Tennessee’s political protection racket is a well-known scenario in the state of Tennessee. Politicians will often appoint their supporters to various governmental positions and then use those people as private armies, attacking opponents with an arbitrary line drawn in the sand that says not even family members are exempt from retaliation.
On June 24, 2020, State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus conducts a press conference at the State Department.
Mandel Ngan/Associated Press photo
The deadline to compete for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in Tennessee is next week, but the state Legislature changed the rules on Monday, requiring a three-year residence requirement. The law is a clear effort to marginalize an outsider candidate endorsed by Trump, and it might be illegal.
Before moving to Nashville in 2021, Morgan Ortagus served as a spokesman for President Trump’s State Department. Rep. Jim Cooper, the incumbent Democrat in the 5th District, opted to step down when legislators drafted new electoral boundaries this year. A slew of Republicans, including Ms. Ortagus, are running to succeed him.
Ms. Ortagus isn’t originally from Tennessee, but neither are many of her neighbors. Between 2010 and 2020, the population of the Nashville metropolitan region increased by 21%, as people flocked to the state with no income tax. Voters may determine whether or not Ms. Ortagus is a carpetbagger, and whether or not they care.
However, legislators seek to limit people’s choices by rejecting anybody who hasn’t resided in Tennessee for three years. According to NBC, one of the bill’s supporters, state Senator Frank Niceley, is backing a different candidate, former state House Speaker Beth Harwell. “As long as Trump lives, I’ll vote for him,” he stated. “However, I don’t want him to come out here and tell me who I should vote for.”
Regardless of how you feel about Mr. Trump, this is a disaster. Legislators in the state aim to support an insider candidate by keeping an outsider off the ballot. Worse, they’re doing it during the campaign, just days before the filing deadline. The governor’s office says he’s “currently examining” the bill. Because Tennessee’s veto is weak, the legislature might overturn it with a simple majority vote.
It’s probable that voters in Ms. Ortagus’s camp will file a lawsuit, and here is where the drama deepens. A member of the House of Representatives must be 25 years old, a US citizen for seven years, and a resident of the state she represents, according to the US Constitution. That is all there is to it. In the 1995 case U.S. Term Limitations v. Thornton, states attempted to impose term limits on their congressional delegations, but the Supreme Court ruled no. The court argued that allowing individual states to set their own criteria for Congress would “erode the framework envisioned by the Framers.”
Tennessee might argue that Thornton was a 5-4 decision, and that the Supreme Court has since evolved. “Nothing in the Constitution deprives the people of each State of the ability to impose eligibility standards for candidates seeking to represent them in Congress,” stated Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent. This is a matter about which the Constitution is silent.” Will Justice Thomas persuade his colleagues to dismiss Thornton if a petition is filed?
It’s an intriguing legal issue. But what’s going on in Tennessee this week isn’t a well-researched argument for reinstating state election authority. It’s a soiled example of club insiders opting to preserve their political positions.
Stacey Abrams lost the 2018 Georgia governor’s election to Republican Brian Kemp, and she still hasn’t accepted the outcome. Despite being primarily focused on “voter suppression,” the progressive democrat will take him on again in 2022. Images courtesy of AP/Getty Images Mark Kelly’s composite
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