Tennessee GOP roundly criticized for not expelling Johnson

On the morning after Republicans in the Tennessee House of Representatives expelled only two of the “Tennessee Three,” conservative critics are already weighing in against the Tennessee GOP.

Tennessee GOP only 2 for 3

Yesterday afternoon and evening, the Tennessee GOP mustered more than enough votes to expel Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. But when the time came to expel Gloria Johnson, they fell four votes shy.

Jack Posobiec at Human Events reports that the Tennessee Republican Party said “fairness” dictated those votes. But he’s not buying any.

The move did draw criticism for the removal of Jones and Pearson, but not much. One user commented on this:

But most replies castigated the Tennessee House Republican Caucus for not mustering the votes against Johnson as well:

But the following facts, which most people miss, are relevant. Jones and Pearson were both relatively new Members of the Tennessee House. Johnson has been in the Tennessee House in two non-consecutive terms for seven years total. So she’s had time to cut under-the-table deals with, frankly, RINOs. (Thus far no one has alleged blackmail against her. But multiple sources have told CNAV that blackmail is a normal feature of legislative practice in any legislature, and the Congress.)

Perhaps she also took greater care in her defense than Jones and Pearson took. They, by all accounts, defied the House to expel them. She pleaded her main issue, which was school safety. (Which she would serve by disarming the populace.) A critical cadre of deal-cutters saved her seat. Jones and Pearson had not taken the time to make friends, and ran out of friends as a result.

Moving forward

Jack Posobiec’s attitude, and those of most who replied to him, indicate that the Republican base is losing patience.

This tweet by “Poso” came in at time of writing, shedding more light on the failure to expel Johnson:

How much did Rep. Jody Barrett “sell out” for? Was it a cash payment – or was it her promise of a vote on some cut of legislative “pork”? In any case, he appears to feel acutely embarrassed: