Charlie Pierce on the recording obtained by the Tennessee Holler which shows the conversation among those pigs in the legislature after they expelled the two Justins:
Much of the first part of the recording consists of a re-education session aimed at Rep. Jody Barrett, who jumped the fence after voting to expel the two Black guys and voted against expelling the white lady. The other members of the congregation jumped all over Barrett allegedly because he didn’t give the GOP leadership a heads-up, but really because expelling the two Black guys and not expelling the white lady made the rest of the House majority look…racist. Rep.Jason Zachary found his dudgeon achieving orbit status.
“I’ve listened to Democrats trash us for three days, calling us racists. I’ve never had anybody call me a racist, and for the last three days, all I’ve heard from them is how this is the most racist place…They are not our friends. They destroy the Republic and the foundation of who we are, or we preserve it. That is the reality of where we are right now….and I feel that we were hung out to dry by a couple of members.”
They then dogpiled on Barrett for a while. But the full aria came from Rep. Scott Cepicky, who looked out from the height of his seat representing District 64 and saw armageddon approaching from all sides. Cepicky sought to steel his comrades against the onslaught of wokeness, inconsistent pronouns, and books about gay penguins. And, Lord have mercy on him, he actually resorted to profanity.
“I think the problem I have is that if we don’t stick together — If you don’t believe we’re at war for our Republic — with all love and respect for you, you need a different job. The left want Tennessee so bad. Because, if they get us, the Southeast falls and it’s game over for the Republic. This is not a neighborhood social gathering. We are fighting for the Republic of our country right now. And the world is staring at us. Are we gonna stand our ground? I’ve gotten phone calls from other reps, going ‘We sure hope you guys stand up. Because maybe it will give us the courage to stand up and push back against what’s going to destroy our republic. [More Barrett bashing here] … I’ve been called a racist, a misogynist, a white supremacist more in the last two months than I have been in my entire life, and, by golly, I’m biting my tongue.
“And I’m telling you, Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, those days are wearing thin right now. And I’m going to have to swallow this seeing Mr. Jones back up here, walking these hallowed halls, that the greats of Tennessee stood in, and watch them disrespect the state that I chose to move to, and by golly, it’s got to stop. I’m sorry for getting angry here. My father was D-Day Plus-4 and he fought for this freaking country and many of his friends died. You gotta do what’s right even if you think it might be wrong. [Ed. Note: I don’t know, either.] And you gotta protect this freaking republic here in Tennessee or, you know what, let’s all go the hell home. I’m getting gray hairs sitting here listening to this freaking bullshit.”
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Republican farm team. A couple of these guys are better than even odds to end up in Congress, where they can inflict this whinging paranoia on the rest of the nation. And if they don’t get their way, and if people point out that their way is revanchist crapola seeking to return this country to the 1880s, America is simply finished. They are standing at the gates. Gay penguins, beware.
Oh god. He’s right. This is the next generation. They make Marge Greene look like a sober stateswoman.