Commentary
Stockard on the Stump: Secretary of State backs future election audits
Secretary of State Tre Hargett confirmed this week he is supporting a move to audit Tennessee’s elections, but maybe not for the 2020 count, which has been much-maligned by Republicans nationally. In an abbreviated interview Wednesday with the Tennessee Lookout, Hargett said an audit bill will be forthcoming in the 2022 legislative session. Hargett referred […]
Editor’s column: Grading congressional newsletters
I spend a lot of time thinking and talking and writing about the Tennessee General Assembly because too few news outlets in our state have the resources or capacity to do the same, and I figure, larger outlets than this one do have the means to check on our federal delegation. But a few months […]
Stockard on the Stump: Casada resigns without the funky chicken hanging around
Less than a year after the feds knocked on his front door, former House Speaker Glen Casada is set to leave the Legislature in 2022 holding the dubious distinction of the shortest speakership in state history. The only thing missing is a funky chicken. That odd creature was joined by a creepy penguin, a half-naked […]
Editor’s Column: Tennessee’s GOP representatives blew infrastructure vote
There’s no secret that Tennessee’s infrastructure is in woeful condition. The most notable recent example came in May, when a routine inspection of the Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis prompted frantic calls to 911: Inspectors found a crack in the bridge so large the waters of the Mississippi River below were visible through it. […]
Commentary: Regressive discipline policy in Jackson-Madison County Schools is wrong direction
Up until about a month ago, my work days were spent in the presence of 20-25 adolescents who were navigating changing bodies, volatile emotions, teen angst, and the best way to learn the latest TikTok dances. In other words, I was a middle school teacher – arguably the most challenging job in the world of […]
Stockard on the Stump: ‘Send lawyers, guns and money dad, get me out of this’
Caught between a Ford truck and a Russian spy disguised as a waitress, when did Tennessee’s Republican leaders realize they needed dad to “get me out of this”? Truth be told, they probably had more than one awakening during last week’s “not so special” session. A hint came when the Tennessee Business Roundtable sent out […]
Commentary: Red Tuesday
Herewith, because you know you haven’t already had enough election 2021 post-mortems, my five-part take on the brutal Tuesday Democrats just suffered through. [1] Not Them. Republicans may not all agree about everything but they do agree about one thing: turnout. Liberal Democrats cultivate indifference to moderates on the ballot, and moderates do likewise with […]
Editor’s column: Rudd’s concern for unruly DAs needs to begin at home
(Editor’s note: This column incorrectly stated Bret Gunn, former Assistant District Attorney in Putnam County, was forced to resign. Gunn self-reported to the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee and was cleared of any ethics violation in Jan. 2021. We apologize for the error.) Much ink has been spilled over last […]
Commentary: Tennessee GOP passes away at 55
The Tennessee Republican Party, nicknamed the “party of Lincoln,” passed away last Thursday as it was being carted between state House and Senate committee hearing rooms. A full historical autopsy won’t be carried out for 50 years. But observers cited as apparent causes of death: lack of historical knowledge, medical and scientific disinformation akin to […]
Stockard on the Stump: Durham’s subpoena leaves egg on Kelsey’s face
Indicted state Sen. Brian Kelsey blamed his former friend, ex-state Rep. Jeremy Durham, this week for flipping in exchange for immunity from the feds as he faced his own federal probe. The problem is there’s a big sticking point: Durham didn’t get subpoenaed until March 11 when he was ordered to testify before the federal […]
Editor’s column: A Southern town evolves
Saturday morning, I got up and had coffee as usual before donning my Stetson and walking from my house to downtown Franklin for a Civil War-themed event. The last gasp of the Confederacy in Tennessee came in fall 1864, so there’s no surprise that the weekend featured two Civil War-themed events and it’s not a […]
Stockard on the Stump: Robinson hoping to avoid expulsion from Senate
Despite her conviction on felony fraud charges, Sen. Katrina Robinson showed up – in colorful garb no less – for this week’s special session on the $5.6 billion Ford plant targeted for the Memphis Regional Megasite. The Memphis Democrat will come back again next week for what is expected to be a more contentious special […]