Whew. Unreconstructed states doing unreconstructed state things. But that is also evidence of how important the vote is...the efforts that are taken to suppress it.
Biden simply is not going anywhere. And he's going to win in an historic landslide because there's 100 million women primed to vote and they ain't voting gop.
Thank you, Evan. My brother, a handyman, lived in Nashville for 40+ years, mainly because he is a roots/Americana fan. He enjoyed a life that included standing in the checkout line at Home Depot RIGHT BEHIND John Prine and doing carpentry work for Lucinda Williams and running into Steve Winwood at the ballpark where both of their sons had games. Last year they sold their modest house in west Nashville for about 3x what they’d paid for it and moved to Kingston Springs, and their old house was leveled to build one of the McMansions that now dominate that neighborhood.
The redistricting in 2022 forced my E. Tennessee Democratic rep, Gloria Johnson (tall blonde gal member of the TN3), to move from one neighborhood to another to maintain residency requirements. She’s now running for US Senate, opposing the loathsome Marsha Blackburn, but while she enjoys some popularity here, my understanding is that support for her in the blue Nashville and Memphis areas is rather lukewarm. That assessment doesn’t help me keep hope alive.
Every person that I know from Tennessee (whether personally or by reputation) is exceptionally cool. And I'm a freak for the accent, which is the best "Southern" accent - I can always spot one when I hear it. Combined with the very real phenomenon of Southern charm and manners, Tennessee people are a joy to talk with. Well, mostly: I haven't had the pleasure of chatting with the troglodytes featured above. ;)
Ha ha, there are actually several different Tennessee accents. Up here in the hills of E. TN, we sound all twangy, like my boyfriend (not actually my boyfriend) Trae Crowder. This is the accent of dumb hillbillies stuck in the sticks. Slide down the state’s flattening-out plateau, into Nashville and Memphis, and you’ll hear a more refined Southern drawl, like what actors/actresses try to affect when they’re doing a “Southern accent.”
No, there was an older male voice-over that had the oddest accent I had ever heard. Maybe I can recreate it phonetically. "Aimmuhs--thee soouh-puhair-luh-teev flahr-ust." Each syllable was drawn out. Definitely Southern but I was told it was an old Nashville accent. You don't hear it today. The person in the video sounded like a Yankee by comparison.
I hope to develop an ear for all of them :) And I forgot about Trae Crowder, who is an excellent case in point. (And of course he's not actually your boyfriend.... because he's MINE! MINE, I tell ya, MINE!!)
Thank you for highlighting the real problem with having our voices heard at the ballot box, between the gerrymandering, the voter roll purges, the lies, the threats, it means we have to work all the harder. The absolute corruption in the school voucher BS is finally starting to have the spotlight it deserves, but the wheels of justice work too slowly. For example the FBI raid 1/8/21 on TN GOP homes and offices, 14 months later federal subpoenas for Grand Jury, then arrest and indictment Aug. '22, a trial date now set for Nov. 6th '24.
My home town of OKC is gerrymandered so that historically Black east OKC is gerrymandered out with a bunch of rural people. In 2016 a democratic held that seat, but in 2020, it flipped due to high turn out from the rural areas.
Thank you for talking about this Evan. Gerrymandering certainly isn't a moral act.
This is one of the reasons I haven’t returned to Tennessee in a long time. While It’s the home of beloved family and friends, it’s also a place way too similar to Texas, the state in which I’ve lived for the vast majority of my life. Luckily, I’ve lived in Austin for most of it but the Texas legislators have been trying to do to Austin what the Tennessee legislature did to Nashville. Take a look at Lloyd Doggett’s district. It has changed a lot over the decades. The redistricting has created a contorted mess, all in the attempt to dilute the vote of a certain group of folks. It’s shameful but he’s doing a great job with what he’s been “given”.
Hello from Kentucky, where we also have one Democrat in national office and everyone else seems is starring in a never-ending touring production of Dunning Kruger Ambush Theater.
Thank you for drawing attention to what we’re facing here. All 3 of the Republicans who “represent” Nashville now are rats. Scratch that: rats anre intelligent. They’re human canker sores. Ogles, whose district I live in, is the worst of a sorry lot. He’s been called the George Santos of the South but may actually be worse: he defrauded grieving parents into giving money for a memorial garden for their dead children and then just picketed all the funds.
The White Christian Nationalists in the legislature have basically declared war on the city, passing laws to take over our airport board and sports authority and to cut the size of our elected Metro Council in half (purely for spite). So far, the courts are ruling for Nashville.
But these people are so bent on turning Nashville into a capital city for White Xtian Nationalism that they would happily destroy the engine that generates 40% of the state’s economic output if it would further their goal. Never mind that without Nashville and Memphis, the rest of the state would have little to sell but tourism (and fewer tourists are going to come to a state where anybody who doesn’t look and think like White Nationalists is even welcome).
I have advocated to the Metro Council that they should petition for statehood. It’s an option available under the Constitution.
It would require approval by the state legislature, so it’s not gonna go beyond that. But it would at least fire a warning shot that we have had enough and no longer share anything with them. And the resulting national attention to Nashville’s effort would humiliate and enrage the booger eaters in the legislature—worth it for that alone.
Separate note: Whitelanta! Hadn’t heard that one before. It’s perfect. I will spread that term.
To a native Californian, everything below the Mason Dixon Line looks totally fucked by Republicans. That having been said, I’ve been to Nashville and it seemed like a really cool city. This overt takeover by White so-called Christians is an abomination. And because they control so much in swing states, the Electoral College screws the rest of us.
Why, if the GOP hadn't carved up Texas districts, there might be lawmakers who are working for the good of the people. And we can't have that, unless by "people" you mean "oil & gas companies."
Example: noted White House addiction specialist Ronny Jackson's district stretches from the Texas Panhandle (more cows than people, and most cows are smarter) down to Denton, north of Dallas-Fort Worth. https://www.congress.gov/member/district/ronny-jackson/J000304
I did okay running against John Rose two years ago, considering the amount of (fundraising / logistical / name recognition / really any) support I got from the TNDP after I won the nomination.
Here in NC we are gerrymandered out the wazoo in our State houses. It's a swing state with a Dem governor ... but Republicans have a super-majority in both State houses that can override the governor's veto. Currently we have 7 Dems and 7 Rs in Congress... but a state Supreme Court seat flipped, and they said, we think gerrymandering is OK, and SCOTUS said yep, go right ahead! So next time we will likely get 10 Rs and 4 Dems in Congress with the same 50-50 ish vote split.
Of course he did. To live amid the tacky glamour of Miami Cuban Republicans, where he can swan around at gallery shows with Ivanka and Jared, drunk on delusions of cultural significance. Suits him perfectly.
Whew. Unreconstructed states doing unreconstructed state things. But that is also evidence of how important the vote is...the efforts that are taken to suppress it.
Biden simply is not going anywhere. And he's going to win in an historic landslide because there's 100 million women primed to vote and they ain't voting gop.
Thank you, Evan. My brother, a handyman, lived in Nashville for 40+ years, mainly because he is a roots/Americana fan. He enjoyed a life that included standing in the checkout line at Home Depot RIGHT BEHIND John Prine and doing carpentry work for Lucinda Williams and running into Steve Winwood at the ballpark where both of their sons had games. Last year they sold their modest house in west Nashville for about 3x what they’d paid for it and moved to Kingston Springs, and their old house was leveled to build one of the McMansions that now dominate that neighborhood.
The redistricting in 2022 forced my E. Tennessee Democratic rep, Gloria Johnson (tall blonde gal member of the TN3), to move from one neighborhood to another to maintain residency requirements. She’s now running for US Senate, opposing the loathsome Marsha Blackburn, but while she enjoys some popularity here, my understanding is that support for her in the blue Nashville and Memphis areas is rather lukewarm. That assessment doesn’t help me keep hope alive.
If Johnson hammers on Dobbs she will win. If she tries to wishy washy she will lose.
I don’t think Gloria Johnson has a wishy washy bone in her body.
G-L-O-R-I-A. Sing it with me.
Good she's going to need that steel spine!
Every person that I know from Tennessee (whether personally or by reputation) is exceptionally cool. And I'm a freak for the accent, which is the best "Southern" accent - I can always spot one when I hear it. Combined with the very real phenomenon of Southern charm and manners, Tennessee people are a joy to talk with. Well, mostly: I haven't had the pleasure of chatting with the troglodytes featured above. ;)
Ha ha, there are actually several different Tennessee accents. Up here in the hills of E. TN, we sound all twangy, like my boyfriend (not actually my boyfriend) Trae Crowder. This is the accent of dumb hillbillies stuck in the sticks. Slide down the state’s flattening-out plateau, into Nashville and Memphis, and you’ll hear a more refined Southern drawl, like what actors/actresses try to affect when they’re doing a “Southern accent.”
And then there's the old-money-Nashville accent. It's the one heard on the old tv commercial: "Emma's. The Superlative Florist"
I'm gonna have to see if that's on YouTube :)
[UPDATE: I found this, from 10 years ago: https://youtu.be/mVcd2uFu8GM?feature=shared -- is that what you're referring to? That is an odd accent.... ]
No, there was an older male voice-over that had the oddest accent I had ever heard. Maybe I can recreate it phonetically. "Aimmuhs--thee soouh-puhair-luh-teev flahr-ust." Each syllable was drawn out. Definitely Southern but I was told it was an old Nashville accent. You don't hear it today. The person in the video sounded like a Yankee by comparison.
Omg, an Emma’s the Superlative Florist reference! That’s all the bona fides anyone needs to prove they are Nashville. I give you a like just for that!
I hope to develop an ear for all of them :) And I forgot about Trae Crowder, who is an excellent case in point. (And of course he's not actually your boyfriend.... because he's MINE! MINE, I tell ya, MINE!!)
Thank you for highlighting the real problem with having our voices heard at the ballot box, between the gerrymandering, the voter roll purges, the lies, the threats, it means we have to work all the harder. The absolute corruption in the school voucher BS is finally starting to have the spotlight it deserves, but the wheels of justice work too slowly. For example the FBI raid 1/8/21 on TN GOP homes and offices, 14 months later federal subpoenas for Grand Jury, then arrest and indictment Aug. '22, a trial date now set for Nov. 6th '24.
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/a-new-trial-date-has-been-set-in-the-casada-cothren-on-federal-bribery-charges
https://tennesseelookout.com/2022/03/23/tennessee-rep-bud-hulsey-confirms-he-was-served-with-federal-subpoena/
My home town of OKC is gerrymandered so that historically Black east OKC is gerrymandered out with a bunch of rural people. In 2016 a democratic held that seat, but in 2020, it flipped due to high turn out from the rural areas.
Thank you for talking about this Evan. Gerrymandering certainly isn't a moral act.
This is one of the reasons I haven’t returned to Tennessee in a long time. While It’s the home of beloved family and friends, it’s also a place way too similar to Texas, the state in which I’ve lived for the vast majority of my life. Luckily, I’ve lived in Austin for most of it but the Texas legislators have been trying to do to Austin what the Tennessee legislature did to Nashville. Take a look at Lloyd Doggett’s district. It has changed a lot over the decades. The redistricting has created a contorted mess, all in the attempt to dilute the vote of a certain group of folks. It’s shameful but he’s doing a great job with what he’s been “given”.
Hello from Kentucky, where we also have one Democrat in national office and everyone else seems is starring in a never-ending touring production of Dunning Kruger Ambush Theater.
Truly interesting read. Thank you.
Thank you for drawing attention to what we’re facing here. All 3 of the Republicans who “represent” Nashville now are rats. Scratch that: rats anre intelligent. They’re human canker sores. Ogles, whose district I live in, is the worst of a sorry lot. He’s been called the George Santos of the South but may actually be worse: he defrauded grieving parents into giving money for a memorial garden for their dead children and then just picketed all the funds.
The White Christian Nationalists in the legislature have basically declared war on the city, passing laws to take over our airport board and sports authority and to cut the size of our elected Metro Council in half (purely for spite). So far, the courts are ruling for Nashville.
But these people are so bent on turning Nashville into a capital city for White Xtian Nationalism that they would happily destroy the engine that generates 40% of the state’s economic output if it would further their goal. Never mind that without Nashville and Memphis, the rest of the state would have little to sell but tourism (and fewer tourists are going to come to a state where anybody who doesn’t look and think like White Nationalists is even welcome).
I have advocated to the Metro Council that they should petition for statehood. It’s an option available under the Constitution.
It would require approval by the state legislature, so it’s not gonna go beyond that. But it would at least fire a warning shot that we have had enough and no longer share anything with them. And the resulting national attention to Nashville’s effort would humiliate and enrage the booger eaters in the legislature—worth it for that alone.
Separate note: Whitelanta! Hadn’t heard that one before. It’s perfect. I will spread that term.
To a native Californian, everything below the Mason Dixon Line looks totally fucked by Republicans. That having been said, I’ve been to Nashville and it seemed like a really cool city. This overt takeover by White so-called Christians is an abomination. And because they control so much in swing states, the Electoral College screws the rest of us.
Thank you for that. (and I love love love Emmy Lou Harris)
Welcome to Texas-style gerrymandering!
Why, if the GOP hadn't carved up Texas districts, there might be lawmakers who are working for the good of the people. And we can't have that, unless by "people" you mean "oil & gas companies."
Example: noted White House addiction specialist Ronny Jackson's district stretches from the Texas Panhandle (more cows than people, and most cows are smarter) down to Denton, north of Dallas-Fort Worth. https://www.congress.gov/member/district/ronny-jackson/J000304
I did okay running against John Rose two years ago, considering the amount of (fundraising / logistical / name recognition / really any) support I got from the TNDP after I won the nomination.
Here in NC we are gerrymandered out the wazoo in our State houses. It's a swing state with a Dem governor ... but Republicans have a super-majority in both State houses that can override the governor's veto. Currently we have 7 Dems and 7 Rs in Congress... but a state Supreme Court seat flipped, and they said, we think gerrymandering is OK, and SCOTUS said yep, go right ahead! So next time we will likely get 10 Rs and 4 Dems in Congress with the same 50-50 ish vote split.
I wasn’t aware that Ben Shapiro is now located in Nashville. It’s like they’ll just let anyone live there now.
Ha, he actually isn't. He took the opportunity to move his family to south Florida. But the offices, studios, and all the others live there.
Of course he did. To live amid the tacky glamour of Miami Cuban Republicans, where he can swan around at gallery shows with Ivanka and Jared, drunk on delusions of cultural significance. Suits him perfectly.
Ah! Well ok then.
Candace Owens, Tomi Lahren, Matt Walsh, et. al. all live here* tho.
_________
* for certain definitions of "here."