another got testy with police, barraging a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper with insults while interfering with an arrest.

Evidently, actions still have consequences in the Volunteer State.

Republican Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton notified Democratic House Minority Leader Karen Camper on Tuesday that members of the Democratic Caucus should expect to receive individual letters removing them from all standing committees and subcommittees in the statehouse, "except where membership is required pursuant to Rule 65 of the House Rules."

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Sexton cited as cause Democrats' actions "aimed at disrupting the democratic and legislative processes and creating disorder on the House Floor, including, but not limited to:

  • Interlocking arms in the well of the House;
  • Blocking aisles on the House Floor;
  • Instigating and encouraging disruptions of the legislative process in coordination with paid protestors and attendees in the gallery, including the distribution of earplugs to a member of your caucus;
  • The use of prohibited props and noisemakers on the House Floor;
  • Demonstrating a lack of respect toward fellow members seeking recognition to speak on legislation; and
  • Flagrant disregard for the Permanent Rules of Order of the House."

Rather than reflect on whether they went too far again or shouldn't bemoan the loss of a racial gerrymander, state Democrats condemned the committee-removal consequence, painted themselves as victims, and descended farther into lunacy.

Minority Leader Camper said in a long-winded, reality-averse statement that the passage of the new map "felt like being stabbed in the back, then having the knife pushed in deeper and turned to finish the job."

The minority leader then engaged in several paragraphs of what could only be described as partisan-hack numerology.

Camper, convinced there was a "symbolic scheme behind the handling of debate during this extraordinary session," said:

  • there were supposed to be 47 minutes of debate on each side, which was somehow "a clear nod to the 47th President";
  • the duration of the "debate allotments" when it came to the "debate structure surrounding changes to election law," when added up, would have "totaled 54 minutes — a nod to 1954, the year of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Decision"; and
  • the addition of 47 plus the time allotments also associated with the debate equals 74 — clearly a nod to 1974, the "year Harold Ford Sr. became the first Black member of Congress elected from Tennessee in the modern era."

In conclusion to her embarrassing numbers game, Camper suggested that her protest last week was ultimately aimed at ensuring that these numbers wouldn't add up — that there would instead be only 44 minutes of debate on the redistricting legislation in honor of the 44th president, Barack Obama.

"We are hurt. We are disappointed. But we are not intimidated," wrote Camper. "And no committee assignment will stop us from fighting for democracy, voting rights, constitutional freedoms, and the people of Tennessee."

State Rep. Justin Pearson — the Democrat who interfered with an arrest on Thursday and called a THP trooper "stupid motherf**ker" and "boy" — whined on X, "Speaker of the TN House Cameron Sexton just removed me and every Democrat — and therefore every Black elected official in the state legislature from any committee we served on. This move strips nearly 2 million Tennesseans from [sic] the representation they deserve in TN state leg."

The Tennessee House GOP said of the Democrats' responses, "Of course now they’re playing victim. Maybe next year we’ll explain the basics like 'don’t start fires in the Capitol.'"

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Seattle mayor melts down under simple questions as city spirals farther into chaos



Seattle’s progressive experiment appears to be unraveling even faster under Mayor Katie Wilson (D), whose latest public appearances reveal that ideology has replaced competence in Washington state.

Wilson doesn’t appear to understand that wealthy residents mean a wealthier city, as she’s imposing a 10% tax on millionaires in Seattle.

“I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are, like, super overblown. And if, you know, the ones that leave, like, ‘Bye,’” Wilson said at Seattle University, seemingly unaware that higher taxes will cause the wealthy to leave.

And they are, especially after Wilson urged a boycott of Starbucks. The company is now moving its operation south to Nashville.


And while none of this looks good for Wilson, things appear to only be getting worse.

“She can’t answer questions,” executive producer Keith Malinak says on “Pat Gray Unleashed.”

“There was a shooting near an event that she was at. Thankfully, she was not hit and wasn’t the target. And this reporter is asking her about that. But then he asks a follow-up question, like, ‘Hey, residents in this neighborhood would like some more surveillance and maybe some more patrols.’ And she couldn’t even answer that,” he continues, playing the clip.

“How do you feel after Tuesday, after what happened, what transpired?” the reporter asks Wilson.

“I’m doing great. You know, got a great team supporting me, and I’ll just say, you know, we don’t have any indication that that shooting was targeted or anything like that. So I think it’s a reminder of how much work we have to do as a city on gun violence, but I’m doing fine,” she responded.

“And the last question would be related to that. … I talked to … people in that community who are concerned that there’s been rising gun violence and that there should be more surveillance cameras and that kind of thing. That’s obviously been an issue that you weighed in on. Does that change your perspective at all?” the reporter asked.

“Let’s keep it on topic,” she responded.

“But does that change your perspective at all on the issue of surveillance cameras, based on what you went through on Tuesday?” he asked again, before she was pulled away by her political handlers, who claimed that the question was off topic.

BlazeTV host Pat Gray is shocked.

“The question was related to the shooting,” Gray says.

“That wasn’t a difficult question. What about more surveillance in the area, yes or no?” he continues.

“I got news for you, Miss Mayor, the questions only get harder from here,” Malinak adds.

