New TNJ edition alert: Lee floods the zone
The latest print edition of The Tennessee Journal is out. Here is what’s in it:
— Bill Lee floods the zone in re-election campaign over Democratic challenger Jason Martin
— A closer look at the seven most hotly contested state House races.
— It’s time for the second round of new interim campaign finance disclosures. Looks like some tweaks may be needed.
— Congressional race update: Dozens of voters were given the wrong ballots in Nashville, Andy Ogles gets fundraising help from GOP reps, Heidi Campbell shares sad family health news, Mark Green blasts voting problems.
Also: Kevin McCarthy’s joke about hitting Nancy Pelosi with a gavel doesn’t age well, Marsha Blackburn says Iowa visit doesn’t portend presidential bid, and the University of Tennessee reevaluates its peer institutions.
As always, access the your copy of the TNJ here.
Or subscribe here.
Just kidding! House GOP leader McCarthy says line about hitting Pelosi with gavel a joke
U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was awarded an oversized gavel from members of Tennessee Republican congressional delegation at the state GOP’s Statemen’s Dinner in Nashville on Saturday night.
McCarthy quipped that “it will be hard not to hit” current Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with it if he takes over from her after next year’s elections.
NBC reports the comment has sparked outrage among Democrats in Congress. Meanwhile, a McCarthy spokesman says he was “obviously joking.”
Drew Hamill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, tweeted that a “threat of violence to someone who was a target of a #January6th assassination attempt from your fellow Trump supporters is irresponsible and disgusting.”
Read the Tennessean’s account of the fundraiser here and Main Street Nashville’s here.
Burchett takes to WSJ opinion section to decry proxy voting in Congress
U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today denouncing the ongoing practice of proxy voting and virtual meetings in Congress.
“I didn’t run for Congress to sit on Zoom in my district office or to have one of my colleagues cast votes on my behalf,” Burchett writes. “These often-abused protocols were implemented in response to a pandemic that is in retreat.”
The current rules are “ineffective and abused by members of both parties,” he writes. Some GOP members used proxy voting so they could attend a CPAC meeting in February, while Democrats have done so to campaign or accompany President Joe Biden on a trip to Wisconsin, according to Burchett. He is similarly critical of virtual meetings.
“Policy experts work in Washington offices, where these hearings should be taking place in person,” Burchett said.
While Burchett sees bipartisan lapses, he blames the current state of affairs on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
“Exploitation of the House’s coronavirus protocols won’t stop unless the rules change so that members are expected to show up to work and do their jobs,” Burchett said. “Speaker Nancy Pelosi needs to take a step back, look at the rest of the country, and re-evaluate how she is running the House.”
