Debate: It Was Wrong To Boot The Tennessee Two

Ed. Note: Fault Lines alumni Mario Machado and Christopher Seaton, who will apparently fight with each other over anything, agreed to debate the following topic: Resolved: Tennessee’s House of Representatives was right to expel the “Tennessee Three.” Chris will take the affirmative and Mario will take the negative. Mario’s argument is below.

Tennessee State Reps. Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson have been expelled from the Tennessee House with Gloria Johnson surviving by one vote. The three are Democrats who had a major beef with what they perceive as inaction from their colleagues with regards to gun reform laws, following a shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, where three children and three adults were killed.

The Reps took their grievances to the House during proceedings, were particularly vocal about it, and a brouhaha ensued. According to the Republicans who moved for their expulsion, the Tennessee Trio, among other things: gathered at Johnson’s desk, shouted using a bullhorn and without recognition, continued to disrupt the proceedings, engaged in disorderly and disruptive conduct, and used a sign displaying a political message.

All this was done in purported violation of the coveted The Permanent Rules of Order of the Tennessee House of Representatives. So far, this seems like another case of the prototypical anal-retentive bureaucrat with his nose in a rule book. The Republican House members then went nuclear and used a very-rarely used Article of the TN Constitution, which provides for expulsion:

Article II – Section 12. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offense; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the Legislature of a free state.

After getting a two-thirds vote, Republicans kicked out Jones and Pearson, who are black. Johnson, who is white, and was spared by one vote. Given the circumstances, the heated background when it comes to guns, the Republicans managed to — deliberately or not – insert a racial element into this mess.

A blind man could’ve made the observation that sparing Johnson would’ve made this infinitely worse for the R’s and better for the D’s. These Republicans gave their adversaries more ammo – no pun – than they could’ve hoped for: now there’s a triptych of outrage (justified or otherwise) involving guns, political rancor, and race. My point is that expelling them was worse than wrong, it was stupid. When there’s an elephant in the room, it’s best to introduce him, and now the elephant has arrived in the form of race relations. And when Rep. Johnson was asked about what went down, she had this to say:

Well, I think it’s pretty clear. I’m a 60-year-old white woman, and they are two young Black men.

It’s still unclear whether they violated the decorum rules. Yes, nowadays there’s an obsession with civility that some use when trying to silence those who speak with integrity, but who at the same time can also be … coarse while delivering the message. But, their conduct doesn’t rise to the level of violating the House’s decorum rules, let alone justifying the Republican’s doubling down by using the state Constitution to expel them. That TN Constitution, by the way, states that you cannot be expelled twice for the same conduct.

Their conduct equates to what some defense lawyers may say about a few many clients: “Yeah, my client may be a dunce, but he’s no criminal.” Did the trio act like backward children inside the House? Perhaps. But their acts don’t justify their expulsion, as per the Rules of Order. They simply sought to amplify their message, since they weren’t being listened to in the first place, and they did this within the confines of the rules of decorum.

Sometimes political theater can be literal, and that can have a salutary effect on the House’s level of discourse in the event if no one’s paying attention. Attention is valuable currency, whether it be in a courtroom, during a date, or while trying to convince your opponent to do the “right” thing, whatever that is. These folks just spiced things up a bit, in order to (finally?) get their brethren’s attention when it comes to their cause.

As for the not-so-bright part, the Republicans gave the trio a steak when they were simply asking for a burger. Their expulsion landed them an invitation to the White House, where they met with President Biden and were commended for their actions. I haven’t a real clue about their qualifications, or whether I agree with their voting records with the Tennessee Legislature. But it’s fair to say that – like many who rally in favor of their constituents’ causes – at one point they’ve probably demanded a claim on the Chief Executive’s ear. And now they got it, and then some.

Remember to ask yourself this: under what other circumstances would they have been invited to the White House and given a chance to have President Biden hear them out? This meritless expulsion, which may eventually become moot as they get to move back in (will the Republicans be strident enough to triple-down and seek to expel them again under similar circumstances? Stay tuned), was akin to a real bad chess move.

Perhaps it would’ve been better for the Republicans to have chastised them, moved along, and seen whether the trio had the temerity to do it again. Maybe the second time the trio would’ve really doubled down and thus built a stronger case for expulsion, since what happened the first time wasn’t enough for their banishment, however temporary or pointless it turns out to be.