By J. Holly McCall | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Lookout readers:
People are complex.
State Rep. Jody Barrett, a Dickson Republican, has confounded and irritated fellow Republicans since his 2022 election to the Tennessee House of Representatives. First, he was the sole GOP holdout during a 2023 vote to expel Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville after an episode in which she joined two other lawmakers on the House floor in a protest for safe gun policies. Barrett, a lawyer, drew on his legal background, telling colleagues she had done nothing that warranted expulsion.
He’s habitually voted against private school vouchers, Gov. Bill Lee’s pet project. But, in the most recent legislative session, he sponsored a bill that would allow women who had abortions to be punished in the same way as first degree murder is.
Like we said, complex.
Now, he’s the latest Republican taking issue with the state’s death penalty protocols, questioning the credentials of medical personnel involved and telling Senior Reporter Sam Stockard, “I don’t know that there’s anybody qualified medically to execute a human being that can do it without violating the Hippocratic Oath.”
In other news:
Rest in power. Expressions of grief and condolences poured in on Thursday after the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee announced Vonda McDaniel, who served as president of the organization since 2013, died earlier this week.
Ad watch: U.S. Rep. John Rose, a candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, has upped the political ad ante with a 5-minute film titled “Foggy Morning,” that focuses on his family’s farming history in Tennessee and his business experience.
Happy July 4 weekend to you all. Be mindful of the heat, eat a couple of hot dogs and don’t blow any fingers off with your fireworks.
THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY
Rep. Jody Barrett, a Dickson Republican, has joined other Republican lawmakers in pressuring Gov. Bill Lee for answers on a failed execution. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Sam Stockard
State Rep. Jody Barrett of Dickson has joined other GOP lawmakers, sending a letter Wednesday to Correction Commissioner Frank Strada demanding answers and solutions on the failed effort to execute Tony Carruthers in May.
NEWS AND NOTES
A proud history and a cloudy future: Congressional Black Caucus hit by Supreme Court ruling | David Lightman, States Newsroom
Democrats, Republicans alike focus on states’ rights as a way out of America’s political woes | Kevin Hardy, Stateline, and Jonathan Shoreman, States Newsroom
FEATURED IN THE LOOKOUT
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency is now the Tennessee Emergency Management Authority, a standalone state department with Patrick Sheehan, right, as its first commissioner. (Photo: John Partipilo)
by Cassandra Stephenson
Tennessee’s emergency management services, formerly housed in the state’s Department of Military, are now housed in a new state department: the Tennessee Emergency Management Authority.
COMMENTARY
Tennessee has worked with the Trump White House to become a model for anti-immigration measures and emboldened Immigration and Customs Enforcement in detaining people, as in this April raid in Nashville. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Ren Brabenec
President Andrew Jackson, a Tennessean, pushed exclusionist policies in his ethnic cleansing of Native Americans and support for slavery. As state lawmakers adopt a package of anti-immigrant policies, Tennessee again leads the country in attempting to define who is entitled to the liberties promised in America’s founding documents.
ICYMI
Summer food program for West Tennessee kids could distribute twice as many meals this year | Cassandra Stephenson
Tennessee Democrats revive push on “Pot for Potholes” | Sam Stockard
COMMENTARY
The answer to challenging behaviors in kindergarten is support, not separation | Allison Oliver, Ph.D.
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