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Kid Rock catches heat for viral Apache helicopter social media video — Army launches investigation



Famed rock star and longtime Trump supporter Kid Rock has drawn some scrutiny over a video he posted on social media this weekend. While many social media users loved the video, the U.S. Army has nonetheless launched an investigation into the incident.

On Saturday, Rock posted a video from what appears to be the pool of his Tennessee mansion, nicknamed the "Southern White House." In the video, Rock can be seen standing at the pool's edge and saluting apparent servicemen aboard a helicopter hovering for a few seconds right in front of him.

'My buddy's the commander in chief.'

The helicopter hovers in the air almost level to the camera, which is stationed behind Rock.

"This is a level of respect that s**t for brains Governor of California will never know. God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her," Rock captioned the video.

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WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Many commenters on the Instagram post showed their love for the stunt and for Rock's patriotism. Others, however, have taken issue with the flyover, including the U.S. Army.

"Fort Campbell leadership is aware of a video circulating on social media depicting AH-64 Apache helicopters operating in the vicinity of a private residence associated with Mr. Robert Ritchie (also known as 'Kid Rock'). The command has initiated an investigation to review the circumstances surrounding this activity," Maj. Jonathon Bless, 101st Airborne Division public affairs officer, told Fox News in a statement.

Rock, on the other hand, saw no issue with those in the helicopter having a little bit of fun. In an interview with WKRN, Rock laughed, "I think they're going to be all right. My buddy's the commander in chief. I mean, what are they looking into? They stopped for, I don't know, seconds? A minute? Maybe they were here three to four minutes."

Fox News reported that Apache helicopters also flew over a nearby No Kings protest in downtown Nashville earlier in the day.

"If you're flipping the military off, you're on the wrong side of things man," Rock said of the protesters, who, by his telling, did not appreciate the military presence nearly as much as he did.

The Associated Press obtained a written statement from the Army: “Army aviators must adhere to strict safety standards, professionalism, and established flight regulations. An administrative review is underway to assess the mission and verify compliance with regulations and airspace requirements. Appropriate action will be taken if any violations are found."

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Trump torches Nashville-hating Democrat for string of scandals: 'How the hell can you elect a person like that?'



President Donald Trump is weighing in ahead of a high-stakes special election in Tennessee.

Constituents in Tennessee's 7th congressional district will cast their last votes on Tuesday to replace retired Republican Rep. Mark Green, choosing between Trump-endorsed Matt Van Epps and scandal-ridden Democrat Aftyn Behn.

'She hates Christianity. ... She hates country music.'

"Matt Van Epps, he's a winner," Trump said over the phone during a rally with Speaker Mike Johnson. "He's going to be great. Don't let this stuff fool you. The Democrats are spending a fortune."

Apart from party affiliation and policy platform, Trump pointed to two main reasons why Tennesseans should turn their backs on Behn.

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Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

"She said two things above all else that bothered me," Trump said.

"Number one, she hates Christianity. Number two, she hates country music," Trump said. "How the hell can you elect a person like that?"

Trump is referring to just some of Behn's many scandals that have plagued the Democrat's campaign, including a number of notorious comments and erratic displays. Behn infamously expressed her hatred for Nashville, the very city she is running to represent, and in at least one instance refused to walk it back.

"I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville, apparently, an 'it' city to the rest of the country," Behn said. "But I hate it."

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On a separate occasion, Behn was confronted for past tweets condoning the burning down of police stations during the 2020 riots, which she also failed to apologize for.

One of these tweets read, "Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified."

If Behn's past podcast episodes or deleted tweets didn't come back to haunt her enough, another video resurfaced showing the Democrat state legislator storming into Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's office in 2019 before being forcibly removed by security. This video put Behn's capacity to govern on full display, showing her kicking, screaming, and later sobbing on the floor as she was removed by Lee's security.

Blaze News reached out to Behn's campaign for comment.

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It gets worse for Nashville Democrat who 'hates' her own city: 'Burning down a police station is justified'



Democratic congressional candidate Aftyn Behn's political past has once again come back to haunt her.

Behn, who currently serves in the Tennessee state legislature, has failed to navigate her on-the-record remarks ahead of the December 2 special election to replace former Republican Rep. Mark Green. Despite running to represent Tennessee's 7th congressional district, Behn has expressed disdain for the district and critical resources that assist constituents.

'I don't remember these tweets.'

Behn was confronted on MS NOW about a series of now-deleted tweets where she apparently advocated to dissolve the police department in 2020, the same summer as the George Floyd riots.

One of these tweets read, "Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified."

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Photo by SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images

"Yeah, I'm not going to engage in cable news talking points," Behn said. "But what I will say is that, you know, our communities need solutions. We need local people deciding ... solving local problems with local solutions ... and that's not the overreach of a federal government or a state government of which we are dealing with in Nashville and our cities across the state."

The MS NOW anchor pressed Behn to clarify her comments repeatedly, but she failed to do so.

"Once again, I don't remember these tweets," Behn said.

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This is not the first time Behn's past remarks have landed the Democrat in an uncomfortable situation. She previously expressed severe disdain for Nashville, the very city she is running to represent.

"I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville, apparently," Behn said.

"I hate it."

In a video posted to X on Thursday, Behn seemed to deny that she hates Nashville, admitting that she takes issue with "the bachelorettes" and "pedal taverns" but ultimately blames Republicans for her comments.

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