After two radical leftist state lawmakers were expelled for helping lead a group of activists in storming the Tennessee state Capitol building, a CBS News anchor warned that Democrats could resort to violence as retaliation.
Self-defense is a God given right, not a crime. https://t.co/bPQHpQUC7J
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) April 8, 2023
The demonstration was held in response to a transgender mass shooter killing three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee. While Republicans called for increasing security in schools and proposed plans to do so, Democrats demanded more gun control.
The left-wing activists stormed into the state Capitol building to demand more restrictions on Americans’ Second Amendment rights and disrupted the legislature’s session. Their actions appeared strikingly similar to what the left has deemed an attempted “insurrection,” causing critics to call out the hypocrisy of the Democrats and the mainstream media in their coverage of the incident compared to their coverage of the January 6 Capitol protests.
This is a very dark day for democracy in the state of Tennessee.
Im literally shaking right now.
I can’t believe this is happening.pic.twitter.com/pGEGNM9DQ8
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 30, 2023
Meanwhile, Tennessee lawmakers were especially angered over the fact that three of their members had participated in, encouraged and even helped lead the activists in storming the Capitol.
More video of the 3 disrespectful Dem Reps who may face expulsion over their actions this week in TN. Some details missed in the chaos: Their stunt forced Speaker @CSexton25 to go out of session, impeding the work of the legislature and they were dismissive to the Sgt. At Arms. pic.twitter.com/CiGDVksPiU
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) April 2, 2023
During a Friday broadcast of “CBS Mornings,” host John Dickerson asserted that Tennessee Republicans should expect violence from the left after the vote to expel Reps. Justin Jones (D) and Justin Pearson (D).
The CBS host claimed that after voting to expel their colleagues who violated House rules, the only possible response the GOP can expect is the left “punching back.”
“Politics needs some cartilage,” Dickerson said. “It needs some give. It can’t be totally brittle.”
He went on to claim that Tennessee Republicans should have chosen another way to hold their colleagues accountable for violating decorum, asserting that expulsion was the “maximalist” option.
“When you go to the maximalist, when you kick them out, that’s brittle,” Dickerson said. “There is no give.”
“When there’s no give, the only way the other side gets to respond is by punching back,” he added.
“And so when you lose those interim steps, all you get is response and response and response,” Dickerson continued. “And… you know where that leads, right? That leads to violence.”
CBS's John Dickerson warns that Tennessee Republicans left "no give" for liberals by expelling Dems, which means they should get ready to be victims of violence.
"When there's no give, the only way the other side gets to respond is by punching back … That leads to violence." pic.twitter.com/pT0DPEi14G— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 7, 2023
Biz Pac Review summarized his argument, writing: “So, just to recap, if you’re a Republican and protest what you believe was a stolen election, it’s as though the Civil War and 9/11 had a Democracy-killing baby, but if you’re a Democrat and you literally storm into a full chamber and bring the session to a standstill, it’s up to Republicans to offer a well-measured talking to and a whole lot of ‘give’ so they don’t trigger a totally understandable, completely predictable violent outburst.”
Dickerson also argued that violence is becoming prevalent in today’s politics, but falsely claimed it was mostly “on the conservative side.”
“We’re at a moment where — more on the conservative side, but on both sides — you have people who think, ‘This system isn’t working. We’ve got to effect change outside of the system through violence,’” he claimed.
