Radley Balko has the receipts on years of Tennessee Republican bigotry and abuses of power

Competition for the title of worst state legislature in the country is fierce, but the Republicans who control the Tennessee House have been making their case this week, expelling two young Black members over a peaceful protest on the House floor and falling just short of expelling an older white woman who joined in. The expulsions follow the passage of the state’s gross, headline-grabbing anti-drag law and have also drawn attention to how Tennessee Republicans have recently attacked local control of government in Nashville after the Metro Council rejected being the host city for the Republican National Convention. But Radley Balko makes the case that Tennessee Republicans have been in the fight to be The Absolute Worst for a while now.

“The Tennessee legislature responds to the Tyre Nichols murder by . . . overriding police accountability measures passed by voters, stripping civilian review boards of their power, and making it more difficult to investigate abuse and excessive force,” Balko kicked off his Twitter thread on the Tennessee legislature. That’s very much in line with the approach to democracy and local control shown in the Nashville RNC situation. But it’s not the only way Tennessee Republicans have distinguished themselves, and he has receipts.

RELATED STORY: Tennessee Republicans claim they were 'obliged' to expel Democrats over peaceful protest